Incorporating desktop shortcuts in to an unattended install of Win

[Guest]

I'd like to add a registry hack to my Win2k Pro unattended install that adds
a certain shortcut to all user's desktops, but I have no idea where to find
this setting in the registry. Where in the registry can I manually add
shortcuts to the desktop for All Users? All I need is the registry key and I
can incorporate this in to my unattended install. Thanks so much!

 

[lforbes]

I'd like to add a registry hack to my Win2k Pro unattended
install that adds
a certain shortcut to all user's desktops, but I have no idea
where to find
this setting in the registry. Where in the registry can I
manually add
shortcuts to the desktop for All Users? All I need is the
registry key and I
can incorporate this in to my unattended install. Thanks so
much!

Hi,

Are you machines in a domain? There is no registry key for the All
Users location. Basically if you are running W2K or XP in a Domain,
you can do a startup script to copy the shortcut to the all-users on
startup.

Put the following into a bat file and store in the Netlogon share.

copy \\server\share\myshortcut.lnk "c:\Documents and
Settings\All Users\Desktop"

Under group policy set this as a startup script. Restart the machines
using the "Shutdown.exe" command and voila.

Cheers,
Lara

 

[mwizsocool2003]

Thanks for the quick response (I'm writing under a different account
but it's still me, the person who authored this question)!!!

The script file ain't gonna work based on the method we use to join
computers to the domain - they're not joined until after they've been
setup; it's one of the last steps in preparing a new computer for
deployment. Plus, the location of the shortcut is going to be local
and not on a network share. Of course, the default path for the
shortcut will be the same for all computers (I think), but I'd still
like to use a registry hack to solve this problem. Is there a registry
key for the default user...? Any way possible to get this shortcut on
everyone's desktop? Thanks again!

 

[Gary Smith]

It's not clear to me what you're really looking for, but the standard way
to put a shortcut on everyone's desktop is to put it into the All Users
profile, the location of which is given by ALLUSERSPROFILE environment
variable. That variable is constructed dynamically durin the logon
process. The contents of the %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Desktop folder appear on
everyone's desktop.

 

[lforbes]

Hi,

Are you machines in a domain? There is no registry key for the
All Users location. Basically if you are running W2K or XP in
a Domain, you can do a startup script to copy the shortcut to
the all-users on startup.

Put the following into a bat file and store in the Netlogon
share.

copy \serversharemyshortcut.lnk "cocuments and
SettingsAll UsersDesktop"

Under group policy set this as a startup script. Restart the
machines using the "Shutdown.exe" command and voila.

Cheers,
Lara

Hi,

There is no registry entry for actual physical elements like files and
shortcuts (which are just link files). Therefore unless you can build
it into the Unattended install script to copy it from somewhere, I am
not sure how you would do this. I don’t use unattended installs. I
image my machines so they are all pre-done exactly as I like them.

There is a registry key for the Default User but that just controls
the "default" profile and still doesn’t include shortcuts included
in All Users.

How is the software installed on the machine? Are you using RIS? Are
you using Roaming profiles?

Cheers,

Lara

 

[Guest]

Ideally, this is what I want to do. I want the last command my unattended
install executes to be something like "regedit /s <registrysetting>"
(registrysetting = the registry hack putting a custom shortcut on all user's
desktops).

So, all I need is the registry hack that puts this shortcut on everyone's
desktop, to incorporate it into my unattended install... hopefully there is
such a registry hack.

 

[Guest]

Hi,

There is no registry entry for actual physical elements like files and
shortcuts (which are just link files). Therefore unless you can build
it into the Unattended install script to copy it from somewhere, I am
not sure how you would do this. I don’t use unattended installs. I

You can integrate any file in to a Windows 2000 installation so copying the
necessary files isn't a problem. Would you know how to do this if you knew
where the files are located locally? ...because this isn't a problem. If
you can include a registry hack for a shortcut pointing to a file that's
statically put on every machine that would be SUPER! Let me know, thanks!

image my machines so they are all pre-done exactly as I like them.

Therein lies the problem with having many machines with many different
hardware configurations!

There is a registry key for the Default User but that just controls
the "default" profile and still doesn’t include shortcuts included
in All Users.

How is the software installed on the machine? Are you using RIS? Are
you using Roaming profiles?

No RIS and no Roaming profiles. I'm thinking I can 'generically' create a
shortcut and then copy it over to the AllUsers profile in the last phase of
the install... we'll see!

 

[lforbes]

HI,

Therein lies the problem with having many machines with many different
hardware configurations!

Actually I have never had a problem with Sysprep not being able to do
every hardware config I have thrown at it and believe me, I have a LOT
of different types of hardware. I have a magic addition to sysprep
(listed below) that I got off the MS website. I add to my sysprep.inf
and then I can put an image from an IBM onto a Dell or just about any
generic brand I have from a PII to a PIV.

I am pretty familiar with the registry as I do a lot of work with it
on a daily basis. I usually do all my settings via registry as I use
Mandatory Profiles. Therefore if I change the profile registry
settings it applies to all my users. I am pretty sure there is nothing
in the registry to copy files. However, where were you going to store
the .reg file for it to merge during the unattended install? You can
just put a copy of the shortcut and a bat file to copy that shortcut
to the All Users folder and it would work. Use the directions I had
previously posted. Just create the shortcut on a machine that has the
software installed where you want it. Copy the shortcut to the
location where you can call it during install and then create a bat
file to copy to the All Users.

Add following to sysprep.inf to be able to load image on any hardware
config.

[SysprepMassStorage]
PCMCIA\*PNP0600=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCMCIA\KME-KXLC005-A99E=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCMCIA\_-NinjaATA--3768=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCMCIA\FUJITSU-IDE-PC_CARD-DDF2=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
*AZT0502=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\CC_0101=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_10B9&DEV_5215=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_10B9&DEV_5219=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_10B9&DEV_5229=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_1097&DEV_0038=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_1095&DEV_0640=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_1095&DEV_0646=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_0E11&DEV_AE33=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1222=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1230=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_7010=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_7111=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2411=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2421=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2441=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_244A=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_244B=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_7199=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_1042&DEV_1000=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_1039&DEV_0601=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_1039&DEV_5513=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_10AD&DEV_0001=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_10AD&DEV_0150=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_105A&DEV_4D33=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf
PCI\VEN_1106&DEV_0571=%systemroot%\inf\mshdc.inf

Cheers,

Lara

 

[Gary Smith]

There is no such registry hack. The registry does not know about
shortcuts.

Ideally, this is what I want to do. I want the last command my unattended
install executes to be something like "regedit /s <registrysetting>"
(registrysetting = the registry hack putting a custom shortcut on all user's
desktops).