1. sid_16

    sid_16 MDL Giveaway Organiser

    Oct 15, 2011
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  2. Atari800XL

    Atari800XL MDL Addicted

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    I still don't understand why (some) MDL users seem to have problems building a basic PE, in this case using Win10PESE.

    It's really very easy if you just read and stay calm (and don't give up too quickly). Use a normal Windows 10 release iso, mount it to a drive letter, make the source selection in the builder GUI, then hit the start button.

    Like you said, maybe it's not for you, but I think reading these failed attempts will even put more people off trying this very useful tool...
     
  3. sid_16

    sid_16 MDL Giveaway Organiser

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    I'll reply later. I may not be online for 5days, when I'll be online I'll report.
    Thanks for your feedback.
     
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  4. EXO56

    EXO56 MDL Member

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    #25 EXO56, Feb 9, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2019
    For a good start, there is no need for a tutorial or guides for the above posted builders
    Just prepare some few folders with very short names as if you're working in DOS! (some very long names will be created inside your project folders)
    Pick your prefered Windows ISO, mount it or just decompress it in a folder using any iso manager as UltraIso or even 7zip
    Run the builder, point it to your mounted/decompressed iso
    Hit the build button and you will get a wonderful mini windows pe up and running!

    Building a project being it with XPE or PESE is a serious job!
    it needs a lot of patience and perseverance to understand how things works by yourself

    For basic projects, ticking plugins checkboxes and push the big play button can do its magic, yes, but if you ever intend to build an advanced project, you will need all your computer knowledge to achieve it.
    In many situations, you'll need to add registry entries, cmd scripts, extra files, customizations, guess some programs prerequisites, manipulate some stuff between your pe and your build, compress some programs, prepare customized settings for some others,....

    There are plugins for almost everything though, but one need to rely on himself to find workarounds when it doesn't work as you you need it or in case you get your build halted due to some errors.

    Trust me on this : the more you try, the more you get better results and you learn some tricks in the meantime.
    If you abandon from the first tries, you'll stagnate at basic usage of this kind of programs.

    i did exactly what i'm advising you to do not! :D
    i abandoned for long time but recently came back with a new approach and better understandings

    i learned the hardway how to go beyond the simple creation of a basic project, but still, i learned only a little part of the whole bakery ;)
    Many things are still just question marks, but it's a good reason for me to keep fiddling around with those powerful pe builders and try to find out how to solve them
     
  5. Atari800XL

    Atari800XL MDL Addicted

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    Nice post, EXO56!
    What are some of these "question marks" you mentioned? Might be interesting to other users as well?
     
  6. EXO56

    EXO56 MDL Member

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    i'll post some detailed infos about it later if you don't mind please.
    Those are more advanced steps to go further in pe projects build process as creating a multi-architecture project with multiple wims inside

    it's more a challenge to me than a real and urgent need.
    i'm still very busy with the conception of my actual project which is for my x64 systems
    i don't even have any 32 bit computer anymore, but i need to make my own pe for it for the sake of the rare occasions where a friend/family with an old computer ask for help.

    Of course there are some already made and good iso's circulating everywhere on the net, but since i'm here discussing about pe builders, i'm definitely decided to create my own good one! :)
     
  7. Atari800XL

    Atari800XL MDL Addicted

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    @freddie-o:
    Would it be a good idea to change the "[The Oven]" part in the topic title to "[ChrisR]" (or delete the last part?)
    I don't think most MDL users visit that "other" forum anyway, and maybe the MDL forum rules do not allow promoting other websites at all (of course, TheOven and ChrisR are still mentioned in the first post of this topic, as they should be).
    Current discussions on that other forum are quite embarrassing as well, with some older disgruntled members giving ChrisR a hard time with totally unnecessary childish attacks, belittling quotes, etc.
    As said before, for MDL it seems best to just focus on the user part, not so much on developing new scripts, etc.
    That's why I'm interested in EXO56's findings in building his PE!
     
  8. Atari800XL

    Atari800XL MDL Addicted

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    #29 Atari800XL, Feb 9, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2019
    Well, as long as you created your PE, I guess the project was successful for you, which is a good thing, and might encourage others to try creating one.
    Once again: thanks to @freddie-o for creating the topic.
     
  9. freddie-o

    freddie-o MDL Expert

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    I'll just take it out. I put it there to give credit to the website.
     
  10. sid_16

    sid_16 MDL Giveaway Organiser

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  11. Atari800XL

    Atari800XL MDL Addicted

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    sid_16, instead of screenshots, why don't you share with us:
    - What did you do "wrong" at first, and which steps helped to make a successful build in the end?
    - How do you use your new PE? What do you like/ dislike about it?
     
  12. sid_16

    sid_16 MDL Giveaway Organiser

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    Actually I don't remember the error I made before but it may be the source folder creation which prevented the builder to build it. However, this time I made a 'win10 folder ' and put the win10 iso in it then mounted the iso and copied its content to that folder then pointed that to the pe builder and it did the rest. May be I missed/forgot many things to add or deduct during the building process 'due to my inability'

    I tested that bootable iso file roughly around 1GB , it has firefox browser,7zip,qdirectory, bootice, dism++ and many more tools, moreover it has the windows recovery which is good for me. Unlike the winxpe it lacks macrium free, aomei backupper free or any other 3rd party backup software or may be I didn't find any...couldn't add any during its build process.

    I couldn't get my wifi run in it may be I need some guidance. I can't take a screenshot of that pe environment due to lack of windows snipping tool.
     
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  13. s1ave77

    s1ave77 Has left at his own request

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    Tested my new LTSC 2019 based PESE yesterday. Friend bought new parts (Ryzen 2600X, Aorus board and 16 GB RAM) and needed to replace the old Win 8.1 with LTSC 2019.

    Very convenient to save/copy last needed files to the data drive with Total Commander, create a Backup Image with Acronis 2019 (old interface in PE), prepare the boot partitions in Disk Management and install the new system with WinNTSetup3, which allows a better control over the Setup. Fast and reliable as the old version (using ATIH 2016) :good3:.

    Some hours later nearly the same process as second round to install LTSC on the new test rig; Phenom II X965, 8 GB RAM and GTX 570.

    TL;DR WinXXPESE FTW :worthy:!!!
     
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  14. Atari800XL

    Atari800XL MDL Addicted

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    #35 Atari800XL, Feb 9, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2019
    s1ave77, you mentioned some of the magic words (favorites of mine as well):
    - Acronis in PE, lots of people don't know how great this still works (as you said, using the old interface, without 80% of the crap that's in the full install)
    - WinNTSetup, lots of flexibility (and even some tweaks) for doing clean installs. Just a few random features: Easily select from multiple wim files (or directly from ESD or even UUP files), disable Defender, add drivers, etc. etc.

    Your workflow makes a lot of sense: boot PE, copy (backup) some important files, create full backup, prepare disk, apply wim (WinNTSetup), reboot to finish setup.
    PE just gives you a lot more options for backup and setup procedures.
     
  15. s1ave77

    s1ave77 Has left at his own request

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    #36 s1ave77, Feb 9, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2019
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  16. EXO56

    EXO56 MDL Member

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    #37 EXO56, Feb 9, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2019
    Only some utilities are added by default to the basic project
    You need to tick checkboxes of your prefered programs if already present in the default config but not checked by default
    otherwise, you'll have to download them via the download folder, refresh the builder, find the new added entries and customize them according to your preferences

    Many integration options are possible if you take time and think about how you want to add programs to your project
    You can add some programs as if they were installed, add some as portable apps, or add some others as compressed/self-extracting apps which will delete themselves after use to save memory and space etc....

    You'll be surprised to see how some apps will shrink to only few megs compared to the uncompressed version!
    Of course some few seconds are added to the execution time in pe, but the situation worth it, because every single mb you can save is important

    One of the most important thing to take in account is the size of your final iso, because it has a direct connection with the amount of memory available on the eventual computers you want to repair/fix/re-install...
    Not all of them have 4 GB memory or more

    You need to elaborate an integration strategy first
    Before start integrating stuff, you have to decide whether you want your programs to run from cd/usb or from memory, integrate them uncompressed for normal execution time or compress them to save memory and space, how many programs you will need in repair/fix in different scenarios, what are the best programs in their respective categories, what are their best alternatives ,...

    For a good start, just add ONLY stuff you will need for your operations on target computers
    For example, there is no need to add multimedia apps and the huge directx if you will never use them in a preinstall environment!

    Give youself sometime to think about your project and try to balance things to create the most effective one
    Good luck to every one! ;)
     
  17. sid_16

    sid_16 MDL Giveaway Organiser

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  18. EXO56

    EXO56 MDL Member

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    #40 EXO56, Feb 10, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2019
    Thanks @sid_16!

    When building your project, it doesn't automatically pick up your local system drivers!
    You have to add them via the "Driver Integration" plugin
    i personally never had to use this plugin or wifi connection, so i cannot help to solve this issue

    Also, when you boot your computer from winpe, your local drives are only mounted and shown in windows explorer
    your system and boot files remain untouched unless you decide to change something
    The winPe bootable iso doesn't need anything to boot except its own files and the target computer memory.
    it's running even on a diskless computer!

    Edit: i just saw you replied @freddie-o
    If your solution works, it would be a one time success because once you reboot your winpe, all settings will be reinitiated.