75 replies to this topic

[keyz182]

How to vLite Windows 7 Beta 1, and install it on a 901 using an SD card or USB Drive

I know there are quite a few guides out now, but I decided to do this one just to tie in everything I've found and also give a guide to vLiting windows 7, as that seems to be a common request. Also, to save people from a few problems I had, i.e. forgetting to untick "unnatended setup" meaning I get no access to the repair options in the installer.

Needed:

-Windows 7 image with key - http://www.microsoft...a-download.aspx
-vLite - http://www.vlite.net/download.html
-Automated Installation Kit (AIK) for Windows Vista SP1 - http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
** Dont ask me for help with AIK problems, google is your friend, your problem has been solved several times over **
-SD Card or USB-Drive with 2GB or more space
-kazunis driver pack - http://www.sendspace.com/file/7vay7c **any objections to me using this, let me know, and i'll do my own**
-Bios Flashed to version 1001 or 1101 if using a 901 **Search the forum, plenty of existing guides**

Thanks go to Kazuni and birdibird for their guides which I used to get to this point.

Pre)Install vLite as you would any other application. Start it, and follow the instructions for the AIK. Once complete, close vLite.

1) Use WinRar, or 7z or your favourite program to extract the windows image.



2) If running vista : Once the image is extracted, insert your SD card/USB Drive.
a)click start, type in command, then when "Command Prompt" appears, right click on it and select "run as administrator"

b) Type "diskpart", followed by "list disk". Find the SD card or USB drive, and note it's number.

c) Type the following
select disk # <-- substitute your sd/usb number
clean
create partition primary
select partition 1
active
format quick fs=ntfs <-- if this doesn't work type format quick fs=fat32 instead
assign
exit

3)If running xp : Once the image is extracted, insert your SD card/USB Drive.
a) Right click on the disk, and use the windows format utility.
b) Format as NTFS or FAT32 (NTFS is faster, though the option may not be there)
c) Open a command prompt
d) Navigate to the folder where the you extracted the files to. i.e. for C:\Win7\Files type "cd C:\Win7\Files" (without quotes)
e) Navigate to the subfolder "boot"
f) Type "bootsect.exe /nt60 x:" (without quotes) where x is the usb drive letter

4)There isn't a 4 anymore, integrated into step 2+3

5) Copy all of the following into notepad, save it as "Win7.ini" (Include the "", as it forces notepad to save it with the .ini extension). Copy the file into the presets folder, under the vLite installation directory. Mine was C:\Program Files\vLite\Presets

; vLite preset file
;
;#Environment:
; vLite v1.2
; Framework 2.0.50727.1434
; Microsoft Windows NT 6.0.6001 Service Pack 1 32-bit
;
;#Target:
; Windows 7 ULTIMATE 32-bit 
; Version 6.1 English (United States)
;
[Compatibility]
ACDSee / XnView
DVD Treasury
Halo 2
Hauppauge WinTV
Logitech Setpoint
MediaPortal
Zoom Player
Aero Glass
File and printer sharing (Server)
Internet Explorer
Recommended
Scanners and Cameras
Windows Update

[CustomHide]

[Components]
;# Accessories #
Accessibility
Games-Inbox Games
Games-Premium Inbox Games
Snipping Tool
Speech Support
;# Drivers #
Diva Server
Modems
Printers-Generic printer
QLogic Fibre Channel Adapter
Scanners
Storage controllers-Adaptec
Storage controllers-Elxstor
Storage controllers-IBM ServeRAID
Storage controllers-ICP vortex
Storage controllers-Intel (Matrix)
Storage controllers-nVidia
Storage controllers-SiS
Storage controllers-Via
TV Tuners-ADS Technologies
TV Tuners-ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
TV Tuners-AVerMedia Technologies, Inc.
TV Tuners-Compro Technology Inc.
TV Tuners-Creatix
TV Tuners-Hauppauge
TV Tuners-KNC ONE GmbH
TV Tuners-KWorld
TV Tuners-Lumanate, Inc.
TV Tuners-Philips Semiconductors
TV Tuners-Pinnacle Systems
TV Tuners-TerraTec Electronic GmbH
TV Tuners-VidzMedia Pte Ltd.
;# Hardware Support #
Dynamic Volume Manager
Fax Support
Firewire (1394)
Floppy Disk Support
Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI)
Microsoft Multi-Path Bus
Modem Support
TV Tuner support
Windows HotStart
XBOX 360 Controller
;# Languages #
Arabic
Brazillian
Bulgarian
Croatian
Czech
Danish
Dutch
Estonian
Finnish
French
German
Greek
Hebrew
Hungarian
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Latvian
Lithuanian
Norwegian
Polish
Portuguese
Romanian
Russian
Serbian
Simplified Chinese
Slovak
Slovenian
Spanish
Swedish
Table Driven Text Input Processor
Thai
Traditional Chinese
Turkish
Ukrainian
;# Multimedia #
Intel Indeo
Media Center
Music and Video samples
Sample Pictures
Screensavers
SideShow
Wallpapers
;# Network #
Connect to a Network Projector
Distributed File System (DFS)
Internet Information Services (IIS)
Remote Desktop and Assistance
Remote Desktop Client
RIP Listener
Telnet Client
Telnet Server
TFTP Client
Windows Collaboration
Windows Mail
;# Services #
Remote Registry
TPM Base Services
Windows Search
;# System #
BitLocker Drive Encryption
Disk Quota
Help
IMAPIv2 Burning Support
Microsoft Client For NFS
Natural Language
Parental Controls
Performance Counters
Reliability and Performance Monitor
Remote Differential Compression
Run a legacy CPL elevated
Sync Center
Tablet PC
Windows Easy Transfer
Zip Folder

[Options]
DEP (Data Execution Prevention) = Default
User Account Control (UAC) = Enabled
AntiSpyware Realtime Protection = Default
Memory requirement = 256MB
AutoPlay = Enabled
Paging Executive = Enabled
Power scheme = Power saving
Power button = Default
Sleep button = Default
Control Panel - Classic View = Default
Show hidden files and folders = No
Show protected operating system files = No
Show extensions for known file types = No
IE Phishing Filter = Default
IE Phishing Verification Ballon Tips = Default

[Services]

[Protection]

[Drivers]

[Unattended]

[Hotfixes]

[LanguagePacks]

6) Once the image has extracted, open up vLite again. On the first screen, you're greeted by a drop-down box with a browse button next to it. Click Browse, and navigate to the folder with the files you just extracted, the click ok. vLite will think for a bit, then ask you which version you want to configure. Select the Ultimate version. vLite will think a little more. Once it's done, the next button will become clickable, so click it.

7)"Components", "Tweaks", "Bootable ISO" and "Enable before apply" should be ticked, untick the others. Click Next.



8)Click Presets >> Load >> Win7

9) Click next. You may tweak a few of the defaults here, but most can be changes once you're up and running anyway, so click next again.

10) Click "Apply", make sure "Rebuild one (Ultimate)" is selected, then OK.

**Get yourself a cuppa, it takes about 5-10 mins**

11-Optional) Once vLite has finished, Click next, type in a label, then click "Make ISO". Choose a filename, and go. You don't need to do this, but it gives you an iso file to store the install for easy use if needed.

12)You can close vLite now. Navigate to the folder where you extracted the files to earlier, and chose in vLite in step 6. there should be 4-5 files, and 4 folders like so:



13) Copy all the files and folers to your SD card/ USB Drive. Now make a folder and name it Drivers. open it and extract the files from the driver pack to here.

14) If not already, insert the SD card/USB Drive into your EEE

15) Turn it on/Reboot, at the bios screen, hit "esc" until the boot selection menu appears. Choose your SD card or USB drive

16) The installer should have booted up to first install screen. It should look like the image below.



17)Choose your language, time and currency format, and keyboard then click next. You should be at the screen below. If not, and you're at the eula acceptance screen, or the disk selection screen, then you didn't follow my instructions. Turn the computer off, and either boot up the eee into it's normal os, or put the SD card/ USB drive in another computer. Open it up, and there'll be a file named "autounattended.xml". Delete it. Start back from step 14.



18) Click "Repair your computer". Ignore the next screen and just click next as soon as you can.

19) Click on "Command Prompt" then type "diskpart" followed by "list volume". Find your secondary SSD* and note it's drive letter.
On my 901 Linux it's the biggest, so should be the same for you, assuming your sd card or usb drive isn't bigger.

20) Type "exit" then "setup /tempdrive:#" where # is the secondary ssd drive letter.

21) Choose you language etc. again.

22) Accept the license terms (if you do..) and click next.

23) If you get a choice between Upgrade and Custom (advanced), choose custom.

24) If the first disk has any partitions, click on "Drive options (advanced)". Click on the partition(s) then click delete. Be careful not to delete the partition for your secondary ssd, if you want to format it, do it from windows later.

25) You should now have "Disk 0 Unallocated Space" and "Disk 1 Partition 1" (it doesn't matter if there's multiple partitions on disk 1). Click on "Disk 0" then next. Say yes to any prompts. now go have another cuppa, in 20-30 mins, you should be at a prompt to enter a username. If it's still installing, wait some more.

26) Enter a username, and follow through the screens until you're at the windows 7 desktop. Success! Windows 7 is installed, but we're not done yet.

27) Click start. Type cmd.exe and right click it when it appears. Click "Run as Administrator" and accept the UAC prompts.

28) Type powercfg /h off <-- this saves a crapton of space by disabling hibernation and deleting the hibernation file.

29) Click start, right click My Computer then Properties. Click "Advanced system settings" then "Settings" under "Performance". Click Advanced. Then "Change" under "Virtual Memory". The Drive List should be grayed out and the C: drive should have NONE under "Paging file size(MB)". If not, untick "Automatically manage paging file size for each drive", Click c:, select "no paging file" then Click "set". **Optional** Click on the secondary ssd drive, and select "System managed size", then "Set".**Optional** Click OK, OK, OK. Click "System Protection", then select the C: drive in the box. Click Configure and select "Turn off system protection". Click OK, OK then "Restart Now". (Make sure you boot from windows, not SD or USB. At the bios screen, press F2 and make sure camera bluetooth wireless and lan are all enabled.

30) Back in windows. Time to install drivers. Go into the drivers folder on the SD card/USB drive.

**for the next 5 steps, ignore prompts to restart the computer**

31) Go into WLAN then run DPInst.exe

32) Right click on My Computer and click properties. Go to Device Manager. Find Ethernet Device, right click on it and click "Update Driver Software". Click "Browse my computer for driver software" and direct it to the LAN folder in the driver folder, then click next. Once done, click Finish/Close

33) Expand Display Adapters, right Click on "Mobile Intel ....." and click "Update Driver Software". Do the same as above, but direct it to the VGA folder.

34) In the drivers folder, run AsusACPI_xp0400b09.exe.

35) Run SuperHybridEng_1.02.exe

36) Restart the computer. Boot from the SD card / USB Drive. Click on repair my computer again, then next, then Command Prompt.

37) Do a diskpart, then type list volume, and figure out which drive letter is which drive. Win7 creates a small 200mb partition on my computer, and here it gets labeled as C: and my usual C: is now E: if yours is the same, do the following, otherwise, substitute the correct letter.

(For me C: = 200mb partition. D: = secondary SSD, E: = Usual C: partition)

robocopy "E:\Program Files" "D:\Program Files" /copyall /e
del "E:\Program Files" /f /s /q /a
rmdir "E:\Program Files" /s /q
mklink /j "E:\Program Files" "D:\Program Files"

-exit and restart

Once you've rebooted, you have yourself a shiny new windows 7 install! Now go! Play!

Optional:

Move Temp folders and Document folders to secondary SSD


Right click My Computer > Properties > Advanced system settings > Environmental Variables.

In the top section, modify TEMP and TMP to a folder on the secondary SSD. Also, do the same with TEMP and TMP under system variables. It may also be a good idea to note down the paths to these folders to clean them out manually to reclaim some space. Once they've been changed, OK a few times.

Now the Documents. It's simple, but a tad tedious.

Navigate to C:\Users\<UserName>

Right click on each folder, one by one, and click properties. Click Location, then change C:\ to D:\ and ok it. It'll ask if you want to move files, say yes. You'll still have the C:\Users\<username> folder, but your documents, music, pics, vids etc will be on the secondary ssd, and everything will be linked automatically.

I may add more tips if I come across any more.


Thanks go to Kazuni and birdibird for their guides!

Edited by keyz182, 07 April 2009 - 06:52 PM.

[pacoo2454]

hey! great guide. its helped out a lot!! thank you very much.
would be please post the guide to move the TEMP folders and DOCUMENT folders to the secondary ssd, it would be greatly appreciated.
-jeff

[keyz182]

Putting Temp folders and Documents on the secondary SSD

Yeah, sure thing. Glad to have helped. Anything to put off revising Java. Pleh.

Anyway, I've updated the post, see the bottom!

[englishgit]

I've followed all instructions and everything works well. My only question would be whether there's an easy way to move the C:\Users folder to D:\Users. This would free up more valuable space on the C:\ drive as after install I only have 200MB left!

Is the process the same as it was for moving Program Files from the C:\ to D:\ drive (or E:\ to D:\ in recovery console)?

I've already moved my temp files which I'm sure will help.

Also I've noticed Windows Error Reporting seems to take up some space for logging, etc. Is there a way to reclaim this when I've disabled error reporting and its associated logging?

Anyone got any clues?

Thanks

Englishgit

Edited by englishgit, 31 January 2009 - 11:37 AM.

[keyz182]

Substituting "Users" for "Program Files" should work, I've been a bit busy and havn't had time to try, but there should be no reason it wont work. To get rid of error reporting logs you need to do a disk clean up Computer->Right Click C:-> General tab, there should be a "Disk Cleanup" button, click, and just highlight everything in there. Also CCleaner will remove a fair amount of other things to grab some space.

[the9thdude]

Is there any way to format my C: drive and/or install W7 to my SD card?

I'm also having a problem where it won't boot into W7 installer and I'm given a black screen with a blinking underscore in the upper left corner.

[mikeydack]

the9thdude, i tried for nearly a week solid to try and install W7 onto a USB stick, with no success.

After thinkning about it, it was not worth it anyway because of the data transfer speed.

MikeyDack

[mambo scrambo]

Quote

-Bios Flashed to version 1001 or 1101 if using a 901 **Search the forum, plenty of existing guides**

Hi keyz182,

Thanks for the guide, I'm going to try myself but just have a couple of questions...

1) As quoted above, I don't think I've read it properly. Does it mean that if you are using a 901, do you have to have BIOS version 1101? I'm using a 901 and have BIOS version 1001 - will it still work?

2) Does this guide assume you have a version Windows installed already? I'm using the default Xandros, does the AIK and vLite work with it?

Thanks!

Sam

[goldenboy]

I'm using a sd card, but it's not showing up in diskpart, any ideas on how to make it active? I've tried the right clickign manage on my computer, but it's not there either. Only thing else I've tried is the hp format tool listed in forums but that also doesn't have it listed,... am I doing something wrong? :(

Edit: Using win xp, ADATA eeepc sdhc 8gb card

Edited by goldenboy, 04 February 2009 - 12:00 AM.

[keyz182]

@ mambo scrambo :
Yes, if you have bios version 1001 or 1101 already it'll work. It'll work with any version, but you get some problems with blank screens at the login screens with versions other than the two above. Unfortunately yes, it does assume you're already running windows, though you may be able to run vlite under wine, though i can't help on that front as I don't have linux installed anywhere at the moment.

@ goldenboy :
I'm not too sure why it's not showing up. It might simply be not supported somehow, which seems odd. Maybe try formatting it in another computer if you have access?

[Jr33]

I get an error stating "operating system not found" uggh!!

[RaisinZero]

Hey,

Been trying to install the beta for over a week and haven't gotten any success. I've followed your guide word for word and when I go to boot off my USB drive (its an old laptop drive in great condition), I get the NTLDR missing error and can't continue. My vlited copy was made using your script, and I copied the files and folders over to the root of my drive.

It's a Toshiba 30GB laptop style hard drive...Any ideas?

I have an nLited copy of XPSP3 installed on the system already if that helps at all.

[keyz182]

NTLDR errors usually come from wrong disk orders in the bios. Try moving the disks around and using a different one at the start etc.. (If that makes any sense..)

[justblair]

Great guide. I have the operating system up and running now, though with some now solved problems.

What I have discovered is this (at least on my eeePC)

I downgraded my bios to the 1101. I previously had 1808 installed.

Windows will not install on my system with the older bios installed. It gets most of the way through the install then hangs. Banging the latest bios back on and hey presto, an easy install, though of course with the black screen issue.

My advice is that the black screen issue is pretty easy to deal with, so if you are on a newer bios already, probably best to stick to the newer bios during install.

I can revert to an old bios after install to cure the Black screen issue. However my battery monitor shows an hour or so less time on it with the older bios. I haven't tried the script that's kicking around, but I am sure it will be the better option.

I have a recently purchased 20gb 901 linux model. 2Gb ram, usb touchscreen.

Win 7 is brilliant with the touch screen mod, its almost as if they tailor made it for my eee901. By far the best OS I have used so far

[wintersday]

awesome post - thanks.

small erata:
step 20 should be "exit" not "quit" from diskpart

[sneaky_steve]

Is there a way to disable hibernation without disabling stand-by as well?

[sjdigital]

I created a Windows 7 install DVD using the iso created by vLite rather than use the SD card method. But when I try to do the install I get the message that Windows cannot be installed on this disk 'cos it need 5.5 GB and Disk 0 is only 3.8 GB. What have I done wrong?

[Blucose]

this isnt working for me:(
i have the same problem as the9thdude, i only get a flashng underscore
what should i do?
im booting of a class 6 16GB SDHC and have xandros preinstalled, bios 1808.

any help appreciated, im getting quite angry....

Blucose =]

EDIT: You can only do this with xp installed right?? i just made a noob mistake......

Edited by Blucose, 10 March 2009 - 10:42 PM.

[sjdigital]

Oops....forgot to load the presets file :rolleyes:

[giorgos1989]

Very useful guide! It worked very good. After the installation, when in dos mention that before the robocopy we have to type first exit..
As for the other folder Users, consider moving the folder winsxs under windows root. It was 2.3Gb for me and by doing the same procedure as for the program files folder it works fine and now i have abou 2.3Gb free in the 4gb hard drive!

Thanx again for the guide.