I have included the batch file which starts WPI in my WINNT.SIF at the [GuiRunOnce]. Now, the weird thing is this: the mshta.exe process is running but the HTA isn't showing up. If I go to the wpi folder, where wpi.hta resides using Windows Explorer, the file has no association (the icon of the file is the "unknown" type of icon). Actually, if you double click the wpi.hta file, the OPEN WITH dialog shows up.

Now, how do I get my Windows XP to open the HTA file without any user intervention? (maybe like a REG patch or something?)

I exported everything related to ".reg" (did a search) from my current installation -which is able to open HTA files- using REGEDIT, and I merged them all in the New installation and it still couldn't OPEN the HTA file, although it now recognized the HTA file as "HTML Application". So now I'm stuck with an installation of Windows XP PRO SP2 (some windows update patches slipstreamed) which knows what the ".hta" extension stands for, but it's unable to open it, unless I, the user, browse to "%WINDIR%\system32" in the OPEN WITH dialog, and select the "mshta.exe" as the program to open the file with.

That's not an unattended installation, for sure...

New XP installation specs:

Windows XP Professional slipstreamed with SP2, SVCPACKed with the folowing:

[SetupData]
CatalogSubDir="\i386\SVCPACK"

[ProductCatalogsToInstall]
KB911565.CAT
KB911564.CAT
KB873339.CAT
KB885250.CAT
KB885626.CAT
KB885835.CAT
KB885836.CAT
KB886185.CAT
KB888113.CAT
KB888302.CAT
KB890046.CAT
KB890859.CAT
KB891781.CAT
KB893756.CAT
KB894391.CAT
KB896358.CAT
KB896422.CAT
KB896423.CAT
KB896424.CAT
KB896428.CAT
KB899587.CAT
KB899589.CAT
KB899591.CAT
KB900725.CAT
KB901017.CAT
KB901214.CAT
KB902400.CAT
KB904706.CAT
KB905414.CAT
KB905749.CAT
KB905915.CAT
KB908519.CAT
KB910437.CAT
KB911927.CAT
KB912919.CAT
KB913446.CAT

Has anyone experienced this before?

well i built mine on dvd and mhta started but the screen was all white it kept on reading the dvd.. and i have like 35 softwares to be installed through wpi... is teher any restrictions on how many softwares can be done.. coz it was not even able to load up and froze my pc..

There's no limit to the software entries in WPi, as far as i know (maybe 999999? ). Did you get a chance to look at the config examples that ship with the 4.3.8 version? They have way more than 35.

Did you ever try starting the WPI from hard drive? Just double click the WPI.HTA file, skip the CMD script. If it loads up, and there's more than just a blank screen, this must mean that the DVD your burned is not being read properly by your DVD drive.

Oh, and you might want to try your WPI from the DVD ISO before you actually burn it. Take the ISO and load it up in an emulator like Nero ImageDrive, or Daemon tools, or Alcohol 120% or any other CD/DVD emulator software out there.