ERROR: STOP 0x7B Error Message on Windows XP Sysprep Images

When you start Windows XP Setup after you copy an image to a new target computer, you may receive the following error message:

STOP 0x0000007B
INACCESSABLE_BOOT_DEVICE

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To preinstall a mass-storage device

1. In the \$OEM$ subfolder of the configuration set, create the \Textmode subfolder.
2. Copy the files from the disks supplied by the device vendor to the \Textmode subfolder. These files normally include:
   • Driver.sys
   • Driver.dll
   • Driver.inf
   • Driver.cat
   • Txtsetup.oem

   where Driver is the driver name.

   Notes

   • You must also copy the driver files to the location you specified in the OemPnPDriversPath entry in the answer file(s). For example:

     OemPnPDriversPath = drivers\storage 

   • Some drivers, such as SCSI miniport drivers, may not include a .dll file.
   • A catalog file (Driver.cat) must be included with mass-storage device drivers if it is listed in Txtsetup.oem.

     For more information about catalog files, see Using Signed Drivers. Also see the Microsoft Windows Driver Development Kit (DDK), which you can read in the MSDN Library (http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/): Select Windows Development, and then select Driver Development Kit.

3. In the Unattend.txt file, create a [MassStorageDrivers] section, and then type any driver entries in that section. For example, a possible entry in the [MassStorageDrivers] section is:

   "Adaptec 2940..." = "OEM"

   Obtain the information for this section from the [SCSI] section of the Txtsetup.oem file provided by the hardware manufacturer.

   Note

   • You must use signed drivers. Unsigned drivers are not installed during an unattended installation.
4. In the Unattend.txt file, create an [OEMBootFiles] section, and in it type a list of the files in the \$OEM$\Textmode folder. For example:

   [OEMBootFiles]
   Driver.sys
   Driver.dll
   Driver.inf
   Driver.cat
   Txtsetup.oem

   where Driver is the driver name.

   Important

   • Add driver entries only to the [MassStorageDrivers] and [OEMBootFiles] sections for bootable mass-storage devices. Do not include secondary mass-storage devices. Instead, add the drivers for secondary mass-storage devices to the folder specified by the OemPnPDriversPath entry in your unattended Setup answer file. Including drivers for non-bootable mass-storage devices in the [MassStorageDrivers] or [OEMBootFiles] sections causes an error during Setup.
5. If your mass-storage device is a Plug and Play device, verify that a Hardware Identification section and the name of the catalog file for the driver (Driver.cat) exist in the Txtsetup.oem file. For more information, see the Microsoft Windows Driver Development Kit in the MSDN Library (http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/): Select Windows Development, and then select Driver Development Kit.

If the Hardware Identification section does not exist, you must add [HardwareIds.scsi.yyyyy] to the Txtsetup.oem file and verify that the following information is included:

id = "xxxxx" , "yyyyy"

where xxxxx represents the device ID, and yyyyy represents the service associated with the device.

For example, to preinstall the Symc810 driver, which has a device ID of PCI\VEN_1000&DEV_0001, verify that your Txtsetup.oem file contains the following additional section:

[HardwareIds.scsi.symc810]
id = "PCI\VEN_1000&DEV_0001","symc810"

You must remove drive and path references from Txtsetup.oem. For example, instead of this text, use the NTFS or FAT32 examples that follow:

[disks]
d1 = "Windows XP Driver Set v1.00", \w2kdsk1, \win2000\smy810\

For NTFS installations, use this text:

[disks]
d1 = "Windows XP Driver Set v1.00", \w2kdsk1, \

Note the trailing slash at the end of the line.

For FAT32 installations, use this text:

[disks]
d1 = "Windows XP Driver Set v1.00", w2kdsk1, .

Note the lack of a backslash; also note the trailing period at the end of the line.

Selecting and Loading the Correct Mass-Storage Driver

If you are including new or updated drivers for mass-storage devices, you must add the new driver to both of these folders:

• \$OEM$\Textmode
• The location specified in the OemPnPDriversPath entry in the Unattend.txt file.

  For example: \$OEM$\$1\Pnpdrvrs\storage

Loading Mass-Storage Drivers During Text-mode Setup

If the driver for the mass-storage device is included with Windows XP, the Windows XP driver is chosen before any drivers in \$OEM$\Textmode.

However, the driver you place in \$OEM$\Textmode is the first driver chosen during text-mode Setup only if:

• The driver that ships with Windows XP does not boot.
• The driver does not ship with Windows XP.

Other Material:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/303786/
Seach for "Txtsetup.oem" in Microsoft Windows Corporate Deployment Tools User's Guide. deploy.chm from the Windows XP Deployment Tools

Howto: Add a local account to a local group using WMI

I had to write this script to add an account generated by Sophos AV to the local Users group in order for it to download software updates from the AV server post build.

Option Explicit

Dim oNET : Set oNET = CreateObject("WScript.Network")
Dim sComputer, objWMIService, colItems, objItem, objLocalUser, objUserGroup
sComputer = oNET.ComputerName

Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:\\" & sComputer & "\root\cimv2")
Set colItems = objWMIService.ExecQuery("Select * from Win32_Account Where LocalAccount = True AND Name like '%partialusername%'",,48)
For Each objItem in colItems
Set objLocalUser = GetObject("WinNT://" & objItem.Name)
Set objUserGroup = GetObject("WinNT://" & sComputer & "/Users,group")
objUserGroup.Add(objLocalUser.ADsPath)
Next

WScript.Quit

Mitch

HOWTO: Remove the Stored User Names and Password

To remove the Stored User Names and Passwords from Windows XP, try this:

• Click Start, Run and type Control keymgr.dll
• Remove the entries from the list.

HOWTO: VMware View - Unassign user from a persistent desktop

1. Log onto View Manager Server
2. From a Command Prompt > C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware View\Server\bin>vdmadmin -L -d POOLNAME -m Virtual Machine Name -r

eg. vdmadmin -L -d SOEPool -m SOE1 -r

3. You should then see "Sucessfully removed owner from specified machine." If you don't check the syntax

HOWTO: Create two software configurations for different versions of an application

Products

• BlackBerry® Enterprise Server for IBM® Lotus® Domino®
• BlackBerry® Enterprise Server for Microsoft® Exchange
  

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Environment

• BlackBerry® Enterprise Server version 4.1 SP6 for Microsoft® Exchange
• BlackBerry® Enterprise Server version 4.1 SP6 for IBM® Lotus® Domino®
  

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Overview

When creating a software configuration on the BlackBerry Enterprise Server you receive the following error:

Multiple instances of the following applications were found. Please remove all but the desired version to enable the applications for configuration.

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Cause

The issue occurs when trying to create a software configuration for an application that has multiple versions created for different BlackBerry smartphones. For example, the BlackBerry® Client for use with Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007 v2.2 is designed for the BlackBerry® Storm™ Series only. The BlackBerry Client for use with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 v2.1 is designed for BlackBerry smartphones that do not use the SurePress™ touch screen.

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Resolution

Use the following process to create a second shared folder within C:\Program Files\Common Files:

1. Open My Computer and select the drive that hosts the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (C:\ by default).
2. Double-click on Program Files, then Common Files.

   Note: A folder must be created that uses the same folder structure as the Research In Motion folder.

3. Create a folder called RIM in the Common Files folder, then copy the AppLoader folder from the Research In Motion folder to the RIM folder.
4. To share the RIM folder, complete the following steps:
   1. Right-click on the RIM folder, then select Sharing and Security.
   2. Select Share this folder.
   3. Click Apply.
   4. Click OK.
5. Create a folder within the RIM folder called Shared, then create a folder called Applications within the Shared folder.
6. Copy the .cod and .alx files for the second application to the new Applications folder
7. Open a command prompt by clicking Start >Run, type cmd, then click OK.
8. Go to the directory within the RIM folder (for example: cd C:\Program Files\Common Files\Rim\AppLoader).
9. Run the command loader.exe/index.
10. In BlackBerry Manager, click the Software Configurations tab.
11. In the Common Tasks menu, select Add New Configuration. In the Configuration Name field, type a name for the configuration.
12. Click Change to input the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path to the shared folder.
13. Type \\\.
14. Application Software should appear in the window, expand the window to see the new software configuration.

HOWTO: View Composer - How to Delete Orphaned Protected Entities in vCenter

View Composer enables the use of linked clones with View Manager in order to reduce the amount of storage needed per VM. It does this by coping the parent VM + snapshot into a protected VM or entity. This VM is protected so it can’t be deleted in vCenter to ensure an admin doesn’t accidentally delete the VM which users may be referencing.

The correct way to manage these protected VM’s isn’t within vCenter, it’s in View Manager. When a linked clone enabled pool is created, recomposed, or deleted this updates the protected entity accordingly. In some cases it may be necessary to manually unprotect and remove the protected entity in vCenter. SVICONFIG.EXE is included with View Composer to assist with this. Located under “C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware View Composer\SviConfig.exe” this command will unprotect any View Composer related protected entity.

Here is how to unprotect the host folder and any entities it may contain:

1. On the vCenter/View Composer server launch Start –> Run –> CMD
2. Browse to “C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware View Composer”
3. Type the command below replacing the default information with specific information for your environment.
“SviConfig -operation=UnprotectEntity -VcUrl=https://my.vc/sdk -Username=User1 -Password=123 -InventoryPath="/My Datacenter/vm/MyReplicaFolder" -Recursive=True”

OR

"SviConfig -operation=UnprotectEntity -VcUrl=https://vcenter/sdk -Username=domain\username -Password=password -InventoryPath="/DataCenterName/vm" -Recursive=True"

The second will unprotect all VMs in the specified data center.

If this is successful it will return a confirmation of any entities unprotected. Now it will be possible to use vCenter to delete the newly unprotected entity.

Source: http://blogs.vmware.com/view/2009/01/view-composer-how-to-delete-orphaned-replicasource-entries-in-vcenter.html

HOWTO: Removing a standard (replica) connection server from a cluster of connection servers

To remove a replica:

1. Uninstall the connection server and ADAM instance from the server that you want to remove from the cluster.
   1. Click Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs.
   2. Remove VMware View Connection Server and Adam Instance VMwareVDMDS.
      
      
2. Refer to Remove View Manager Entry in the Command Line Tool for View Manager document for full details on how to use the vdmadmin.exe tool to remove the reference to the now redundant replica in the ADAM database.
   
   Here is an example of the command:
   
   "C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware View\Server\bin\vdmadmin.exe -S -r -s "
   
   Note: This step is not mandatory, but it clears the removed Connection Server from the Admin UI.