nLite installation not working properly in VMware

[WildIrishRose]

Hello, I am new to the forum and also new to using nLite. First off I would like to congratulate the maker of this fine program for creating a useful utility that when used properly, can greatly enhance one's "XPerience."

Down to the nitty-gritty, however:

Last summer I was given an HP dv6426 laptop as a present for college. After several months of using the machine I decided its preinstalled OS, Windows Vista, was not for me. Too much hassle with security privileges, frequent crashing, and so on.

Recently I purchased a copy of Windows XP Home Edition and, knowing the "downgrade" would erase my preinstalled drivers and software, I did some research and found the drivers on HP and manufacturer web sites.

I am currently testing my nLite ISO images on a 30-day (29 days left!) trial of VMWare, and so far nothing has been quite as I'd hoped. I believe I am integrating the drivers correctly, but when the install finishes in VMWare, the mouse pointer does not move, the "virtual" monitor is set to a low resolution, and no sound comes out of the speaker.

These are the steps I've followed so far:

- Downloaded several "Softpaq" updates from HP, extracted (in windows c prompt) to a directory using silent install switches found on this forum:

C:\Documents and Settings\Me>spxxxxx.exe -s -e

- Downloaded driver packages from mfr sites, including Intel and Synaptics; extracted w/WinZip

- Integrated "multiple driver folder" in nLite, making sure to select only x86 packages as that's the composite of my machine

- Booted ISO image into VM in VMWare, waiting until after install to check if everything is working.

These are the drivers: HP Pavilion Webcam, Synaptics Touchpad, Intel Chipset Installation Utility, Intel 945GM Graphics Media Accelerator, Ricoh 5 in 1 Card Reader, Conexant HD Audio and HD Audio Fax Modem, Intel Pro/100 Wireless and Pro/100 Network Card

Any help would be tremendously appreciated. I apologize for the extended post, only my second since joining but I felt it was a good idea to be as specific as possible up front. If I am doing something wrong in the testing part, I'd hate for what's happening now to affect the real machine!

I am also attaching my lastsession.ini if that can help anyone figure out my mistakes.

LAST_SESSION.INI

[Preferiti]

I can tell you off the bat that you cannot slipstream WMP11 using nLite without a add on. here's the link to that post further explaining it ('i'm still working on the kinks in my install) http://web.clicknet.ro/boooggy/

Now i've used nLite alot but am no where near a expert however, i did not use nLite to add the drivers. I used the "drivers from the cd" method in the unattended cd found here http://unattended.msfn.org/unattended.xp/view/web/35/

and as far as the resolution not working in the virtual computer it might not be the drivers not installing. i don't think it works on a virtual computer, i've been building my cd since the beginning of the month and i've yet to see it change the resolution either with the settings from my winnt.sif file or even the video change that is mentioned in the guide http://unattended.msfn.org/unattended.xp/v...10/#1365vidchng

hope this helps

[newsposter]

additionally, any OS that is running as a 'guest' under VMWare need to have the VMWare-specific divers loaded.

Sometimes those drivers just speed things up, sometimes they are needed to enable things like mouse and kbd work.

Edited February 21, 2008 by newsposter

[Arie]

To clear things up a bit more, any virtual solution uses their own virtual hardware and their own virtual drivers. This means that your hardware doesn't matter and also that the drivers which you normally use don't matter. You only need to install these virtual drivers. VMware comes with these virtual drivers, so simply install those and you should be fine. The only way to test your own drivers is on a real machine, instead of on a virtual one.

[WildIrishRose]

Thank you for your comments, everyone. You've all been very helpful.

I'm about to try a freshly burned CD in my 'real' machine, and test the drivers using the methods described above. Hopefully all goes well, and I don't have a $1500 paperweight to tell the folks about

I have followed the tips and guides closely and I'm crossing my fingers for the best.