Falkoner

If it's a lot of work I'd probably just take off MCE, although I'll certainly give 2005 a shot to see if I can get it working. So yeah, that's the main plan, is excessive use of hardlinking, however, while back in 2011 when I was first slipstreaming updates I could shove them all into a single disc, with all the newest updates, it appears that it's gotten a bit fatter. So I suppose my question at this point is if anyone knows of a way to compress better than WIM, a way that takes advantage of compression techniques AND hardlinks, and ideally can be mounted live?

With Windows XP finally reaching what is essentially a finalized state, I'd like to put together a "Final" CD for usage on old computers. So the challenge is, how can I shove XP Pro, Home, and Media Center onto a single CD (650 MB, 700 if you wanna push it), along with the latest updates(ideally OnePiece packs, perhaps minus Windows Search). I'd also prefer it if I could at least get Mass Storage and LAN drivers onto the CD, with WLAN drivers being an added bonus. Finally, I'd like to add in MrSmartyPant's OEM Activation to the XPs, for legal activation purposes only. Since WinNTSetup recently added support for XP from a WIM, I'm thinking it may be a good solution for compression. However, I'm not sure if it'll make up for the cost of throwing a PE onto the disc. Anyway, does anyone have any ideas how we can get all that onto a single disc?

Driverpack Solution(drp.su), it's free, and will install for both. IMO it's also by-far the simplest setup of any of them. Device Doctor is a pretty solid free solution as well, assuming they all have internet connections.

For those of you who do hardware diagnostics, software diagnostics, malware removal, etc, a new tool recently came out that I wanted to share with the big forums. TechUSB: http://repairtechsolutions.com/ Runs from Linux and allows you to perform many diagnostics for Windows, it's currently in Beta, so try it while it's free!

I've done some slipstream work with XP, Vista, and 7, and working in a computer shop I'm finding that a lot of recent viruses are permanently infecting system files, making them impossible to remove without reinstalling or doing major internal work on the OS. Obviously this is where SFC comes in, however, I've had some issues with it, and I'm wondering if you guys have any resolutions for me: 1. SFC won't work properly in XP using my slipstreamed discs. I've read that updating IE and other changes causes issues with being able to use the disc for the files, so my question is if there's any way for me to fix my discs so they work with SFC again, while still containing all the updates. 2. I couldn't manage to use the purgecache parameter in 7, has it changed or something? 3. Vista and 7's SFC is a joke. They pull data from WinSxS, the replacement for the dllcache folder, but disabling Windows File Protection is fairly straight forward, and from what I've seen viruses have had no difficulty doing so. I've tried running SFC from the install disc using the /offbootdir and /offwindir parameters, but it doesn't seem to make a difference, and typically I get the "SFC found problems but was unable to fix them" at the end, which is extremely frustrating to see, is there a method of using SFC in Vista/7 that makes it nearly as effective as XP's? 4. In Windows XP, the repair installation feature was godsend, I can't even begin to recall how many times I've fixed major XP issues using that option, unfortunately, MS decided to opt out of that feature in Vista/7, so instead I'm left with attempting an in-place upgrade, which is running the installer off the disc from inside the broken Windows (already a problem, if the system won't boot), and selecting the Upgrade option, which essentially reinstalls the OS, however, it's not nearly as effective as XP's repair install, and it requires their OS to at least boot correctly. Has anyone looked into creating essentially a repair install utility for Vista/7? My idea is that you'd mount the WIM files, select the right image, and expand all its files over the top of their OS, while simultaneously purging and recreating the WinSxS folder. The main issue I see with this is the registry related changes that would need to be made and updates newer than your disc. Will this ever be possible or is there a good workaround? Any answers to any of these questions would be greatly appreciated!

That was what I was afraid of, that it would have to be set up on each client computer separately I was actually thinking I would do that before I saw this post Even though, Tripredacus is correct that I am using this on client machines: However, if the legality of it as stated below is true: Then I'd prefer to avoid it, I'm trying to keep this at a pretty legal standard, maybe removing all but the necessary updates from AutoPatcher could work almost as well.(continue reading before you call me contradictory over Hiren's). miniXP and Hiren's are Warez. We cannot help you with those programs. Discussion of it is against the forum rules. Understandable, although if I may, I'd like to point out that as of nearly six months ago, the only warez still in Hiren's is the miniXP itself and DOS, and since my company owns several extra keys for XP, and since Hiren's is only ever used on one or two machines simultaneously, it seems reasonably legal to me, however, I don't expect the forum rules to change over this, if I need to remove that sentence, let me know, I didn't request help with it though, I only put it out as a standard to measure possible solutions against. :/ Most of my questions have either been answered or I've figured something out myself, however, I'm still having issues with: 1. Specifics on what line to add to the Unattend.xml to add a command to run on first login, or just post-install. 2. Adding drivers to the installation. My current plan is to copy the DriverPack's LAN driver folder to the HDD while still in the PE, and then using the Unattend.xml to scan that folder and install the correct LAN driver, then scan a network share which has all the other drivers for everything else, if you have a better solution, or you can point me to the specific lines necessary to add to the Unattend.xml, I'd really appreciate it.

When researching this is the first thing I came across, my only issue is that my server is running OpenSUSE, and I haven't seen any good methods of running a WSUS server on Linux. I'm open to using virtual machines to run it, but would the server's active directory setup work properly when it's not the main server, but a secondary one? EDIT: Looks like I may also be able to use a second computer, either way, is there any special configuration that needs to be done to client computers for them to use WSUS, or will they detect it straight out of the box as long as it's on the same network?

I posted this on reboot.pro, but I figured I should go ahead and submit it to you guys for analysis as well. This topic could probably be split into several, but I think they're somewhat common questions, that don't need their own thread. To begin, I'd like to let anyone trying to answer know that although I spent a few hours on each question searching for answers, I'm certain I missed topics, so if you know of a topic that seems to answer my question, feel free to just link me to it, although a nice summary would be appreciated as well Currently I have a working PXE server, its set up is as follows: Built on OpenSUSE 11.4 Using Advanced TFTP (atftpd) for PXE with pxelinux Using a Samba Share for post-boot files Entire shop is gigabit ethernet DHCP Server for the shop Performs NAT for all computers The entire setup process for Vista/7 (my main focus) goes fairly smoothly, first the client computer boots into PXE and selects the installation (Win7/Vista, x86/x64) from the menus. Depending on your selection, a different WinPE 3.0 boots, they're simply variants of 64 and 32 bit versions with different startnet.cmd files for the commands. Once WinPE has loaded over PXE(takes a while), it proceeds to mount the Samba share from the server and runs the setup with a switch linking to the correct unattend.xml file(also on the share). The setup is entirely unattended except for Windows version(Ultimate, Home Premium, etc.), product key, and partitioning, since these are not corporate computers, but random customers. Once the install is finished, the computer reboots, loads into Windows, and from there technicians use DriverPack Solution to install drivers, then they install basic software off the network share using a batch file which runs through various AutoIt scripts and batch files for silent installs. Yes, it works, and I'm quite happy with it so far, but it doesn't quite meet my high expectations, and I would like to have the optimum solution. So, here's what I need help with fixing, and ideas that I've had which I just need some clarification on: 1. Smaller PE As of right now, my WinPE 3.0 is just below 200 MB in size, and sending that much data over TFTP is horrendously slow, even on gigabit Ethernet, I'm totally fine with moving away from WinPE, as long as the switch can fulfill my needs. I looked into MicroPE but all the links to download it are down, so if anyone has other suggestions I'm open. The requirements of the PE are: - Must boot from syslinux/pxelinux and run from RAM. - Must have network(not necessarily WLAN) and mass storage drivers for virtually every machine, display only needs to be basic, this is going to be used on random customer machines, so I can't make machine-specific driverpacks. Unfortunately this does make the smaller drivers difficult. - Be capable of installing Windows Vista/7 32 and 64 bit - Doesn't need a GUI, just a commandline from which I can autorun scripts and mount network drives - All of this must be able to be done unattended. If you think you've got the solution for me, I'd be glad to see it, even if it takes lots of testing, I'm willing and able, or if there's some specific settings for WinBuilder, point them out to me. For now I'm likely going to use the miniXP that comes with Hiren's Boot CD, if I remove the programs I think I can cut it down to around 80 MB, maybe a bit less, if you have something that beats that, let me know. 2. Faster Winstall I've been looking into programs like WinNTSetup and NT 6.x Fast Installer to speed up my installations, but I'm not certain they can do everything I need, such as: - Prompting the technician for product key, Windows package(Ultimate, Home Premium, Business, etc), and partitioning setup before beginning - Automating the install from thereon out, preferably with the use of an unattend.xml file, including running scripts post-install - Being reasonably user-friendly, at least on the prompts, my technicians aren't all too bright I believe I'll probably end up using WinNTSetup, because from what I can tell it meets my needs and is compatible with any PE I could throw at it, but if you have better suggestions I'm open to them. 3. Post-Install Drivers While popping in DriverPack Solution and running it for most drivers works well enough, I'd prefer a faster automated solution that can be automatically run once the install is completed. I think the DPsFinisher might be what I'm looking for, but I can't find a page that describes how to use it well. Essentially, I need a solution that can: - Add all network drivers to the Windows Installation pre-install (once again, this is for any machine, not a set group) - OR copy the drivers and an installer for them to the HDD from PE(while we still have network support) after the installation has completed - Once the network drivers are installed, it needs to pull all necessary drivers for the specific computer from the network share and install them automatically I'll most likely be using the drivers from DriverPacks.net, since they've managed to cover pretty much anything I've come across, at least network-wise. 4. Speed Up Windows Updates For now my plan is to put Squid on the server, since all network traffic is routed through it, in order to cache the Windows Updates and speed them up that way, but I'd like to find a solution like AutoUpdater with APUP that's easy to update and local. The only issue I've had with APUP is that it always has to verify the update integrity, and that takes a ridiculous amount of time, if anyone knows a way of disabling that "feature" I'd greatly appreciate it. 5. Software Installation I've mostly got the software installs working, but I just have a couple quick questions I think you guys should be able to answer fairly easily, if not I just have to do some digging to find them myself: - Is there a method that works for both Vista and 7 that allows you to add a post-install script to the installation? In other words, I want to be able to run a script after the first login. I know it exists, I just need the exact method of using it. Preferably one that will work with multiple installs in a single WIM file. 5. Windows XP Anyone know any quick easy tutorial for PXE booting an XP installation? I don't even care if it's automated, I just want the option there. 6. Should I Try Imaging? I've always felt that imaging installations is one of the best methods for automating installations, but XP has always had issues with it when trying to apply it to a wide variety of machines, have Vista and 7 solved this problem? I know it's a lot, and I really appreciate all of you who didn't TL;DR this post, if I complete this project, I'd love to put together a nice tutorial which engulfs every piece necessary to recreate a system just like the one above, so your help is greatly appreciated and I hope to somewhat repay it.

First of all, I really wanna thank you for this program, it's worked like a charm at my work However, the reason I'm posting is because while I am having no issues with the program working, I am having issues with how large it is. At my work we use DVDs, so it's no problem, however, I also am helping out with a computer refurbishing class, and in there we only use CDs, and while I could fit it and a typical install onto a CD, I'm trying to add a bit more than that. My dilemma is that I want to have SP3, DirectX, all the .Nets, and all the post-SP3 updates, plus LAN and Mass Storage drivers from DriverPacks.net, and at the same time keep your app on the disc, I have it all working on a DVD, and I've managed to get everything I want on a CD(with deleting LANG, CMPNENTS, etc.) and some space on the CD for OEMScan, but unfortunately, 200 MB, is a little high. I attempted to pull out the Logo files, figuring they weren't necessary for activation, but now I'm getting an error because they're missing, and on any Dell machines I've tried it on, the activation fails. My question is: Is there any way to use OEM Scan, but remove all the logo files from it? I'd really appreciate any help I can get on this, because I think a fully updated XP install with this that all fits on a single CD would be a great utility for most techs. EDIT: Oh, as a side question, and I apologize if this has been answered before, but is there a way to run OEMScan as a standalone app, off a thumb drive, for example, and have it activate the machine post-install?

Okay, that sounds like it'll work great, I really appreciate all your help, thanks!

Ah, thanks for showing me that, I managed to find a way of avoiding nLite altogether now, it wasn't very compatible with the others anyway. So is there any way of specifying the Prompt Repair option by editing the WINNT.SIF file, since I'm trying to avoid nLite at this point.

I recently set up an unattended install of XP SP3 using nLite for SP3 from SP2, RyanVM Integrator for Post-SP3 updates, IE7, and OEMScan, WMP11 Slipstreamer for WMP11, nLite for the .Net packages(up to v3.5) and several unattended and post-install tweaks, added the drivers using DriverPack's Base program, and then put into ISO format using nLite again. In that order exactly. Now, post-install is perfect, I have all but the recent ten or so updates, IE7, so far every OEM machine has been auto-activated, WMP11 working, services turned off that I tweaked, drivers already fixed, .Net, and the answers provided by the answer-file in place. However, I am having one problem. Before slipstreaming everything into the disc, when I booted into text mode, I would start at a "Welcome to Windows Setup." page, giving me the options of using Windows Recovery Console, or to Install Windows, however, I now no longer have that screen and I'm jumped immediately to the partition setup screen, so I also lack the ability to do a Windows Repair with this disc. Anyone know what could be causing the skip? I think that the problem is with one of the answers in the WINNT.SIF file, but I don't know which one. I'd prefer to edit that file, rather than rebuild the entire disc, so if that's the problem, I'd appreciate an explanation of how to manually fix it. Here's my WINNT.SIF file in case you need it: Any help would be appreciated, thanks!