NTLite reports "Unreadable or unsupported file: C:\Recovery\Customizations\usmt.ppkg"

pmikep

Active Member
I just re-ran NTLite on a friend's Win10 Laptop (Acer brand) to remove reinstalls after a recent (forced) Win10 CU.

I had installed - and activated - NTLite on this laptop in March.

When I ran NTLite today (May 11), I got a notice that there was a newer version of NTLite. Would I like to download and install it?

Normally I do this by hand on my machines. But I said "Yes."

So NTLite updated itself to 2.1.0.7862.

And then it instantly told me that I needed to Activate it again.

I don't often understand this Activation stuff. I had just Activated NTLite in March, with, I think, the code that I bought during the Holiday Special 2021.

(Perhaps this was caused by the jump from NTLite 2.0.x to 2.1.x?)

So I said "No."

I loaded the Live Win partition. (It turns out that I don't have to load Windows to do a Remove Reinstalls. But it's a habit.)

Then I got a message saying:

"Unreadable or unsupported file: C:\Recovery\Customizations\usmt.ppkg"

I don't see a Recovery directory/folder on C: Which I suppose would explain the plain meaning of the error message. (Update: The Recovery directory is there. The problem here is that I have System Files hidden on this Laptop.)

I ran Remove Reinstalls anyway. It seems to have worked, in the sense that NTLite did something, removed some files, and wanted a reboot.

Now, the only other things that I've done to this laptop since rerunning NTLite today was to shrink the Win10 C: partition, create a D: partition, and move NTLite from C: to D:

I don't have a log file to post, because apparently "Remove Reinstalls" uses a different process than the normal Removals process and doesn't create a log file?

So, what's the problem? How do I fix it? And do I need to do anything else to make sure that Remove Reinstalls worked correctly? (I made an image of the entire laptop before doing all this.)
 
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Oops. I spoke too soon (regarding the striked-out text, below).

This problem is following NTLite.

Well, apparently not an NTLite problem, per se.

First,
one reason that I couldn't see the Recovery directory was because I had set the visibility of System Files to Hidden on my friend's laptop.

Second, but even then, restoring a previous working Win10 image still gave the readable Customizations\usmt.ppkg in NTLite. (After loading a Live Windows.)

The last thing that I did that fixed this problem was that I un-shrunk the Windows OS partition. Then I restored a previous working Win10 image to that partition. And then, this time, when I shrunk the partition, I didn't use the Windows minimum default, but I gave myself some headroom in the partition.

Who knows? Maybe Microsoft wasn't allowing enough room to keep the Recovery directory when shrinking partitions? (Would MS make a mistake like that?)


When I restored the previous image, that also restored a previous version of NTLite.

After I updated to 2.1.0.7862, the report about Unreadable or unsupported file: C:\Recovery\Customizations\usmt.ppkg came back.
 
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I tried .7917. No change. Still getting this report. I'll plan to try .7917 on my desktop later today to see if I get the same behavior from NTLite.
 
Okay I installed .7917 on my Dell Desktop. As with updating NTLite on my friend's Laptop, I did not re-Activate NTLite.

In this instance (my desktop), NTLite does NOT report an "Unreadable or unsupported file: C:\Recovery\Customizations\usmt.ppkg"

So, this appears to be a two variable problem. Something changed in NTLite from a March version to now. And there's something about my friend's Win10 Laptop that's causing NTLite to say that it can't read usmt.ppkg.

I dunno.
 
For what it's worth, the Win10 Laptop updates itself via Microsoft's automatic (forced) updates. Whereas my Dell Desktop is frozen at a nearly vanilla version of Win10. (That is, no CU's on my Dell Desktop.)
 
This problem still persists for me. (Even tho I see something about it being fixed in an earlier release of NTLite. (A regression error.))

I updated to NTLite 2.1.2.8047. I even Activated it. When I load the Live Windows image, I still get "Unreadable or unsupported c:/ ... /usmt.ppkg.

Is there anything that I can try here to try to troubleshoot this?
 
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I tried v 2.3.2.8502 on my friend's Acer laptop. I am still getting the warning from NTLite about "Unreadable or unsupported file: C:\Recovery\Customizations\usmt.ppkg" when I do Remove Reinstalls.

Then I had the idea of restoring the usmt.ppkg from an early image of the laptop, even before I used NTLite on it, in case there was something truly unreadable in the ppkg file.

Still NTLite reports the error. (FWIW, the file size and date of the usmt.ppkg from the image was exactly the same as what was on the laptop today.)

I am wondering if this is some kind of weird Permission problem with the Recovery Folder (and so NTLite can't see the folder?), caused when I resized the Windows' C: partition?
 
It's an Acer brand laptop. It came with Win10 preinstalled. It has an extra 1 GB "Recovery Partition," now at Partition #5 (was #4 before I split C:), which I'm guessing contains a (highly compressed) OEM image of Win10.

This issue doesn't bother me, per se. I'm just wondering why it's happening. Or why it's important for NTLite to check for it?

As I reported above in this thread, this issue started after I upgraded NTLite to 2.1.0.7862. So it seems to follow NTLite.

(I was initially thinking that because I split the C: partition, whatever pointer to the Recovery Partition might be in the ppkg file no longer points to the proper partition number for the Recovery Partition after I added a partition to the hard drive. But since the problem appeared with a new version of NTLite, that doesn't seem likely. Unless it's a combination of both changes?)

Then I saw an item in one of the change logs for NTLite about fixing a Regression error pertaining to usmt.ppkg.

Whatever, it's an anomaly. So I report it.

If, as you say, no one uses the "push button" reset feature (this Acer does not have a dedicated mechanical push button Recovery. Although maybe they mean that metaphorically), then the question becomes, "Why does NTLite check for it? And what are the implications to NTLite if NTLite can't find or read the file?"

Perhaps, if it's not really important, then NTLite shouldn't check for it at all?
 
Push-button reset uses a backup of WinSxS (which keeps all installed updates) and USMT.ppkg to perform something like a host refresh.
USMT.ppkg is created by User State Migration Tool and takes a snapshot of the Windows app files & settings.

For folder permissions, check this out:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/wi...oy-push-button-reset-features?view=windows-11
Code:
icacls C:\Recovery\Customizations /inheritance:r /T
icacls C:\Recovery\Customizations /grant:r SYSTEM:(F) /T
icacls C:\Recovery\Customizations / grant:r *S-1-5-32-544:(F) /T
icacls C:\Recovery\OEM /inheritance:r /T
icacls C:\Recovery\OEM /grant:r SYSTEM:(F) /T
icacls C:\Recovery\OEM / grant:r *S-1-5-32-544:(F) /T
attrib +H C:\Recovery

nuhi's expertise is needed :confused:
 
My understanding, from the Acer documentation, is that using the Acer Recovery Partition will reset the laptop back to OEM status. No "refresh."

Consistent with this, the date of the usmt.ppkg file is old, like when my friend first obtained the laptop. That is, it doesn't appear that usmp.ppkg has been updating via snapshots.

Now, if it is supposed to update via snapshot, then perhaps it's not updating after removing the backup component from Windows using NTLite?
 
From reading docs, it doesn't look like you can update the Recovery files. Which makes it a factory reset, and USMT.ppkg is whatever default apps Acer wants you to have.

What happens if you rename USMT.ppkg, so NTLite doesn't find it?
 
Thanks Mike, will skip this file during OS loading.
Similar story was with the already skipped icb.ppkg
Some OEMs add these.
 
Thanks Mike, will skip this file during OS loading.
Okay, sounds good.

If it were my laptop, I would try to do a Recovery Reset to see if the .pplg file really is "unreadable," as reported by NTLite. Or if moving the Recovery Partition prevents its use.

Regardless, if the file is not necessary for the operation of NTLite, then it makes the user think that something is wrong - apparently without any recourse. (Except to restore the ppkg file from an image.)
 
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