Atari800XL

(about "capture" and the new Wimlib versions): I finally tested Wimlib (1.9.0b6) capture, to see how it compares to Dism in speed, and how much info is added (and displayed in WinNTSetup). The speed is really good, around one third (33%) faster than DISM, with comparable image sizes (2.66 and 2.7gb in my test). The latest Wimlib seems to automatically add all descriptions/ information needed, some of it seems to be different than DISM (with the same captured windows version), but I'm sure that can be solved. So thanks for the tips on Wimlib, JFX (saw you on the forum), great to see you helped out!!

See, that's what I love about WinNTSetup (and the WinPESE projects) as well. Always nice to see the reactions of another fan... Thanks again to JFX for his continued support in 2016!!!

JFX, it looks like the new Wimlib beta version can add more info to the XML. If you decide to check out the new version, could you (or commiethebeastie, or anyone else) please give some examples of how we can add more info to the wim, that WinNTSetup can use? (Which entries are needed?) The latest Wimlib beta can also capture from a live system (VSS)! So I guess it can act like a disk imaging tool in this case, but I wonder if the speed is any good in that case?

This is not what I am seeing. A few weeks ago, I did tests on original SP1u installs. I only added kb3102810 (first) then (because I was told it was the "magic cure"). Indeed, all 150+ updates were found in less than 7 minutes (tested around 15 times, search only, not the actual install of the updates). I did an update/ sysprep/ capture run on one of those to an updated wim, fresh installed again with that, then did a search again. This resulted in totally unreliable (and stalled/ frozen) results. I gave up on testing then. Now I'm back to testing that updated wim again (doing clean installs with it and search for updates again). Until now, I've repeated this test 4 times, all were around the 31/32 minute mark (10 updates [december] found in all cases). Very interesting, but again this proves nothing and seem to be very strange test results. When we follow your reasoning, the first search for 150 updates should take more time, and the second search for 10 updates should take less. Also, why are all the searches taking 31 minutes now, when they were stalling a few weeks ago? So once again, it leaves the question unanswered about what the hell is going on here... Some kind of server throttling by MS seems the only explanation for now, but to be honest I'm getting more and more confused.

Funny you should mention XP. Still updated with POS updates, guys like OnePiece are still doing a great job updating their packs and tools. And of course WinNTSetup does a superb job installing everything. All the way back from XP to the latest Windows 10 preview build 11082 (just finished [clean-]installing now). Just wanted to be the first to confirm build 11082 compatibility!! (Here we go again...)

Thanks, JFX. There is still the issue of "sometimes yes, sometimes no". Last week (for example wednesday) I ran a test (just because I have enough spare systems here). No go... Then in the weekend (all the same hardware, exactly the same setups, a=clean sp1 base, b=ntlite integrated updates based, c=abbodi1406 integrated updates based, d=simplix updates base), *ALL* worked again. See, that's what's driving me nuts. I never seem to have a test that has repeatable results. It's just a matter of luck... Now if only one of the test systems had that result, I would use it as a solution, but it's the same with all of them, it seems. Thanks for all your input. JFX, feel free to cut this subject off at any time... EDIT: I'm now seriously thinking of doing this test: - Do a clean w7sp1 setup (using WinNTSetup, of course [see, not off-topic after all!]) - Make system image (acronis or similar) - Restore this image every day at the same time, then test how long "search for updates" takes until it displays its results. So *don't* do the actual update process, just see how long the search takes (and if the results vary). Wouldn't this "prove" the server theory? Or would it be a useless test?

Thanks JFX, I didn't know about the DataStore.edb file. Always good to learn new stuff. This still leaves the issue that searching for updates has become a big problem over the last few months, it wasn't a problem for me until about July of this year ("Windows 10 introduction time"?). This is also what a lot of other people complain on the net in numerous threads. For example, a lot of people don't like their w7->w10 upgrade, so they're going back to w7sp1 clean, then face the "stall" issue. I still believe it's a server issue, like I said: it looks Microsoft has set w7 update servers to "low priority" and w10 servers to "high". I do seem to recall reading something about that (MS buying new server space this summer), but I can't find that info anymore! (This would also explain the "sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't" issue. Now if I can only find out which hours per day/ days per week are the best?).

OK AlexCeed, I see you know what you're takling about, so I'm going to believe you :-) But how can you explain then, that when I install a 100% original Windows 7sp1 on a test system (like I do every few months) to create a "base" wim with all updates (sysprepped only once. Using WU, not the "other" solutions. This way all updates, including "pending" ones, can get included), that this *also* has major delays in the first "search for updates" run? That sentence was too long, but what I'm trying to say: 100% clean and normal install, search also stalls. If there a certain updates to block, how on earth can I block those on that very first run? Also: the delays seem "random", sometimes it's fast, sometimes it takes a day. About WHDownload: this does *not* download all the Win10-related updates, and the Abbodi1406 install script I use also makes sure these are *not* installed. Simplix pack also skips the (or "some") Win10-related updates in its latest version (after a lot of requests). If you have any specific solutions for me to test, I'd love to try them! Thanks for your input.

Thanks for that reply, AlexCeed. I don't want to go offtopic too much here, but I did want to ask JFX if he maybe had any "final" tips on why there seems to be a lag/ freeze in Windows Update these days. As you have read in JFX's response, he confirms this problem, but doesn't have the "ultimate" solution. I think maybe you misundestood my question a bit (or I wasn't clear in explaining), but the problem is not that Windows 7 is slowing down with some updates, but *searching* for updates can take hours and hours these days. It has to be MS server related. You also recommend 3rd party solutions like wsusoffline. Thanks, I am aware of these alternatives (also: WHDownloader, Simplix). They are indeed a great alternative. But again: I hope that some day we can find out about the mysterious lag/ freeze/ delay in "Searching for updates", that's the main point. So once more: let's not get too much off-topic, but please reply again if you hear about a solution (or at least: explanation) of this weird problem. It almost looks like MS is trying to "kill" Windows 7!!

Thanks for replying. I really wanted to hear your opinion/ findings on this. Things are getting really weird now, on some days it's not working at all (last week), in those cases it sometimes doesn't work all day, then yesterday all of a sudden it started working again!!!!??? I'm doing these tests on 3 different laptops at the same time now, so there's no coincidences. Yesterday, after 5PM, WU search started working on all systems again, very strange and totally undependable. If you ever find out more on this issue, please share with us (I will do too). THANkS!

JFX, it's pretty quiet here (because WinNTSetup is now perfect, I guess <g>). I know you're a big Windows 7 fan, so I always wanted to ask you about something. This is driving me completely nuts, so I would really like to hear your opinion about this. It might be a bit off topic, but it's 100% W7 install/setup related, to WinNTSetup related as well. Before (approx.) July of this year, I always made a new Windows 7 updated install.wim (almost) every month, with all updates. I created this on (of course) an old test laptop: [WinNT]-setup clean w7sp1, let update (normal Windows update service), audit mode, sysprep, capture. This always worked fine, as long as I made sure the wim wasn't sysprepped more than three times. For a few months now, there have been some weird lags and "freezes" with "online" updating (specially, but not exclusively, with clean installs), I'm sure you've heard about this (plenty of topics on this). Now, the strange/ stupid thing is: every time I think I found a solution, this so-called "solution" turns out to be worth nothing. I tried kb3102810 first (this is supposed to fix the lags), then ie11, then the rest of the 150+ updates. This actually worked for a while (few weeks ago), but the captured .wim from that, is very slow with searching again now (slow= freeze). Others report similar problems. Looks almost like MS killing W7 updating... I'm trying a lot of other options as well now, like Simplix updatepack (working fine, but again: search is freezing), WHDownloader with Abbodi install scripts (this is working perfectly, but this solution is completely bypassing Windows Update service, it's a "manual" updating procedure, which is perfect for my own use, but what if I install it on someone's PC, they could never use Windows Update (different updates/ hotfixes, etc., if you don't know about this solution, I could explain more later). All this is just to ask you: I know you're a brilliant PC Expert (proven with WinNTSetup, PESE, etc. etc.), so I would be very interested in any insights you might have! Anything left for me to test/ change/ read/ research? That's all I can ask from you, like I said, I've been meaning to ask you this for some time, but never had the feeling I did enough to test and try by myself, but now I'm out of options :-) If not, no problem, at least I tried!!! THANKS!

Have you tried this (from the first post): /wimindex:n - defines the edition inside install.wim which should be installed beginning with 1 (like in the combo box Edition)

Friends, OnePiece has released Final XP Update pack 1.07. Also, a new version of DXUPAC, the new version can automatically create POS Addons. No more manual editing!!! He made ready to use (localized!) October version (POS Addons) as well. Great stuff. There was much rejoicing. Are we allowed to link to the relevant forums?

Thanks dencorso!!! It looks like 5eraph was working at this as well, but it's nice to have a description of exactly how this is done. His versions are here (I hope/ think he'll keep them updated in the future): (see message #622 above, where he says "I leave the INF files alone) Thank you all!!

Heinoganda, thanks for the clear instructions, I created a new rvkroots.exe and rootsupd.exe One question: for rvkroots, I didn't have to change the rvkroots.inf, it already had the correct VERSION="5,0,2195,0" and Ver="005" for rootsupd, the original rootsupd.inf had VERSION="38,0,2195,0" and Ver="038" Did I understand you correctly, can I just make a manual edit to rootsupd.inf, to change that to: VERSION="40,0,2195,0" Ver="040" without doing any other changes? The .inf file has a lot of "WARNING!!!!" lines, so I'm not sure if this is the correct way? If I understand you correctly, these string only need to be changed once (and only for rootsupd.inf), after I don't have to change them again, even if I create new SFX files with newer .sst files? THANKS!!

AlexCeed, nice to see you like WinNTSetup. I agree with you, it's GREAT!! Just wanted to share with you how I normally use $oem$ folder stuff: I use the WinNTSetup "-runafter" command line option, to run a WinRAR SFX file, which in turn expands the "Setup" folder to c:\windows after the apply phase. Inside the setup folder is the usual "Scripts\Setupcomplete.cmd" file, and other folders needed for things like activation, etc. This is a very convenient method for me, because after starting WinNTSetup with this command line, I can even select other SFX files in the GUI, if I need to test other (sfx) $oem$ folder structures. All this without changing the .wim, like you already mentioned. So maybe this is a bit like the "manual OEM folder selection" you were asking about. As you see, WinNTSetup has multiple solutions to pretty much anything!

I have to agree with Molecule. Skrell, please share more info on your system and source. An anti virus program could also cause problems...

DXUPAC by OnePiece can make a POS Updatepack from unmodified POS updates. I've been using it for quite some time now, a few days ago I made the new September 2015 POS Addon, integrated it into my XPSP3 source (along with OnePiece's last "official" post-sp3 XP updatepack). The nice thing about this approach is that you can build it in your own language. Unfortunately, Skrell is having a problem with this, I have tried everything I can think of, but don't know how we can help him. The best advice I can give is to try with as basic a setup as possible, once you get it working you can go from there. Again, I've used this method for years now, I did have some problems along the way as well, but it does work. Too bad OnePiece has abandoned the project...

> Has anybody else had this experience? MS gives me no information on what it wants to install ... Yep, this seems to be normal. Not sure exactly when it crops up here, I think after a reinstall (but could be wrong). I always allow this to install, never had any problems with it.

Finally tested this, and it seems to work!!! To be honest, I wasn't sure about this one, because I did so many failed testst before (also other stuff related with forced updates, activation delays, w7 delays on Windows Update, etc. etc.) But never mind all that, THIS seems to work!: (1) Create this "NoForcedW10DriversInstall.reg" in a folder called "w10tweaks" Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DriverSearching]"SearchOrderConfig"=dword:00000000In the link you mentioned, different locations and explanations were used, but HKLM seems to be the correct one, and "0" seems to be the correct value (=turn off). (2) Run WinNTSetup, select "Tweaks", select the "w10tweaks" folder. (3) Install with internet connection. This way, my W10Pro is activated instantly, without the forced driver updates. After setup, I can still select any Windows updates (including driver updates) with the WUInstall powershell module. This seems to be the best solution for now, thanks for the help!!!

JFX, I was wondering if you could help with disabling automatic drivers updates in Windows 10. Please read my post on MDL: http://forums.mydigitallife.info/threads/64804-Finally-found-a-way-to-disable-automatic-driver-updates-in-Windows-10?p=1134905&viewfull=1#post1134905 As you can see I did try "something", I hoped it would work, but it didn't. Any help on this would be great, but if you don't want to be bothered, that's fine as well. Never hurts to ask, does it? I do have a less-than-perfect solution for this, and that is to install offline, then disable Windows Update completely, but that is of course not the best way to go. Also, Windows 10 Pro seems to activate better when it has an internet connection *during* setup (activating later does work, but can take days, and give strange errors, like "key blocked", when it really isn't, etc.) Thanks again x1000 for WinNTSetup!!!!!

Thanks JFX, I must have forgotten about that -regtweaks option, I couldn't find it in the first post anymore, but as you can tell from my previous message, it was still floating somewhere in my memory :-) I'm deeply ashamed, I see it's right there in the help file. Please forgive me!!

I was just throwing out that little tip, because it was so quiet here.. But now that I think about it: I always thought there was a command line option already for something like -tweaks "q:\winntsetup\tweaks-w10.reg" to add user-specific tweaks, but I can't find it at all. So maybe it was all in my dreams? Seriously, would this be a possible addition? Of course, "PostInstall" or something is better suited for a lot of this stuff, but removing the login background would be great to get out of the way straight from setup starting.

So quiet here What about this tweak for Windows 10: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System]"DisableLogonBackgroundImage"=dword:00000001Only seems to work when you have the latest updates (incl. kb3074678 and kb3074686).

heinoganda, please explain to me how these files are English only? I used DXUPAC to add them to my Dutch POS addon, and they seem to be included just fine. On the other hand I must admit I don't even know what these files actually *do*! Please share some more info on this, I would really appreciate that!