Win10XPE - Build Your Own Rescue Media [2]

CrystalDiskInfo could see the replacement SSD but not CrystalDiskMark. In Device Manager the SSD was showing Fortunately I had another bootable Windows drive and after installing Windows I was able to carry out the tests on the SSD. Afterwards when I booted back to Win10XPE, CDM did detect the drive. I guess the SSD was in an unformatted state and maybe that's why CDM failed to detect it? Or was there any other issue?

Linux Reader for Windows version 4.11 by DiskInternals was released on December 7, 2021.
Simply hit the Update button.

I am having trouble with converting from flatboot via VHD back to a USB drive loading PE into a ram disk.

When I first create an ISO with Win10PXE (all programs loaded into RAM setting, etc.) and make a bootable drive via Rufus, WinPE boots successfully from the USB drive. After taking the same boot.wim contained in the same ISO and setting up a flatboot VHD, doing some registry edits offline via loading its hives (e.g. disabling floppy disk drivers or other items I do not need), and installing some programs after PE boots, I then convert the VHD contents back into a WIM format via DISM++ and supplant the original boot.wim in the original Win10XPE ISO with the new one. Upon loading the ISO back into a USB stick via Rufus, I reboot and get through the "loading files" screen and the Windows logo/loading icon screen, but instead of then proceeding to the configuration screen with the default Win10XPE wallpaper, there instead is just a reboot back to POST and an infinite loop of the same. This seems to occur even if I make no edits to the flatboot and simply convert to VHD and back to a bootable USB, so there is something I seem to be missing either in the Win10XPE ISO creation or in the process of converting to VHD/flatboot and back.

VHD obviously boots fine on its own when added via Bootice.

Programs used for method: Rufus, WinNTSetup, DISM++, Bootice, UltraISO. Original build of ISO before Win10XPE is 21H2.

Thanks for any ideas of help!

Hi @internethandle7,
I'm pretty sure the boot stores are replaced when converting to VHD when adding the configuration to boot from it.

Before converting back to wim format replace the boot and efi folder of your compilation with the original ones from your iso folder in your XPE project.

MaloK said:

Hi @internethandle7,
I'm pretty sure the boot stores are replaced when converting to VHD when adding the configuration to boot from it.

Before converting back to wim format replace the boot and efi folder of your compilation with the original ones from your iso folder in your XPE project.

Ah, that's a very helpful suggestion. I was sort of staring at and puzzling at settings in Bootice earlier because I had suspected something might be amiss there, I'll give it a shot later today. Thank you!

if you dont want to add your changes until after build you can use DISM GUI (link below), right after ISO creation, to easily mount boot.wim to a folder and make any changes, and then unmount/commit your changes.. then you can use a program like poweriso or ultraiso to overwrite the original boot.wim in your ISO with your new updated boot.wim

(Tested and working as of Win11 22000.348)
DISM GUI Download Free for Windows 10, 7, 8 (64 bit / 32 bit)

Wow. I missed this update for my own build.

AnyDesk version 7.0.4.0 was released last month on November 19, 2021.
Just hit the Update button.