Friends, those of you who use not its official distributions, images from Microsoft to install Windows, but modified assemblies posted on torrent trackers, may have wondered - huh? But even if such a question didn’t come to mind, then after installing the problematic assembly, many people probably had a desire to tell its unfortunate assembler what they think of him and where he needs to go. The so-called lightweight builds are distributions with cut or disabled functionality, designed for low-power computers, optimized for games or other specific tasks, in terms of performance, they rarely differ significantly from conventional distributions. But such assemblies will definitely cause problems when missing Windows functions are needed. As they say, if you want everything to be fine, do it yourself. Below we will consider how modified system assemblies are created with some removed, but some added functionality. And let's try to build our Windows distribution using the NTLite program.
Why Create Custom Windows Builds
In, in principle, there is nothing wrong. But only on condition that a really unnecessary part of the distribution is cut out, and the system remains functional in terms of interacting with the hardware stuffing and providing access to the main functionality. Of course, it will not work for a large audience to guess 100% what needs to be cut and what to leave in the system. But you can do it for yourself, for a couple of computer devices available in the house. To do this, you need to know exactly which system functionality will never come in handy. And, therefore, it is necessary to at least superficially understand it - what components and services are needed for what, what certain Windows settings decide. But this is if you cut out the functionality.
After all, you can take the first steps in the field of creating modified Windows assemblies without cutting out the functionality of the system. And, on the contrary, with the expansion of its capabilities - with the addition of drivers for components (and even peripherals), with the installation of useful programs. Actually, for these purposes, there is a special software like NTLite.
About NTLite
NTLite is a tool for creating modified builds of Windows. It will allow you to cut out certain functionality from the distribution, disable system services, set certain system settings, implement drivers, updates, registry tweaks, third-party programs. It is not a way to create builds with pre-installed third-party software, such as preparing Windows for deployment in audit mode. But NTLite is the most powerful distribution tweaker with the ability to use the Post-Install tool to automatically start the installation process of third-party programs added to such a distribution.
NTLite is a paid program, before buying a license, you can try its trial version on the site
https://www.ntlite.com
Well, now let's proceed directly to the creation of the assembly. With this program, we will unpack the Windows installation image, configure it, and then pack it again in a format suitable for installation.
Unpacking the source
First of all, we will prepare the initial ISO image with the installation process of Windows 7, 8.1 or 10. Or we will mount the ISO file for display in Explorer.
And then we copy the entire contents of the installation disk to a separate working folder.
Or we extract the contents of the ISO using an archiver. Who is more comfortable.
Adding source
We launch the NTLite program. In its window, click "Add" and specify the path to the working folder where we copied (or unpacked) the contents of the ISO source at the previous stage.
Let's see the structure of the components of this ISO, among which there will be editions of a particular version of Windows. We need to choose one of them. All settings made in the future will now concern only the selected edition, and only it alone will be contained in the modified distribution kit, which we will receive as a result of the work done. We select the edition, call the context menu on it, click "Download". If we are working with the distribution kit of Windows 8.1 and 10, we also need to additionally confirm the operation of converting the image from WIM to ESD format.
NTLite operates on WIM images, which are install.wim files that contain Windows installation files. And ESD images - compressed install.esd files that store the distribution kit of system versions 8.1 and 10 - the program will convert to WIM format during the download process. Converting images from ESD to WIM is not a quick procedure, you have to wait. With Windows 7 images, this is much easier, since they initially exist in the WIM format. So, friends, it is better to start acquaintance with the capabilities of NTLite by creating modified assemblies of the Seven. In this case, you will not have to convert the image either initially from WIM to ESD, or vice versa after the preparation of the assembly for its packaging in ISO is completed.
- Note : in the process of converting an image from ESD to WIM on weak and average computers, the processor may be loaded. In this case, you can temporarily disable real-time protection of Windows Defender or a third-party antivirus.
When the WIM or ESD image is loaded into the NTLite program window, we will see a message about this next to the selected edition. We will also find that on the panel on the left, in addition to the current vertical tab “Source”, a lot of other tabs have appeared. Let's explore them one by one. Go to the "Components" tab.
Windows Features, Features, and Services
In the "Components" tab, you can disable, respectively, certain components of the system by unchecking their checkboxes. What can be disabled here? Hardware support for certain peripherals such as modems, IR and Bluetooth modules, smart cards, etc., as well as drivers for components that will definitely not be connected to the PC or laptop for which the assembly is being prepared. You can also disable components such as:
Languages and keyboard layouts;
DVD player and optical disc burner;
Utilities "Scissors", "Notes", "Voice Recorder", "Record Actions";
Speech recognition, on-screen keyboard;
Regular Skype;
Network components;
Mobility Center;
Windows Defender;
If the task is to reduce the weight of the distribution itself, you can focus on the weight of the components displayed in the last column of the table. Windows components are its functionality that is cut out, not disabled. Not all components cut from the distribution can then be seamlessly downloaded on the Internet and implemented into the system. So, when making settings in the "Components" tab, you need to be very careful with unchecking.
In the "Features" tab below, Windows features are selected that are not cut out, but they can be disabled in the distribution by default. Or, conversely, they are enabled, while they are disabled in the official image from Microsoft. Like, for example, NET Framework 3.5 or IIS. Among the pre-installed functions, you can disable if they are not used:
Gadgets Windows 7;
Established office games ("Klondike", "Spider", "Solitaire", etc.);
Windows Media Center, Windows Media Player, DVD Maker, Tablet PC components;
Linux subsystem;
XPS Services and PDF Printer;
Indexing and intrasystem search;
- Note: NTLite may even offer to disable Internet Explorer, but you should not do this. Disabling Internet Explorer may cause other applications on the system to crash.
To disable a particular feature, uncheck it. To enable, check the box.
The Services tab allows you to disable unused Windows services. Or, conversely, enable those that are disabled by default. For the selected service, you must select the desired value from the drop-down list at the end of the line, for example, "Disabled".
Windows Services is another important step in setting up the distribution, where you need not to overdo it with disabling. Without autostart of certain services, Windows may simply not start. Here you also need to clearly understand what and why we turn off.
Settings
The "Local Computer" tab contains some system settings such as setting paging file parameters, UAC, Update Center, etc. Settings are set either by setting the “Enabled / Disabled” position, or by specifying specific data, as is the case with the paging file.
The "Users" tab is something of a light tweaker for fine-tuning the usability of the system.
Updates, drivers, registry tweaks
In the "Updates" tab, we can view the list of updates already integrated into the original distribution, as well as add new update packages.
The "Drivers" tab is used to add, respectively, drivers. By clicking the "Add" button, we can specify the folder with a selection of drivers for a specific device to the NTLite program. Or, for example, integrate universal USB 3.0 drivers into the Windows 7 installation process.
Interestingly, when working in the same version of the system and on the same computer for which the assembly is being prepared, you can not look for disks with drivers, download them from official sites, but import them from the current system. To do this, click the "Import current OS" button, and when the drivers are loaded, click the "Exclude unused" button.
If we have some tweaks to the system registry - REG files with certain settings, we can add them to the distribution. And these tweaks will be applied at the pre-configuration stage of the system along with the installation of drivers. In our case, for example, a REG file was added to change the Windows 10 scaling method to the one that was in version 8.1.
Personification
In the "Automatic" tab, if the assembly is done for yourself, you can set some personal settings like this:
Language, time zone;
Computer name, activation key;
Network settings;
And then these installation steps will take place automatically. These settings are set by selecting the desired value in the drop-down list or by setting the True/False position.
Installing third party programs
The "After installation" tab is a setting for the Post-Install function, a series of automatically launched installation processes for third-party software. The introduction of software into the assembly of Windows, even in the form of already installed programs, even in the form of Post-Install, is a controversial improvement if we are talking about computers of ordinary users. Versions of programs quickly become obsolete, and such improvements, of course, increase the weight of the distribution. Nevertheless, several regular programs such as a browser, archiver, file manager can be implemented. The Post-Install feature implemented by the NTLite program is launched at the final stage of Windows preconfiguration. And at this stage - without the system interface, without the activity of unnecessary services and drivers - the installation of programs is very fast.
- Note: friends, if due to the introduction of third-party software, the Windows installation ISO image becomes larger than 4 GB, the WinSetupFromUSB utility will help to burn it to a USB flash drive for computers with a UEFI BIOS, which must be formatted in FAT32. It provides a mechanism to bypass FAT32 restrictions.
Using the "Add" button, we add program installers for Post-Install. In the "Parameters" column, if desired, for programs that do not provide for the installation of any rubbish along the way, you can specify their silent installation keys.
When all the settings are made, we can press the "Apply" button below.
Packaging a modified assembly into an image
So, the modified distribution is set up, but not ready yet. All operations are still planned. They need to be applied, and the distribution package itself must be packed into an image.
And only when the NTLite program finishes converting the image from WIM to ESD, we start creating the ISO.
Testing
It is desirable to pre-test your experimental builds on virtual machines. By the way, you can check the features that NTLite offers on already working Windows systems. Naturally, on those inside virtual machines. When we start NTLite, by default there is already an image of the current operating system in the “Live installation” column.
It's no secret that most of the distributions of Windows that are posted on torrent trackers are custom builds. All these assemblies, albeit conditionally, can be divided into two types. The first type includes assemblies with preserved original system components and third-party software integrated into them, the second type includes the so-called lightweight assemblies, from which a good half of the components are cut out.
It is no secret that it is these lightweight assemblies that give users the most problems.
Initially, more features are laid in Windows than the average user may need, the system, so to speak, is given to grow. And now, if a certain user wants to fasten something to his system, the components that he has not used before will even come in handy. Now imagine that this very user has a lightweight assembly installed. It is interesting to know who he will remember with an unkind word, the creator of this assembly or himself, so short-sighted, who managed to fall for the promised ease and performance Lite-systems.
So how can it be, can only use official assemblies? Not necessarily, especially if you have a low-powered computer, it's just sometimes better to do everything yourself, that is, to build a Windows image yourself, taking into account your needs. How to do this will be explained in this article. We suggest creating an assembly using the program. It is paid, the price of the home version is 40 dollars, who do not want to pay, can search the Internet, albeit not the newest, but "cured" and fully functional versions.
What is NTLite
Program is a powerful tool for creating modified builds of Windows. With its help, you can remove everything from the system distribution kit that seems superfluous to you, or, on the contrary, add to it something that was not originally in it. allows you to remove system components from images, disable services, set settings, integrate third-party software, registry tweaks, drivers, and updates.
Does NTLite require any knowledge from the builder? Yes. You must at least know what purposes certain components serve, otherwise you can end up with a buggy system. But this is if you are going to facilitate assembly. Integrating third party components is much less risky.
Create your own build of Windows
Assembly design takes place in three stages. The first one unpacks the Windows image, the second one configures it in the program , at the third stage, the files are packed into the installation image. First of all, unpack the installation archiver ISO-image with Windows in a separate folder. Let it be called data .
We launch , press the button "Add" and specify the path to the folder with the previously unpacked image ISO. In this case, in the program window you will see the structure of the image, in which, by the way, there can be several editions. We will work with the editor Windows 10 Pro. Click on her PKM and choose the option "Download". If the program asks you to confirm the image conversion WIM in ESD, confirm the operation. Conversion Procedure (downloads) WIM or ESD The image will take some time. Upon completion of the procedure, on the left side of the program window, you will see a panel with several tabs. Let's go through them quickly.
Removing and disabling components and services
In section "Components" contains Windows modules that can be disabled by unchecking them. This includes pre-installed universal applications along with Defender, hardware support components for some peripheral devices and their drivers, multimedia modules - themes, sounds, wallpapers and more, network services and applications, such as a payment manager NFC, system components - Hyper-V, subsystem linux, character editor, shadow copying and more. Some components are locked for compatibility, which means that they cannot be removed, but can be disabled in the section "Functions". When removing components, you must be careful, carefully read the descriptions, fortunately, they are given in Russian.
In section "Functions" components that are not available for removal are disabled, for example, NET Framework. Among the modules available for disabling are office games, gadgets, working folders client, indexing and search, subsystem linux , WMC, service IIS , PowerShell 2.0 , PDF- printer and Internet Explorer , disabling which, by the way, is not recommended, as this may lead to incorrect operation of other programs.
Chapter "Settings" responsible for enable/disable various settings that apply to all users of the system, section "Services"- behind enable/disable system services. Here, as in "Components" you need to be careful not to disable an important service, without which Windows cannot even start. This is especially true for services in the tab. "Additional Services".
Integration of updates, drivers and registry tweaks
The next three tabs contain tools for integrating updates, drivers, and registry tweaks into the distribution. If you need to add, say, a new security update or a language pack, click the button "Add" and specify the path to the file CAB , MSU or EXE. The same section displays already installed packages. Everything is the same with drivers, only the driver must be unpacked, because you need its configuration inf-file. In the same way, registry tweaks are integrated into the system: press the button "Add" and specify the path to the files REG .
Personal settings and installation of third-party programs
If the assembly is created for itself, it will not be superfluous to look into the section "Automatic". Here the user's personal settings are set: computer name, localization, time zone, network settings, shell options, compression, licensing settings (key installation, etc.) , setting is in progress WinPE .
If you want to integrate third-party software into the image, you can do this in the section "After installation" using the function Post-Install. There is also nothing complicated in this, just press the already familiar button "Add" and specify the path to the application executable files. The procedure for installing them will be run one by one at an early stage of installing a Windows assembly. Additionally, installation with parameters is supported, - in the field "Parameters" the necessary keys are prescribed, for example, for a silent installation.
Saving settings and packing the assembly into an image
By and large, this is all, it remains only to apply the specified settings and pack the modified assembly files into the installation image. Switch to tab "Apply" and determine the parameters of the image. When creating an assembly Windows 7 everything can be left by default if it is an assembly Windows 8.1 or 10 , you must select the image format "High Compression", at which WIM- the image is converted to ESD. After that, tick the checkbox "Create ISO".
Almost everything is ready, you can start packing. Having given the assembly a suitable name, press the button "Treatment". If Defender is enabled on your system, ask him to turn it off, so things will go faster. The time to create the assembly will depend on the number of specified operations, with most of the time it will take converting WIM in ESD (on Windows 8.1 and 10) , on average, the entire procedure takes from 40 minutes to an hour or more. Upon completion, you will receive a ready-made installation image that can be burned to a USB flash drive or optical disc.
If you often have to reinstall the system or have a fleet of machines with fixed software and settings, then you should think about creating your own distribution.
In my situation, it was an office with a fleet of laptops and a certain number of programs and strict settings.
So given:
The original distribution of Windows 7, let it be Starter for example.
A number of programs, for example:
1.Office 2007 Standart Rus
2. Google Chrome
3.7zip
4.Notepad++
5. PuntoSwitcher
6 FoxitReader
7 Skype
8. MS Essential
9. TeamViewer Host
Settings for all users:
1. Taskbar - use small icons
2. Notification area icons - Always show all icons
3. Games uninstall
6. Mapping network drives
We will need the following tools:
0. Your working computer (PC1) with Windows 7 installed, of any bit depth. In the case of x64, there is a nuance, but more on that below.
1. The Windows 7 installation disk (in my case, x86 Starter), can be downloaded from the Internet or from MSDN - whoever has access to the subscription, for experiments, we don't even need a product key. Windows 7 is normally installed without it, and after installation, we can "mock" a fully functional system for at least 30 days.
2. The WAIK (Windows Automated Installation Kit) installation disk, you can download, quite calmly, from the Microsoft website.
3. Virtual machine (VM), well, or a physical machine (PC2) - if one is available.
5. Distributions of applications that will be installed in the system and will subsequently be deployed during the installation of the operating system automatically (I installed everything from www.ninite.com).
Action plan.
1. Installing the operating system from the Windows 7 installation disc
2. Now apply registry tweaks.
3. Preparing the system using the sysprep utility.
4. Let's move on to preparing the Windows PE image
5. Capture an image of the installed system.
6. Create a distribution ISO image.
7. Integration of drivers into the image.
Let's get started.
1. Installing the operating system from the Windows 7 installation disc
Install Windows 7 Starter in VM or PC2. I advise you to make the first image x86 in any case, for training and something else, about which below.
The installation is not fraught with any tricks. If you plan to store the customized image on a non-system disk partition, use the partitioning installer and create two partitions in the VM (or PC2) during installation.
Advice. When installing the system on VMWare Workstation or Virtual Server 2005, you can connect a second virtual disk and later use it to save the image. This will make it easier to copy the image to your production environment because these virtual machines have the ability to attach a virtual disk to a physical system.
Continue with the installation up to the OOBE stage. It is easy to recognize by the offer to select an account name and a computer name.
At this stage, without choosing an account name , press CTRL+SHIFT+F3. This key combination will put the system into audit mode with the rights of the built-in Administrator account.
The system will reboot and the message "Setup is preparing the computer for first use" will appear. Then you will see the desktop:
Do not close this window. If, nevertheless, they closed, what to do will be said below.
Now you can install the necessary programs, I also installed updates through Windows Update. If the installation of an application requires a system restart, you can do so. After a reboot, the system will return to audit mode.
In the "Control Panel - Programs and Features" through the "Turn Windows features on or off" snap-in, I turn off games and the Windows gadget platform, turn on the telnet client (sometimes helps for diagnostics).
2. Now apply registry tweaks.
The peculiarity of applying tweaks at this stage is that we cannot apply custom settings in the usual way, because. the real user does not yet exist, which means that his registry does not exist either. The solution to the problem comes down to setting the default user (Default User), which will become a donor for all subsequently created users.
The default user registry file is located at C:\Users\Default\NTUSER.DAT and in order to make changes to it, you must connect this file to the active registry. To do this, run the command:
reg load HKEY_USERS\Custom C:\Users\Default\NTUSER.DAT
Now you can open the registry (WIN+R >> regedit) and make sure that a new HKEY_USERS\Custom branch has appeared, in which we just have to make settings.
We apply the following settings:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
;Use small icons on taskbar
"TaskbarSmallIcons"=dword:00000001
;Show all icons and notifications in the notification area
"EnableAutoTray"=dword:00000000
;Disable USB storage
"Start"=dword:00000004
After applying this tweak, unload the registry file with the command:
reg unload HKEY_USERS\Custom
If all programs are installed and all settings are made, then preparation is performed using the sysprep utility.
3. Preparing the system using the sysprep utility.
When manually installing the system, the sysprep utility runs when you enter audit mode. To prepare the system for further use (in this case, to create a customized image), you need to set the utility parameters, as shown in the figure below.
Or. if you accidentally closed this window with the command:
%SystemRoot%\system32\sysprep\sysprep.exe /generalize /oobe /shutdown /quiet
The first three command line options are listed in the same order as the utility GUI options described above. Parameter /quiet- provides quiet operation and is necessary for automation. Now consider the last two.
After sysprep finishes, the system will shut down. Now it is fully configured, and you can create its image using the utility ImageX .
4. Let's move on to preparing the Windows PE image
Windows Preinstallation Environment, what it is, you can read on Wikipedia.
In short, this "thing" is loaded when you install Windows and is a shell for the installer.
We perform further actions on the working computer PC1.
We need to install WAIK. Thereafter:
We are creating a Windows 7 Starter distribution, then the image to capture will be Windows PE x86. To get started, open a command prompt, WIN + R, write CMD in it and press Enter.
Go to the folder with the WinPE files:
cd c:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools
Now, we need to copy the Windows PE files. Let's name the folder win_pex86 and copy the x86 architecture files into it, you do not need to create a folder in advance, it is created automatically when copying.
copype.cmd x86 d:\win_pex86
Also, we need to throw ImageX to folder d:\win_pex86\ISO
copy "c:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\x86\imagex.exe" d:\win_pex86\ISO
Just in case, let's add a memory diagnostic tool to our disk, it is not added by default, but it is present in the menu, this is done in case when incomprehensible system glitches occur during installation and a memory test can make life much easier when the cause of the failure is not clear, and there is no way to download and cut into a blank:
copy c:\Windows\Boot\PCAT\memtest.exe d:\win_pex86\ISO\boot
Now, we need to add a Windows PE image which will boot from our disk.
The d:\win_pex86 folder contains the winpe.wim file, which is exactly what we need, it must be copied to the d:\win_pex86\ISO\sources folder and renamed to boot.wim , let's do it.
Copying the Windows PE Image
copy d:\win_pex86\winpe.wim d:\win_pex86\ISO\sources
Let's go to the folder:
cd d:\win_pex86\ISO\sources
Rename the winpe.wim file to boot.wim
rename winpe.wim boot.wim
With the main task, that's it, we need to create a bootable ISO image that can be burned to an empty disc, for this we need to go:
Start->All Programs->Microsoft Windows AIK->, copy the following there:
oscdimg -n -bd:\win_pex86\etfsboot.com d:\win_pex86\iso d:\win_pex86\winpe.iso
Attention. Here everything is ok with spaces, errors in the record -bd:... no.
As a result of all our actions, the winpe.iso file will appear in the d:\win_pex86 folder, this is an image ready for writing to a disc. You can burn to a blank disk or mount directly to the VM.
5. Capture an image of the installed system.
We need to boot from the winpe.iso we created on PC2 or VM.
The Windows PE shell is:
We are not afraid:) everything is as it should be.
Enter notepad, press Enter.
Through the File-open, we examine our disks in order to determine which of them is who.
For example, in my case, drive C: with Windows 7 Starter installed became drive E:, and drive D: remained so. And the drive with the winpe.iso image has the letter F: .
We remember these moments, but rather write them down :)
Close notepad and cut the image of the installed Windows 7 Starter.
f:\imagex.exe /capture E: d:\install.wim "Windows 7 Starter" "My Windows 7 Starter"/compress maximum /verify
This command uses the following options:
/capture E: - capture partition E:
d:\install.wim is the location and name of the .wim file to save. Specify the drive letter corresponding to the non-system partition or USB drive.
"Windows 7 Starter" is the name of the image. The name must be enclosed in quotation marks.
"My Windows 7 Starter" - An (optional) description of the image. The description must be enclosed in quotation marks.
/compress maximum - (optional) the type of file compression in the image. Valid values for the parameter are maximum (maximum compression), fast (fast compression), and none (no compression). If the parameter is not specified, fast compression is used. Maximum compression allows you to reduce the size of the image, but capture takes longer than fast compression. The speed of decompressing an image is practically independent of the type of compression.
/verify - Ensures file resources are checked for errors and duplications when created and applied. This setting is enabled by default for network operations.
At maximum compression, capturing an image can take quite a long time.
Capture in progress:
While the image is being created, let's go for a walk / drink coffee / eat, etc.
We previously created a folder along the path d:\win_pex86\ISO , we will need it again, we will assemble the installation image in it, we need to delete all its contents from the ISO folder and copy into it the contents of the Windows 7 installation disk by going to copy the install.wim file (which we got when capturing the system) to the d:\win_pex86\ISO\sources folder. this folder already contains a file with the same name, then we agree to a replacement.
In principle, now you need to integrate the drivers into the distribution. But if this is not necessary, then the next paragraph can be skipped.
6. Integration of drivers into the image.
Start->All Programs->Microsoft Windows AIK->Deployment Tools Command Prompt on behalf of the Administrator.
Mounting the image:
dism /mount-wim /wimfile:d:\win_pex86\ISO\sources\install.wim /index:1 /mountdir:d:\win_pex86\mount
Today we will analyze how to create your own distribution Windows 7. So that the necessary software is preinstalled in it and the system includes the currently installed updates.
We will do all the operations on virtual machines (I use virtual box), because this is the most convenient and optimal option for creating your own system image. To work, we need two virtual machines. On one, we will prepare the reference image of the system, and on the second, we will build it directly into a ready-made image for further use.
Creation of a reference system
On the first virtual machine, install the system Windows 7(bit depth at your discretion, I will make an image x64). When the installation is complete, don't rush!, when the welcome screen is displayed, press CTRL+SHIFT+F3
Information: If you managed to create a user and log in, then execute on behalf of administrator command: C:\Windows\System32\sysprep\sysprep /audit /reboot
When booting in audit mode, the utility automatically starts Sysprep, close this window, we do not need it now.
Information: The system is in audit mode, will boot into it until we run it again Sysprep and do not change the mode.
After downloading, first open Windows Update and we search and install updates to the current state.
We reboot and again we search and install updates. We reboot and repeat this operation again until the system installs all available updates.
After the system has been updated, you can install all the software you need.
Important: Do not include programs that install their own drivers and device drivers in the image, since all third-party drivers will be removed at the stage of preparing the system for capturing the image. Also, you should not activate the software and the system itself, this information will also be lost.
Having finished preparing the reference system, we will delete all the files we downloaded and unnecessary software (if any), special attention should be paid to cleaning the system from copies of update files. Let's use advanced disk cleanup. Run command prompt as Administrator and type the following
Cmd.exe /c cleanmgr /sageset:65535 & cleanmgr /sagerun:65535
Check all the boxes and click OK. After cleaning the system, we will prepare it for capturing an image using the utility Sysprep, run the command prompt as Administrator and type the following command
C:\Windows\system32\sysprep\sysprep /oobe /generalize /shutdown
Description of keys:
oobe- starts the computer in the welcome screen mode. The Windows Welcome screen allows end users to customize their operating
Windows system, create new accounts, rename the computer, and perform other tasks.
generalize- prepares the Windows installation before creating the image. If this parameter is specified, all unique system information is removed from
Windows installations. The security identifier (SID) is reset, system restore points are reset, and event logs are deleted.
shutdown- Shuts down the computer after Sysprep exits.
After the system has finished capturing the image, it will also shut down the system. It is impossible to turn it on before the image is captured !!!. This completes the creation of the reference system and proceed to create our own image based on it.
Creating your own distribution
On the second virtual machine, install the system Windows 7(bit depth doesn't matter). After installing the system, you must download and install Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) for Windows 7.
Installation is trivial, should not cause difficulties.
Let's prepare the image Windows PE to capture an image of the reference system. Bit depth WinPE must match the bit depth of the reference system.
Run on behalf Admin Start — All programs — Microsoft Windows AIK —
We execute the command in accordance with the bit depth of the reference system
for 32-bit systems:
Copype.cmd x86 c:\win_pe
or for 64-bit:
Copype.cmd amd64 c:\win_pe
Information: where c:\win_pe is the desired location of the folder with the image. The folder will be created automatically.
Now let's go to the destination folder and copy the winpe.wim file to the ISO\sources folder and rename it to boot.wim. Then copy to the ISO folder from the C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\amd64 or C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\x86 folder, depending on the bit depth, the imagex.exe file.
On the Deployment Tools Command Prompt, run
Oscdimg -n -bc:\win_pe\etfsboot.com c:\win_pe\ISO c:\win_pe\winpe.iso
An image will be created winpe.iso from which to boot the reference system. Because we have the reference system on another virtual machine and we need to copy the image winpe.iso to any place convenient for us on the physical machine so that later we can specify this file as the bootloader of the reference system.
In the properties of the virtual machine, specify what needs to be loaded from winpe.iso image and start the virtual machine with the reference system. The system boot process will stop at the open command prompt.
To find out which letter is assigned to the disk with the reference system, run the command
diskpart
List volume
We see that the reference system is on D. We leave diskpart. Let's capture the reference system:
E:\imagex /capture d: d:\install.wim "Win7_ULT_x64" /compress maximum /boot /verify
This operation takes a long time, so you can safely do other things.
At the end of the capture process, reboot the system in normal mode. Copy the resulting image c:\install.win to a virtual machine with WAIK. Next, we go to c:\win_pe and clear the folder ISO, then copy the contents of the original disk there Windows 7, which we used to install the reference system.
Let's replace the file install.wim in folder sources to the image we captured. Now you can start building your own. ISO-image. Run on behalf Admin Start — All programs — Microsoft Windows AIK — Deployment tools command line
Oscdimg -u2 -m -o -lWIN7ULTx64 -bc:\win_pe\etfsboot.com c:\win_pe\iso c:\win_pe\Win7_ULT_x64.iso
Key information:
u2-creates an image that has only a UDF file system.
m- removes restrictions on the size of the image.
o- replaces duplicate files with one copy, allows you to reduce the size of the image.
l— volume label, entered without spaces, optional parameter.
b- the location of the boot file, also without spaces.
Additional Information: If you need to split the resulting image into several parts, then run as Administrator Deployment tools command line and enter imagex /split c:\win_pe\install.wim c:\win_pe\install.swm 3000
Create two or more swm-file with a maximum size of 3000 MB. Then delete from the folder ISO\sources install.wim and put there install.swm, after which we will collect the image of the first disk:
Oscdimg -u2 -m -lWIN7ULTx64DVD1 -bc:\win_pe\etfsboot.com c:\win_pe\iso c:\win_pe\Win7_ULT_x64_DVD1.iso
After that we remove install.swm and copy in its place install2.swm. We make the second disk non-bootable, assemble it with the command:
Oscdimg -u2 -m -lWIN7ULTx64DVD2 c:\win_pe\iso c:\win_pe\Win7_ULT_x64_DVD2.iso
Installation from a split image is performed in the usual way, starting from the first disk; during operation, the installer will ask you to change the disk:
That's all. We looked at how to create your own distribution Windows 7.
