nLite - Windows reduction tool

[MCT]

maybe someone should make a GUIDE, with pictures for ppl 2 follow, seems we are telling someone this atleast once a day lol

[CBC]

As mentioned before, the "flow" of the tabs could be re-arranged so the last one is "make an iso", after you reduce the install folder.

Gotta say again...this thing totally rocks! After the install, I ran AutopatcherXP,

to get just the critical updates, and the silent install app for vid codecs Id found in another forum here, & this thing is running great!! I wish I had another puter to try out slimmer & slimmer installs to see what the bare minimum I could get away with. Right now though, it seems that everything I want to have is here, and what I didn't need is out.

Yeah, I know...I'm gushing a bit here, but this thing beats the pants off of XPLite!

kudos ti nuhi!!!!!!!!!

[DarkPhoenix]

Hi. I'm all new here. I have a problem with the nLite program, it stops progressing at a certain point every time I run it.. I've attached a screenshot in order for you to see.

Here's the log, as long as the log got, anyway...

--- nLite log start ---

30.05.2004 16:25:42 | selected folder: "H:\XP-SS\SS-ROOT-NEUTRAL"

30.05.2004 16:25:42 | size of selected folder is 491mb

30.05.2004 16:28:07 | Processing Selected items (Building file list)

# Language Support

c_708.nls

c_864.nls

c_10004.nls

c_28596.nls

kbda1.dll

kbda2.dll

kbda3.dll

kbdusa.dll

kbdfa.dll

kbdurdu.dll

kbddiv1.dll

kbddiv2.dll

kbdsyr1.dll

kbdsyr2.dll

andlso.ttf

artrbdo.ttf

artro.ttf

simpbdo.ttf

simpfxo.ttf

simpo.ttf

tradbdo.ttf

trado.ttf

estre.ttf

85f1256.fon

85s1256.fon

coue1256.fon

couf1256.fon

sere1256.fon

serf1256.fon

smae1256.fon

smaf1256.fon

ssee1256.fon

ssef1256.fon

Do you know what's wrong, nuhi?

[Solid as a rock]

@SolidasRock, don't click on Make ISO in Options, just Next until Next turns to Start.

the problem is i can 1000000000 times click on next next next, it will never changes to start.....

edit: ahhh i see, there is a bug. when choosing select ALL the next will not change in start.

[Lecter]

I´ve got the same bug...

Building file list... and it hangs!

I´ve got WindowsXP Home German SP1a, may it be the wrong language ?

[HeiDiDo]

I dont think its a language Problem. I use german Xp Corporate and there is no Problem using nLite

[Lecter]

Language is OK...but what´s the problem with my XP? May it the hardware (nForce2 400), my tv-card or lexmark-printer?

[Rudi1]

Hi guys!

I think is time to stop asking the same folly guestion all the time:how can I run.......

in the first page,Nuhi have in detail

explain everything and now only think a litle

[nuhi]

@MCT, yes...maybe new version will help a little...moved start tab to the end.

@CBC, that's like a song to me

@DarkPhoenix, hmm...don't know...but have you tried not selecting Language Support options...you will not lose much but it may work until it's fixed.

@SolidasRock, thanx for pointing that

@Lecter,

Well i don't think it's hanging because of the hardware...it can have something to do with a file system...too little space, some ntfs attributes. Do you have at least 500mb in the partition on which you have your installation ?

Try selecting only one component at random, so that i know is it a global or local problem.

[LeoKesler]

Some apps i have testes in vmware enviroment:

Ok

Symantec NAV Corporate 8.1.1.319

ACDSee Classic

Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.01

Opera 7.50

Alcohol 1.92.1705

ICQ 4.0

Avant Browser

MSOffice 2003 Brazil

About NAV

In Event Log:

Could not scan 245 files inside C:\WINDOWS\Driver Cache\i386\driver.cab due to extraction errors encountered by the Decomposer Engines

But I able to decompress driver.cab correctly...

System Restore work, but the shell for select the restore point or create restore point dont work.

[DarkPhoenix]

@DarkPhoenix, hmm...don't know...but have you tried not selecting Language Support options...you will not lose much but it may work until it's fixed.

Yeah, tried that, it's no good. I'm a programmer myself, and seeing the source code would help me a great deal, however, as a programmer, I know you most likely don't wanna give that away, so I'm not gonna ask for it, but I just wanna know, what happens in the stage where "Please wait..." is the status?

[ZuluDC]

Hmmm..seems nlite has found the way to the masses

So from time to time the same questions are coming back like a boomerang. This is just a small description of nlite like i use it to build an iso (...you all can make what you want *smile*)

nlite - a short description of the use

• Install .NET Framework 1.1
  
• Install nlite
  
• Put an XP CD (Home/Pro/Coporate) into your CD-ROM
  
• Make somewhere on your harddisk a folder (with enough place on it) called "XPlite" or something else
  
• Copy the full content from the XP-CD in the CD-ROM into the folder (the one you have made under listpoint 4)
  
• Start nlite
  
• Click "Browse" and show nlite the path to the folder with the XP content on the harddisk (the on you have made...look listpoint 4). Nlite needs now some time to initialisize it.
  
• Click "Next"
  
• You see now Components whitch can be removed by selection. If you don't know what's behind a Selection only check what is declared as "RECOMMENDED" under the 'Item description'. Have also a look under "Language Support". Don't select your language support. On the right side on the top you can see and choose premade choices like "nlite", "Recommended",...etc.
  Nlite is an experimental and powerfull tool, but be sure to have always clear for the eyes that NOT ALL IS RECOMMENDED to remove. Write in fat letters into your brain what you've selected what isn't recommended before you post in the MSFN Forum. How better you know what you have made, so easyer it is for nuhi to realisize problems or bugs in nlite. Nlite creates a file called "selected.ini" into the nlite-folder under C:\programs (or where you have it). There you can see what you have selected if the brain fails :-).
  
• After you have made your choice what to remove click on "Next"
  
• I've never made some changes unter "Options" because i think the preselection works fine and nuhi knows good enough what rules. It can be that you get a heartattack if you see the preselection of the SystemFileProtection (SFC), but more advanced users want to remove SFC. For a total newbie it is not the real deal, but does a complet newbie play around with nlite....?
  
• Click now "Next"
  
• You are now under Custom file list". Öehmmmm....what to say about it without making someone angry *smile*. I have never played around that, but because of this description i have think i should do it once. My feel say to me it is to remove or keep some files like declared (or can it integrate SP2?...hmm..don't now, but don't care me ) It does not bring the result that i want. So use it or not...play around with it if you think "Options" is something for you, but don't ask me about it. I am only master in a very special technic of bore in the nose; about nlite: i don't know much.
  <edit> It's is recommend to read the startpage of this thread. If i had done it before i had known that a higher SP-Version could be integrated...*take my head and put it in cold water...on and on* </edit>
  
• Click "Next"
  
• Click "Start"
  
• Nlite does now the job it was made for. It builds all the modded infs or whatever to kick the fat blast out of XP. Yes, that needs some time and best is to go to the kitchen to make a coffee or snap a bottle of Coca-Cola.
  
• If the process is finished you can click on "Make ISO" and nlite ask you where to store it (if you want another name then call it like you what).
  
• Click "Save"
  
• Nlite creates now the bootable ISO that can be burned with NERO, CDR-Win or the burntools of your choice. This progres needs also some time and when it is finished you can read "Making ISO....done. All done"
  
• Your nlited now
  
• The most important point in the list: Pay nuhi a beer (but only one! Nuhi must be able to go with working at nlite) if you see him in the pub
  

No guarantee that all works like written or show you the way to the sky.

Best information over nlite can be found here on MSFN:

• The author's explanations
• Latest development informations
  

Be warned! Nlite can change your life, but surely it does change the size of your ISO or the installation.

[cb3dsl]

jut some fyi for those finding that nlite is hanging

ive found that it extracts a large amount of data to the xp-cd folder and if your drive is not big enough to hold all of it it will not show any error.. it just stops

i had the xp-cd folder on a 1 gig drive with the oem setup also in there (bout 680 megs with the oem and a standard sp1-slipped i386 folder)

i was trying to figure out why it kept hanging and finally i looked at the drive space and saw it was at 0 bytes free space

it took me a few times before i realized it was filling it up

when i moved the xp cd to a 3 gig drive everything worked fine

edit:

@nuhi oh and i also think ive figured out why its hanging when you have the i386 folder in the root af a drive

i would assume the remove folder checking function checks for any folder perallel to the i386 folder and being the System Volume Information folder is also in the root its gets denied when it looks at that folder and it errors out becaues it cant access it

and im still getting those file missing errors in the copying process of the textmode setup

is this normal or should i try making an iso within nlite?

im using nero 6.3 to create an image of the lightened i386 folder instead of making an iso from nlite mainly because nero is quick to make an image with and i can include the boot file pretty easily

it looks like most of the files that are missing are from the drivers section... ie:

modem.sys

tosdvd.sys

fsvga.sys

usbcamd.sys

usbcamd2.sys

etc..

theres also a few fax files that it keeps looking for

i have most (but not all) of the drivers section checked and ive turned off faxing, system restore, folder indexing, and the entire language section

just wondering if maybe i can edit something to make it not look for these files?

i tried editing the DRVINDEX.INF file and even the DOSNET.INF file and its still looking for those files

i tried editing the layout.inf file and windows setup errored out saying the signature is missing on a setup file (it didnt say which one but the layout.inf file was the only one i edited in that test run)... im at a loss for how to fix this

anyone have any ideas?

[Nemesis300]

I tried not removing Alanoll's Suspected: Files and Settings Wizard and Indexing Service along with MS Agent and I still get those windowsupdates coming up as missing.

Does anyone else have the Internet Explorer and Outlook Express shortcuts missing when they test their nLite image? (See my screenshot in my previous post.) Of coarse I'm only asking those that don't remove IE or OE. I'd really like to know if the shortcut problem is unique to me or happens with everyone.

[AztecMystic]

For those who want a howto/step by step guide, and version history included. I made a little package .

edit: removed until links actually work hehe