Update: I've finally solved the reason of "Licensing components error Code 2" for Server to Client conversion. But I can say that converting a Server edition to a Client edition makes the target OS completely unstable.
Actually I can release the batch script for now as a beta version. But there're three things: You can't convert a Client edition to a Server edition. If you convert a Server edition to a Client edition, then the final product will be really unstable. Project doesn't support Windows 2000 completely since Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 have the highest priority.
I'm afraid I don't understand the point of this, given you can switch back and forth from server to client (and viceversa) using tweaknt or ntswitch, with one mouse click
Actually TweakNT can change SKUs, but it can't edit ISOs. I've never heard about NTSwitch. The purpose of this project is to create converted ISOs. Sadly, I can't release the batch script right now due to three problems: Windows 2000 gives a BSOD after text-mode setup. 24.01.2022 Update: Fixed this error. But beware that you should not use Windows 2000 Professional as Base ISO. Windows XP (client) converted to Server counterpart gives a setup error "Setup could not initialize licensing components error code 2". Probably this is caused by TXTSETUP.SIF not copying files enough. 29.01.2022 Update: Fixed this error, but for more information you need to look into readme.txt file. Windows Server 2003 converted to Client counterpart gives a BSOD after GUI-mode setup. BSOD code is 0x000007b. 24.01.2022 Update: Fixed this error. But the final product is quite buggy that you can't even enable Luna theme. This project supports Windows 2000, but since Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 have the highest priority, I'm working harder on these.
Released the first edition. But there may be some bugs. I'll update and release updated versions soon.
Maybe because the inf files of a server sku do not specify that the themes service should be automatically launched instead of being disabled?
Maybe your idea can make it completely client based on NT 5.2. Thanks for suggestion. Also do you have any information that how K/N/KN editions work? I wanna add support for these editions for next update. Edit: I've just realized that this is not possible in Windows NT 4.0 or lower as these files do not exist in Windows NT 4.0: Code: HISECDC.IN_ HISECWS.IN_ HIVECLS.INF HIVEDEF.INF HIVESFT.INF HIVESYS.INF HIVEUSD.INF So, I've updated the Future Plans list: Code: Added: *Windows XP Starter Edition Removed: *Windows NT 3.51 *Windows NT 3.5 *Windows NT 3.1
Windows XP Starter is essentially Windows XP Home except it is extremely locked down. The restrictions and branding are installed through an "optional component" called "startoc" during the "29-23 minutes left" phase, similar to "K" in Windows XP K Editions, "medctroc" for Windows XP Media Center and "tabletpc" for Windows XP Tablet PC. These optional components write registry keys into HKLM\System\WPA.
Forget about that. It's easy to "convert" system to Starter by adding 1 in HKLM\SYSTEM\WPA\Starter\Installed. But it activates Starter Edition restrictions somewhere in kernel / hal / winlogon and system ends in Unsupported state (6)... This require some hacking, that will be useless. But if anybody can solve it, it would be great. Thats also reason why XP2ESD cannot correctly capture Starter
What about "KN" and "N" editions? I have ideas such as DatacenterKN or WebKN editions. Or even maybe Windows XP Professional x64 Edition as N edition? Nevermind, I've tried to replace .inf files then disable SFC. But after installation WPA prevents me from logging into Windows. This doesn't happen if I don't replace any files from Windows XP Professional except for setupreg.hiv file. It's really risky to edit Windows ISOs with I386 installation. If something is wrong or missing, then Setup may throw us an error quickly (especially in GUI-mode setup.) I don't have any info about that. But maybe this error can be fixed by adding this key and value to HIVESYS.INF file manually.
Could you please describe how to prepare Base.iso and Target.iso? For instance, I would like to convert W2K3 Server R2 SP2 to XP Pro SP3, which files of the two ISOs should be edited or replaced?
Actually, I'm working on how to make this conversion stable. And for now Server 2003 to XP Pro is quite unstable when you convert it. But, I'll still help you. You need to copy the ISO files to the folder where you extracted the files. Then rename your W2K3 ISO to Base.iso and XP Pro SP3 to Target.iso. After that, you can run the script. But you may need to run the script under administrator privileges. And make sure your full path does not contain any space in it. It may fail.
Thanks for your reply. Even though I followed the instructions provided, the conversion from Win2003 to XP does not generate any ISO. The "Final" folder is empty, while the "Base" and "Goal" folders contain the respective files extracted from the source ISOs. The conversion process, however, ends with the message "Server to client conversion: true!" as in the following image:
Actually, I got this mistake after releasing the script. Sorry about that: Just edit this line: Code: Before: xcopy %~dp0Base\ %~dp0Final\ /y /s /e /q After xcopy %~dp0Base %~dp0Final /y /s /e /q It actually worked for me. But I've realized that this line does not work everytime. It should work now. Also this script uses a tool named "robocopy" and as I know this tool is not included with Windows XP. But you can download it from 3rd-party websites and copy the file to System32 folder.
The "Final" folder remains still empty even with the modified script. Also it doesn't load robocopy.exe even if copied this file in the root of the conversion script, in the root C:\, in windows and windows/system 32 folders. The robocopy version is the 5.1.1.1010 extracted form the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools.
Now, I've tried the script with Windows XP. It looks like the script does not support Windows XP hosts. You can try the script on Windows 7 host. This script uses an application named Find and Replace (fnr.exe) that does not support Windows XP. Also now I think the xcopy things are fixed now: Code: Before: xcopy %~dp0Base\ %~dp0Final\ /y /s /e /q After: xcopy %~dp0Base %~dp0Final /y /s /e /q
Same result as before even in Win7 and with the new change. Here the two ISOs I'm using: "Windows 2003 Server R2 SP2 Enterprise Edition (x86)" and "en_windows_xp_professional_with_service_pack_3_x86_cd_vl_x14-73974".
I tried again in Win7 and this time it worked. The first change in the script should be the correct one. With the second change the process stops at 77.44%. Here is the screenshot of the process that seems to have completed without any problems even though 99.76% was reached: Please, add a line in the script where it is specified that when the first step of the conversion process is finished you have to press the enter key to continue. Otherwise this misunderstanding may recur, which, I'm afraid, took you quite some time to verify the script. Sorry about that, but I couldn't imagine that additional user interaction was required even if not specified. I will now proceed with the installation of the ISO thus prepared.
I tried to install the "XP based on W2K3" ISO (adding a modded acpi.sys driver to bypass the A5 bsod) using a flash drive prepared with WinSetupFromUSB on an intel Q87 motherboard in IDE mode to overcome the 7B bsod. Both TXT and GUI mode setup complete smoothly, but on the final reboot before entering the desktop, the system hangs on this screen: The standard installation of W2K3 under same modifications and conditions ends without problems. Any ideas?
Actually, I have an idea to fix the unstability in this conversion. But first I have to do more important things.