Help with automatic partitioning

[ShadowOfBlood]

So I've been searching the forums for about 30 mins now and I have to say, my head hurts ><

First of all, I want to set up an unattended XP that will automatically format unpartitioned space if there is no partitioned space and then install on the new partition. I'm sure I read somewhere that this was possible using other programs. After searching I came across mentionings of Windows PE and Diskpart.

If someone can point me in the right direction, like a guide, or maybe simply tell me what to do, I would greatly appreciate it. I also have a couple more questions.

I removed the following using nLite: cliconfig.dll, cliconfg.dll, iexpress.exe, moricons.dll, powercfg.exe, and ssmypics.scr. However, when testing my installation in a virtual machine, I continue getting an error stating the file could not be copied during the file-copy stage. I can press "Esc" and continue, but those errors defeat the purpose of an unattended installation. How can I get rid of them?

I also came across this error while in the graphical installation portion: unregmp2.exe failed to install because wmdrmsdk.dll was not found. I checked and it's in the I386 folder and in System32. How can I fix that, as well?

Much thanks for any help

[jerster]

If you want the XP install process to automatically partition/format your drive, you need to edit winnt.sif

[unattended]

Repartition=Yes

(This repartitions the drive and formats it with NTFS)

[Data]

AutoPartition=1

(This tells setup to install Windows on whatever free partition is available)

Here's a reference

[PC_LOAD_LETTER]

kinda goes without saying but its happened before so ill mention it just in case: be careful testing with the cd once you set those 2 flags all it takes is for you to hit a key during the 'press any key to boot cd..' message and itll wipe the drive clean if you dont reboot quickly before it finishes loading files

[ShadowOfBlood]

Thanks, but no worries; I always test using an image file in a virtual machine

Thanks for the info Jerster =)

Anyone have a solution to my above problems with those annoying files?

[ShadowOfBlood]

Anyone? I'm on a bit of a tight schedule with this program :\

Is it possible to stop these errors or do I have to copy the files back?

Thanks again

[<SparTacuS>]

Generally speaking, file copy errors during these stages usually point to failing memory in my (limited) experience.

You have a couple of things you could easily try:

i) Burn your image to a disc and try it on another rig,

ii) Swap out the memory sticks for 'known good' units (you could maybe borrow if you don't have spare).

iii) If you have multiple sticks installed, you could try just removing one (at a time) as a diagnostic.

[ShadowOfBlood]

The issue isn't a memory problem. I purposely removed the files using nLite, but it's still attempting to copy them, thus resulting in an error that halts the installation until the "Esc" key is pressed. I'd rather not put them back, but if I have to I'll just copy them into the folder again.

However, if someone can tell me how to stop the errors without putting the files back, that would be much preferred and appreciated.

Thanks again for the help.

[ShadowOfBlood]

Since nobody has an answer and I'm running out of time, I've decided to just copy the files back over. Thanks again for the help.