well in the end i have succeeded in installing oem recovery ...... the basic mistake i was doing , running recovery setup from usb ...... problem was solved when i ran setup from downloads folder of system ...... thanks a lot for your efforts and hardwork very well done !
AnerthoS, Wondering if you can help me on something, i am currently using the basic version of the recovery software and made some minor changes.. This is the scenario, 1. I have installed Windows 7 Enterprise onto a laptop (Legit Copy with a VLK License) 2. Booted into Audit Mode 3. Installed my programs, updates etc. 4. Ran 'sysprep' on the machine and selected the OOBE option and didn't check 'Generalize' option 5. Booted into Hiren's Boot CD and ran ImageX to capture the C: Drive and save it to the D: Drive. 6. Once the capturing has done i copied the captured WIM file to my External hard drive where i can install Windows 7 Enterprise from. 7. Replaced the original 'Install.WIM' with my customized one. 8. Copied the autounattend.xml file which is in the basic recovery tools folder to my usb drive. 9. The install went through fine and when the install was completed it booted into the audit mode with the corrected partiton layout. 10. I copied the whole of the ;Basic Recovery Tools' folder onto the desktop and ran the 'install to MBR.cmd' 11. Then it reboots and goes through the capturing process which goes through fine. 12. Once it captures i press any key and it shuts down then i start the laptop up, go through the motions of entering the user details and go to the desktop. 13. I then, activate Windows using a VLK key which activates fine over the Internet. 14. Then i try and recover the system by rebooting going to the 'Repair Computer' Menu and try and reinstall Windows. It comes up with this error below when i try and reinstall: 'The unattend answer file contains an invaild product key. Either remove the invaild key or provide a vaild product key in the unattend answer file to proceed with the windows installation' This is what i find strange, there is no product key in the unattend answer file and the product jey is vaild as i activated it within windows which went through fine. If someone could help me with this it would be much appreciated. Thanks a lot for the software that you have provided for everyone. It really does help out a lot.
why don't you activate windows properly in audit mode and then proceed for back up ....... and i am not getting your point that you are using hiren boot cd to capture image file all process is already available in recovery ....
Hi, The reason for using Hiren Boot CD is so i don't have to keep creating a a fresh install for different machines.I use image x to create a image which can be applied to a different machine without having to start the process again from fresh. Also the point about audit mode... i still get the same error message even when i activate it in audit mode.
with my limited experience: i think you can give try to creating recovery image after activating windows via recovery (original version ), this image will work on all laptops with same model model and similar specs ...... otherwise wait for an expert opinion ......
Hi, OK thanks for your quick reply much appreciated I've just tried the basic recovery option without a key and it recovers fine, but as soon as i activate and recover it errors. I am going to a different version of Windows with a different key and see what happens.
Hi, After much trial and error i found out its defiantly something to do with the MAK key which i am using and when i am trying to reinstall Windows using the recovery tools (Basic Version). First of all I tried using Windows 7 Pro without using the Autounattend.xml file )just entering the diskpart commands manually) and using a different MAK key and that worked!! I tried using Windows 7 Pro with the Autounattend.xml file but it kept on crashing at the Windows startup screen. So i went back to the Windows ENT version and edited the Autounattend.xml file to include the MAK key in the 'specialize' phase (Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup). That went through fine and i installed the recovery tools once it went into the audit mode and activated it when it went into Windows. But yet again as soon as i want to reinstall windows i still get the same error message as i got previously. I have completely run out of ideas
AnarethoS can help ........ or some one with more experience ....... but i can only recommend you to follow guide of original version using generic option too generalize image ( but you have problem that in audit mode you are unable to activate windows ) which is beyond my comprehension ...... i have tried it on oem system just installed and activated windows( audit mode) windows remained activated after normal boot but i have not tried to recover system via image ( just created and done not tested ) so wait for some one to pin point the problem .......
What is the problem? That Windows isnt activated after sysprep with or without generalize option? Un/tick the "re arm" option.
jarmez is unable to activate windows in audit mode using his windows mak key .... when he exits audit mode and log on to system he is able to activate windows ( the key is valid ) now image created in audit mode ( of un activated windows ) gives error while recovering system ( related to key ) so whats wrong with mak key in audit mode ? its what i have understood,
read documents from basic version By default, pressing F7 during the boot sequence will launch the recovery tools. To change the mapped key, replace the code of the HOTKEY parameter by one of those. F1 = 0x3b00 F2 = 0x3c00 F3 = 0x3d00 F4 = 0x3e00 F6 = 0x4000 F7 = 0x4100 F9 = 0x4300 F10 = 0x4400 F11 = 0x8500 F12 = 0x8600
Exactly. For the FULL version, browse previous page, I have already writted how to do it. You can't change it once the recovery tools are installed, since the value of the hotkey will be reset after each restore. Thanks!
In: "\Installer\RecoveryEnvironment\Windows\System32" You will find the image. Btw it took me 20 seconds to find it I hope its the right one.
Thanks @tcntad But please take note taht the image can not change depending of what you are doing, like an image while saving, another one while restoring, etc.