1001 Secrets for Windows NT Registry
(Publisher: 29th Street Press)
Author(s): Tim Daniels
ISBN: 1882419685
Publication Date: 12/01/97

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Installation

I-131 Problem: You install Windows NT from a local drive, either a floppy or CD-ROM. When you update or add components, Windows NT first looks for these components in the original location you installed from. If you installed an Intel version of Windows NT from the local drive e:\i386, that’s where NT looks first. Instead of having to lug the diskettes or CD with you, you can create a directory on your network and copy the pertinent directories from the installation disk.

For example, if you have only Intel-based machines, you may want to copy only the i386 directory to your network drive. Now when you update NT, you can access the installation files from the network. The problem is that NT still looks for your installation files from the original source (e:\i386). You can change the location in the dialog box, but you have to change it every time. Here is a way to update the registry to reflect the new home of your installation files.

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion
Value Name: SourcePath
Data Type: REG_SZ
Value: drive:\directory

I-132 If you have trouble installing software with Windows NT or if you are constantly prompted to insert your diskette into non-existent drives, consider making these changes. These registry entries let you specify which installation drives are defaults.

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion
Value Name: SourcePath
Data Type: REG_SZ
Value: E:\i386\

This value is the drive that Windows NT was installed from.

I-133 Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion
Value Name: PathName
Data Type: REG_SZ
Value: C:\Winnt40

This value is the current directory of the OS.

I-134 Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion
Value Name: SystemRoot
Data Type: REG_SZ
Value: C:\Winnt40

This value is the same as PathName; it’s the directory in which Windows NT was installed.

These entries are for older applications — 16 bit and the like.

I-135 Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup
Value Name: BootDir
Data Type: REG_SZ
Value: C:\

I-136 Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup
Value Name: Installation Sources
Data Type: REG_MULTI_SZ
Value: A:\

I-137 Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup
Value Name: SourcePath
Data Type: REG_SZ
Value: A:\

I-138 Are you having problems uninstalling software? Even though you uninstall the software according to the manufacturer’s directions, it just won’t go away from the Add/Remove list. Try this registry key and its associated value to fix your problem. You can also just remove the key for the specific application and it will no longer appear on the Add/Remove programs list.

These entries are useful if you have deleted some applications from your hard drive without using the control panel applet.

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ [appname]
Value Name: DisplayName
Data Type: REG_SZ
Value: <Name displayed in the uninstall application>

I-139 Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ [appname]
Value Name: UninstallString
Data Type: REG_SZ
Value: <Uninstall program and parameters to uninstall the application>

This information is very useful. Sometimes what the uninstall programs actually need to run and what is stored in the registry differ. If you need to, you can manually correct this value.

Restart the machine for the new values to take effect. Next time you need to install something from the installation disk, you can use your new settings.


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