VistaPE Guide - Creating a VistaPE CD

Discussion in 'Acronis True Image Product Line' started by MudCrab, Jun 2, 2008.

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  1. Pistol

    Pistol Registered Member

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    Hi SGRB,

    I would be interested to know a couple of things from the image you have included from the Winbuilder 074 screenshoot.

    Firstly as you can see from the log window the size of the scroll bar would indictate that the log is quite long.
    It maybe to late now as you have probably cleared this but it would of been interesting to see if there was any errors (like filecopy errors) back at the start of the log?

    Secondly based on the ISO build size (unless you stripped the options right back) it would suggest you are using XP to build from?

    Regards,
    Pete :)
     
  2. K0LO

    K0LO Registered Member

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    tyee:

    I presume that you've already tried steps 3 and 4 from MudCrab's guide to install Grub4DOS to your flash drive?

    Another experiment you could try (since you have the flash drive successfully finding the active partition and booting from it) is to install Grub4DOS to the boot sector of the active partition instead of to the MBR.

    What exactly do you see on-screen when attempting to boot the flash drive with Grub4DOS installed to the MBR?
     
  3. mujjuman

    mujjuman Registered Member

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    sweet guide man thanks
     
  4. Pistol

    Pistol Registered Member

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    Hi Guys,

    Just before I give a wrap up of my experiences and post's above I just want to ask one more question.

    All the troubleshooting and help people gave me above, plus the doco from Mudcrab indicating to download Winbuilder 074 and Windows AIK (including links), I now believe are only relevant if someone is running Vista Pre SP1 onwards?

    Well here is a wrap up of all my post's from above.

    My system is a Dell and I know in some circumstances this can cause errors due to how the Dell OEM OS disk's are made.
    My OS is Vista Ulitmate SP1 Pre-installed by Dell.

    Firstly I couldn't install the WAIK from the links in MudCrabs Guide, I had to download WAIK for Vista SP1
    http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...34-D890-4932-81A5-5B50C657DE08&displaylang=en
    To get it to install, it kept failing.

    I now know (after reading the Winbuilder error logs correctly) that I was erroring all the time when building the VistaPE.ISO
    Then after that when trying to compile ISO builds with ATIH11 and/or ADD10 they wouldn't run once booting the VistaPE.ISO CD.

    I reloaded my C: partition from the Dell Recovery Partition and started again from scratch.
    After doing this and re-installing WAIK (SP1 edition), ATIH11, ADD10, ImageBurn, Winbuilder 074, I started again.
    This time once I had burnt the VistaPE.ISO (which had some 156 file copy error's) and tried booting from the CD I was getting the BSD and the boot cd (well CDR-W) was trashed.

    I then downloaded and used the latest Winbuilder 075 beta 5 (version 12 RC1) from
    http://vistape.net/download.html
    I did a default build but added Mustangs Trueimage Home 11 and Disk Director 10 scripts as outlined in MudCrubs Guide.
    Burnt the VistaPE.ISO to a CD, rebooted and it works perfectly. Hooray!!!

    So in a further wrap up could it be said that;

    Winbuilder 074 and WAIK as listed in Mudcrabs guide go hand in hand?
    The way WAIK is designed and how Winbuilder 074 interfaces with this image means its use is only good up to and including Vista (not SP1)?

    Vista SP1 and onwards you need Winbuilder 075 and WAIK SP1 to make things work correctly?

    I would appreciate any comments on this from all?
    Thanks Peter.
     
  5. mustang

    mustang Developer

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    Peter,

    You are only partially correct.

    You are correct that WinBuilder 074 with VistaPE 011 using the SP1 WAIK will not work. That combination will give a BSOD as you found out. However, you should be able to install the pre-SP1 WAIK in a Vista SP1 system. This would allow you to use WinBuilder 074 and VistaPE 011. This is the combination I use in my Vista SP1 system.

    I once had a problem installing the pre-SP1 WAIK. I was trying to install it directly from the CD I burned. The install would never compete. Then I copied the contents of the CD to a hard drive and installed from there. The install worked.

    WinBuilder 075 with VistaPE 012 do require the SP1 WAIK or a Vista SP1 DVD as the source. I don't like this combination because the image mounting feature of TI will not work. Something is wrong with VistaPE 012 that is causing this problem. Image mounting works fine with VistaPE 011. Go ahead and boot your VistaPE 012 CD and try to mount an image. You will see it doesn't work.

    Don't worry about the build errors you are seeing. The only happen because you are building from the WAIK. You can eliminate these errors simply by looking at each script and disabling those that say they require a Vista DVD as the source.
     
  6. tyee

    tyee Registered Member

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    Kolo
    Yes, I did do steps 3 and 4 of Mudcrab's Guide.
    What I see on the screen when booting is the first boot screen when I normally boot my computer from hard disk. It has info about the CPU speed in one of the top lines, can't remember what else it says, but that screen freezes and nothing else happens.

    I just tried it again this time using WinBuilder itself by clicking on the "Copy to USB" function under "Finalize". It brought up the HP tool formatter, then the grub4dos tool and copied all the files. When I go to reboot and try it out this time the computer does not freeze and when I go into the bios to select the UFD, it's not there. I skipped a setting during the grub4dos setup where I didn't select "MBR" in the part list drop down selection, I guess I should have but I've done that many times today and it did not work.

    To select the boot sector of the active partition, is that the other selection in the "part list" drop down list? I think it is, so I'll try it now.

    Update!! -- It works now!! I did select the boot sector of the active partition as above to solve this. Thanks a lot Kolo!! Have you heard of anyone else having this problem? If yes, Mudcrab's guide should be amended to say it might be necessary to do this.
     
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2008
  7. K0LO

    K0LO Registered Member

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    Interesting. No, I've not heard of many people having trouble getting Grub4Dos installed. In fact, it's one of the most reliable boot managers that I've tried. I wonder why it won't work for you when installed to the MBR?
     
  8. MudCrab

    MudCrab Imaging Specialist

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    I wonder if there was an error on the MBR install. If so, it should have been displayed. There is also an option you can use to "force" the installation on certain errors.

    ---

    tyee,

    What size flashdrive are you using?

    Do you know what the partition's starting sector is? I've noticed on some flashdrives that the partition may start on Sector 32 (or something like that). Normally, Grub4DOS will write past that sector. I haven't experimented on it though, so Grub4DOS may work around that problem on its own.
     
  9. Pistol

    Pistol Registered Member

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    I could never get the pre-SP1 WAIK to install from the created CD like you mention above.
    Once copied to a directory on the HDD like you mentioned it did install.

    Then I had all my build issue's with TIH11 and DD10 not loading and failing like my post's above (with the image results attached).

    After I blew my C: drive vista partition away and reloaded it from the Dell Recovery Partition pre-SP1 WAIK would never install again, from CD or HDD directory. It keeps failing.

    I get an error box pop up half way through saying;
    "Can Not Find AIKX86.CAB (thats correct its AIKX86.CAB not WAIKX86.CAB)"

    That ended that on installing pre-SP1 WAIK, I'm not sure why it will not install again......o_O?



    This is what I want to get working also but from my post's and images above can not seem to get Acronis Programs working.
    Maybe you could review my post's and suggest some further things to try?

    How correct you are. I noticed on the very first boot with my newly created Acronis Boot CD that the image mount failed, it just takes for ever and then times out.

    The Errors I am receiving are "File Copy Errors" (aprox 156 files off the top of my head), its a failure to copy files from "SYSTEM32" and other directories from the Winbuilder TEMP working directory to the FINAL position prior to creating the VistaPE.ISO.
    (I can upload my error log.html if you want)
    That is why I think TIH11 & DD10 fail when trying to run them from the Boot CD....??

    Look forward to your response Mustang :D
    Hope you can point me in the right direction to making it work as per MudCrabs Guide :'(
     
  10. mustang

    mustang Developer

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    Hi Peter,

    Some interesting comments. The AIKX86.CAB error is facinating. I have no explanation for it.

    Image mounting times out after 60 seconds, it just seems like forever when you are waiting.

    Errors copying from System32 could be a direct result of your Dell system being different from a normal Windows system. I would like to see your log.

    The first thing I would do if I were you is to do this entire process on another computer. I never like to bat my head against a stone wall. Once the VistaPE CD is made on another computer, you can use it on your system.
     
  11. Pistol

    Pistol Registered Member

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    Here is the screenshot of the WAIK Install failure.
    http://img79.imageshack.us/my.php?image=waikpresp1installfailurcu0.jpg

    Here's the log file, but this I'm pretty sure is the errors from building with winbuilder 074 and WAIK SP1 version.
    http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4NJLMJS7
    (Had to compress as it was 2mb)
    So I guess that is why they are caused, but please check anyway as they could be genuine errors regardless of the WAIK version?

    I will try it but I think my first priority will be to install from a genuine Vista CD, not the Dell (or any other) OEM version.
    Thoughts?
     
    Last edited: Nov 16, 2008
  12. mustang

    mustang Developer

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    Hi Peter,

    The error message is that AIKX86.CAB is corrupt. This is very different from the file being missing. You may find the CD is corrupt or scratched. I would redownload and burn the WAIK again. Then copy it to an internal HDD. Do this before going to the extreme of rebuilding your system from a Vista DVD. I would guess that WAIKX86.MSI contains a file called _AIKX86.CAB. This would be a compressed file that would expand to WAIKX86.CAB during the installation.

    I wasn't able to view your log from MegaUploado_Oo_Oo_Oo_Oo_Oo_O?
     
  13. tyee

    tyee Registered Member

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    Mudcrab
    I never got any errors at all for the MBR install. It said all went well.
    I'm using actually two different flash drives, one is a Corsair Flash Voyager 2GB and the other is just a SD card reader with Lexar SD card installed. I got the same freezing on both when I chose "MBR". Strange isn't it. Maybe it's my system??
     
  14. MudCrab

    MudCrab Imaging Specialist

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    If you want to try it, you could test several different versions of Grub4DOS. There are quite a few prior versions and some newer ones available for downloading. It's possible that one of them may work on your system. You can update Grub4DOS, by unzipping the download and just copying the grldr file to the flashdrive and then trying to boot it.
     
  15. K0LO

    K0LO Registered Member

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    I just checked my VistaPE flash drive that has Grub4Dos installed to the MBR. Grub4DOS occupies a total of 13 sectors, extending 12 sectors past absolute sector 0 (sectors 0 - 12). Additionally, it reserves absolute sector 1 for a copy of the former contents of sector 0, if you decide to use that option when installing Grub4Dos.

    tyee:

    I've attached a copy of sectors 0 - 12 from my flash drive in case they help you troubleshoot. The file is named Track 0.bin.txt, but it is a binary file (remove the .txt extension). You need a hex file viewer to interpret it (or view it by loading it to some blank sectors somewhere on your flash drive using a hex Disk Editor like Acronis Disk Director).
     

    Attached Files:

  16. MudCrab

    MudCrab Imaging Specialist

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    Mark,

    I just checked this on a wiped 2GB flashdrive and Grub4DOS took up Absolute Sectors 0-15. The partition starts on 63. I remember seeing Grub data in later sectors on a flashdrive (past 32), but I've done so many different tests it may have been from something else.
     
  17. Pistol

    Pistol Registered Member

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    I have downloaded WAIK pre-SP1 twice now and they both do the same thing. (I will try again but my d/l is maxed out at the moment and I'm shaped!!!)
    I have tried installing it from both downloads (which I stored in 2 different directories, everything about the file details are identicle) but they have the same issue.
    I have even tried installing them both via extracting the files with WinRAR from the IMG file without burning to a cd in case this process was causing the error.
    I was then running it from there but still got the errors.
    Could it be microsoft is corrupt??

    When you go to the page in the top right you will see a box to enter the 3 digit alphanumeric code (next to the box, to stop auto downloaders) then next to that is the "download button" to get the file.
    Give it another go I checked and it works.

    Cheers,
    Peter
     
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2008
  18. mustang

    mustang Developer

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    Hi Peter,

    I did get the log. All your errors are from BootWimSrc. This refers to boot.wim from Microsofts WinPE. These errors are being caused by using the SP1 WAIK. There were no errors from the TI 11 script.

    I don't know what to tell you about why the pre-SP1 WAIK will not install on your system. Maybe you should just be happy with VistaPE 012.
     
  19. Pistol

    Pistol Registered Member

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    Mustang Wrote:

    > I don't know what to tell you about why the pre-SP1 WAIK will not install on your system.

    Neither do I.
    I will plug away and try to get it working. o_O I hate it when I cant work things out and have a win. :D

    > Maybe you should just be happy with VistaPE 012.

    I am definately happy.
    Although like you mentioned the image mount option doesn't work thats not that critical to me.
    My main issue was having TIH11 & DD10 working so that I can use them to restore my SATA RAID0 HDD's in case of failure.
    That way I can restore the IMAGES back to the drives.

    It sucks that TIH2009 doesn't even support SATA RAID Drive configs either.
    Oh well in the next edition of Acronis Products maybe :'(

    Cheers for all your help and I'll post back if I get things working.
     
  20. mustang

    mustang Developer

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    Hi Peter,

    If your only concern with TI 2009 is that it doesn't support your RAID drivers, there is nothing to worry about. MustangPE will work and allow you to add the RAID drivers. It will also work equally well (image mounting works) with either version of the WAIK. I developed it to eliminate all the problems associated with VistaPE like you are having. It also includes Disk Director as a bonus.
     
  21. dbknox

    dbknox Registered Member

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    mustang am I wrong? Dosn't TI have to be installed on the "other" computer to be able to enter the serial number from the registry?
    I hope I am wrong because I have just downloaded the latest Build of Ti 11 and I am using dial-up, which was a painfully time consumming experience when I made my first VistaPE. If I could go to a friend's computer ( who does not own True Image) and make a VistaPE using their highspeed, that would be great.
    Is there any way that a VistaPE could be made without all the bells and whistles. IE: just a TI Image and Recovery using the Waik and the True Image license and plugin ?
     
  22. mustang

    mustang Developer

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    You would of course need TI installed on the other computer. I doubt if Acronis would view it as a license violation if you installed TI on a second computer just for a short period and then uninstalled it without making any images.

    Question. Why do you need to download WinBuilder again just because you got a new version of TI? Did you delete the WinBuilder folder after you made the first VistaPE CD? If you did, you could do all the downloading for WinBuilder on the other computer and then burn the WinBuilder folder to DVD and take it home. Then build the VistaPE CD at home
     
  23. Pistol

    Pistol Registered Member

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    This could be the ticket for me to get up and running straight away....
    I checked your details about MustangPE Builder and just wanted to double check and clear up some confussion on my part.

    At the bottom of the about page it indicates you must be running Windows XP SP2.
    Is that it or will it work also based on Vista, both normal and SP1?

    Cheers,
    Peter
     
  24. mustang

    mustang Developer

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    Hi Peter,

    It will definitely work on any version of Vista. What is does say is you must be running Windows XP SP2 or later. This was intended to include Windows XP SP2 and any Windows OS released after Windows XP. I think I will change the wording to say it is intended for use on Windows XP SP2, Windows XP SP3 or any version of Vista.

    It is not intended for use with Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008 because TI Home 2009 is not appropriate for these OS's.
     
  25. dbknox

    dbknox Registered Member

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    Thanks mustang I know how busy you are and regret that I have to be led by the hand. I still have the winbuilder on my hard drive. How do I update it to get the new Bld. of TI 11 on the VistaPE. Do I need another plug-in?
    If so can I buy one on your site?
     
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