Without any special knowledge of Vista, I employed a brute-force-like approach. This experiment could be refined to narrow down the number of files and folders. My USB flash drive contained about 240 MB of data. I do believe I had trouble copying files the first time. However, was more successful in copying files the 2nd time just before serendipity!
In C:\Windows, I found Differences in:
8 Folders, Debug, Inf, Panther, Prefetch, Rescache, Software Distribution, System32, and Temp. System 32 was too big and cumbersome. So I selected only what was different.
3 Files, Dtcinstall.log, Setupact.log, windows update.log
The C:\Windws\system32 folder contains almost 2,000 files.
In C:\windows\system32 I found differences in:
7 Folders, Catroot2, Code Integrity, Config, Drivers, En-US, Log Files, and OEM
5 Files, fntcache.dat, license.rtf, perfc009.dat, perfh009.dat, perfstringbackup.ini
4 Files in c:\windows\system32 folder of Vista installed on the HP a1700n not in Compaq, nvapi.dll, nvd3dum.dll, sysfxui.dll, and wmalfxgfxdsp.dll. These were removed.
The vista image, that had morphed to adapt to HP, had problems:
1. Could not see my CDROM. Fixed by uninstalling iTunes.
2. Zone Alarm malfunctioned. Removed Zone Alarm to access Internet. I Installed Comodo Firewall.
3. Avast Antivirus would not start. Repaired it by performing on-line program update. Then restarted the Avast service
4. Alcohol was not working. Removed it with difficulty.. Also spent hours trying to find good burning software that can copy disks on the fly. Finally found a July 2007 version of Nero 7 Premium that works perfectly!
5. Skype was not working. Removed Skype.
6. Found a virus that came from the Vista Timer stopper crack by cLony. Clony cracks work but they come with viruses! Beware!
7. IE explorer 6 favorites copied from my XP image appeared grayed out but did function in Vista.
Virtual memory is automatically set to 1,193 MB with a recommended of 1,339 MB and a minimum of just 16 MB. Pagefile.sys is actually 1.17 GB and hiberfile.sys is 895 MB.
These 2 combined consume one third of the C:\ partition usage. The C;\ partition is only 20 GB and only 6.7 GB is used by Vista and installed programs.
To reduce deployment time, I will reduce the size of pagefile and hiberfil.
How long would it take you to setup the following for 6 Users?
The Following Services Were Stopped and changed to Manual:
Background intelligent, COM + event system, cryptographics, desktop windows manager session, diagnostic policy, function discovery resource, IP helper, server, TCP/IP netbios helper, web client.
The Following Services Were Stopped and disabled:
Windows Firewall and Windows Update, System Restore
Performed Browser tweaks for maximum privacy in Internet Explorer and Firefox
For Each of the 6 Users, I separated from the Windows partition, C:\, my documents, music, pictures, videos, favorites, shared and Addresses + Calendar. The data partition, D:\ is very small, only 1 GB. During deployment I resize the C:\ and D:\ partitions to suit the customers HD.
My new Vista image is almost complete and contains:
Security Programs: Comodo Firewall, Avast Antivirus, Winpatrol, iLSystem Wiper, Admuncher, Avast Antivirus.
Word Processing: Open Office, Adobe Reader 8
Tools: Everest 4.2 and Sequoia, BootitNG
Players: Real Player 10, VLC, Windows Media Player 11 comes with Vista
Graphics: IrfanView, Paint.Net, PhotoFiltre
File Sharing: U-Torrent, Ares is set not to be default torrent client. Originally on laptop dumped LimeWire Pro because it appeared to be not working.
Cleaners: Ccleaner, HijackThis, RegSeeker
Chat: Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger
Burning Software: Nero 7 premium, DVD decrypter, DVD Shrink, DVD Region, Magic ISO, UndercoverXP prints CD and DVD covers
Browsers: Firefox 2.007, Internet Explorer 7 comes with Vista
Address book + Scheduler: Essential PIM. Vista has neither Outlook nor Outlook Express.
http://drpcdr.ca
--------------------------------------------------------
My original post follows:
I install Vista Ultimate on one PC. It is an HP Pavilion a1700n.
I remove the 40 GB IDE HD from the HP PC and put it into a Compaq EVO
510 PC.
Result: Vista does not boot.
I have researched the subject but still have not found a solution.
The Microsoft vista deployment step by step seems awfully complex.
Has anyone found a simple way to solve this problem?
I have also tried the reverse (from Compaq to HP PC): Same result!
With XP I could boot into safe mode or just boot normally and XP would
detect and install the new hardware it finds.
Sometimes I would need to install XP from CD on the target PC to copy
the boot.ini and hall.dll files to an USB flash drive. Then I would
restore the image of XP on the target PC. I would boot into recovery
console and copy the files form the flash drive to the target PC
(boot.ini to C:\ and hal.dll to C:\windows\system32). Most times I
could then boot the target PC normally or in safe mode.
However, with Vista I am stymied!
Any practical solution?
Chris
http://drpcdr.ca
--------------------------------------------------------
And Experiment 2 Follows:
Guesss what guys? I have proved you all wrong in the past, now the present and soon the future as well!
I have had some preliminary success in my experiments.
Further experimentation is necessary!
Purpose: to boot vista (installed on an HP a1700n) on a Compaq Evo 510.
Apparatus: 1 Compaq Evo PC, 1 HP a1700n PC, 1 40 GB HD, 1 20GB HD, a 3rd HD drive with a functioning Windows XP installed, 1 Vista Ultimate CD, one 2 GB flash drive (a 500 MB flash drive will do), Freediff software from http://saltybrine.com
Method: Iinstalled Vista Ultimate on HP Pavilion a1700n using 40 GB HD
Also installed Vista on Compaq Evo 510 PC on 20 GB HD
On HP PC:
Installed Vista from Vista CD onto 40 GB HD
1. Set folder options to see all protected system files and folders
2. In command prompt piped the output of the dir command to a text file on my flsah drive as follows:
c:\windows>dir *.* >e:\win1.txt
c:\windows>cd system32
c:\windows\system32>dir *.* >e:\sys1.txt
3. disabled hiberfil.sys in command prompt: as follows:
c:\windows\system32>powercfg /h off
Restarted the PC and observed that hiberfil.sys had disappeared from root directory, C:\
4. Told windows to not use paging file and deleted pagefile.sys from root directory, c:
On Compaq Evo 510 PC:
Installed Vista from Vista CD onto 20 GB HD
1. Set folder options to see all protected system files and folders
2. In command prompt piped the output of the dir command to a text file on my flsah drive as follows:
c:\windows>dir *.* >e:\win2.txt
c:\windows>cd system32
c:\windows\system32>dir *.* >e:\sys2.txt
3. Disconnected 20 GB HD and reattached my 250 GB HD setup with XP pro SP2.
4. Downloaded and installed freediff.
5 Ran freediff comparing win1.txt with win2.txt and sys1.txt with sys2.txt.
6. Noted the differences highligted by freediff.
7. Attached the 20 GB HD as slave to compaq Evo 510 and booted into XP
8. Took full possession of the permissions on the windows folder (Vista) on the 20 GB HD
9. copied all the files and folders reported to be different by freediff from windows to my flashdrive folder, win
10. copied all the files and folders reported to be different by freediff from windows\system32 to my flashdrive folder, sys.
11. Disconnected 20 GB HD and connected 40 GB HD as slave and booted into XP.
12. Deleted files and folders reported to be different by freediff and replaced them with the files and folders on my flash drive. All files and folders in the win directory on my flash drive were copied to the windows directory on the 40 GB HD and all files and folders in the sys directory on my flash drive were copied to the windows\system32 directory on the 40 GB HD.
Whenever I could not delete I renamed!
13. Connected 40 GB HD as master on IDE 1 and booted normally. I received the following error:
windows\system32\config\system
status 0xc000000f
info: windowas failed to load because the system registry file is missing or corrupt
14. I put the Vista CD in the cd drive and booted into vista repair. Vista repair recovered the regiistry from a backup.
15. I booted into safe mode successfully
16. I rebooted normally successfully.
Now the question is: can I get an image of Vista created on the HP a1700n (and loaded with programs and tweaks) to function on the Compaq Evo?
That will be my next experiment!
----------------------------------------------------
Some Specs:
4 The Geek in your bones, Here R the specs:
PC1 = Compaq Evo 510, 2.5 GHZ, 512 MB RAM, 20 GB HD, IDE NO SATA, Mfg 2001 - 2002
PC2 = HP a1700n, 2 GHZ Dual Core, AMD Athlon 64, 1 GB RAM, 4 SATA, 2 IDE, Mfg Oct 2006
Thanks 4 all your encouragement and support!
The 40 GB Drive boots Vista normally. It shustdown normally. Howere a restart gives a black screen!
I and many PC owners can and do live with this minor instability. Usually in older versions of windows the pc will hang and never shutdown when attempting to restart.
You shutdown then power on the PC to restart the PC.
------------------------------------------------------
Experiment 3 Follows:
Serendipity doo dah. Serendipity day. And I almost wiped it with Bootit!!!
Background:
Just before Christmas, I installed a 6 User Windows Vista on the Following:
I installed it from scratch because my hal file trick did not work for my 5-User XP image
Also at this time I did not have the HP a1700n PC. So the laptop was more recent, and, therefore, more suitable for being the master image than my vintage Compaq Evo 510.
Gateway ML3109 Laptop PC, ATI Chipset. It ran low-end Pentium 4 speed (1.5 GHZ).
I spent some days creating a Vista image to clone PCs. I created the image on DVD and CD media, 1 DVD for the OS (C:) and 1 CD for the data (D:).
I had promised him the laptop for Christmas and just finished it Christmas Eve.
I was disappointed when the image did not boot, neither on the Compaq nor the HP I bought just after Boxing Day, 2007.
Purpose: Tto Boot Vista Image of Gateway Laptop onto Compaq Evo.
Why the Compaq Evo. Well I figured I had the files already on the flash drive. And I sought the shortcut route going straight to step 11 of Previous post!
Method:
1. Connected 80 GB HD (containing Restored Laptop Vista bootit image) as slave and booted XP.
2. Deleted files and folders reported to be different by freediff and replaced them with the files and folders on my flash drive. All files and folders in the win directory on my flash drive were copied to the windows directory on the 80 GB HD and all files and folders in the sys directory on my flash drive were copied to the windows\system32 directory on the 80 GB HD.
Whenever I could not delete I renamed!
3. Connected 80 GB HD as master on IDE 1 and booted normally.
Results:
I got black screen! Could not boot into safe mode neither!
4. I put the Vista CD in the cd drive and booted into vista repair. Vista repair ran for 20 minutes. It said it had recovered system files. However, I got a black screen again while trying to boot in safe mode and normally from the Compaq Evo.
So I was ready to chuck it in and make a small image from scratch when I made the mistake of not getting the bootit CD in the drive fast enough before the bios attempted to boot from the HD. My fast HP beat me to the punch!
And Quelle S U P R I S E!!! I booted normally successfully!!
All 6 users staring at me. And everything setup seem to work even restart!
Conclusion:
Well my learned friends, it appears that repairs are done from the Vista installation CD. And my hacking of system files forces it to repair things it would not normally complete successfully from normal usage.
---------------------------------------------------
Post Restore blues:
Well, It's quite a learning curve...this vista...ehh?
I could not see my light scribe DVD Burner. Wasted hours trying
everything and still no CDROM.
I thought it may be related to a corrupt or missing cdrom.sys but I
discovered a simple registry hack posted on the net actually solved my
ghostly CDROM problem.
Apparently, it's caused by iTunes and the hack prevents iTunes from
functioning.
The Hack as follows:
best of luck
mike
Method 1: Remove the registry entry
Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry
incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These
problems might require that you reinstall your operating system.
Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify
the registry at your own risk.
Note If you had installed multiple CD-writing software products on
your computer, you need to uninstall the software products before you
remove the registry keys.
1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/System/CurrentControlSet/Control/Cl@ss/{4d36e965-
e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}
4. On the File menu, click Export.
5. In the File name box, type savedkey, and then click Save.
6. Click the REG_MULTI_SZ data type UpperFilters, and then click
Delete on the Edit menu. When you are prompted to confirm the
deletion, click Yes.
Note If this data type is missing, go to Method 2.
7. Click the REG_MULTI_SZ data type LowerFilters, and then click
Delete on the Edit menu. When you are prompted to confirm the
deletion, click Yes.
8. Quit Registry Editor, and then restart the computer.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also I hastily removed Zone Alarm because I could not connect to the
internet. Should have just switched to allow all! Zone Alarm had been
setup on the laptop which had now morphed to the HP PC I am using now
to post to this forum. I am running a solid Windows Vista.connected
via a router to DSL.
I removed errors in device manager then scanned for hardware changes.
No drivers were needed!
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Mon, 14 Jan 2008 13:44:41 -0500
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [PCSOFT] XP Vs Vista
>
> Hi Christopher,
>
> A lot depends on the hardware of the machine Vista is installed on.
> It may or may not boot faster than XP depending on which programs are
> installed.
> At best,the difference is only marginal.
>
> As to the faster install: That's comparing apples to oranges.
> Vista uses an image transfer,whereas XP (from the CD) uses the copy and
> install
> method.Actually even then,install times are fairly close,although many
> people
> experienced very long install times for Vista.
> Regardless,if one was to use an image of a clean install of XP,
> install time for XP would be a fraction of that of Vista.
> There is lots of info about that on the web - I just picked one
> example:Re Vista
> http://webserver.computoredge.com/online.mvc?zone=SD&issue=2502&article=in2
>
> Again,some of the many examples:
> http://www.tech2all.com/2006/02/26/how-to-windows-xp-image-restore-in-a-snap/
> http://blog.hishamrana.com/2006/02/22/how-to-image-windows-xp-with-ghost-and-sysprep/
>
> Dean Kukral is correct when he says:
> Quote:Also, Chris, it may be true that Vista will load faster, but how
> fast
> it runs is much more important.I would rather have it load slower but run
> faster!!
> Dean
>
> Some tests (one out of many)
> http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,2089952,00.asp
> With the upcoming SP3 for XP, early results show a marked increase
> over Vista.
>
> This is like the argument of Windows vs MAC vs Linux etc
> Fans will defend anything regardless of true facts.
>
> In the end, a user's preference,type of usage,finances and many more
> factors
> will decide what's best for them.
>
> As to finance:Vista will require lots of RAM - double that of XP.
> When you come to replace a stick,it will cost you double.
> This is only one example.There are many more.
>
> Since Vista is so "great", I wonder why so many hundreds of thousands,
> maybe millions of people "upgrade" to XP.
> Why businesses are not adopting Vista just yet.
> Why sales are lagging for Vista.
> The answers are right on the internet for anyone to be read.
>
> Peter.
>
>
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: [PCSOFT] XP Vs Vista
> From: christopher Charles <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: 14-Jan-2008 4:18:54 AM
>
>> Actually Vista Boots faster than XP!
>>
>> Vista installs faster too! and it has most of the drivers for
>> motherboard devices.
>>
>> There are about 12 services you could stop or disable.
>>
>> Also use 2 GB of virtual ram on your HD.
>>
>> Christopher C. Charles
>
> PCSOFT maintains many useful files for download
> visit our download web page at:
> http://freepctech.com/downloads.shtml
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