lurk&jerk

How are people doing Windows 8.1 clean installs with integrated updates these days with this frustrating Windows 8.1 black boot screen error (examples 1 2 & 3) that Microsoft refuses to fix? I've searched every where on the Net and there does not seem to be any solution. And, no, pressing F8 won't help if you are working with fast SSD drives, like I am. I've also tried integrating video drivers in the .iso and not integrating them, since some users said video drivers were the issue. The only way to install Windows 8.1. by a clean install is with the bare retail disk and no updates; that's a bummer. Can someone atleast identify the particular updates causing this issue?

1. Select "Config" from the home page menu. 2. Select "Configurations" tab on the next screen. 3. Check the "Use Multiple Defaults" radio button at the bottom of the page.

If you install from a USB key instead of a DVD, you can easily swap out different autounattend.xml, depending on the configuration you want to use. I created a batch filed to automate this process. The file must be pre-configured prior to booting and starting the Windows 8 install process with your USB key. I recommend a key of at least 16GB. @echo off:: In order for this to work you must store your autounatten.xml files and pid.txt files with product keys in a folder called "Pid" in the root of your USB drive:: In the Pid folder create subfolders for each configuration, i.e. "Laptop", "DesktopPC". Place the corresponding pid.txt and autounattend.xml in each folder:: this code searches for the USB key based on the presence of the dummy file "WIN8_USB.ini"FOR %%d IN (D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z) DO IF EXIST %%d:\WIN8_USB.ini SET CFDrv=%%d::: This code deletes any previous autounattend setupdel %CFDrv%\sources\pid.txtdel %CFDrv%\Autounattend.xml::This is the menu that you can customize to your own setupcls:: ChoicesCOLOR 1aECHO.ECHO.ECHO ############## Windows 8 Setup Assistant ###############ECHO.ECHO 1. Copy Windows 8.1 KMS key to the clipboard for upgradeECHO.ECHO 2. Configure ***LAPTOP***echo.ECHO 3. Configure ***Desktop PC***ECHO.echo 4. Exitecho.echo.Choice /C 1234 /M "Which Configuration do you want to use?"If Errorlevel 4 Goto endIf Errorlevel 3 Goto 3If Errorlevel 2 Goto 2If Errorlevel 1 Goto 1Goto End:1Echo This will place the KMS Product Key in the clipboardecho Hit "CTRL + C" to quit; any other key to continuepauseecho GCRJD-8NW9H-F2CDX-CCM8D-9D6T9 | clippowershell -Command Mount-DiskImage -ImagePath "%CFDrv%\Windows81.iso"Goto End:2Echo This will install the Laptop Product Key and Unattended fileecho Hit "CTRL + C" to quit; any other key to continueCOPY %CFDrv%\Pid\laptop\pid.txt %CFDrv%\sourcesCOPY %CFDrv%\Pid\laptop\Autounattend.xml %CFDrv%\Goto End:3Echo This will install the Desktop PC Product Key and Unattended fileecho Hit "CTRL + C" to quit; any other key to continueCOPY %CFDrv%\Pid\DesktopPC\pid.txt %CFDrv%\sourcesCOPY %CFDrv%\Pid\DesktopPC\Autounattend.xml %CFDrv%\Goto End:EndCLSCOLOR 1aECHOECHO "Exiting program"pauseExit

Good points. I had forgot that nircmd had an elevate function.

@The Finder. Nice finds (no pun intended). Except RunasSystem and Runastoken are listed as a File Size: 3.05MB download. Whereas elevate is a 11kb download and the actual file size is 5kb. But I'm sure RunAsSystem is way more flexible and powerful.

3 down, 1 no go. From the top: 1. @HALIKKUS http://forums.mydigitallife.info/threads/46105-Windows-8-1-Registry-Tweaks/page7 Can only re-store drives on the same PC; not a new one but helpful nonetheless for clean-reinstalls. 2. Can only do this manually as you apparently can't overwrite system tasks in Task Scheduler 3. Disable the lock screen by registry script (I forgot this was possible) [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Personalization] "NoLockScreen"=dword:00000001 4. Download elevate.exe and use it in a batch file using this command to restore legacy boot menu. @echo offelevate -c -w BCDEDIT /set {bootmgr} displaybootmenu yes

@gotenks98 Read The Barfly's post. It will matter. If he wants to easily slipstream updates into Windows 8.1, he will need win toolkit and that app only works with full retail disks that have the install.wim file. Alternatively, he can try converting install.esd to install.wim using the method jaclazd links to. But as Noelc suggests, it's really not worth the trouble.

@DosProbie He still needs a disk with "install.wim" instead of "install.esd" to use win toolkit. And the easiest solution is pretty much as NoelC stated: buy a new retail disk, which has "install.wim" on it.

Can't apply the legacy setting through the registry but I'm testing a utility that executes an elevated command prompt. Looks interesting and works for applying the legacy boot menu through a batch file. Can't solve some of the other issues though

Is there anyway to automate the following things during a Windows 8 clean install, either in the Autounattend.xml, a batch or registry file. 1) Preset drive letters for the various storage drives so that USB Mass Storage Devices aren't assigned randomly. 2) Eliminate unwanted/Unneeded scheduled Windows Tasks such as stopping WinSAT.exe from running and/or disabling the Windows Customer Experience Improvement checking program. 3) Eliminating the Windows 8 lock screen without drilling down through the Windows Group Policy Editor 4) Enable legacy F8 boot to safe mode option in Windows without running a batch file under an elevated command prompt. I know most of these things were implemented/changed for security reasons but when running a PC in admin mode, they are a huge annoyance to fix/change. Thanks in advance.

I keep discovering broken processes in the Windows 8.1 task scheduler. Besides these two the latest one I found is in the "Windows Backup" task folder, using the command %systemroot%\System32\sdclt.exeTo find out if you have this issue, launch Windows Task Manager and see if you have several instances of sdclt.exe that cannot be terminated. This is apparently a known issue with Windows 8.1 that some users have attributed to the Intel Proset network drivers. But my PC had the issue even though my motherboard does not have the Intel Proset NIC. To fix sdclt.exe from sapping my memory, I disabled it: Open Windows Task Scheduler, drill down to the Windows Backup task folder, right click on ConfigNotification in the Task Window, and select "disable". I also disabled the associated Windows Service: "Block Level Backup Engine Service" at: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wbengine and set the "start" parameter to "4" to shut it off. Taking these steps will interfere with Windows backup. So I would not recommend it for those who rely on Windows restore functions or whose PC's aren't afflicted by multiple instances of sdclt.exe. But for those of you using a third party backup solution (as I do) and who have the sdclt.exe problem, I can report that my system has more free memory and is a lot more stable after disabling the process.

winkey.cmd I finally got organized and developed a system for quickly rolling out Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 to small workgroups. 1. Pick your silent install apps, drivers etc. and prep the Windows 8 image with the tool of your choice. I use Win ToolKit. To reduce image size, don't integrate any updates in Windows 8 if you are going to upgrade to Windows 8.1. Also avoid adding lots of tweaks in this image; you can do that later with WPI. 2. Forget burning a DVD. For maximum speed, use your tool of choice to prep a removable drive to boot Windows 8. Copy the OS setup files as well as WPI to a USB drive. (I find that 16GB or 32GB is the ideal size and that compact flash memory, though more expensive, is slightly faster than SD memory. And if you have USB 3.0 on your motherboard, use it) 3. For installs on multiple PCs, I organized my removable drive like the one pictured below: 4. Make separate Autounattend.xml and pid.txt files for all of your workgroup PCs and put them in individual folders inside the PID folder noted by the red arrow. 5. Organize WPI for post Windows tweaks and application installations. You are all set. 6. Before you go to each Workstation run the winkey.cmd batch file on a PC that has Windows (any version to configure the next install). The batch file, shown below, will copy the correct Autounattend.xml and pid.txt file for the next installation. 7. To upgrade to Windows 8.1: (1) Run the batch file again while running Windows 8. Choose #1. (2) start Windows 8.1 setup and paste the Window 8.1 KMS key into the Product key box when asked. (3) After the Windows 8.1 install is completed, run the SLUI.EXE 3 command to bring up the dialog to enter the permanent Windows 8.1 product key for the workstation.

I agree with most of your practices except putting everything on C:\. As cheap as storage is nowadays I recommend using two hard drives and putting just the OS on C:\, especially if, as you seem to indicate, you are keeping System Retore copies on C. That partition has got to be huge and if your drive goes bad, you're toast unless you make backups to a NAS or some external storage. And I would be interested in knowing how long it takes to retore the C:\ drive in the event of a disaster. In our environment, I actually dual boot Windows 8 by re-purposing old copies of Windows XP to each client's D:\ drive. Then, if something happens I can boot to XP and quickly delete locked Windows 8 files or restore the OS if it has been hosed. -------------1ST PHYSICAL DRIVE-------------C:\WINDOWS 8D:\WINDOWS XP-------------2ND PHYSICAL DRIVE------------E:\APPS\DATAF:\BACKUP

I can understand running WinSat.exe at setup. But I still don't understand why Windows needs to periodically run this command after your hardware has settled, particularly since many gamers complain that this application runs at inopportune times, crashing their games. I know Microsoft makes a WinSAT.eve available to 3rd party applications through an API, so they can configure themselves. But in most PCs it just seems a waste of resources to run this command regularly, instead of when hardware is changed. I've kept WinSAT.exe disabled in Task Scheduler with no issues. I think using that program that NoelC linked to is a better option to check your performance index without having WinSAT.exe go off at random. As for the SSD Trim command, I agree with NoelC that it is not necessary. But unlike WinSAT.exe, executing Trim correctly does not seem to do any harm.

If you use Solid State Digital drives (SSDs), it may be worthwhile to disable the Task Scheduler Trim command in Windows 8, as Microsoft does not seem to have implemented it correctly. See this post: Go to Task Scheduler, look in the Microsoft folder for the "Defrag" entry in the folder and right click on it to disable it. Then create a new task to implement the Trim command on SSD drives the right way: C:\Windows\System32\Defrag.exe c: /LWhere C: is the drive you want to trim. Another task that may be worth modifying is WinSAT.exe, since Windows 8.1 no longer displays the Window Experience Index rating on the System Properties page, Correct me if I'm wrong, but because of the absence of WEI I don't see any reason to run WinSAT.exe any more, which is under the \Microsoft\Windows\Maintenance folder in Task Scheduler.

You do what you have to do to make the trains run on time

I got a student to download a VL copy for me from his school account. But if you go to this site, look for the SHA-1 hash of the September RTM VL (x86 or x64) version of Windows 8.1, you can probably find a torrent match. These are the versions released in September to the MSDN Subscriber network. They are perfectly fine but I think Microsoft has released two or three updates since September to bring them up to par with Windows 8.1 version release in October. You can also try upgrading with your Windows 8.0 product key here. That never worked for me, but Neowin claims to have a workaround. I hope that helps.

For users seeking to upgrade Windows 8.0 to 8.1, rather than spend hours online connecting to the Microsoft Store to indivdually upgrade a Windows 8.0 machine to Windows 8.1, I finally downloaded Windows Pro 8.1 x64 from Microsoft, burned a DVD, launched setup from within all my existing Windows 8 machines, applied the appropriate KMS Client Setup Key to complete setup and upgraded all five of my Windows 8.0 PCs to Windows 8.1. After the install, I used the the slui.exe 3 command to change the temporary KMS keys to the valid original Windows 8.0 product activiation keys. Make sure your firewall is turned off as well as your anti-virus because there is a long list of mostly 3rd party security products that are modified or altered during the Windows 8.1 installation process that could interfere with activation. Also, most of the Windows 8.1 iso's floating around on Torrent sites are the "N" version that does not include Windows Media Player, so beware. See my post, here, about the other changes that Windows 8.1 makes to a Windows 8.0 installation.

Thanks, however, that doesn't seem to work for upgrades from 8.0 or at least it won't accept my serial. Seems to be for new 8.1 or 8.0 purchases only. So I'm back to square one. BTW, for anybody else wondering about 8.1 changes, these are the one's MS doesn't tell you about that might affect your installation. The first four could eat up significant space on your %systemroot% drive: New persistent Default.migrated subfolder @ %appdata%New persistent $Windows.~BT @ %systemroot%New persistent Windows.old @ %systemroot%Turns System Restore back on to default and creates a system copyResets UAC to default settingsResets most context menu settings to defaultLeaves customized OEM information on the System Property page but appears to remove the rating for the Windows Experience Index and doesn't appear to have a way to rerun the testReset my 1GB Ram drive to 1MB for some reason. Can be increased after installNo longer shows last five digits of your Windows product key on the System Property page. You can use this registry file workaround:Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00;Display the last five digits of your product ID on the Windows System Property Page where XXXXX is shown[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion]"ProductId"="*****-XXXXX"To be continued. . .

Has anybody who has upgraded Windows 8 through the Microsoft Store figured out a way to capture the Windows 8.1 update and slipstream it into Windows 8 to make a clean install of Windows 8.1? As it is now, the 8.1 update, strips out most registry customizations, leaves un-deleteable $Windows.~BT and Windows.old directories on my C:\ drive and junk throughout the appdata and Temp directories.

Yes. I changed the path and purposely put a "1" in front of the word "SYSTEM". But I do think that "Explorer\ShellFolder" registry key is protected.

@ Kelsenellenelvian: I stand corrected. FINALLY! Thanks very much. Now it works. BTW, I see the spacing error before the file name, the path name, however, is otherwise correct. So I guess it was the space. So all is working except RegKeyValue("HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ShellFolder\Personal")=="F:\1SYSTEM\DOCS" But I think that's because Windows or maybe some security software I have access the "Explorer\Shell" key...

I don't want to be a d*ck about this, I really don't. But the registry key feature must have a bug in it. For instance, in the sample code displayed when the user clicks the menu item "Registry Key Exists": [RegKeyExists("HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\WPI\Theme")] It was my understanding that that "Therme" key, if it exists, should be grayed out even if it doesn't have a value, e.g. "=C:\windows.theme". Like I said, whether the key is pre-existing, as in the example I gave in this post, or custom with a specific value, as I gave in my post some time ago: prog[pn]=['Cursors']; uid[pn]=['CURSORS']; dflt[pn]=['no']; forc[pn]=['no']; bit64[pn]=['yes']; cat[pn]=['Customizer']; cmds[pn]=['{REGEDIT} "%wpipath%\\Install\\MySetup\\Cursors.reg"']; gcond[pn]=['RegKeyValue("HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Control Panel\\Cursors\\Arrow")=="F:\\1SYSTEM\\1cons\\Cursors\\ Red.cur"']; desc[pn]=['Cursors']; pn++; the entry is not grayed out by WPI at least in some PCs. I have UAC disabled; I don't know what the problem can be because, as I've said, with all due respect, I've tried this on a bunch of PCs.

I knew I wasn't crazy.

Regardless of the command (and the simple {REGEDIT} "%wpipath%\\Install\\Regs\\ShellFolders.reg" command pointing to to a .reg file works fine for me) the registry entry exists in my registry, after the installation. So when I close and open WPI, the entry should be grayed out. It is not. mritter tried to tackle this issue a while back and said he could not reproduce it. I can't believe I'm the only one with this issue. I've tried this on a number of clean installs on various PCs with the same result. I guess I'll just throw in the towel.