FireGeier

Thank's for sharing nDrew! Martin

That's right, but have a look here, too... cause this is the disadvantage of this method. So it's still a cool way installing drivers but it's NOT installing right away from stick or DVD. Martin

Hello Gwido! If you plan to use xp drivers the only way to install them would be integrate them to install.wim or let them install during WinPE Pass. The third option - to install them during audit mode - will not work unattended, cause you will get the driver signing prompt at this state. So follow the steps of WAIK-help Add Drivers to an Offline Windows Image or Add Device Drivers During Windows Setup / To add a device driver during Windows PE. Note: There is no gurantee that XP-Drivers will be installed properly under Vista. Martin

I still don't understand what you plan to do. setautofailover.cmd is used to boot the WinRE (Recovery Environment) once your system does not boot to the Vista desktop anymore automatically. So why you want to start it "manually" with FirstLogonCommand. Could you explain what you want to do with BCDEdit and diskpart at this state? Do you AutoLogon the Administrator or an other user? Martin

Hello rferrariwd! Where is your script located and what is the script supposed to do? Martin

Ok... if you use imagex /info <PathToMyVistaDVD>\sources\install.wim you'll get something like the following: MetaData gives you three options to identify the image you want to choose: Key: /IMAGE/INDEX ----> Value = Value from <Image Index> (1 in the picture above) Key: /IMAGE/NAME ----> Value = Value from <Name> (Windows Vista BUSINESS in the picture above) Key: /IMAGE/DESCRIPTION -----> Value = Value from <Description> (Windows Vista BUSINESS in the picture above) That means, you've the option to use for <Key> /IMAGE/INDEX OR /IMAGE/NAME OR /IMAGE/DESCRIPTION. Than you use imagex /info to find the right value fot the Key you wanna use. For the example in the picture <MetaDate> would look like this: <InstallFrom> <MetaData wcm:action="add"> <Key>/IMAGE/INDEX</Key> <Value>1</Value> </MetaData> </InstallFrom> OR <InstallFrom> <MetaData wcm:action="add"> <Key>/IMAGE/NAME</Key> <Value>Windows Vista BUSINESS</Value> </MetaData> </InstallFrom> OR <InstallFrom> <MetaData wcm:action="add"> <Key>/IMAGE/DESCRIPTION</Key> <Value>Windows Vista BUSINESS</Value> </MetaData> </InstallFrom> Martin

I don't know if it will fix the error but this setting is wrong. Try to change it to: <InstallFrom> <MetaData wcm:action="add"> <Key>/IMAGE/NAME</Key> <Value>Windows Vista ULTIMATE</Value> </MetaData> </InstallFrom> @ Jeroeneke: Try to add the <InstallFrom> Tag to your answer file. At wich state does the error come up? Martin

And its neither quick to implement, nor does it even look like a solution that the average user can use on an ad-hoc basis.... sad.gif That's right, seems to be more an intermediate solution for driver developers. But EmRoDs method is running fine 'n' is easy to use, so I call it the EmRoD-Method! Martin

Hello EmRoD! I've tested your method using %configsetroot% and it's working like a charm! AND my final installation holds the drivers needed by the system only!!! I can't recommend to use AuditSystem pass to install drivers for the moment, cause you'll be prompted for the installation of unsigned drivers. And as long as we are in the state between, you would have to find a solution to suppress these prompts during audit mode. You'll not get these prompts for the same drivers, when integrating them to install.wim or installing them during WinPE pass. However, I call you a hero EmRoD! Vive la France, mon ami... vive la France! Martin

Hello Clint! I've had exact the same error messages, when trying out to edit boot.wim the first times. Reason for that error is, that boot.wim contains two images. You can get this info with imagex /infoe <PathtoVistaDVD>\sources\boot.wim. To resolve the problem you need to leave the images inside "original" boot.wim. Don't export them. I know that this will let grow your boot.wim. But you have no other easy option. You need to make your changes on the second image inside boot.wim. So first mount the original boot.wim this way: imagex /mountrw <PathtoVistaDVD>\sources\boot.wim 2 C:\Mount Than do your changes on the mounted image, like adding a custom shell or bootcritical drivers etc. When finished unmount the image only: imagex /unmount /commit C:\Mount Use this boot.wim with your DVD and it will work. Problem is that Vista-Setup expects two files inside boot.wim. And if you export the second image to a new file, the index for the new image will be 1. Seems to be that setup expects 2 here. And you can't export a second file into a .wim file. Hope that was explained well enough. Martin

Thanks, a lot for that info EmRoD!!! But I have one more question belonging to that: Does your solution copy over all drivers from drivers\BLA or only the drivers which are needed by the system? Thanks again, for sharing that info! Martin

I think, that's it. Martin

Got it fixed! Redid all of my steps and it's working now! Thanks for your help! Martin

I've to let it run again, cause the last time I've forgot to snap the error message... will post it later... but I remeber that it wasn't something helpfull. Vista-Setup is running fine attended and unattended on the machine. Problem starts once I modify the boot.wim. System: AMD Athlon XP System MSI 6729 Mainboard nVidia Chipset ATI Radeon 9200 SE I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with the boot.wim. First I've tried to export the second image of original boot.wim to a new boot.wim, which I put into sources folder of DVD. Than setup does stop while copying files. Error message: Setup could not find X:\sources\boot.wim. Error Code: 80070491 This does mean that setup seems to expect a second image inside boot.wim in my eyes. I was woundering about at all, why setup does look for boot.wim file at this state of setup, cause I've thought WinPE would already run at this moment. Martin

My target is to create a DVD which is starting a PE-Shell, where I can let run WinRE from and where I can start my unattended Setup from and may do some other operations before - like backing up data. Caused by SRT-Package-Problem I'm forced to adapt the boot.wim from Vista-DVD to get WinRE running. Well my Shell - I use nu2menu - is running fine and I can start and use WinRE. But if I start Vista Setup - does not make a difference, if unattended or manualy - it will first start fine but after a while it will give me an error message and cancle setup. All I've changed is that I've added the nu2menu files to get a Start menu and modified winpeshl.ini to get this shell running. Is anybody able to let Setup run completly started from WinPE - based on boot.wim - manually? Another question I have: On my RC1-DVD boot.wim does contain 2 images. Does anybody no for what reason? Thanks, Martin

It was working for me using description as MetaData, too. Main thing is that Description will identify your image inside install.wim clearly. I haven't thought about the sense of having these three options. Tested it only. If you ask me, using /IMAGE/INDEX/ would already be enough to identify the right image clearly. Martin

Thanks a lot for that info nmX.Memnoch! Makes sense than... Does that mean using sysprep /generalize with <CopyProfile> tag is the only option we have to apply regtweaks to Default User Profile "online" than? Martin

Haven't tried out yet, but that should work. But I still would be interested to konow, if there is any state during Vista Setup BEFORE Sysprep where Current_User tweaks would be applied to .Default user hive. Thanks, Martin

I've tested the whole thing last weekend and jamieo is completly right. AND - this was my question before, too - you've to use this setting to get rid of this second setup screen, where it's asking you which image you wanna install even you've only one option. But if you setup your disk automatically, than it usually don't gives you this screen. This what I found out for DVD Setup. MS tells, that setup identifiys the right image by productkey you entered in the autounattend.xml and that is right. This is the reason why you just have the option to choose the ultimate version, if you've entered an ultimate key in your autounattend.xml. First I thought why the hell I've to set the MetaData setting than, there is only one Ultimate Version on Setup DVD. But the idea of MS is - and it makes sense - you could have a custom install.wim with may be six different Ultimate images in it. And in such a situation you need something more to identify the right image inside install.wim. And at this point MetaData is a must. You've three options to identify your image inside install.wim: 1. Option: Key: /IMAGE/INDEX Value: 4 Will install the image where <Image Index> is 4, if you check install.wim with imagex /info. 2. Option: Key: /IMAGE/NAME Value: Windows Vista ULTIMATE Will install the image, where <Name> is Windows Vista ULTIMATE. 3. Option: Key: /IMAGE/DESCRIPTION Value: Windows Vista ULTIMATE Updates disabeled Will install the image, where <Description> is Windows Vista ULTIMATE Updates disabeled. Problem is that MS does not tell anything about this setting in First Steps doc for example. My experinece after a lot of tests with this setting is, that you have to use it, if you install from DVD and setup your Diks manually like most people do. Haven't tested with network installs but guess it should be the same there. Martin

Thanks, EmRoD, that's true. But "problem" is that you are forced to run sysprep to use this setting and than setup takes much longer. I konw, if you want to capture the image for deployment you've to run sysprep anyway. But there are situations, where it would not be necessary to sysprep the machine and than it's a long taking procedure for little regtweaks. Martin

There's no existing solution that i'm aware of, to get drivers from DVD (unless you mean injecting the drivers into the install.WIM, but that still gets extracted to hard disk & only then used, so its still useless). This is my experience here, too. I realy start liking the new Vista deployment, but I've no clue what they were thinking about, when programing this painful driver handling. You've three diferent methods mainly to install drivers but all of them will copy the drivers to the Windows driver store and waste time and space. I can't imagine that's so difficult to program a method where drivers are checked before becoming integrated to the driver store. Expect from that I do like the new Vista deployment! Much thanks for sharing your knowledge prathapml! Martin EDIT: I was telling something wrong here. It seems to be possible to integrate drivers to .wim file based on a machines hadware only. I've read it in a MS ppt. There were no details about the procedure. I'm not sure if it will work for installation from DVD but it will work for WDS installs. Try to find out more ATM...

Hello AGates! You need to set the Administrator Password for AutoLogon, too, if you've setted it before with AdministratorPassword. Cause for the moment you try to use AutoLogon the Administrator without the password. But so far I've not used this setting to setup the AdministratorPassword. So I can't tell 100% for sure... If I do activate the built in Administrator than I use the Password setting with AutoLogon: <AutoLogon> <LogonCount>1</LogonCount> <Username>Administrator</Username> <Enabled>true</Enabled> <Password> <Value>cABhAHMAcwB3AG8AcgBkAFAAYQBzAHMAdwBvAHIAZAA=</Value> <PlainText>false</PlainText> </Password> </AutoLogon> I think the AdministratorPassword setting you've been using is more for setting the Administrator password without logging him in... Hope that's it! Martin

Hello benowen187! I've never worked with WDS, cause I don't have this setup but I know there is a document called WDSOOBSTEPBYSTEP.DOC which you'll find into the WDS folder of WAIK-CD. It's explaining the whole WDS thing very detailed in my eyes... but don't know if you know it allready... Martin

Hello benowen187! I've never worked with WDS, cause I don't have this setup but I know there is a document called WDSOOBSTEPBYSTEP.DOC which you'll find into the WDS folder of WAIK-CD. It's explaining the whole WDS thing very detailed in my eyes... but don't know if you know it allready... Martin

Hello Spooky! Thanks for the hint! You have to name the script SetupComplete.cmd and put it to %Windir%\Setup\Scripts. This script will be executed AT THE END of setup BEFORE a User is loged on. That gave me the impression that it's doing the same like cmdlines.txt for XP. So I put REGEDIT /S %Systemdrive%\Install\Regtweaks.reg to SetupComplete.cmd. The Regtweaks.cmd is copied to %Systemdrive%\Install using $OEM$ and includes your HKCU tweak which is removing the word shortcut (thanks, for sharing!). At the end of setup I've a very strange situation: If I open regedit and browse to Current_Users\.Default\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer than I can see the right value for links from your tweak. But if I create a new user, it will NOT inherrit this value from .Default! I'm trying to find out for days now, if this happens cause I'm still working with Vista RC1 or is this simple the way it is? So any confirmation from anybody for this would be highly appreciated!!! Thanks, Martin