35 replies to this topic

[tblo]

It's been a while sense I used XP anything, any suggestions what I replace documents and settings in that bat with to try and detect older windows?

[tblo]

Installing drivers from the system would be ideal but pcw.sys causes PE3 to BSOD I also read elsewhere on these forms that that same driver (name anyway) crashed whatever they were doing (I also toyed with a build like a year ago I never finished that would BSOD on host driver load can't say for sure it was pcw.sys but its a good guess)

Anyway is there a way to tell dpinstl.exe to install from host but skip that driver?

Also sense the script that auto detected 64bit or 32 bit (still hammering out the xp or older bit) would work and say install from host BSOD'ing me it seemed prudent (and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to learn some more batch code) to then prompt the user to type "1" or "2" for load from host or driver pack.

It's a bat script using echo to state the option and set /p for the workings does there exists a way that anyone knows to have a default option and a countdown till the default option just goes autopilot style?

[tblo]

Dunno if it matters to anyone script developer or otherwise, but using the switch to admin in the x86 version and selecting the reboot option give a wpeutil error w/ makes it clear wpeutil isn't working & yet the system still shutdown (in not souped up Pe's wpeutil is the command line you would call for shutdown/reboot, I was using the start menu button and getting the error(but only in admin and only on x86 system acct and both acct's in my x64 build work perfectly)). Working on a hunch knowing what this tool is and does but seeing the system still rebooting like it was told I figured something else was now responsible for shutting down the PE so I renamed wpeutil to wpeutil2 and voila error gone, and yes the system still reboots.

[tblo]

I actually rebuilt the PE thinking it was the fault of a bad build, glad I got the notion to test the new build and test it against the system account before I formatted my otherwise done x86 VMware build.... I really didn't want to start over from the top & it seems I didn't have to!

[tblo]

Gah!!!!!!!! I got everything perfect copy to external Hdd copy back into target dir exactly the same way I did my x64 build but my x86 build after recompiling target dir to iso BSOD's wimFsf page_fault_in_nonpaged_area!!! Tried deleting target folder and recopying and recompiling same result! Extracted version boots fine of the VMware vhd!!!

Edited by tblo, 06 August 2013 - 06:11 AM.

[Wonko the Sane]

The "proper" way to check for an OS version (of the Windows NT family), strangely enough, is to read the actual OS version .

Check the contents of the key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion

Since you want to do this from a PE (i.e. on an offline Registry) it would be best to use an offline registry tool. of which we happen to have an example:
http://reboot.pro/to...fline-registry/
It is well possible to:

• mount the HKLM hive
• read the value with a more common Registry tool
• unmount the hive

but it is an overcomplex approach that the mentioned tool can elegantly bypass.

 

Since you will be checking the Registry anyway, than you can use it to also check the bit width of the OS:

http://support.micro...kb/556009/en-us

 

The value of "Platform ID" isn't there in XP (as an example), so you need to parse the "identifier" for "x86".

Another way is to use this key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Session Manager\Environment

 

Remember that these represent the hardware architecture, and not necessarily the OS (you can have a 32 bit OS installed on a 64 bit hardware).

 

Wonko

 

 

 

[tblo]

I must admit upon first reading your post I was scared how difficult w/e tool would be to script around, having actually looked now that toold looks downright awesome, THANKS!!!

 

Now I have to figure out how to make a bat file take the output of that  and run an if/else bit on it (I am very new to conditional bats.)

 

Thanks again Wonko!

[Wonko the Sane]

Usually a FOR /F is used.

See if this helps:

http://www.robvander...ntfortokens.php

 

Often the result needs to be pipelined (please read as "filtered") through FIND (or FIND /V) or FINDSTR, a very recent example is here:

http://reboot.pro/to...grldr/?p=175523

 

Wonko

[tblo]

so in a vm with 32bit win 7 I downloaded winbuilder using the win7 32bit sp0 dvd as a source I just rebuilt win7pese from the top copied the target folder (via extrnal HDD) onto another VM booted, configured, booted off iso and imported reg, booted back in to pe configured some last minute stuff (making sure my scripts where where I wanted them and edited right). booted back into an iso and copied all that (again via external HDD) back into the original 32bit os in vmware into the target folder and clicked rebuild with iso. I try to boot that .iso in vmware and I get a BSOD saying wimFsf.sys. It did the same thing building it on my host pc w/ is why I went to the stable and thus far nothing else installed environment of 32 bit win 7 in vmware to try for a same arch no conflict perfect build. still it fails and this worked perfectly when I did the 64 bit build!

[tblo]

So I tried copying the program files out of the .wim incase the x86 bsod was due to ram disk space issues, no luck...
I tried manually creating a .wim file using imagex with /boot & /check then replacing the boot.wim in a known working .iso using poweriso, no luck...
So I decided to use some scientific methodology...
So I built another x86 version from the top for a clean slate, copied it into vmware, booted it copied it back, rebuilt new iso, it booted. Added the first of the like 6 programs I add (CCCP, combind community Codec pack),copied this back into the target and hit rebuild... My BSOD is back... I am now going to try the next program w/o cccp and see if its just that one or if its adding anything that makes it bsod... Only bsod's from ramdisk, extracted works fine & my x64 build let me do everything w/o a hitch, so this is puzzeling!

[tblo]

So after testing another program with out cccp this time it still bsod after making a iso of it. So it seemed I could not install anything into the os leading me to believe the issue is related to the fact that 32bit os's only see 4GB ram (despite the fact that I have 12GB) and the ramdisk was running out of space (seems odd I couldent even install 1 program ohh well).

So I rebuilt the project removing the boot animation and unticking "run all programs from ram"(I had hope in the future to adapt this multiboot jump drive to pxe.. still might but not going to be so easy now.)& compiled a refrence disk to see what would happen. booting into the new iso I saw the disk was forced to be drive letter Y and that sevral programs were installed in a directory named PROGRAMS.

so in my vmware mounted (allbeit old build)boot I used IMDisk to create a drive letter Y and installed my programs there (same letter & directory) capturing the registry files as I went. copyied the install files to a jump drive and added the to the root cd folder of winbuilder grabbed the software and system files from my new test build target folder, mounted and imported the new regestry and created the proper folder structure under add file inside wim and rebuilt from the top (not from target but I had arranged it so all the new stuff should be copyied in).I also added stuff to the start menu using the same folder structure method. so far it works perfectly. hell of a long @$$ work around though!!!!