missing reg-tweaks in/of nlite.inf after XP-setup problem

[docmorris-17]

Hi,

since some installations I noticed two problems with the nlite.inf-file. Im using nlite Ver. 1.4.9.1 on XP MCE 2005.

Maybe you can halp me with these questions:

1) I used to integrate my own reg-tweaks with the entries.ini through [registry_addreg]. Most of them i can find in the nlite.inf-file, but not all. Why? Is there any other place nlite stores the tweaks?

2) Some of nlites own tweaks doesn*t appear in the registry after the xp-setup. For example

HKCR,"Directory\shell\cmd","",0x00000000,"@%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-22022"
HKCR,"Directory\shell\cmd\command","",0x00020000,"cmd.exe /k cd ""%L"""
HKCR,"Drive\shell\cmd","",0x00000000,"@%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-22022"
HKCR,"Drive\shell\cmd\command","",0x00020000,"cmd.exe /k cd ""%L"""

3) Is it correct that i find HKCU-key in the [T]-section of nlite.inf? I thought there only might be HKCR and HKLM-keys, cause at the moment nlite processes this section there isen*t a user-profile yet.

4) Many or most registry-keys of the nlite.inf can be found in the uncompressed HIVE*.inf files in the I386-folder on the XPCD. where can be found the rest?

[edit] here is the LS.ini an the nlite.inf:

LETZTE_SESSION.INI

NLITE.INF

i don't know why this problem suddenly occured . but it botheres me a lot

Many thanks-

Edited April 3, 2009 by docmorris-17

[johnhc]

docmorris-17, don't have answers with the information supplied, 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. Please report when you have a solution, so others can benefit. According to my searches, it looks like nLite creates or modifies at least 37 files. At least 5 of the HIVE*.inf files are modified. Some files are compressed into *.**_ and hard to find, but you can sort by date. Enjoy, John.

[docmorris-17]

i aready did my best to refind the missing tweaks, but no success yet. i always use i clean copy and never do twice nlite on the same copy.

have no ideas anymore.

[johnhc]

docmorris-17, I cannot read German, but the only thing I wonder about in your LS is 'ACPI-Multiprozessor-PC'. What kind of processor do you have? A dual core or even quad core, if it is a single chip, is not classified as an MP, and you should set 'ComputerType = Automatic.' The bigger question I have is, is that your entire nLite.inf? Mine (XP x64) has over 23000 lines in it and yours less than 300.

NLite modifies many files, including HIVE*.INF files. You might look here to see what you can find. Some or all may be compressed, so look for .IN_ files also.

Did you get any errors in your nLite run? Some versions of MCE will not accept SP3. Are you sure yours does? Good luck, John.

[docmorris-17]

@johnhc

i*m using 32-bit XP-version of mce. Its the entire nlite.inf that i provided here. next time i*ll try an english run-through so that you can read my LS.ini

my processor actually is a AMD Turion64x2, so it meant to be a dual-core proc. But the thing about your concern what still makes me consider about to be correct is that i do test-installations an a virtual-machine (VirtualBox). Possible that it cannot emulate a multi-core processor?

but no errors occured during xp-setup nor nlite-run..

concerning MCE an SP3: there never was doubt about it in the many installations before, where a noticed no problems. still

i just remarked that WINDOWS\System32\nhelper.exe isn*t deletet anymore, so i wonder if nlite.inf is actually installed/processed.

i already found out that sysoc.inf calls nlite.inf, dosen*t it? then how can i make sure that my nlite.inf will be processed before i do the next xp-setup?

Please help, i*m almost

Edited April 4, 2009 by docmorris-17

[johnhc]

docmorris-17, I think your processor is not an MP and I suggest you try 'ComputerType = Automatic', but I do not think this is your problem. I did a Google on 'mce 2005 sp3' and got lots of hits. I suggest you do the same and see if you can get some help, but I also don't think this is your problem. It does look like MCE 2005 uses SP3. Your real problem seems to be that nLite is not completing. Please remove your installed copy and DL a new copy from the nLite web site. Check the MD5 and make sure it is correct. I use HashTab for this, but there are many free hash checkers out there. Enjoy, John.

[os2fan2]

I had a look at this, i don't think the problem is to do with the Multiprocessor type.

The tweaks that NLITE apply are either in HIVE*.INF files (which are used to create the registry before the default profile is created), or in NLITE.INF (which runs in the stage where optional components are added).

You could check if NLITE.INF runs, for example, by looking at some of your other tweaks:

eg right-click on an .EXE, and see if an option "Mit hoher Priorität ausführen" exists

run cmd.exe, and type "set d", and see if DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES shows up.

If these happen, then NLITE.INF has indeed run, and the settings have been applied.

The folder and drive settings are reset a little later on, for my recollection. For this reason, you may need a different approach.

For example, consider http://code.kliu.org/cmdopen/ . It is installed into a directory %systemroot%\system32\shellext.

[docmorris-17]

hi,

thnx for your answer.

But... none of the tweaks are applied. I have already tested this.

That is the reason I noticed and came to the conlusion nlite.inf isen't run anymore.

I tried tho following modification on the nlite.inf before xp-setup: "\Run" instead of "\RunOnce" ... just to try and proove if i*m right

[TO]
HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run","nlite_post_00",0x00000000,"nhelper net1 accounts /maxpwage:unlimited"
HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run","nlite_post_01",0x00000000,"nhelper net1 user """"Administrator"""" /comment:""Eigentümer"" /passwordreq:no"
HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run","nlite_post_02",0x00020000,"nhelper rd /q /s """"%SystemRoot%\System32\ime"""""
HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run","nlite_post_03",0x00020000,"nhelper rd /q /s """"%SystemRoot%\msagent"""""
HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run","nlite_post_04",0x00020000,"nhelper rd /q /s """"%SystemRoot%\Srchasst"""""
HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run","nlite_post_05",0x00020000,"nhelper rd /q /s """"%SystemRoot%\Help\Tours"""""
HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run","nlite_post_06",0x00020000,"nhelper delete ""%SystemRoot%\System32\drivers\flpydisk.sys"""
HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run","nlite_post_07",0x00020000,"nhelper rd /q /s """"%\Connection Wizard"""""
HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run","nlite_post_08",0x00020000,"nhelper rd /q /s """"%SystemRoot%\System32\dllcache"""""
HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run","nlite_post_09",0x00020000,"nhelper md """"%SystemRoot%\System32\dllcache"""""
HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run","nlite_post_s01",0x00000000,"rundll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection nlite.inf,U"
HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run","nlite_post_s02",0x00020000,"nhelper del /q /s """"%\SET*.TMP"""""
HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run","nlite_post_s03",0x00020000,"nhelper delete ""%\SET3.TMP"""
HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run","nlite_post_s04",0x00020000,"nhelper delete ""%\INFCACHE.1"""
HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run","nlite_post_s05",0x00020000,"nhelper moveex ""%\syssbck.dll"" ""%\syssetup.dll"""
HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run","nlite_post_s06",0x00020000,"nhelper moveex ""%\syssbck.inf"" ""%\syssetup.inf"""
HKU,".DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run","_nltide_3",0x00020000,"rundll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSectionEx nLite.inf,C,,,N"
HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run","nlite_post_s07",0x00020000,"nhelper delete ""%\nhelper.exe"""

((don't mind the symbol here - thats just an copy-paste error of %11% for example.))

Now, after xp-setup none of the tweaks were found in the registry.

Even switching to "automatic" (processortype) has no influence on executing nlite.inf.

I guess Nuhi will know whats the matter about.

@ Nuhi: Is there a log-file after xp-setup? How can i make sure nlite.inf will be processed during setup?

Consider that i already tried to reinstall new nlite-version. I never do nlite twice. I did a clean copy of the xpcd.

[radix]

You can use an add-on to apply your registry tweaks from RunOnce.

I switched to this method, after I saw that some of my tweaks were

not applied from RunOnce using nLite.

[docmorris-17]

you're right, this would be possible.

But all of nlite's own tweaks then still won't be applied. Nhelper.exe for example would not be deleted, etc.

I'd prefer to solve this problem before i switch to another method.

Edited April 10, 2009 by docmorris-17

[johnhc]

docmorris-17, I suspect you are going to get very tired of waiting for nuhi to tell you what is wrong. I told you before that changing to Automatic processor type would not correct the problem. Did you do any of the things I asked you to do? Did you remove nLite and DL a new copy? Did you check the MD5 of the new copy? After you do this, install and run nLite, look at your nLite.inf (mine is 23,000 lines or so). If your nLite.inf has only 280 lines, please let us know. You may have to remove and reinstall .NET Framework. Enjoy, John.

[johnhc]

docmorris-17, what is the status of this problem? For the fun of it, I have been tying to understand how INF files work and how nLite uses them. I have learned much, but still have much to learn. I have some questions concerning your problem. I see now that nLite.inf size can very greatly. My latest is only 980 lines, still larger than yours but reasonable. In my run with the 23,000 line one, I have many language removals. How some of the sections get run, I think I understand but not all - still investigating. I am running XP x64 and my nLite.inf looks somewhat different from yours. I do not have any BitReg sections. Did you add these? Have you changed the file at all after nLite runs? If you are interested in pursuing this, please let me know and I am sure I can learn something and possibly help in the process. Thanks and enjoy, John.

[docmorris-17]

Thanks , johnhc, for your interest and investigations.

i thought to get to the origin of this problem if i know how nlite.inf is evoked.

Formerly i did modification on the nlite.inf by myself, but soon noticed that this is laborious and often causes other problems.

Now, to integrate my registry tweaks, i use the entries.ini and within the [registry_addreg]-section. I did a lot of work in this file and -by mistake- inserted a "malicious" entry, that was integrated just at the beginnig of the nlite.inf: (f.e.)

HKU,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced","SeparateProcess",0x00010001,1

Do you discover whats wrong with this? Normally a typing error causes an error at the end of textmode-setup when the HIVEs are beeing loaded. This doesn't.

correct is:

HKU,".DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced","SeparateProcess",0x00010001,1

Now i suppose this is what stopped processing nlite.inf immediately. It seemed that nlite.inf wasn't processed at all.

Still i don't know why your nlite.inf is so huge. Mine never has been bigger (32-bit). [bitReg]-section is of nlite's origin.

As far as i understand, nlite does analyse the keys to be integrated whether they are a sort of general HKLM,[... or specific HKCU,[... !

HKLM-keys can be processed during T-13, so they get into [T]-section. HKCU-key get into [CT]-section. In additon, for some reason, nlite seems to convert HKCU-keys to HKU-keys that, in turn, get into the [T]-section.

Do you understand what i mean? I'm not sure if i make it clearly?

[TO]
(...)
HKU,".DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce","_nltide_3",0x00020000,"rundll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSectionEx nLite.inf,C,,4,N"
(...)

[C]
BitReg	   = B
AddReg	   = CT
[CT]
HKCU,"Control....
HKCU,"Control....
.....

many thanks so far for your help. maybe this helps somebody else too.

Pay attention to your tweaks!!

Edited April 28, 2009 by docmorris-17

[johnhc]

docmorris-17, one of the things I was trying to determine was how the [TO] section was getting run. It obviously did because the key is in place. It stays there, I assume, because the proper user never logs onto the system. It is possible that [TO] gets run directly from a script. The default section gets run out of cmdlines.txt - I assume this means the [nLite] section which is the bulk of it. NLite.inf also gets called out of SYSOC.INF, but I do not understand this call (OCgen.dll).

I think someone else commented about 20,000 line nLite.inf and I think if you remove most of the languages and keyboards yours will be that large also.

The key you pointed out the error on (I missed) exposes a Windows bug and probably needs to be removed. If you open Network Connections and right click an adapter and select Status, you will see nothing will happen. Going to Folder Options and turning off the Launch Explorer in Separate Process will correct this problem.

I do not understand the time that certain keys need to be processed, so I did not pick up on the way the sections were constructed - still learning in many areas.

The tweaks I don't apply directly via nLite I do through .reg or .bat files out of the GUIRunOnce exit.

The main thing is I am really glad you found the source of your tweaks not being applied. Thanks much for your report. Have fun, John.