Unexpected change of language

[whiskyfizz]

Hi all !

I am trying to make an unattended CD of Windows 2000 Professionnal like you guys, but it is not as easy as I thought. I followed Fred Vorck's excellent guide, but in the last step of the procedure, I encountered a small problem. Here it is : my version of Windows 2000 Professionnal is in French, and when I launch HFSLIP for the second time, analyzing the files in the SOURCESS folder reveal that the system's language is English. I am not the only user and the others do not speak English, so keeping it in French is really important. Also, I have chosen to completely wipe out Internet Explorer. maybe this decision has to do with the change of language. I am really a beginner and I do not know which file is causing this. I hope you will accept to help me.

Thank you for your time.

Cheers !

[tommyp]

Are you using french hotfixes? If not, use the french one.

Are you kiling IE with FDV's fileset? If yes, then FDV should chime in, his fileset may have some english in there.

[whiskyfizz]

Hi !

About the hotfixes, I indeed used the French ones. You are correct about the death of IE, I use the FDV's fileset. You are saying they contain some English, but if the base system (the I386 folder) is French, then even with FDV's fileset and although it is said to have become English, the system should remain in French. Am I right ? Also, is there another way of killing IE while keeping the current system's language than by using FDV's fileset ?

Thanks.

Cheers !

Edited November 16, 2009 by whiskyfizz

[tommyp]

Sounds like an FDV question. FDV, can you chime in?

[whiskyfizz]

Hi all !

If FDV is willing to guide me or give me instructions, I will be more than happy to make all the files, that is modify them and of course offer them to the community. Here are the steps I intended to take to achieve a lean and light version of Windows 2000 Workstation alias Windows 2000 Professional : (1) use HFSLIP to slipstream the latest hot fixes and get rid of IE forever, (2) use nLite to remove some garbage components like the POSIX1 support, and (3) use DriverPacks base program to slipstream all the drivers to reach some kind of "universal" CD. I do not know if what I suggest is clever or not, and concerning (2) I am still wondering what components can safely be discarded, but I hope you will continue to help me. I have searched the web for a list of such components, but wasn't good enough to find one. I am still searching though.

Thanks for your help.

Cheers !

Ps : If all the above steps are a success, I could maybe write a tutorial in French.

[tommyp]

I have a dumb question for you. Did you install the hfslip generated image to verify that the language is english? Or are you just going by the hfslip generated folder names? The hfslip generated foldernames have no bearing on what language you are running.

[whiskyfizz]

Hi !

Indeed, I burned the .ISO and started the installation procedure. I encountered 2 minor problems. The first one concerned a file whose name I forgot (sorry) and it was solved be deselecting "DriverPack MassStorage text mode" in DriverPacks Base. The second one had to do with the REBOOT.EXE which was missing and had to be copied into the final I386 folder before installation. Here is the thread about this problem :

http://www.msfn.org/board/fdv-set-9-filese...ed-t138977.html

At some point, I was asked to provide a password for the administrator, and then I saw that my keyboard was in English, not in French. It thus confirmed what nLite was saying. After the final SOURCESS folder has been made, I scanned it with nLite which indicated English as the language. On the other hand, when I scanned the original SOURCE folder (still with nLite), French was the language. That's the reason why I think the change of language occurred thanks to the FDV fileset. I thought that the WINNT.SIF file was the culprit, so I removed it from the fileset, but nothing changed unfortunately.

Cheers !

[whiskyfizz]

Hi !

Well, I have tested every combination between FDV's fileset, nLite, and DrivePacksBase, and it is definitely the first one which makes the language change. So if it is possible, I would like to contribute by doing what needs to be done in order to have a French version of FDV's fileset. In the meantime, I have taken out as much as possible of IE, meaning there is only the core left. However, as I said in my very first post, I would like to kiss it a permanent goodbye.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers !

[fdv]

That's the reason why I think the change of language occurred thanks to the FDV fileset.

Correct

I use the FDV's fileset. You are saying they contain some English, but if the base system (the I386 folder) is French, then even with FDV's fileset and although it is said to have become English, the system should remain in French. Am I right ?

No, the fileset has to be translated to the new language

Also, is there another way of killing IE while keeping the current system's language than by using FDV's fileset ?

Yes, it yields less satisfactory results but try with txtsetup, layout, sysoc, and syssetup and see, but see note below on keyboard. nLite works okay but it's up to the user to decide what is right for them. IMO my fileset reduces more than nLite, esp. the registry. And in win2k, the size of the registry matters (it doesn't matter so much in xp and 2003 because the entire thing is not loaded at once in those OS's)

(3) use DriverPacks base program to slipstream all the drivers to reach some kind of "universal" CD.

unfortunately win2k has no drivers for the ahci 7, 8, 9 unless you use (i forget who's) files. To best slipstream, I would suggest manual within txtsetup for the most common controllers such as intel.

I have searched the web for a list of such components, but wasn't good enough to find one. I am still searching though.

Look in sysoc and the list of infs.always in syssetup and you will see the components. There are not many win2k resources since my tutorial was all there was for a long time. At the time, many people did not understand the fundamental problem of IE's security flaws. For many, many years, people insisted that having IE but not using it was safe. Heck, there are STILL people who think this who have obviously never read a complete Microsoft security bulletin and who do not understand zones. By the time XP came around, people had started to believe and started to read more, and suddenly cared about eliminating bloat since 2000 was so streamlined. So, bottom line, my list is -the- list.

Ps : If all the above steps are a success, I could maybe write a tutorial in French.

I think that would be GREAT, a lot of people would welcome it

I would like to contribute by doing what needs to be done in order to have a French version of FDV's fileset.

You will have to mainly open the french equivalent files and make sure that the strings contain french not english, and make sure to edit txtsetup and layout so that the correct keyboard is selected and not 409 (409 is EN). That is actually a lot more work than you might think. There are a LOT of places to change 409 to your own keyboard.

Edited November 19, 2009 by fdv