Windows Embedded POSReady and POS for .NET Blog : WEPOS

Happy Holidays from the Embedded Team!

posblog — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 02:58:00 GMT

I'd like to send good wishes from the whole team to all POSReady and WEPOS customers, partners and MVPs for a wonderful holiday season, and a successful 2010! We thank you for your support in 2009. Your willingness to give feedback, as well as your continued participation in community forums and newsgroups, chat sessions, face-to-face or virtual meetings are greatly appreciated by our team. We hope we can continue to partner with you to bring you prosperity in the new year.

FYI-The Redmond offices of Microsoft will be closed tomorrow and Friday (PST) for the Christmas weekend, so responses to mail and forum posts may be delayed.

- Lynda

December Security Updates Are Now Available on the ECE

posblog — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:12:42 GMT

The December 2009 Security Updates - Product Download is now available for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) on the ECE for Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 and Windows Embedded for Point of Service. These updates are also individually available directly from the Microsoft Download center as well as Windows Update, however end-customers should refer to their OEM servicing agreement prior to obtaining these updates from any source other than directly from their OEM to ensure uninterrupted support.

The December Security updates include:

973904 Vulnerabilities in WordPad and Office Text Converters Could Allow Remote Code Execution
976098 Install this update to resolve issues caused by revised daylight saving time and time zone laws in several countries
976092 Install this update to resolve a possible data loss issue involving controllers that support ADMA
973688 Install this update to prevent applications from sending too many HTTP requests while a well-known Document Type Definition (DTD) is included
969084 The Remote Desktop Connection 7.0 client update enables you to use the new Remote Desktop Services features
973917 Install this update to help strengthen authentication credentials in specific scenarios
951748 Vulnerability in DNS Could Allow Spoofing
972270 Vulnerability in the Embedded OpenType Font Engine Could Allow Remote Code Execution
976138 An issue has been identified that could allow an authenticated remote attacker to compromise your system and gain control over it
973686 Install this update to prevent applications from sending too many HTTP requests while a well-known Document Type Definition (DTD) is included
976470 Install this update to resolve an issue in which the "Date and Time" window of Control Panel will incorrectly display an error message
973685 Install this update to prevent applications from sending too many HTTP requests while a well-known Document Type Definition (DTD) is included
974392 Vulnerability in Local Security Subsystem Authority Service Could Allow Denial of Service
970430 Install this update to help strengthen authentication credentials in specific scenarios
973687 Install this update to prevent applications from sending too many HTTP requests while a well-known Document Type Definition (DTD) is included
976325 Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer
974318 Vulnerability on Internet Authentication Service Could Allow Remote Code Execution
972187 Vulnerabilities in Windows Media Components Could Allow Remote Code Execution
971737 Install this update to help strengthen authentication credentials in specific scenarios
971726 Vulnerabilities in Active Directory Federation Services Could Allow Remote Code Execution
955759 An issue has been identified that could allow an authenticated remote attacker to compromise your system and gain control over it

If you have questions on accessing the ECE, please email MS Mobile & Embedded Communications Feedback & Support, ECE@microsoft.com.

- Lynda

Technorati Tags: POS

Windows XP Support Tools are now available for POSReady 2009 and WEPOS

posblog — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 02:06:00 GMT

The Windows XP Support Tools, previously available on the ECE for OEM customers for Windows XP Embedded, are now available for Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 and Windows Embedded Point of Service as well.

These Support Tools are intended for use by Microsoft support personnel and experienced users to assist in diagnosing and resolving problems with their embedded systems. They include things like netdom.exe, filever.exe, extract.exe, tracelog.exe etc.

OEMs can download this .img file from the ECE site. If you have questions on accessing the ECE, please email MS Mobile & Embedded Communications Feedback & Support, ECE@microsoft.com.

Thanks,

- Lynda

Technorati Tags: POS

Installing .NET 3.0 or 3.0 SP1 on Windows Embedded Point Of Service 1.1 SP3

posblog — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:30:00 GMT

When installing .NET 3.0 or .NET 3.0 SP1 from the Download Center onto a Windows Embedded Point of Service 1.1 SP3 system setup fails with the following errors:

SETUP.EXE
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 has encountered a problem during setup. Setup did not complete correctly

MICROSOFT .NET FRAMEWORK 3.0 SETUP
An error occurred during setup. Installed files have been removed from your computer. For known issues and troubleshooting information, see the online Readme. For error information, see Error Log.

ERROR LOG (dd_dotnetfx3error.txt)
[Date, Time] WIC Installer: [2] Setup Failed on component WIC Installer
[Date, Time] WapUI: [2] DepCheck indicates WIC Installer is not installed.
[Date, Time] WAPUI: [2] DepCheck indicates Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 was not attempted to be installed.

ERROR LOG (dd_WIC.txt)
0.141: 2009/11/03 12:42:32.068 (local)
0.141: c:\72b6b5c6e15e2d3f28e7ae\update\update.exe (version 6.3.4.0)
0.141: Hotfix started with following command line: /quiet /norestart /log:C:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\dd_WIC.txt
0.151: In Function GetBuildType, line 1170, RegOpenKeyEx failed with error 0x2
0.181: C:\Windows\system32\WindowsCodecs.dll is Not Present
0.181: First Condition in Test.WindowsCodecsVer.Section Succeeded
0.181: Condition succeeded for section Test.WindowsCodecsVer.Section in Line 1 of PreRequisite
0.181: C:\Windows\system32\WindowsCodecsExt.dll is Not Present
0.181: First Condition in Test.WindowsCodecsExtVer.Section Succeeded
0.181: Condition succeeded for section Test.WindowsCodecsExtVer.Section in Line 2 of PreRequisite
0.181: C:\Windows\system32\WMPhoto.dll is Present
0.181: FileVersion of C:\Windows\system32\WMPhoto.dll is Greater Than 6.0.5840.16388
0.181: Condition Check for Line 3 of PreRequisite returned FALSE
0.221: WIC Setup encountered an error: Newer version of update is already on the system.
0.251: Newer version of update is already on the system.
0.251: Update.exe extended error code = 0xf0f4
0.251: Update.exe return code was masked to 0x643 for MSI custom action compliance.

This issue is caused by Windows Embedded Point of Service SP3 systems having a newer version of WMPHOTO.DLL than the .NET 3.0 installer is carrying and which causes the .NET 3.0 installer to fail.

A successful install of .NET 3.0 can be accomplished after completing the following steps:

Launch a Command Shell
CD %windir%\system32
regsvr32 /u wmphoto.dll
ren wmphoto.dll wmphoto.dll.old

Now you can install .NET 3.0 with no errors!

- Lynda

October 2009 Security Update Notes

posblog — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:44:00 GMT

* Updated 11/5/09

Installing the .Net 1.1 SP1 Security Update, KB953297, on Windows Embedded for Point of Service

The MS09-061, Vulnerabilities in the Microsoft .NET Common Language Runtime Could Allow Remote Code Execution update may fail to install on a Windows Embedded Point Of Service Minimum configuration. Extracting the package, and then running the .msp manually will successfully install this update.

Installing the GDI+ Security Update, KB958869, on Windows Embedded for Point of Service and certain installations of Windows Embedded POSReady 2009

Due to an issue with settings to minimize the footprint of Windows Embedded Point Of Service, the MS09-062, Vulnerabilities in GDI+ Could Allow Remote Code Execution update is not getting installed. This has been an ongoing problem with the GDI+ updates and we are working with WinSE to correct this issue for future updates. Please follow these instructions to install this important update. If you have already installed the SP3 update for Windows Embedded Point Of Service, you should use the files from the SP3QFE directory when instructed to move the QFE folder.

Start a command prompt, this can be done by Clicking on Run from the Start menu, typing ‘cmd’ and pressing Enter.
Extract the files from the package by changing directories to the directory where you have copied the update and typing the following at the command prompt:
WindowsXP-KB958869-x86-ENU.exe /x:<dir name>
The remainder of these steps can be done from within Windows Explorer or from the Command Prompt as shown by the examples.
Move the SP2QFE\ASMS folder (or the SP3QFE\ASMS folder if you have installed the SP3 update for WEPOS) to the root of your extracted folder.
move <dir name>\SP2QFE\ASMS . (Note: space and period are required)
Execute the update.
<dir name>\update\update.exe
You will be guided through installation wizard to install the package. After installation is complete, the system will reboot.
You can now delete the temporary folder:
rmdir /s <dir name>

Example: (from a command prompt)
WindowsXP-KB958869-x86-ENU.exe /x:c:\temp\KB958869
cd /d c:\temp\KB958869
move SP2QFE\ASMS . (Note: space and period are required)
cd update
update.exe

Note: This issue may also be evident in Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 systems that are installed to a USB Storage device (not to a standard hard drive). The same workaround can be applied.

-Gina

Technorati Tags: WEPOS,Point of Sale

Windows Updates for WEPOS 1.x

posblog — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 02:19:00 GMT

If you have a WEPOS 1.x system and have turned on Automatic Updates or reviewed the Express Updates option on update.microsoft.com, you may have noticed that the only update you see offered is XP Pro SP3. In this article, we’ll give you some background on why this is happening, and what you can do to work around this.

One of the reasons the WEPOS operating system can be offered at a low price point is because servicing is under the umbrella of XP Pro servicing and there is little overhead, WEPOS simply consumes applicable updates because it is seen as an XP platform. Based on this, Windows Update sees WEPOS as XP Pro, it does not differentiate it as a separate operating system. So, if you do not have SP3 for WEPOS installed, Windows Update is going to tell you that you need to install the XP Pro SP3 update.

However, because the WEPOS platform is a reduced footprint OS, we could not simply consume the XP Pro SP3 update. It bloated the image significantly and added features, functionality and configurations not spec’d for WEPOS. So with the XP Pro SP3 update, we special-cased it to not install on WEPOS and instead provide a dialog message informing customers who do run the Pro SP3 Update that it is not compatible with WEPOS and a WEPOS specific update will be made available on the download center at a later date, and followed up with the Service Pack 3 for Window Embedded for point of Service and Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs update.

One of the outcomes of this approach, since WEPOS is seen as XP, is that all updates rolled into SP3 are no longer offered to your WEPOS system through Automatic or Express Updates because it assumes you will install the XP Pro SP3 update to get them all. Until you install the SP3 for WEPOS update, the workaround is to turn off Automatic Updates. Go to update.microsoft.com and select Custom. You will still see the XP SP3 update with a Download and Install Now link, but there is another link, Review Other Updates. Select the Review Other Updates link and you will see a list of applicable High-priority XP updates for your WEPOS system. You can select the updates you wish to install and proceed to Review and Install Updates to update your system.

Note: Prior to receiving the set of XP Updates, you may be prompted to install updates for Windows Update. Proceed with installing those updates and any required reboots, then return to update.microsoft.com, Custom, Review Other updates to update your WEPOS image.

Once you have installed the SP3 update for WEPOS, you can return to using Automatic updates successfully.

OEMs are ultimately responsible for supporting the WEPOS images they deploy. You should work with your OEM to determine your servicing model, and in particular to determine update compatibility with your WEPOS systems prior to installing updates, particularly Out of Band applications (e.g. Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, etc.) and major OS updates such as SP3.

- Gina

Product Lifecycle: What is it? What does it mean to me? (or… “Gina, are your eyes okay?”) Part Deux

posblog — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:44:00 GMT

If you follow the Windows Embedded blog, you may have seen a similar posting about the Embedded Windows products. This is a shameless knock-off of that blog article re-purposed to cover the WEPOS and POSReady products…

What it is:
Microsoft Support Lifecycle policy is the Microsoft standard for product support availability throughout a product’s life. Quoting the Lifecycle policy page: “By understanding the product support available, customers are better able to maximize the management of their IT investments and strategically plan for a successful IT future.” This is true for OEMs supporting POS devices as well.

Blog-worthy Embedded Windows Dates:
The recent releases of Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 as the follow-on product to Windows Embedded for Point of Service, and Service Pack 3 for Windows Embedded for Point of Service, have initiated some support lifecycle updates that I thought would be of interest, and might become more meaningful with additional explanation.

10/12/2010 WESPOS releases (1.0, 1.1, 1.1 Update) if not updated with Service Pack 3 Retire, they no longer receive Security updates/Hotfix-DCR updates/support
4/12/2011 WEPOS (at supported Service Pack Level) exits Mainstream, enters Extended support phase
4/12/2016 WEPOS Product Lifecycle ends

4/8/2014 Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 Product exits Mainstream, enters Extended support phase
4/9/2019 Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 Product Lifecycle ends

You can review the Phases of the Support Lifecycle at the Lifecycle policy page.

Detailed (read: Lengthy) explanation:
The following tables are based on the information found in each product’s Support Lifecycle listing.

In a nutshell Microsoft’s OS product Lifecycle policy is ten years; five years Mainstream support and five years Extended support. A variant to this equation is based on the follow-on product release timing. A product will have five years Mainstream support, or two years Mainstream support following the follow-on product’s General Availability Date, whichever period is longer.

For example, with the release of Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 as the follow-on product to Windows Embedded for Point of Service, the two year period of remaining Mainstream support for Windows Embedded for Point of Service commenced. When the Windows Embedded for Point of Service Mainstream support phase ends, the product will begin five years of Extended support. Review the Phases of the Support Lifecycle at the Lifecycle policy page.

A Service Pack is retired two years after the subsequent Service Pack is released, or it retires at the end of the product’s Support Lifecycle, whichever comes first. A non-retired Service Pack will be supported at the product’s current Lifecycle Phase, Mainstream or Extended, regardless of the age of that Service Pack. Learn more about Service Pack Support policy.

Date Calculations:

General Availability dates are loosely calculated to be when a new product is available to customers in the channel after the RTM date (about 90 days later), or they reflect the RTM date for Service Pack releases.
Retirement dates are generally calculated as the first Patch Tuesday (2nd Tuesday of each month) of the quarter which follows the actual calculated date.

For example, <deep breath> Windows Embedded POSReady 2009’s General Availability Date is 3/10/2009. That date begins the two year countdown until Windows Embedded for Point of Service exits Mainstream Support and enters Extended Support. So, 3/10/2009 plus two years takes us to 3/10/2011. The following quarter begins April, 2011, and Patch Tuesday is the second Tuesday in April. This brings us to the Windows Embedded for Point of Service Mainstream Support Retirement date of 4/12/2011. <exhale> If I lost you, please read it a few more times. :) I’ve gone over it a dozen or so times <again> to make sure it is accurate and it makes more sense to me every time.

Okay, I’m going to wrap up – the complex logic has made my eyes cross just a bit, and it’s getting hard to focus on the computer screen. I hope this has provided some useful data, given you a clue as to how the data is determined, and that the scarce amount of levity has made it a bit more palatable.

-Gina

Oh! A few afterthoughts:

This blog doesn’t consider Custom Support options available when a Service Pack is retired or a Product Lifecycle Phase ends. If you are interested in those options, please consult with your Microsoft Technical Account Manager, Account Representative, or contact a Sales Rep for more information.
The blog also doesn’t address Product Distribution End Dates, a topic about which I know very little (oops, I think the eyes may be twitching a bit now…). Your Microsoft Technical Account Manager or Account Representative is a good resource for this information as well, and you might also find useful information at this Embedded Windows website.
Lastly… Sincere apologies for the length of this post – unfortunately, I couldn’t trim it without de-demystifying the issue.

Next version of WEPOS is just around the corner....

posblog — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 06:09:00 GMT

The next version of Windows Embedded for Point of Service is just around the
corner. In addition to new functionality, this update carries a new name.

Windows Embedded POSReady 2009.

We are very excited to launch POSReady 2009 at NRF: Retail’s BIG Show on

January 10-14 in NYC. If you are attending NRF, please come see us at the

Microsoft booth (637 on the show floor) and attend our Big !deas session on

Jan 12th @ 1:45pm ET to celebrate the launch with us! In the spirit of retail,

we are giving away a $1K American Express card as well as 4GB USB sticks

at our Big !deas session. Many members of the development team will be

on hand at the Microsoft booth throughout the show to answer questions.

We hope to see you there.

We can’t talk about product details yet, but we will have lots more to talk

about after our session on Jan 12th. Additional details are available at

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsembedded/en-us/news/events/nrf.mspx.

We would also like to announce our new product URL:

http://www.posready.com

Watch this URL for updated information to appear over the next couple weeks

- Terry

Managment tools may require WMI Namespace to be recreated after SP3 update

posblog — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 02:41:00 GMT

If you use the management tools that are dependent upon WMI (such as posdm.exe), the WMI namespaces may need to be recreated after significant OS updates (such as applying SP3). A temporary fix, can be done by choosing the repair option from the installer; however, the recommended fix, in order to avoid future reoccurrences, is to use mofcomp as described in the attached document.

- Sylvester

SMS: Distinguishing WEPOS From XP

posblog — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 01:48:00 GMT

One common problem that arises when using SMS to manage WEPOS machines alongside XP machines is that there is no simple way for SMS to distinguish the two. Whenever a query is run that specifies XP machines, WEPOS machines will find themselves lumped in too. The following is a pair of methods that help you work around this problem.

The first method is the quick-and-dirty method. WEPOS has a few files that are branded specifically for WEPOS. Executable files are picked up by Software Inventory by default, so it makes sense for our query to look through the Software Inventory for any WEPOS-specific executables. For example, one such executable is WEPOS’s explorer.exe. If we decided to look for the WEPOS-branded explorer.exe, we could use the following query:

select distinct sys.Name, sys.OperatingSystemNameandVersion, sys.LastLogonUserName, SMS_G_System_SoftwareFile.FileName, SMS_G_System_SoftwareFile.FileVersion from SMS_R_System as sys inner join SMS_G_System_SoftwareFile on SMS_G_System_SoftwareFile.ResourceID = sys.ResourceId where SMS_G_System_SoftwareFile.FileName = "explorer.exe" and SMS_G_System_SoftwareFile.FileVersion = "6.00.2900.2647 (xpsp.050404-1634)"

Notice the FileName and FileVersion portions of this query near the end. The file version has been collected from the file properties dialog.

Great, we’ve got our WEPOS machines now, right? Eh, not quite. This solution isn’t workable in the long run for a couple of reasons. First, there’s no guarantee that the versioning on a WEPOS-specific file will always remain the same. If an update is applied to some of your machines which alters the file your query is looking at, those machines will find themselves dropped out of the query. Second, if you have machines with WEPOS installed to a secondary partition and another OS installed to the first, you could wind up with some false positives.

Why consider this method at all? It’s simple, and it will be reliable if you’ve met the right conditions and only need a temporary solution. Perhaps you need run a one-time install of a batch of updates to several fresh WEPOS installations. This query might be all you need. Just be sure to double check that it’s actually doing what you want it to do.

The second method is a bit heavier, but it is much more reliable. With SMS, it is possible to extend the Hardware Inventory to collect other information about the client. Our silver bullet with regards to our problem is to use an extended Hardware Inventory to collect information in the registry about the WEPOS installation, which is found at HKLM\Software\Microsoft\WEPOS. This is done by editing the SMS_def.mof file.

First, some suggested reading:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sms/sms2003/opsguide/default.mspx?mfr=true

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/archive/sms/sms2/proddocs/sms-regx.mspx?mfr=true

These resources describe how to extend Hardware Inventory in SMS. The first link is to the SMS Operations Guide. In the guide, go to (Chapter 2 > Hardware Inventory Administrative Tasks > Configuring Hardware Inventory Rules) for info on editing the SMS_def.mof file in order to customize what Hardware Inventory data is gathered. Also, (Chapter 3 > Extending Hardware Inventory) will provide further information. The second link is to a whitepaper describing how to edit SMS_def.mof in order to collect information from the registry of the client machine during Hardware Inventory.

Here is one example of an addition to SMS_def.mof that will gather WEPOS registry data.

//----------------------
// WEPOS Install
//----------------------

#pragma namespace ("\\\\.\\root\\cimv2")

[DYNPROPS]
class WeposInstall
{
[key]string Name = "";
string Value;
};

[DYNPROPS]
instance of WeposInstall
{
    Name = "Version";
    [PropertyContext("local|HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\Software\\Microsoft\\WEPOS|Version"),
    Dynamic, Provider("RegPropProv")]
    Value;
};

[DYNPROPS]
instance of WeposInstall
{
    Name = "Additional Code Page Support";
    [PropertyContext("local|HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\Software\\Microsoft\\WEPOS\\Optional Components|Additional Code Page Support"),
    Dynamic, Provider("RegPropProv")]
    Value;
};

[DYNPROPS]
instance of WeposInstall
{
    Name = "Additional Driver Support";
    [PropertyContext("local|HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\Software\\Microsoft\\WEPOS\\Optional Components|Additional Driver Support"),
    Dynamic, Provider("RegPropProv")]
    Value;
};

// And so on...
// Add one of these for every optional component install you wish to report:
//
//[DYNPROPS]
//instance of WeposInstall
//{
//    Name = "Optional Component Name";
//    [PropertyContext("local|HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\Software\\Microsoft\\WEPOS\\Optional Components|Optional Component Name"),
//    Dynamic, Provider("RegPropProv")]
//    Value;
//};

#pragma namespace ("\\\\.\\root\\cimv2\\sms")

[ SMS_Report (TRUE),
SMS_Group_Name ("WEPOS Install"),
SMS_Class_ID ("MICROSOFT|WEPOSInstall|1.0") ]

class WeposInstall : SMS_Class_Template
{
    [SMS_Report (TRUE), key ]
        string Name;
    [SMS_Report (TRUE)      ]
        string Value;
};

1. Add the text to the end of your SMS_def.mof file.

2. This new SMS_def.mof needs to be compiled on your client machines before they will report the extended hardware inventory. This can be done by creating and advertising a package to all of your clients which:

a. Contains the new SMS_def.mof file, and

b. Runs a program containing the command “mofcomp.exe SMS_def.mof”

3. After the program runs, trigger a hardware inventory cycle on the clients. When the inventory completes, the clients should be reporting WEPOS install information.

After these steps, resource explorer should show a new entry called “WEPOS Install” (this is true for all clients that compiled the SMS_def.mof, not just WEPOS Installs). This entry will display whether or not a particular WEPOS optional components is installed on the client. Additionally, the WEPOS version number is collected here. If these optional component entries are blank, then the machine you’re looking at is not a WEPOS install.

From here, a simple query checking that the WEPOS Install optional components (or version) are not blank will become your “All WEPOS Systems” query. You might also consider updating your XP queries in order to exclude WEPOS systems. And of course, give this a try in a test environment first!

- Ryan

New WEPOS & POS for .NET Training Course

posblog — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 02:52:00 GMT

SJJ Embedded Micro Solutions, one of our Windows Embedded Partners, announced that they have put together a new training course: “Introduction to Windows Embedded for Point of Service / POS for .NET”. Their webpage states that "the course covers the fundamentals and features of WEPOS and POS for .NET." And that there is a specific "focus on POS for .NET 1.11 with support for C# and VB.NET developers."

It is a one day course with dates already scheduled on September 21st and November 2nd. Check out more details here.

If you know of any other courses or trainings covering WEPOS or POS for .NET in your area, please let us know so we can help spread the word!

- Shayna

WEPOS on a Panel PC

posblog — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 02:11:08 GMT

An article on Windows For Devices talks about a new Panel PC from Belview Technologies that is available running WEPOS and substitutes a compact flash card for the standard slim-line disk drive. The device is called the PP6500 All-in-one Panel PC, and Belview says that it's perfect for Self-Service applications. Check out either of the sites linked above for more information about the features and specifications.

It's exciting to see more devices running WEPOS!

- Shayna

Extending the Power of the WEPOS Unattended Installation

posblog — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 23:28:33 GMT

Those of you familiar with the WEPOS attended installation process may have seen the “Press any key for a command prompt” screen that appears during the setup initialization. Pressing any key on the keyboard while this message is visible will interrupt setup and give you a command window. From this command window you can perform a number of tasks before you continue with setup. Once setup completes, the focus returns to the command window and you can perform additional tasks before exiting and rebooting the computer.

To take this a step further, you can take advantage of this functionality during an unattended installation by placing the files presetup.cmd and postsetup.cmd into the Setup folder. Let’s use the example where you want your WEPOS system to have two partitions. You could create both partitions prior to your unattended answer file being processed, and format the second partition after the setup completes.

To create both partitions before your unattended answer file is processed; in presetup.cmd you would call DISKPART.EXE to execute a DISKPART script located in the same directory as presetup.cmd. The script would instruct DISKPART.EXE how to create the partitions. Once the script is complete, setup will begin processing your unattended answer file. If you want to install WEPOS onto a partition that you created in presetup.cmd, make sure you use the <ModifyPartition> element within <DiskConfig> in your unattended answer file rather than <CreatePartition>.

The postsetup.cmd file would contain instructions to format the second partition. Call FORMAT.EXE to format this partition. Since FORMAT.EXE prompts the user for a confirmation before proceeding, you can embed the confirmation into the postsetup.cmd script by adding “ECHO Y |”, resulting in a command like “ECHO Y | format.exe /FS:NTFS /V:HDD2”.

After setup is finished and WEPOS has completed the FBA process, you will find a second partition formatted and ready for use.

For information about writing a DISKPART script, please refer to TechNet DISKPART Documentation.

For a complete list of console applications that can be used in presetup.cmd or postsetup.com, look for other .EXE files in the i386/System32 directory on the WEPOS CD.

For additional information of using custom presetup.cmd and postsetup.cmd scripts, please reference the MSDN WEPOS Using Custom Scripts Documentation.

- Terry

Recipe for Mass Storage Device Support

posblog — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 20:00:00 GMT

Here’s the scenario – you’re getting ready to do a trial installation of WEPOS 1.1 Update on a new machine before making preparations to deploy the image onto multiple identical machines. Should be a typical installation, right? Pop in the CD, go through the wizard, wait for the reboots, and then you’re done. But wait… Rats. Setup does not recognize the machine’s mass storage device (hard drive) because it is too new and you need to install its drivers during Setup. Well then, from here you have what used to be your only options for solving this problem.

Option A:

Place a copy of the WEPOS Setup CD onto your machine.
Copy the .inf files to the <WEPOS Setup CD>\I386\inf folder.
Copy the .sys files to the <WEPOS Setup CD>\I386\system32\drivers folder.
Copy the .dll files (and pretty much all other driver files) to the <WEPOS Setup CD>\I386\system32 folder.
Burn yourself a bootable CD and hope that all will work. If it doesn’t, you might have to make changes and then burn another CD to try again.

Option B:

If you haven’t already, download the INFImporter Utility tool from the Microsoft Download site.
Use the tool to generate an .xml file by feeding it an .inf file. Do this for all necessary .inf files.
During installation, use the /devicefile command-line switch to point to the .xml file (and, indirectly, to the drivers).

Better yet, combine the two so that you:

Place a copy of the WEPOS Setup CD onto your machine.
Create an .xml file named DriverInstall.xml using the INFImporter Utility tool.
Copy the DriverInstall.xml file to the same directory as Setup.exe.
Copy the driver files to the location as specified in DriverInstall.xml file.
Burn yourself a bootable CD and then…

...you get the idea. One way or another, you’ll have several steps to complete before you reach the end result.

With the introduction of the Support for Mass Storage Device feature in WEPOS 1.1 Update, you no longer need to go through so much hassle for what was supposed to be a simple trial on a single machine. All that’s required is a floppy disk with the mass storage device support, and you’re good to go.

An additional screen has been added to the wizard as part of this feature. When you come to the Additional Drivers for Mass Storage screen, just select the “Search for and install additional drivers” option and make sure you’ve inserted your floppy disk. Setup automatically selects the best driver and caches the files for later use.

Two additional tips for using this feature:

This procedure only works for a manual installation. If you want to do an unattended installation, you’ve got to do it the long way.
If you’re doing an installation of WEPOS to determine whether the driver you’ve just installed works, be sure to let the installation run to the end. That is, just seeing that First Boot Agent (FBA) is able to kick in doesn’t mean all will be fine and dandy. You may get a blue screen a couple minutes into FBA.

That’s all there is to it. There’s no messy preparation beforehand and no time wasted (sounds a little like a no-bake cheesecake recipe)!

- Christina

Congrats to IBM! Winner of the 2007 Americas Windows Embedded Excellence Award for WEPOS

posblog — Wed, 23 May 2007 21:08:52 GMT

The WEPOS development and marketing teams would like to congratulate IBM on winning the 2007 WEPOS OEM of the year award. In receiving the 2007 Americas Windows Embedded Excellence award, Microsoft recognizes IBM’s achievements and excellence in driving customer adoption and WEPOS awareness around the world. The Windows Embedded Excellence Awards recognize visionaries and organizations around the world that use technology in an innovative and creative manner. Our partnership with IBM is a great example of how we can provide the right hardware and software solution to retail customers in all regions and geographies.

The picture shows from left to right: David Feldman (MS), Ilya Bukshteyn(MS), Mazen AL-Rousan (IBM), Geoff Hirsch(MS), and Oguo Atuanya(MS).

Thank you,
- David

<5/23 2:51pm - updated post with picture>