Problem with NtDisplayString

NTDEV
1

Hi All,

I am creating a rescue disk i.e. a bootable with file manipulation application which is a native application and used to delete copy or replace files.

For that I have used pre setup environment i.e. a Win XP setup CD and replaced the smss.exe with my file manipulation application. So when bootable gives call to smss.exe it actually loads the file manipulation application.

File manipulation application works well except one problem that NtDisplayString does not print anything on the screen. I have tested it with installed OS by placing entry in BootExecute there it works well.

Now my problem is that as I am creating a rescue disk I have to use pre setup environment and there I can not display anything.

Is there any solution? Or is there any other cleaner way to create a rescue disk?

Thanks & Regards,
Amit.

2

A cleaner way would be to use WinPE. Starting with Vista you can create
a WinPE disk with your own applications. WinPE is basically what you
are getting with the install disk, but much more flexible.

Don Burn (MVP, Windows DKD)
Windows Filesystem and Driver Consulting
Website: http://www.windrvr.com
Blog: http://msmvps.com/blogs/WinDrvr

“xxxxx@yahoo.com” wrote in
message news:xxxxx@ntdev:

> Hi All,
>
> I am creating a rescue disk i.e. a bootable with file manipulation application which is a native application and used to delete copy or replace files.
>
> For that I have used pre setup environment i.e. a Win XP setup CD and replaced the smss.exe with my file manipulation application. So when bootable gives call to smss.exe it actually loads the file manipulation application.
>
> File manipulation application works well except one problem that NtDisplayString does not print anything on the screen. I have tested it with installed OS by placing entry in BootExecute there it works well.
>
> Now my problem is that as I am creating a rescue disk I have to use pre setup environment and there I can not display anything.
>
> Is there any solution? Or is there any other cleaner way to create a rescue disk?
>
> Thanks & Regards,
> Amit.

3

use the /sos option to see the strings displayed by NtDisplayString()

Cheers
Check Abdoul

wrote in message news:xxxxx@ntdev…
> Hi All,
>
> I am creating a rescue disk i.e. a bootable with file manipulation
> application which is a native application and used to delete copy or
> replace files.
>
> For that I have used pre setup environment i.e. a Win XP setup CD and
> replaced the smss.exe with my file manipulation application. So when
> bootable gives call to smss.exe it actually loads the file manipulation
> application.
>
> File manipulation application works well except one problem that
> NtDisplayString does not print anything on the screen. I have tested it
> with installed OS by placing entry in BootExecute there it works well.
>
> Now my problem is that as I am creating a rescue disk I have to use pre
> setup environment and there I can not display anything.
>
> Is there any solution? Or is there any other cleaner way to create a
> rescue disk?
>
> Thanks & Regards,
> Amit.
>
>

4

Hi Don Burn,

Thanks for the replay. WinPE is really a best solution but most of our clients use XP.
Can we achive it with my method, atleast for XP?

Thanks & Regards,
Amit.

5

WinPE was available with XP but I believe there was a license involved.
The licensing became much more open with Vista.

Don Burn (MVP, Windows DKD)
Windows Filesystem and Driver Consulting
Website: http://www.windrvr.com
Blog: http://msmvps.com/blogs/WinDrvr

“xxxxx@yahoo.com” wrote in
message news:xxxxx@ntdev:

> Hi Don Burn,
>
> Thanks for the replay. WinPE is really a best solution but most of our clients use XP.
> Can we achive it with my method, atleast for XP?
>
> Thanks & Regards,
> Amit.

6

> Thanks for the replay. WinPE is really a best solution but most of our clients use XP.

And? just provide them with Vista-based WinPE disk. They will not need to abandon XP and reinstall Vista in order to load your boot disk which is 100% separate from the main installed OS.

–
Maxim S. Shatskih
Windows DDK MVP
xxxxx@storagecraft.com
http://www.storagecraft.com

7

Hi Maxim,

We are not proiding the rescue disk, but we are providing a software that let you creats a rescue disk by copying the system files from exsisting system.

We are using this method because we don’t want to carry all OS files with the software to make it lightweight.

Thanks & Regards,
Amit.

8

> We are not proiding the rescue disk, but we are providing a software that let you creats a rescue disk

by copying the system files from exsisting system.

For me, the stability issues with this approach are unsolvable, and I would definitely move to WinPE (Win7 WinPE modern days).

–
Maxim S. Shatskih
Windows DDK MVP
xxxxx@storagecraft.com
http://www.storagecraft.com