The task sequence has been suspended.
LiteTouch has encountered and Environment Error (Boot into WinPE!)

Look familiar? I'm surprised of the few search results on such an error. The problem occurs because MDT will often not clean up MININT and _SMSTaskSequence on C drive. Don't believe me? Hit F8 after loading your windows 7 PE disk to bring up a command prompt and navigate to C. If that turns out to NOT be the case you should adjust the BIOS  order to have harddrive loaded first. If it persists, another solution is to run diskpart and clean the drive from the console.

A solution to prevent this, rather than a workaround? Modify your task sequence to include a couple commands to clear those directories. Right click your task sequence, go to properties then the Task Sequence Tab. Click add and create two 'Run Command Line' tasks. Place them in an appropriate area.

Have one with:
If Exist C:\_SMSTaskSequence\nul rd C:\_SMSTaskSequence /s /q

The other with:
If Exist C:\MININT\nul rd C:\MININT /s /q

'\nul' is not required however it wont hurt. If you end up using these in a batch file though, then you will want those. When batch files check for the existence or not of a directory, using 'if exist' or 'if not exist', if the directory is being checked for on a Windows system then the batch file needs to use '\NUL'

I built this tool to help ID devices after a Windows XP install and to share with coworkers. Its quite a pain to have to either open up a case to see whats exactly is inside when XP fails to even hint at what make it is. Often I find myself manually going through the device manager to find the Device and Vendor ID, then go online to see what matches.

PCIDatabase.com is a great website that allows you to ID certain missing components. However I wanted something a bit quicker. So I implemented their list into a tool that shows what device manager essentially shows and matches the device up with the list instantly. It also provides quick links for common vendors. Here's a quick screen:

This was coded with speed/rushing in mind so don't expect this to be bullet proof. Also if this ever gets a bit popular I'll likely end up adding features and getting it bulletproof.

Mike Morawski's Driver Detect (Download 1.0Mb)

This guide is built for those looking for a linux WPKG host that can be updated via http. The setup was performed on Suse 11.2 with Gnome WM though this should be similar for most other up-to-date distributions. Feel free to tack on any pointers for others in the comments. I will not cover all the basics of linux in this guide so be prepared!

Download and Extract WPKG and WPKGExpress Packages

First, start off by downloading WPKG and wpkgexpress. I used WPKG v1.1.2 and wpkgexpress v1.0-r12. Extract both files. I did so in my users home download directory (this is just an example, feel free to place whereever!).

tar -jxvf WPKG-1.1.2.tar.bz2
mkdir express
mv wpkgexpress_v1.0-r12.tar.gz ./express
tar -zxvf wpkgexpress_v1.0-r12.tar.gz

When complete, share the WPKG directory. Below are screenshots of how to do so using Nautilus. Right click WPKG-1.1.2 to get to the sharing options, click Share this folder and hit Create Share. If it denies you sharing, you will need to enter get to the Samba Configuration (Yast -> Samba Server -> Shares Tab) and check "Allow Users to Share Their Directories".

Support Software Installation

Onto the software installation for supporting wpkgexpress. Open up the software manager and start shopping for the following:

apache2

apache2-mod_php5 (not installed by default as a dependency for apache2!)

mysql

mysql-gui-tools

php5-mysql

If you are using another operating system or version, ensure you have PCRE installed (a quick search in your manager should suffice).

Before continuing, ensure your apache is working. If not, troubleshoot (out of scope here but google always helps!). To do so, enter System Services (Yast), enter expert mode, and click apache2. It can then be started with the drop down in the lower left ("Start/Stop/Refresh"). You can also apply it to start at specific runlevels (I used 3 and 5). Hit OK. Try browsing to http://localhost and see if you get something other than the basic "Server not found" error. Apache might complain that there is no file to serve to you, but that means it is at least functioning as it should.

WPKGExpress Web Setup

Time to get the wpkgexpress files served by apache. Unfortunately this isn't as easy as dropping the files into htdocs. Lets start with that though. Enter the directory with your extracted wpkgexpress files and do the following (adjust to your needs, folders may not be the same for you)

mv * /srv/www/htdocs/
mv .htaccess /srv/www/htdocs/

Next, looking at the common issues posted on the wpkgexpress website. If you now goto http://localhost/installer and you see "404 Not Found" chances are you're going to need to follow this document, as will I. The below instructs how to resolve this issue.

Open up and modify /etc/apache2/default-server.conf as root and edit your file to look like mine below. Simply put, AllowOverride needs to be set to All and Options needs to be set to SymLinksIfOwnerMatch (or All)

Now, run a2enmod -l as root to list the current modules. If rewrite is not in that list, use a2enmod rewrite.

Restart apache2, mysql with System Services (Runlevel) in yast.

SQL Backend Setup

Load up MySQL Administrator and by Login with root (no password by default)

Change the default password seen here and apply, for security. Create a new user, I named mine wpkg. Apply a password, then right click the user (bottom left) and add a host (localhost).

Now set up a blank database for wpkgexpress and apply privledges to wpkg

WPKG Express Web Front End Setup

Check out your local website again and if all is well (so far) you should have a setup/installer window requesting information.

Edit (13/07/10, thanks Justin for feedback): If you get error “Could not open database config file for writing” you will have to adjust file permissions. I took the easy way out and did the following (If anyone knows of the exact file this is complaining about please let me know in comments):

chmod -R 777 /srv/www/htdocs

If all goes well you will be treated with this screen

Integrating WPKG with WpkgExpress

Not done yet though! Not if you want to have these values be pulled from wpkg. Load up config.xml in the WPKG directory for editing. We are going to follow this from the wpkgexpress website. If you used some of the more advanced web settings when going through the two step website setup this will not fully apply to you (use the link provided)

Uncomment wpkg_base and enter in your url (I used my servers IP address), then change the web_* values to the following values in the second picture below.

All done, enjoy!

Troubleshooting

Fatal error: Call to undefined function mysql_connect()

This happens if you did not install php5-mysql! This is usually not installed by default or as a dependency to php. To test if you have this installed, make a page in your htdocs with the following code in it and view it in a browser:

 <?php phpinfo() ?>

"WNetAddConnection2->A specified logon session does not exists. It may already have been terminated."

The client set up is up to you as it is out of the scope for this guide. However I will touch up on an 'gotcha'. If you get problems with wpkg not working/installing updates always check the event log for the error. If you run accross "WNetAddConnection2->A specified logon session does not exists. It may already have been terminated." it is because of your wpkg client settings. Make sure the user entered in has WORKSTATION\, WORKGROUP\, or DOMAIN\ before the username!

Good luck

I'm sure most people working with Novell clients have needed this at least once. This tool greatly simplified setting up a desktop for multiple people or people that would normally not have a local account (such as guests that have Novell access). This tool alleviates the process of creating a new account, digging through the registry, and changing some Novell settings via the properties.

You can dig through Novell's AutoAdminLogin Guide or you can run this:

This tool has been tested on client 4.90 and 4.91, it should work on most newer versions as well. If not let me know and I can always throw in an update.

To add a shared login:

Enter in a username and password for the windows login to use. This does NOT have to exist, it will warn if an account does not exist, but it will give you the option to automatically create a new account. This new account is added as an administrator. The program will also disallow workstation only logins, unless you specify not to take that away in the checkbox provided. Lastly, its often wise to stop the user from changing both their Novell password and local workstation password (invalidating the autologin) so its nice to have the user account set so that the user cannot change the local password. Click the 'Set up local account' button to proceed, and look over the log it outputs for any major errors.

*This program disables log-out from the start menu and other areas via group polices. Windows will not re-autologin once logged out. Hence a restart or shutdown is needed.

To disable an existing shared login:

Simply click the button, it will remove the group policies and registry keys but leave the user intact. In this area it will show you the main registry keys controlling the autologin. Once again, review the log for any anomalies.

This program was built on Dot Net 2.0
If there is a problem running this program, ensure you have Microsoft .NET 2.0 installed. If there are security errors, try running from the local drive or a usb stick if you are attempting to run on a network share.

DOWNLOAD HERE:
Novell Auto-Login Tool (Windows XP)

Well I just spent more time than I'd like to admit on getting ObjectStore to install on some computers without much interaction. I could not find any guide or any help online but I did run into others wondering how to do this. I have figured it out for ObjectStore 6.2.5 however I can't guarantee this will work on other versions.

Running the ObjectStore MSI directly will result in an error stating that it must be started from the setup.exe. This makes things a bit difficult. I initially tried using ORCA to dig inside the MSI however I could not find a way to bypass that specific check. After searching around for other MSI's with similar behavior, I read that installscripts such as this one cannot be bypassed. Fortunately after many tests I found that running the below command got me at a starting point:

CDROM:\Support Files\Progress\ObjectStore\setup.exe -r

The above runs through and installs the program on the computer, using the input you provided. Unlike the regular setup this is used with -r switch, r meaning record. Post-install check the Windows directory for a setup.iss file. This is the configuration file for all future setups. It will look like this on the inside:

[{9F72D512-EDC5-40A0-B2E6-782536DEC91B}-DlgOrder]
Dlg0={9F72D512-EDC5-40A0-B2E6-782536DEC91B}-SdLicense-0
Count=5
Dlg1={9F72D512-EDC5-40A0-B2E6-782536DEC91B}-SprintfBox-0
Dlg2={9F72D512-EDC5-40A0-B2E6-782536DEC91B}-SdAskDestPath-0
Dlg3={9F72D512-EDC5-40A0-B2E6-782536DEC91B}-SdFinish-0
Dlg4={9F72D512-EDC5-40A0-B2E6-782536DEC91B}-RebootDialog-0
[{9F72D512-EDC5-40A0-B2E6-782536DEC91B}-SprintfBox-0]
Result=1
[{9F72D512-EDC5-40A0-B2E6-782536DEC91B}-SdSetupCompleteError-12060]
Result=1
[{9F72D512-EDC5-40A0-B2E6-782536DEC91B}-SdLicense-0]
Result=1
[{9F72D512-EDC5-40A0-B2E6-782536DEC91B}-SdAskDestPath-0]
szDir=C:\ODI
Result=1
[{9F72D512-EDC5-40A0-B2E6-782536DEC91B}-SdFinish-0]
Result=1
bOpt1=0
bOpt2=0
[{9F72D512-EDC5-40A0-B2E6-782536DEC91B}-RebootDialog-0]
Result=0
Choice=0

With this answer file, you can now run the below command on computers and have a silent install. Be sure to note the lack of space directly after the -f1 argument.

CDROM:\Support Files\Progress\ObjectStore\setup.exe -f1"{location of ISS file}" /S /v /qn

Lastly, I dug around and found some other properties which look like they can be appended to the ISS file to provide additional setup. I have not gone far enough to know exactly what they do but I will document any future findings if I need anything more than the regular setup.

[{9F72D512-EDC5-40A0-B2E6-782536DEC91B}-SdWelcomeMaint-0]
Result=301
[{9F72D512-EDC5-40A0-B2E6-782536DEC91B}-SdAskOptions-0]
Component-type=string
Component-count=1
Component-0=Yes - start the ObjectStore Server automatically.
Result=1

I hope I'm the only one stuck with this software!

This site is nothing more than an outlet to help whoever I can. With all I learned from the web, I figure I'd try to contribute back. As I run accross problems, I will do my best to share the solution!