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BusyElf

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Posts posted by BusyElf

  1. I too am interested to add, especially if True Integrator also has sources in public. I'd try to mix the two as time allows it. I like DXTI's addons for integrating custom files as OS components (i've made my own nirsoft/systinternal/etc mix)  and WTK's GUI for selecting features, updates and tweaking section with checkboxes (i customized my ISO with both and it works). I tried once something with alternate GUI for DISM and one thing i do regret is DISM's "feature" when mounting or committing images not seeing that drive is full, can't abort it operation (well not when launched from alternate GUI that is).

  2. I've researched the subject and have found almost all info needed to construct a batch command pipeline except how to get all keys from .reg file (or from command line) to get properly inserted into mounted subkey.

    I did found info about method involving running reg/regedit under desired user account, but i doubt it would work for user accounts inside wim and i also need to target key "HKU/.DEFAULT". I didn't test this.

    I have succeeded importing a hand-crafted .reg file into mounted subkey, but this would require me to manually alter all keys in .reg file so they get under required locations.

    If there is no other solution, i will try to put something together to partially automate this task.

  3. After some time spent writing cab addon for larger number of files, i started to look for programs that automate most if not all tasks.

     

    I found out there are :

     

    Inf-Addon Maker - haven't found valid DL links (both here and at win-lite)

     

    DX Universal UpdatePack/Addon Creator (filename DXUPAC.exe DXTool_x64_005FE78D48FC1B11F7068FBBE6FC368A.exe) - DL links present but no options found to select Windows 7. Also at start program requires exe of hotfix/update (which i assumed this program creates as CAB output at end, not requires as input at start)

     

    Inf-Assistant - no valid DL links

     

    Are there any usable Win7 INF addon cab makers then ?

     

    EDIT: I downloaded DXUPAC.exe and it was staring in my face the whole time  :doh:  It is split into several "send to" targets so i did not it see as one single package to work with. Which reminds me : do these pieces of DXUPAC have source code somewhere ?

    I kind of like using Notepad2 and manually assembling the INF files.

  4. Umm OnePiece i need more help !

     

    I have defined multiple diskid's in [sourceDisksNames] with above mentioned subdirectories, so same file names do not collide and have referenced them in [sourceDisksFiles] with filename=diskid pairs.

     

    Now i have one final problem :

     

    I have CopyFiles directive in my custom install section [utilities] and i do not know how to reference a specific version among files with same name but different subdirectory in CAB install root.

     

    Config for clarification (with problem at end)

    ;custom named section, this could be DefaultInstall as well[Utilities]CopyFiles = files_x86, files_x64;directory targets for CopyFiles[DestinationDirs]files_x86 = 16425files_x64 = 16421;subdirectories inside files CAB addon[SourceDisksNames]1="MyFiles","MYFILES.cab",,"X86VER\nircmdc.exe"2="MyFiles","MYFILES.cab",,"X64VER\nircmdc.exe";references to files and their sources in CAB[SourceDisksFiles]NIRCMDC.EXE=1NIRCMDC.EXE=2;OOOPS ! Now what to do ? CopyFiles section referenced above has defined everything but here i hit a wall.;How does windows optional components installer know WHICH file i reference ???;At best, it will mix up 86 and x64 versions, at worst it will completely mess up OS setup[files_x86]nircmdc.exe,NIRCMDC.EXE[files_x64]nircmdc.exe,NIRCMDC.EXE 

    Ok i hope i explained this well. I know that .x86 and .amd64 suffixes in section names can remove this ambiguity but i would need both x86 and x64 versions of files to be copied.

     

    Example:

    [files_to_copy_from_CAB_source.x86]nircmdc.exe,NIRCMDC.EXE[files_to_copy_from_CAB_source.amd64]nircmdc.exe,NIRCMDC.EXE

    But this will copy only one of them, depending on OS architecture used in setup. I need both.

  5. I posted in this sub-forum to ask for help on integrating files directly in windows image, no post-install workarounds. All files in my CAB need to be present in their target locations as early as possible, at least during setup phase (i'm also using unattended setup).

     

    I was using XP/nLite before this so i have expirience with making addons and i'm biased toward using this method.

     

    I could experiment with before mentioned path definitions in .INF files and test by doing DXTi integration, and leaving image mounted, then have a look inside mount directory, but i would really like to avoid as it can take time (each add,remove and re-commit).

  6. I would like to add nircmd via true addon CAB (a great little utility by Nir Sofer) to my Win7 x64 offline image (ie for making ISO out of it later).

     

    It has both x86 and x64 versions.

     

    SInce i intend to use it on x64 Windows, it means that calling application (usually cmd.exe) will call the corresponding version of nircmd (x86 cmd calls x86 nircmd and respectively x64 cmd.exe calls x64 version of nircmd).

     

    Now a problem : i can make a CAB file that holds both versions under different names in same folder inside CAB, but since in future i intend to add other dual-bitness applications, this will be a problem for me.

     

    I have my CAB referenced in Entries.ini like so

    [txtsetup_files]AddUtils.cab = 1,,,,,,_x,,3,3

    Note that i have left out other relevant information to make this post short and to the point.

     

    I would like to package both versions of nircmd in CAB file under different subdirectories, like so :

    MYCABFILE.CAB   < CAB file itself\X86VER\nircmd.exe  < first version in subdirectory\X64VER\nircmd.exe < second version in other subdirectory

    I was reading INF reference documentation on MS site and it mentions multiple directories, but it is unclear to me if the above is possible.   There are two descriptions that don't explain this well enough :

    [SourceDisksNames]diskid = disk-description[,[tag-or-cab-file],[unused],[path],[flags][,tag-file]]

    I don't know if "path" part refers to my above case of subdirectories in CAB file or some other location.

     

    Second one is

    [SourceDisksFiles]filename=diskid[,[ subdir][,size]]

    Also, i'm not sure to what "subdir" points to.

     

     

    I was trying to find other true addons as examples (so far, they have been useful), and closest one is for Notepad2, similar to what i need, but it either copies x86 or x64 version (as defined in section names), and i need BOTH versions of nircmd.exe to be copied in their respective directories (%SystemRoot%\System32 and %SystemRoot%\SysWOW64).

     

    I hope i haven't overcomplicated my post, i just wanted to be as specific as possible.

  7. Ohh i was looking for this kind of integrator... DXTi offers what nLite/RVMi do for XP. A straight into image integration, no workarounds.

     

     

    The only thing i miss is comprehensive INF format help like one from Gosh@msfn, just for Win7+ (Gosh really nailed it, helped me a lot).

     

    I've downloaded few DXTi addons and it seems that they follow pretty much the same file structure and syntax as nLite/RVMi ?

     

    Can anyone tell me what are the differences ?

  8. I'm trying to add some files via Advanced > Files tab for a Win7 64bit image. I don't know how to place files to make them accessible both by 32bit and 64bit processes.

     

    I know about file system redirector and "sysnative" alias, but that is intended to resolve access from calling application side.

     

    I'm wondering if the only solution is to copy files to both system32 AND system32/SysWOW64 so any 32/64 bit process can equally run all added executables ?

     

     

    UPDATE:

    I'll just shove 32bit stuff in system32 anyway because mostly 64bit cmd shell will access it anyway. Sigh...

  9. I have some expirience with making inf files for RVMi/nLite and have wondered if it is possible to do the same for Windows 7 using WinToolkit.

     

    I did make a couple of WA's but i haven't found any option in WinToolkit 1.5 that integrates the custom addon CAB files like RVMi/nLite do. CAB addons can have inf sections that cause them to integrate into XP's optional components, essentialy becoming "official" part of setup. All i could find for WA is that it adds some files and little else.

     

    I have looked around forum and have found this as a means of executing my inf integrated with WinToolkit :

    rundll32.exe advpack.dll, LaunchINFSection name.inf

    This as far i as i could go. I have no idea how to package this in a CAB or similar singular package that would contain everything needed, integrated in one shot and get executed in setup like any other official part of setup.

  10. I have most likely missed info/help for this but please tell me : how to find where setup failed with Autounattend.xml ? I got the error message during setup and after googling i found that above answer file is has a problem.

    Which log file contains this info ? I just want to find faulty section and fix it. WSIM does not report any (obvious) errors in xml.

  11. I found what was cause of problem, i was using cmd shell extension supplied by WinToolkit tweak from Total Commander 32bit version.

     

    Problem is that i would like to use TC 64bit but there a quite a few plugins i would miss.

     

    TC uses internally TCMDX64.EXE to gain access to shell extensions for 64bit processes, and there are no menu items for starting command prompt.

     

    I found a possible workaround using "C:\Windows\Sysnative" alias (or for more universal approach) "%SYSTEMROOT%\Sysnative" file system redirector.

     

    Hm this is supposed to be a fault at TC's side (though, when looked at registry everything looks OK).

     

    I hope anyone looking at this will drop a PM/mail  to Ghisler about this issue.

     

     

     

    Does it make sense to work around this issue by creating shell extensions that explicitly call 32 and 64 bit versions of cmd ?

  12. Hi! I too was uncertain why is this needed, but i guess these sections need this data in separate phases.

     

    Also, the Windows System Image Manager (WSIM) in Windows Automated Installation Kit works out all these details for you.

     

    Some time ago, i was tinkering with WINNT.SIF answer file for Windows XP, and constant switching between user manual and text editor now looks bad compared to using WSIM to create a properly formatted file.

     

    I did notice one quirk : if i leave all password fields blank, WSIM will fill them with random strings when saving. I just reopen XML in text editor and clear them and change "PlainText" tags to "true".

  13. I have run into problem : On my w7 x64 ultimate "Open CMD Here" folder shell-extension fails to recognize system32 folder (used for 64 bit console programs). I have integrated 64-bit version of nircmd (by NirSoft).

     

    When starting cmd from start menu > run, it finds nircmd.exe, but when starting from shell-extension, it fails.

    One that works, shows in title

    "Administrator : Command Prompt"

    and one that fails has in it's title

    "Administrator: C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe"

    1. If this si a bug, please correct it in WinToolkit update

    2. how can i fix this issue on currently installed modded windows ?

     

    It's kind of funny that command prompt started from 64-bit folder fails to find other 64-bit commands/utilities  :g:

  14. Sorry for the late response.

     

    Thank you for the insight, i will try this approcach. I did found a tutorial on making a livecd version but it had described copying winpe.wim in place of install.wim, excluding possibility of multiple images. Currently, my Autounatted.xml also sets default image to be used, so all unattended operations will have to be moved into wim used for normal install. There's an answer to this just over the horizon, i just need time to dig it out. :)

  15. First off, hello to everyone ! I joined a while back, but this is a first time i really need help since googling this problem hasn't worked out for me yet.

     

    As the title says, is it possible to integrate a custom/normal install and a live cd ? My goal is to create a bootable DVD that offers options for running customized installation Windows 7 (modified with Win Toolkit) or LiveCD (Windows 7 or XP is ok) on boot menu.

     

    Any help is appreciated.

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