A geeks guide to Windows XP HAL Replacement

Here is an article (step-by-step guide) on how to keep a single image for Windows XP deployment, across HAL types, also known as HAL Replacement. Sample scripts for detecting the HAL type from WinPE and update sysprep.inf with the correct info is provided with this article (provided AS IS). The scripts are now (2008-10-01) updated with support for both WinPE 2005 and WinPE 2.1 as well as Windows XP SP3 (which works with HAL slightly different than XP SP2). Support for SCCM 2007 was also added. Download sample scripts http://www.deployvista.com/Repository/tabid/71/EntryId/38/DMXModule/396/language/sv-SE/Default.aspx This script updates sysprep.inf with correct HAL Type The Reference (master) image should have an Advanced ACPI HAL type. This script assumes the following files are being present in C:\Drivers\UniProcHAL hal.dll (Rename from halaacpi.dll to hal.dll) ntkrnlpa.exe ntoskrnl.exe

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How to update the HAL without reinstalling windows

Heres some tips for upgraders!

You require the Devcon utility for this, unpack it to a folder, then navigate to the folder its in using Command prompt (command prompt on context menu PowerToy is handy for this)

How to enable APIC without repair installing windows
in device manager you will notice that under computer type it says Advanced Power and Control Interface PC.. this is a standard single processor HAL driver without APIC. to upgrade to the APIC driver you input the following:

devcon sethwid @ROOT\ACPI_HAL\0000 := +acpiapic_up !acpipic_up
devcon update c:\windows\inf\hal.inf acpiapic_up

after this, enable APIC in the bios if you haven't already, and reboot twice so windows can update the device and irq tables, it should now say ACPI Uniprocessor PC in the device manager

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OfflineSysPrep, Offline sysprepping of Windows XP/2003

Usage of SysPrep Offline :

• For SysPrepping a Windows XP or 2003 32-bit partition that is hardware independent (yes, hardware independent!) while offline (yes, a non-booted Windows partition!)
• For SysPrepping a Windows XP or 2003 32-bit partition that is hardware independent while booted in Windows but with a partition/drive to sysprep attached and assigned a drive letter (ie a non-booted WinXP/2003 partition).
• You can use an unattended solution by locating sysprep.inf in the \userfiles\ directory of the OfflineSysPrep plugin or in the \userfiles\ folder of the Windows version.

Using OfflineSysPrep :

1. From 'Select Drive to SysPrep' options, select the XP/2003 partition/drive you want to sysprep (you are only presented with those that have boot.ini in root to cut down options);
2. From 'Select User Profile from Drive', select a user account;
3. Select a HAL update option from those listed;
4. Optionally select a path to be recursively scanned for inf drivers for pnp to detect. Fixed drive letters will be altered to %SystemDrive% (eg 'z:\sysprep\drivers' will be altered to '%SystemDrive%\sysprep\drivers') so it is advisable that the path to be specified is one which is located on the offline system's %SystemDrive%. File scanning recursion is performed internally or by SetupCopyOEMInf. SetupCopyOEMInf is used if the 'Advanced' option 'Complete OfflineSysPrep operations without running sysprep.exe' is selected. If sysprep is to run, internal search function will be used. However, if it is desirable to not have sysprep itself perform the pnp (ie, 'PnP/Detect non-plug and play hardware' will not be selected from sysprep's interface), then select 'Use SetupCopyOEMInf (if not selecting sysprep pnp)' from the 'Advanced' options;
5. Optionally specify 'Advanced' options by clicking 'Advanced' and then the desired options from those listed;
6. Click 'Apply';
7. Now use SysPrep as usual, which should automatically start.

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How to switch Windows XP HAL _BACK_ from Standard PC to ACPI (the clean way)

 
Awh man… a whole bunch of bad information on the internet about this. You don’t need to re-install the OS. Hell, you don’t even have to hack (and hence, un-sign) the hal.inf or machine.inf files. Using a little knowledge of the way Device Manager identifies devices (and hence, locks them into their supported hardware IDs), you can trick it into allowing you to “update” to the ACPI HAL and kernel.
Of course, on an unsupported system, this may just BSOD you forever, then you’ll be pretty much hosed since your ntoskrnl.exe, ntkrnlpa.exe, and hal.dll will have been replaced with ACPI versions – something “Last Known Good configuration” will not help you with. So BE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN your system supports ACPI mode (e.g. “oh crap, I switched to Standard PC and now I can’t get out!”) before changing this.

Not even gonna give that “omg registry editing is dangerous” BS, because every geek should know their way around the registry. But this is another good place to mention: you could f’ing hose your system if you do this. I’m actually in the process of re-installing Windows on the PC I tried this on right now, because it’s a 266MHz Pentium II laptop with 64mb RAM, originally Win95, far from ACPI. The most recent BIOS update (in 2001) provided ACPI compatibility, so I figured I’d give it a try. Since it was installed with the Standard PC HAL (no ACPI), it installed all its hardware support under that key. So, it just BSOD-looped me (0x7b, curiously enough – couldn’t find the HDC driver?), and since 64mb isn’t enough to load MiniXP, and the HDD is too old to work with a USB-adapter, I’m screwed. Meh, I just installed it an hour ago anyway.

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How to Create Windows 8 Recovery Disc

 

This post will show you how to:

1 – Create a Windows 8 Recovery Disc (CD or DVD).
2 – Create a Windows 8 Recovery Flash Drive.


Recovery media will help you troubleshoot, fix, refresh Windows 8 in the event of a problem.

Create a Windows 8 Recovery Disc
*Note – To use the recovery disc you need recovery media that matches your architecture (32-bit or 64-bit).

- Insert a blank CD or DVD.
- Press the Windows + R keys (run command) > type recdisc and click OK.

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How To Fix The Windows Bootloader

So you’ve managed to hose the bootloader on your computer? No worries, every Geek has.

This article will show you how to:
- Fix the Windows Vista bootloader
- Fix the Windows 7 bootloader
- Fix the Windows 8 bootloader

***warning – Messing with this stuff is potentially dangerous to your PC. I am not responsible for what you do.

Option 1 – Standard Bootloader Repair

1 – Boot from the Windows install or repair CD appropriate to you version of Windows.

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Aktivasi Windows 8 dan Office 2013 yang terblokir dengan KMSpico versi 8.2

KMSpico v8.2 adalah aktivator yang bisa digunakan untuk mengaktivasi Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server, Office 2010 dan Office 2013.
Selain itu jika dahulu Windows 8 Mania pernah melakukan aktivasi dan sekarang aktivasi sudah terblokir maka bisa lakukan aktivasi kembali dengan menggunakan  KMSpico v8.2.

Aktivator KMSpico v8.2 ini juga bisa digunakan untuk memulihkan aktivasi yang sudah diblokir. 
Misalkan Windows 8 Mania menggunakan Microsoft Office 2013 dan aktivasi yang lama terblokir. Maka bisa diaktifkan kembali dengan mengunakan aktivasi KMSpico v8.2

Aktivator KMSpico v8.2 bisa digunakan untuk aktivasi:
Windows 8 Enterprise
Windows 8 Professional
Microsoft Office 2013
Microsoft Office Visio 2013
Microsoft Office Project 2013
Microsoft Office 2010
Microsoft Office Visio 2010
Microsoft Office Project 2010
Windows 7 Enterprise
Windows 7 Professional
Windows Vista Enterprise
Windows Vista Professional
Windows Server 2008/2008R2/2012

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Fix and Customize Boot for Windows Vista, 7, and 8

In Windows Recovery Environment, there are couple tools that do the job. If just want to fix the boot problem, BootRec.exe maybe is the easiest way. if just want fix BCD, try Bcdboot.exe, it has less steps. But, BcdEdit.exe has more options to customize DCD. BootSect.exe is a tool to fix boot sector for MBR disk. It wont work for GPT disk. BootCfg.exe is a tool to configure for boot.ini.

BootRec – Boot Recovery tool

Repairs critical disk structures. The following commands are supported:
/FixMbr - writes the master boot record of the system partition using the master boot record compatible with Windows. This operation does not overwrite the existing partition table.

/FixBoot - write a new boot sector onto the system partition using the boot sector compatible with Windows.

/ScanOs - scan all disks for installations compatible with Windows and display the entries that are currently not in the boot configuration store.

/RebuildBcd - scan all disks for installations compatible with Windows and allow the user to choose which to add to the boot configuration store.

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How to remove Window 8 and Install Window 7

How to downgrade window 8 back to window 7

This is a CMS BOOT Method.

Before you start you need to have
1. Windows 7 CD with the serial number
2. Check your computer model if they have the drivers for Windows 7. You will need to go to your manufactured website and check.
3. Download all the drivers for for your computer model for Windows 7 into the usb disk.

This is only If you want to have Windows 7 themes on your Windows 8.
Note. You don't need to update any driver or delete Windows 8. Just install classic shell on to your Windows 8. You will have your start menu like Windows 7.
1. Download http://www.classicshell.net/

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Recovering the Windows Bootloader with EasyBCD

EasyBCD has various advanced option sections created as a one-click method to easily reset/recover/repair the Windows Vista or Windows 7 bootloader without having to go through the recovery DVD, command line, and other difficult options that aren't even guaranteed to work.

Can't boot into Windows? EasyBCD won't run?

If you can't get into Windows or EasyBCD won't run for some reason or the other... don't panic! You can stil save your data, bootloader, and Windows Vista by following our manual recovery instructions for booting from and using the Windows Vista DVD to reset your bootloader instead.

Recovering the Bootloader

EasyBCD has multiple recovery options available to you, depending on just how badly your bootloader is damaged. We've listed the recovery options by increasing magnitude of "problem level," so start with Type 1 and see if that works before moving on two Type 2, and so on and so forth.

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Create Master computers with Sysprep

Configure the master VM

A Virtual Machine gives an easy way to backup your windows 7 installation before you lauch sysprep. This can be done by copying the virtual machine's folder in an other place. (You may also upload an image to your FOG server). This is very useful because you may have errors when trying your unattend.xml file. If an error occurs, I recommend to revert back your VM, correct the errors and try again. If you need to rebuild a new master image, you may alter date of your virtual machine before restoring it and prevent windows from complaints for activation. In an other hand you may have dificulties to instal the latest hotfixes from windows update. I recommend maintaining a private repository of all hotfixes. It is easy to install them with a batch script. This is also faster because you will not have to download them again and again.
Install VMWare player if not already done.
Configure the VM as following

• 2 microprocessors to install windows 7 with ACPI multiprocessor HAL.
• a 160 GB hard drive
• configure the VM BIOS to boot on the ethernet device first

Edit .vmx file describing your VM and edit the following line:

SCSI0.Present="TRUE"

Change this line to this:

SCSI0.Present="FALSE"

This will disable the SCSI controller which is useless when you don't have any SCSI virtual drive. This is known to cause some trouble when dealing with windows XP and sysprep [1] . To prevent any similar problem, disable it.
Boot your virtual machine and configure it to boot on the ethernet interface first, then DVD, then HDD.

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How To Remove BIOS Password from an Insyde H2O EFI BIOS

[updated article]

The old version of this guide was very complicated and convoluted. If you can boot into Windows, then you shouldn’t need to mess around with PLoP or any other nonsense, just change a flag in the ini file of the Windows flash program and you’re set.
I need to add the following disclaimer from my old post

NOTE: This guide is written for tech savvy people who know what they are doing. If you are uncomfortable with the command line, flashing BIOSes or getting your hands dirty, don’t attempt this process yourself. I cannot and will not hold your hand while you do this. I wrote this guide because I didn’t see anything like it online and I wanted to leave it here as a quick guide for other techs. I can’t offer support for this procedure. If you need computer repair in Houston, then please call me and I would be glad to do this for you.

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Upgrade Windows 7 Starter ke Windows 7 Home atau Ultimate

Bagaimana Cara Upgrade Windows 7 Starter ke Windows 7 Home atau Ultimate tanpa Repot Install Ulang?

Netbook Anda atau rekan anda ketika dibeli sudah terinstall Windows 7 Starter, dan setelah sekian lama menggunakan Windows 7 Starter dengan ternyata Anda merasa tidak nyaman, karena banyaknya keterbatasan dan fitur-fitur Windows 7 yang tidak tersedia di Windows 7 Starter. Jika Anda penasaran dengan fitur Windows 7 apa saja yang tidak tersedia di Windows 7 Starter bisa baca artikel tentang

Perbedaan Antara Windows 7 Starter dan Windows 7 Ultimate di :
http://www.tasikisme.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6255:perbedaan-
antara-windows-7-starter-dan-windows-7-ultimate&catid=38:tasikisme-tips&Itemid=58

Lalu bagaimana jika Anda bosan  atau legeh  dengan Windows 7 Starter  yang fitur-fiturnya
sangat minimalis dan dibatasi itu?   Lantas anda  ingin menggantinya dengan Windows 7 Home
Premium atau Windows 7 Ultimate atau istilah kerennya Upgrade dari Windows 7 Starter ke
Windows 7 Ultimate?

Caranya cukup mudah, ikuti langkah-langkah berikut untuk merubah Windows 7 Starter ke
Windows 7 Ultimate atau Windows 7 Home Premium. Jika prosesnya lancar dan benar waktu
yang dibutuhkan kurang lebih 15 menit saja. Maka Windows 7 Starter anda sudah berubah jadi
Windows  7 Home Premium atau Ultimate. Wow….!!!  Tanpa harus kehilangan  dokumen user,
semua settings, program-program aplikasi dan device drivers yang telah  terinstall sebelumnya.
Asyik bukan..?

Artikel selengkapnya bisa diunduh dan disimak di:

Download Tutorial Lengkap

Salam Informatika - Mozaika Sandrina

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How to Change AutoCAD 2012 from a Standalone to Network License

Just a quick post on another tip that I figured out while solving a client’s problem. If you have AutoCAD 2012 configured for standalone licensing, but then later set up a license server, you don’t need to uninstall AutoCAD to then reinstall it with network licensing.

All you need to do is change one registry key and you’re set. In recent versions (maybe 2010 and up), AutoDesk has changed the registry values, so similar guides for AutoCAD 2009 and older are now outdated.

Run regedit and find the following key:

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How to Fix the "Bootmgr is missing" Error in Windows 7

You may get this error while booting your computer.

   Information

This problem is not hardware related and can be fixed with a Windows 7 DVD OR a system repair disc.

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