NT 6.x fast installer: install win7 directly to usb external drive

But for Win 7 The packing is different, so how do I "inject" that file into the Win 7?

I am not sure to have understood the question.

Let's see if I can simplify, your build:

• doesn't work on a 740 (AMD)
• works on a 760 (Intel)

But which one has the IASTOR controller?


Wonko

The only build I have that file on and is modified is on my XP build which will run on any box. Using this tut I have not changed anything, so if Win 7 uses the IASTOR then it is untouched.

Yes you are right does not work on the Dell 740 AMD X2, I have tried tut after tut to get it to run on the 740 with no luck. I can build the image and all that on the 740 but will not boot. I can take the build to a 760 (intel) right from the 740 no changes and it will run like it should.

I just got thinking, and is a dumb thought, but could it be that I need to run the 64bit version versus the X86? It does not make much sense, since the X2 is really a 32bit even though they brand it as 64bit because it is dual core. But I have had Win 7 X86 running on the box with no problems when the HD is inside the box.

I am so close I can taste it.

So my steps are as follows:

Install Win 7 on the 740 with this Tut / program.

Intall goes as it should no errors / no issue

Boot Win 7 from the USB HD on the 740 box. Errors out, reboots.
Take the USB HD with Win 7 to a 760 box (Intel), nothing changed, not even redoing the image.

The USB HD fires up Win 7 with no issues and continues install.

Thanks,

Dave

I'll try again:

But which one has the IASTOR controller?

Also adding:

• How are the settings in BIOS on the 740?
• Can you try switching it from AHCI or SATA to "IDE compatibility mode" for this test?
• What SATA controller has the 740?

Wonko

Your last post got me digging and found some interesting things:

The 740 does not have SATA drivers installed, uses the BIOS. I am one minor BIOS update off current is 2.2.4, while I have 2.2.3 so I am going to update that and see. In the 740 BIOS, it says to hit CTRL+N to adjust the SATA settings, I tried that on the reboot but does nothing for me. But my BIOS is set to factory defaults with teh exception of USB boot being turned on.

The 760 does have SATA drivers listed, and is set for ATA, but the SATA is still controlled through the BIOS. How the heck does BIOS control SATA, are there drivers in the BIOS chip?

So I am going to update the BIOS and see if I can find the SATA drivers.

Well, the common convention is that the sentences with these little hooks we like to call "question marks" are actually questions, which usually we ask to have corresponding replies.

The BIOS can "expose" to the OS a SATA controller as either:

• SATA
• AHCI
• IDE

for the first two a specific driver is usually needed, for the latter the "universal" IDE one is used.

I won't make anymore questions, but I would appreciate if you could just enumerate the options you have in the BIOS of the 740 and those you have in the Bios of the 760 and which ones are currently chosen respectively.


Wonko

Sorry Wonko The answers are:

1. 740 BIOS is set to factory, if you are looking for certain setting let me know, I cannot capture the BIOS screens.
2. No place to change the settings.
3. Not seeing any controler in the hardware nor does it show one in the BIOS. The SATA drive list says that it is BIOS controlled.

I guess not even DELL knows, or at least completely fails (as most manufacturers) to provide for an easy to understand explanation:

Drives
Diskette Drive
(Internal default)
This option enables or disables the floppy drive. The options are Off, USB, Internal,
and Read Only.
NOTE: If USB is selected, ensure that USB Controller setup option under Onboard
Devices is set to On.
SATA 0 through
SATA n
Identifies and enables and disables the drives attached to the SATA connectors on the
system board and lists the capacities for the hard drives.
NOTE: These options appear as SATA 0 through SATA 3 for the mini tower, SATA 0 through
SATA 2 for the desktop, and SATA 0 and SATA1 for the small form factor.
External SATA Identifies and enables and disables the drives attached to the eSATA connector on the
system board and lists the capacities for the hard drives.
SATA Operation
(RAID
Autodetect/AHCI
default for mini tower and
desktop computers)
(AHCI default for small
form factor computers)
Options for mini tower and desktop computers:
• RAID Autodetect/AHCI (RAID if signed drives, otherwise AHCI)
• RAID Autodetect/ATA (RAID if signed drives, otherwise ATA)
• RAID On (SATA is configured for RAID on every boot)
NOTE: When in Autodetect mode, the computer configures the drive as RAID if a RAID
signature is detected on the drive. Otherwise the drive will be configured as AHCI or ATA.
Options for small form factor computers:
•AHCI
•ATA
SMART Reporting
(Off default)
This setting determines whether integrated drive errors are reported or not during
system startup.

Page 259 of the Optiplex 740 manual.

With the info above, can you check if you have ATA or AHCI selected in "Setup" (BIOS settings) on each of the two PC's?
I am assuming that the 760 is similar.


Wonko

Yes the 760 is set to ATA. I was doing more digging last night on the web and it seems to have something to do with AMD.

This thread starts to talk about it http://forums.mydigi...asspnp.sys-quot

Then this one says what to do http://translate.goo...e...2&show=2290

It talks about not being able to switch modes and a fix, buit the fix files are in german and the other kicker is that it is based on Catalyst which is for video AFAIK.

When I try to boot into safe mode and get the list of what is being loaded it stops at "classpnp". When I set "Do not reboot after error" I get the 7B error.

Right now I have it installed inside my 740 box (Using it now as I write this) and all is good. I checked the registry entries for boot watch, the USB entries and made sure the drivers that the USB entries are in. all checks out.

My issue has to be something simple, that XP does, load sequence or loads that Win 7 does not. I can boot XP with no problems from my USB HD and used it for years.

So I am trying to find my XP directions and see what is in there / different than what I am doing with Win 7.

Wanko, thanks so much fo sticking with me on this.

Thanks,

Dave

Going through my XP build for my USB HD which works great I noticed some difference. I am only going to show one since I am not sure if it makes a difference with Win 7

USB.INF

XP
[StandardHub.AddService]
DisplayName = %StandardHub.SvcDesc%
ServiceType = 1 ; SERVICE_KERNEL_DRIVER
StartType = 0 ; SERVICE_DEMAND_START
ErrorControl = 1 ; SERVICE_ERROR_NORMAL
ServiceBinary = %12%\usbhub.sys
LoadOrderGroup = Boot Bus Extender



Win 7

[StandardHub.AddService]
DisplayName = %StandardHub.SvcDesc%
ServiceType = 1 ; SERVICE_KERNEL_DRIVER
StartType = 3 ; SERVICE_DEMAND_START
ErrorControl = 1 ; SERVICE_ERROR_NORMAL
ServiceBinary = %12%\usbhub.sys
LoadOrderGroup = Base

Generally speaking, Start =3 is correct, and Group should be "Boot Bus Extender", but it shouldn't make a difference (i.e. the thingy should fail to boot on BOTH machines or succeed on BOTH).
However trying changing from Base to Boot Bus Extender won't make any harm.


Wonko

I am out of ideas

I just do not get it, what is different from my XP build for my USB HD and my Win 7. I looked at everything and all seems to be right in the registry, drivers are good, the USB stuff is loading early (I looked at NTBTLog).

Should I try doing an install from the 760, then move it the 740? That is all I have left up my sleeve.

OK the 760 does not work either, it just gets further than the 740, will load the drivers from teh setup and then BSOD 7B.

Good. Bad.
I am now completely lost.

I guess, if you want help/support you need to:

• be more explicit in reporting
• answer to the questions asked

Try re-reading last few posts.
How do you expect that someone (exception made for you) can understand what you have attempted?

The plot till now is the following:

• a question is asked
• a corresponding answer is not given
• instead something else (rigorously not detailed) is attempted which produces results not fully described

I don't think you will get far in the next episodes if the general plot remains the same.

What about a paradigm shift?

Your next option is to put aside (temporarily) this approach and try this other one:
http://www.boot-land...?showtopic=9830

You have nothing to loose, if it works, good, if it doesn't you can still try again with semi-random attempts.


Wonko

This batch cannot completely replace the official setup.exe ,because this batch does not have the option to partion,resize and format partitions and disks.

It would be nice if you can include some nice free partition tool (with gui preferably) which will pass on the drive letter to the installer.cmd

With Win7PE it is ok now.
Using Partition Wizard Manager Business Edition free version.
Download and install it. Copy from Program Files to same folder and Renamed to PW422.
Copy following code into installer.cmd.

REM --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REM ECHO Create Partition and make active first with Patition Wizard Manager
REM --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
echo http://www.partition...m/download.html for download and install it.
echo Copy PartitionWizard folder into installer.cmd location and rename it PW422.
SET PW=%TP%\pW422\PartitionWizard.exe
start /wait %PW%

That's it. Hope some helps to some one.

YahooUK

Thanks a lot yahoouk for this useful post.

With Win7PE it is ok now.
Using Partition Wizard Manager Business Edition free version.
Download and install it. Copy from Program Files to same folder and Renamed to PW422.
Copy following code into installer.cmd.




That's it. Hope some helps to some one.

YahooUK

Hi all,

I'm trying to work out some kinks here so please bear with me as this is all new to me.


I want to run Win7 on an old desktop using a Maxtor One Touch III USB-HDD with 2 partitions, H and J. It's NTFS formatted.

Drive H is where I wanna install Win7.

The steps I followed:

I selected the Wim File from \sources\install.wim. Input 5 for Windows 7 Ultimate.

I input "H" for Windows installation partition and OS partition.

Is "H" a USB Hard Disk? Yes

Once done with the installation, it tells me to reboot to continue the installation.

My problem: After installation, I unplugged the One Touch and connected it to the old desktop because I thought that it's the same as rebooting. It's stalls in DOS with "Verifying DMI Pool Data..." and nothing happens.

I've even tried a fresh installation and rebooting using the same desktop I used to install the software with, and no results.


Am I doing something wrong?

My problem: After installation, I unplugged the One Touch and connected it to the old desktop because I thought that it's the same as rebooting. It's stalls in DOS with "Verifying DMI Pool Data..." and nothing happens.

I've even tried a fresh installation and rebooting using the same desktop I used to install the software with, and no results.


Am I doing something wrong?

The "Veryfying DMI Pool Data" does NOT come from DOS, it comes from BIOS.
Basically it is saying that that PC doesn't "like" to boot from that USB hard disk. (i.e. it happens long before the whatever you may have made "wrong" with the NT6.x installer comes into play).

You should make a step back and simply verify that the "old desktop" is booting from USB.

Try first with some other device, like a USB stick, if you have one.

How big is the H: partition?

How big is the whole "one Touch disk drive?

How old is the "old" desktop?

It is also possible you are in a 128 Gb LBA error (28bit LBA addressing limit in BIOS)

Some BIOS do have a setting "Reset configuration data" or something similar to it, that may help.

Are you positive that the old desktop is otherways completely functional?

The "Verifying DMI Pool Data" could also come from a misconfigured BIOS or from an actual hardware problem.


Wonko

Thanks for the quick reply, Wonko.

It is indeed BIOS. (Dunno why I said MS-DOS when I'm not even in DOS. lol. We all make mistakes once in a while, even if it is a VERY obvious one. )

BIOS is able to detect the One Touch III.

"H" is a 20GB partition. One Touch III is a 120gb drive.

Old Desktop = 2004 Intel Celeron 2.40BGHz with 512mb and a 8mb graphic card. Phoenix-AwardBios.

I've loaded Fail-Safe Defaults and it's still the same.

I've been able to boot Backtrack Unix distro using a 8gb Kingston thumbdrive with ease so I know the desktop works.

I've loaded Fail-Safe Defaults and it's still the same.

For the record, "Failsafe Defaults" means not "reset configuration data".

I've been able to boot Backtrack Unix distro using a 8gb Kingston thumbdrive with ease so I know the desktop works.

Then the problem is "One-Touch" specific.
Normally, if there was a problem in the booting (MBR/PBR) you would have an error coming from the MBR or the bootsector (or a flashing underscore, or a j, or a blank screen) the "Veryfying DMI Pool Data" is BEFORE that.
If you don't have the "Reset Configuration Data" I am short of ideas.

Was the disk drive partitioned under Vista/Windows 7?

If yes, you could try either re-creating the first partition under XP or DOS or apply to the Vista/7 install the Registry patch to align the partition the good ol' way:
http://www.boot-land...?...ic=9897&hl=
but I doubt it will have any (positive) effect.


Wonko

Hi Cigaweedz,

The same error with me.
I think you plug in with front USB port.
For my solution, change to back USB port. That's it.
Or change other USB port.

Good luck.

YahooUK

@ Wonko the Sane

I know Fail-safe Defaults isn't "Reset Configuration Data". I felt I had to tell you what I did just in case I screwed something up.

The USB-HD is partitioned by Win7.

Then the problem is "One-Touch" specific.

*sigh* I had crossed my fingers in hopes that you wouldn't say that.


@ YahooUK

I've tried the back ports also after having read about the trouble with the front ones.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

@ YahooUK

I've tried the back ports also after having read about the trouble with the front ones.

Sorry to hear that.
After failing with USB ports, there may be 2 things to consider.
1. MBR on your disk.
Check with your MBR on disk as well as on partitions (I've experience with Grub4dos MBR corrupted with second partition, and restore back to Vista/7 MBR)
2. Hdd ware problem.
a. Check with controllers(cables) and change with new ones if you have.
b. Check with Parellel connections(if you share with CD/DVD Rom)
c. Check with Jumpers (if you are using ata)
d. Finally, check with your HDD, any surface problems or internal problem.
Unfortunnately, one of my hdd (300gb) has died after a month that problem occurs.
Sometime you may need to reformat (low level) for some reasons.
Resetting default (bios) problem can be solved by taken battery a few seconds in some cases.

Good luck.

YahooUK

The USB-HD is partitioned by Win7.

Then there is a possibility (rather unprobable, as a matter of fact ) that the BIOS "wants" partitions on cylinder boundaries (which Windows 7 does NOT respect by default).

A good attempt to try before messing with the partitioning would be trying the PLoP (a floppy or CD image):
http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager.html

If it doesn't work we'll try partitioning that thingy "righteously".


Wonko

I was successfully able to install windows 7 on my USB-HDD. But i'm getting the following error. I tried changing security settings and gave all permission to all categories, but still I am not able to do so.

windows created a temporary paging file on your computer because of a problem that occured with your paging file configuration when you started your computer.
The total paging file size for all disk drives may be somewhat larger than the size you specified.

Anyone has a solution for this issue ?

another site (http://forum.eeeuser...ic.php?id=83554) mentioned this

Windows 7 will not be able to create a page file on USB drives. Hitachi Microdrive Filter may fix this.

I'm not sure how to use that particular tool. any help friends ?

I was successfully able to install windows 7 on my USB-HDD. But i'm getting the following error. I tried changing security settings and gave all permission to all categories, but still I am not able to do so.

Windows cannot put pagefile on usb device. It is the design.