Windows XP Embedded Service Pack 2 Feature Pack 2007 (November 9, 2006)

**Chat Topic:**Windows XP Embedded Service Pack 2 Feature Pack 2007
**Date:**Thursday, November 09, 2006

Please note: Portions of this transcript have been edited for clarity

Introductions

Wendy [MS] (Moderator):
Welcome to today’s chat . The topic is "Windows XP Embedded Service Pack 2 Feature Pack". You are also welcome to give us questions or feedback on ImageDiff which is currently under CTP.

Let me introduce myself. I am Weijuan (Wendy) Shi, Program Manager of the Embedded Windows team. We are pleased to welcome our Experts for today’s chat. I will have them introduce themselves now.

Introductions

lyallen_MSFT (Expert):
Hi, I'm Lynda Allen. I'm a tester on Embedded Windows, focused on Componentization.

Jim_Medding_MSFT (Expert):
Hi, I'm Jim Medding. I'm a SW development engineer with the XPe test team.

Shayna [MS] (Expert):
Hi, I'm Shayna Begun. I'm a Program Manager on the team.

MarkCli [MS] (Expert):
I'm Mark Cliggett, the product unit manager for the Embedded Windows team.

milong [MS] (Expert):
I'm Milong, A developer for the Embedded Windows team.

JonFi_MSFT (Expert):
Howdy! Jon Fincher here, a Program Manager in Windows Serviceability responsible for servicing XPE.

Shweta [MS] (Expert):
I'm Shweta, a developer on the embedded windows team.

Shabnam_MSFT (Expert):
Hi, my name is Shabnam Erfani, I'm a lead program manager in Embedded Windows team.

ShivkS_MSFT (Expert):
Hi, I am Shiv, an SDET on the XPe team.

Steffen [MS] (Expert):
Hi I am Steffen Schreier Program Manager in the Embedded Windows team

Xin_MSFT (Expert):
Hi, I'm Xin, a developer from the Embedded Windows team

Luca [MS] (Expert):
Hi, I'm Luca Amapane, Program Manager in the Embedded Windows team

Sarah [MS] (Expert):
Hi, I'm Sarah Ali, a Program Manager on the Windows Embedded Team.

Start of Chat

milong [MS] (Expert):
Q: Is there any way to changed the RAMdisk drive letter designation?
A: Can you explain a little why you need to change the drive letter? It appears that you can only assign a drive letter if the disk is a boot device.

Khalidsa_MSFT (Expert):
Q: I am a technician, not a developer. I'm trying to deploy embedded devices to replace systems on our network. We have an old DOS application that requires a mapped Z:\ drive, which is what my device comes from the factory with the RAMdisk preset as.
A: I'm not sure what you're asking for. Could you provide more info? Thanks.

milong [MS] (Expert):
Q: I need to be able to map a network drive as a Z:\ drive. However, the local system already has the Ramdisk (temporary memory) allocated as Z:\. I am unable to change its drive letter through the Disk Management utility in control panel.
A: There is a utility called mountvol.exe. Try if you can unmount the Ramdisk from the drive letter. You should be careful the application that created the Ramdisk will handle this. If you can change the application, you can choose not to have a drive letter assigned to the Ramdisk.

Jim_Medding_MSFT (Expert):
Q: I need to be able to map a network drive as a Z:\ drive. However, the local system already has the Ramdisk (temporary memory) allocated as Z:\. I am unable to change its drive letter through the Disk Management utility in control panel.
A: Some additional information. You can set the RAMDrive DriveLetter in the Registry, the default value is "z:\". This KB article discusses the configuration of RAMDrive.sys: https://support.microsoft.com/kb/q257405/

lyallen_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Is there a way I can modify a resource using XPECMD. In my case, for USB boot I would like to disable "FBA DLL/COM Registration" resource under Enhanced Write Filter using the XPECMD script. I am not sure how I can do this in this script. Please suggest
A: I do not see a way to disable a resource using XPECMD (only in TD). I will continue to investigate and post any solution I might find in the newsgroup.

Khalidsa_MSFT (Expert):
Q: In Component Designer for a .Net 2.0 custom shell, is there a way to add a file to the GAC?
A: How about using an FBA generic command that calls the GACUtil to install the assembly in the GAC?

Shabnam_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Can we know when FP2007 will be released? (not the eval version)
A: FP 2007 has been released. You can download it from https://www.microsoft.com/downloads or from the OEM secure site if you have already licensed XP Embedded.

Shabnam_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Hi, FP 2007 is great till now. Many issues are resolved.
A: We are glad to hear that. Can you elaborate on specific problems that FP 2007 has addressed for you?

Shabnam_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Smaller footprint, ít's easier to let OE out of the image, good rework of IE and IIS, easier to configure user accounts etc.
A: Thanks for the info. Are you planning use any of the new EEFs (USB boot, FBWF, EWF HORM)?

Shabnam_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Yes, in my new project I like to use HORM. Haven't worked with it yet, but looks not too difficult. USB boot is also a very nice feature!
A: What kind of device are you building for your new project?

Shabnam_MSFT (Expert):
Q: I'm working on a new display controller for a narrowcasting system. This is my specialty. I don't do software, but mainly hardware
A: and why is HORM useful for your device?

Shabnam_MSFT (Expert):
Q: I like to use HORM to speed up the boot process with many different applications already loaded, I think this is a feature I can use.
A: Yes, that's right.

Shabnam_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Are there any plans for software RAID support on XPe? Or does it already exist?
A: XPe does not support RAID right now. What is the RAID level you require and where would you use this feature? This information would help us consider this feature for future.

Shabnam_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Shabnam, We design hardware and currently we have a PMC that has 8 fixed USB drives. One of the customer requirements is to RAID them for performance. So I would think it is just a RAID 0. And this PMC will sit on a Single Board Computer.
A: XP Pro supports RAID 0. If that meets your need, there is a chance that it could work on XPe. What kind of XPe image will you be running on this board?

Shabnam_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Shabnam, I am not sure what you meant by what kind of image. This board will be booting from a USB drive and gets it kernel from USB drive. And it has other peripherals
A: I meant what OS components are included in the image that will boot. BTW have you tried running XP Pro on this board?

Shabnam_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Shabnam, Since this boots from a USB drive and needs EWF, I guess XP Pro is out of question. Am I right?
A: Yes, I was wondering if XP Pro provides the level of RAID support you need, in which case, it may just work on XPe, and all we need is some testing.

Shabnam_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Shabnam, I am supposed to test this hardware on XP Pro today or tomorrow. So I guess I will know soon.
A: OK. I would like to hear what the outcome of your testing is, it would be great if you could let us know by sending mail to wecrt@microsoft.com.

Shabnam_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Shabnam, Once I test it on XP Pro I will send an email to wecrt@microsoft.com
A: Ok, thanks. Look forward to hearing from you.

Steffen [MS] (Expert):
Q: Did anyone try the Image Diff tool? https://blogs.msdn.com/embedded/archive/2006/10/09/XP-Embedded-Image-Difference-Engine-Evaluation.aspx Now is the time to do so in order to drive your feedback into the first version. It is a powerful tool for all your update needs. Please check it out today https:/connect.microsoft.com/windowsxpembedded> and provide feedback within the next weeks. Thank you. -Steffen

Wendy [MS] (Moderator):
Q: For future chats, we are thinking to have a specific industry, e.g., medical, as the major topic. We'll invite experts from Microsoft and other companies to meet you. I'd like to hear how this idea sounds to you, what industry you will be interested most. Thank you. You can post your comments here or later via email at wecrt@microsoft.com.

Wendy [MS] (Moderator):
Q: Medical would be great, as we are working on replacing many of our PC's with thin devices.
A: Thank you. I assume you meant "thin clients" when you say "thin devices".

Wendy [MS] (Moderator):
Q: Wendy, what about one for DNA apps?
A: Is that also in the category of Medical? Can you elaborate a little bit?

Wendy [MS] (Moderator):
Q: Wendy, it is related to Defense And Aerospace (DNA), where we like to have high performance, high reliability across quick power shutdowns etc
A: Thanks for the explanation. I noted that down.

lyallen_MSFT (Expert):
Q: If I do a clean install of XPE with XPE SP2 and then install FP 2007, is it correct that it also includes all previous updates? Even the last one from October (X13-28934.img) is not needed?
A: FP2007 includes all the security updates for XP SP2 up to and including the latest ones released in October 2006.

OrenW_MS (Expert):
Q: Regarding FBWF + Answer default + Cloning : I enable FBWF on a station. I take an image. When I push that image , windows detect the drive as new and press the default button to reboot. But because FBWF is on, the computer is in loop...any way to bypass?
A: You will have to disable FBWF if you want the changes to stick. Usually you need to clone on the same h/w so these things should not happen.

Khalidsa_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Khalidsa, I am just looking into the comphelp help file. For terminal services I can find only services, Associated Components, Settings and Notes
A: I think you need to look at xpehelp.chm file. I'm double checking now.

Khalidsa_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Is it possible to document more help on Macro components? Like what components will be included if I included Terminal Services Macro Component.
A: This info used to be in SP2 but it seems it's not there any more in FP 2007. I'll follow up with the doc team on this to add it in the next doc refresh. Sorry for the inconvenience. For now, if you open a new configuration in TD, add only the Terminal services component, disable dep auto resolve and then do dep check, you should see what components TD is trying to add. Those are the deps of TS. Here is the list:

TCP/IP Networking with Client For MS Networks

Terminal Services Core

Terminal Server Remote Desktop

Windows Logon (Standard)

Khalidsa_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Khalidsa. Yup. That helps too. But I would like the dependencies on a help file so that a customer support person can pull this information out quickly.
A: Agree. I will file a bug on this.

Thomas Yong - MSFT (Expert):

A: The component helps are already on MSDN, here is the link: https://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa940664.aspx.

lyallen_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Is it possible to document more help on Macro components? Like what components will be included if I included Terminal Services Macro Component.
A: To follow up- An easier way in TD is to click on Settings for the macro- you will see the components listed in the right pane that will be brought into the config. You can check and uncheck those you want or do not want.

lyallen_MSFT (Expert):
Q: The Add Component File Resource dialog box in Component Designer has a list of predefined file locations. Is there one for GAC?
A: No, there is not one specifically for GAC in Component Designer

OrenW_MS (Expert):
Q: Does XPe after installing a Custom Shell still show some kind of wallpaper? We see something like a bluedesktop background following bootup before the component registered as a shell shows up.
A: What image are you building? Usually Winlogon creates a default window station that sets this default blue background as a desktop. If you want to replace it, you will have to create a window station and a desktop in your custom shell application. See MSDN reference for CreateDesktop and SetProcessWindowStation win32 API.

OrenW_MS (Expert):
Q: We're building a medical device that boots up to a Windows Form app. Is there a preferred way to install/configure this? Do we even need a windows station and/or desktop?
A: If this bothers you and you own the windows form app, you can potentially call these APIs to change it

OrenW_MS (Expert):
Q: Maybe something unrelated; but will there be a component in future to make a Media Center Extender with XPE? Or will this be CE related? This should be very nice, also in combination with Vista I think.
A: We are looking at that as one of many potential future features. Thanks for bringing it up.

Shabnam_MSFT (Expert):
Q: FP 2007 benefits for me: USB boot. In future I think command line and image diff will prove useful. Footprint/dependency reduction is also much appreciated. Good work!
A: Steve, you said you will use USB boot. Can you share the type of device you are building and where it is use?

Shabnam_MSFT (Expert):
Q: We have a few different ones, I was not aware that brand made much difference. Kingston is nice, and I have a "firefly" drive I like. Could I have better luck with other brands re booting XP?
A: You may get better performance with some keys compared to others, it's not necessarily brand, but the hardware specifications as listed in the product help.

Shabnam_MSFT (Expert):
Q: I still have been unable to get any USB boot to work, so performance is a secondary issue :(
A: Unfortunately we don't have time left here, but we will be glad to help. You can follow up with questions on the newsgroup.

OrenW_MS (Expert):
Q: Is there a plan for Microsoft to add HORM feature to images that boot from USB drives?
A: We are looking into that. Currently the USB boot feature doesn't support hibernation at all (and specifically HORM) but we hope we can deliver that as well.

Shabnam_MSFT (Expert):
Q: We are building a medical device (ultrasound imaging system), boots to 2.5" hard drive, USB boot is attractive for upgrading images in field, and possibly for mfring set up. Currently we hook up an IDE CD to image systems, have no field upg ability...
A: Steve, what kind of USB key (brand/make/model) are you planning to use?

Shabnam_MSFT (Expert):
Q: I already mentioned in an earlier chat, would be nice if you make a component to hide the mouse cursor if this is unplugged, and bring back the cursor if mouse is plugged in again. Just a suggestion.
A: I will record your suggestion for future consideration.

OrenW_MS (Expert):
Q: Oren, That will help USB boot guys a lot as long as Hibernation also does some compression since USB is comparatively a slow device.
A: Hibernation is already using compression - the data in the hiberfile is already compressed by the windows kernel when it's writing it.

Khalidsa_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Trying to reduce traffic to citrix servers. Can I add .wav files to XPe and configure sound schemes for applications?
A: This doesn't seem specific to XPe. If it can be done on XP Pro, it should be on XPe. Should probably check on XP newsgroup for more info: https://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/reader.mspx?dg=microsoft.public.windowsxp.general⟨=en&cr;=US

Jim_Medding_MSFT (Expert):

A: Additional information. Create a component with your .wav file in it, put the component into your configuration along with component XP Sound Scheme. Modify the registry data for XP Sound Scheme to select your file, build and it *should* work.

OrenW_MS (Expert):
Q: Oren, And in my typical system we have 2 GBytes of Main Memory so Creating a Hibernation file of 2GB and booting from it may take a lot of time. Just a point to note.
A: Thanks for letting us know - we'll look into it. BTW - I mentioned as a reply to someone else - the hiberfile is compressed by the kernel at the time of creation.

OrenW_MS (Expert):
Q: Oren, I hope I would see hibernation file support in next release. Thanks.
A: This is definitely on our high priority to-do list. Thanks.

Thomas Yong - MSFT (Expert):
Q: When can we expect IE7 and WMP11 as components? ;)
A: We are working on this as we speak. However development and testing will take some time. We expect to have them released in Q1/Q2 2007. We plan to have CTP in Q1 2007. Hope you will participate. What is your timeframe to launch and what products will you use these features on? Any other features that you might be interested?

Thomas Yong - MSFT (Expert):
Q: I use IE and WMP both for narrowcating (Media content) at the moment IE6 and WMP10 will do, but of course I will be ready for the future. I launch this product by the end of the year.
A: Thanks for your info. When do you anticipate to upgrade to IE7 and WMP11?

Thomas Yong - MSFT (Expert):
Q: I don't know exactly, the software at the moment is custom build, so it will do, but as soon as I can upgrade I will do of course. No hurry. ;)
A: Thank you. Feel free to contact us in the future (wecrt@microsoft.com) and please try to participate in the CTP in Q1 2007.

Thomas Yong - MSFT (Expert):
Q: I will sure do, thank you. You did a great job with FP 2007. It gives XPE a fresh breath!
A: You're welcome! Thanks for using MS XPe products. Have a nice day.

Wendy [MS] (Moderator):
Thank you for joining us today with Embedded Windows Team to talk about Windows XP Embedded SP2 Feature Pack 2007. If you have further questions, we’d certainly welcome you to post in the Microsoft.public.windowsxp.embedded newsgroup. A link to the transcript will be posted to the newsgroup shortly. You are encouraged to check our team blog site as well for any latest development or news at https://blogs.msdn.com/embedded/default.aspx.

We hope to see you again for a future chat! Have a great day (or evening)!

End of Chat

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