hi guys.. thanks for the posts and updates and glad to see that this thread is helping others as well. Sorry for not updating on my side as i've been on a road trip since my last reply.

@saturnX: So when you first boot up to Windows, you still get Messenger and all other things installed even though you chose to remove them with the [components] method?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

@Marthax: Yeah when the installation ran it still prompted me for info and yeah all the messenger and all the other things installed.

Set OemPreinstall to Yes

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@Gee: Do you think that is the cause of the problem? i have yet to set up VM on this box so have not tested it out yet. Will do so and post my result later or tomorrow.

I was reading the reference page and it said to have 'OemPreinstall= No' if i am not using any distribution. Can some one clarify this for me?

http://unattended.msfn.org/global/reference.htm

Another thing, under components what is Deskpaper?

Another thing, under components what is Deskpaper?

Specifies whether to install a desktop background on the computer desktop.

yeah all the messenger and all the other things installed.

I had a hunch what the problem might be and im testing it now, ill post again shortly with my results

/edit, **** didnt work. Had a feeling that the [Components] list was case sensitive. but alas, it still did not work.

Edited September 29, 200520 yr by Andeh

@Andeh: lol no worries dude.. it was a good attempt. was a little distracted with this other project so forgot to post my results. will do it tomorrow i guess.

Edit: Guys how come when i mount the iso file to the cd-rom and run i keep getting an error saying that i don't have a hard disk using the vm software? What gives?

Edited September 29, 200520 yr by saturnX

Another thing, under components what is Deskpaper?

Specifies whether to install a desktop background on the computer desktop.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have mine set to off and I still get the Bliss (Default) wall paper when my XP starts for the first time, I have tried registry tweaks and still no go.

But all the other items in my Components section work.

This is from the ref.chm

Syntax deskpaper = On | Off

Values On

Installs a desktop background on the computer desktop.

Off

Does not install a desktop background on the computer desktop.

Default Value On

Example Deskpaper = On

Registry Subkey HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\OC Manager\Subcomponents\deskpaper

Comments If deskpaper = Off, only the standard Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 family background bitmaps are not installed. Background files for the Active Desktop® interface are not affected and are still installed.

Thanks for looking that up. Didn't occur to me that I needed to add additional registry entries.

ummm guys... my unattended cd still doesn't work.. tested it on vmware and still not working. tried gee's tip too and still same thing. Can some one post a working sample winnt.sif file so i can compare it to mine to see what i did wrong. Correct me if i'm wrong but the file is suppose to sit in the i386 folder right?

ummm guys... my unattended cd still doesn't work.. tested it on vmware and still not working. tried gee's tip too and still same thing. Can some one post a working sample winnt.sif file so i can compare it to mine to see what i did wrong. Correct me if i'm wrong but the file is suppose to sit in the i386 folder right?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thats correct inside i386, however there is many examples of the winnt.sif just need to do a basic search, you don't need anything flash just the basics & ensure you are showing all your file extensions in explorer it can be a problem.

Good Luck

thanks maverick but if you were to look back at the first few posts of this thread my unattended cd didn't work. we kinda went off topic when i asked what diskpaper was.

I just looked at your Winnt.sif file again and it seems okay to me, except for the point I made earlier.

You mentioned that you already have it in the \i386\winnt.sif, so that is not the problem.

The only thing I can think of is the extension is incorrect because Windows hides extensions for know file types, but since you attached it with a .txt, I assume, you know what you are doing.

Can you outline briefly the steps you took to make your CD.

Here is my Winnt.sif

;SetupMgrTag

[Data]    AutomaticUpdates=1

    AutoPartition=0

    MsDosInitiated="0"

    UnattendedInstall="Yes"

[unattended]

    UnattendMode=FullUnattended

    OemSkipEula=Yes

    OemPreinstall=Yes

    UnattendSwitch="No"

    Repartition=No

    Hibernation=No

    OemPnPDriversPath="Drivers\002_graphics;Drivers\004_sound;Drivers\"

    DriverSigningPolicy=Ignore

    AutoActivate=Yes

    TargetPath=\WINDOWS

 

[GuiUnattended]

    AdminPassword="3rse3rse"

    EncryptedAdminPassword=NO

    OEMSkipRegional=1

    TimeZone=4

    OemSkipWelcome=1

 

[userData]

    ProductKey=*****-*****-*****-*****-*****

    FullName="Home-Beta-2004"

    OrgName="Beta-Home-2004"

    ComputerName=Home-Beta-2004

 

[Display]

    BitsPerPel=32

    Xresolution=1024

    YResolution=768

    Vrefresh=60

 

[identification]

    JoinWorkgroup=MSHOME

 

[Networking]

    InstallDefaultComponents=No

 

[NetAdapters]

    Adapter1=params.Adapter1

 

[params.Adapter1]

    INFID=*

 

[NetClients]

    MS_MSClient=params.MS_MSClient

 

[NetProtocols]

    MS_TCPIP=params.MS_TCPIP

 

[params.MS_TCPIP]

    DNS=Yes

    UseDomainNameDevolution=No

    EnableLMHosts=No

    AdapterSections=params.MS_TCPIP.Adapter1

 

[params.MS_TCPIP.Adapter1]

    SpecificTo=Adapter1

    DHCP=Yes

    WINS=No

    NetBIOSOptions=2

 

[systemRestore]

    CheckpointCalendarFrequency = 2

    CheckpointSessionFrequency = 12

    MaximumDataStorePercentOfDisk=4

 

[Components]

    AutoUpdate=On

    Calc=On

    Deskpaper=On

    Dialer=Off

    Dtcnetwork=Off

    Fax=Off

    Fp_extensions=Off

    Fp_vdir_deploy=Off

    Freecell=Off

    Hearts=Off

    Iis_ftp=Off

    Iis_htmla=Off

    Iis_doc=Off

    Iis_inetmgr=Off

    Iis_internetdataconnector=Off

    Iis_nntp=Off

    Iis_pwmgr=Off

    Iis_serversideincludes=Off

    Iis_smtp=Off

    Iis_smtp_docs=Off

    Iis_webadmin=Off

    Iis_webdav=Off

    Iis_www=Off

    Iis_www_vdir_printers=Off

    Iis_www_vdir_scripts=Off

    Iis_www_vdir_terminalservices=Off

    Indexsrv_system=Off

    Inetprint=Off

    Licenseserver=Off

    Media_clips=On

    Media_utopia=On

    Minesweeper=On

    Mousepoint=On

    msmsgs=Off

    Msnexplr=Off

    Mswordpad=On

    Paint=On

    Pinball=Off

    Rec=On

    Rootautoupdate=On

    Rstorage=On

    Solitaire=On

    Spider=On

    Templates=On

    zonegames=Off

   

[shell]

    CustomDefaultThemeFile=%Systemdrive%\WINDOWS\Resources\Themes\MCBlue.theme

I just looked at your Winnt.sif file again and it seems okay to me, except for the point I made earlier.

You mentioned that you already have it in the \i386\winnt.sif, so that is not the problem.

The only thing I can think of is the extension is incorrect because Windows hides extensions for know file types, but since you attached it with a .txt, I assume, you know what you are doing.

Can you outline briefly the steps you took to make your CD.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

@Gee: Yeah i intentionally renamed it to .txt so you guys could open it easily without having to drag it to notepad to view it.

To make the cd i followed the examples listed here:

http://unattended.msfn.org/global/finish.htm

i used the cdimage gui to create an iso file to test on vm, then also tried both guides to create the cd. I even used the iso file to create the cd. There isn't any other way of creating the cd is there?

ummm anyone? how come suddenly this thread went dead. lolz