Refined Silent .NET Maker (ReSNM) Development Thread

[ultra_code]

(I will update this original post with updates and other things over time when necessary)

GitHub page: https://github.com/TheUltraCode/ReSNM

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Brief Introduction

I already did a pretty-thorough write-up on the GitHub page, so I'll spare a lot of details here.

After my work on HFSLIP 1.8, I was curious if I could improve SNMsynth too, so I started work back in February of this year (2026). The final result is ReSNM.

ReSNM is a Windows batch script meant to create customized .NET 1.1, 2.0 SP2, 3.0 SP2, and 3.5 SP1 installers targeting all 32-bit NT5 OSes (Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003). It can process all updates and language packs meant for each version (including Service Pack 1 for .NET 1.1), and output self-extracting installers as well as T-13 and RunOnceEx add-ons meant for use in nLite and RVM Integrator.

The first iteration of the script called SNM was authored by @Tomcat76, and supported up-to .NET 2.0/3.0 SP1 and 3.5, ending development in 2008. When Tomcat76 stopped development, @strel picked-up the torch, renaming the project to SNMsynth and adding support for .NET 2.0/3.0 SP2 and 3.5 SP1, continuing development until 2010. Finally, @Zilver (with the help of @gora) released a minor update to SNMsynth in 2013, but development never picked-up in earnest after strel.

 

Biggest Changes Compared to SNMsynth

Here's a quick run-down of the biggest changes made in ReSNM:

• Massive refactoring while improving/fixing existing logic.
• Standardized processing as much as possible between different .NET versions.
• Removed dependency on Oleg Scherbakov's third-party "7zSD.sfx" file, instead now uses official 7-zip one. While features like a hidden console are lost, we benefit from all of the advancements made by 7-zip in the past 15-years, as well as avoiding anti-virus false flags.
• Rewrote part of the created "INSTALL.cmd" script to support 4 flags/parameters and be more dynamic. The exact number of parameters supported is arbitrary and can be easily changed.
• Added requirement of text files that list the order in which updates are applied. This was one of the first changes I made to SNMsynth.
• Added requirement of "\HFXS" and "\MSTS" directories. Keeping things orderly.
• Mandate latest Service Packs for each .NET version. This allowed me to shrink the codebase.

 

Considerations and Credits

There are still questions I have regarding some of the code inside ReSNM, so if you are interested in helping me check out the TODO's I left inside the script. I also have left plenty of comments scattered all around the code to help you understand it better.

Thanks to Tomcat76 for creating the original script, and strel, @YumeYao, and all those who contributed to this project prior.

 

Older Download Links

If you are curious about looking at the older versions of SNM, here are links to where you can find them:

• SNM (original by Tomcat76)
• SNMsynth (updated fork by strel)
• SNMsynth (2013) (update by Zilver & gora)

Edited 9 hours ago by ultra_code