Booting from WinXPe Image...

[HQuinonez]

I've created an image for WinXPe. Originally it was created using the NTFS
file system. I then formated a HD with NTFS, put all the files on it.
Moved the HD to the target computer and the system booted and went through
the first boot configuration. When that was done, the system worked
extremely slow and was unresponsive for the most part. I tried to recreate
the image again, but have had trouble getting the system to boot again. So,
I re-created another WinXPe image with FAT32 this time. Formatted a HD and
SYSed it (to make sure that it would boot). Then I copied the files over
from the image, and I can't get WinXPe to boot off of that HD. What is the
secret solution to get this working reliably (moving image over to HD of the
target machine so that I can boot from it). Any and all help would be
GREATLY appreciated!

Hector A. Quinonez
Lab Technican
SAI Systems International, Inc.
HQuinonez at SAISYSTEMS dot COM

 

[KM]

Hector,

Not sure about NTFS way you did but the slowness might have not been related
there to the FS. You may want to use BootVis tool to analyze the boot
process on your XPe image. (search Net or this NG archive to get a link to
download the tool).

Regarding FAT, how did you format the driver? Where? You should be doing
that on target device.
It is always more realiable to format in FAT from DOS (fdisk).
Also, place non-zero timeout in boot.ini file to see if you can get to ntldr
boot phase.

KM

 

[HQuinonez]

Well... what I did was format the HD on my WinXP machine (FAT32). I can try
again and format from the Target machine.. then move the drive over to my
development machine to copy the files over and see if that works. What
would be your normal steps to get a HD with WinXPe loaded and booting?

 

[KM]

Hector,

Well... what I did was format the HD on my WinXP machine (FAT32). I can
try again and format from the Target machine.. then move the drive over to
my development machine to copy the files over and see if that works. What

Certainly, you can give it a try.

would be your normal steps to get a HD with WinXPe loaded and booting?

First, stick with partitioning and formatting on the target.
Then, use DOS/fdisk to know since it is going to work in most of the cases.

After all, you can boot to WinPE or XP Pro installation on the target (off a
CD, e.g.) and format the target media from there.
But again, DOS approach is more reliable as it uses BIOS to access the disk.

KM

 

[HQuinonez]

Ok... I tried Fdisk the drive to make sure it was ok (which it was), then I
formatted the drive with Fat32 and Sysed the drive from a 98 boot disk (from
the target machine). Then I moved the drive over to the development
workstation... copied the files onto the drive... and the target machine
boots... but into a Windows 98 "C" prompt and not XP. Any other
suggestions? What 'am I do wrong?

 

[KM]

Hector,

Seems like you forgot to run bootprep?

KM

 

[HQuinonez]

I did... then I adjusted my method (after reading a few articles on the
web). So... this is my current procedure...

1. Place HD in Target Machine.
2. Fdisk HD with Win98 Boot disk
3. Format HD with FAT32 and SYS from Win98 Boot Disk
4. Run Bootprep from Win98 Boot Disk.
5. Remove HD and place in Development Workstation
6. Copy files to HD.
7. Place HD back in Target machine.
8. Boot Target Machine.
9. Receive Error from Target machine about missing files.
10. Give up for the day... swear a little bit, and decide to try again the
following day.

Does that seem about right?
Note: I don't know why it's reporting any missing files... since I ran the
Dependency check on the build at least 3 times.

 

[KM]

Hector,

1. Place HD in Target Machine.
2. Fdisk HD with Win98 Boot disk
3. Format HD with FAT32 and SYS from Win98 Boot Disk
4. Run Bootprep from Win98 Boot Disk.
5. Remove HD and place in Development Workstation
6. Copy files to HD.
7. Place HD back in Target machine.
8. Boot Target Machine.
9. Receive Error from Target machine about missing files.
10. Give up for the day... swear a little bit, and decide to try again the
following day.

Too early because you definitely got some progress.
If the error you saw was not about missing ntldr (unlikely), then you are missing something like hal.dll or ntoskrnl.exe, right?

Anyway, my point is that you likely passed the ntldr boot problem and now you have to set up carefully the boot.ini ARC path and
directory structure on the target.

If you still have problems, let us know the exact setup (boot.ini and directory structure) you've got over there and then we can
help.

Does that seem about right?
Note: I don't know why it's reporting any missing files... since I ran the
Dependency check on the build at least 3 times.

Give us more info about the errors. What files are missing and who reports about it?

KM

 

[Slobodan Brcin \(eMVP\)]

Hector,

Try following boot.ini

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="XPe Test 1"
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="XPe Test 2"


Let us know if you get 30 seconds boot delay with os choice screen.
Let us know about errors that you see.

Make sure:
That OS is on first partition is windows folder.

Regards,
Slobodan

 

[HQuinonez]

Ok... went a little further this time. The error message I was getting was
that the "PCI.SYS" driver was not being located. I copied it from my
computer (running WinXP Pro) to the "..System32\Drivers\" directory of my
WinXPe drive. The system now boots and attempts to go through the First
boot process, but fails right after the typical status bar on the bottom of
screen before getting to the WinXP Embedded logo boot screen. The status
bar is complete... so it looks like whatever is hanging it up, is right
before the GUI boot or something. I may have to find the WinXPe PCI.SYS
driver... as it's most likely different from the one included in WinXP Pro.
Is this a correct assumption?

Hector,

Try following boot.ini

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="XPe Test 1"
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="XPe Test 2"


Let us know if you get 30 seconds boot delay with os choice screen.
Let us know about errors that you see.

Make sure:
That OS is on first partition is windows folder.

Regards,
Slobodan

Hector,


Too early because you definitely got some progress.
If the error you saw was not about missing ntldr (unlikely), then you are
missing something like hal.dll or ntoskrnl.exe, right?

Anyway, my point is that you likely passed the ntldr boot problem and now
you have to set up carefully the boot.ini ARC path and directory
structure on the target.

If you still have problems, let us know the exact setup (boot.ini and
directory structure) you've got over there and then we can help.


Give us more info about the errors. What files are missing and who
reports about it?

KM

 

[Slobodan Brcin \(eMVP\)]

pci.sys is missing then you got serious problems with your project.

Use filter option in TD to serach for all components that contain file
pci.sys.
For instance one of components is "PCI Bus".

Same version of XPP and XPe use same files, but in your canse you need some
dependencies and other stuff.

Regards,
Slobodan

Ok... went a little further this time. The error message I was getting was
that the "PCI.SYS" driver was not being located. I copied it from my
computer (running WinXP Pro) to the "..System32\Drivers\" directory of my
WinXPe drive. The system now boots and attempts to go through the First
boot process, but fails right after the typical status bar on the bottom
of screen before getting to the WinXP Embedded logo boot screen. The
status bar is complete... so it looks like whatever is hanging it up, is
right before the GUI boot or something. I may have to find the WinXPe
PCI.SYS driver... as it's most likely different from the one included in
WinXP Pro. Is this a correct assumption?

Hector,

Try following boot.ini

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="XPe Test 1"
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="XPe Test 2"


Let us know if you get 30 seconds boot delay with os choice screen.
Let us know about errors that you see.

Make sure:
That OS is on first partition is windows folder.

Regards,
Slobodan

Hector,

1. Place HD in Target Machine.
2. Fdisk HD with Win98 Boot disk
3. Format HD with FAT32 and SYS from Win98 Boot Disk
4. Run Bootprep from Win98 Boot Disk.
5. Remove HD and place in Development Workstation
6. Copy files to HD.
7. Place HD back in Target machine.
8. Boot Target Machine.
9. Receive Error from Target machine about missing files.
10. Give up for the day... swear a little bit, and decide to try again
the
following day.

Too early because you definitely got some progress.
If the error you saw was not about missing ntldr (unlikely), then you
are missing something like hal.dll or ntoskrnl.exe, right?

Anyway, my point is that you likely passed the ntldr boot problem and
now you have to set up carefully the boot.ini ARC path and directory
structure on the target.

If you still have problems, let us know the exact setup (boot.ini and
directory structure) you've got over there and then we can help.

Does that seem about right?
Note: I don't know why it's reporting any missing files... since I ran
the
Dependency check on the build at least 3 times.

Give us more info about the errors. What files are missing and who
reports about it?

KM

Hector,

Seems like you forgot to run bootprep?

KM

Ok... I tried Fdisk the drive to make sure it was ok (which it was),
then
I formatted the drive with Fat32 and Sysed the drive from a 98 boot
disk
(from the target machine). Then I moved the drive over to the
development
workstation... copied the files onto the drive... and the target
machine
boots... but into a Windows 98 "C" prompt and not XP. Any other
suggestions? What 'am I do wrong?

Hector,

Well... what I did was format the HD on my WinXP machine (FAT32).
I
can
try again and format from the Target machine.. then move the drive
over
to my development machine to copy the files over and see if that
works.
What

Certainly, you can give it a try.

would be your normal steps to get a HD with WinXPe loaded and
booting?

First, stick with partitioning and formatting on the target.
Then, use DOS/fdisk to know since it is going to work in most of
the
cases.

After all, you can boot to WinPE or XP Pro installation on the
target
(off a CD, e.g.) and format the target media from there.
But again, DOS approach is more reliable as it uses BIOS to access
the
disk.

KM

Hector,

Not sure about NTFS way you did but the slowness might have not
been
related there to the FS. You may want to use BootVis tool to
analyze
the boot process on your XPe image. (search Net or this NG
archive to
get a link to download the tool).

Regarding FAT, how did you format the driver? Where? You should
be
doing that on target device.
It is always more realiable to format in FAT from DOS (fdisk).
Also, place non-zero timeout in boot.ini file to see if you can
get
to
ntldr boot phase.

KM

I've created an image for WinXPe. Originally it was created
using
the
NTFS file system. I then formated a HD with NTFS, put all the
files
on it. Moved the HD to the target computer and the system booted
and
went through the first boot configuration. When that was done,
the
system worked extremely slow and was unresponsive for the most
part.
I tried to recreate the image again, but have had trouble
getting
the
system to boot again. So, I re-created another WinXPe image
with
FAT32 this time. Formatted a HD and SYSed it (to make sure that
it
would boot). Then I copied the files over from the image, and I
can't
get WinXPe to boot off of that HD. What is the secret solution
to
get
this working reliably (moving image over to HD of the target
machine
so that I can boot from it). Any and all help would be GREATLY
appreciated!

Hector A. Quinonez
Lab Technican
SAI Systems International, Inc.
HQuinonez at SAISYSTEMS dot COM

 

[KM]

Hector,

How did you create your XPe project?
Seems like you are missing the basic functionality from it.

You should start with TAP output. Please read XPe documentation on how to
create your first XPe image.

KM

PS. XPe binaries matches the binaries from XP Pro (the same SP).

Ok... went a little further this time. The error message I was getting was
that the "PCI.SYS" driver was not being located. I copied it from my
computer (running WinXP Pro) to the "..System32\Drivers\" directory of my
WinXPe drive. The system now boots and attempts to go through the First
boot process, but fails right after the typical status bar on the bottom
of screen before getting to the WinXP Embedded logo boot screen. The
status bar is complete... so it looks like whatever is hanging it up, is
right before the GUI boot or something. I may have to find the WinXPe
PCI.SYS driver... as it's most likely different from the one included in
WinXP Pro. Is this a correct assumption?

Hector,

Try following boot.ini

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="XPe Test 1"
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="XPe Test 2"


Let us know if you get 30 seconds boot delay with os choice screen.
Let us know about errors that you see.

Make sure:
That OS is on first partition is windows folder.

Regards,
Slobodan

Hector,

1. Place HD in Target Machine.
2. Fdisk HD with Win98 Boot disk
3. Format HD with FAT32 and SYS from Win98 Boot Disk
4. Run Bootprep from Win98 Boot Disk.
5. Remove HD and place in Development Workstation
6. Copy files to HD.
7. Place HD back in Target machine.
8. Boot Target Machine.
9. Receive Error from Target machine about missing files.
10. Give up for the day... swear a little bit, and decide to try again
the
following day.

Too early because you definitely got some progress.
If the error you saw was not about missing ntldr (unlikely), then you
are missing something like hal.dll or ntoskrnl.exe, right?

Anyway, my point is that you likely passed the ntldr boot problem and
now you have to set up carefully the boot.ini ARC path and directory
structure on the target.

If you still have problems, let us know the exact setup (boot.ini and
directory structure) you've got over there and then we can help.

Does that seem about right?
Note: I don't know why it's reporting any missing files... since I ran
the
Dependency check on the build at least 3 times.

Give us more info about the errors. What files are missing and who
reports about it?

KM

Hector,

Seems like you forgot to run bootprep?

KM

Ok... I tried Fdisk the drive to make sure it was ok (which it was),
then
I formatted the drive with Fat32 and Sysed the drive from a 98 boot
disk
(from the target machine). Then I moved the drive over to the
development
workstation... copied the files onto the drive... and the target
machine
boots... but into a Windows 98 "C" prompt and not XP. Any other
suggestions? What 'am I do wrong?

Hector,

Well... what I did was format the HD on my WinXP machine (FAT32).
I
can
try again and format from the Target machine.. then move the drive
over
to my development machine to copy the files over and see if that
works.
What

Certainly, you can give it a try.

would be your normal steps to get a HD with WinXPe loaded and
booting?

First, stick with partitioning and formatting on the target.
Then, use DOS/fdisk to know since it is going to work in most of
the
cases.

After all, you can boot to WinPE or XP Pro installation on the
target
(off a CD, e.g.) and format the target media from there.
But again, DOS approach is more reliable as it uses BIOS to access
the
disk.

KM

Hector,

Not sure about NTFS way you did but the slowness might have not
been
related there to the FS. You may want to use BootVis tool to
analyze
the boot process on your XPe image. (search Net or this NG
archive to
get a link to download the tool).

Regarding FAT, how did you format the driver? Where? You should
be
doing that on target device.
It is always more realiable to format in FAT from DOS (fdisk).
Also, place non-zero timeout in boot.ini file to see if you can
get
to
ntldr boot phase.

KM

I've created an image for WinXPe. Originally it was created
using
the
NTFS file system. I then formated a HD with NTFS, put all the
files
on it. Moved the HD to the target computer and the system booted
and
went through the first boot configuration. When that was done,
the
system worked extremely slow and was unresponsive for the most
part.
I tried to recreate the image again, but have had trouble
getting
the
system to boot again. So, I re-created another WinXPe image
with
FAT32 this time. Formatted a HD and SYSed it (to make sure that
it
would boot). Then I copied the files over from the image, and I
can't
get WinXPe to boot off of that HD. What is the secret solution
to
get
this working reliably (moving image over to HD of the target
machine
so that I can boot from it). Any and all help would be GREATLY
appreciated!

Hector A. Quinonez
Lab Technican
SAI Systems International, Inc.
HQuinonez at SAISYSTEMS dot COM

 

[HQuinonez]

THANKS FOR EVERYTHING! I was being a bone head. I had originally created
the configuration file (ran TAP) and that was what made my first image work.
The problem I had with the first image must have been the system still
writing files to the HD and the lack of screen resolution changing (which I
still have, but will do some research on). I now have WinXPe booting off of
FAT32 from my client. When I started changing the image over to FAT32, I
thought I was selecting my TAP config file and adding it... but in
actuality... I was not. Once that was done... everything else fell into
place. Thanks for everyone's help... Now if you can tell me how to change
resolution on the target machine... or do I have to do that in the build?

Hector,

How did you create your XPe project?
Seems like you are missing the basic functionality from it.

You should start with TAP output. Please read XPe documentation on how to
create your first XPe image.

KM

PS. XPe binaries matches the binaries from XP Pro (the same SP).

Ok... went a little further this time. The error message I was getting
was
that the "PCI.SYS" driver was not being located. I copied it from my
computer (running WinXP Pro) to the "..System32\Drivers\" directory of my
WinXPe drive. The system now boots and attempts to go through the First
boot process, but fails right after the typical status bar on the bottom
of screen before getting to the WinXP Embedded logo boot screen. The
status bar is complete... so it looks like whatever is hanging it up, is
right before the GUI boot or something. I may have to find the WinXPe
PCI.SYS driver... as it's most likely different from the one included in
WinXP Pro. Is this a correct assumption?

Hector,

Try following boot.ini

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="XPe Test 1"
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="XPe Test 2"


Let us know if you get 30 seconds boot delay with os choice screen.
Let us know about errors that you see.

Make sure:
That OS is on first partition is windows folder.

Regards,
Slobodan


Hector,

1. Place HD in Target Machine.
2. Fdisk HD with Win98 Boot disk
3. Format HD with FAT32 and SYS from Win98 Boot Disk
4. Run Bootprep from Win98 Boot Disk.
5. Remove HD and place in Development Workstation
6. Copy files to HD.
7. Place HD back in Target machine.
8. Boot Target Machine.
9. Receive Error from Target machine about missing files.
10. Give up for the day... swear a little bit, and decide to try again
the
following day.

Too early because you definitely got some progress.
If the error you saw was not about missing ntldr (unlikely), then you
are missing something like hal.dll or ntoskrnl.exe, right?

Anyway, my point is that you likely passed the ntldr boot problem and
now you have to set up carefully the boot.ini ARC path and directory
structure on the target.

If you still have problems, let us know the exact setup (boot.ini and
directory structure) you've got over there and then we can help.

Does that seem about right?
Note: I don't know why it's reporting any missing files... since I ran
the
Dependency check on the build at least 3 times.

Give us more info about the errors. What files are missing and who
reports about it?

KM

Hector,

Seems like you forgot to run bootprep?

KM

Ok... I tried Fdisk the drive to make sure it was ok (which it
was),
then
I formatted the drive with Fat32 and Sysed the drive from a 98 boot
disk
(from the target machine). Then I moved the drive over to the
development
workstation... copied the files onto the drive... and the target
machine
boots... but into a Windows 98 "C" prompt and not XP. Any other
suggestions? What 'am I do wrong?

Hector,

Well... what I did was format the HD on my WinXP machine (FAT32).
I
can
try again and format from the Target machine.. then move the
drive
over
to my development machine to copy the files over and see if that
works.
What

Certainly, you can give it a try.

would be your normal steps to get a HD with WinXPe loaded and
booting?

First, stick with partitioning and formatting on the target.
Then, use DOS/fdisk to know since it is going to work in most of
the
cases.

After all, you can boot to WinPE or XP Pro installation on the
target
(off a CD, e.g.) and format the target media from there.
But again, DOS approach is more reliable as it uses BIOS to access
the
disk.

KM

Hector,

Not sure about NTFS way you did but the slowness might have not
been
related there to the FS. You may want to use BootVis tool to
analyze
the boot process on your XPe image. (search Net or this NG
archive to
get a link to download the tool).

Regarding FAT, how did you format the driver? Where? You should
be
doing that on target device.
It is always more realiable to format in FAT from DOS (fdisk).
Also, place non-zero timeout in boot.ini file to see if you can
get
to
ntldr boot phase.

KM

I've created an image for WinXPe. Originally it was created
using
the
NTFS file system. I then formated a HD with NTFS, put all the
files
on it. Moved the HD to the target computer and the system
booted and
went through the first boot configuration. When that was done,
the
system worked extremely slow and was unresponsive for the most
part.
I tried to recreate the image again, but have had trouble
getting
the
system to boot again. So, I re-created another WinXPe image
with
FAT32 this time. Formatted a HD and SYSed it (to make sure that
it
would boot). Then I copied the files over from the image, and I
can't
get WinXPe to boot off of that HD. What is the secret solution
to
get
this working reliably (moving image over to HD of the target
machine
so that I can boot from it). Any and all help would be GREATLY
appreciated!

Hector A. Quinonez
Lab Technican
SAI Systems International, Inc.
HQuinonez at SAISYSTEMS dot COM

 

[Slobodan Brcin \(eMVP\)]

Now if you can tell me how to change resolution on the target machine...

or do I have to do that in the build?

In TD find a component that is driver for your video card and you will have
combo box to select resolution there. During the FBA this resolution will be
set if your drivers are ok. (Video and GART driver functioning)

Regards,
Slobodan

THANKS FOR EVERYTHING! I was being a bone head. I had originally created
the configuration file (ran TAP) and that was what made my first image
work. The problem I had with the first image must have been the system
still writing files to the HD and the lack of screen resolution changing
(which I still have, but will do some research on). I now have WinXPe
booting off of FAT32 from my client. When I started changing the image
over to FAT32, I thought I was selecting my TAP config file and adding
it... but in actuality... I was not. Once that was done... everything
else fell into place. Thanks for everyone's help... Now if you can tell
me how to change resolution on the target machine... or do I have to do
that in the build?

Hector,

How did you create your XPe project?
Seems like you are missing the basic functionality from it.

You should start with TAP output. Please read XPe documentation on how to
create your first XPe image.

KM

PS. XPe binaries matches the binaries from XP Pro (the same SP).

Ok... went a little further this time. The error message I was getting
was
that the "PCI.SYS" driver was not being located. I copied it from my
computer (running WinXP Pro) to the "..System32\Drivers\" directory of
my WinXPe drive. The system now boots and attempts to go through the
First boot process, but fails right after the typical status bar on the
bottom of screen before getting to the WinXP Embedded logo boot screen.
The status bar is complete... so it looks like whatever is hanging it
up, is right before the GUI boot or something. I may have to find the
WinXPe PCI.SYS driver... as it's most likely different from the one
included in WinXP Pro. Is this a correct assumption?

Hector,

Try following boot.ini

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="XPe Test 1"
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="XPe Test 2"


Let us know if you get 30 seconds boot delay with os choice screen.
Let us know about errors that you see.

Make sure:
That OS is on first partition is windows folder.

Regards,
Slobodan


Hector,

1. Place HD in Target Machine.
2. Fdisk HD with Win98 Boot disk
3. Format HD with FAT32 and SYS from Win98 Boot Disk
4. Run Bootprep from Win98 Boot Disk.
5. Remove HD and place in Development Workstation
6. Copy files to HD.
7. Place HD back in Target machine.
8. Boot Target Machine.
9. Receive Error from Target machine about missing files.
10. Give up for the day... swear a little bit, and decide to try
again the
following day.

Too early because you definitely got some progress.
If the error you saw was not about missing ntldr (unlikely), then you
are missing something like hal.dll or ntoskrnl.exe, right?

Anyway, my point is that you likely passed the ntldr boot problem and
now you have to set up carefully the boot.ini ARC path and directory
structure on the target.

If you still have problems, let us know the exact setup (boot.ini and
directory structure) you've got over there and then we can help.

Does that seem about right?
Note: I don't know why it's reporting any missing files... since I
ran the
Dependency check on the build at least 3 times.

Give us more info about the errors. What files are missing and who
reports about it?

KM

Hector,

Seems like you forgot to run bootprep?

KM

Ok... I tried Fdisk the drive to make sure it was ok (which it
was),
then
I formatted the drive with Fat32 and Sysed the drive from a 98
boot disk
(from the target machine). Then I moved the drive over to the
development
workstation... copied the files onto the drive... and the target
machine
boots... but into a Windows 98 "C" prompt and not XP. Any other
suggestions? What 'am I do wrong?

Hector,

Well... what I did was format the HD on my WinXP machine
(FAT32). I
can
try again and format from the Target machine.. then move the
drive
over
to my development machine to copy the files over and see if that
works.
What

Certainly, you can give it a try.

would be your normal steps to get a HD with WinXPe loaded and
booting?

First, stick with partitioning and formatting on the target.
Then, use DOS/fdisk to know since it is going to work in most of
the
cases.

After all, you can boot to WinPE or XP Pro installation on the
target
(off a CD, e.g.) and format the target media from there.
But again, DOS approach is more reliable as it uses BIOS to
access the
disk.

KM

Hector,

Not sure about NTFS way you did but the slowness might have not
been
related there to the FS. You may want to use BootVis tool to
analyze
the boot process on your XPe image. (search Net or this NG
archive to
get a link to download the tool).

Regarding FAT, how did you format the driver? Where? You should
be
doing that on target device.
It is always more realiable to format in FAT from DOS (fdisk).
Also, place non-zero timeout in boot.ini file to see if you can
get
to
ntldr boot phase.

KM

I've created an image for WinXPe. Originally it was created
using
the
NTFS file system. I then formated a HD with NTFS, put all the
files
on it. Moved the HD to the target computer and the system
booted and
went through the first boot configuration. When that was done,
the
system worked extremely slow and was unresponsive for the most
part.
I tried to recreate the image again, but have had trouble
getting
the
system to boot again. So, I re-created another WinXPe image
with
FAT32 this time. Formatted a HD and SYSed it (to make sure
that it
would boot). Then I copied the files over from the image, and
I
can't
get WinXPe to boot off of that HD. What is the secret
solution to
get
this working reliably (moving image over to HD of the target
machine
so that I can boot from it). Any and all help would be
GREATLY
appreciated!

Hector A. Quinonez
Lab Technican
SAI Systems International, Inc.
HQuinonez at SAISYSTEMS dot COM

 

[tyagi_st]

If you want to know more about partition problems and their solutions
and programming related issues, you can find the Book Contents ("Data
Recovery with & without Programming") on following link:

http://www.datadoctor.biz/author.htm

regards

Sachin

 

[tyagi_st]

If you want to know more about partition problems and their solutions
and programming related issues, you can find the Book Contents ("Data
Recovery with & without Programming") on following link:

http://www.datadoctor.biz/author.htm

regards

Sachin

 

[HQuinonez]

Thanks... I actually found an article in MSDN that illustrated a few methods
(setting the resolution in the build) or adding the component to allow the
user to change the resolution on the target machine... the latter is what I
chose.
Thanks again!

Now if you can tell me how to change resolution on the target machine...
or do I have to do that in the build?

In TD find a component that is driver for your video card and you will have
combo box to select resolution there. During the FBA this resolution will be
set if your drivers are ok. (Video and GART driver functioning)

Regards,
Slobodan

THANKS FOR EVERYTHING! I was being a bone head. I had originally created
the configuration file (ran TAP) and that was what made my first image
work. The problem I had with the first image must have been the system
still writing files to the HD and the lack of screen resolution changing
(which I still have, but will do some research on). I now have WinXPe
booting off of FAT32 from my client. When I started changing the image
over to FAT32, I thought I was selecting my TAP config file and adding
it... but in actuality... I was not. Once that was done... everything
else fell into place. Thanks for everyone's help... Now if you can tell
me how to change resolution on the target machine... or do I have to do
that in the build?

Hector,

How did you create your XPe project?
Seems like you are missing the basic functionality from it.

You should start with TAP output. Please read XPe documentation on how to
create your first XPe image.

KM

PS. XPe binaries matches the binaries from XP Pro (the same SP).

Ok... went a little further this time. The error message I was getting
was
that the "PCI.SYS" driver was not being located. I copied it from my
computer (running WinXP Pro) to the "..System32\Drivers\" directory of
my WinXPe drive. The system now boots and attempts to go through the
First boot process, but fails right after the typical status bar on the
bottom of screen before getting to the WinXP Embedded logo boot screen.
The status bar is complete... so it looks like whatever is hanging it
up, is right before the GUI boot or something. I may have to find the
WinXPe PCI.SYS driver... as it's most likely different from the one
included in WinXP Pro. Is this a correct assumption?

Hector,

Try following boot.ini

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="XPe Test 1"
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="XPe Test 2"


Let us know if you get 30 seconds boot delay with os choice screen.
Let us know about errors that you see.

Make sure:
That OS is on first partition is windows folder.

Regards,
Slobodan


Hector,

1. Place HD in Target Machine.
2. Fdisk HD with Win98 Boot disk
3. Format HD with FAT32 and SYS from Win98 Boot Disk
4. Run Bootprep from Win98 Boot Disk.
5. Remove HD and place in Development Workstation
6. Copy files to HD.
7. Place HD back in Target machine.
8. Boot Target Machine.
9. Receive Error from Target machine about missing files.
10. Give up for the day... swear a little bit, and decide to try
again the
following day.

Too early because you definitely got some progress.
If the error you saw was not about missing ntldr (unlikely), then you
are missing something like hal.dll or ntoskrnl.exe, right?

Anyway, my point is that you likely passed the ntldr boot problem and
now you have to set up carefully the boot.ini ARC path and directory
structure on the target.

If you still have problems, let us know the exact setup (boot.ini and
directory structure) you've got over there and then we can help.

Does that seem about right?
Note: I don't know why it's reporting any missing files... since I
ran the
Dependency check on the build at least 3 times.

Give us more info about the errors. What files are missing and who
reports about it?

KM

Hector,

Seems like you forgot to run bootprep?

KM

Ok... I tried Fdisk the drive to make sure it was ok (which it
was),
then
I formatted the drive with Fat32 and Sysed the drive from a 98
boot disk
(from the target machine). Then I moved the drive over to the
development
workstation... copied the files onto the drive... and the target
machine
boots... but into a Windows 98 "C" prompt and not XP. Any other
suggestions? What 'am I do wrong?

Hector,

Well... what I did was format the HD on my WinXP machine
(FAT32). I
can
try again and format from the Target machine.. then move the
drive
over
to my development machine to copy the files over and see if that
works.
What

Certainly, you can give it a try.

would be your normal steps to get a HD with WinXPe loaded and
booting?

First, stick with partitioning and formatting on the target.
Then, use DOS/fdisk to know since it is going to work in most of
the
cases.

After all, you can boot to WinPE or XP Pro installation on the
target
(off a CD, e.g.) and format the target media from there.
But again, DOS approach is more reliable as it uses BIOS to
access the
disk.

KM

Hector,

Not sure about NTFS way you did but the slowness might have not
been
related there to the FS. You may want to use BootVis tool to
analyze
the boot process on your XPe image. (search Net or this NG
archive to
get a link to download the tool).

Regarding FAT, how did you format the driver? Where? You should
be
doing that on target device.
It is always more realiable to format in FAT from DOS (fdisk).
Also, place non-zero timeout in boot.ini file to see if you can
get
to
ntldr boot phase.

KM

I've created an image for WinXPe. Originally it was created
using
the
NTFS file system. I then formated a HD with NTFS, put all the
files
on it. Moved the HD to the target computer and the system
booted and
went through the first boot configuration. When that was done,
the
system worked extremely slow and was unresponsive for the most
part.
I tried to recreate the image again, but have had trouble
getting
the
system to boot again. So, I re-created another WinXPe image
with
FAT32 this time. Formatted a HD and SYSed it (to make sure
that it
would boot). Then I copied the files over from the image, and
I
can't
get WinXPe to boot off of that HD. What is the secret
solution to
get
this working reliably (moving image over to HD of the target
machine
so that I can boot from it). Any and all help would be
GREATLY
appreciated!

Hector A. Quinonez
Lab Technican
SAI Systems International, Inc.
HQuinonez at SAISYSTEMS dot COM