vlite + WAIK + install structure + ideas and advice HELP!

[solar]

Alright.. This is my first post and certainly I am sorry if I am on the wrong forum altogether (perhaps microsoft or?)

Either case, I hope to pick up on a good technician who knows what I wish, what problems I might have and how to solve it.

(this i wrote over at vistax64, ,definitely wrong forum .. no answers)!

My problem(s) are these:

I have a V64 ultimate Disk to install Vista Ultimate x64.

I am on a HP laptop which I wish to reconfigure to a truly personal computer.

Thus... I have one physical disk of 320 GB which I wish to partition to C, D, E and F.

The relevant files and date on these partitions are to be:

C: OS

D: Programs (Yes, programfiles(x86) and programfiles)

E: Profiles (aka Users)

F: General Data storage.

Why am i DOING this? A: Because I want to be able to reinstall later on C_OS without compromising current program structure and user structure/data!

Conceived problems:

- IF I reinstall OS , I need to have an unattend file which still points to users and progs on D and E.. Will it overwrite the old folders (emptying them? or just point to them but leave the data intact?)

-registry inconsistency.. Surely the programs and many pointers will now be gone. (product licensing , folder pointers etc etc)

I know from XP once I did this structure.. my programs on D still worked (many of them) although of course many auto associations etc were gone.

Can soemone PLEASE give me useful advice on registry issues here

A. Mainly because I wish to be able to integrate a simple recovery method. So I wish to remake my image so that if I put in my disc... C is formatted , installs OS (and retains the junctions which point to USERS and PROGRAMS to the other respective partitions).

So.. some problems are these... If I choose wipedisk in WAIK , I will obviously lose my old data on the partitions.. so this is not an option... Hence, I have to set this to false... and then what? How to create the C, format it .. and make sure it still will understand that Users and programs are on D and E?

(I know how to specify this in WAIK.. this was more a question regarding if I can do all in this post with ONE disc or TWO discs.. and even so, if it's possible given the problems I am raising and potentially others).

I think I probably will need 2 discs? The original one to perhaps Create the partitions C, D, E, etc. and use an attended disc "1" to set up freshly created partitions (now wipedisk is ok)... But lets say in two months time I need to reinstall my OS... So then I take Disc "2" which I have modified in such a way that it formats C, installs OS (I guess I must be careful to never change the partition size of C eh?) , links USERS AND PROGRAMS to the existing USERS and PROGRAMS in D and E but does not wipe out any data (or overwrites the old users and programs with fresh folders!).

Does this make any sense? I wonder how to set up disc 2 then? to 'understand' this layout. SO Disc 1 = complete reformat fresh install of WHOLE PHYSICAL DISK(with whichever drivers, programs I am adding) ... and Disc 2 = ONLY FORMATS THE OS PARTITION C but retains all other paritions and updates only the junctions which point to the other drives(but retains my good old programs and users)???

In both cases (discs) I would automatically create a same user USER1 with a password and so will that be a problem , etc etc...

ANOTHER THING... I also add programs to be installed for first time install... (which leads me to believe to keep 2 discs).. firefox..foxit...regtweaker..ccleaner..nod32.. etc .. however if I later on some months down the road use disc 2 then to reinstall C.. I do not want these programs to reinstall right? :/ So I should only include programs on disc1?

sigh.

And to add a bit about vlite (v 1.2):

*******************************

Started off with vlite to remove compns and added some drivers etc. But when I go to ISO .. regardless if I choose burn image or create image , device doesnt show up etc etc.. it just rebuilds the image back itno the source folder (so my unpacked dvd at around 3 gb becomes 1.7 gb). I also see the unattended.xml is updated from vlite in that folder so it must be there it is saved.. but why does this happen? why can I not choose where to save image or indeed save it as image (the DVD folder remains an unpacked image as such.. well I guess install.wim is the rebuilt image). Why I am asking and a bit sceptical is because in vlite I changed the label to Windows Vista Tiger or something , just so I could trace it.. but I do not see this label anywhere. Is it because it will show up in WAIK when I load the rebuilt install.wim?

Ok, sorry for long post and perhaps messy... but I will happily answer more if someone is willing to try and see where I wish to go with this build.

If this post is incomplete for now or inaccurate or inadequate , please feel free to ask me specific questions so I can further answer properly what I have in mind.

If anyone sees problems or solutions with this , please let me know!!!

The OS is 64 bit on 64 bit laptop and thats about it.

Edited January 26, 2009 by solar

[solar]

ADD: I guess the solution seems to be 2 discs. A with fresh complete install + initial drivers + fixes + apps

and D isc B -> OS install... .(on the predicament that repointing to D:\PROGS and E:\USERS does not overwrite the current residing folder system).

So the solution I guess is that I have to set up a manual task schedule which backs up the registry (lets say daily) onto E or so...

Then when I reinstall OS , I apply my latest reg backup which is no more outdated than by a day (of course if one is reinstalling there might be a reason for a crash in the reg but hey)... then run ccleaner + regclear pro for example and I should* be updated to my system I had just before install right? Would this solve a registry inconsistency?

A problem with this is of course one never knows what one does down the road over the months with other reg tweaks I occasionally come over sigh but anyway.. please share some thoughts if you are experienced with this.

PS. Does Office 2007 install easily with WAIK? And also another question.. installing non MS programs etc on the autounattend.. if installers require install parameters etc... will they all be repressed with the /quiet switch??

Thanks a lot!