1 Reply by mr-roboto

(4 replies, posted in Software)

markstrelecki wrote:

F8 at boot time should bring up a Windows boot menu.

You can select Disable Automatic restart after failure or something like that.

Tell us the Stop error code for some better idea of the crash.

(I'm going on memory here - but that's my story and I'm stckin' to it.)



MARK STRELECKI
Atlanta, GA.

Mark:  You're correct about disabling auto restart, but in the end, that wasn't important.  The problem was lack of time and some bizarre software quirk.  The PC's controller was in fact supported by the DriverPacks (the Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver.)  I was able to track down the exact motherboard model (Intel DP35DP) and a .ZIP of the XP driver files.  I'm reasonably certain the version of the DriverPacks I used fully supports the controller, but will explicitly confirm this belief in the coming days.

My final solution was inelegant, but effective.  I gradually dialed back the controller from RAID mode, thru SATA/AHCI mode, back to legacy IDE mode.  I can only conclude that RAID mode almost worked as an odd quirk, while the intermediate SATA modes only worked in the initial phase of XP text mode setup.  XP text mode setup wouldn't format/partition the drive under the SATA modes, therefore another dead end.  Vista SP2 would partition and format (under the SATA modes), but didn't accept the target as valid for installation.  Go figure ?!?

Anyway, thanx for reading....:--  MR  --:

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2 Reply by mr-roboto

(4 replies, posted in Software)

mr_smartepants wrote:

What DriverPacks are being used in the disc and is dpms textmode enabled?
DPs_BASE.log please along with the HWIDs of the system?

Now you're getting in over my head and I'm pressed for time, too.  The DriverPacks is from the Jun-2010 time frame.  Don't know how to obtain the DPs_BASE.log, or the HWIDs either.  When I return to work this evening, I'll simply have to implement my final solution: break the RAID array.  If you have the chance to reply to this, I'll look for it once I get back to work and glean the info before blowing it all up.

Thanx....:--  MR  --:

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3 Topic by mr-roboto

(4 replies, posted in Software)

This is a strange problem, *not* directly related to DriverPacks, the 1st occurrence in a over thousand XP installs.  My very special XP install disc recognizes the RAID mode of an Intel DP35DP-based system.  In fact, my BartPE/WinPE disc recognizes the board's controller as well, so I *thought* this would be a simple job, that is to reinstall Windows XP.  Not true.  XP setup zips through the text mode setup *and* the GUI mode setup, then prior to launching XP itself, a BSOD flashes on the screen for one sec and the system immediately reboots.  XP displays the 'Safe Mode' menu, times out, BSODs, then loops thru this sequence again and again.

The BSOD is gone so fast, I can't see the stop code.  I have my suspicions, but no facts.  Is there anything I can do to make this work ?  Perhaps, someone else has encountered this problem and worked out a fix ?

Anyway, thanx for taking the time to read this....:-  MR  -:

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4 Reply by mr-roboto

(10 replies, posted in Software)

OverFlow wrote:

I am pretty sure our Guide / tutorial says quite clearly

"NEVER EVER use nLite to add drivers"

Silly boy!

Glad you fixed it

PS two things to do here:
Create your own 3rd party DriverPack
Submit your missing driver to us so we can include it!

Make that three, check to see if we have a 3rd party DriverPack that already includes your missing driver.

On advise of counsel, I withdraw my previous statement and plead the Fifth !  big_smile  However, I do RTFM and what it actually says is:

Do not use nLite to integrate uncompressed DriverPacks as they are not going to be correctly processed during windows setup.

I read that as don't explode DriverPacks archives, but maybe it should read as you've stated above.  I will look into how important that driver really is/was and if there's a ready-made DriverPacks solution.

IAC, thanx for the great software and tech support !....Jet

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5 Reply by mr-roboto

(10 replies, posted in Software)

SOLVED !  It turns out that clearing the INFCACHE didn't do anything, safe mode was no help, BUT preventing nLite from inserting drivers did the trick !  Was able to hot-swap keyboards/mouses, as well as switch them between starts and they're recognized as generic HID devices.

Fortunately for me, I didn't have to abandon nLite, bec it's very effective as a single tool.  Thanx for the feedback, guys....Jet

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6 Reply by mr-roboto

(10 replies, posted in Software)

OverFlow wrote:

does the keyboard work for BIOS setup or f8 / safemode?
IE if the MB does not recognize it first then it is not a windows issue, It's a hardware / BIOS issue  big_smile.

One trip thru safemode may be all that is neccessary (rather than a reload). Assuming the MB sees it.

I agree with mr_s that nLite may be the culprit... if it is not a hardware issue.

Don't recall trying Safe Mode.  Well worth the effort, as opposed to another reload.  But, yes the keyboard does work outside of Windows, in the BIOS, using WinPE, or Linux.

I removed the one driver I added to the image using nLite, maybe that was screwing up driver ops.  Thanx....Jet

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7 Reply by mr-roboto

(10 replies, posted in Software)

mr_smartepants wrote:

Did you remove any drivers with nlite?  I had a similar issue where there would be a LONG delay (30+ sec) when connecting USB mouse.  But I can't remember what I changed to fix it. 
I don't use nlite anymore, so maybe that will fix your issue.  I use RVMi removal addons to strip things out now and have my own winnt.sif for unattended options.
Your problem isn't with the USB ports or drivers because your USB ports were obviously working when you set up the systems and before the customers pick up their systems. 
I think the problem is with the device manager (or registry) and how XP handles new device detection.
Here's a link to a M$ document on devcon and how to manipulate it from the command line: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311272
Hope this helps.

No, I didn't remove ANY drivers w/ nLite, but did add a driver, which wasn't part of DriverPacks.  Removed that driver, just to be safe.  In fact, I just went back and reviewed all of my settings, which were fairly conservative, like removing all but the English and Western European keyboards.  Don't have time to learn something new like RVM, but will consider it for the future.

Will keep fingers crossed.  Thanx....Jet

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8 Topic by mr-roboto

(10 replies, posted in Software)

This isn't a DP problem, but since it involves device drivers, I hope someone knowledgeable around these parts can help.  Have custom XP OEM disc, which is part DP text-mode mass storage drivers and some nLite tweaks (nothing radical.)  All has been working quite well for a long time, except in the last two weeks, certain Dells (not sure if only Dells, but...) once returned to the customer, immediately come back to my shop bec when the owners install their own USB keyboard+mouse and XP hangs @ the 'Found New Hardware' dialog.  Naturally, I'd setup the PCs w/ a USB keyboard, so the problem is that XP sees a different USB keyboard and fails.  Of course, the USB mouse hasn't been detected yet, so the only thing possible is to power the PC off.  Now, one example of this behavior (a USB-only Optiplex) is sitting in my cabinet at work, looking for a wipe and redo, simply bec it no longer recognizes my USB keyboard+mouse !  Obviously, there is some subtle defect on my latest disc, since I've changed USB keyboards/mouses while Windows is running and heretofore XP hasn't skipped a beat.  (Oh yeah, can't use an earlier revision of the XP disc, either.)

Been GOOGLEing for an answer with little success.  Most answers involve the suggestion of a 'clean install', which is impossible bec these ARE clean installs.  (Sadly, too many so-called techs never modify anything, so they respond to everything w/ the obvious answer:  reformat and start all over again !)  Another suggestion is to delete the INFCACHE and let Windows rebuild it, which I intend to try when I return to work on Monday.

In case this is unsuccessful, I'm hopeful someone here has something else I can try, like a mod to my XP disc or something I can look at, maybe some additional registry settings (haven't played w/ anything device-related in the past.)

TIA....Jet

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9 Topic by mr-roboto

(6 replies, posted in Other)

Folks:

For the record, I've been using the DP for some time w/ much success.  All of my XP discs use the text-mode Mass Storage drivers, so that I've been able to downgrade many Vista PCs to XP, as well as bootstrap many native XP PCs w/ newer SATA controllers.  Many thanx for the fine work !  (Oh yeah, I work for a nationally-known company here in the US.)

However, Vista/7 support is still unclear.  I've downloaded WinIntegrator and vLite, but they're both much more involved than I have time to devote to them, for the moment.  All I need at this time, is the ability to use the DP's 3rd-party mass-storage drivers to bootstrap Vista/7 onto PCs w/ bleeding-edge controllers from a generic Vista/7 DVD.

A recent case involved a Vista-based, Acer desktop w/ a nVidia SATA controller that didn't support IDE mode from the BIOS.  Bec of incompatibilities, I didn't (and still don't) have time to get up to speed w/ vLite or WinIntegrator, to learn how to make custom Vista/7 discs.  I only became aware of the new (to me) Vista/7 DriverPacks, when I went searching for solutions on the aforementioned Acer case last week.

The first of my questions is:  Is it possible to simply explode the 7-Zip DP mass storage archives into a folder on my Vista/7 discs, so that I can point the Vista/7 installer to that folder, at bootstrap time ?

2nd question:  Perhaps I've just overlooked it, but is DPS_BASE ever going to crack the Windows 7 "barrier" ?  It would be nice to be able to make a stand-alone DP disc, to load missing drivers en-masse under Vista/7.  I surmise, besides using WinIntegrator or vLite, one expands the DP archives and lets Vista/7 search for missing drivers, one-at-a-time.

Anyway, thanx again for the fantastic work....

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