Jasper

Rory, I don't think that will work when a bunch of hardware changes have occurred because I believe they are tracked by Microsoft through an internet connection. Could be wrong, but don't know for sure..

Not off hand.

You slipstream a copy of Windows together with Service Pack 2. Then you use this as your install disk. So it is two separate processes. It saves you the time of installing the Service pack separately. And if you read that you can activate over the internet that is one less hassle. I usually have to call if I start swapping in and out many parts out of a computer.

Please no videos of cattle being slaughtered. I want to be able to eat something without picturing some animal being tortured. But I can’t avoid meat either. I am getting hungry for a hamburger or Taco just talking about this stuff. I had a protien drink ealier but even that has animal by products in it.

I hate veggies. They were forced on me as a child and never grew to like them after that. Everybody who eats them regularly seems to be real healthy. Look at Jack LaLane. He is my role model. Too bad I can’t do anything he can. I like cereal and nuts. No peanut butter huh? Most people can’t even do a regular diet let alone quit eating meat. That’s why I said you are doing an admirable thing because there aren’t too many people that have been able to do it.

I feel like I have been through this once before.

Maybe both, been a little while since I last did this. I think you deal with an automated system first which gives you a code then you get connected to a real person who gives you another code after you tell her your code. I think. I am so confused. I try to call Microsoft as little as possible. Help me Mr. Wizard. Anyone remember for sure? The important part is that it is no big deal. The first time I did it I was like damn that is a lot of digits. But no problem as long as you have them right. You will be giving authentic product codes right? You wouldn't go to jail, they would just deactivate that copy of windows on that machine. They go after the big pirates.

About 5 minutes if that. It is just one long string of characters you have to copy down or type real fast. Yes you might have to speak to someone. There is a very nice lady who answers the phone.

That was the etc.

Yep. You just want to make sure you have the recycle checked otherwise when the hard drive(s) fill up, no more recording.

If you have product keys for each version of Windows than the disk imaging idea will work just fine. You will have to call Microsoft for each copy. I wouldn't trust a script unattended unless I was pretty close though. Here is another link to the product activation key and the registry: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org/how_do_i_change_the_windows_xp_p.htm

You can never ask to many questions. I can get tired though. Here is a link to Microsofts website if you really want to get into the scripting. http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/deploy/wpadepl.mspx Your not alone with people asking for help all the time and don't have a clue what is involved or how long it took me to learn everything I know. They don't care. They just want their stuff to work and they know you know how to do it.

I just wish the upload bandwidth was higher for most consumer accounts. 256kbps is very slow. Many people buy a DVR thinking they are going to buy 8 cameras and be able to watch them remotely real-time. Not a chance, won’t happen. They’ll be lucky to see 4-5fps with 4 cameras. And that with vary considerably due to the many factors that increase the frame size of an image.

Her activated version of windows has a series of hardware that identifies it uniquely to Microsoft. When her computer accesses the internet and makes contact with Microsoft’s servers they will know that the key embedded in that version of Windows does not belong on that computer. Because it is your Key and not hers. With your key on her computer Microsoft will be expecting a computer that has the same network MAC address of your network card, etc. to be communicating with their servers. That is why you will need to go through the product activation process. If this is just for your aunt’s computer I would keep it simple. For doing this to several computers you can use advanced scripting that will take care of all of this.

You will get prompted for an activation code because the hardware that the Windows Install was imaged on is totally different. That's why you want to use the utility to retrieve her original product activation key. You will be supplied a telephone number on the screen and a string of characters that you need to punch in over the phone to an automated system. I assume the copy of windows you install will have already been slipstreamed with Service Pack 2. An image of the install is much faster than trying to do the install from scratch. If your going to only do this once on your aunts computer then you should do what Thomas suggested. If you plan on doing this on a regular basis then going through this process will save you a lot of time on future install on other systems. If you were doing this on other machines you could just use scripts to do automated unattended installs and not even worry about the time factor.

That is a good question. I would retreive her product key and write it down just in case. Technically you should have your key and she should have hers. Here is a way to avoid having to call Microsoft for the product activation again. And yes it is legal. http://netsecurity.about.com/od/windowsxp/qt/aaqtwinxp0829.htm Note: The above would only work if reinstalled on the same system, sorry.

If she has her own copy of Windows XP that you will be overwriting you can retrieve her product activation key by using this handy utility. That way she doesn't need to know where he disk is or the activation code. Because it is already stored on the hard disk. http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml And yes I have done what I have been telling you many times.

Windows will recognize the different hardware. And you can easily delete the drivers through the device manager that are no longer relavent.. But ideally if you can just have the standard VGA driver for the display active and remove any other devices you can image the installation cleaner if you wish. I have done it both ways. Kandcorp is right you can have your display not come up if it is looking for another type of video card. Best to use the generic VGA display driver that comes with Windows XP to avoid a potential display issue. Also once you have internet access you can download most needed drivers from the vendors web sites. I also use this tool to speed up my loading of device drivers: http://www.driver-soft.com/ It offers access to a device data base which sometimes will have hard to find device drivers within it. Great tool for backing up all device drivers on a system for quick restore purposes if needed.

Everything except the specific device drivers required for the devices on that system. Many of which are supported by Windows XP already. For the other devices you would need the proper device driver CD's. Display, Sound Card, Printer, Network Card, etc, When you boot the imaged version of windows on another system, Windows will recognize the new devices and prompt you for a disk if needed. Like I said though many device are natively supported.

That is what I thought. Acronis True Image 9.0 was finally rated higher that Ghost. I have backed up partitions in 15 minutes or so. But if Ghost is what you like then that is what you should use. Install Service Pack 2 and then download all the current update and install them and your up to date. Once you do the one install of Windows XP on a drive then image it, it will never take you as long again to get a system up and running and configured.

OK, here we go again. Here is a link with several different ideas on the subject. http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=2318

How fast of an Upload speed are you going to have for the DVR? If it is low, that will make the frame rate and the quality over the NET really poor. More cameras more bandwidth. Color, more bandwidth. Higher resolution, more bandwidth. You get the idea.

i don't see my neighbor on any kind of list there.

If it is the thin type of cable it will experience voltage drop faster than the thicker 18 guage power wires used in the regular siamese cable. Have you measured the power at the end of the cable where it would connect to the camera. What is the reading? Are you using a power box? Anything change that had to do with the power source?

I can attest to the simplicity of using the twist on type as well. I am glad I didn’t bother with compression or crimp types. More tools and more ways to screw up, but it is a personal choice. There is a whole long thread that talks about this subject, but I think you will come to the same conclusion. Use the twist on type, they work and there easy to work with. And you can find twist on types all over the place.