ResetBase on Windows 7

[AeonX]

So it looks like the Reset this PC feature worked because I didn't do the cleanup after unchecking the Recovery Reset support compatibility and activating DISM ResetBase Functionality.

Exactly.

What if I uncheck the System Reset compatibility and leave the DISM ResetBase Functionality disabled? Will I be able to use the Reset this PC feature even if before doing it I use the Dism /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase command?

Yes, but look at each component with which compatibility it is locked and do not remove those that are locked by System Reset compatibility.

What about the clean update backup option of NTLite?

The DISM option is a free feature you can use to cleanup. It is equivalent to the command with Dism so this name.
This will remove the old files that have been replaced by the new files contained in the updates.

 

[Clanger]

I have never used system restore, system reset etc. I prefer to clone a drive and reapply that every blue moon. Most of the software i use can be run protable and doesnt need activation.

 

[AeonX]

I am more than 2 years using LTSB 2016 without reinstalling the system. I disable Windows Update. A couple of times I installed the .msu manually because I was using the original iso untouched but if I had done a clean install with an updated iso I would not have updated. Keeping Windows update turned on is asking to have problems. It causes more trouble than it fixes.

Just a couple of times I have repaired the OS using sfc /scannow and repaired the disk with chkdsk /f and so far everything is working perfectly. I have already used Windows 7 and 8.1 but LTSB was the one that lasted longer without needing a reinstallation. It was the most stable system in my experience. I plan to install LTSC 2019 in the next few days.

System restore is a placebo when you need it it does not work. If the system is infected for example does not solve then I deactivate it because it only consumes PC resources with few benefits. And I do not trust system reset I'd rather do a clean install.

 

[Clanger]

My LTSC is airgapped. Did some fettling with tasks and services(over 200 disabled, reduces Handles and Threads by 2/3rds), its not too bad but it has a dism bug. Did a test last night, atill getting a dism error during update cleanup - dism compatible, no error if no update cleanup selected. Do an online cleanup reset and it gives 2 progress bars. The good thing is i can use it on coffee lake igpu cos it has a compatible drivver. Some trickery and fettling i got mine down to 6.9gb installed with latest cu etc and .net3.5 installed. For an airgapped pc its not too sad once ive fiddled with it. I will be sharing my tweaks.

Years ago i read that if system already has a bogey then restore will restore that bogey too. Drive clone a fresh install is better. Gonna get a cheap Crucial ssd for cloning. Geeks always said a clean install is best so its what i always do.

The old Take Ownership context menu tweak has changed, it now uses powersmell and opens tons of cmd windows, 1 per file, and really slows a system down, do a dual os, not dual boot, and fettle from 8.1.

 

[Windows 10 User]

What it has to do with this is that you have to figure things out for yourself, like i did, i went straight from xp to windows. Took some time to get my head round the changes and i managed it. When w10 ltsb came along i had reasonable knowledge of mew ms operating systems and how they differed from xp but i still had problems, they wernt ntlite problems, they were w10 problems so i worked out that i had to lay down what compromises i had to accept. Going from 1.16gb(installed) windows 7 to around 6gb windows 10 is a bloody great big compromise but i can mitigate that somewhat by bareboning services and scheduled tasks, all worked out by me, no blackviper service files here, me, 1 by 1.

Granted i did ask some questions along the way and abbodi86 and Kasual were very patient and helpful but somethings didnt work for me so i found compromises on those. Much as w10 1809 is a crock of crap i can fettle it on my own and share my results here.

That's what I've been doing (figuring things out for myself).

Exactly.



Yes, but look at each component with which compatibility it is locked and do not remove those that are locked by System Reset compatibility.



The DISM option is a free feature you can use to cleanup. It is equivalent to the command with Dism so this name.
This will remove the old files that have been replaced by the new files contained in the updates.

I unchecked the System Reset for Windows compatibility but the Servicing Stack (DISM) compatibility is still ticked. May I uncheck it?

 

[AeonX]

I unchecked the System Reset for Windows compatibility but the Servicing Stack (DISM) compatibility is still ticked. May I uncheck it?

Yes you can disable any compatibility option but what I said is still valid. You have to pay more attention to what you will remove. All compatibility options protect the necessary components for that feature, if you uncheck the components are free to remove then if you are not careful you may have problems. So I do not think it's advisable to disable Servicing Stack (DISM) or Windows Update compatibility unless you know what you're doing.

 

[AeonX]

its not too bad but it has a dism bug. Did a test last night, atill getting a dism error during update cleanup - dism compatible, no error if no update cleanup selected.

I do not know for certain but it seems that since version 1709 there are some bugs when doing ResetBase offline.

abbodi86 created a workaround for this in his W10UI script.

 

[Clanger]

I may have a loook at his script. With so few updates each month i can manually add them post install or with a bat, its one of ltsc's winners over 8.1. IM changing workstations today/tomorrow and will be using the i3 with its igpu, that may change when ryzen 3000 and intel 10th gen come out, so im gonna be without ntlite for a while. Because of the w10 issues ive had and other stuff im changing the way i work.

 

[AeonX]

I prefer to do everything offline as possible for reasons of time and performance (my CPU does not have many cores so in a VM I get limited in performance) but some things are only possible online. I spoke in VM because I always install this in VM in audit mode I do everything I need, I do sysprep and I capture the image.

 

[Clanger]

I had issues deploying a captured live install so i just quickly fettle a hw install.

 

[AeonX]

I have not had any problem yet. Was this with LTSC (1809)? I just deployed Win7/8.1 and LTSB 2016 (1607).
I use VMware Workstation run this as admin mapped the HD and captured with imagex.

 

[Clanger]

I was capturing ltsc from a 8.1 host with gimagex 2.2 and getting a oobekeyboard error during deployment.
It wasnt an ntlite bug because i did capture and deploy an ntlited and non ntlited(just deploy captured image) and got the same result. Could be a 8.1 host issue with dism/imagex/gimagex or pebkac so im just using the easiest KISS method so i can get on with things.

 

[AeonX]

I use imagex from Win10 1607 ADK with script that I created along with a wimscript.ini file by abbodi1406. gimagex uses Win10 1803 ADK so that should not be the problem unless 1803 version is specifically bugged but is even more current than what I'm using.

Do you capture a VM or real machine? In case of VM what program? It can also be a specific problem with LTSC or a sysprep incompatibility with the program to create the VM.

 

[Clanger]

To hardware, not vm. Havnt worked out how to capture from a vm, not in mood to find a fix, current way of working is good enough for now. Best to do tweak finding on a full default install, can lite later. We all lite differently but we all want the same tweaks by and large annd they can be used by serious liters and those that use NTLite for easier stuff.

 

[AeonX]

Well then I do not know what it can be. I will install LTSC in a few days and I will capture in a VM before then I will report my results here.

 

[Clanger]

Will be good to know if i messed up or itsa bug. Can you ping me when its up please.
I checked with ntlite and 3 of the updates are install pendings, need net3.5 installed. Dism compatible cleanup gives dism error, no update cleanup isnt. Cleanuyp/resetbase shows 2 progress bars on the install.

 

[AeonX]

If you integrate net3.5 before the updates you get install pendings. Using W10UI script I mentioned will install SSU, CU and .net CU first after do the cleanup/resetbase and only after enable net3.5. In 1809 I do not know if it reinstalls some update to update the net3.5 files probably yes.

 

[Clanger]

4 updates and a bat for net3.5 is so easy doing it manually isnt a problem, specially when compared to 70+ with 8.1.
I prefer to start from a clean source, the less you process the image the less stages to get a bug. Install, update, capture, lite then deploy. its the damn final deployment with that oobekeyboard error thats the problem. A quick goggle session and people are saying its a windows update issue and suggest not using w/u before capture but thats just plain daft because thats why people capture, all updates installed and nothing pending, features set etc. I did try installing the updates from their cab files with dism but i cant remember what the outcome was. i prolly said bugathisforagameofsoldiers and gave up. Right now the priority is to get a default ltsc up and running, finalise tweaks then sort the capture/deploy issue later. LTSC will prolly be around for 3 years so i can afford to let this sit on the back burner for a year at least. Its forced a new way of working that although isnt as perfect as i would like it to be the results are borderline acceptable.

 

[Clanger]

Here is the 2 line dism progress bar bug(?). The progress on line 1 varies during the runs ive done. This was a brand new install, net3.5 and msu updates added to setupcomplete.cmd, features disabled. There is never any component store corruption.
An unattended file really speeds up setup to desktop, bloody slow without it.

 

[pmikep]

So, I read this thread. It's way over my head. Aside from shrinking the footprint of Windows, why would someone want to do this ResetBase?

Update: To clarify: Does ResetBase fix anything or make anything better? (Aside from size of install.)