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Qchain.exe - Greenmachine's Method


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Hello Everybody,

First of all congratulations on a top website, my query regards the use of "QCHAIN.EXE" -- I've read the following notes via other forum threads.......

"Windows XP was supposed to have QCHAIN functionality built into the hotfixes, but it turns out that some of the earlier patches do, in fact, still need it. The exact date is somewhere on MS's site.

For info: Hotfixes create a list of system files to replace on the next boot. This list is created in the order the hotfixes are run. If run out of order, an older file version may overwrite a newer one. QCHAIN sorts the list of files to be replaced, putting the files in a oldest to newest order to prevent this problem."

OK, so I've being following "Green-Machines" method of installing, there is no problem with my scripts & all the hotfixes install ok as im using the cmdlines.txt to call the install.cmd which installs the hotfixes & applications, I've stored the Post SP1 fixes in a folder called "Hotfixes" inside the $oem$ , so my path in the installs.cmd would be as follows ".\Hotfixes\QXXXXXX.exe /switches" , to get to the point , i just want to confirm at the end of the script would i need to add the line

".\hotfixes\qchain.exe" ?

----would this work as far as copying the file (qchain.exe) to the Hard drive & qchain doing what it is meant to do ?

Regards & thank in advanced.

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Hi Greenmachine,

Thank for replying- by the way top article on auto deploying XP (I've being following your threads throughout the forums) -- so your saying that the way I've scripted the qchain.exe file in the installs.cmd file as in "./hotfixes/qchain.exe" will work as far as being copied to the hard drive & doing what its meant to do ?

thank again, atari_man.

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QCHAIN.EXE should be in <CDDRIVE>:\$OEM$\HotFixes\ to work in your example. It is not actually copied to the hard drive: It is run from the CD, and it rearranges the order in the registry key that determines which hotfix files will copied/updated on the next reboot (oldest to newest).

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In less than a month the xp security rollup will come out and the issue will be mute anyway. I've run the msba on unattended installs and it said all files were fine. Windows update also looks at file versions, if i somehow had the wrong version of a file installed, windows update would want me to redl the update.

-gosh

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gosh: Windows update looks only at history. It does not scan file versions and such. If you delete the history from your computer (not IE history, but hotfix histories) then your computer will think that none are on there. You SHOULD use qchain.exe, but as you said it will soon be a worthless utility.

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You SHOULD use qchain.exe, but as you said it will soon be a worthless utility.

Why worthless? Not that i'd use qchain, but what makes you think there will be no more single hotfixes between the security rollup and SP2?

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You SHOULD use qchain.exe, but as you said it will soon be a worthless utility.

Why worthless? Not that i'd use qchain, but what makes you think there will be no more single hotfixes between the security rollup and SP2?

The hotfixes compiled before Dec 2002 have a qchain problem, but now that we're getting the SRP very soon, that problem is eliminated, thus no need to use qchain.exe anymore.

Unless MS make another tits-up of it. :)

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QCHAIN's function is to go through the list of files in the registry that are supposed to be updated at next boot (usually SET??.TMP to FILE.DLL or something). It analyzes the version numbers of the files, and if the same file is to be updated twice, it insures that the final update is the latest version. QCHAIN will become worthless, because QCHAIN functionality is built-in to the Windows XP Hotfix Updater - well almost. It is the "almost" that makes it a keeper. There are probably very few hotfixes that would need it, but one is enough for me. More than once, I have spaced out and forgotten it, and did not notice any particular problem. It is harmless, whenever you run it, so for that reason I say to use it. Another reason I suggest to others to use it, is that it will eliminate one more unknown in the debugging, and if I am going to be helping searching for a problem, I think it most effective and efficient to take all known precautionary measures. (Not to mention how stupid I would look if that was, in fact, the problem on an installation I either did myself, or helped with.) I guess it is kind of a CYA thing. I will continue to use it until at least SP2, or later if I forget to remove it... Security Rollup may not need it, but there are still other hotfixes that I use that are not integrated into SR1.

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