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desktop.inis throughout installation and a few ?'s


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Hey guys :)

I'll go out on a limb and say hello first off...I'm new here. Nice to meet you all. I've been wanting to create an unattended installation Windows CD for myself for quite some time now, and finally got the courage to do it. As much as all of the information here and on the site seems a bit overwhelming at first, I think I've managed to get a good hang on it so far. I've already made several (8) test cd images and used Daemon tools to run them on my version of MS Virtual PC. After much testing, and pulling of hair, I've come to you guys for some help. Hopefully those more experienced than I am wouldn't mind helping me out a little bit!

Before I get into the problems I've been having, I just wanted you guys to know that I have searched the forums before I have posted to the best of my ability. Please accept my apologies if this is something you have answered already!

In any case, now to a bit about my installation. I am creating an installation for my friend and for myself. I am currently only testing one CD right now and then I can modify it to suit the other user. I have both a CD and DVD burner so I can burn varying amounts of information for my windows cd's. I currently wish to run things only from the CD, and don't wish to copy over much (if anything...I have survived so far without copying anything!) over from the CD for ease-of-use sake.

With that said, here are my files (attached) as well as a brief explanation of each problem I have been having. Some of my opinions may be based on the fact that I don't know enough about windows itself (though I'd like to think I'm not so bad at understanding it) so any input any of you could contribute, it really would be greately appreciated

I have not included my useraccounts.cmd as well as my autologon.reg as they have my administrator password in them, but I can assure you, they do not seem to be the problem for any of these issues.

I am installing a copy of Windows XP Pro and am using a copy of the latest nLite 0.99.6b and have slipstreamed (or am doing it at the same time anyway) a copy of RyanVM's service pack files into my .ISO file for ease of use and updating. I have not used nLite prior to this, but I did not make any experimental changes or anything with Caution written underneath it. This is also the first time I have used batch files, so please do bear with me...I am attempting to make sense of the mountanous amount of information that this category amounts to.

Problems I am Having

1.) On my latest install, desktop .ini's seem to appear all over the place. I'm not sure what could be causing them to appear, but I have hidden files turned off (though super hidden files are turned on because I woudl like to see my Program Files folder/WINDOWS folder, etc...perhaps this is why?) by default. I don't know why all of a sudden these files seem to be in everything (I can take screenshots if need be) but they are quite annoying and I don't know what I am doing to create them. Am I missing something? (maybe something to do with nlite?)

2.) My biggest question: Is there ANY way to silently install applications in custom installation folders? For instance, I usually like to customize the installation folder of the program with the version number and build number...this is not always the case if not done automatically. Is this possible any way?

Questions I Have: (Some of these will have to do with my cleanup.cmd file)

- Is there a way to make the administrator password in useraccounts.cmd and autologon.reg encrypted? If so how is it done?

- Is there a way to automatically install a desktop theme from the CD? I have been able to copy the theme files over from the cd, but this is as far as I"ve gotten.

- Is there a way to automatically apply a background from the CD? Again, I have been able to copy the background files over from the cd, but that is as far as I have gotten

- I am trying to copy over my Start Menu Links and bookmarks (yes I am that picky) from a folder on the CD. I have tried in vain to think of every way to delete the existing start menu links (though not necessarily the folder "Start Menu Links" and "Favorites" in each documents and settings account [both my own and All Users] but for some reason it just is not working. Copying seems to work fine though...is there a way to copy these files over to those directories without existing links being there? I have my own way to structure my favorites and start menu links and don't need the existing ones upon install to be there. I thought I had deleted them correctly (through cleanup.cmd) but they are still there upon first reboot. Any ideas?

- I have a .ins file to apply my own custom settings for Microsoft Internet Explorer...the problem is I am trying to run this .ins file from the cd. Is there any way to do this so I may also have customized Internet Explorer settings? (I certantly spent enough time customizing them through the MS IE Administrators Utility!)

- Virtual PC is giving me a 169 IP...I am connecting wirelessly through a network bridge, any ideas if this has anything to do with that?

Registry Tweak Questions

I've spent a LOT of time looking around the internet for some registry tweaks...and haven't found ones for some certain things. If anyone has any of these, would they mind sharing?

I need registry tweaks to:

- add my computer, my documents and IE to the desktop by default

- I like my taskbar on the top of the screen and I haven't found a tweak to do this yet

- I like my icons arranged by type, and aligned to grid (I already found the one to display all icons)

- I have no standard buttons bar or address bar in windows explorer by default. I would like to enable them some how

- I would like numlock to be on by default. I have this as a vbscript, but not as a .reg entry. Any ideas?

- Is there a way to turn off indexing service for your hard drives (NOT for searching files...I already have that)

Registry Tweak Problems

- The registry tweak I have to disable the Internet Explorer throbber does not seem to work. The explorer throbber is gone however, which is nice

- The registry tweak to clear the last logged in user doesn't seem to apply to me. Maybe it has something to do with autologon.reg logging me in automatically after installation?

Any help any of you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you :)

- Mark

Attached Files

winnt.sif

cleanup.cmd (right click and save as!)

cmdlines.txt

RegTweaks.reg (safe to view in browser)

RunOnceEx.cmd (right click and save as!)

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Ok, Here is my contribution:

2.) My biggest question: Is there ANY way to silently install applications in custom installation folders? For instance, I usually like to customize the installation folder of the program with the version number and build number...this is not always the case if not done automatically. Is this possible any way?
You'll have to check in the Application switches forum. There is no standard way of doing what you are asking for because most installer differ one from another. Read, read, and use the search function
- Is there a way to make the administrator password in useraccounts.cmd and autologon.reg encrypted? If so how is it done?

You can use Quick Batch File Compiler to convert your .cmd to .exe. This way nobody can read or decompile your files.

- Is there a way to automatically install a desktop theme from the CD? I have been able to copy the theme files over from the cd, but this is as far as I"ve gotten.

- Is there a way to automatically apply a background from the CD? Again, I have been able to copy the background files over from the cd, but that is as far as I have gotten

One way of doing it is to go into Display Property where you can ajust the Wallpaper, Screensaver, etc.

Return to the Theme tab and select Save as...

Next, put this custom .theme file in $OEM$\$$\Resources\Themes

Also, add your background image in $OEM$\$$\Web\Wallpaper

Next you'll add this to your Winnt.sif

[Shell]
CustomDefaultThemeFile="%WinDir%\Resources\Themes\xxx.theme"

- add my computer, my documents and IE to the desktop by default

Here is a part:

;Display My Computer / Network Favorite / My Documents on the desktop
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel]
"{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
"{450D8FBA-AD25-11D0-98A8-0800361B1103}"=dword:00000000
"{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000

BTW, your thread is way too long. you won't get all the answers this way since most of the member will give up reading...

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Thanks Hulk for your insights. I appreciate it very much.

I realize the thread is a bit long, but I figured one post would aggarvate the community as little as possible. I did try to organize it too. But thats ok, I've administrated boards for years, I understand how long threads.

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2.) My biggest question: Is there ANY way to silently install applications in custom installation folders? For instance, I usually like to customize the installation folder of the program with the version number and build number...this is not always the case if not done automatically. Is this possible any way?

Unless the application has a command line switch to specify the installation folder, you'll probably have to repackage them. Use WinInstall LE to take a snapshot of a clean WinXP installation, install your app manually to the folder you want, then use WinInstall to make an MSI file that you can use to silently install the app to your custom folder.

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  • 3 weeks later...

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?...kb;en-us;330132

Fix the Desktop.ini issue: Run this from XPlode, cmdlines, or whatever:

attrib -h -s desktop.ini /s

Followed by:

attrib +h +s desktop.ini /s

Doing that will fix the issue. I don't know what exactly causes it, probably one of the tweaks out there like Marshall's Visualiation Tweaks with superhidden or hidden seeting, I dont know - but whatever. This fixes it. Hope it helps.

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