Here comes the first GUI for our little project.

What it can be used for adding to your USB stick/disk:

- multiple Windows XP/2kX sources in the same partition (up to 10). They have to be in the first partition of the disk! Existing folders ~BT and ~LS and TXTSETUP.SIF will be renamed, and SETUPLDR.BIN and SETUPDD.SYS patched against the new names. Checksum checks are also corrected. BTS OEM folders are supported and renamed accordingly.
- BartPE/WinBulder/UBCD4Win/WinFLPC (NOT ramdisk versions) to any primary partition. Multiple BartPE for example, in the SAME partition are NOT supported. Neither is the mix of them on a single partition.
- Vista setup to different primary partitions. Multiple Vista sources in the SAME partition are NOT supported. Place your second Vista setup in another partition. It can be placed on any primary partition.
- GParted 0.3.4-8 and 0.3.6-7, excellent open source partition manager.
- SyLinux bootsector, and optionally folder, containing (Linux) distro, booting off SysLinux. For example you may extract UBCD411.ISO, and point it to this folder. Entire contents will be copied and entry for SysLinux will be added to the boot menu.

Some features:
- detects UBCD4Win and uses multiboot menu for it if folder IMAGES is found. Only default UBCD4Win multiboot options are added. Edit UBCD4Win.lst to add custom ones.
- UBCD4Win boot menu is adjusted to boot from the selected partition. It can be placed on any primary partition.
- if Windows setup folders (~BT and ~LS) and txtsetup.sif coexist in the same partition as BartPE/WinBuilder/UNCD4Win/WinFLPC, SETUPLDR.BIN of the latter is patched not to use txtsetup.sif in root. Checksum checks are also corrected.
- grub4dos is the main bootloader/manager. Without it's advanced features, multiple partitions will not be easily achieved.
Bootsector loading GRLDR is installed in the active partition of the selected disk. Hence the requirement for active partition and MBR.
- detailed log file is created in the folder, where program is executed from. Use it for troubleshooting. Upon next execution if log file is found, it's compressed in MS cab format, removed to BACKUPS folder and renamed with current DATE/TIME stamp.
- upon installing grub4dos bootsector, backup of MBR and bootsector with DATE/TIME stamp are placed in BACKUPS folder. Use it in case something goes wrong.
- if in Windows source folder winnt.sif or unattend.txt are found they will be used as answer file. Section UNATTENDED will be temporarily removed, only for the Text part of setup, and before start of GUI mode it will be merged back. PRESETUP.CMD is used for this purpose.
- $OEM$ folders are copied by presetup.cmd
- binifix4.cmd and undoren.cmd were merged
- detects if UserExecute in [SetupParams] is already occupied
- option to start the prepared USB disk in QEMU for testing purposes. Use carefully at own risk, do not attempt write operations!
- tooltips on almost every element in the GUI
- for multi partition USB stick use the cmd files in "files\tools\MULTIpartitionUSBstick". Works for 32bits Windows only! This is not thoroughly tested option, use at your risk.

Please read the included ReadMe.txt, it should help you get started. When in doubt hold the mouse over the element, a tooltip should help you with the choice.
Not tested yet on 64bit versions or Vista, but should be compatible.

If reporting problems, please attach your compressed log file (WinSetupFromUSB.log), windows version and exact steps to reproduce the problem. Thanks

Latest- vers. 0.1.1 - 23.Oct.2008
Download: 0.1.1 mirror

- fixed DOSNET.INF parsing if path contains comma(s) and if some rare setting are used in directory section

vers. 0.1 - 16.Oct.2008
Download: 0.1 mirror

- unattended section handled better- if BTS drivers pack was not used, fake setup as per Pyron's method will be executed. This will launch presetup.cmd and when done real Setup will be started. If OEMPreinstall = yes is found $OEM$ folders will be copied to their place by presetup.cmd. If OemPnPDriversPath is found, paths in it it will be scanned by SPDrvScn in order to add those paths to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ DevicePath
http://www.vernalex.com/tools/spdrvscn/index.shtml
If you need to disable driver signing errors add an entry in ~LS\I386\presetup.cmd to start WatchDriverSigningPolicy.exe and copy the latter from \WinSetupFrimUSB\files\winsetup to your USB disk.
Credits to Driver Packs team, Ercofra, schalti, Pyron, a06lp and iLE.
http://www.msfn.org/board/install-OEM-drivers-t123023.html
http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...ost&p=87594
Should work if installing x64 Windows too.
This part is not fully tested, feedback is welcome
- fixed bug when source is on a CD or mounted ISO and winnt.sif ot txtsetup.sif not edited because of the read-only attributes.
- boot.ini is fixed during GUI part of setup.
- USB letter is fixed to U: in case of removable USB disk and U: is searched first among the drive letters to avoid at least some of the silly windows errors with empty card readers.
- fixed bug when more than 9 disks are present (again empty card readers). Program will not continue if target USB disk has number in Windows > 9, as grubinst.exe doesn't work yet if disk number is 2 digits.
- added support for GParted vers. 0.3.7-7 and 0.3.9-4
- Grub4Dos updated to 0.4.4 2008-10-12
- little improvements in tooltips, error messages, logging and program code
- fixed WinBuilder copying
- source code included
- unattend.txt no longer used if winnt.sif is not found

vers. 0.1 Beta - 08.Sept.2008
Download: 0.1 Beta mirror

- presetup.cmd is properly created if doesn't exist
- quotes in DOSNET.INF [directories] section are ignored while parsing if newer nLite versions (>= 1.4.5) was used
- winnt.sif read-only attributes reset when XP/200x source is on a CD
- small changes in GUI
- GRUB4Dos updated to 08-08-2008
- selected items are reset upon completion to avoid free space warnings
- some fixes in patching for multiple XP/200x sources
- prompt to assign drive letter U: to USB disk
- boot menus changed to allow unattended XP/200x setup
- added desktop shortcut

vers. 0.1 Alpha - 11.July.2008- initial release
0.1 Alpha


Edit(15:04-11.July.2008) - Fixed typo in title
Edit(10:01-13.July.2008) - To do list changed
Edit(08.Sept.2008) vers. 0.1 Beta
Edit(16.Oct.2008) vers. 0.1
Edit(23.Oct.2008) vers. 0.1.1

This post has been edited by ilko_t: Oct 23 2008, 05:39 PM

I preferred this part to be in a separate post, as it is important:

Credits to jaclaz, cdob and wimb for their continuous help and contribution on Installing XP from USB and not only, without who this wouldn't have happened, and porear for bringing this project up and putting it in the right direction, as well as to everyone, who contributed to the project with ideas, requests or feedback- signal64, andy_le2k, lilas to mention few of them.

Thanks to UglyBob, ptrex, SmOke_N, aec and ezzetabi from AutoIt forum for their excellent AutoIt script examples, parts of which were used.
Thanks to Anton Bassov for his dummydisk.sys driver and help for reverting it's behaviour to rdummy.sys, which makes USB fixed disks to be seen as removable.
Thanks to Tynibit for his excellent work and support on GRUB4Dos, and Bean123 for grubinst.exe and touchdrv.exe.
And last but not least credits to creators of all tools, which were used in this project- Grub4DOS, PEtoUSB, HP USB format utility, HDHacker, SysLinux, binifix.cmd(did I mention Jaclaz, cdob and wimb?), QEMU, DRVLoad and sync.exe...

I actually had the feeling you were up to something.....

....good work!

Making it a sticky....

jaclaz

You should trust your feelings

I was in my 'bucket list'

Hallo ilko,

Congratulations with your WinSetupFromUSB_0-1A Program.

It looks fine, and I did three runs with it, and could Install XP in all cases.

What I miss is the action of MkMigrateInf2.cmd to make the USB-stick DriveLetter U:
So now my first install had shifted drive letters for the 2nd and 3rd partition.

The menu entries in GRUB4DOS menu.lst at the moment do not allow Unattended Install.
On Reboot again TXT-mode Setup is automatically selected.
I reverted the entries and then everything went OK.
At best the Continue+Start XP entry should occur as first line in menu.lst.

Another wish would be the possibility to Exclude LANG / WIN98 folders from copy to USB-stick.
And Display and Edit of XP Setup Parameters in winnt.sif + useraccount in $OEM$ folder.
It would also be nice if winnt.sif and $OEM$ would be User selectable.
Now everything must be ready in the XP-Source.
Some people may want to Select the option of Attended Setup at the moment of Install from USB.

But all these wishes are may be interesting for future developments.
For now the program is running rather well.

The message of No enough Space is a bit Confusing when Copy to USB-stick is Ready.
It will propably be due to my test stick of only 1 GB but in most cases Ready would be a better message.

I forgot to mention that the presetup.cmd is giving No Disk Exception Message (4x) for my CardReader.
Pressing 4x Continue makes XP Setup Resume.

The search for the USB-drive tagfile can be first in a limited Drive-range, like for ren_fold.cmd
That solves the problem.

Thanks for this program.

Succes,

wimb

Thanks Wimb, this was very helpful

It's on purpose. I prefer to watch USB drive letter as indicator if something goes wrong and USB disk is recognized as first, as you know then boot files goes on it etc..
I had cases, when even with rdummy.sys, my USB disk was detected as fixed, because it was the last among many mass storage drivers to load. Had to move it to BusExtenders, where it seems to load fine.
The shifted drive letters are easily fixed later on from Disk management, which causes no harm to the installation.
Still a good idea to include it, just in case someone prefers to use it.

Haven't had tome to fix that. I prefer not to change order as it breaks the logic 1) then 2) ..., but rather use grub4dos options to set default entry once TXT mode entry was executed. Added to to-do list.
No plans for this There is a beautiful program Nlite, which does this job. Source is used and copied as it is prepared. Messing with the source is beyond the scope of the program.

Ditto Source is copied as it is. Same applies for winnt.sif, which is amended ONLY with the entries, allowing installation from USB. NLite and other similar programs are to be used if one wants to manipulate his source and unattended file. Same for $OEM$- if it's there- it's copied.
Additionally- many people just want to install the XP source they have from USB, without answering too much questions and presented with information, which means nothing to them. I assume, that whoever knows what winnt.sif is, he should know or at least capable to find what to edit, in order to customize his installation. This is not job for the program. If you remember we have discussed that before on PM

Good to read

Good catch, I never run out of disk space lately as I was using USB hard disk. Upon completion I will reset all checkboxes and Windows source, then do the size check. Thanks.

This is an issue with BTS drivers pack presetup.cmd., which I prefer to resolve in other way- by opening a ticket in their forum. The program simply adds a few lines to the presetup.cmd, which already exists. Thus the difference between ren_fold.cmd and presetup.cmd.
But bringing this up reminded me that I forgot to fully cover the case when presetup.cmd doesn't exist.

Thanks for the detailed feedback

If you just don't copy LANG / WIN98 folders to USB-stick,
then I don't think you can speak of "Messing with the source",
whereas this statement is more applicable when using nLite.

It's removing of functionality, which is supposed to be done while messing with the source with NLite, and not by a program, which idea is to transfer already prepared source to USB disk, and make it ready for installation from USB
In other words I'd prefer to keep it as simple as possible, requiring user to prepare it's source in advance, using external tools such as NLite.

Now you force people to use a tool like nLite, and go through all the pages,
just for specifying the 8 essential parameters required for Unattended XP Setup.
Besides nLite needs .NET Framework 2.0 to be installed.

How do you help the people who don't work with nLite and
would like to specify their 8 XP Setup Parameters for Unattended Setup in a simple dialoque ?



Nowadays BTS presetup.cmd has a line to delete setupold, so it is not needed to do this twice.

This post has been edited by wimb: Jul 14 2008, 07:44 AM

wow, will try this out later on

thanks for all the hard work

Wimb, maybe you are making it a bit heavier than needed.

Noone is forcing people to do anything, if people does not want to use this GUI tool they can use your more featured .cmd.

There is a possibility, that you seem not to take into account, that one already has a perfectly lited, tweaked and tuned up source (these steps made with whatever methods) and simply wants to use that source to install it from USB.

As I see it, this project is somewhat different from your USB_Multiboot, it is not a GUI translation of it, just a simple, honest, plain, "Install from XP USB" GUI app, it is not intended to compete or replicate the already working, full featured batches.

You may notice that most of the (very few) reported problems with your batches were "tracked down" to the user having made a wrong or inappropriate choice among the several possibilities the USB_Multiboot offers, if you remamber I even (frienldy ) once accused you of being caught by "featuritis"....

jaclaz

I am quite well aware of this, but I was just thinking of the people,
who would like to specify their 8 parameters for Unattended XP Setup in a simple way.

In general I agree with you and may be my idea is useful for future developments.

This is awesome! This is always something that I wanted to do, especially since I assume that installation from USB is not only more convenient, but faster than installing from DVD, or am I wrong? In any case, an nLite collaboration would be cool as well, to be able to nLite XP and then install it from USB!

Jaclaz answered better than I could

Are you sure one will be using source, prepared with the nowadays BTS DP base- I wasn't
The line doesn't hurt, and was easier for me to add it anyway, instead of checking if it's already in presetup.cmd. I can fix it quickly if you think it's a problem.

Checking sizes upon completion if fixed now, decided to uncheck all the check boxes and reset windows source when copy is completed.
Presetup.cmd is now properly created if it was not in the source. Will upload new version when a few more bugs are fixed.
Grub4dos unattended- this is a bit tricky.

The thing is that lines are added to menu.lst, and I don't know what X will be, could scan for it, but that will take time to program. Besides, the above entries are created in pairs for each Windows source added, although the second entry (GUI mode) could be common for all the Windows sources as it will point to the same NTLDR/BOOT.INI.
Need to think how to organize menu.lst or reorganize it upon completion.
It may be easier just to include a few lines in ReadMe.txt- if you want the second part of Setup to launch automatically after first part is executed then....

This post has been edited by ilko_t: Jul 14 2008, 11:42 AM