Well, I'm seeing what you are talking about. I think running the setup.exe from root of the dvd is REQUIRED to actually Upgrade without removing all your old programs. You can run setup.exe from the sources\ directory if you wanna save the old stuff under windows.old, but it won't keep any of your programs or settings. I edited the ei.cfg to point at [editionid] core and then set the productkey for core. It didn't ask for the productkey, but when you don't specify the [editionid] it gives the same productkey error. Just to be thorough I'm going to set all the productkeys for the non-specified indexes to the default keys and see if that helps, then remove the [editionid] lines in the ei.cfg I'll report my progress when done...
we'll find out in a minute when I'm done setting ALL the default productkeys and removing the [editionid] lines
You have to use the root one Anyhow, I have bad news. The installprep.exe thing is doing more than just copying files to c:\$WINDOWS.~BT It's changing things around inside it after doing that. If we're going to have an AIO without a key entry, we'll need someone to reverse the installprep.exe I'm pretty good at integration, but I suck at programming, especially assembly language or whatever reversers use these days. From what I can tell, running setup.exe from the root runs \sources\installprep.exe installprep.exe calls setup.exe after it passes editionid part. the editionid part is where it checks ei.cfg and pid.txt to see if it can set the setup to a certain version. If it can do that, it doesn't matter whether you have set the productkey in dism or not. It seems to know the default key for every version of windows, and VL specific ones have the extra package to set the gVLK now... how to get installprep.exe to think it's set the editionid without editing installprep.exe.... I'm thinking editing the boot.wim index:1 (the online upgrade index) We should figure out what is different between the $WINDOWS.~BT from a correctly ran installprep.exe and one that is not correct, then take the difference, and shove it in boot.wim index:1
Disregard last... After playing with ei.cfg a bit more I've come to the conclusion that it's editing the $WINDOWS.~BT folder a LOT during the installprep.exe modifying the boot.wim will not help in this regard, only hex editing or reversing will help. I'm not even sure what doing so would accomplish. It's setting the editionid stuff and a bunch of other stuff in a list of stuff based on whether you choose to upgrade or new-install. It's doing a lot more than simply extracting the boot.wim to the folder. It's making folders, copying files, running xml comparisons, copying other files; etc. The good news is that it IS copying the upgradematrix.xml file. It's simply calling it _s_6EC2.tmp It's the upgradematrix.xml file, you can edit it to see. The bad news is that that only shows up AFTER the editionid parts and the subsequent option check. Again, it's doing way more than simply copying a few files. IMO this is not a viable option to bypass the key entry. They have effectively killed the Keyless AIO
Well the down side to running the Root setup only because of this stupid Upgrade Path issue is that an x86/x64 AIO will not be good for upgrading, only clean installs. I might have to try using Windows 7 setup files tomorrow to see if that bricks or works. Windows 8 setup files bricked the install.
That's only semi-true. You can copy the root\setup.exe from an x64 setup, hex edit and replace the sources\ with sourc64\ you name the x64 one setup64.exe and edit the autorun.inf Point autorun.inf amd64 section at a new cmd file such as setup64.cmd setup64.cmd would be something like this: Code: %~dp0setup64.exe /installfrom:%~dp0\sources I don't even know if you can do an /installfrom argument on the root\setup.exe They really screwed the keyless AIO with this installprep.exe file
My command file is as follows below. This is why I have this stupid Upgrade path error since they got rid of the UpgradeMatrix.xml when calling that ~\sources\setup.exe. Code: setup64-2.exe /m:\sourc64 /installfrom:\sources\install.wim
well if you can run it from the root setup, it would probably work. It just doesn't allow keyless ei.cfg bypass
Unfortunately no, that's because instead of the new Setup GUI that Windows 8/8.1 uses where it's not full screen does not open because an alternate sources and install.WIM is specified therefore it defaults to the old Windows 7 style fullscreen GUI with the updated Window 8 colors and then the UpgradeMatrix.xml is not called upon thus causing the upgrade path error.
the upgradematrix.xml is only partially the problem. It's doing a LOT of stuff while copying stuff in that installprep.exe Maybe you could try running installprep /installfrom or whatever, see if it works...
Likely tomorrow... I was stupid in my endeavours to upgrade my laptop and backed up a Microsoft Account using Windows Easy Transfer so I could specify a new account name, deleted the old one and now the stupid Protected Content Migration is not accepting my password since it's a Microsoft Account. I forgot to remove it from the Microsoft Account first!
I have the latest. That's how I've been doing all of my testing for Windows 8.1 and the AIO installer. Unfortunately the renaming of the user account is just my OCD kicking in and I was not thinking straight. It's also partially M$'s fault as it's obviously a bug!
No go on the installprep however I thought it might have been a solid lead as installprep.exe handles the $WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther folder. Replacing the Windows 8.1 one with the Windows 8 copy did nothing. Trying a Windows 7 AIO now with the Windows 8.1 install.WIM.
Well Windows 7 setup files with Windows 8.1 install.WIM doesn't work. It says that Windows 8 Pro cannot be upgraded to Windows 8.1 Pro. Probably due to the fact that the UpgradeMatrix.xml was not around back then... I'm out of ideas. murphy78 or anyone else do you have any ideas? To sum things up... Windows 8.1 AIO with Upgrade - Doesn't extract UpdateMatrix.xml from install.WIM causing "Upgrade path" error Windows 8 Setup files with Windows 8.1 install.WIM - Crashes on reboot configuration, unrecoverable to Windows 8 or 8.1 Windows 7 Setup files with Windows 8.1 install.WIM - "Windows 8 Pro cannot be upgraded to Windows 8.1 Pro" error
It does extract upgradematrix.xml, it just calls it _c_36c5.tmp or whatever. I edited the file and it was exactly the contents of upgradematrix.xml The problem is that it does a lot of OTHER stuff before passing from installprep.exe to setup.exe The files are too specialized to simply copy/paste things around. It has a lot of stuff specific to the computer it's installing to; user names and all. I've pretty much given up on using an ei.cfg for Windows 8.1, at least for an ISO Some people are using a script to modify the ei.cfg file and run setup, but it would obviously only work on a drive where you had the ability to write files.
Well not only that but there is also the issue of an x86/x64 AIO. You have to create the flash drive to boot one or the other and you also have the issue of 2 directories one housing the x86 and the other x64. I guess we'll have 3 discs then. x86 and x64 for upgrading and an AIO for clean installs. Fuggin M$!
pilot76103: Thanks for your efforts (I did use your 'upgrade' solution with win 8 last year). Seems like M$ will do anything to ruin any fun for anyone. I was just wondering: your statement above is a little confusing. Were you referring to separate x86 and x64 aio's? In other words will a straight rtm of x64 or x86 (versus aio's) work to upgrade if you have a key to enter, as you seem to indicate at other points in this thread?