Windows 2003 and HFCLEANUP

[tain]

@Kramy: Please post your stuff for others to use.

Edited May 17, 2006 by TAiN

[fdv]

Well, for those who don't like Windows XP's icons (grab them all here) here is the full Windows NT4 shell set, and here is a smaller icon library file of just the basics (my comp, net neighborhood, trash, printers, folders).

[Kramy]

Here's the script, including Bug's icons. I think the download for his went down a while ago?

http://rapidshare.de/files/20715143/XP_She..._Script.7z.html http://rapidshare.de/files/20715143/XP_Shell_Icon_Script.7z?killcode=365969010]

Feel free to make any improvements you want to it. As far as I'm concerned I'm done with that script, and am instead working on other stuff.

fdv: I like XP's icons, but Vista's are sorta...blah.

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A while back I started working on hacking XP icons into my win2k system files. I got fairly far, hacking about 20 files totally, but then I heard that Dels was working on eX2kerience.

For now my project is on hold. He asked me to be one of the first betatesters of eX2kerience, so that's awesome. After first beta though I plan to continue hacking files with 8bit icons until everything is complete, and then offer that to people that don't like XP's windowing and would usually remove the pretty stuff anyway.

If anyone wants the hacked files done so far as of a week ago, they can PM me. I won't be working on it again until at least the end of the month, so most of you could get a nice looking install before I update it.

Oh, and like I mentioned, it's USP versions of the files that are hacked with XP icons. You'd have to slipstream USP with HFSLIP and shove everything in the FIX folder, so again PM if you really want them.

[Squeeto]

Does the USP5.x update interfere with the FDV fileset? Don't Tomcat76 files do the same?

With USP slipstreamed do we need any of the files in the HF folder? I suppose we must keep wmfdist.exe.

Funny that the original purpose of HFSLIP was that HF folder.

X2K beta out soon.

TommyP, saw your post on Kramy's link. Will X2K need to be incorporated into HFSLIP or will the FIX folder do for all?

Edited May 19, 2006 by Squeeto

[fdv]

Does the USP5.x update interfere with the FDV fileset? Don't Tomcat76 files do the same?

No, you can use both. The USP and my fileset are compatable. By Tomcat76's files, do you mean TommyP's reducers? The reducers come pretty close by themselves, yes. Use both for best results.

With USP slipstreamed do we need any of the files in the HF folder?

Well, look at it this way. "It depends." Why do I say that? Because GM can't update the USP every patch cycle on the day the patches are released. With HFSLIP, you can have an OS that is up to date the same day as MS releases their hotfixes. You have to examine what hotfixes the USP has, whether you want DirectX updated, whether you want IE to be the latest version. Never mind media player codecs, etc that GM says he cannot integrate due to legal reasons. But as an HFSLIP user, you can, because the whole point of HFSLIP is to roll your own. As usual I will add that we respect GM's work as a fellow Windows tweaker, but you have to weigh USP versus HFSLIP according to what you want and which is better for you:

http://www.vorck.com/hfslip-info.html#compare

[Squeeto]

By Tomcat76's files, do you mean TommyP's reducers?

Meant like Windows2000-KBxxx.

OS that is up to date the same day as MS releases their hotfixes

I am happy with the way it works here. I always keep a record of the hotfixes I am using each time I burn a new disk. Easy to add a few for the next time (as they show up). Just thought that the icon hacks were a cool idea and wasn't sure if they only work for GM's SP.

Is it a bad idea to HFSLIP hotfixes as they arrive... I mean- if I have a fairly up-to-date FDV W2K install CD and a new HF shows up and I have 50 cents and a couple of hours to kill just re-slip the one fix into HF? Or, after awhile, the defunct (old, superceded) HFs will start to bloat my system? Or, do the new files completely replace the old?

Names don't change to protect the innocent.

[fdv]

Ahhh, gotcha. Well, I just use the pinned lists. They will always tell you what replaces what, just read the entire list and look for "replaces" and you're set.

Only once have I been so overloaded in my HF folder that I deleted everything and just started over with one of the lists, but then again that's understandable as I was the second-ever user of HFSLIP so comparatively, that's a long time in the land of Windows Hotfixes. IMO it's pretty easy to keep on top of. I keep my HFSLIP directory clean by examining the HF lists every patch day. I re-install every, oh, 6 months or so, sometimes less. I here there is a rocket scientist here who installs every week <LOL>

I'm gonna try and find the "reinstallation" poll and bump it for old times' sake if I can find it...

[Squeeto]

Ahhh, gotcha

It's ok, I get that a lot. Let me rephrase...

read the entire list and look for "replaces" and you're set.

So, when it is time for you to reinstall, you go back to the oem sp4 and repeat the fix, tweaks and add-on files, expert files etc in the many directories of HFSLIP? Is it a bad idea to take the I386 folder from my last FDV disk and just HFSLIP the one latest "replaces" fix? Will this catch up to me after a dozen of these? I can't go and delete them (as you did from the HF folder) after they have been hfslipped.

Edit- Sorry, just realized that I went full-on off topic.

Edited May 20, 2006 by Squeeto

[fdv]

Though the topic has strayed, this should be answered for others. The steps below are not so much aimed at you as others who might stumble on this question.

When I reinstall, or in fact most of us, we simply:

1. visit a pinned hotfix list by the_guy or tomcat

2. get the newest hotfixes into HF... their lists will tell you what replaced what

3. redownload the latest version of HFSLIP

4. read its changelog

5. run HFSLIP, it will delete your old SOURCESS directory and re-create it, and make you a new ISO if you have MKISOFS.EXE (or whatever).

As for your question, Squeeto, you should not re-use the I386 folder from an older build. You could do it and not see any problems, but we don't support that -- in other words, yeah, it might work for a long time, but if one day you get an oddball error because you should have started from a fresh source, it will be that much harder for us in the forum to track down what's going on with an old I386 source folder. Without thinking too much about it, I am going to guess that using an old I386 from previous HFSLIPs will probably get you into trouble because HFSLIP parses files and looks for certain strings to be in place. I don't think the program "expects" to see it's own files, it needs original source.

[saugatak]

Wanted to bump this poll because I just got a demo copy of Win2k3 Server and want to try it out as a workstation OS, more than happy to beta test reducers and FDV fileset with the programs I run.

[fdv]

I want to add that as soon as I unpack the compy enough to set up the external hard drive I saved it on, I have a new reduction set of files to upload. Just in time for that beta of SP2 for 2003 I've been reading so much about lately.

[tain]

*bump* (third bump?)

I was just wondering about the status of this.

[fdv]

Haha! I forgot all about this...

I updated these files a while back but never updated this thread with new info.

Sorry about that!

There is the FDV fileset which is only for Windows 2000 and which I encourage people to modify according to their needs. Then, there are the TommyP-created reducers, the HFCLEANUP files (view this link which you've seen before).

For Windows 2003, use these files. Download the HFCLEANUP ZIP and use all of them you wish in your HFCLEANUP folder. Also be sure to use SETUPAPI.DL_ and SAKIT.IN_ in the FIX folder. The SAKIT file just cleans junk out of the Registry, but since XP and 2003 have Registries that work very differently from 2000, the performance boost isn't huge. Open up SAKIT and look at it to see what it does for more info.

Anyway, that's it in a nutshell. A big thanks to TommyP for creating the reducers. Be sure to read the HFCLEANUP instructions linked above.

[tain]

Thanks FDV

What would you say the status of the 2003 reducer set is? I'm sure it is stable, because you guys are just cool like that. But do they effectively turn 2k3 into a workstation, as the poll indicates people want? Or is there still a healthy "to do" list that is being worked on?

I really need to go buy 2003 so that I can install/test this stuff for myself. Just as soon as I get the $400 safely set aside for a personal copy...

[fdv]

It's stable and final. We're all done with this sucker.

To truly convert, you need something like the 2003 to xp conversion program here.