WinNTSetup v5.4.1

[sharicov@gmail.com]

Created wim with latest version of  Make_WinPE_Trusted-86, using latest win11 iso Win11_23H2_English_x64v2 (all default parameters)

when trying to create vhd as target using winntsetup (latest) getting error: Error windows pe at source.

 

Same error using windows 10 wim made with Make_WinPE_Trusted

Edited October 1, 2024 by sharicov@gmail.com

[wimb]

PE WIM files are Not meant to be installed in VHD and it is normal that WinNTSetup refuses to Install PE_*.wim files.
The normal way of booting PE WIM files is by loading the PE_*.wim file into RAMDISK and then booting with Windows PE.
In Make_WinPE you can Select the Boot Drive and the WinPE Drive and then an entry is made in your BootManager Menu. Booting from Internal SSD Harddisk Or from USB portable SSD with your PE_*.wim file are both supported.
Also UEFI_MULTI portable app can be used to make Windows BootManager Menu entries for your PE_*.wim files.

The main purpose of booting with PE_*.wim from RAMDISK is to be in environment where you can use WinNTSetup to Install Win 10 / 11 x64 wim files on your internal SSD harddisk partition or in VHD located on NTFS partition.

More Info in Manual VHD_Compact PDF

Edited October 2, 2024 by wimb

[Antonino]

Hi, JFx, long time no see.

Well, I have so long forgotten to ask u about a problem I have always had with minwinned vhd's right after the minwinning process. Most often than not, the property box shows the indexing allowed (the box is ticked) and no users (authenticated, ordinary, administrators, system, trustedinstallers) box ticked at all. If I reboot to have the vhd restart, it won't complete the boot cycle to the desktop interface, but it stays stuck before the wheel stage that does not even show. so I hard-reboot back into some other vhd and populate the list of permits in the min-winned vhd, change the property to administrator or any other (as long as it is not trusted installer) and then it will reboot ok. I have done so after minwinning with all editions of winntsetup, Is there any way of "controlling" the permissions in security in order for them to be ok and boot ok? albeit working perfectly afterwards, my minwinned vhds have always completed the boot process only on 2nd instance, never at the outset (on first boot right after the minwin process). Is there any way to right this wrong?

Thanx in advance    

[JFX]

The NTFS permissions comes from the WIM file.

MinWin apply only changes the admin rights (MinWin\Default\Options.ini --> AdminAccess = 1)

 

EDIT: I'll disable AdminAccess in next version, it's useful to test and modify MinWin installation, but should not be default.

Edited October 4, 2024 by JFX

[Antonino]

Do u have any options other than the 3 ones listed in options.ini that can be used together or alternatively?

[click-click]

I am planning on getting a new laptop that that will only have the UEFI BIOS. It will be bare-bones without any OS with 2 SSDs. I understand a new
partition layout will be required, but that's about all I know about UEFI. I've been living too long in the past.

Previously, I would create and format an NTFS partition and apply my customized wim with WinNTSetup. What kind of partition layout do I need now
before using WinNTSetup and will windows bootmanger still show a list of systems for multi-booting?

[Antonino]

wonderful question!!!! Me, I'd like to know that too

 

[click-click]

From what I've been able to determine, all that is needed for UEFI is a 100MB FAT ESP partition to hold the the BIOS (if needed) and the UEFI system
files used by the boot process. A recovery partition and an MSR partition aren't really needed. GPT also replaces MBR on that drive, but other drives
can still be MBR. The windows BootMgr still works with a correctly configured BCD. I did a small test with the following layout: Hd1 (GPT), 100MB FAT ESP and 100GB NTFS with Strelec 10/11 wim files. Bootmgr lists both and both will boot. I will create a 3rd partition and use WinntSetup to install an OS there and see what happens.

If what I've said is incorrect, please let me know what.

Edited January 12 by click-click

[Antonino]

what if one wants vhdOS's only? what if one wants to have in uefi the scenario it has had in bios so far?

what does one have to do in detail to transform the physical disk (d:\ in bios, for that matter) in order to accomodate the new uefi scenario? 

the only future advantageous situation I see is having one boot environment for as many vhdOS's as one likes, probably along with shorter booting times.

Edited October 15, 2024 by Antonino

[click-click]

VHDs only is not a problem. Same setup as what I did with the .wim files. Configure the bcd to point to the HD and partition with the VHDs. You can convert BIOS (MBR) drive to GPT (Windows Disk Manager), but the data on it needs to be deleted so make sure to backup the disk before doing the conversion. I only need UEFI for my new hardware. I won't be doing any conversions on my current disks.

 

 

Edited October 15, 2024 by click-click

[Antonino]

thanx, click-click. so, would the keeping of data be guaranteed if one had a fresh disk, convert it to gpt, partition it as u said uefi requires, and copy all vhds from the old disk to this one that has just been made for the purpose? would the vhd's work in the new place work just the same without any further adjustment? how about booting thru svbus? how about rambooting?

[click-click]

If the EFI BCD is configured correctly in the ESR partition, I don't see why the VHDs shouldn't boot. Unless you're doing this on different HW that require other drivers not installed in your VHDs. I don't know anything about svbus. If you mean the RamDisk option  as an entry in the BCD, that is what I select to boot wim files.

[Antonino]

can u boot vhd's as ramdisks as u show u do wim files above? we normally boot vhd's into ram with the following g4d script

title vhd2.vhd (SuperRamDisk)
map --mem (hd0,0)/vhd2.vhd (hd0)
map --hook
root (hd0,0)
chainloader /bootmgr
 

 

 

Edited October 16, 2024 by Antonino

[click-click]

I don't know. Never tried it. I doubt it can be used for vhds

Edited October 16, 2024 by click-click

[Antonino]

so, the crucial question for the pundits here, there and everywhere is: why does a winpe wim need no svbus to lift its content from usb into ram and a simple svbus-less os wim or vhd would not, "even if one used a jack spanner", so to speak? in other words, can an ordinary os wim (let's say a mere miniwin) be sent to ram and boot from it? pls contribute.

    

Edited October 17, 2024 by Antonino