ajbritton

How regular do you mean. I could probably manage something on RIS/Deployment/Packaging but it would not be on a daily basis.

Where does your SP2 CD come from? Did you create it yourself? If so, using whose instructions. I have also had a similar problem very infrequently at maybe two sites. The problem went away after a little while and I put it down to network congestion. Try uploading a bog standard XP CD and building a client from it.

If you do go with the Rawlbolts, make sure you thoroughly clean the holes first. I forgot once and completely clogged the threads with brick dust. I was able to remove the bolt, just, but it took ages to clean it up again! Maybe you could get the supplier to put you in touch with an installer. They might be able to give you some free advice.

I have been advised that Rawlbolts can destroy brick from the inside due to the forces they can exert. Having said that, I'm using them to build a deck onto the back of my house! So far, no cracking noises!! Have a look through the the screwfix site/catalog. There's all kinds of stuff there. I think what you might really need is a simple combination of Rawlplugs and screw. Largish ones though, depending on how many fixing points you have.

@mark - Why on earth is that? Is your DHCP scope applying DNS suffixes? You should not need that under 2K/XP as the domain suffixe is configured automatically when the domain membership changes. I only ever hand out IP lease, gateway and DNS servers nowadays. Even DNS can be overridden by GP, but I suppose you need an initial setting so PC can connect to DC.

Ah, the XP connection limit...?

For VNC to work on XP SP2, you need to open TCP port 5900. This can easily be done using Group Policy to affect all required computers.

Last chance to reconsider ... http://www.divisiontwo.com/articles/MacMini2.html

NO! Always copy profiles as follows; On the computer where the profile was created, - Right click My Computer, properties - Select Advanced Tab - Click User Profile Settings - Select profile to copy - Click Copy To - Enter (or browse to) target folder (e.g. \\server\profiles\userx) - Change 'Permitted to use' as appropriate; for Default User profiles, select Everyone (location does not matter) for Mandatory profiles, select Everyone (location does not matter) for specific user, select the user (correct location is crucial) - Click OK to copy the profile

You need to give Authenticated Users List/Read permission to the full path to the MSI. Not sure about the share permissions. I usually set these to 'Everyone:Full Control'. Alternatively, you could try giving 'Domain Computers' List/Read permission to the full path. I've not tried this but it should work.

@Russ: I use Virtual PC for repackaging. I've done 200 plus packages on it without any problem. You never have to rebuild the template PC, you just set it to drop all the changes every time you shut it down. I assume you can do the same thing with VMWare.

Look in event logs to see what Windows Installer says it is doing. Sounds like either component guid clash or missing key path. Where did the MSI come from? If you repackaged it yourself, it is likely that you left some stuff in the package which should not be there.

Not roaming, just redirected. When you redirect a folder with GP, then next time an affected user logs on, the contents of their folder is moved to the redirected location (\\server\user\%username%\applicationdata). Their registry is modified (HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders\AppData) to point to the network location. Any application which keeps data in the application data folder is supposed to ask Windows where the folder is (instead of just going to %USERPROFILE%\Application Data). The application therefore should be unaware of the change. Does this make any sense??!?

Whereabouts is the cache directory? If it is in the root of the profile, then you would need to create your own mechanism of up/downloading from the network at logoff/logon. If it's under Application Data, then redirecting this folder to the network should take care of it.

Have you configured your IE policy settings in 'preference' mode or 'policy' mode? If you are using preference mode, then the settings will not override the user settings. This may be of use.

Just read the PC Pro article - Right on Kingswood.

Shhh.... Can you hear the anti-RP crowd giggling!! Sorry Mark! Have you tried cleaning out the local profile copies from one of the PCs to see if that helps (I've started using DELPROF in a startup script to completely wipe all profile information off PCs on boot-up). Check the event logs on the PCs. Also, look at the USERENV logs (%systemroot%\debug\usermode\userenv.log). Are you using the GPO settings to relax XPs checking of roaming profile ownership?

FLAME REMOVED Ric

Need more information about what Lanview does. Does it install services etc. AFAIK FileMon and RegMon will not help you run an application with Admin priv. There is an MS utility called EPAL (elevated permission application launcher) which might be of use. Have you talked to the supplier about how to deploy on the LAN? It would make sense for a LAN application to have a simple method of deployment. Also, make sure you are not trying to repackage what is already an MSI. Some MSI's come hidden inside self extracting .EXE files. Run the .EXE and look in %TEMP%.

Wise Package Training Complete ! The course was quite good (I would give it 7/10). It definitely helps to have some idea about Windows Installer and Application Packaging before you go judging by the questions of some of the attendees who were complete novices. You get a good run through the Wise Package Studio with particular emphasis on the important bits (setup capture, conflict resolution, isolation etc.). It would have been nice to have an extra day to repackage an application of choice in a sort of workshop scenario but this is only included in the advanced cours. In summary, I would reccomend this course to anyone who has a basic knowledge of Windows Installer/Repackaging who is migrating with Wise Package Studio.

I'm sure that's true. I propose, then, that we start a WiKi or something similar that lists the functions of the various management systems and possible open source/3rd party alternatives. A bit like the 'essential software' list, but broken down into the various areas (security, user management, reporting etc.). Users of the systems can post complaints or advice or alternatives. Anyone else think this is worth doing?

@ChrisH: Lightweight ;-)

Not sure I fully believe that for PCs without RAID/SAN (in fact, the more I look at it, I'm sure they are just talking about RAID/SAN). If that IS so, then how come it takes a lot lot longer to defrag a disk with large files than with small files? Also, why does the disk appear to 'thrash'. I know it's off-topic, but I would be interested to know if anyone else has information about this. I use Virtual PC for testing/repackaging and do a full defrag every night to keep the virtual disk files contiguous. Am I wasting my machines time (or at least wearing out the HDD)?

A good point. I suppose one answer would be to fully implement FITS. This would give a completely managed/documented system with change control processes and all the other guff that does with it. It's a great idea but I'm not sure how easily can be implemented in smaller schools.

Great work Webman! Suggestions - Link to AD to obtain computer names (use ADSI to query AD) - Does the Internet block work for Firefox? - Could the Internet block be achieved by renaming iexplore.exe (rather than CACLing it)? If so, it could be replaced by a small .EXE which says 'Internet is disabled' or something like that. Finally a question, why HTA? You know you can get VisualBasic Express for free???