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Reboot Competition: The smallest Win7 PE bootdisk


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#26 Brito

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Posted 28 November 2012 - 02:07 PM

Hi damthoai18,

Thanks for the sharing your work. However, you did not read the rules.

We do not compete with ready made ISO files. You need to provide the means for users to build this result with their own Windows source.

Everyone: Please read the first post. If something is not clear, just ask.

Thanks.

#27 damthoai18

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Posted 28 November 2012 - 02:35 PM

[url=""%20style="color:%20rgb(77,%20144,%20240);%20cursor:%20pointer;%20font-family:%20arial,%20sans-serif;%20font-size:%2016px;"]so sorry, my english very bad, so i can't understand the rules before[/url]

Edited by damthoai18, 28 November 2012 - 02:35 PM.


#28 Brito

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Posted 28 November 2012 - 03:22 PM

so sorry, my english very bad, so i can't understand the rules before

Don't worry, now you understand. And when any other doubt appears, just send me a message or ask around here.

What matters is that everyone have fun and can learn something new in the process. :)
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#29 Brito

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Posted 29 November 2012 - 09:12 AM

Everyone: Please reserve this topic solely for questions and participation related to the competition.

If it is not related to this topic, please start a new discussion or question to ease the reading for other participants.

My thanks in advance for your understanding.

#30 Brito

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Posted 03 December 2012 - 05:16 PM

The competition follows on. Do remember to post your progress to get feedback and be considered as participant.

:cheers:

#31 pscEx

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Posted 03 December 2012 - 05:32 PM

multiPE build in 'micro' option, currently brings a boot.wim of about 125 mb.
mini-pe3.gif
Maybe that can become a bit smaller, but IMO it is not posible to bring a working PE3 with explorer below 100 mb.

Peter

#32 Brito

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Posted 03 December 2012 - 05:56 PM

How about running the autoUPX script through the result?

#33 pscEx

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Posted 03 December 2012 - 06:00 PM

The resulting size of an item inside the WIM is not remarkable different between comressed and uncompressed originals.
Same with compressing drivers to *.sy_

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#34 Brito

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Posted 03 December 2012 - 06:14 PM

Well, in that case it would be time for trial and error to remove some fat albeit I remember that in some cases UPX would indeed remove resources from within the DLL archives and this was particularly visible on the 13Mb shell32.dll file.

I use this tool to visually find files that can be removed: http://windirstat.info/ as you might indeed be capable of trimming up the build while preserving a minimum of functions. For example, is ieframe.dll (11Mb) really necessary? These might be things that can help to try.

You would need to mark these removed files on a list, then regenerate the wim, rebuild the ISO and test on the VM to see what changed or got broken. Tiresome task but I created some small batch scripts to automate all this on my own tests, you find on the downloads area. Perhaps they can also help you.

#35 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 03 December 2012 - 06:34 PM

I thought the thread was now reserved "solely for questions and participation related to the competition". :unsure:

IF compressing (cheating) is allowed AND this is the place to write about advice on how to compress and or create the build :dubbio:, THEN maybe this is useful:
http://www.matcode.com/mpress.htm
in some cases the result is "tighter" than UPX or however needing far less memory.

:cheers:
Wonko
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#36 Sha0

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Posted 03 December 2012 - 08:29 PM

Since I'm working on WinVBlock again, I won't have time to participate. Instead, I'll offer a couple of ideas, and hope that they help:
  • You can use Microsoft's Sysinternals' Process Monitor's boot-logging facility to find out exactly which files and Registry entries have accesses attempted, then export this information, then chop it up in Excel (or whatever) and get a nice, concise listing. What you'd probably do is boot with the boot-logging enabled, then use some common Explorer features (such as open up My Computer and maybe create a .ZIP file and open it up), then finally stop the logging and save the results.

    I used did this process for a non-PE Windows 7 installation (the Excel chopping was a bit of a chore, but not too bad) and managed to reduce the size from "8.38 GB (9,008,648,192 bytes)" (?!) to "708 MB (743,358,464 bytes)". After copying only those files from my Excel list, the system booted just fine and the same Explorer features worked just fine.
  • Library (usually .DLL) dependencies are always fun to track. Some DLLs might require other DLLs even if objects/functions in the latter are never used. Tracking actual usage is something that Process Monitor might also be helpful for. If you suspect that a DLL is not required because its objects/functions are never used, then you could write a trivial "stub" with the same exports, but having no further dependencies.

    For example, suppose a Dependency Walker profile shows that Notepad depends on WinSpool.drv. You see that WinSpool.drv, in turn, has its own further dependencies. You note to yourself that you're not printing and suspect that a WinSpool.drv stub might be better. Well the DW profile shows that Notepad only cares about ClosePrinter, GetPrinterDriverW, OpenPrinterW, so you write a WinSpool.drv stub with those exports and test things out! If it works, then you have cut off all of WinSpool.drv's own dependencies, thus shortening the chain from Notepad.
  • You can use the Process Monitor method from the first idea "point" above to figure out how to slim down the Registry hives. Basically you'd use your list of actually-used Registry entries and export them to a freshly-made hive file replacement. This can result in a much smaller Registry hive, for each of the Registry hives.
Good luck, all! :)
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#37 Brito

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Posted 03 December 2012 - 08:57 PM

Very good advices.

I've added them as separate links on the tutorials section: http://reboot.pro/tutorials/

#38 Sha0

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Posted 03 December 2012 - 09:22 PM

Very good advices.

Thanks. :)

I've added them as separate links on the tutorials section: http://reboot.pro/tutorials/

Because not everyone knows how to inject Process Monitor into a Windows PE's .WIM file, I thought I might write a short tutorial for injecting Process Monitor into an offline SYSTEM Registry hive, but I'm not 100% sure where the best forum to write that would be. Do you have any suggestion?
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#39 pscEx

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Posted 03 December 2012 - 11:07 PM

Latest result: iso about 92.5 mb
mini-pe3.gif
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#40 doberman

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Posted 04 December 2012 - 05:53 AM

1. In its ISO (wim ~ 80mb), I used Process Monitor and got good results.
Could be compared, and a table of the required DLL.

2. You can extract resources from unnecessary "imageres.dll". Many resources are not used.
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#41 pscEx

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Posted 04 December 2012 - 07:54 AM

I'm already working on imageres.dll. I'm still looking for a good ressource editor.
Second mb-eating file is the sofware hive. 14 mb with unnecessary associations and classes.

I got the list of DLLs by boot-log.
And I used depends.exe looking directly into %TargetDir%. That demands a change of the search order.

Peter
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#42 Brito

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Posted 04 December 2012 - 08:44 AM

Because not everyone knows how to inject Process Monitor into a Windows PE's .WIM file, I thought I might write a short tutorial for injecting Process Monitor into an offline SYSTEM Registry hive, but I'm not 100% sure where the best forum to write that would be. Do you have any suggestion?

Hello, this would be really great to see available. I would suggest the tutorials section inside the Windows category: http://reboot.pro/forum/118-tutorials/

Any tips about tools to remove EXE resources from command line (with a friendly-license)?

#43 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 04 December 2012 - 09:41 AM

Hello, this would be really great to see available. I would suggest the tutorials section inside the Windows category: http://reboot.pro/forum/118-tutorials/

Any tips about tools to remove EXE resources from command line (with a friendly-license)?

Reshacker (if applicable) does have command line support:
http://www.angusj.com/resourcehacker/
http://www.autoitscr...nd-line-option/

If we had some programmers familiar with Delphi they could possibly use the Source code of XNeditor to make a command line version or however a scriptable one:
http://www.wilsonc.d...ourceeditor.htm


Besides what Sha0 suggested :worship: (which is BTW very useful IF you are capable of writing a stub, something that I am sure everyone does everyday just after breakfast and that needs not any further explanation) in some occasions The Dud :thumbsup: may come useful:
http://www3.telus.net/_/dud/

:cheers:
Wonko
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#44 doberman

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Posted 04 December 2012 - 10:13 AM

pscEx

imageres.dll (2,27Mb) x86
http://www.mediafire...dib1ubccm7w5lm9

#45 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 04 December 2012 - 11:24 AM

pscEx

imageres.dll (2,27Mb) x86
http://www.mediafire...ib1ubccrn7w5lm9



I guess that posting modified non-redistributable files is much better than posting UNmodified non-redistributable files. :unsure: :dubbio:

:cheers:
Wonko

#46 pscEx

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Posted 04 December 2012 - 11:35 AM

I guess that posting modified non-redistributable files is much a bit better than posting UNmodified non-redistributable files. :unsure: :dubbio:
(original quote edited by pscEx)

Thanks, doberman, for the help. :clap:
As logically follows to Wonko's post, I'll not include any (modified or original) nonrestributable file in my projects.
But you gave me a very good description, what is needed.
BTW: The icon for 'My Network Places" is missing.

I'll try to do the imageres.dll downsize by command line ressource edit during build.
shell32.dll is also a candidate for that.

Peter

#47 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 04 December 2012 - 11:40 AM

(original quote edited by pscEx)

Try clicking on the quote in my post (non-edited by you) :whistling:

:cheers:
Wonko

#48 pscEx

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Posted 04 December 2012 - 11:42 AM

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

Peter

#49 Sha0

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Posted 04 December 2012 - 03:58 PM

Any tips about tools to remove EXE resources from command line (with a friendly-license)?

Yes, but I'm not sure that you'd really want to, would you? You can zero them, instead. If you really want to delete them, let me know. Here you go: Attached File  zerores.zip   45.63KB   776 downloads :)

#50 L A M A

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Posted 05 December 2012 - 05:24 PM

off-topic but,...

Is there an app that performs script operations (more like winbuider) which shrinks existing installation by removing user selected components and features? which also results close to PE SIZE?

:huh: I do remember a commercial app XP-Lite which somewhat does the similar job but, since i'm out-dated more ideas would be "great" (not only for me but also for anyone else reading reply to this off-topic)


badly in a need of ((winShrinker which also expands if user chooses to reinstall removed component)) or ((winPreShrinker which installs shrinked OS and gives very close results to PE)) 


i'm quite sure Wonko-the-parrot will come up with something.... :huh:






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