VHD_WIMBOOT - Apply and Capture of WIM Files for OS in VHD

[wimb]

On 11/20/2020 at 4:03 PM, wimb said:

WinNTSetup method Enable native USB Boot of Windows 7 is working great for direct Install of Win7x64 in VHD on USB.

WinNTSetup Enable USB Boot of Windows 7 was successful for me,
but it was so because by luck I connected the USB SSD to the port for which WinNTSetup made the essential corrections of the USB extended host controller.
In my case WinNTSetup changed the Intel iusb3xhc and iusb3hub such that Start=0 and BootFlags=4 and Group=System Bus Extender, which is working OK.
But when I connect the USB to other port that has ASMedia XHCI as controller, then WinNTSetup results in USB Boot failure.
In that case WinNTSetup changes the same Intel iusb3xhc and iusb3hub Service Settings, whereas it would be needed to correct asmtxhci and asmthub3 Service settings.

My original USB Boot problem for 7x64 Compact VHD can be solved also by adding the correct USB Service settings after Apply as done in VHD_WIMBOOT.
In my case it means that Intel iusb3xhc and iusb3hub and ASMedia XHCI asmtxhci and asmthub3 Service settings must have Start=0 and BootFlags=4 and Group=System Bus Extender.
These settings were missing in my original USB Fix from 2013, which explains why I had this USB Boot failure.
After adding these corrections to my USB Fix then everything is working OK.
Also the ASMedia XHCI Services asmtxhci and asmthub3 can be added to Tools\Win7USBBoot.ini so that WinNTSetup will also be OK for both cases Intel and ASMedia XHCI

Edited November 23, 2020 by wimb

[wimb]

Update VHD_WIMBOOT Version 3.7

Download: from GitHub VHD_WIMBOOT-37 and Win_Reduce_Trusted-37

- USB Fix 7/8 - registry tweak Win7 and UsbBootWatcher.conf for USB Boot Updated
- Added Service Settings - Intel iusb3xhc and iusb3hub and ASMedia XHCI asmtxhci and asmthub3 - Start=0 and BootFlags=4 and Group=System Bus Extender

UsbBootWatcher is useful also when booting from USB on other hardware to have the right USB service settings for that case.

Win_Reduce_Trusted allows to modify Offline Windows 7/8/10 in VHD - General Post Install Modifications
- Reduce UsedSize in VHD to about 2 GB
- make Mini 7/8/10 x64 in VHD booting as FILEDISK from USB / SSD and booting from RAMSDISK using SVBus driver
- Add Folders and Files and Registry Tweaks - e.g. Add FirewallAppBlocker and SwiftSearch
- USB Fix 7/8 for booting 7/8 VHD from USB
- run Custom Command for post install modifications

 

Edited March 7, 2021 by wimb

[wimb]

Update VHD_WIMBOOT Version 4.0

Download:  from GitHub VHD_WIMBOOT-40 and Win_Reduce_Trusted-40  to make Mini 7/8/10 x64 in VHD with UsedSize about 2 GB

Manual:  VHD_WIMBOOT.pdf

- Modified  base_winsxs_2.cmd of cdob  so that hardlinks are created for \Windows\WinSxS\*_microsoft-windows-servicingstack*
  sevicingstack is needed for support of Adding Drivers by means of Dism.exe
- Add Drivers 7/8/10 in Offline Windows by using Dism.exe - Not suitable to Install SVBus Driver for booting from RAMDISK
  Boot in MBR mode for Install of SVBus driver - use R-mouse menu to Run as admin file instx64.exe of SVBus bin folder

- Update USB 7/8 Fix - Scan Offline Registry for USB3 Services as listed in file makebt\USB_78_Tweaks\Win78_USB3_Boot.ini
  When Service for Installed USB3 driver is found then make USB Controller Service setting Start=0 and BootFlags=4 and Group=System Bus Extender
  In this way more hardware is supported for booting Win 7/8 VHD from USB

More Info on booting Win7/8 from USB given by cdob and info on how to get USB3 drivers
 

   

 

Edited December 4, 2020 by wimb

[wimb]

 

1. WinNTSetup - Fresh Install in 25 GB Fixed VHD located on internal SSD / Harddisk using Win10x64 ISO from TechBench
2. VHD_WIMBOOT - Capture WimBoot LZX and Apply in Compact LZX mode in Fixed VHD 10 GB - Offline Windows
3. Mount VHD with doubble-click and use Win_Reduce_Trusted on Offline Windows
- Reduce in 1 minute gives Mini 10x64 VHD UsedSize = 1.79 GB
- Capture WimBoot LZX WIM = 1.19 GB and Apply Compact LZX in 3.9 GB Fixed VHD with MBR 2 Partitions
4. Boot with 3.9 GB VHD as FILEDISK using Windows Boot Manager menu
- Always use the supplied Firewall App Blocker and Enable WhiteList to Allow Internet Browser only
- This is the easiest way to block unwanted internet traffic including Windows Update and prevents the growth of Used Size inside VHD
5. Install signed SVBus driver in running Windows of 3.9 GB VHD - needed for UEFI booting from RAMDISK
- Install SVBus EVRootCA Registry Fix in runnung Windows - use SVBus-signed_2 folder
- Install SVBus Driver as Admin - use R-mouse on instx64.exe in SVBus-signed_2 folder
- Reboot VHD first as FILEDISK from Windows Boot Manager to make Install of SVBus driver effective
- Reboot with your normal Win 10x64 operating System
6. USB_FORMAT - make portable USB SSD with MBR and 2 partitions (FAT32 + NTFS)
7. Copy 3.9 GB VHD to NTFS drive of USB prepared with USB_FORMAT
8. UEFI_MULTI - Select FAT32 Boot Drive and NTFS System Drive of USB
- Select Super Grub2 as Boot Manager and Select the Mini 10x64 3.9 GB VHD copied to NTFS drive of USB
- use GO to Add VHD 4x as Menu Entry for booting with UEFI Grub2 and UEFI Grub4dos and Windows Boot Manager (MBR Boot and UEFI) and MBR Grub4dos 
9. Reboot and use F8 menu to Boot from USB in UEFI mode with Grub2 Or in MBR BIOS mode with Windows Boot Manager
- Select to Boot Mini 10x64 VHD 3.9 GB from RAMDISK in UEFI mode using SVBus driver - Or chainload other menu's
 

Edited December 14, 2020 by wimb

[wimb]

Update VHD_WIMBOOT Version 4.4

Download:  from GitHub VHD_WIMBOOT-44 and Win_Reduce_Trusted-40  to make Mini 7/8/10 x64 in VHD with UsedSize about 2 GB

Download File E = Encrypted Password = bootwimb

Manual:  VHD_WIMBOOT.pdf

- Make fixed VHD with MBR and 2 Partitions (Active 100 MB FAT32 + rest NTFS) suitable for UEFI booting VHD from RAMDISK
- Added UEFI Grub4dos  and  a1ive UEFI Grub2 for UEFI booting VHD from RAMDISK
- Added signed SVBus driver for UEFI booting VHD from RAMDISK
- Added WofCompress of JFX to UnCompress EFI folder inside VHD when Making Boot entries
- EFI folder in VHD needs to be UnCompressed in case of UEFI booting 1 Partition VHD from RAMDISK
- makebt\WimBootCompress.ini file adjusted so that entire EFI and Boot folder will be UnCompressed after Capture and Apply in Compact and WimBoot mode
- UEFI grub4dos version 2020-12-26
- in case of 2 Partition VHD then EFI folder is not made in NTFS partition and when present is renamed as x-EFI

In my case ntfs_x64.efi driver is not needed anymore for UEFI booting of 1 Partition VHD from RAMDISK using UEFI Grub2 Or UEFI Grub4dos
The boot problem of 1 Partition VHD was entirely due to WOF Compression of EFI folder and this problem is solved now

Credits and Thanks to:
- a1ive for making UEFI Grub2
- yaya2007 for making UEFI Grub4dos
- alacran for help and support
- liuzhaoyzz for help in solving boot_image_handle not found problem in case of UEFI Grub4dos

More Info:  VHD_WIMBOOT  and   Grub4dos for UEFI

 == 

Edited January 11, 2021 by wimb

[wimb]

Update VHD_WIMBOOT-47

Download:  from wimb GitHub  -   VHD_WIMBOOT-47-E  and   SVBus-signed_2-E.zip

Download File E = Encrypted PassWord = bootwimb   and SVBus PassWord = reboot.pro

Manual:   VHD_WIMBOOT.pdf  and  More Info at reboot.pro  USB_FORMAT Tool and UEFI_MULTI  and VHD_WIMBOOT

Always Shut-Off AntVirus Software and Disable Windows Defender when working with signed SVBus driver !!
otherwise wimlib and Boot errors will occur .....

- Update Grub2 to latest version
- Added Checkbox Update G - Forces Update of UEFI Grub2 and UEFI Grub4dos and MBR Grub4dos Boot files given in UEFI_MAN and makebt folder
- Added UEFI Grub2 menuentry using ntboot instead of efiload ntfs_x64.efi driver in case of 1 Partion VHD for RAMOS booting
- Added WARNING in case FileSystem of existing VHD is not FAT32 + NTFS in case of 2 Partitions Or NTFS in case of 1 Partition VHD

Preferred is to use default settings  - Fixed VHD with MBR 2 Partitions (Active FAT32 100 MB + Rest NTFS)

UEFI Grub2  ntboot SVBus - menuentry for 1 Partition VHD

menuentry "Boot /1P_10_NT.vhd - UEFI Grub2 ntboot SVBus  RAMDISK  - 3.0 GB" {
  search --file --set=vhd_drive --no-floppy /1P_10_NT.vhd
  map --mem --rt ($vhd_drive)/1P_10_NT.vhd
  ntboot --win --highest=no --efi=(vd0,1)/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi --winload=\\Windows\\System32\\winload.efi (vd0,1)
}

 

Edited January 6, 2021 by wimb

[wimb]

Update VHD_WIMBOOT-50

Download:  from wimb GitHub  -   VHD_WIMBOOT-50-E  and   SVBus-signed_2-E.zip

Download File E = Encrypted PassWord = bootwimb   and SVBus PassWord = reboot.pro

Manual:   VHD_WIMBOOT.pdf  and  More Info at reboot.pro  USB_FORMAT Tool and UEFI_MULTI  and VHD_WIMBOOT

Always Shut-Off AntVirus Software and Disable Windows Defender when working with signed SVBus driver !!
otherwise wimlib and Boot errors will occur .....

- Update UEFI Grub2 and Grub2 FileManager
- Update UEFI Grub4dos (= Grub4efi Or G4E) which adds support for GPT layout of VHD for UEFI RAMOS booting

VHD with GPT layout is not compatible with MBR Grub4dos booting, which requires MBR Partitioning of VHD

 

Edited January 19, 2021 by wimb

[click-click]

I currently have a 32Gig bootable Flash with W10-32bit + Tools, etc. for recovery purposes. It is basically a stripped down system that I use for normal work. No drivers are installed so that the W10 drivers are used on whatever hardware is being booted. The one problem I have is the build time needed for a newly updated Flash. It takes about an hour for WinNT to apply the image if the VHD (16GB) is on the flash drive and only 2-3 minutes if the VHD resides on an SSD. If I then copy the VHD to the flash, it takes even longer than one hour to copy it over. The flash is a Sandisk Ultra USB3, but it gets terribly slow from 30MB/s in the beginning to 2-3 MB/s during the copy. In the end everything works fine.

Could VHD_WIMBOOT be of any help in reducing the build time or make better use of the VHD and what options would you suggest?

Edited January 22, 2021 by click-click

[wimb]

On 1/22/2021 at 2:25 PM, click-click said:

Could VHD_WIMBOOT be of any help in reducing the build time or make better use of the VHD and what options would you suggest?

I don't think that VHD_WIMBOOT can reduce the build time on USB Flash Drive.

I suggest to use Samsung Portable SSD T5 500 GB instead, so that your problem is gone ....

[wimb]

Update VHD_WIMBOOT-52

Download:  from wimb GitHub  -   VHD_WIMBOOT-52-E  and   SVBus-signed_2-E.zip

Download File E = Encrypted PassWord = bootwimb   and SVBus PassWord = reboot.pro

Manual:   VHD_WIMBOOT.pdf 

Always Shut-Off AntVirus Software and Disable Windows Defender when working with signed SVBus driver !!
otherwise wimlib and Boot errors will occur .....

- Update UEFI Grub2 - latest 2021-02-02
- Update UEFI Grub4dos (= Grub4efi Or G4E) - grub4dos-for_UEFI-2021-01-31.7z
- Update Grub4dos - grub4dos-0.4.6a-2021-01-27.7z
- Update VHD_WIMBOOT - improved display of Drive Info

[wimb]

Update VHD_WIMBOOT-55 and Win_Reduce_Trusted-42

Download:  from wimb GitHub  -   VHD_WIMBOOT-55  and   SVBus-signed_2-E.zip  and  Win_Reduce_Trusted-42

Download File E = Encrypted PassWord = bootwimb   and SVBus PassWord = reboot.pro

Manual:   VHD_WIMBOOT.pdf 

Always Shut-Off AntVirus Software and Disable Windows Defender when working with signed SVBus driver !!
otherwise wimlib and Boot errors will occur .....

- Update UEFI Grub4dos (= Grub4efi Or G4E) - grub4dos-for_UEFI-2021-07-23.7z
- Update Grub4dos - grub4dos-0.4.6a-2021-08-13.7z
- Update vdiskchain-1.3 for booting Linux in VHD
- Update Grub2 Menu - Added submenu "EFI Tools Shell" and submenu "Linux ISO and Distro Menu"
- Windows 11 compatible - Mini-11x64 - Now UsedSize = 2.6 GB and LZX WIM = 1.8 GB
- Recent Windows Boot Manager - August 2021 - requires for SVBus driver to Disable Driver Signature Enforcement
  SVBus driver needs Load EfiGuard - Disable Windows Driver Signature Enforcement - Or on Boot Entry press F8 for Advanced and Select DSE

Grub2 has now as first menuentry to Load EfiGuard - Enter or wait 10 seconds to activate - Skip by selecting other entry

This works for all Windows entries in Grub2 Menu and the chainloaded UEFI Grub4dos (Grub4efi) Menu and the chainloaded Windows Boot Manager Menu.

  

Edited August 27, 2021 by wimb

[wimb]

Update VHD_WIMBOOT_Trusted-61 and SVBus_INST_Trusted-20

Download:  from wimb GitHub  -   VHD_WIMBOOT-61  and   SVBus_INST_Trusted-20

Download File E = Encrypted PassWord = bootwimb

Manual:   VHD_WIMBOOT.pdf 

Always Shut-Off AntVirus Software and Disable Windows Defender when working with signed SVBus driver !!
otherwise wimlib and Boot errors will occur .....

- Update Grub4dos - grub4dos-0.4.6a-2021-10-15.7z
- VHD_WIMBOOT adjusted for APPLY and making BCD Boot entries of Win10XPE boot.wim Installed Flat in VHD
- SVBus_INST_Trusted is program for Offline Install of SVBus Driver in VHD by using offlinereg program and Dism
  Defender Control can be used in advance to Disable Windows Defender

Thanks to:
- erwan.l for making offlinereg - http://reboot.pro/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=313
- Nir Sofer for making AdvancedRun (64-bit) - https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/advanced_run.html
- Sordum for making Defender Control - https://www.sordum.org/9480/defender-control-v2-0/
- schtrom for making SVBus Virtual SCSI Host Adapter for GRUB4DOS - http://reboot.pro/topic/21787-svbus-virtual-scsi-host-adapter-for-grub4dos/
 

Edited October 20, 2021 by wimb