Bootable disc - windows home server

[gtidriver]

I'm running Windows Home Server v1 and need to integrate Intel AHCI drivers since floppy drives and disks are becoming a bit of an issue. It is based on Small Business Server 2003, although it is clearly for private (home) use. nLite appears to have integrated the drivers without a problem, however the issue is with creating a nice, bootable, disc. The i386 folder is not off the root, but is a level down, and there are other essential folders and files in the root which WHS needs to complete the installation. It is not clear how I go about including these in the slipstreamed disc - can anyone help? I've tried using Nero 9 to do this, and whilst it - sort of - works and boots, it insists on using some archaic DOS boot image which doesn't really allow the installation to run properly and boot like a Windows installation disc should. Any guidance would be welcomed, I couldn't find it by searching this forum, reading the guide or looking at other sites with guides, unless I've completely missed the boat...

[Ponch]

You do NOT want to make a bootable CD with Nero. Your cd is already bootable. It is not clear if you -simply- tried to build an ISO and burn it (with Nero) "as image".

You can include your folders before cliclking the "Make ISO" button at the end of the process.

[gtidriver]

You do NOT want to make a bootable CD with Nero. Your cd is already bootable. It is not clear if you -simply- tried to build an ISO and burn it (with Nero) "as image".

You can include your folders before cliclking the "Make ISO" button at the end of the process.

No, the problem is that the ISO image does not include all the files I need if I use nLite, since it doesn't seem to take everything from the root - therefore I cannot just use nLite to make an ISO image and burn it with Nero. I have to actually create the ISO using Nero, and to get that image to boot I have to select it to be a bootable disc within Nero - which uses its own boot image to do this. Hence my question - how do I get nLite to include all the files and folders from the root of the disc? That way I can use nLite to create a bootable ISO image or directly create a bootable disc. So you're right, I DON'T want to use Nero if possible, but unless nLite can include all the files I need, I don't have a choice. However, you mention "You can include your folders before cliclking the "Make ISO" button at the end of the process." - how do I do that, as it's exactly what I am trying to achieve?

[Ponch]

...since it doesn't seem to take everything from the root - therefore I cannot just use nLite to make an ISO

yes it does/should. Unless you set the real root as folder (but I don't think nLite would let you do that).

nLites works your files in a directory that you create when you copy your files from the starting media (all steps untill "make ISO") and all of that directory is put in the ISO when you click "Make iso".

You must be doing something wrong from the start.

[gtidriver]

Well, I don't think I am - there isn't much of a choice in nLite, it asks for the folder where i386 is stored, which I point it to, and that's it - there are no further options. The folder structure is as follows:

autorun.inf

<DIR> boot

bootmgr

<DIR> FILES

<DIR> REDISTR

<DIR> sources

<DIR> SVR_2003 ---> this one contains i386 and various other files and folders too

<DIR> WHS

win51il.sp2

<DIR> windows

So I've copied all of this into c:\whs. I cannot select c:\whs in nLite, it insists on me selecting c:\whs\svr_2003 since that contains i386. All the files and folders in svr_2003 get copied to the ISO, but the others in c:\whs do not. Unfortunately, all the other folders and files in c:\whs are required for the installation to succeed. It says I can copy any necessary folders into the "working directory" - which in this case I assume is c:\whs\svr_2003 - but that doesn't help me, since they need to be one level up.

[jaclaz]

I have to actually create the ISO using Nero, and to get that image to boot I have to select it to be a bootable disc within Nero - which uses its own boot image to do this.

Hmmm.

There are IMHO two basic misunderstandings:

1. You use either makeisofs or cdimage.exe (if you are from MS) or oscdimg.exe and NOT Nero to create the .iso
   
2. If you really want to use Nero to create the .iso, you will need to study it a bit, it does allow for all three El-Torito standards: Floppy emulation (the one that you probably are using), No-emulation (the one that you should use), and hard-disk emulation (VERY rarely used)
   

Now, how to create an XP/2003 install .iso with mkisofs is on a good half of the internet, (the other half containing info about using cdimage.exe or oscdimg.exe).

Info on how to create such a .iso with Nero is also available, but hard to find, and probably not exact to the version you are using.

In any case from what you posted your source is - to say the least - "queer" as it looks like using the Vista or 7 based BOOTMGR and it's \boot\ folder (most probably containing a BCD store).

So you will need anyway to study quite a bit to be able to replicate that bootable .iso approach.

Choose a path, but choose wisely.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097576/quotes?qt0357926

Grail Knight: But choose wisely, for while the true Grail will bring you life, the false Grail will take it from you.

jaclaz

[gtidriver]

Well, I guess "queer" may be a good description - the main install process for WHS looks a whole lot more like the graphical Vista install interface than the XP text-mode interface. Right up to the point where you have to install AHCI drivers, when it reboots and heads back to the legacy text-mode F6-to-install-only-from-a-floppy arrangement. Once that's done, it's back to graphical install again. So not very tidy. Be that as it may, the only reason I was using Nero was to create an ISO image which includes the missing folders in the root - if I didn't need those, nLite's process would be just fine as it creates a usable ISO. Just not a complete one. The other option is to edit nLite's ISO image, but then that breaks the boot image within the ISO - and it means paying $30 for ISO editing software I'll use once.

I'll have a look at cdimage again and see what can be done, but the main issue is that nLite should allow you to select a working folder and allow you to nest i386 a few levels down within that, then it would be perfect. Unfortunately, it doesn't do that.

[gtidriver]

Right, it looks like I've had some success. nLite successfully integrated the drivers, but couldn't create a complete ISO. I then got hold of cdimage.exe (GUI version) and managed to create the necessary ISO. It wouldn't boot, saying it couldn't find ntldr. I finally found BBIE, extracted the boot image from the original WHS disc and gave that to cdimage to use, finally it worked. I have to say that this reminds me a bit of LInux - using a whole bunch of utilities to get to the end result - but I guess it works in the end, so it's worth it. Hopefully this will help somebody else out - perhaps using oscdimg would also have worked without having to extract the boot image first, but I haven't bothered to try it.

So to summarise - use nLite to get everything slipstreamed as you need to, but don't select the create ISO option.

Then use BBIE to extract the boot image from the original disc and save it somewhere handy near your working folder (not in it)

Use cdimage.exe to create the ISO image, but be sure to point it to the boot image you've saved. For the root folder, select the main folder with all the data inside (in my post above, it was c:\whs).

Then use whatever utility you like to write the ISO image - Nero in my case, but Win 7 has its own writer and there are plenty others.

Perhaps this is peculiar to this particular flavour of Windows, but maybe someone could incorporate this into the guide as it's certainly not clear as things stand that this approach is required. I have to assume that the other discs are a lot more straightforward and therefore "just work" when following the guide.

[jaclaz]

Perhaps this is peculiar to this particular flavour of Windows, but maybe someone could incorporate this into the guide as it's certainly not clear as things stand that this approach is required. I have to assume that the other discs are a lot more straightforward and therefore "just work" when following the guide.

It is peculiar.

A "normal" XP install disk has an "XP" bootsector that loads SETUPLDR.BIN in \I386\. <- this is hardcoded and cannot be longer than four characters.

Yours uses evidently a "Vista" or 7 bootsector that loads BOOTMGR in ROOT of the CD.

There may be several other ways to make a bootable CD out of it, like using grub4dos or isolinux or BCDW as "bootmanagers" and leave BOOTMGR the role of OS loader.

jaclaz

[submix8c]

FWIW, it appears to be some kind of OEM "Recovery CD", in which case the Recovery is using Vista-style Boot for OEM Recovery/Restore options (some have done that, e.g. Acer). Your "procedure" to "make work" probably close to correct. Hope everything is included in that I386 folder (sometimes not...).