This is not my hobby nor do I want it to be.
I have experience with WinBuilder and I have been here before under a slightly different name (Mr.Adam); I have gotten projects operational in the past and we have been using our current LiveOS for about 6 years. I am not fully in-tuned with the lingo, I do have a operational understanding of the "Projects" and I understand the fundamentals of how a project is assembled and built.
This is a tool for us, we use it everyday to support our functions as a OEM; this tool is valuable, and it needs updated.
We are finally making the move from Windows 7 to Windows 10, something I have been hammering on for 3 years now! I need to be able to support it and while our current process will work with slight modifications I would rather update the tool to match our deployment; I also need to continue support for older systems in a backup & recovery function.
I have no desire to get into the inner workings of WinBuilder and the projects, I am comfortable Modifying a project as needed once I know that project works but I don't have weeks to devote to this; infact with the current state of the world I have 1 day a week where I work from home and thus have time for this. Nothing will be committed to long term memory though I am going to attempt to document the processes for our internal use; that document can probably be shared if there is interest but i make no promises on when i will complete it (Sooner the faster this comes together and works)
I need help picking a starting point, seems like there are a few primary options: Gandalf's and Misty being the top?
This tool is used by people who have no understanding or even know such a project exist, it's magic to them and as such needs to be easy to use. So all tools with-in the bootable are front and center on the desktop, the OS boots with little to no interaction, I have made the instructions for PEnetwork, Capture, and apply of XP and Win7 part of the desktop background, things are spelled out so that anyone I work with can pick this up and use it.
It needs to support XP, Win7, and Win10; currently I use BootIce to prep XP and I have a batch file that works for Win7 and Win10. Win10 can be captured and applied with ImageX but you have to disable Defender and then re-enable after apply. The current process also creates a redundant BCD entry which is more difficult to remove in Windows 10; so i am looking to streamline this as much as possible.
Most of the Hardware is very similar, we get it all from a single vendor and it is all industrialized computers and as such retain a very strict build spec. With that said the XP and Win7 hardware differs quite a bit and the Win10 hardware looks similar to Win7 but I am fairly certain the base chipset has changed. I also want to be able to support other systems, right now there are my none standard systems that will not boot due to drivers; the more general I can keep my drivers or the more driver support I can include the better.
and OMG it would be great if touch worked on anything we plug into; tired of the complaining...lol
We currently use ImageX and the GimageX GUI to capture and apply .wim format files. I like .wim as it is versatile and since we have been using it to this point we need to continue using it going forward. DISM now supports .wim (Has for a while) and I now have a GUI (DISM_Tool) that supports DISM and has the functions I need front and center.
Is there a project that has DISM and possibly even a GUI with capture apply functions? of course .wim support is a must. I can inject what I need but a good starting point is ideal.
I would like to have VNC included this time around, happy to add it to any project but a project that already has it would be great.
Source files: I am still trying to understand how the changes that came with Windows 10 effect WinBuilder and it seems like in the past that is something this community has fought to keep up with too. Has that gotten better? The last few times I have attempted this with Win10 it seems like my source files were problematic; I have access to VLK media, I can do the media creation tool, and I even have a clean copy of the LTSC ISO now.
This turned into damn long post, part of that is because of my past experiences on here; this community is unique and tight knit; I respect that, I am an outsider seeking insight. If you have stuck with me to this point then you have a desire to understand and help, that is greatly appreciated. Stress levels are high, employee's question work at home productivity, help me show that productivity can be high; help me produce a quality solution.
TL;DNR
Need a Win10 bootable project with DISM, .wim support, VNC, robust driver support for diverse hardware support, touch support on anything with a touchscreen. If you are serious about helping then please read the post.
