JenniferArden Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Hi all,A strange situation recently developed when creating a custom XP CD. I Nlite as usual, which includes settings, hotfixes and addons. I know certain hotfixes modifies shell32.dll and I know XPize also modifies shell32.dll, thats why I nlite, then xpize and lastly replace shell32.dll with my own customized version in the i386 directory. But lately when I do this (like I always have) my shell32.dll is replaced by an older version, which is impossible but it happens. All I can suspect is that somewhere there is another shell32.dll in the source files that replaces my shell32.dll in the i386 directory for unknown reason during installation of XP. I have (and always do) turned OFF SFC in Nlite.Does anyone have any ideas?Thank you for reading.Jennifer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnhc Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 JenniferArden, we need to see what you are doing to what, 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. Have you disabled SFC? I too alter Shell32 and have seen no problems (I'm running XP x64). I turn off SFC, then enable it after I finish my install. I think it is important to have for security. If you will look in folder SVCPACK, you will see a number of updates (KB####). Perhaps these are causing your problems. I load my Shell32 via the $OEM$\$$\System32 folder and maybe this allows me to avoid your problem. Enjoy, John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferArden Posted February 12, 2009 Author Share Posted February 12, 2009 (edited) Hi johnhc Thank you for your reply, I appreciate it a lot. I am at work now, I will post my session.ini file here tonight. Can you please tell me how to carry out the "$OEM$\$$\System32 folder " method you are speaking of? I know of the $OEM$ folder but have not seen the $$\System32 folders yet. Nlite creates the $OEM$ folder as far as I know.Thank you in advance,Jen Edited February 12, 2009 by JenniferArden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnhc Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 (edited) JenniferArden, here is a good description of the $OEM$ structure. Enjoy, John.EDIT: Just create a $$ folder in the $OEM$ folder. Inside the $$ folder, create a Sysem32 folder and put your modified Shell32 inside the System32 folder. You must disable SFC for this to work. Enjoy, John. Edited February 12, 2009 by johnhc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferArden Posted February 13, 2009 Author Share Posted February 13, 2009 (edited) Hi johnhc,Thank you again for your reply, here is my last session.ini. Last_Session.ini I always start with fresh source files and always disable SFC. My modified shell32.dl_ always used to work perfectly in my nlited installations, its just the last 2 times I noticed somehow my modified shell32.dl_ is somehow for unknown reason replaced by an older standard version during the installation of my nlited source files.Thank you also for the link to $OEM$ folders, I appreciate it a lot.Jennifer Edited February 13, 2009 by JenniferArden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnhc Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 (edited) Jennifer, that's the most AddOns and other non updates I have ever seen in an .ini. What changed in the last two runs? Something must have changed to cause your Shell32 problem. BTW, if you put it into the System32 folder, be sure it is the Shell32.dll not dl_. I am curious why you are not using SP3? Enjoy, John.Edit: Search your nLited folder for shell32.dll. If there is one, see if you can figure out where it came for. It will probably be used instead of the Shell32.dl_. Edited February 13, 2009 by johnhc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferArden Posted February 14, 2009 Author Share Posted February 14, 2009 Hi John Yes it is quite a few addons but they all work perfectly lol, I have been using them for a long while. OK, I have recently added the addons for Vista games ported to work in XP. But I doubt that would be the problem. I have always used the Shell32.dl_ file without problems, but I will try to insert the uncompressed version. I saw another shell32.dll file in the I386 folder and deleted that and inserted my Shell32.dl_ file after I Nlited and XPized as to be sure that my Shell32.dl_ is the one being copied to the hard drive during installation.I am using SP2 because I read that some programs might not be compatible with SP3 eg. will not install / give errors, besides I use Ryan VM's Post SP2 and I believe there is not a big difference between Post SP2 and SP3.I integrated Ryan VM's Post SP2 into my XP Pro SP2 source files and have used it successfully previously. I keep a folder with the Post SP2 source files on one partition and just copy it to another partition to my working folder each time I am creating a customized XP with Nlite.Jennifer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnhc Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 (edited) I integrated Ryan VM's Post SP2 into my XP Pro SP2 source files and have used it successfully previously. I keep a folder with the Post SP2 source files on one partition and just copy it to another partition to my working folder each time I am creating a customized XP with Nlite. JenniferArden, if this works for you, fine. It seems suspicious to me but I would think it has nothing to do with your Shell32 problem. When your system is installed does WUD want to install SP3? Here again, you can do what works for you, I just don't understand how future updates are going to work. Have you tried to put Shell32.dll in the $OEM$ folder? It is hard for me to determine what is in the past and what is now. When did you find the Shell32.dll in your i386 folder? Enjoy, John.EDIT: I have been wondering about your original Shell32.dll that you modified. I suspect that something has updated it, causing your problem. When I modified my Shell32.dll, I copied the one from my old host machine with complete updates to start. Perhaps you should consider capturing a fresh, latest copy to modify. You also realize, as I, that some future update may modify it and wipe out our changes. I will deal with that when it happens. John. Edited February 14, 2009 by johnhc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferArden Posted February 15, 2009 Author Share Posted February 15, 2009 Hi John OK last night when I installed XP again after putting the Shell32.dll in the $$\System32 folder, I noticed it still looks like the standard XP Shell32.dll when performing certain actions in XP eg copying stuff. I went to the Windows\System32 folder and looked at the modiefied date of the Shell32.dll file and noticed this time it has the correct date (the date I modified it) but it still does not look like my modified Shell32.dll when I perform certain actions. So the $$\System32 does work but something weird is going on. I then copied my Shell32.dll from the location I keep my backup copy (and also the same copy I always use) to Windows\System32 and replaced the Shell32.dll, restarted and it works - it now looks like mine when I copy stuff etc. So my original Shell32.dll is still working fine lol.I always turn WUD off in Nlite when creating a customized XP, I never use WUD and never have. From time to time I download a bunch of updates and integrate them, then after Nliting and XPizing I copy my modieifed Shell32.dll to the I386 folder and the $$\System32 folder, so as to be sure my Shell32.dll is the only Shell32.dll to be copied to the Windows\System32 folder during installation. I am not worried about SP3, I do not need / want it, Post SP2 is fine for me. I found the Shell32.dll 3 Nlites / customizations ago and removed it.Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnhc Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 JenniferArden, weird is right! Perhaps your system just needed a Restart. I find modified dates hard to rely upon. Please check the hashes of the files involved. I use HashTab, but there are many other free ones available. I hope you still have the file with the right date but some odd behavior. The file you put into the $OEM$ folder will still be on your CD/DVD. Please let me know what you learn.I will cease giving you a hard time about your update policy.Enjoy, John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferArden Posted February 15, 2009 Author Share Posted February 15, 2009 Hi John Thank you for replying again lol, sometimes weird things happen with software lol. As for restart I have tried that and it didn't work, so, I decided to start from scrath, I didn't import my previous last session.ini and did all the setting one by one. I also put my Shell32.dll in a folder and added a run once command (in Nlite under the Run Once Tab) to copy it from that folder to the Windows\System32 folder.I Nlited, then XPized and installed. I immediately tested my Shell32.dll after installation and it works! I was and still am very happy.So I don't know which one of the two actions corrected the problem but it has been corrected lol.Thankyou again for your advice and patience, I appreciate it tremendously!Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnhc Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 JenniferArden, glad you got it fixed. Have fun! John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now