[Current_User Regtweaks doesn't work ?]

I'm not really positive of what your seeing, but the fact that reg tweaks are not applied to HKEY_CURRENT_USER might indicate that the tweaks are applied at the wrong stage in the install. I always thought the reg profile for HKEY_CURRENT_USER isn't finalized until the install finishes creating all registry entries after the user accounts are created. Mine seem to work fine, but they are not put in until after the user accounts are created and at the end of the install, then there is a re-boot.

Hello Spooky!

The "Problem" is to apply the Regtweaks to the .Default-User profile so that they will be present for new created users in future. If you autologon an user at OOBE Pass and apply your regtweaks than they will be present for that user only. But not for users you'll create in future - I'm talking here about the Current_User-Tweaks only.

I've a solution to install the regtweaks for the .Default-User profile but it's more complicated and setup takes much longer than. Here is a short overview:

- I let run my unattended setup.

- At the end - OOBE Pass - I autologon the Administrator and use Runsynchronous - insert in my Autounattend.xml - to execute my Regtweaks.reg.

- With a second Runsynchronous I start sysprep /generalize /quiet /oobe /quit /unattend:%Systemdrive%\Install\Unattend.xml.

- The second Unattend.xml contains the tag <CopyProfile>, which will copy the Administrator profile to .Default User Profile during generalization.

Do you know an "easier" way to get the Current_User tweaks to .Default User? "Problem" ATM is, that sysprep part takes very long.

I know that you could edit the Registry "offline", too. But I would prefere applying it during Setup online.

Martin

[Why the need to capture ?]

Hello midiboy!

There is no need to capture an image of your installation. You can do the whole installation from DVD unattended without capturing the image.

However it's usefull to have the image capturing for professionell environments, cause deploying the captured image is faster than doing the whole installation unattended again and again.

If you're doing the unattended installation for single computers only or for samll offices than there is realy no need to use the capture method IMO.

Martin

[Automated welcome screen]

Hello m.i.l.e.s!

If you look on WAIK-CD browse to folder WDS. There you'll find a WDSOOBSTEPBYSTEP.DOC. It will explain the whole WDS thing.

Martin

[Current_User Regtweaks doesn't work ?]

If I create a new user regtweaks are present for the new created user.

Hello Sonic again!

I can't reproduce this behaviour! If I let start my regtweaks.reg from specialize pass than I can see the change in .Default Key in Regedit. But if I create a new user, than the Current_User tweaks are NOT applied.

BTW I have a solution for your part of the problem just import the regtweaks again through Runsynchronous from oobe pass. Than the tweaks are applied to the created user. I've just tested that and it's working for me.

I've put a runsynchronous command to specialize AND oobe pass in AutoUnattend.xml so the regtweaks.reg is imported twice. If the regtweaks would be present now for new users than we would have solved the whole problem and we would have the same result like with winnt.sif and cmdline.txt without using sysprep.

Could you clear this up for me?

Martin

[Copying files]

i tried to startup and pressed F8. but when i choose repair, the system askes me to instert my vista dvd.....

You need to edit the boot code with BCDEdit to correct this. Look in WAIK-Help for BCDEdit and look in setautofailover.cmd again to find out more about.

Setautofailover.cmd is working with BCDEdit, too, to boot the WinRE.

Martin

[OEMPnPDriverPath]

...

However, you could still populate the DevicePath value found in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion that the OEMPnPDriversPath value modified, but I've not tried it to see what would happen if that was modified in an image and then ximage'd back up and redeployed.

...

Isn't this the same like using DriverPaths under Microsoft-Windows-PnpCustomizationsNonWinPE or did I missunderstood something?

I ask cause these settings are only be executed through audit mode again and than all drivers from setted location will be copied into the image again.

Seems to me, that there is no solution to install drivers from a different location wo copying everything to driver store.

Martin

[Copying files]

i tried with an xcopy and copy command, but that díd'nt work.

Well it should work with xcopy. How was your command looking like exactly?

the command line for this is "setautofailover.cmd /wim /target d: /mainos {default} /disk 0 /partition 1", i want to run it automatic to set the first partition to WinRe. what i don't get is the d: is this the drive where the os is on? i searched the microsoft site for explanation of these options but i could'nt find them.

The d: is an example only. d: is the target, where winre.wim is located. If you open the setautofailover.cmd you will find a very short explanation at the end of the file.

If you don't have a d: drive - cause you're just using one drive for example - than use c: instead of d:. The WAIK-Walkthrough is creating two partitions on your drive, one for VistaOS and one for WinRE. This is the reason why they are using d: for setautofailover.cmd.

Hope that'll clear it up a little bit.

Martin

[Current_User Regtweaks doesn't work ?]

Hello Sonic,

I do understand what your target is, but if you wanna use different Current_User Regtweaks, than they won't be applied under specialize pass.

During specialize pass only machine/system settings are setted. Settings for one User only, have to be applied during auditUser pass, and this will only be executed with sysprep. This is the "official" way, if I've understood everything right.

There might be some other ways, I don't know for the moment.

Here are some possible solutions - not tested yet - without running sysprep:

If it does not matter for you, that the settings are under the default user, so that every new user will inherit them, than it would be a solution, to run a cmd, where a new user will be created - who will inherit the settings during creation and your original user - who don't has the tweaks present - will be deleted.

If it's important for you, that the default user settings are not changed, you could run a cmd where Default user profile is saved first to an other location. Than let run your Regtweaks.reg like you did before. Create a new user and delete the old user. Copy back the saved Default user profile.

But I had in mind, that copy procedures like this will be prevented by missing permissions. Not sure for the moment... I'm just thinking...

Martin

[Current_User Regtweaks doesn't work ?]

To make sure, that I undestand right: You started into audit mode by executing sysprep command or you just added your Regtweak.cmd to auditUser Pass in WSIM?

Martin

[Current_User Regtweaks doesn't work ?]

Hello Sonic!

Do you auto logon the user you've created in Autounattend.xml? Or do you use the build in Administrator for AutoLogon?

To install something in user context you need to run audit mode? Look in WAIK help for sysprep to find out more about.

Martin

[Autounattend.xml.xml and versions choice]

Look here at fizban2 post.

[Bootable Vista DVD]

Autounattend.xml needs to be present in the Root

Not necessarily

Works off root of floppy/usb stick. Can change it that way if error occurs

Works in Sources for me with the $oem$ present and the <UseConfigurationSet>true</UseConfigurationSet>

Don't know if it's because I also use some <OEMInformation> stuff

There is a special search order Vista Setup follows when looking for an Unattend.xml/AutoUnattend.xml file. Look into WAIK-Help use search and type Methods for Running Windows Setup. There you'll find some more information about. At least there are seven locatinons, you could store you're xml file.

Hope that'll clear it up!

Martin

[AutoUnattemnded.xml and image from]

Hello fizban2!

I do understand the whole image index thing and that the "original" install.wim contains seven "subimages" representing the different Vista Versions. So I do know how the InstallFrom part is working generally.

What I'm not sure about is, if you're forced to set the InstallFrom part in your AutoUnattend.xml, if you're installing form DVD. I've had in mind that you've to use it only, if you're installing from a network share. Meanwhile I'm not able to find that information in WAIK-Help or Unattended reference.

I'm using an AutoUnattend.xml for my installation - from DVD - where InstallFrom part is not set. It's working fine. I'm configuring my disk automatically.

But I've got feedback from some guys that they run into problems using "my" AutoUnattend.xml, if they configuring the Disk manually. Than they are prompted to choose the Vista Version they wanna install before configuring the disk, and they have only one option at this dialog.

Do you know more about that?

Martin

[AutoUnattend.xml help with OOBE!]

The "offlineImage" identifies which VISTA-Version you're installing AFAIK. If you look at the install.wim you'll see seven subimages represanting the different Versions (Business, Home Basic ...). If you would remove the offlineImage line Setup would not know wich Version you wanna install.

I can't find any errors so far in your AutoUnattend.xml, so what kind of errors you've got?

Martin

[AutoUnattend.xml help with OOBE!]

Hello, Clint!

I don't know where you get what kind of errors exactly, but if you're using the <SkipMachineOOBE>true</SkipMachineOOBE> it's causing several "problems" I know about for the moment. There might be some more:

1. Microsoft does not recommend to use this tag. This is the reason why you're getting a warning message in WSIM. It's not a critical error.

2. If you set this tag to true, Automatic Updates will be disabled what ever you set.

3. The setting of Network Location will be ignored - the box will pop up at the end of installation.

If you should have other or more problems, it would be helpfull to know, what kind of messages you're getting and how you're complete AutoUnattend.xml is looking like.

Martin

[[HELP] setup language !]

Well, I don't have all in mind what you were able to set with XP Setup Manager. But under Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup TimeZone you can setup Timezones:

Use the following "Codes":

AUS Central Standard Time = (GMT+09:30) Darwin
AUS Eastern Standard Time = (GMT+10:00) Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Cen. Australia Standard Time = (GMT+09:30) Adelaide
W. Australia Standard Time = (GMT+08:00) Perth

Example:

<TimeZone>AUS Central Standard Time</TimeZone>

Martin

[WINPE 2.0 without ram]

So it can or cannot be done... i know from hd it can be done, but i could not get it to work for cd

Like ubernerd said: You can do it. Follow the steps from Walkthrough: Boot Windows PE from Hard Disk and at step 4 (BCDEdit) you need to replace partition=C: through boot. Got this information from Readme.rtf of WAIK.

Martin

[Disable minimum system requirements?]

Hello again!

If you're talking about the performance test, than you can skip it by setting SkipMachineOOBE=true. This will cause a warning in WSIM, but it will skip the whole welcome procedure. AFAIK there is no other way to skip that test.

It has some disadvantages, too. It will ignore you're network location setting in Autounattend.xml for example. But you can come around this with Regtweaks.

Martin

[WIAK Changes not applied to image..!?]

Hello Clint!

I've had some problems with the first command I gave you. That means size was not changed sometimes. But the second one - with compress - has allways been working fine for me... ok sometimes it's not decreasing the size as much as expected, but it's changing the size.

You can use none, fast and maximum with the compress switch. It will only work if you're using the same compress level like it was used when install.wim was created. So you should try, if something will change with the fast setting.

But that's really strange. If you're using the /export command only, you're newinstall.wim should be already smaller than the original one. Cause you're exporting only one subimage of install.wim to newinstall.wim. That means that the other six subimages are not exported. So newinstall.wim inclueds much less stuff...

Martin

[WIAK Changes not applied to image..!?]

Ok... than you have to do it the "hard" way:

ImageX /export /check /compress maximum C:\windows_distribution\sources\install.wim 4 C:\newinstall.wim

This will recompress the image.

Merry Christmas!

Martin

[WIAK Changes not applied to image..!?]

Sorry, Clint!

I've forgot to mention, that you have to insert the right image number instead of *.

Example:

ImageX /export /check C:\windows_distribution\sources\install.wim 4 C:\newinstall.wim

The newinstall.wim will be the new .wim file. You have to replace the old one in sources with this new one - rename the newinstall.wim to install.wim.

Martin

[WIAK Changes not applied to image..!?]

Hello Clint,

you need to export the install.wim into an other file to get the size reduced:

ImageX /export /check C:\windows_distribution\sources\install.wim * C:\newinstall.wim

Martin

[Vista Unattended - Will Not Create Disk Partitions]

Hello Brian,

do you have several Disks in your system or one only?

Martin

[Can't boot WinPE 2.0 from USB-Stick]

Could some one post the steps required to create Bootable Windows PE 2.0 RAM Disk on UFD please?

You just need to follow the steps of "Create a Bootable Windows PE RAM Disk on UFD" in WAIK-Help.

The other question is, if your combination of UFD and Mainboard/BIOS will allow to boot the stick at least.

Martin

[Can't boot WinPE 2.0 from USB-Stick]

And if you disconnect the HD and boot system with UFD insert only?

Martin