Booting from a VHD on an Empty Hard Drive

[nooruddin76]

Hi guys !!!

I have windows 8.1 x64 pro vhd (stored seperately on another drive).. and I envisaged a scenario where my current operating system goes bad i have to format it.. so now the whole drive is empty.. and i want to start my computer with the help of this windows 8.1 x64 pro vhd file.. How do i do it?

Thanks in advance

P.S I know about the boot order and stuff.. and i know how to transfer my vhd file to the current hard drive physically.

 

[gregrocker]

System Image Recovery

 

[nooruddin76]

Gregrocker !!! Its not a system image created on a computer.. i've used imagex and extracted install.wim to this vhd.. so i'm not sure whether doing a system image recovery is the solution .. what do you think?

 

[gregrocker]

I would replace install.wim in the Sources folder of the Win7 ISO, do a Clean Install Windows 7.

Easiest way is use Windows 7 USB-DVD Download Tool to write the ISO for your licensed version to flash stick, delete install.wim from sources and copy in yours.

Let us know how this works. SIW2 will know some other possibly better ways to do it.

 

[Kaktussoft]

"windows 8.1 x64 pro vhd (stored seperately on another drive).. "=>is that the installation dvd converted to vhd?
Or did you convert a physical system to vhd?

 

[nooruddin76]

@gregrocker

How do i make my own install.wim ..which has all the programs that i installed in the vhd?

 

[nooruddin76]

@Kaktussoft Yeah installation dvd iso.. and installed some programs in the vhd

 

[Kaktussoft]

@Kaktussoft Yeah installation dvd iso.. and installed some programs in the vhd

How did you install the programs in the vhd? The vhd isn't a OS where you can install stuff in. It is just the installation medium.

 

[nooruddin76]

@Kaktussoft .. Once you boot into it (the vhd) .. you can .. its pretty much like ur windows operating system .. you can add, remove do anything

 

[gregrocker]

A .vhd is a file used by Windows Backup Imaging to reimage Win7. It can be mounted in Disk Mgmt using Virtual Hard Disk - Create and Attach VHD to browse its files. I don't know how it relates to install.wim but I've asked our professor SIW2 to explain it.

 

[nooruddin76]

@Gregrocker

I have the windows 8 iso.. how do i add programs in it ? so that when i install it using win 7 dvd tool as you suggested .. and boot into it .. it already contains all the softwares that i installed earlier .. you seem to be knowing this .. can you help me with this?

 

[gregrocker]

This is best accomplished using backup imaging. Once you have Win7 set up as you like it, simply save a backup image using a versatile imaging program like Macrium Reflect. You can then reimage it to hard drive via boot disk, if necessary Adjust Win7 to boot on new hardware with Paragon Adaptive Restore CD.

To customize the Win7 installation media is problematic, but can be tried using 7Lite for slipstreaming in programs, drivers, etc. However you still need to install the OS, compared to the ease of applying a customized image in 20 minutes which is already up and running.

 

[nooruddin76]

Thanks Gregrocker