Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.customize,microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (
More info?)
Jeff
I would like to know more about what you said:
You can (on 2000 at least) create a setup script or "answer" file on a
floppy called "winnt.sif". Sometimes this is called "unattend.txt" but it
won't work on a floppy without the winnt.sif name. I think it can be called
using a command line parameter of the setup program executable though.
This sounds like the solution to my problem with moving the Documents and
Settings folder from drive C: to D: on Windows XP Home Edition SP1. I tried
using the unattend function, but I don't think that I did it right. What set
of commands would I put in the winnt.sif file to make the installation CD
install D&S on a different drive? Microsoft Help and Support Documents
haven't been much help on this.
Don Chase
--
- Birds are God''''s gift of beauty to the world -
"Jeff P" wrote:
>
> "John Smith" <a@nonymous.com> wrote in message
> news:42b5f102$1_1@spool9-west.superfeed.net...
> >
> > On laptops I want to place user folders inside a PGP encrypted container
> > in
> > case the laptop is lost/stolen. That way customer data, reports, e-mail,
> > etc...won't be compromised. One way is to change where Windows stores
> > user
> > information.
> >
> > 1) Is there a way to change the default drive on which the \Documents and
> > Settings folder resides?
> >
> > 2) Can I change the default drive of a single user's \Document and
> > Settings
> > folder?
> >
> > 3) If I change the default drive and user Joe starts his laptop up and the
> > \joe user folder is within a PGP container and the container isn't opened
> > at
> > boot time (ie. Joe forgets to enter his passphrase), will XP hang or what
> > will XP do?
> >
>
> Microsoft has a knowledge base article which seems to suggest that one can
> move the documents and settings folder to a different partition by first
> copying it there, then modifying every registry entry that references the
> path to instead reflect the new path. THIS DOES NOT WORK. Trust me, I have
> spent days trying to fight with such a thing, and it simply won't do it. I
> always would end up with it recreating the old paths and files or portions
> of them and then nothing would work right without having TWO copies of the
> stupid thing scattered about. It was a total nightmare.
>
> The only way I have found to do this is to specify the desired path in a
> special installation script file, and run an unattended or automated
> installation of the oeprating system. Typically I do this with Windows 2000
> and haven't tinkered much with Windows XP on the matter. However, I expect
> the instructions would be quite similar. You can (on 2000 at least) create a
> setup script or "answer" file on a floppy called "winnt.sif". Sometimes this
> is called "unattend.txt" but it won't work on a floppy without the winnt.sif
> name. I think it can be called using a command line parameter of the setup
> program executable though.
>
> Basically this is a file that answers all of the stupid questions that the
> windows setup program asks, so you can let the install run on its own while
> you walk away and do something else. (It won't hang up on tons of boxes that
> require you to push "next" every few minutes for little purpose other than
> to waste your time.) There are a lot of settings you can pass to the setup
> program which aren't available in the setup gui. For example, I made one
> onetime that tells the setup program to simply not ask for a product ID key
> in Windows 2000 setup. You can specify the product ID inside the answer
> file, but I instead discovered you can omit this and simply instruct the
> program to never ask for it at all. So, you can get a perfectly functioning
> windows installation without any product ID, valid or invalid. (Not that I
> don't have a valid license, it's just that I am annoyed by having to find it
> and enter the stupid number.)
>
> To use the answer file in the most easy manner boot from the install CD with
> the winnt.sif answer file on a floppy in the diskette drive. It will rumble
> the floppy drive briefly at boot time to check if such a script exists. It
> may take quite a bit of tinkering to get this to work properly, because if
> it doesn't like part of your script it won't bother to tell you. It'll just
> go ahead and install Windows, waste an hour or two of your time, and then
> dump you with an installation that ignored your slight error and put the
> documents and settings folder at the default C:\ location anyway.
>
> I always run my system with the hard drive split into C:\ and D:\ partitions
> (or sometimes seperate drives). I put the documents and settings folder on
> the D:\ drive. A word of caution to you though... This partition has to be
> formatted and accessible prior to running windows setup. The setup program
> will allow you to partition the drive and format it from the blue screen
> text mode portion at the beginning of setup. However, it will only allow you
> to format the partition that windows is going to be installed to. If the
> answer file directs it to put the documents and settings folder in a
> different partition, it will simply expect that partition to be working
> before it starts. It'll probably go through the motions and think that it is
> creating a documents and settings folder, only for windows to crash upon its
> initial boot time for failure to read any of those files that never got
> copied correctly from a drive not being formatted.
>
> You bring up an interesting question -- I highly doubt that the PGP
> encription of the disk volume would work with the documents and settings
> folder. If so, you would either need to have the encryption software loaded
> into memory prior to running windows setup, or install windows in an
> unencrypted form and later encrypt the disk afterwards. You would have to
> encrypt it while windows is not running, and have software to enable access
> to those files prior to the windows GUI booting up. I have no idea if you
> could get that to work or not.
>
> Another problem you have to look out for is that basically in order for
> windows to function it needs to have open access to these files constantly
> at any time the machine is running. So you're encrypting these files and
> decrypting them anytime they attempt to be used for any purpose--good or
> bad. If the machine gets infected with spyware, a hijacker, or virus, it'll
> have access to those files as easily as windows does. I think the only thing
> you would be protecting it from is access to the files while the machine is
> not booted up--when windows isn't running. If you rig it so that you have to
> enter the pass phrase prior to booting the operating system somehow, then I
> suppose this would provide good security to protect against the laptop
> physically being stolen. But, you would need a lot more efforts in software
> to maintain security while the authorized user is actually using the
> machine--especially if it is connected to the internet.
>
> -Jeff
>
>
>
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