3 replies to this topic

[ndog37]

I am trying to boot into windows 7 VHD (flat file 20GB) that has been prepared with a syspreped wim file and winvblock installed offline with grub4dos.

 

steps

create a 20GB fixed VHD file eg win7.vhd

mount and give drive letter

use imagex to apply to the vhd (the install.wim from the official windows 7 ISO) - untouched

install bcd and update the BCD there (so it boots)

copy the winvblk32.sys to sys32 drivers folder

mount the registry hive and add winvblock under the correct root\enum and system

add the grub4dos menu.lst entry

 

From here I can boot into the VHD, however when it gets to the 'setup is updating registry settings' it immediately crashes and the error message appears 'windows could not finish configuring the system to attempt to resume configuration restart computer'.

(I have tested this with several wim files and I know they are ok, because I can install windows from wim files if I use the setup CD with winvblock and attaching a VHD file there.)

 

If I use shift + f10 to get command prompt I can see winvblock is ok and the BCD is ok.

 

What is preventing windows from booting, and is there a registry setting I need to add to allow it to continue past the 'setup is updating registry settings'?

 

 

[Wonko the Sane]

Is the source Windows 7 or 7 SP1?

 

See if this applies:

http://www.wintips.o...unning-sysprep/

(basically you run msoobe manually)

 

Wonko

[ndog37]

Hi Wonko thanks for your help. The suggestion you advised did not work, however lead me to a next step.
Sorry if this is in the wrong forum section BTW

This has been bugging me for the last few days and I have tried many things but to no success.

When I prepare the VHD, the system registry hive points to \Device\HardDiskVolume1

However when I actually boot into the VHD, for some reason it is changed to \Device\HardDiskVolume6, even though diskpart indicates it is disk 0
I have 5 volumes in total, so it seems to be adding 1 to that number.

If I change the registry \Device\HardDiskVolume1 and restart, inevitably I get the 7b stop error.

Is it possible to write that key to \Device\HardDiskVolume1 before windows boots? Maybe this will fix this part of the issue.

I feel so close....

[Wonko the Sane]

Well, AFAICR harddiskvolume has little to do (no connection) with actual disk number, harddiskvolume is numbered at the time volumes are discovered, from what you report of your setup it seems to me like you have:

Disk 1 - First Volume \Device\HardDiskVolume1

Disk 1 - Second Volume \Device\HardDiskVolume2

....

Disk 0 - First (only) volume \Device\HardDiskVolume6

 

And - somehow - you either have a 5th volume (hiidden/reserved/whatever) on Disk 0 or you have another device connected (USB?)

 

Try running the dd --list or my little ddlistw.cmd batch for it when you are booted in the PE (F10):

http://reboot.pro/to...st-and-ddlistw/

http://reboot.pro/to...listw/?p=173100

what do you get?

 

Try also running Showdrive or MountstorPE:

http://reboot.pro/to...-line-possible/

 

And the little batch you find here:

http://reboot.pro/to...command-prompt/

http://reboot.pro/to...rompt/?p=189736

 

This way maybe we can understand how the devices are mapped.

 

Wonko