VistaPE doesn't boot (using Mustang's ATI 11 script)

I have an Asus A8N32-SLI deluxe Mobo, AMD dual core 4200 CPU, 2 Gb RAM and four 250 Gb SATA internal drives (RAID 0+1 config), running Vista Ultimate.

The ATI 11 boot CD doesn't load my Asus mobo's NVidia RAID driver so I can't see my C: drive (RAID 0+1); I can see all other drives (external USB2, external eSATA and another internal IDE drive). I created the VistaPE bootCD following Mustang's (well written) procedure including the ATI script that I bought, also created by Mustang. The CD creation process went well but I run into problems after booting off the CD. Here's what happens:

1. CD boots
2. I select VistaPE (1st option)
3. "Windows is loading files..." progress bar completes
4. I get a black error screen titled 'Windows Boot Manager'

Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause. Insert the Windows Installation Disc and restart to repair the problem....

File: \windows\system32\boot\winload.exe
Status: 0xc000000f
Info: The selected entry could not be loaded because the applicatoin is missing or corrupt.
Hit [Enter] to continue. [Esc] to exit.

That's as far as I get. From the directions, I'm supposed to see another menu where I can select LiteStep to boot with but I never get that far.

FYI, I used a copy of my Vista DVD that resides on my C: during the VistaPE creation process. I don't think that has any impact but I'm just mentioning it anyway.

I didn't add any custom drivers for my NVidia RAID since I thought I'd try this method first and that Vista would detect them on its own (as it did during my Vista installation).



Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

Using the copy of your Vista DVD from your hard drive as the Source shouldn't cause a problem.

You shouldn't need to add any drivers if the Vista installation didn't need them. However, in some weird cases, devices detected by a Vista install are not detected by VistaPE.

If you have not tried a "bare-bones" VistaPE build, I would try that. Use LiteStep and don't include anything that's not absolutely necessary (no Explorer, no IE, etc.). Just the shell, TI, etc.

What versions of WinBuilder and VistaPE are you using?

On two of my computers WinBuilder 074/VistaPE 11 will not boot properly. One reboots at the same point where you get the error and one just locks up. WinBuilder 072a/VistaPE 10 both boot up just fine.

 

Did you try booting the CD on another computer with a simpler configuration? If it does not work, it may be something wrong with the source. If it does work on another computer, try adding the drivers for the RAID and see what happens.

 

I'll try a simplified version.

I'm using the latest, suggested versions of both software. WinBuilder 074 and VistaPE v11. If the base version still fails, I can try going down a version, as you also suggested.

I recall reading somewhere on here you can also get Acronis to add the drivers and send you a custom boot CD ISO. Is that right and doable with just a regular tech. support case?

 

I'll bring the CD with me to try on one of my work PCs, although they are totally different in HW config, mfr, etc. but I'll see if they boot. And will also try to add the RAID driver...

 

I created another boot CD after deselecting whatever I thought I could remove and it booted properly (although slowly via a CD-RW CD)! Anyway, after booting, I was able to run ATI 11 and did a test restore of one partition (500 Mb backup image file). It took a few minutes before ATI showed me all my internal drives to select the backup image from and then nearly 2 minutes before the actual restore kicked in, which only took about 10 seconds (not sure why it's so slow, especially after everything's loaded into memory).

I didn't include any special drivers in this VistaPE build but I still saw my C: drive (RAID 0+1) however now I can't see my external eSATA drive, which is where I'll ultimately be storing my large image file! So, I'll try to recreate the CD again after adding the nVidia RAID drivers and retry once again.

Thank you for your help thusfar. I'll post another update afterwards.

 

I tried adding the drivers and creating a new CD but got the same results as before. I wonder if I added the drivers correctly? I think I saw a DOS prompt window open briefly after starting VistaPE but it closed quickly and another one opened loading ATI stuff...

Can you confirm what I did is correct, please?

1. Downloaded the AddDrivers.script and saved it to C:\WinBuilder\Projects\VistaPE\Drivers dir.
2. Installed AIK in default location.
3. Copied two driver files (.inf, .sys, .dll, etc) to these directories:
--> C:\WinBuilder\Projects\VistaPE\Drivers\sata_ide
--> C:\WinBuilder\Projects\VistaPE\Drivers\sataraid
4. Edited the AddDrivers.script file in the [Interface] section to add path to two .inf files and to the peimg.exe file. See file contents below. Do I need to edit the [Process] section and replace all occurences of "%pTextBox1%" with the actual path to peimg.exe -- "C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools" ??
5. Ran WinBuilder and confirmed the VistaPE-->Drivers-->Add Drivers box was checked (which it already was) and created the ISO file.

If this doesn't work, I suppose I can just connect my eSATA drive via it's USB2 port instead but I may lose performance in the restore process.


[Main]
Title=Add Drivers
Author=Paul Larini (mustang)
Level=5
Version=011
Description=Add drivers using peimg.exe
Locked=false
Contact=plarini@mechrest.com
Date=19.02.2008
Selected=True

[Variables]
%Switch%

[Process]
Echo,"Processing AddDrivers ..."
If,NotExistFile,"%pTextBox1%\peimg.exe",Run,%ScriptFile%,WAIKNotFound
If,"%pCheckBox1%",Equal,False,Set,%Switch%,"/c#$s"
If,"%pCheckBox1%",Equal,True,Set,%Switch%,"/k#$s"

Echo,"Processing Driver 1 ..."
If,"%pTextBox2%",NotEqual,"",ShellExecute,Open,"cmd.exe","%Switch%#$q%pTextBox1%\peimg.exe#$q /inf=%pTextBox2% %TargetDir%\Windows"
Echo,"Processing Driver 2 ..."
If,"%pTextBox3%",NotEqual,"",ShellExecute,Open,"cmd.exe","%Switch%#$q%pTextBox1%\peimg.exe#$q /inf=%pTextBox3% %TargetDir%\Windows"
Echo,"Processing Driver 3 ..."
If,"%pTextBox4%",NotEqual,"",ShellExecute,Open,"cmd.exe","%Switch%#$q%pTextBox1%\peimg.exe#$q /inf=%pTextBox4% %TargetDir%\Windows"
Echo,"Processing Driver 4 ..."
If,"%pTextBox5%",NotEqual,"",ShellExecute,Open,"cmd.exe","%Switch%#$q%pTextBox1%\peimg.exe#$q /inf=%pTextBox5% %TargetDir%\Windows"
Echo,"Processing Driver 5 ..."
If,"%pTextBox6%",NotEqual,"",ShellExecute,Open,"cmd.exe","%Switch%#$q%pTextBox1%\peimg.exe#$q /inf=%pTextBox6% %TargetDir%\Windows"

[WAIKNotFound]
Message,"Error: Unable to locate PEIMG.EXE#$x#$xReason: Invalid path to the WAIK or the WAIK is not installed.#$x#$xFix: Enter the correct path or install the WAIK.#$x#$xScript aborted.",Error
Exit,"Exiting..."

[Interface]
pTextBox1="C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools",1,0,13,48,351,21,"C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools"
pTextBox2="C:\WinBuilder\Projects\VistaPE\Drivers\sata_ide\nvstor32.inf",1,0,14,114,353,21,
pTextBox3="C:\WinBuilder\Projects\VistaPE\Drivers\sataraid\nvrd32.inf",1,0,13,155,354,21,
pTextBox4="Specify path to driver 3 inf file",1,0,12,196,355,21,
pTextBox5="Specify path to driver 4 inf file",1,0,13,237,355,21,
pTextBox6="Specify path to driver 5 inf file",1,0,14,279,356,21,
pButton1=Save,1,8,423,269,80,25,Interface
pTextLabel1="You must have the WAIK installed for this script to work.",1,1,11,7,533,18,8,Bold
pTextLabel2="No spaces are allowed in the driver paths.",1,1,13,79,348,18,8,Bold
pCheckBox1="Pause after each driver is installed",1,3,332,77,200,18,True

 

You should not have to edit the script. What you edited is the the heading for the text box in the Interface. You should put the paths to the drivers in the text boxes while running WinBuilder. See the following for how a driver path should look in the script:

pTextBox2="Specify path to driver 1 inf file (Example: C:\WinBuilder074\Projects\VistaPE\Drivers\Promise\ultra.inf)",1,0,14,114,353,21,C:\WinBuilder\Projects\VistaPE\Drivers\sata_ide\nvstor32.inf

With what you did, no drivers were added. When you add the driver paths correctly and have the pause after each driver is installed box checked, you will see a command window with a message that will tell you if the driver was installed successfully.

 

That makes sense. I saw a section under the AddDrivers in WinBuilder to put in the path and actually the fields were filled in, but I guess it took that from my incorrectly edited script.
Anyway, I'll use the standard script and enter the 2 drivers via WinBuilder, rebuild the ISO and retry.
Thanks for the continued help!

 

I think I created it properly with the drivers; I saw the pause during the installation process but still no luck with the eSATA. I'm guessing I have the incorrect driver for it. I tried it via its USB2 connection and was able to see the drive fine.

One question regarding ATI's timing for restore. I create an image of a test partition. The image file was 500 Mb. After starting the full partition recovery, it took ATI about 2 minutes while it computed its stuff and then began showing actual progress on the restore, which took about 20 seconds to complete. Does that sound right? I'm going to be restoring a 350 Gb image eventually and just want to confirm I wont be watching the progress bar for 2 days! The backup image took only 2 hours to create while in Vista.

Thanks for your help!

 

The time for a backup or restore varies a lot. Under good conditions from internal to internal drive a backup ought to take about 1 minute per GB and the restore as fast or up to twice that time. If you use a USB drive, depending on how well the bootCD handles the USB the time can be 5 times that long. But if a backup or restore is taking a day or more, then you probalby have a case where there are read/write repeated attempts due to read/write errors, either due to a bad disk or the inability of the program to deal with your hardware.

If backups run okay but restores from the Acronis BootCD are a rpoblem, try a VistaPE disk -- it's likely to solve your problems.