lurk&jerk Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Is there anyway to automate the following things during a Windows 8 clean install, either in the Autounattend.xml, a batch or registry file.1) Preset drive letters for the various storage drives so that USB Mass Storage Devices aren't assigned randomly.2) Eliminate unwanted/Unneeded scheduled Windows Tasks such as stopping WinSAT.exe from running and/or disabling the Windows Customer Experience Improvement checking program.3) Eliminating the Windows 8 lock screen without drilling down through the Windows Group Policy Editor4) Enable legacy F8 boot to safe mode option in Windows without running a batch file under an elevated command prompt.I know most of these things were implemented/changed for security reasons but when running a PC in admin mode, they are a huge annoyance to fix/change. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaclaz Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 4) Enable legacy F8 boot to safe mode option in Windows without running a batch file under an elevated command prompt.Your reference to "Local Group Policy Editor" seems like unrelated. Legacy boot should be a setting in \boot\BCD, the reference is here, look for "bootmenupolicy [ Legacy | Standard ]":http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/windows/hardware/ff542202.aspxSince the BCD is a Registry hive, it should be possible by comparing a "Standard" BCD against the same BCD once set to "Legacy" to implement the change via "registry file", though it has to be seen when it needs to be applied. jaclaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurk&jerk Posted March 17, 2014 Author Share Posted March 17, 2014 (edited) Can't apply the legacy setting through the registry but I'm testing a utility that executes an elevated command prompt. Looks interesting and works for applying the legacy boot menu through a batch file. Can't solve some of the other issues though Edited March 17, 2014 by lurk&jerk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurk&jerk Posted March 27, 2014 Author Share Posted March 27, 2014 3 down, 1 no go. From the top:1. @HALIKKUS http://forums.mydigitallife.info/threads/46105-Windows-8-1-Registry-Tweaks/page7Can only re-store drives on the same PC; not a new one but helpful nonetheless for clean-reinstalls.2. Can only do this manually as you apparently can't overwrite system tasks in Task Scheduler 3. Disable the lock screen by registry script (I forgot this was possible) [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Personalization] "NoLockScreen"=dword:00000001 4. Download elevate.exe and use it in a batch file using this command to restore legacy boot menu.@echo offelevate -c -w BCDEDIT /set {bootmgr} displaybootmenu yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaclaz Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Can't apply the legacy setting through the registry but I'm testing a utility that executes an elevated command prompt. Looks interesting and works for applying the legacy boot menu through a batch file. Can't solve some of the other issues though Well, actually we can elevate to a much higher level as System or even as TrustedInstaller :http://reboot.pro/topic/17501-runassystem-and-runfromtoken/http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/155910-taking-back-the-registry-from-trustedinstaller/jaclaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurk&jerk Posted March 27, 2014 Author Share Posted March 27, 2014 @The Finder. Nice finds (no pun intended). Except RunasSystem and Runastoken are listed as a File Size: 3.05MB download. Whereas elevate is a 11kb download and the actual file size is 5kb. But I'm sure RunAsSystem is way more flexible and powerful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaclaz Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 (edited) @The Finder. Nice finds (no pun intended). Except RunasSystem and Runastoken are listed as a File Size: 3.05MB download. Whereas elevate is a 11kb download and the actual file size is 5kb. But I'm sure RunAsSystem is way more flexible and powerful.Sure, but - to be picky - the "elevate.exe" does not actually "elevate", it is a form of "Run As" (Administrator with UAC), and - to all practical effects - can be replaced by a few lines of script (thus saving much of the 5 Kb)Something *like*:http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2007.06.utilityspotlight.aspxhttp://blogs.technet.com/b/elevationpowertoys/archive/2010/06/20/creating-a-self-elevating-script.aspxhttp://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-1855254/batch-file-elevates.htmlhttp://www.cammckenzie.com/blog/index.php/2013/01/16/elevate-uac-admin-rights-for-a-batch-file/Or, something that I would advise to anyone actually fiddling on Windows machines with command line and batches, get Nircmd:http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/nircmd.htmlNIRCMD.exe elevate command In other words, whilst the elevate.exe is a nice thingy to have not the stupid right click->Run As Administrator, it doesn't provide "extra" powers, while being System (or TrustedInstaller) does provide them.jaclaz Edited March 28, 2014 by jaclaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurk&jerk Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 Good points. I had forgot that nircmd had an elevate function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaclaz Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 (edited) Yep and, before I forget, a few words of warning, remember that Voltaire (long before Peter Parker's uncle Ben ) said:With great power comes great responsibilityand - to be fair - the concept is also in Luke 12:48http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+12%3A48&version=KJVKids, don't play with System or TrustedInstaller at home! jaclaz Edited March 29, 2014 by jaclaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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