Tweaks that don't seem to 'stick' & short wish list

[videobruce]

These 'tweaks' don't appear to 'stick'.

Unattended/Display/Screen Resolution.

I have tried 1024x768 and 1280x1024, but the O/S still installs at 640x480. This is not choosing 'Yes' in the 'Setup look' under the 'Options/General' page. I believe if I choose 'Yes' it will stick to 1024x768.

Tweaks/General/Desktop/Start Menu.

Checking 'Add Admin Tools menu' won't stick. As soon as you go into 'Customize Start Menu' it is unchecked. Same goes for 'Use small icons in Start Panel'.

Wish list;

For the Recycle Bin; the ability to remove 'Delete confirmation dialog'.

Under Options/General/Setup look; another choice instead of 'black'. '0' black is a bad choice since one can't tell if the video card has been enabled when the screen is normally blank. A very low level grey (30 30 30) just enough to tell you have good video untill a active screen appears. 

Edited February 6, 2009 by videobruce

[johnhc]

These 'tweaks' don't appear to 'stick'.

Unattended/Display/Screen Resolution.

I have tried 1024x768 and 1280x1024, but the O/S still installs at 640x480. This is not choosing 'Yes' in the 'Setup look' under the 'Options/General' page. I believe if I choose 'Yes' it will stick to 1024x768.

Tweaks/General/Start Menu.

Checking 'Customize Start Menu' won't stick. As soon as you go into 'Customize Start Menu' it is unchecked. Same goes for 'Use small icons in Start Panel'.

I don't have any of these problems, but I don't know what you mean by 'Customize Start Menu'. I have used a screen resolution and both the the options you mentioned and they work fine. I looked at my tweaks and I use the 'Customize Start Menu' and it is certainly stuck there.

Wish list;

For the Recycle Bin; the ability to remove 'Delete confirmation dialog'.

Under Options/General/Setup look; another choice instead of 'black'. '0' black is a bad choice since one can't tell if the video card has been enabled when the screen is normally blank. A very low level grey (30 30 30) just enough to tell you have good video until a active screen appears. 

I think you will need to find a way to do these yourself. I suspect you can find a Registry tweak for the Recycle Bin item. I looked around for the background color setting and could only find references in HIVEDEF.INF. I would not think that is where the setup data would be, but I suggest you play in this area.

I suspect your basic problem is running nLite more than once on the same source so, please attach (not paste) your Last Session.ini. Make sure to always start with a fresh copy of your CD files/folders, do all your work in one nLite session and integrate only one SP. Enjoy, John.

[videobruce]

I don't know what you mean by 'Customize Start Menu'

Under 'Tweaks/General/Desktop/Start Menu' (I didn't see the 'Desktop' layer in the OP), the first entry and the 23rd entry in the list.

Under 'Unattended/Desktop themes/Options/Default theme &Color scheme, I use the Classic setup and check Classic Start Menu (if that matters).

Edited February 6, 2009 by videobruce

[Kelsenellenelvian]

but the O/S still installs at 640x480.

Thats in VMware only it will work fine on a live install.

[johnhc]

Kelsenellenelvian, that's true for the setup portion, but when the final reboot takes hold, I am at full screen and my full resolution. Sometimes when I reboot my guest, it does come up smaller, but I think that is due to how it was set before the reboot. My Windows splash (or boot) screen is always small.

videobruce, I think your OP was correct (before you edited it). At least in my nLite there is no Start Menu under Desktop. I am running XP x64, so my nLite does look different from yours. For instance, my 'Add Admin Tools menu' is first as yours , but my 'Use small icons in Start Panel' is last and the line number is 32. If you hover your mouse pointer on this option, a message is displayed at the bottom saying it does not apply to the Classic Start Menu. This is why it helps if you attach your Last Session, so we can see other options. If you are running VMware Server to test, I can comment on your screen questions but if you are using another virtual system or hardware, others will have to help. Try un-checking the Classic Start Menu and see if it behaves better. Enjoy, John.

[videobruce]

but the O/S still installs at 640x480.

Thats in VMware only it will work fine on a live install.

???  Edited February 6, 2009 by videobruce

[johnhc]

videobruce, here is a good place for Regitry Tweaks, look for the delete prompt. In order to change the background color to your liking, you need to change two files in three places. The files are NLITE.INF and HIVEDEF.INF (2 places). The NLITE file is compressed, so it will be named NLITE.IN_. Both files are in your i386 folders. Make copies of both files. For the NLITE.IN_ file, extract it (I use 7-Zip) but you can also use expand command at the command prompt. Edit the files with notepad and change

HKCU,"Control Panel\Colors","Background",0x00000000,"0 78 152"

the 0 78 172 (this will be 0 0 0, if you have change to black in nLite) to whatever you like. Make these changes after you have run nLite but BEFORE you make an ISO. Compress the NLITE.INF file using makecab command and copy both back to your i386 folder, replacing the originals. I suggest you open Paint or your favorite color maker and preview the color. I think you will find 30 30 30 will be so dark it will be indistinguishable from black. I suspect you really don't need to change all three places, but I have not played, so if you do, please let us know what you have learned. In any case, please let us know how it works for you. Enjoy, John.

[videobruce]

look for the delete prompt

There are over 800 entries in no order. For what purpose??

I have changed the boot background level to between 30 30 30 and 100 100 100 (depending on what monitor is used) under Users\Default\Control Panel\Colors. That is the only place I had to go to change it and it's worked every time. Can that 'key' be added somewhere within the nLite program? I don't see why there would be three places to change this setting.

The 30 level is very dark, but it is well above the black level of the LCD panel and enough that I know I have active video present. This resolves the problem of not seeing anything untill the cursor shows. Perhaps for CRT monitors, a higher level might be needed.

Edited February 9, 2009 by videobruce

[videobruce]

Can't registry entries (files with a .reg extension) be added somewhere in the nLite process?

[johnhc]

videobruce, sorry, I gave you a bad search argument. Try "Disable File Deleted Confirmation" without the quotes. I have not tried it, but let us know if it works. You cannot put .reg files directly into nLite. You could convert them to Reg commands (go to Help & Support and type reg add) and put them in the RunOnce of Unattended or you could call .reg files from RunOnce. Where did you place the Users\Default\Control Panel\Colors to get it to work during install? Enjoy, John.

[videobruce]

I didn't connect your message with that one 'wish'.

The colors change was done after the install.

Edited February 9, 2009 by videobruce

[johnhc]

I didn't connect your message with that one 'wish'.

OP:

For the Recycle Bin; the ability to remove 'Delete confirmation dialog'.

The tweak title used 'deleted', so I don't know if this will work for you. I tried it on my VM (XP x64) and it seemed to do nothing, but that may just be my OS. It's a one liner - please give it a try and let us know. Enjoy, John.