chriswayg – NTLite https://www.ntlite.com Sun, 05 Aug 2018 06:45:54 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Tutorial for creating and testing a 700MB Windows 7 or 8 ISO https://www.ntlite.com/tutorial-for-creating-and-testing-a-700mb-windows-7-or-8-iso/ Tue, 27 Feb 2018 13:05:35 +0000 https://www.ntlite.com/?p=5313 Purpose: 
Make a small CD sized image to be used for a fast virtual machine which runs most Windows Desktop applications, can be updated with Windows Update, using minimal memory and minimal HD space.
This is not a general guide, but just the steps I documented for my own needs, which may prove helpful to others who want to accomplish something similar. Its mostly for Windows 8, but also applies to Windows 7. Where there are differences, this is noted. (My steps & descriptions are very concise and without pictures, so this may not work as a beginners guide, but you can find a nice one here.

System Requirements

  • Recent version of Parallels (version 10) on a recent version of OS X (Yosemite) and 8 GB RAM (this will probably work similarly in VMware)
  • Windows ISO file: RTM or Download version of Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1
  • NTLite with at least the Home license, after trying out the free version (it cannot remove as much as the licensed one)

Preparations

  • Preferably, create a Virtual Machine as a Host for NTlite with the full version of the target OS
    • for example Windows 8 Pro 32 bit
    • assign at least 2GB memory for the OS hosting NTlite
  • Install NTlite on the Host
    • use HWlist, if targeting the OS for other hardware
  • Download Windows 8.1 ISO from Microsoft (this includes a lot of recent updates already) or use RTM/MSDN ISO
    • http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media
    • Official downloads for Windows 7 SP1 are available here with an (unused?!) product key. Iso images can be also be found on MSDN; and by looking up for example en_windows_7_professional_with_sp1_x86_dvd_u_677056.iso with a hash of SHA1: D89937DF3A9BC2EC1A1486195FD308CD3DADE928 (Google: ‘mydigitallife MSDN Windows 7’)
  • Extract contents to a folder on the Desktop, for example ‘Windows8Pro’

NTlite Settings

  • Toolbar – Add – Image Folder – select ‘Windows8Pro’: to select the OS source
  • For Windows 8.1, let NTlite convert the compressed .esd to a .wim
    • Backup this folder for re-use later for example Windows8ProForNTlite
    • Add this folder as the source
  • Toolbar – Load: Load Windows 8.1 Pro from install.wim (wait a minute…)
  • In Components:
    • Toolbar – Compatibility: select things you want to keep working…
      • Printing
      • Recommended All
      • USB support
      • Windows Update
      • Host Machine (or HWlist)
    • Toolbar – Expand All – Uncheck All: now only the absolute minimum is selected to be installed
    • Add to that the following, by checking what you need:
      • Application Compatibility! (needed for a lot of older applications)
      • Media – high definition audio device (both)
        • wdmaudio (if not already selected)
      • Floppy Disk Support (otherwise Device Manager will have an unassigned Device from Parallels)
      • Group Policy Client & Local Security Policy (useful for changing some otherwise inaccessible settings)
      • Wallpapers (Default)
      • Internet Explorer client
      • optional: Accessories – Mouse pointers
      • optional: add ‘Time Service’ (did not work in Windows 8.1, but OK in Windows 7)
      • Win7: Desktop Window Manager (for Audio and Network Connections to work – may get fixed in later NTlite version)
    • No need to add Metro (almost all settings can be done elsewhere)
  • In Features:
    • Internet Explorer is enabled
  • In Updates – Integrate Update Packages:
    • Automatically using the NTLite (v1.7+) with the Download Updates function, more info here
    • Or manually:
      • To find out relevant Update packages, you should first make an NTlited install without integrated updates
        • then run Windows Update and make a list of all important Security Updates by KB number
      • Download the relevant updates based on the list created in the first step
    • Integrate relevant updates
  • In Tweaks:
    • optional: modify ‘Services’ according to Black Viper Safe list usually a few dozen changes
    • Auto Reboot on BSOD – disable
    • UAC: disable prompt on Secure Desktop
  • In Unattended:
    • Toolbar – Enable, then Auto-fill
      • modify Administrator user as needed including Password “yyyyyy”, possibly check Autologon
    • optional: Toolbar – Add local account: Group – Users, …
    • Toolbar – Configure disk partition: Check… Install to this partition, Maximum, OK
    • use Generic install Key for Windows 8.1 (Bing it 😉
  • In Post Setup:
    • Add 7Zip
    • Add Sysinternals Process Explorer (self-expanding 7zipped exe)
    • Add WinDirStat http://windirstat.info/index.html
    • optional: Add Firefox
    • add some tweaks, reg hacks etc. (see below)
      • Win8DisableSwapfile.reg – disable Metro swapfile
      • Win8NoLockScreen.reg – disable the Lock Screen
      • setvmem.bat – set smaller Virtual Memory
  • In Apply:
    • Toolbar – check Clean Update backup, optional: check Reuse Driver Cache
    • Toolbar – check Save changes to image
    • Toolbar – keep check on Backup Log & Backup preset
    • optional: Toolbar – check ESD compression (gets the image down to almost CD size, but can take about 15 mins longer) without ESD compression the image will be around 900 MB
    • Toolbar – check Create ISO image: Save to outside of the VM and name it something meaningful (Windows_8.1_Pro_32bit_en_US_NTLite4.iso)
    • In Source – Toolbar – Save – Preset name: for example Win8NTlite4

Installation in Parallels VM:

  • Select image file
    • Select Operating System – ‘Windows 8.1’ (if not recognised)
    • Win8: Select ‘Look like Windows 7’ (to get Start8 start menu)
    • Customize: Sharing, Applications, Startup, Memory, disable USB Webcam
  • Install should then all be fully automatic for Windows 8, Windows 7 may ask for a key, which can be skipped
    • when creating partition manually: search for “How to Avoid Reserved or Hidden Partition in Windows 8”

After Installation in Parallels VM:

  • Parallels Hard Disk will be about 2.3 – 2.8 GB, memory usage about 250 MB (win8.1)
  • Win7: disable system restore
  • set 125% Windows & Font scaling (on Hi-Res monitors)
  • Install Parallels Tools
    • Win7: Install Parallels ‘Mac Look’
      • adjust fonts & sizes Segoe UI 11px
    • Win8: ‘Windows 7 Look’ (Win8)
  • add Process Explorer shortcut
  • check or install WinDirStat
  • In Win8.1:
    • Start8
      • optional: Update Start8 to version 1.5+ (from website)
        • sometimes problems with uninstall-loop in Windows 8.1
    • Start 8 settings:
      • Desktop: Disable all Windows 8 Hot corners
      • Configure:
        • Show ‘Run’
        • Hide shortcuts:
          • Games (do not work)
          • Help and Support, etc.
  • Check for Updates in Windows Update (first time can be slow)
    • ignore (most) Optional Updates
    • change Settings (uncheck ‘give me recommended updates…’)
    • hide unwanted updates, especially if you skipped some intentionally during the integration
  • make Firefox default (if installed)
  • launch 7Zip as Admin to associate file-types with all users
  • disable Windows Error Reporting in Group Policy
    • Administrativ Templates – Windows Components – Windows Error Reporting
  • Activation
    • check: %windir%\system32\cmd /c slmgr/dli
  • optional: Install downloaded Theme
  • Check Device Manager
  • Win7: sounds: disable startup sound
    • Disable Delete Confirmation on Recycle Bin

Cleanup:

  • Use WinDirStat to check what is taking up most space
  • Delete ‘Software Distribution’ (stop Windows Update Service first)
  • Shrink WinSXS
    • (see relevant articles)
    • On Windows 8.1:
      • Dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore
      • Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase
      • Dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore
  • Delete: C:\Users\Christian\AppData\Local\Temp\PrlToolsPackages
  • Delete any restore points and disable System Protection (Win7)
  • launch Windows Disk CleanUp
  • optional: CCleaner (disable Monitoring)

Not working or Missing:

In Windows 8.1
  • Creating new Users in a Group
    • fast user switching
    • Create an account via an Administrator command shell cmd.exe:
      • net user /add useraccountname mypassword
      • net localgroup administrators useraccountname /add
  • Even with Metro disabled, Metro IE is installed
    • Metro IE will not load any pages
    • On full screen “Here is Start” will not disappear
  • cannot change account picture (due to Metro not being installed)
  • generally: if nothing from .Net is installed, Event Viewer will not work
  • some errors will show up in Event Monitor, not all of which have been explored by me

Conclusions after testing:

  • Saves a lot of space for each VM, usually only 2.5 to 3.5 GB per VM even with installed updates & applications
    • whereas a regular VM with Win7 or Win8 easily takes up 8 to 20 GB and keeps on growing
  • Win8 Lite is more responsive and almost as fast as a Windows XP VM
  • used Process Explorer to check memory usage, which is between 200 and 300 MB after idling for 5 minutes (about half of a regular install)
  • Device Manager shows no errors
  • Network, Sound and all built in desktop applications incl. Administrative Settings work
  • .Net Framework 3.5 or 4.5 can be installed later, if needed
  • most desktop applications will install and run smoothly
  • tested Firefox, Quicken, Bibleworks, etc.

Registry tweaks & Swapfile Size in Post Setup:

DisableSwapfile.reg
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management]
“SwapfileControl”=dword:0
 
NoLockScreen.reg
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Personalization]
“NoLockScreen”=dword:00000001
 
setvmem.bat
wmic computersystem set AutomaticManagedPagefile=False
wmic pagefileset where name=”C:\\pagefile.sys” set InitialSize=256,MaximumSize=512

Some Silent Install Switches:

77z938.msi /q INSTALLDIR=”C:\Program Files\7-Zip”
Firefox Setup 36.0.1.exe -ms
windirstat1_1_2_setup.exe /S
msxml4-KB954430-enu.exe /quiet
WindowsUpdateAgent-7.6-x86.exe /quiet
Process Explorer.exe -o”C:\Program Files\” -y (7zip created self-extracting exe)
 

If you want to use one of these example presets, please adapt them to your needs: at a minimum check the Components – [toolbar] Compatibility options.

For more presets look at Emma’s excellent work here.

]]> Tutorial for creating and testing a 700MB Windows 10 ISO https://www.ntlite.com/tutorial-for-creating-and-testing-a-700mb-windows-10-iso/ Tue, 27 Feb 2018 13:05:14 +0000 https://www.ntlite.com/?p=5310 Some have asked for an updated guide for Windows 10, thus I would like to share my latest experiment with slimming down Windows 10 and the steps I took to get it working.

Purpose:

Create a small functional image to be used for a fast virtual machine which can run most Windows Desktop applications, using minimal memory and minimal HD space.

This is not a general guide, but just the steps I documented for my own needs, which may prove helpful to others who want to accomplish something similar. (My steps & descriptions are quite concise and without pictures, so this may not work as a beginners guide, but you can find a nice one here.

OS, VM and NTLite System Requirements

  • Recent version of Parallels (version 12) on a recent version of macOS (Sierra) and 8 GB RAM (this will probably work similarly in VMware)
  • Windows ISO file: MSDN version of Windows 10 LTSB
    • I am using the LTSB version in this example, because it is already built to function without Metro and it only requires minimal updates (but other versions of Windows 10 should work similarly)
  • NTLite with at least the Home license, after trying out the free version (it cannot remove as much as the licensed one)

Preparations

NTlite Settings

  • File – Manage License (check that the license is valid & all recent features are activated)
  • Toolbar – Add – Image Folder – select ‘Windows10ltsb’: to select the OS source
  • Right Click ‘Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB’ (install.wim) and select ‘Load’ to mount this image in NTLite (wait a minute or two…)
  • In Components
    • Toolbar – Compatibility: select things you want to keep working…
      • Component Functionality (each category selects a bunch of stuff to keep)
        • Default fonts
        • Microsoft Office
        • Network Discovery
        • Printing
        • Recommended
        • USB
        • Video Playback
        • Windows Activation
        • Windows Update
      • Machine Support
        • Host Machine (or HWlist)
        • Parallels VM (or other VM you might use)
    • Toolbar – Expand All – Uncheck All: now only the absolute minimum is selected to be installed
    • Add to that the following things to keep, by checking what you need:
      • Drivers (nothing added)
        • Sound – high definition audio device – hdaudio.inf (if not already selected)
      • Hardware Support
        • click on ‘Individual Devices’ so that almost none are removed (double-check!, otherwise Win 10 may not boot)
        • Print to PDF
      • Localization
        • keep some common Fonts like Verdana, etc.
        • German Keyboard Layout & Language Support
      • Multimedia
        • Mouse Pointers
          (optional)
        • Wallpaper Default
      • Network
        • Internet Explorer client (optional – install Firefox instead)
      • Remoting and Privacy
        • Network Discovery (Homegroup not needed)
      • System
        • .Net Framework is included
        • Application Compatibility! (needed for a lot of older applications)
        • Help File Support (CHM)
        • Group Policy Client & Local Security Policy (useful for changing some otherwise inaccessible settings)
        • Event Viewer
        • Disk Defragmenter
        • Zip and Cab folder
      • Windows Apps
        • OneDrive
  • In Features (mostly use defaults)
    • deselect XPS Viewer
    • deselect Microsoft XPS Document Writer
    • select Microsoft Print to pdf
  • In Services
  • In Local Machine
    • Auto Reboot on BSOD: Disabled
    • Pagefile: 256 MB
    • Privacy: mostly Disabled
      • Allow Telemetry: Security
    • Automatic Activation: Disabled
    • Sponsored Apps: Disabled
    • Malicious Software Removal Tool Updates: Disabled
    • Updates: Check only
  • In Users
    • Welcome Experience: Disabled
    • Privacy: almost all Disabled
  • In Updates – Integrate Update Packages:
    • Automatically using the NTLite (v1.7+) with the Download Updates function, more info here
    • Or manually:
      • To find out relevant Update packages, you should first make an NTlited install without integrated updates
        • then run Windows Update and make a list of all important Security Updates by KB number
      • Download the relevant updates based on the list created in the first step
    • Integrate relevant updates
  • In Drivers
    • check that it all looks as expected with most drivers found
    • missing Parallels Drivers will be installedd by the Parallels Tools Package
  • In Unattended:
    • Toolbar – Enable, then Auto-fill
      • modify Administrator user Name as needed including Password
      • optional: check Auto-logon
    • optional: Toolbar – Add local account: Group – Users, …
    • Toolbar – Configure disk partition
      • Check… ‘Install to this partition’, ‘Maximum’
      • Label ‘Main’
    • * Setup Key (check for correct key )
      • * use generic free KMS Client Setup Key: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj612867.aspx
      • * or Generic Windows 10 Installation Key: http://windowsiso.net/windows-10-iso/windows-10-product-key/
      • * Windows 10 LTSB: DCPHK-NFMTC-H88MJ-PFHPY-QJ4BJ
      • * Windows 10 Enterprise: NPPR9-FWDCX-D2C8J-H872K-2YT43
  • In Post Setup:
    • To disable the Hibernate: Toolbar – Add – Command: powercfg/h (with Parameters) off
    • Compress the OS to reduce size by 1.2 GB Toolbar – Add – Command: Compact (with Parameters) /CompactOS:always
    • Add WinDirStat http://windirstat.info/index.html: Toolbar – Add – File windirstat1_1_2_setup.exe (with Parameters) /S
    • Add Firefox https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/: Toolbar – Add – File Firefox Setup.exe (with Parameters) -ms
  • In Apply:
    • check: Save the image: Save to outside of the VM and name it something meaningful
      • for example: Windows_10_LTSB_32bit_en_US_NTLite1.iso
    • Remove non-essential editions:
      • remove Windows PE
    • Image Format: Standard WIM
      • optional: use ESD compression (gets the image down by about one fourth, but can take about 15 mins longer)
    • Toolbar – Preset – Save: for example Win10ltsbNTlite1
  • Toolbar – Preset – Save as… the preset under a new name
  • Toolbar – Process (and wait for a few minutes)

Installation in Parallels VM:

  • Select image file
    • Select Operating System – ‘Windows 10’ (if not recognised)
    • Option: for Software Testing
  • Install should then all be fully automatic for Windows 10 within a few minutes (OS compression can take a while and the VM will appear to be unresposive for possibly a few minutes)
    • restarts automatically

After Installation in Parallels VM:

  • optional: install Sysinternals Process Explorer & add shortcut (for better Memory usage measurement)
    • Memory usage about 300 MB, after a few minutes idle using Process Explorer
  • Install Parallels Tools
    • if auto-start is disabled, manually start setup from CD drive with autorun.exe
    • Unattended installation of Parallels Tools http://kb.parallels.com/en/11616: PTAgent.exe /install_silent
  • optional: add GPedit.msc & WinDirStat shortcuts
  • make Firefox default (if installed)
  • Check Device Manager

Limitations:

  • Cannot be updated properly with Windows Update, due to cumulative updates breaking the system (see Host Refresh Wizard for alternatives https://www.ntlite.com/v1-2-stable-released/ )
  • Network discovery has to be manually enabled
  • Event Viewer Errors: various such as
    • Print Service
    • Task Scheduler
    • Driver install failed
  • Strange layout in Settings – Privacy – Location

I tested it with various applications, and so far everything works fine including larger ones such as Corel Draw.

Final on-disk install Sizes with Presets:

  • Windows 10 LTSB 1607 (32bit) NTliteTiny2 – 1.2 GB (no swap)
    • The created iso image is less than 700 MB (with esd). This is my smallest image which works without problems, by leaving out Updates, Printing, OneDrive and a few other things. With more testing, this could be reduced further.
  • Windows 10 LTSB 1607 (32bit) NTlite9 with integrated updates – 2.3 GB (plus 500MB swap)
  • Windows 10 Enterprise 1703 (32bit) original FULL install – 9 GB (no compression), 7.5 GB (with compression)
  • Windows 10 Enterprise 1703 (32bit) NTlite1.0 with integrated updates – 2 GB (plus 500MB swap)
    • This is my favorite general purpose VM, using the settings described in the tutorial

If you want to use one of these example presets, please adapt them to your needs: at a minimum check the Components – [toolbar] Compatibility options.

For more presets look at Emma’s excellent work here.

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