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Windows Image File Boot (WIMBoot)

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#51 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 31 August 2014 - 10:48 AM

Well, if we didn't already know you since some time, and if we didn't know Simon King, and the tool hadn't actually been partially developed on reboot.pro:

http://reboot.pro/to...fi-boot-issues/

http://reboot.pro/to...pression-betas/

your post could be easily considered SPAM :ph34r: in favour of a Commercial software :w00t:

 

Among the requisites that you failed to list is the sum of US$ 23.75, which is the current cost of a Consumer Edition license, just for the record.

 

Still for the record, Simon was so kind as to release a small tool that allows 8.1 update 1 users to update the WinRE.wim with the WOF drivers:

http://reboot.pro/to...e-boot-wimboot/

http://reboot.pro/to...ssues/?p=186535

 

:duff:

Wonko


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#52 simonking

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Posted 31 August 2014 - 09:14 PM

@jaclaz: There's no need to hound devadevadev, feel free to come after me direct any time :)

 

BTW you're doing false advertising - the product cost is $29.95, not less.

 

What have we been smoking today :D

 

Also the free tool I provided lets you not only update, but also extract, winre.wim.



#53 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 01 September 2014 - 09:20 AM

@jaclaz: There's no need to hound devadevadev, feel free to come after me direct any time :)
 
BTW you're doing false advertising - the product cost is $29.95, not less.
 
What have we been smoking today :D
 
Also the free tool I provided lets you not only update, but also extract, winre.wim.

Not at all hounding anyone.

Good to know that the product can be used for free (limited to using the WIM compression), and good to know that your nice little tool has more uses. :)

I confused the price in Euro with the one in dollars :(:
http://www.msfn.org/...boot/?p=1085027

Still, devadev's post has all the characteristics of a SPAM post, particularly because he posted it on several boards and he should IMHO be aware ot that.

As an example, here:
http://webcache.goog...r&hl=it&ct=clnk

his post has been removed from public view:
http://www.eightforu...em-wimboot.html

Since he joined other boards to only post about this, like the above and:
http://forum.tabletp...o-guide-16.html
the risk of being "labeled" as SPAMmer is concrete.

:duff:
Wonko



 



#54 simonking

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Posted 01 September 2014 - 11:02 AM

The entire ZIPmagic suite can be used for free during the 30 day trial, and that includes not only DoubleSpace for WIMBoot compression, but also DriveSpace for NTFS compression, Stacker for data deduplication, and the full archiving suite.

 

Since uninstalling an archiver trial couldn't be reasonably expected to delete archives you've created using that trial; similarly uninstalling ZIPmagic cannot be expected to decompress disks that have been compressed via datadedup/NTFS/WIMBoot :)

 

Also keep in mind that when you do order, you don't get billed for the first 30 days and you can opt-out of billing any time - so this gives you an effective 60 day window for a free trial/free use half/half.

 

Hopefully though some people appreciate it enough/are honest enough to part with 30 bucks :D



#55 simonking

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Posted 01 September 2014 - 11:41 AM

I see where you're coming from RE: Spam, even though there's no offers for body parts enlargement, pills to boost stamina, etc. on offer :D

 

Today, there appears to be an attack going on against all non-mobile software costing more than $1.

 

Not every commercial software vendor owns a private island!!! :)



#56 erwan.l

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Posted 01 September 2014 - 04:23 PM

My thread is post hijacked :)

 

Simonking : give me a licence and i'll be more than happy to comment it ;)



#57 simonking

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Posted 01 September 2014 - 04:25 PM

Of course, Erwan! I'm sending you a license via PM right now.

 

Update: Sent. Please enjoy :)



#58 erwan.l

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Posted 01 September 2014 - 04:34 PM

Of course, Erwan! I'm sending you a license via PM right now.

 

Update: Sent. Please enjoy :)

 

Nice :) Thanks !

I have been following your work since day 1 (your battle with your windows tablet) : impressive work.

You have been working this new WIMBOOT feature in and outs.

 

Regards,

Erwan



#59 milindsmart

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Posted 01 September 2014 - 06:17 PM

Unfortunately Simon king, in my country (India) at least, paying money for software is a very alien idea to most computer users, they genuinely believe that it SHOULD be free, and go about asking for a key. Even savvy users do this, but differently... They think they're being smart if they get a crack... They completely miss the work and skill that go into developing such applications, which is far greater than cracking it, however smart those Russian crackers are... So I hope non Asian countries are better than this, good luck with earning some well deserved cash :)

About your data deduplication functionality, do you by any chance implement finding the highest level folder that is identical to any given folder? Most softwares list the files, but when an entire tree is duplicated, identifying the folders would be a killer feature
.. I think I'd definitely buy it, but even otherwise, I think it makes a lot of sense.. I won't say anymore here cuz I don't want to hijack the thread...

#60 simonking

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Posted 01 September 2014 - 07:39 PM

Well, I don't believe it will ever be possible to make un-crackable software. A human invents protection; another will invariably crack it. So I find it a futile effort on the part of all DRM'ers - they are just actually making things harder for their *licensed* customers, and not the crackers.

 

ZIPmagic's own protection is key-based. This is trivial to crack...my position on this is; if someone who can buy the software finds a crack, (s)he will most likely buy it anyways. OTOH, if someone doesn't want to pay, they never will - so why make things harder for my own customers, who are actually willing to pay - by employing draconian DRM?

 

I give free keys to anyone who asks nicely. Heck, that's why even the software itself, is licensed with a 30 day free trial, and then on top of that, a 30 day delayed billing - where you can opt-out any time *after* having already received your key. There's many consumer goods sold that way - buy now pay later - why not software? This gives people 60 days to enjoy the product without paying for it. I'm confident that my software's gonna make them so happy, that by the end of those 60 days, they're going to pay for it, or crack it ;)

 

So enjoy in the fullest sense of the word :D



#61 simonking

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Posted 01 September 2014 - 08:04 PM

BTW looks like I missed your data dedup question. ZIPmagic's Stacker is the data dedup product. This too is a wrapper around Microsoft technologies, but unlike DoubleSpace and DriveSpace, which actually extend WIMBoot/NTFS compression in many ways; Stacker doesn't do much extra other than being a glorified UI around data dedup.

It is primarily intended to enable customers running Windows 8.0 or Windows 8.1 (only 64 bit is supported with data dedup) to use data dedup without having to use the Powershell command line. Unfortunately, due to legal issues, it is not possible to automatically enable data dedup on Windows 8.x - data dedup is available only with Server 2012 (R2).

I'll toss the ball over to jaclaz on the links below:

http://weikingteh.wo...n-in-windows-8/ - for Windows 8.0
http://weikingteh.wo...ur-windows-8-1/ - for Windows 8.1

I'm sure if there's a legal way to simplify this setup for Windows 8.x users, jaclaz will be the first to let me know, and I can include that in the ZIPmagic suite as well. But I doubt it!

#62 milindsmart

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Posted 02 September 2014 - 10:50 AM

BTW looks like I missed your data dedup question. ZIPmagic's Stacker is the data dedup product. This too is a wrapper around Microsoft technologies, but unlike DoubleSpace and DriveSpace, which actually extend WIMBoot/NTFS compression in many ways; Stacker doesn't do much extra other than being a glorified UI around data dedup.

Well I was under the impression that DoubleSpace is a (extremely polished and seamless)"glorified UI around"(your words, not mine :P ) WIMBoot... Can you just list out how it extends it in many ways?
 

It is primarily intended to enable customers running Windows 8.0 or Windows 8.1 (only 64 bit is supported with data dedup) to use data dedup without having to use the Powershell command line. Unfortunately, due to legal issues, it is not possible to automatically enable data dedup on Windows 8.x - data dedup is available only with Server 2012 (R2).

Whoa data dedup built into windows? Hadn't heard of it, but reading up it seems that it's a feature only on Windows Server. So how are you providing it in Windows 8? Or are you?

Edited by milindsmart, 02 September 2014 - 10:51 AM.


#63 erwan.l

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Posted 02 September 2014 - 11:06 AM

Quoting simonking, "Unfortunately, due to legal issues, it is not possible to automatically enable data dedup on Windows 8.x - data dedup is available only with Server 2012 (R2)."

 

It can be tweaked however into Windows8 (see links above).

 

But we are deviating from the topic : Wimboot technology and related tools, methods.



#64 milindsmart

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Posted 02 September 2014 - 11:29 AM

Agreed, now to get back to topic : 

 

Maybe I'm a little dense, but why exactly is WinPE 5.1 required? Only to capture, and apply in WIMBoot-style right? So can I do all this from another full windows 8.1 instance, if I already happen to have it?


Edited by milindsmart, 02 September 2014 - 11:29 AM.


#65 erwan.l

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Posted 02 September 2014 - 12:04 PM

Agreed, now to get back to topic : 

 

Maybe I'm a little dense, but why exactly is WinPE 5.1 required? Only to capture, and apply in WIMBoot-style right? So can I do all this from another full windows 8.1 instance, if I already happen to have it?

 

You need a win8.1u1 based winpe to apply/capture a win8.1u1 O.S with the WIMBOOT flag.

You perform this task offline (or else can use SimonKing tool).

 

Or else you can that same task (still offline) using wimlib from any winpe (see here).



#66 simonking

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Posted 02 September 2014 - 12:21 PM

Here's the list you requested:

 

1. Four Levels of Compression: Three compression grades stronger than WIMBoot
2. On-the-Fly Compression: Convert a full disk without requiring additional storage
3. Compress Apps and Data in Addition to OS: Save space on all files stored on your disk - not just Windows
4. Recompression: Reclaim additional space as apps/files are added/deleted
5. Does Not Require Windows ADK: No need to download and install gigabytes of data
6. Does Not Require Windows PE 5.1: No need to create bootable Windows on external USB
7. One-Click Operation: No need to type endless commands in a console
8. Use All CPU Cores for Compression: Maximize compression speed and space gain
9. 32 bit Windows Support: Compress any x86 system
10. BIOS Support: Not limited to UEFI systems
11. Mechanical Disk Support: Compress any HDD, not just SSDs
 

You need PE 5.1, with or without wimlib, when you are trying to recompress a disk that has been previously compressed. If you don't have PE 5.1, then you don't get the WoF driver.  If you don't have the WoF driver, then you don't get to access the already-compressed data on disk; because this data can only be served correctly by the WoF driver. Thus the need for PE 5.1; but if you don't need to recompress, you wouldn't need PE 5.1 anyways.



#67 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 02 September 2014 - 01:35 PM

You need PE 5.1, with or without wimlib, when you are trying to recompress a disk that has been previously compressed. If you don't have PE 5.1, then you don't get the WoF driver.  If you don't have the WoF driver, then you don't get to access the already-compressed data on disk; because this data can only be served correctly by the WoF driver. Thus the need for PE 5.1; but if you don't need to recompress, you wouldn't need PE 5.1 anyways.

And of course another instance of Windows 8.1update1 (i.e. with the WOF driver) would do instead of the PE 5.1 also for this.

 

But since the WOF driver is used to access/mount the already compressed data, the need is just for "in place" recompression, i.e. if a "spare" disk with enough space is available, one could always - in theory - apply the compressed .wim to this temporary space, and then recompress it by re-capturing it with just Wimlib from *any* other supported OS install - possibly including a Linux, even without the WOF driver, right?  :unsure:

 

:duff:

Wonko 



#68 simonking

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Posted 02 September 2014 - 01:52 PM

I don't know about Linux, but yes, on Windows, as long as your instance has the WoF driver up and running, it should work.

 

In our chats with Eric he was telling me that it could also be possible to adapt wimlib to interpret pointer files correctly even when the WoF driver is unavailable; but that this would require an exorbitant amount of work for what we've already been able to solve with the WoF driver.



#69 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 02 September 2014 - 02:01 PM

No, I guess we are saying different things. :dubbio:

Set aside (for one moment) the nice feature of "in place" recompression (actually vital if the issue is the lack of enough free space), if there is available space (another volume, on another disk)

 

  1. Without the WOF driver WimLib can apply an image that has been compressed with the /wimboot flag to an available (big enough) volume, right?
  2. Still without the WOF driver WimLib can capture an image of an available volume with the /wimboot flag, right?
  3. The /wimboot option does exist in the Linuix version of WimLib, or it is reserved to Windows version?

 

:duff:

Wonko



#70 simonking

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Posted 02 September 2014 - 02:03 PM

It cannot capture if the WoF driver is not installed and you're trying to capture a WIMBoot volume. It doesn't know how to interpret the pointer files without the WoF driver. At least on Windows, Eric can clarify if the case is different on Linux, but I doubt it since the codebase is most likely the same.



#71 erwan.l

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Posted 02 September 2014 - 02:28 PM

I did capture and apply a wimboot file with wimlib using a winpe 4 or 5, just like wonko is saying.
See my link in previous post.

You don't need the wof driver with latest wimlib.

#72 simonking

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Posted 02 September 2014 - 02:41 PM

You can. What you won't be able to do is properly capture a WIM from a system that has already been WIMBoot'ed, because wimlib doesn't know how to interpret the data, just as any other Windows app, without the WoF driver.



#73 devdevadev

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Posted 02 September 2014 - 03:04 PM

You need a win8.1u1 based winpe to apply/capture a win8.1u1 O.S with the WIMBOOT flag.

You perform this task offline (or else can use SimonKing tool).

 

Or else you can that same task (still offline) using wimlib from any winpe (see here).

Instead of using Win8.1U1 based WinPE/WTG, there is also a way in order to apply/capture 'Win8.1U1' with WIMBoot flag. 

 

http://reboot.pro/to...e-2#entry186297

 

post-65263-0-53048400-1407394056.jpg

 

Regards...



#74 erwan.l

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Posted 02 September 2014 - 07:17 PM

You can. What you won't be able to do is properly capture a WIM from a system that has already been WIMBoot'ed, because wimlib doesn't know how to interpret the data, just as any other Windows app, without the WoF driver.

 

ok I get it.

 

indeed, my procedure was the following :

-build a winpe (any)

-boot from there

-use wimlib to image a win81u1 system using the --wimboot flag

-format system drive

-copy the captured wim to that formatted system drive

-apply the captured wim to that system drive

 

benefits were :

-significant disk space saving

-in case system crash, easily re apply the captured wim (with a bootmanager including a ready to use winpe for instance)



#75 milindsmart

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Posted 03 September 2014 - 10:50 AM

Thus the need for PE 5.1; but if you don't need to recompress, you wouldn't need PE 5.1 anyways.

Got it.

I just built WinPE 5.1 the DISM way, and I now see the value in doing without it - it takes AGES to update boot.wim with all the updates! About 4 hours overall I think.

-format system drive

The Windows 8 Refresh-PC works without formatting the drive at all.. It's mainly an application of a WIM on the boot drive. I was wondering if formatting is necessary. One point is of course the appeal of wiping out the drive and starting clean... But also it's the time taken to delete files... reformatting is faster and predictable in the time it takes. Besides, refresh requires enough space to hold both the old and the new installation.





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