Create Universal Ghost or WIM Image of Windows XP

Started by Shirin Zaban , Dec 24 2009 07:57 AM

Please log in to reply

18 replies to this topic

#1

Shirin Zaban

Shirin Zaban Frequent Member

Tutorial Writer 421 posts Location:Tehran Interests:1_Making Unattended and Customized XP<br /><br />2_Making different types of Bootable and Multiboot CD/DVD<br /><br />3_Like to learn more about grub and grub4DOS Iran

Posted 24 December 2009 - 07:57 AM ======================================== Create Universal Ghost or WIM Image of Windows XP ======================================== Hi all I am going to explain process of creating hardware independent image of windows XP.This means that if you restor the created image on any computer by any kinds of hardwares,it should work.

May be it is not correct to say "hardware independent image",because as i will say during tutor ,it is better to say each image that we make,may work by some kinds of systems and will not work with others. Any way do it by your own risk. ============================= Step_01 : Note befor begining the job ============================= Talking about hardware independed image,mostly began by windows vista.and continued by windows 7. Let's see what is hardware independed image ? First thing that we should know is "HAL"(Hardware Abstraction Layer).In simple define we can say "in Windows NT, 2000, and XP,HAL is a kind of driver that provides interface between Operating System and hardware". There are several kinds of HAL that windows can use,some of them are: Standard PC Advanced Configuration and Power Interface[ACPI] PC ACPI Multiprocessor PC ACPI Uniprocessor PC MPS Multiprocessor PC MPS Uniprocessor PC If you want to know which kind of HAL is used by your PC,do as below: 1. Right-click the "My Computer" icon on desktop,and click "Properties". 2. Go to the "Hardware" tab,then Click "Device Manager". 4. Double-click "Computer" to view which HAL is loaded. (see figure 01 from attachment for my system HAL). Now let's talk a little more about different kinds of HAL: Standard PC = Is Old Hal, Uses Hal.dll,and does not support a lot of newer systems. you can use this kind for imaging just for computers that have the same HAL. Advanced Configuration and Power Interface[ACPI] PC = Uses Halacpi.dll,and seems to be more compatible by most of systems. ACPI Multiprocessor PC = uses Halmacpi.dll,and can be can be used to deploy sysprep image for computers that uses the HAL (Halmacpi.dll) and (Halaacpi.dll)

ACPI Uniprocessor PC =Uses Halaacpi.dll MPS Multiprocessor PC =Uses Halmps.dll.and can be can be used to deploy sysprep image for computers that uses the HAL of (Halapic.dll)and (Halmps.dll) types MPS Uniprocessor PC =Uses Halapic.dll Last Point: If you want to make your image as compatible with most systems,you should use the "Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) PC" HAL. This HAL will work on most any modern computer, but it won't take advantage of multiple processors or even hyperthreading. It also won't work at all on older Xeon based computers.and i will use this HAL in tutor. ============= Step_02 : Needs ============= sp2.cab (from I386 folder of your XPCD). deploy.cab (from Your XPCD) patches (hotfixes):KB883667,KB887816,KB910678. SysPrep Driver Scanner, from http://www.vernalex....32/spdrvscn.exe I suppose that you have saved files above some where in your system. ================================ Step_03 Installing system and applications ================================ 1. Install Windows XP sp2 (Clean Install and in drive C:). Notes: _ If you do this work in virtual pc,after installation,install virtual pc's addons too. _ During install process,do not use addministrator passwoord,and do not join domain. _ After installation,restart,then logon as Administrator (To do this during logon hold Ctrl + Alt and press Del twice ,then Enter 'Administrator' as the username and leave the password field blank). 2.Install Needed Drivers (Just manufacturer specific drivers for hardware that Windows cannot detect ). 3.Extract files below from sp2.cab some where:

halacpi.dll (not halaacpi.dll) ntkrnlpa.exe ntoskrnl.exe Rename "halacpi.dll" to "hal.dll",then copy these three files to your system32 directory (overwrite). 4.Install hotfixes (KB883667,KB887816,KB910678),then restart computer. 5.Delete some files that you do not need for example MSN Explorer and unneeded screen savers and... 6.Make your favorite adjustments for example set wallpaper,adust monitor resolution to 1024 x 768 and Disable hibernation,Setup Start Menu and Desktop shortcuts and... 7.Install and configure necessary softwares.(Note that Do not run softwares that require user registration for example MS Office). ============================= Step_04 Getting ready for taking image ============================= 1.Create directoy sysprep in root of your C: drive (C:\sysprep). 2.Extract "deploy.cab" to "C:\sysprep" folder. 3.Copy spdrvscan.exe (SysPrep Driver Scanner) to "C:\sysprep" folder. 4.create directory "C:\drivers". 5.Copy All drivers Needed for all computers that you want to use the image on them.Note that you need to use 3rd party to prepair needed driver files (Normaly INF and DLL files). The form of driver folder should be some thing like: C:\Drivers\Audio\C-Media\9880\"Needed files for this model" C:\Drivers\Audio\C-Media\8738\"Needed files for this model" C:\Drivers\MassStorage\Marvell\"Needed files for this model" 6.Now you should create sysprep.inf file.for this job run C:\sysprep\setupmgr.exe go through wizard process,during wizard select "Sysprep setup" ,"Fully automate". at the end sysprep.inf file will be made at C:\sysprep\ directory.open that by notepad,check it,make any changes you prefer,and also add sections below to it:

[Unattended] DriverSigningPolicy=Ignore UpdateInstalledDrivers=Yes [SysprepMassStorage] Note: We can add some other entries and add some other commands to sysprep.inf ,but because of keeping tutor as simple as posible,i do not talk about them. 7.Run C:\sysprep\spdrvscan.exe _make sure "inf" is selected in Extention section _In "Search Path" section type: "C:\Drivers" _Click "Scan" button.after a while it will show drivers pathes _Click "Add" button and in coming window type: C:\Windows\inf and ok it. _Click "Save" button. the program will add needed information to registry in: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DevicePath _Click "Done" button,to exit the program. 8.Open command prompt and go to C:\sysprep _Type: sysprep -bmsd _Press Enter The command will write mass storage devices under "[SysprepMassStorage]" section in "sysprep.inf" . this process may take from few seconds to even one hour with respect to your system.(you will see a window during it works). 9.Clean any Temp folders and unneeded files and also Make sure to empty recycle bin. 10.It is beter to backup your system by ghost or other tools in this step.because if we had a problem in next step,or we wanted to make some changes ,we can do that by restoring this image. =================== Step_05 Finishing the job =================== 1.Now system is ready to use SysPrep.

_Run sysprep.exe (from C:\sysprep),you will see a widow _Enable "Use Mini-Setup" _In "Shutdown mode" section select "Shut down" _Click on "Reseal" button.The process of program will begin.if you have the [SysprepMassStorage] section in sysprep.inf,the process will take a while. and,when finished it will automatically shut down the computer. 2.Now use 3rd party for example ghost and get image of your drive. This image can be restored to any computer that uses the same HAL, and after boot you will have a mini setup process (few minutes) to finish. After taking image you can turn on your computer to see mini setup process. Note: SYSPREP will automatically delete c:\sysprep directory when it completes. ====================================== Thats all hope will be some help shirin zaban Attached Files

01.png 21.42K 291 downloads Back to top

#2
olegpov

olegpov

Frequent Member

.script developer 309 posts Location:Orel Interests:BSD systems

Posted 24 December 2009 - 09:13 AM Quote 4.Install hotfixes (KB883667,KB887816,KB910678),then restart computer. I correctly understand that these changes are necessary for SP2 but for SP3 was not needed? Back to top

#3

Shirin Zaban

Shirin Zaban Frequent Member

Tutorial Writer 421 posts Location:Tehran Interests:1_Making Unattended and Customized XP<br /><br />2_Making different types of Bootable and Multiboot CD/DVD<br /><br />3_Like to learn more about grub and grub4DOS

Iran Posted 24 December 2009 - 09:44 AM For keeping the tutorial as small as possible,i did not talk every things. As i know when working with imaging XP,some times we get errores,and most of the times (90%),the errores can be bypassed by using hotfixes above.May be some one will not need any of them,and some others will need one,two or all of them. shirin zaban Back to top

#4
karyonix

karyonix

Frequent Member

Advanced user 433 posts

Thailand Posted 24 December 2009 - 09:49 AM You can have multiple ntoskrnl and hal files in system32 directory. Use boot.ini options /KERNEL= /HAL= to select which files you want to use during boot. http://www.boot-land...?...ost&p=81246 http://www.vernalex....sprep/hal.shtml Back to top

#5
agni

agni

Frequent Member

Tutorial Writer 201 posts Location:Bengaluru (Bangalore) India

Posted 26 December 2009 - 01:22 PM You can detect and choose which type of HAL to use automatically by using mysysprep http://www.tsaysoft.com/mysysprep/ http://adminbromo.bl...mage-guide.html Back to top

#6
Galapo

Galapo

Platinum Member

.script developer 3,841 posts Australia

Posted 27 December 2009 - 10:37 AM Note: mysysprep is only good for setting acpi uni- and multi-processor HALs. It doesn't do standard vs acpipic HALs. For this, use either the boot.ini method or OfflineSysPrep if you want an automated HAL swap on first boot of new system. Using Longhorn ntldr you can also have automatic HAL swap, too: http://www.msfn.org/...799#entry532799 Regards, Galapo.

Back to top

#7
agni

agni

Frequent Member

Tutorial Writer 201 posts Location:Bengaluru (Bangalore) India

Posted 28 December 2009 - 02:06 AM Thanks Galapo http://www.boot-land...?showtopic=4729 The 4th post in this thread also has details on detecting hal. Is there any drawback in that method? BTW where can i get a copy of Longhorn ntldr ? Back to top

#8
Galapo

Galapo

Platinum Member

.script developer 3,841 posts Australia

Posted 28 December 2009 - 06:49 AM Yep, I helped Thuun do beta testing of PatherXP. It's a good method. From what I remember, it is also good for uni- and multi-processor machines. Regard post #4 and the boot.ini method, the only drawback is having to use a menu is all. Regarding Longhorn, it won't be a legal method unless you have a license agreement for it. I was just posting the details for completeness. Regards, Galapo.

Back to top

#9
agni

agni

Frequent Member

Tutorial Writer 201 posts Location:Bengaluru (Bangalore) India

Posted 28 December 2009 - 02:28 PM Galapo, on Dec 27 2009, 04:07 PM, said: Note: mysysprep is only good for setting acpi uni- and multi-processor HALs. It doesn't do standard vs acpipic HALs. For this, use either the boot.ini method or OfflineSysPrep if you want an automated HAL swap on first boot of new system. Using Longhorn ntldr you can also have automatic HAL swap, too: http://www.msfn.org/...799#entry532799 Regards, Galapo. Does thuun's Panther XP handle standard vs acpipic HALs? Also in your offline sysprep tool there is an option to stop intelppm service. Again,does thuun's Panther XP take care of this? Back to top

#10
Galapo

Galapo

Platinum Member

.script developer 3,841 posts Australia

Posted 29 December 2009 - 09:17 AM I think the HALs supported by PatherXP is standard, uniprocessor, and multiprocessor. But it's been a while, so I'm not exactly sure about standard. Also, I forget whether there is an auto disabling of intelppm service when necessary. Perhaps it is disabled by default? I'd have to test again to know. Regards, Galapo.

Back to top

#11

Shirin Zaban

Shirin Zaban Frequent Member

Tutorial Writer 421 posts

Location:Tehran Interests:1_Making Unattended and Customized XP<br /><br />2_Making different types of Bootable and Multiboot CD/DVD<br /><br />3_Like to learn more about grub and grub4DOS Iran

Posted 29 December 2009 - 04:44 PM Hi Dear Galapo I have read your notes about Panther xp ,I downloaded Panther xp and looked video. It looks very good ,but i did not understand how to use that.i (as a basic user),did not find any simple description to use that.descriptions and video are all talking about structure of Panther not how to use that. shirin zaban Back to top

#12
MedEvil

MedEvil

Platinum Member

.script developer 7,687 posts

Posted 29 December 2009 - 05:04 PM Does this help?

Back to top

#13

Shirin Zaban

Shirin Zaban

Frequent Member

Tutorial Writer 421 posts Location:Tehran Interests:1_Making Unattended and Customized XP<br /><br />2_Making different types of Bootable and Multiboot CD/DVD<br /><br />3_Like to learn more about grub and grub4DOS Iran

Posted 29 December 2009 - 06:41 PM I have found needed description inside extracted pantherxp and i am going to test it. shirin zaban Back to top

#14
MFaisalH

MFaisalH

Members 3 posts

Pakistan

Posted 03 October 2011 - 06:24 AM Asalaam-o-Alaikum Brother Shirin, I read ur article, i need to add sky driver / easy drivers to add in my ghost image file to automate installation of windows through that ghost on any pc. is this article will play for me Back to top

#15

Shirin Zaban

Shirin Zaban Frequent Member

Tutorial Writer 421 posts Location:Tehran Interests:1_Making Unattended and Customized XP<br /><br />2_Making different types of Bootable and Multiboot CD/DVD<br /><br />3_Like to learn more about grub and grub4DOS Iran

Posted 03 October 2011 - 10:45 AM hi yes you can use and the new version of drivers are Easy Driverpacks Full 5.2.0.7 (31-082011) for xp x86 http://www.mediafire...rd8c65q8r6sx3#1 http://www.mediafire...rd8c65q8r6sx3#1

for windows 7 x86 http://www.mediafire...4c75kgxtrgjxo25 http://www.mediafire...ao3eblxkb2i06qe http://www.mediafire...11pyumh5h9ypoak for windows 7 x64 http://www.mediafire...11pyumh5h9ypoak http://www.mediafire...qi0xeyp10h32737 http://www.mediafire...957paj8luesvdlx Back to top

#16
MFaisalH

MFaisalH

Members 3 posts

Pakistan Posted 03 October 2011 - 11:03 AM Asalaam-o-Alaikum Brother shirin Thanks for ur reply, is there any software which automatically add driver packs to ghost image file or can u pls give me the step by stem tutorial as i m going to do this for the first time and a novice to programming. i shall b very much thankful to u dear. and kindly help me in detail. Thanks Edited by MFaisalH, 03 October 2011 - 11:08 AM.

Back to top

#17
Uvais

Uvais

Frequent Member

Advanced user 172 posts

Posted 04 October 2011 - 02:18 PM MFaisalH, on 03 Oct 2011 - 16:33, said: Asalaam-o-Alaikum Brother shirin Thanks for ur reply, is there any software which automatically add driver packs to ghost image file or can u pls give me the step by stem tutorial as i m going to do this for the first time and a novice to programming. i shall b very much thankful to u dear. and kindly help me in detail. Thanks

Read Shirin Zaban's tutorial here For XP http://reboot.pro/10943/ For 7 http://reboot.pro/11033/ Edited by Uvais, 04 October 2011 - 02:19 PM.

Back to top

#18

Muhammad Sajjad

Muhammad Sajjad Newbie

Members 10 posts

Pakistan Posted 01 November 2012 - 08:10 AM some tell me how to creat wim image please Back to top

#19
Uvais

Uvais

Frequent Member

Advanced user 172 posts

Posted 02 November 2012 - 09:22 AM Boot from PE and use Imagex Or Gimagex Back to top Back to Tutorials

3 user(s) are reading this topic 0 members, 3 guests, 0 anonymous users 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

reboot.pro Boot methods & tools Boot from USB / Boot anywhere Tutorials Privacy Policy Site policies

Change Theme Enhanced withSEO Software Contact us

Community Forum Software by IP.Board