Is this the right approach for a truly clean install?

Megahertz07 · 05 Jul 2017

Open disk management and assign a letter to it. Open explorer and see what's inside.

Paul Black · 05 Jul 2017

When I highlight it and right click it in computer management it only gives the option of Help.
Could this be because the system hasn't fully installed properly?

Megahertz07 · 05 Jul 2017

How big is the partition and how big is the free space on it?

Paul Black · 05 Jul 2017

From what I saw when I was setting up the partitions, it is 2 GB in total with 1.4 GB free. I can't view the properties of it or anything because the only option on right click is Help.
In computer management is has stripes going diagonally up fom left to right if that helps!

Megahertz07 · 05 Jul 2017

2G is too small to have a recovery image on it. I would delete ALL partitions (including it) during installation.

Paul Black · 05 Jul 2017

OK, thanks very much.
It just says Healthy (Active, Recovery Partition) in computer management.
I will have another go at reinstalling shortly and delete that drive.

Megahertz07 · 05 Jul 2017

Paul,
- Basically is a Clean Install Windows 7 - Windows 7 Help Forums
- Boot from win 7 installation disk. Go to install - Advanced- delete ALL partitions - create new. Choose a size for C:.
- Once you reboot after ctrl+shift+F3, (page 2of Kari tutorial) hit cancel, go to Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Folder Options and View tab - un mark "Hide Extensions for Known file types".
- Open device manager and install all drivers. Reboot. You will be back to Audit mode, hit cancel. Once you have all drivers installed you're ready to proceed with sysprep.
- Open disk management, create the new partitions (if you haven't created during installation), change drive letters (begin with ODD) so drive D: will be after C: and I: is the last to the right.
- With explorer, copy Sysprep.cmd and Relocate.xml to D:
- Run Sysprep.cmd
- After reboot, exit Audit mode (page 6 of Kari tutorial)

Kari · 05 Jul 2017

Paul Black said:

I reinstalled and everything seemed to go OK.
I got the Sysprep is working... screen and then it rebooted.
I didn't however get the System preperation Tool 3.14 screen after the reboot (as per page 6 0f Kari's instructions) that I was supposed to get so I could click OK.

I carried on and unfortunately I didn't get to enter the Product Key and the Users were still on drive C:.

Paul, read the page 6 again, compare the Sysprep command there to one you are using. Notice any difference?

The tutorial tells to Sysprep and boot back to Audit Mode with this command:

Sysprep.exe /audit /reboot /unattend:D:\relocate.xml

Command you are using:

Sysprep.exe /oobe /reboot /unattend:D:\relocate.xml

In tutorial I suggest booting back to Audit Mode, then run Sysprep again to boot to OOBE, normal Windows setup. You skip that by asking Sysprep to boot directly to OOBE, therefore you will not see the Sysprep GUI as told in page 6.

Paul Black said:

Thanks again.

I don't know if it is empty (and I don't want to delete it without knowing what is in there really), I can't find it to get into it. I only saw it when I was setting up my partitions. I have done what you have suggested to unhide extensions for known file types and it just appears as I have stated in the computer management.
It appears to be some sort of recovery from what I posted in my previous post.
It has NO drive letter!
It is 2 GB in total with 1.4 GB free from what I saw when I was setting up the partitions.
The disk I am using says it is a operating system - recovery DVD.

WinRE partition is a Windows system partition on UEFI based machines with GPT disk partitioning. If and when you are doing a clean install, you should absolutely wipe the whole disk, not leave WinRE or any other system partitions from previous installs.

BTW, are you absolutely sure you are using a 64 bit install media to install Windows? I'm asking because the clearly most common reason for Users folder not to relocate yet Sysprep not giving any error messages is the wrong bit architecture in answer file. In your case the answer file is for 64 bit Windows (ProcessorArchitecture amd64); if you are installing a 32 bit Windows, this answer file will not cause any errors, it will just be completely ignored.

If you are not sure, open an elevated Command Prompt or PowerShell and enter following command:

dism /Get-WimInfo /wimFile:X:\Sources\install.wim /index:1

Replace drive letter, in above command example X: with the actual drive letter of DVD or USB flash drive of your Windows 7 install media, in below screenshot I had a Windows 10 USB drive as L: drive. When command is run, check the bit architecture:

Is this the right approach for a truly clean install?-2017-07-05_23h38_33.jpg

Confirm that your install media is 64 bit.

Kari

Megahertz07 · 05 Jul 2017

Sysprep.exe /oobe /reboot /unattend:D:\relocate.xml is on the sysprep.cmd batch file I gave to Paul.
My mistake and don't know why or where it came from.
My apologies for KARI and specially for Paul.

Kari · 05 Jul 2017

Megahertz07 said:

Sysprep.exe /oobe /reboot /unattend

:\relocate.xml is on the sysprep.cmd batch file I gave to Paul.
My mistake and don't know why or where it came from.
My apologies for KARI and specially for Paul.

it's not a mistake, nothing to apologize. I am the guilty one here.

In tutorial I just suggest to use /audit switch, I wrote this seven and a half years ago and can't remember why, maybe because at that time I was thinking that letting Windows to boot back to Audit Mode could be better for troubleshooting if Sysprep failed.

Anyway, that is an unnecessary step, there's nothing wrong in using /oobe switch instead.

Kari