geo411m

well it seems when i left window media player in vlite it fixed my digital camera problems. so i guess problem is solved.

if the hardware are all the same then it mayvbe that vista detects a different harddrive. you can try this code for fixing the boot sector check. bcdedit /set {bootmgr} device boot bcdedit /set {default} device boot bcdedit /set {default} osdevice boot this is what i did when we used ghost cause we wanted are settings.

did you use sysprep?

i do export my .wim file. it seems to grow by i don't know like 40% of hotfix size. exp 100mb hotfixes = 40mb wim increase. thats just an example not my real numbers. also i use peimg instead of pkgmr with a two step process. peimg /import=c:\updates\*.cab c:\mount\windows and the peimg /install=*Package* c:\mount\windows

does this method really slipstream hotfixes? i've been using peimg to add hotfixes but my install grows when i add the hotfixes. i believe the method i'm using is similar to SVCPACK.INF Method for XP. is there a way of real slipstreaming?

Hey whats up. i believe vlite shows your version as 0.0.0.0.0 or whatever because you removed all install files from your sources folder. aliwithad i see you and i are following the sames steps. we'll talk more at Redemption...

how are you able to do this? i've tried rebuiding my vlite image using imagex maximum compression (so i can fit a few more thing on cd) and i get an error message about appldata folder or something. here's my code maybe you can tell me what i did wrong? imagex /compress maximum /flags "Ultimate" /check /scroll /capture D:\mount d:\install.wim "Windows Vista Ultimate"

have you figured out the problem yet? i've tried adding scanners, codecs, photo gallery and it still the same. the only thing left to do is leave media player which i don't really want to do. i'll also attach my latest Last Session.ini incase it can be used in troubleshooting. Last_Session.ini

this is a microsoft official tool for creating unattended vista installs. it nowhere near as easy to use as vlite nor do i believe it strips and rebuild a smaller vista wim like vlite does. there's a guide to using it found here.

try vLite it can remove defender and make dvd/cd unattended (no need for os selection). you can find it here

if the wim image is of vista you can use boot.wim from the original dvd it contain the installer and diskpartion tool. make sure you rename image.wim install.wim

i know it not the codecs cause i kept them, but i did remove media player.

i also get this error on my vlited cd.

I have gotten it down to 3gigs including page file (1gig). as long as your vlite fits on a CD it shouldn't take more than that. I would stick with XP as i can get my install under 800mb excluding pagefile and have all functionality. that gives you an extra 2gigs+ for programs. hope this helps...

i got the drivers from vmware tools.

It's a PE issue where you need to install a driver for VMWARE onto your CD.

great guide so far. i'm wondering if it possible to use the universal massstorage driver from Here. one would think that this would help with transfering images from ide to sata drives.

i just delete them. just make sure to leave eng language files or what ever language your disk uses or your PE wont boot.

yes language file are deletable as well as the language font in the various boot folders. look around cause you'll see the same fonts and language files in different folder.

thats GREAT, i can't wait to see Part 4. of your guide.

i certainly am interested in that. So you boot into winpe which starts longhorn setup or your wrapper to partition and format your drives and then start the deployment of your wim file to the partition you select, is that about right?

what do you mean about setup routine not unattended diskpart? is there a way to make a setup routine. i made a image like this one that boots in winpe 2.0 then uses .bat scripts to deploy my image using imagex (i took your advice). ugly but gets the job done. i would be interested in hearing how you made a setup routine. excellent guide by the way...

did you remove anything else? i did add all the BTS Lan Drivers maybe thats why mine is so much bigger?

I rebuilded the wim using max compression and not using any of the extras. the only thing i added was imagex + Imagex gui, ghost, nu2, ExplorerXP and BTS Lan pack. my wim is about 120mb. it can run on 256mb machines with about 3mb free . i think i figured out my problem with mounting drives. i think i need to configure network setting as i'm able to mapdrives in VMWare fine but not in real hardware eventhough my network card are propely detected. i'm gonna try adding "Pe Network Configurator 2.30" which should hopefully help with my problem. WinPe has alot of tools but they are comand prompt based. what would be a good idea would be to write gui wrapers for them that way we can keep our cd's small and easy to use.