Hi,

I've been trying to figure out how to use vLite with my HP recovery CD. It isn't recognizing the CD as containing Vista installation files, for some reason -- probably because it's an HP recovery CD that includes a lot of unnecessary stuff and isn't in the "format" of a generic Business install CD. Is there any way to remedy this short of acquiring a copy of a regular Vista install CD?

Thanks.

i have exactly the same problem... please someone has the solution?
THX
DrGEN

Can someone of you attach or send me the file list of that CD.
Go to the root of it with the cmd and type:
dir /s /b>filelist.txt

Directory of E:\

03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> BOOT
03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> HP
03/26/2007 06:40 AM 884 Master.log
03/26/2007 06:40 AM 20 SERVICE
03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> SOURCES
10/03/2006 11:02 AM 438,328 boo.mgr
03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> preload
3 File(s) 439,232 bytes

Directory of E:\BOOT

03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> .
03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> ..
09/24/2006 09:56 PM 262,144 BCD
09/24/2006 10:10 PM 3,170,304 BOOT.SDI
2 File(s) 3,432,448 bytes

Directory of E:\HP

03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> .
03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> ..
03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> Apps
03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> Drv
0 File(s) 0 bytes

Directory of E:\HP\Apps

03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> .
03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> ..
03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> DTA
0 File(s) 0 bytes

Directory of E:\HP\Apps\DTA

03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> .
03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> ..
03/26/2007 06:40 AM 8 DTA.LST
1 File(s) 8 bytes

Directory of E:\HP\Drv

03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> .
03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> ..
03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> DTA
0 File(s) 0 bytes

Directory of E:\HP\Drv\DTA

03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> .
03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> ..
03/26/2007 06:40 AM 7 DTA.LST
1 File(s) 7 bytes

Directory of E:\SOURCES

03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> .
03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> ..
03/26/2007 06:04 AM 208,416,514 boot.wim
1 File(s) 208,416,514 bytes

Directory of E:\preload

03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> .
03/26/2007 06:40 AM <DIR> ..
03/26/2007 06:30 AM 2,100,816 ALL.CRC
03/26/2007 06:04 AM 92 ALL.I32
03/26/2007 06:04 AM 92 ALL.ITR
03/26/2007 06:40 AM 144 BASE.DAT
03/26/2007 06:40 AM 2,142,559,969 BASE.WIM
03/26/2007 06:40 AM 847,494,298 BASE2.WIM
03/26/2007 06:40 AM 2,013,806,251 BASE3.WIM
03/26/2007 06:40 AM 36 CD0
03/26/2007 06:40 AM 558 CSP.DAT
03/26/2007 06:04 AM 4 DESC.TXT
03/26/2007 06:40 AM 952 RP.CRC
03/26/2007 06:40 AM 38 SPLIT.LOG
03/26/2007 06:04 AM 2 WINDOWS.CRC
03/26/2007 06:04 AM 92 WINDOWS.DAT
03/26/2007 06:04 AM 92 WINDOWS.I32
03/26/2007 06:04 AM 92 WINDOWS.ITR
16 File(s) 5,005,963,528 bytes

Total Files Listed:
24 File(s) 5,218,251,737 bytes
24 Dir(s) 0 bytes free

I discovered that my HP laptop did come with an "upgrade now" CD and vLite recognizes the install file structure on this disc. I'm not sure how well this will work in terms of Vista registration/activation; it might not recognize my laptop as belonging to the correct license if I install the OS with a boot CD made using this method. I'll probably test it out, though.

Edit:

I've solved this problem, if you have an HP Recovery CD, do not use the recovery CD with vLite -- use the "Windows Upgrade Anytime" CD! It works just fine, and comes with none of the HP bloatware.

On an entirely unrelated note, I wouldn't recommend using the Tweak option to disable UAC during install. Just disable it as soon as Windows boots if that's what you'd like to do; if you disable it in vLite this causes you to be unable to delete many files installed due to "permission errors" even on the admin account, and there's really no fix that I can find for it.

Thanks for the info but what is that about the file deletion, you mean in the system32, Windows protected in general or some other?

No, it's the MSN folder in Program Files. Wouldn't let me get rid of it because it was installed during installation, everything else works fine. It's hardly even worth mentioning, it just bothered me for a minute or two.

Hey cmc5788,

Thanks for sharing. I just got a new HP laptop and it's LOADED with crappy bloatware. I'd love to reinstall the OS cleanly, but am a bit confused.

Reading your post, I downloaded and installed vLite. I also popped the Windows Upgrade Anytime (WUA) dvd into the CD drive, and vLite did indeed find the setup files (and copied them to the hard drive).

However, are you saying I can really reinstall vista using only the files from the WUA dvd? I'm confused on how I would license and activate the OS. Don't I need the licensed version from the HP Recovery CD?

Also, what about all the hardware drivers? Will I need to reinstall those manually, or does vista do a good job finding them all?

Any extra information you could provide would be most useful and truly appreciated.

Thanks again!

- Seppo

Apparently the upgrade anytime DVD actually contains all the files needed to perform full installs of several versions of Windows as well as upgrade from, say, something like Windows XP. I was surprised to find that this was the case based on the deceptive title of the DVD, but it's not really surprising that they'd include all of that considering all the levels of validation and activation that Microsoft makes you jump through to get things working.

When you create your install CD with vLite using the upgrade DVD, it will act as if it was just like any other copy of Windows. It will prompt you to enter your product key (which is on a sticker on the bottom of your laptop). It accepts this key and keeps going just fine; I recommend unchecking the "activate as soon as you have an active connection" though.

It installs just fine, I haven't tried activating it online yet. I don't anticipate that it will be an issue, usually what the activation process does is check with Microsoft's database to make sure that the product key you entered is still being used with a computer that has the same hardware components that it did last time the key was activated.

I should mention, though, there's a high chance that the OEM license HP purchased to install on your laptop only allowed for one online activation. If that's the case, after 30 days or so of using your operating system you'll need to call Microsoft support and explain the situation so they can validate it for you. As long as you installed the same version of Windows (Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, etc) that your laptop came with, they'll have no problem activating over the phone for you. It's slightly more work, but IMO worth the trouble to get an un-bloated copy of Vista running on your laptop. Trust me, I have it running right now and the difference is... huge



The only "hardware drivers" you should be worried about are the chipset, audio, video, ethernet, and wireless drivers. The rest of any computer's hardware, 9 times out 10, Windows' built-in drivers will work just fine for. (there are exceptions, such as Windows XP needing SATA drivers, but that doesn't apply in this case -- works fine with Vista)

For that, go to HP's support website and find your drivers manually. If you aren't sure you need it, don't download it until you ARE sure. The worst that can happen is that Windows prompts you to find a driver for something. You can go ahead and download these drivers and integrate them into your vLite install disk, or if you don't feel comfortable doing that, just install them manually afterwards. To answer your question more directly, let me just say that I integrated the drivers I mentioned above into my vLite install DVD, and the rest was taken care of for me. The touchpad works fine, all the little extra buttons and features work fine on basic Windows drivers even without the bloated HP software.

I could direct you more specifically to a location for the drivers if I knew your laptop's model number, etc, but otherwise you'll need to find them yourself. Here's a hint: sometimes google searches for your model number + "drivers" are easier to navigate than HP's ridiculously convoluted website.

Hello Everyone,

I am new and trying to extract vista from HP recovery DVDs. it is not recognizing the setup files and i do not have the WAU(windows anytime upgrade cd).
Please help me and let me know how i can select components from HP recovery cd and reinstall vista?

Thanks,
Shirt

Well, I successfully installed a clean version of Vista. However, I'm noticing many components and extras are missing from the install.

No Desktop wallpapers.
No Windows sound files.
No Windows Media Player.
No Windows Media Center.
No Windows Gadget bar.
Etc, etc, etc...

It seems all the bells and whistles were left out. I know when I created my vLite install disc using the WUA DVD, I definitely included all options and components. The only pieces I removed were the Windows Intro Movie and the MSN Online Service.

Any ideas cmc5788?

Thx.

- Seppo

Seppo, are you one of the "select means keep" group?

Not sure what the "select means keep" group is Nuhi. I'm just a dude looking for a squeaky clean Vista install.

- Sep

FYI, I did find this on the net which I plan on trying out now:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=120228

Meaning that vLite normally doesn't remove what you didn't tell it to unless you thought that Select means keep the component. Select is remove the component. Also be sure to select the exact image which you edited or rebuild it by selecting second option on apply.

DOH!

Yeah, I guess I am a part of the "select means keep" group.



- Silly Seppo

hehe, nice to meet you.

Hey All...

FYI, I think this route is the best way to go:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=120228

Not that the vLite method doesn't work (if done properly), but the catch is the reactivation. With the method posted via the link above, they include a utility that saves your windoze activation. This way, you don't need to reactivate your copy of vista at all.

Cheers!

- Seppo

Thanks for the link, I think I'd actually come across that one and dismissed it. I'm sure it works if done right, I just don't have any problem with calling Microsoft to reactivate if necessary.