New IE Removal Fileset

[Oleg_II]

FDV

I'm happy to report that the problem with IEXPLORE.EXE is solved (tried twice What I did:

1. I commented two lines in SYSOC.INF (dts and com).

2. I commented IEXPLORE.EXE in TXTSETUP.SIF (there are two instances should be commented).

During installation it didn't poped up again. And it is in right folder in %ProgramFiles%.

Interesting thing that my problem with "There is no program for HTML" is also solved with the last HFSLIP version. But it is probably still in one of my programs. I left only one program installing for testing - it's installed from CMD (installs all my programs), its DLL is registered from INF (all my registry tweaks) that are running during unattended and that way I know both files are working.

As I'm not installing many programs for testing I can't say for sure if removing COM and DTC somehow appeared but there is no sign of problems yet. Have to try it on a real computer and install printer, scanner and try internet.

PS Some files from COM and DTC INFs seem to be needed for the system because without them I get BSOD during installation.

Edited October 26, 2005 by Oleg_II

[saugatak]

FDV

I'm happy to report that the problem with IEXPLORE.EXE is solved (tried twice What I did:

1. I commented two lines in SYSOC.INF (dts and com).

2. I commented IEXPLORE.EXE in TXTSETUP.SIF (there are two instances should be commented).

During installation it didn't poped up again. And it is in right folder in %ProgramFiles%.

Commenting DTS and COM shouldn't have any effect on IEXPLORE.EXE.

You just commented out IEXPLORE.EXE in TXTSETUP.SIF? Did you do corresponding changes in LAYOUT? Sounds like there was a conflict between two sets of IEXPLORE.EXE instructions.

@FDV, maybe a comment on the separate IEXPLORE.EXE options in relevant files will be helpful as notes. Just a suggestion.

As I'm not installing many programs for testing I can't say for sure if removing COM and DTC somehow appeared but there is no sign of problems yet. Have to try it on a real computer and install printer, scanner and try internet.

PS Some files from COM and DTC INFs seem to be needed for the system because without them I get BSOD during installation.

Oleg, not following you here. You commented out COM and DTC and you BSOD'd? But you also say you installed IEXPLORE.EXE in the %ProgramFiles%, so it sounds like you did not BSOD.

Please clarify.

I'm interested because the first time I removed COM & DTC, I also BSOD'd but then I redid the VM and it installed no problem. I think COM might be the problem because I've removed DTC in all previous builds and had no issues.

Edited October 26, 2005 by saugatak

[Oleg_II]

saugatak

No, everything is going very well (5 installations in a row The 6th is on the way

I just list the changes I made, who knows what was calling that file.

As for LAYOUT.INF. If you have the file in TXTSETUP.SIF uncommented it doesn't metter if it is in LAYOUT.INF or not (IMHO).

I got BSOD (I suspect) because I tried to delete some files

Edited October 26, 2005 by Oleg_II

[fdv]

hey gents, as i suspected, the IEXPLORE copy problem had two possible solutions:

1. remove the copy file from IE.INF

2. comment out IEXPLORE.EXE in TXTSETUP (and LAYOUT too).

as Oleg_II has tested, option2 works fine. i'll file that away for when i get home and update the fileset.

COM and DTC -- the OS should install without any BSODs without them. I am finding generally that there are very few apps that need these (apparently, not even MS Office?) anyway, my ADD-COM BAT file can add COM and DTC later if a user wants them. i guess i'll leave them out by default next time.

fdv, who is still in washington...

[dirtwarrior]

Ive been experimenting. The first 1 I used yor app along with nlite and got a comitt around 30. Second I used nliter only to remove items my comitt was around 49.

Could anyone tell me why?

[Oleg_II]

dirtwarrior

You mean you used HFSLIP or FDV's set of files?

And the purpose of nLiting? All potentially dangerous things are already removed with FDV's set, you wanted a smaller source? Not so fast Have some patience, FDV already removed a few things in beta version and it's going to be some more in release, and...

[saugatak]

dirtwarrior

If you're going to nLite, you have to watch your dependencies. Like you, I've tried to remove stuff with nLite after FDV fileset, but I was real careful what I removed. If you nLite things that FDV fileset already removed, you've got a great chance of BSODing, as I learned through trial and error.

I'd just use nLite to remove languages and drivers mainly. Also, in case you didn't know, you can go into the SOURCESS folder and remove manually a lot of the extra languages (except Western Europe) and also remove the WIN9XUPG, WIN9XMIG, WINNTUPG and COMPDATA folders without having to use nLite.

You have to be careful what you remove too. For example, I use nLite remove all scanner/printer drivers because you can always download the driver off the internet, and I include copies of all my scanner/printer drivers in the source CD.

But I don't remove monitors because a lot of monitors use the built-in Windows drivers, and I want to be able to use my FDV/nLited CD on any computer, not just my own. Or if I have to take my computer somewhere else (like say to a repair shop) and they use a monitor that requires Windows drivers, they won't even be able to boot up because the monitor drivers are missing.

If you hit the nLite forums, there are tons of threads on apps that won't install or work right because too much or the wrong stuff was removed. That's the beauty and danger on nLite. If you know what the programs you use require, and you know what to safely remove, you can have a perfectly tailored OS. But if you don't know, you'll get BSOD'd or programs won't work.

I also think nLite is geared towards Windows XP, which has about 2 GB of useless crap that absolutely MUST be removed to make it workable. Consequently nLite has removal options for WinXP that don't make sense for Win2k. It's pretty confuzzling to use nLite without a lot of trial and error. Win2k is a much cleaner OS, and FDV's fileset take out just about everything

Anyway, keep up the experiments and let us know what you're removing and which programs are working or not. The information is extremely helpful in letting us and particularly FDV make judgment calls as to which services can be safely removed.

[the_guy]

Good job FDV.

Just curious though, how hard would it be to do this in Windows XP/2K3? Is it the exact same steps or is it a lot harder?

the_guy

[Oleg_II]

Sorry for interfering I also thought of it. No! I'm not going to change my W2k, just for those who don't have it

I saw some modified files similar to FDV's DLLs in Unattended Forum. And according to the feedback they are working. So there is only one small thing is left - who's gonna make those INFs

Maybe start from something simple like removing Wordpad (is there any in WinXP?

[dirtwarrior]

I agree, I was trying to go to fast. My knowledge of the internal working of an OS is limited and sometimes I get ahead of myself. This usually results in a BSOD or icons not showing up on the desktop or some other weird effect. I have seen some really strange ones when I mix and match files from different OS.

What I really want is a slim(really slim) windows 2k, using a comitt of around 20 mb or so.

When booting up is there a way to rid of the "networking componants" thing that pops up? This is annoying and takes about 5 seconds or so.

When using your fileset along with ntldr and ntdetect from I reduced my comitt to around 30 mb. On xp I can add a 3GB switch on the boot.ini and this reduces comitt 6 mb but has no effect on 2k. Any hints on modding the boot.ini?

I hope I dont bore you guys with my discoveries even though to you all they might be old discoveries.

Oh I downloaded "The Whiners" version but it makes no mention of it on the website except here it is.

[x-pert]

I tested FDV's test-set + HFSLIP_51027 (commented out COM and DTC)

First boot after installation I got some errors

1) Load library (“\C:\WINNT\System32\txfaux.dllHKCR”) failed;

2) Load library (“\C:\WINNT\System32\es.dllHKCR”) failed;

3) Cannot find the file “C:\WINNT\System32\wbem, msiprov.dll”;

4) Cannot find the file “C:\WINNT\System32\apppatch, slayerui.dll”

[saugatak]

xpert

as long as you can boot and run your programs, I wouldn't worry about the error messages.

remember, FDV's fileset removes certain files. The error messages are just saying, yeah those files are missing all right.

[fdv]

dirtwarrior - your commit is lower with my files because nLite does not remove as much, and does not gut the registry.

the_guy - xp and 2k3 would involve a LOT more registry cleaning. i'd love a look at the file lists for things to remove, but the one task that NO ONE has so far taken on is cleaning out the garbage registry entries. i haven't had time, but it's something i know very well how to do by now. that would be good for a few megs. i mean, just look at my IE.INF file... many of those registry branches hold a LOT of info, and with them gone, win2k has a MUCH smaller registry. can you post the URL here for that thread in the unattended forum for removing components from xp/2k3? it would be useful to many here i am sure.

x-pert - actually those files do need to be on your system (sorry saugatak ). looks like the IE.INF file is somewhere not doing what it needs to. open my IE.INF (well, IE.IN_ to be specific) and search for

"RunOnce Commands"

this is the section that is apparently not running. in order to help me troubleshoot, first let me know if these files are, in fact, on your system. we'll go from there. you are the only one getting this message so far.

[x-pert]

FDV - msiprov.dll is missing on my system.

Edited October 29, 2005 by x-pert

[Oleg_II]

fdv

I've just noticed tha IE icon is gone from desktop using beta fileset.

And I have "Network and Dial-up Connections" menu item in C:\Profiles\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories\Communications - no problem with me just curious is it by default.

And one more thing I'm not sure about. I tried CABTOOL from here and it doesn't work. The autor says it uses Windows APIs. Not working on IE-free system.

But anyway I recommend this tool to everyone who like experimenting with Windows I moved back to the previous CMD version and even think it's better for our purposes because it uses MODIFYPE (new version is smoler but doesn't use it).