ARTICLE: Unified Windows 7 Installer for x64 and x86

As processor technology continues to progress, the inverse is true x86 (or 32-bit) version of Windows -- the need for it has regressed. But for some, the 32-bit Windows still is has its uses. Netbooks will probably put it to good use for quite some time in the foreseeable future, while modern and powerful desktops come bundled with a x64 (or 64-bit) versions of Windows.

So having the requirement for both versions, so does the need to keep installers for both versions. Why not just bundle and keep one installer for both?

For all intents and purposes, let us assume that the working directory for our example is D:\WIN7 and the files for the x86 and x64 will be copied to subdirectories under the directory of D:\WIN7 -- meaning D:\WIN7\x86 and D:\WIN7\x64 respectively.

This procedure requires the following items:

• Windows 7 x86 [32-bit] DVD (or ISO)
• Windows 7 x64 [64-bit] DVD (or ISO)
• imagex.exe (part of Windows 7 AIK)
• ISO maker (e.g. cdimage.exe or oscdimg.exe)

Here's how to transform two installers to one.

[1] As stated above, create the folders D:\WIN7\x86 and D:\WIN7\x64.

[2] To make things simpler, copy imagex.exe to D:\WIN7. This will save you from a lot of typing.

[3] Copy the contents of the x64 DVD (or ISO) to D:\WIN7\x64. Do the same for x86 DVD (or ISO) but the intended target directory is now D:\WIN7\x86.

[4] Open a command prompt with Administrator privileges. On the Start menu search bar, key in Command and right-click Command Prompt to run it as Administrator. This is important, run cmd.exe as Administrator.

[5] Run the following commands to merge the installer. You may use the full path of imagex.exe or the relative path, whichever works for you.

imagex.exe /export "D:\WIN7\x64\sources\install.wim" 1 

"D:\WIN7\x86\sources\install.wim" "Windows 7 HOMEBASIC x64"
imagex.exe /export "D:\WIN7\x64\sources\install.wim" 2 

"D:\WIN7\x86\sources\install.wim" "Windows 7 HOMEPREMIUM x64"
imagex.exe /export "D:\WIN7\x64\sources\install.wim" 3 

"D:\WIN7\x86\sources\install.wim" "Windows 7 PROFESSIONAL x64"
imagex.exe /export "D:\WIN7\x64\sources\install.wim" 4 

"D:\WIN7\x86\sources\install.wim" "Windows 7 ULTIMATE x64"

[6] Explore to the D:\WIN7\x86 folder and delete the file "ei.cfg" file. If the following files exist: "install_Windows 7 HOMEBASIC.clg", "install_Windows 7 HOMEPREMIUM.clg", "install_Windows 7 PROFESSIONAL.clg", "install_Windows 7 STARTER.clg" and "install_Windows 7 ULTIMATE.clg", delete them as well.

[7] Copy the file etfsboot.com from D:\WIN7\x86\boot to D:\WIN7. Simply using the file D:\WIN7\x86\boot\etfsboot.com as bootsector when making the ISO will generate errors.

[8] Create the ISO (assuming you got Command prompt in D:\WIN7).

oscdimg.exe -l GRMCULFRER_EN_DVD -m -betfsboot.com -n -h D:\WIN7\x86 WIN7AIO.ISO

Test the newly created ISO in VirtualBox or VMware. Save yourself the cost of a DVD media by testing the ISO first before finally burning the image to a blank DVD. Or if you have a DVD-RW media, you may opt to burn the media and test it on your computer.

On VMware, the installer should be showing something like this.

You may use the all-in-one ISO to create a USB all-in-one installer too.

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TWEAK: Take Ownership Context Menu

Working as a system administrator, I have had several experiences and encounters wherein I tried to reason out that functionality takes precedence over security. Often times this is a futile campaign. You will only end up having to resort to painful workarounds. It is true, the IT industry has generally come to terms that security is serious and functionality stepped back to the end of the queue.

Security comes at a price -- painful and sometimes expensive workarounds. And starting with Windows Vista, there are several file permission implementations that were too complicated. If one gets to change or delete a file without the proper permissions, errors are prompted. This happens even if one is a member of the Administrator group. The same elevated security mechanisms were carried over to the successor Windows 7.

The above scenario was among the many reasons I skipped the upgrade to Vista. There were just too many complications. The opposite of what technology should accomplish.

To illustrate how painful it is to take ownership of a file or folder, the steps are below:

[1] Locate the file or folder on which you want to take ownership in windows explorer. Right click on file or folder and select Properties from context menu.

[2] Open the Security tab. Click on Advanced.

[3] Now click on Owner tab in Advance Security Settings for User window.

[4] Click on Edit button and select user from given Change Owner to list if user or group is not in given list then click on other users or groups. Enter name of user/group and click ok.

[5] Now select User/group and click apply and ok. (Check Replace owner on subcontainers and objects if you have files and folder within selected folder.) Click OK when Windows Security Prompt is displayed. Now Owner name must have changed.

[6] Just click OK to exit from Properties window.

You have just taken ownership of a file or folder. After this you would have to grant yourself full control of the file or folder. Previously (in XP), you didn't have to do that. I can't recall an instance of having to do that to change or delete a folder.

It was good that someone from the Winmatrix Forums posted an easier way to workaround this stressful clicks.

Simply save the code below in notepad (or your favorite text editor) and save as a file with .reg extension.

########## start copy here ##########
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\takeownership]
@="Take Ownership"
"NoWorkingDirectory"=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\takeownership\command]
@="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F"
"IsolatedCommand"="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\takeownership]
@="Take Ownership"
"NoWorkingDirectory"=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\takeownership\command]
@="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" /r /d y && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /t"
"IsolatedCommand"="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" /r /d y && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /t"
########## end copy here ##########

Right-click on the .reg file you just saved. And Merge to insert the code in the registry. Confirm when asked.

To make this job safer and easier, download Ultimate Windows Tweaker (UWT). Under Additional Options tick Show "Take Ownership" and accept the change.

Take ownership.. A not so painful workaround.

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HOW-TO: Windows 7 on DELL D630 -- BlueTooth Woes

As previously mentioned in my post ReadyBoost with PCMCIA Adapter and Compact Flash, I did an upgrade on my DELL Latitude D630 to the latest (and greatest?) Windows 7 x64.

The upgrade went quite well and although the DELL website doesn't certify the D630 for Windows 7, I upgraded anyway with the assumption that I could use Windows Vista drivers. But this doesn't work out good in the end, as proven by the experience. Why? All the other drivers work, except for the Bluetooth drivers.

Here was where I got stuck. I downloaded the Windows Vista x64 driver from the D630 support page.

The installation took quite a bit of time as it had to unpack the bluetooth software, install the drivers, update firmware and a few other things. At the end of the installation it will ask for a reboot, accede to its demands.

After doing this, bluetooth software will launch but the bluetooth indicator light (a blue led with bluetooth logo to the right of the wifi light) would not turn on. And devices would not pair as they are not able to search for the notebook's bluetooth. This was where I started to search for another solution.

Bluetooth wasn't that big of a deal. But I have gadgets that communicate with the notebook, to either transfer files, notes and pictures or listening to music without cable clutter on a Bluetooth headset. So I wished I had bluetooth working.

So here I was again stuck at another problem that I could potentially turn into another pimp-my-rig post. As always, I would consult google regarding my problem hoping that somebody had already been to my situation and has found a working solution. But after sifting through posts for about painstaking 4hours and found nothing that worked, I decided to proceed on my own.

And here is the extra step that got the Bluetooth to work on the D630.

I downloaded the Toshiba Bluetooth software stack. Installed it and rebooted.

After reboot, there is now a bluetooth icon on the system tray. And I could enable/disable the bluetooth radio from there. Then, I tried pairing gadgets to the notebook and it works!

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HOW-TO: ReadyBoost with PCMCIA Adapter + Compact Flash

I recently upgraded my relatively aging but still healthy Dell Latitude D630 notebook to Windows 7 (yeah, I jumped into the bandwagon but it's about time). And seeing that there is already a Service Pack 1 (SP1) out, this made sense to me. During the Windows XP era, it wasn't all good and stable until the SP1 came out. Let's hope history repeated itself here.

One thing that attracted me to the move was the all-improved Readyboost that 7 has. I have experienced the improvement on my desktop and it made sense to put the same to good use on my notebook. But hanging a USB flash drive (UFD) on a portable machine doesn't make sense at all. Good thing the D630 has a PCMCIA slot and I happened to have a PCMCIA card reader with 8GB of hi-speed compact flash media to boot.

But alas when I plugged it in to enable it for use of Readyboost, it wasn't compatible at all. How then do I enable Readyboost on the PCMCIA-CF card? Next thing I did was to ask my friend Google only to find out there are literally thousands (if not millions) of us facing the same dilemma.

Good thing I found this forum post on how to enable USB hdisk drives for ready boost. I tried it out and after a few trials (and errors), I got it to work.

As shown, make changes to the registry (NOTE: Changing the registry can render your computer unusable. You better know what you're doing!) like below. This is the registry key for my Sandisk Ultra PC Card Adapter with RiDATA 8GB 233x Lightning Series Compact Flash card.

After I made changes to the registry, I restarted explorer (using Start > Run > "tskill explorer"). Voila! The device can now be used for Readyboost!

Now explore the Readyboost-enabled card and see that it has the file ReadyBoost.sfcache which is used by Readyboost.

There you go. PCMCIA Adapter and compact flash media for Readyboost. I now have a Readyboost device on my notebook that is completely flushed and barely noticeable at all. Performancewise, I can feel a slight improvement in launching of applications which means Readyboost works.

If you want to tweak this further, you may want to hide the Readyboost drive in Windows Explorer. Google for "NoDrives" registry key.

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HOW-TO: Remove Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Backup Files

Windows 7 SP1 has just gone live over a few days ago. If you haven't gone and downloaded the Service Pack yet, you may check it out here: Download Windows 7 SP1. However, for a "seamless" upgrade experience Microsoft has advised to upgrade to SP1 using the Windows Update (WU) module.

I have done the upgrade using WU, and instead of downloading almost a gigabyte (yes, it is a hefty 903.2MB for the x64 version) for x64 version the WU module downloaded just 87.2MB. I might have most of the updates already installed, so that advise made a little more sense after this experience.

The installation of SP1 also backs up several critical files of the non-SP1 version. As seen in the below screenshot, the backup is an additional 640MB on the drive. It is not that huge on a desktop, but for mobile folks with limited disk space you may choose to remove the backup files after some time.

Understand, however, that once the backup files are removed SP1 could not be uninstalled.

There are several ways do to this. First is via the GUI. Launch the orb (or Start for Classic Shell users), and type "Disk Cleanup" on the search bar. The window launched is similar to the screenshot above. Tick the "Service Pack Backup Files" and click OK. All that is left is to wait for the prompt, and you're done.

For the savvy command-line admins, you may opt to use the command tool. Remember to launch the command tool using the "Run as Administrator" mode. Then execute:

dism /online /cleanup-image /spsuperseded

The above command executes and ends with:

Service Pack Cleanup operation completed. The operation completed successfully.

Too bad, I wasn't able to take a screenshot of the command line as I wasn't thinking about posting the procedure above. After remembering, it was too late. So whether on the command-line or the GUI, you may get rid of the service pack backup files and recover critical disk space.

In a future post, I will outline a procedure on how to slipstream the downloaded SP1 to the original ISO.

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