On the Internet, on software websites, you have probably come across program assemblies distributed as one ISO file or several directories with one convenient installation menu. Want to know how these assemblies are made? Very simple. There are different ways, but we will get acquainted with only one of them. To create our own assembly we will use the utility MInstAll.
1. About the program
The MInstAll utility is a wizard designed for the so-called silent installation software. It allows you to install programs, codecs and even drivers in batch mode, although the developer has a separate utility for installing drivers. MInstAll also allows you to launch from the main menu portable applications, regular Windows utilities and Control Panel applets, shut down and restart the computer.
The application supports adding descriptions, links, icons from the built-in library, keys to assembly programs command line, automatic checking for programs already installed on the PC, removing those already added, sorting by groups, creating exceptions, importing registry files and much more.
2. How to work with MInstAll
There is nothing difficult about working with the program. After unpacking the archive with the utility, you will receive an executable file AutoRun.exe, configuration file AutoRun.ini, file checksums and catalog MInstAll. In this directory you will find several more files and folders. Only two are of interest to us: software And Portable. In the first we copy the executable files of the programs that are supposed to be installed on the PC, in the second we add portable applications.
By default, these folders may already contain some programs, but this is not important. If they are not needed, you can always delete them through the main menu of the utility. After the catalogs software And Portable will be completed, we launch AutoRun.exe and let's get to work. In the drop-down menu, select the profile “ Installing applications", grab the program file from the folder with the mouse software and throw it on the window MInstAll.
This will open a new window in which you will have to fill out several fields. This is not necessary, since the most important of them, in particular, the path and name, are filled in automatically, but if you want the person who will use your kit not to be at a loss, we advise you to enter data in the following fields: “ Version», « Group», « Status», « Developer's website», « OS Compatibility" And " Description».
Additionally, you can set the path to the icon. If you don’t know what they are needed for, you don’t need to fill in the remaining fields. As for launch keys, sometimes MInstAll selects them itself, in other cases you will have to specify them yourself, so we recommend asking which key is responsible for which action. We add utilities and other applications to the menu in the same way. Then the program and its folders can be written to a disk or flash drive, and then you can install programs from it individually or in batch mode.
You can download MInstAll from the developer’s website checkdevice.narod.ru. The utility is distributed free of charge and supports running on all popular editions of Windows OS. On the official website, those interested can also find the author’s assembly of programs with a total weight of more than 3 GB.
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But even if such a question did not come to mind, then surely many, after installing a problematic assembly, had the desire to tell its would-be installer what they thought about it, and where he needed to go. So-called lightweight builds - distributions with cut out or disabled functionality, designed for low-power computers, optimized for games or other specific tasks; in terms of performance, they rarely differ significantly from regular distributions. But such assemblies will definitely cause problems when missing ones are needed Windows features. As they say, if you want everything to be fine, do it yourself. Below we will look at how modified system assemblies are created with some functionality removed and some added. And we’ll try to build our own Windows distribution using the NTLite program.
Why create your own Windows builds
In principle, there is nothing wrong with it. But only on the condition that the truly unnecessary part of the distribution is cut out, and the system remains operational in terms of interaction with the hardware and providing access to the main functionality. Naturally, for a large audience it will not be possible to guess 100% what needs to be cut out and what to leave in the system. But you can do this for yourself, for a couple of computer devices in the house. To do this, you need to know exactly which system functionality will never be useful. And, therefore, it is necessary to at least superficially understand it - what components and services are needed for what, what do these or those solve Windows settings. But this is if you cut out the functionality.
You can take your first steps in the field of creating modified builds of Windows without cutting out the functionality of the system. And, on the contrary, with the expansion of its capabilities - with the addition of component drivers (and even peripherals), with the installation useful programs. Actually, there is special software like NTLite for these purposes.
About NTLite
NTLite is a tool for creating modified builds of Windows. It will allow you to cut out certain functionality from the distribution, disable system services, set certain system settings, implement drivers, updates, registry tweaks, third-party programs. It is not a way to create assemblies with pre-installed third-party software, such as, for example, Windows preparation to deployment in audit mode. But NTLite is a powerful distribution tweaker with the ability to use the Post-Install tool to automatic start installation process added to such a distribution third party programs.
NTLite is a paid program; before purchasing a license, you can try its trial version on the website
https://www.ntlite.com
Well, now let's proceed directly to creating the assembly. Using this program, we will unpack the Windows installation image, configure it, and then pack it again into a format suitable for installation.
Unpacking the source
First of all, let's prepare the initial ISO image with the process Windows installations 7, 8.1 or 10. Or mount the ISO file to display in Explorer.
And then copy all the contents installation disk to a separate working folder.
Or we extract the ISO contents using an archiver. Whichever is more convenient for you.
Adding source
Launch the NTLite program. In its window, click “Add” and indicate the path to working folder, where we copied (or unpacked) the contents of the source ISO at the previous stage.
Let's see the structure of the components of this ISO, including editions of one or another Windows versions. We need to choose one of them. All settings made in the future will now affect only the selected edition, and only this edition will be contained in the modified distribution, which we will receive as a result of the work done. Select the edition, call up the context menu on it, and click “Download.” If we work with Windows distribution 8.1 and 10, you also need to additionally confirm the operation of converting the image from the WIM format to ESD.
NTLite performs operations with WIM images - install.wim files, which contain installation Windows files. And ESD images - compressed files install.esd, which stores the distribution kit for system versions 8.1 and 10 - the program will convert to WIM format during the download process. Converting images from ESD to WIM is not a quick procedure, you will have to wait. WITH Windows images 7 are much simpler in this regard, since they initially exist in WIM format. So, friends, it’s better to start getting acquainted with the capabilities of NTLite by creating modified assemblies of the “Seven”. In this case, you will not have to convert the image either initially from WIM to ESD, or vice versa after completing the preparation of the assembly for its packaging in ISO.
- Note : in the process of converting an image from ESD to WIM, the processor may be loaded on weak and average computers. In this case, you can temporarily disable real-time protection Windows Defender or third-party antivirus.
When the WIM or ESD image is loaded into the NTLite program window, we will see a message about this next to the selected edition. We will also find that in the panel on the left, in addition to the current vertical “Source” tab, a lot of other tabs have appeared. Let's explore them one by one. Go to the “Components” tab.
Components, functions and Windows services
In the “Components” tab, you can disable, respectively, certain system components by unchecking them. What can I turn off here? Hardware support for individual peripheral devices such as modems, IR and Bluetooth modules, smart cards, etc., as well as drivers for components that will definitely not be connected to the PC or laptop for which the assembly is being prepared. You can also disable components such as:
Languages and keyboard layouts;
DVD player and optical disc burner;
Utilities “Scissors”, “Notes”, “Dictaphone”, “Recording actions”;
Speech recognition, on-screen keyboard;
Standard Skype;
Network components;
Mobility Center;
Windows Defender;
If the task is to reduce the weight of the distribution itself, you can focus on the weight of the components displayed in the last column of the table. Windows components are the functionality that is cut out, not disabled. Not all components cut from the distribution can then be easily downloaded on the Internet and implemented into the system. So, when making settings in the “Components” tab, you need to be very careful when unchecking the boxes.
The “Features” tab below contains Windows features that are not cut, but they may be disabled by default in the distribution. Or, conversely, they are enabled, whereas in the official image from Microsoft they are disabled. Such as, NET Framework 3.5 or IIS. Among the preset functions you can disable if you do not use:
Windows 7 Gadgets;
Standard office games (“Klondike”, “Spider”, “Solitaire”, etc.);
Windows Media Center, Windows player Media, DVD studio, tablet PC components;
Linux subsystem;
XPS Services and PDF Printer;
Indexing and intra-system search;
- Note: NTLite may even suggest turning off Internet Explorer, however, you should not do this. Disabling Internet Explorer may cause other applications on the system to malfunction.
To disable a particular function, you need to uncheck its box. To enable it, you need to check the box.
The Services tab allows you to disable unused services Windows. Or, conversely, enable those that are disabled by default. For the selected service, you must select the desired value from the drop-down list at the end of the line, for example, “Disabled.”
Windows services are another important stage in setting up a distribution, where you need to not overdo it with disabling. Without autostarting certain services, Windows may simply not start. Here we also need to clearly understand what and why we are turning off.
Settings
In the " Local computer» collected some system settings such as setting parameters for the paging file, UAC, Update Center, etc. Settings are set either by setting the “Enabled/Disabled” position, or by specifying specific data, as is the case with the paging file.
The “Users” tab is something of an easy tweaker for fine tuning usability of the system.
Updates, drivers, registry tweaks
In the “Updates” tab we can view the list of updates already integrated into the source distribution, as well as add new update packages.
The “Drivers” tab is used to add drivers, respectively. By clicking the “Add” button, we can specify the NTLite program a folder with a selection of drivers for specific device. Or, for example, integrate it into the Windows 7 installation process universal drivers USB 3.0.
It’s interesting that when working in the same version of the system and on the same computer for which the assembly is being prepared, you don’t have to look for disks with drivers or download them from official sites, but import them from the current system. To do this, you need to click the “Import current OS” button, and when the drivers are loaded, click the “Exclude unused” button.
If we have any tweaks system registry- REG files with certain settings, we can include them in the distribution. And these tweaks will be applied at the system preliminary setup stage along with driver installation. In our case, for example, a REG file was added to change the Windows 10 scaling method to the one that was in version 8.1.
Personification
In the “Automatic” tab, if the assembly is done for yourself, you can set some personal settings like this:
Language, time zone;
Computer name, activation key;
Network settings;
And then these installation steps will take place automatically. These settings are specified by selecting the desired value in the drop-down list or by setting the “True/False” position.
Installing third party programs
The “After Installation” tab is a setting for the Post-Install function, a series of automatically running processes for installing third-party software. Implementation of software into the Windows assembly, even in the form installed programs, even in the form of Post-Install - a controversial improvement if we are talking about the computers of ordinary users. Program versions quickly become outdated, and such modifications naturally increase the weight of the distribution. However, several regular programs such as a browser, an archiver, file manager can be implemented. Post-Install function implemented NTLite program, is launched at the final stage of Windows preliminary setup. And at this stage - without a system interface, without the activity of unnecessary services and drivers - installation of programs is very fast.
- Note: friends, if, due to the introduction of third-party software, the ISO image of the Windows installation ends up being more than 4 GB, the WinSetupFromUSB utility will help you write it to a flash drive for computers with BIOS UEFI, which must be formatted in FAT32. It provides a mechanism to bypass FAT32 restrictions.
Using the “Add” button, we add program installers for Post-Install. In the “Parameters” column, if desired, for programs that do not provide for the incidental installation of any junk, you can specify their silent installation keys.
When all the settings have been made, we can click “Apply” at the bottom.
Packaging a modified assembly into an image
So, the modified distribution is configured, but not ready yet. All operations are just planned for now. They need to be applied, and the distribution itself must be packaged into an image.
Minimize time and effort for the process Windows reinstallation possible if:
- Use current version system 10, which in most cases will itself supply drivers for at least significant components;
- Use the latest distribution, and then you won’t have to bother with system updates;
- Store installers of third-party programs in one folder so as not to remember them and not run through the websites of their developers to download;
- You can even work with some programs in their portable versions;
- Use browser synchronization services, export-import program settings.
Another, not entirely clear-cut way to simplify the reinstallation of Windows is to create your own assembly with integrated software. However, if such an assembly is not updated periodically, after reinstallation the system may be stuck in updates for a long time. And software that does not update automatically will then have to be manually refreshed.
The best option would still be to install the system from a clean, fresh distribution. A necessary programs You can quickly install it using a special type of software - multi-installers. Let's look at some of them.
Multi-installers for batch installation of programs in Windows
1. InstallPack
https://installpack.net
Free portable utility InstallPack – the simplest way batch installation of Windows programs. Their installers are taken from the official websites of the developers and are periodically updated. In the InstallPack window, the software available for batch installation is cataloged, there is brief descriptions and rating. To install the necessary programs, check their boxes and click “Next”.
Then we uncheck the products promoted by InstallPack itself.
At the pre-final stage of the step-by-step wizard, we will see the progress of downloading the selected software. InstallPack offers only partial installation automation; it does not support the “silent installation” mode. Therefore, individual installation stages of the programs must be completed manually.
On the one hand, incomplete automation is a minus. But if there is a need to choose a program installation path other than the default, then this, on the contrary, is a plus. At the end of the batch software installation session, we either return to the beginning and install something additional, or finish working with InstallPack.
InstallPack installs only licensed software into the system.
2. Ninite
https://ninite.com/
Ninite is a specific package installer that free web service. The selection of specific programs for batch installation is carried out on the project website.
Then the service generates a multi-installer with all the selected programs and offers to download it.
Download, launch and wait for the software installation to complete. Ninite operates in "quiet mode". Only in separate windows of the batch installer will we see a report on the ongoing process and its progress.
Ninite is an English-language web service, but if Windows main The language is Russian, programs that support Russian localization will be installed in our language by default. Ninite works honestly, therefore in the service software catalog we will only find free products.
3.Npackd
https://npackd.appspot.com/
Npackd is a free multi-installer with a huge database of licensed Windows software. Includes the ability to install not only office, multimedia, and various consumer programs, but also system components and software platforms for developers. It can install, update and even remove programs from the system, and all this in batch mode. Npackd operates with the latest program installers; the versions available for installation are listed in a separate column of the tabular list in the main window of the multi-installer. And in context menu There is a point of sending to the official website of software developers.
To start a batch installation, you need to click on the desired programs in the list of the Npackd window while holding Ctrl key. Then click the “Install” button and confirm the installation starts.
The progress of the operation will be displayed in the “Task” tab.
But it is not necessary to add all programs to a single installation process. Npackd is not a step-by-step multi-installer; you can easily view the list of software and click the “Install” button for each individual program. This way it will be added to the list of tasks and installed when needed, in “quiet mode”.
One of the specific features of Npackd is that it refuses to install 32-bit programs on 64-bit Windows. In the catalog of this multi-installer, you must select the appropriate software editions.
4.Windows Post Installation
Windows Post Installation, also known as WPI for short, is the so-called software post-installer in Windows environment. This is not a specific program from a specific developer, like the ones presented above. Initially, WPI is a platform for creating software installation assemblies, which is used by enthusiastic builders. They complete WPI collections with their own selections of software and post them on the Internet, in particular, on torrent trackers. WPI collections do not always contain only free products or trial versions of software. Some collections contain both licensed software and pirated - hacked editions paid programs. The WPI post-installer is sometimes present on board pirated builds of Windows.
Standalone (without a pirated build of Windows), WPIs usually exist in ISO image format. They can be burned onto a DVD and used on various computer devices. Or you can simply mount the image for display in the environment operating system and launch the WPI application.
WPI (Windows Post Install)- This shell, in which we select programs for installation and after clicking on the “INSTALL” button installation passes completely in quiet mode, i.e. without giving away no messages to the user in the “Click Next” style. This is essential reduces time operating system settings, so we will use this technology. In order not to reinvent the wheel, we will not create a WPI assembly from scratch, but will understand the principle of how this shell works using the example of an existing assembly, but this knowledge will be enough for us to create our own assembly from scratch.
Step 1. Download (download) and copy the folder WPI to a folder SystemFlash.
Step 2. In folder SystemFlash\WPI\UserFiles rename the file useoptions V
Step 3. Let's launch SystemFlash\WPI\WPI.exe and we see that additional buttons have appeared on the left.
Step 4. Let's go to WPI Settings - General and uncheck the Countdown timer, then press Save-Exit.
Step 5. We have accessed WPI configuration mode. Click on the button and look at which tabs are responsible for what.
Step 6. Delete unnecessary applications and menu. To do this we go to program configuration and select the program (in the example I will remove the NET Framework, since it is already in our Windows 7 build).
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Step 7 Then we go to and look where our program is located.
Step 8 We find it in the folder WPI\Install and delete it.
Step 9 Go to the tab Tool Tips and look where the file with the picture is located.
Step 10 We find it in the folder WPI\Graphics\Logos and delete it.
Step 11 Let's return to WPI. Click Delete-Yes.
Using this method, we remove all programs that we do not need.
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