Orus Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 Hi everybody!I'm currently creating my prsonal Xpcd lite and I'd like to customize it to the extent it won't install the windows' default shell (a.k.a. explorer) at all. I'd rather replace it with Aston shell...Is there any way of doing that?TNX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-I- Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 IT cann be done, but there are quite a few things to keep in mind when you do, some parts of windows depend on it... the custom shell can be done at (For examble unatended.txt or even as late as, [guirunonce] in your winnt.sif file)... that wont be a problem at al...What i do not know, is wich step to take to remove explorer.exe and any other filep(s) that me become unusefull after removing explorer.exe....---il stay around too, cause i'd like to know myself too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orus Posted February 25, 2005 Author Share Posted February 25, 2005 Yep! I would like to test it! The problem is that I have no idea on how to prevent explorer from installing...Any idea on where I could start from? B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dahi Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 nLite should be able to remove most of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orus Posted February 25, 2005 Author Share Posted February 25, 2005 nLite should be able to remove most of it<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Really? I must have missed it...BTW, the second issue I'd like to have support with is: what about Aston shell silent install? couldn't find it among the lists posted. I'd install it via [GuiRunOnce]..hopefully it's an installshield pack. I'll check this out as soon as i get home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bucketbuster Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 Have you tried making a .msi using WinInstall 2003?http://www.ondemandsoftware.com/freele.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bucketbuster Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 Have you tried making a .msi using WinInstall 2003?http://www.ondemandsoftware.com/freele.asp<{POST_SNAPBACK}>I tried it myself and it did work.Well, there are to small things I haven't figured out (yet):1. How to make Aston the default shell (unattended)2. Some icons are messed up (missing), which afterwards can be easily fixedAlso I am having troubles opening control panel.I get a errormessage about batmeter.dll being needed.So I guess that means that Aston needs the Battery-drivers, which I removed with nLite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KMFM$ Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 I am a member over at Astonshell.com and think that this may help you if you (that is if you wish to set it up manually). http://www.astonshell.com/forum/viewtopic....unattended+msfnHope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeveL Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 (edited) Have you tried making a .msi using WinInstall 2003?http://www.ondemandsoftware.com/freele.aspAston is "Setup.exe" which is 62Kb and "Setup.r" (the RAR archiveof files) and I cant make any sense of WinInstall 2003. Don't youhave to begin with an MSI installer to start with?! Aston Shell is notan MSI installer, its a tiny setup.exe which attaches to a main archive.Its a setup with the full screen blue background etc, no silent switchesexist for it.I can just get the files from the archive and dump them in but then,NONE of the reg settings would be in place then! a big no no! BUT - isn't there a way to take a totally clean system, or just a snapshot of the registry, then start an app to monitor what onesingle program changes (Aston Shell) and spits out the changesmade by that program? Am I dreaming here or did I see such aprogram, somewhere.... Edited April 27, 2006 by LeveL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZileXa Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 many tasks need Explorer.exe, even systray icons I think.I think you are doing things in the wrong order, first, check if everything works fine (including Aston) if Windows doesn't startup explorer.exe at startup, you can do this by Start>Run type msconfig and disable explorer.exe.restart pc.Only if everything runs fine you can start thinking about removing explorer.exe,but why remove it actually? why not just disable? seems a lot better for stability issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bucketbuster Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 This is what I did:1.Open setup.r with WinRAR.Make a sfx from the setup.r and add your favourite wallpapers....2.Rename setup.exe -> Aston.exeAston.exe-> Use this comment (or change it to suite your configuration):;The comment below contains SFX script commandsPath=C:\AstonSavePathSetup=C:\Aston\Aston.cmdSilent=2Overwrite=1Title=ASTON 1.91 silent installation...3.Add Aston settings (in my case from Documents and Settings folder):Astonconfig.exe-> Use this comment (or change it to suite you):;The comment below contains SFX script commandsPath=C:\Documents and Settings\"USERNAME"\Application Data\AstonSavePathSilent=2Overwrite=14. Apply Aston registry settings which you recorded with RegShot....Aston.cmd -> regedit /s C:\Aston\Aston.reg5.Add this tou your main_batch.cmd:(This installs Aston, BUT doesn't make it the default Shell!!)ECHO.ECHO Applying ASTONSHELL 1.91 + Configurationstart /wait %systemdrive%\Install\Stuff\Aston.exestart /wait %systemdrive%\Install\Stuff\Astonconfig.exe6.Before your computer is restarted, after unattended installation, make WINDOWS merge shell.reg to your registry. (To make Aston the default Shell):shell.reg ->Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00;Aston as default Shell[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]"Shell"="C:\\Aston\\aston.exe ,svchost.exe"7. Make SURE that the paths correspond to YOUR configuration!!!!!!!!!!I hope this helps..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyp Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 FWIW, I tried removing explorer.exe from 2k and all my context menus were gone when using a different file manager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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