Installing x64 Vista from WinPE/BartPE

[Lukaso]

Hi,

since Vista SP1 deploying should be possible from a 32bit OS.

Quote from SP1 changelog:

Improves OS deployment by enabling 64-bit versions of Windows Vista to be installed from a 32-bit OS. This will allow IT professionals to maintain just a single WinPE image.

Starting setup.exe from the source dir says that it ist not designed for this computertype ... therefore it is still not possible to start the installation from a 32bit os.

i hope you guys have a solution that i possibly oversight

I have also tryed to include the x64 images from install.wim using imagex into a x86 vista install.wim but when trying a unattended install from this the bootprocess (bootloader ...) after the restart ist completly broken and fixing it via the recorvery options booted from the installation disk but without success.

thanks guys

[Jazkal]

This may be a stupid question, but...

What Vista Media are you using?

[Lukaso]

I use the source directory from a new (out of the box) Vista SP1 64bit SB disk, i have not integrated sp1 myself.

I trying to start setup.exe from the source share with a BartPE image.

[Jazkal]

if you are using the setup.exe file from the x64 media, that won't work, as that EXE file is a x64 file, and won't run on Barts/WinPE (x86).

I would think you would need the setup.exe from the x86 SP1 Vista disc.

See what that does.

EDIT:

The instructions for doing this are in the docs for the WAIK v2.1 User's guide.

Edited May 13, 2008 by Jazkal

[Lukaso]

I do it the WAIK way (with /installfrom <x64 install.wim>) but after the first reboot i get a error from the bootloader:

Windows Boot Manager

Windows faild to start. A recent hardware or software change might be t he cause .....

File: \Boot\BCD

Status: 0xc000000f

Info: An error occurred while attempting to read the boot configuration data.

So setup cant finish with part 2

Edited May 14, 2008 by Lukaso

[Jazkal]

Sorry, not much I can help you with.

I use Winpev2.1 not BartsPE, and of the three ways to get this to work under "Cross-Platform Deployment", I used the last one on "Use an answer file for unattended installations."

EDIT:

Come to think of it, how are you preping the drives?

Edited May 15, 2008 by Jazkal

[Lukaso]

Come to think of it, how are you preping the drives?

Partitions using diskpart and additional formating using format x: /fs:ntfs /q /y

[Jazkal]

That is probably your problem. diskpart/format on BartsPE isn't Vista\Win2k8 bootloader compatible (I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I remember reading about this problem on this forum before.)

[Lukaso]

Maybe, but dispart/format works for me with a 32bit wim without any problems.

I like bartpe because the image with about 30 networkdrivers is about 150mb a winpe2 image would take about 100mb more space. Transfering 100mb ober a pxe boot with a 100mbit networkcard would take some extra time ...

[Jazkal]

The problem isn't with WIM, imagex will work fine on bartsPE or WinPE. I'll look around for the needed command to fix you problem.

Edit:

Try this program out:

http://www.sysint.no/Nedlasting/MbrFix.htm

MbrFix /drive <num> fixmbr {/vista}

Edited May 16, 2008 by Jazkal

[Lukaso]

MbrFix dosent solve this problem, but i changed to winpe 2.1 and the x64 installation works fine

btw: thx