WPI (Windows Post Install)- this is shell, in which we select programs for installation and after clicking on the “INSTALL” button installation passes completely in silent mode, i.e. without betraying no messages to the user in the “Click next” style. It's essential reduces time settings operating system, so we will use this technology. In order not to reinvent the wheel, we will not create a WPI assembly from scratch, but we will understand 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 useroptions in
Step 3 We launch SystemFlash\WPI\WPI.exe and we see that additional buttons have appeared on the left.
Step 4 We go to WPI Setting-General and uncheck the Countdown timer, then press Save-Exit.
Step 5 We have accessed the WPI configuration mode. Click on the button and see which tabs are responsible for what.
Step 6 Delete unnecessary applications and menu. For this we go to program configuration and select the program (in the example I will delete NET Framework, because it already exists in our build of Windows 7).
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Step 7 Then we go to and see where our program is located.
Step 8 Find it in a folder WPI\Install and delete.
Step 9 Go to tab Tool Tips and see where the image file is located.
Step 10 Find it in a folder WPI\Graphics\Logos and delete.
Step 11 Back to WPI. We press Delete-Yes.
This method removes all programs that we do not need.
But even if such a question didn’t come to mind, then after installing the problematic assembly, many people probably had a desire to tell its unfortunate assembler what they think of him and where he needs to go. The so-called lightweight builds are distributions with cut or disabled functionality, designed to low power computers, optimized for games or other specific tasks, in terms of performance, they rarely differ significantly from conventional distributions. But such assemblies will definitely cause problems when the missing ones are needed. Windows features. As they say, if you want everything to be fine, do it yourself. Below we will consider how modified system assemblies are created with some removed, but some added functionality. And let's try to build our Windows distribution using the NTLite program.
Why Create Custom Windows Builds
In, in principle, there is nothing wrong. But only on condition that a really unnecessary part of the distribution is cut out, and the system remains functional in terms of interacting with the hardware stuffing and providing access to the main functionality. Of course, it will not work for a large audience to guess 100% what needs to be cut and what to leave in the system. But you can do it for yourself, for a couple of computer devices available in the house. To do this, you need to know exactly which system functionality will never come in handy. And, therefore, it is necessary to at least superficially understand it - what components and services are needed for what, what these or those solve windows settings. But this is if you cut out the functionality.
After all, you can take the first steps in the field of creating modified Windows assemblies without cutting out the functionality of the system. And, on the contrary, with the expansion of its capabilities - with the addition of drivers for components (and even peripherals), with the installation useful programs. Actually, for these purposes, there is a special software like NTLite.
About NTLite
NTLite is a tool for creating modified builds of Windows. It will allow you to cut out certain functionality from the distribution kit, 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 Windows preparation to deployment in audit mode. But NTLite is the most powerful distribution tweaker with the ability to use the Post-Install tool to automatically start the installation process added to such a distribution third party programs.
NTLite is a paid program, before buying a license, you can try its trial version on the website
https://www.ntlite.com
Well, now let's proceed directly to the creation of the assembly. With this program we will unpack installation image Windows, we will configure it, and then pack it again in a format suitable for installation.
Unpacking the source
First of all, let's prepare the source ISO image with the process Windows installation 7, 8.1 or 10. Or we mount the ISO file for display in Explorer.
And then we copy the entire contents of the installation disk to a separate working folder.
Or we extract the contents of the ISO using an archiver. Who is more comfortable.
Adding source
We launch the NTLite program. In its window, click "Add" and specify the path to working folder, where we copied (or unpacked) the contents of the ISO source in the previous step.
We will see the structure of the components of this ISO, among which there will be editions of one or another Windows versions. We need to choose one of them. All settings made in the future will now concern only the selected edition, and only it alone will be contained in the modified distribution kit, which we will receive as a result of the work done. We select the edition, call the context menu on it, click "Download". If we are working with the distribution kit of Windows 8.1 and 10, we also need to additionally confirm the operation of converting the image from WIM to ESD format.
NTLite performs operations on WIM images - install.wim files that contain installation Windows files. And ESD images - compressed install.esd files that store the distribution kit of 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 have to wait. FROM Windows images 7 is much simpler in this regard, since they originally exist in the WIM format. So, friends, it is better to start acquaintance with the capabilities of NTLite by creating modified assemblies of the Seven. In this case, you do not have to convert the image either initially from WIM to ESD, or vice versa after the preparation of the assembly for its packaging in ISO is completed.
- Note : in the process of converting an image from ESD to WIM on weak and average computers, the processor may be loaded. 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 on the panel on the left, in addition to the current vertical tab “Source”, 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 components of the system by unchecking their checkboxes. What can be disabled here? Hardware support for individual peripherals 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", "Voice Recorder", "Record Actions";
Speech recognition, on-screen keyboard;
Regular 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- this is its functionality that is cut out, and not turned off. Not all components cut from the distribution can then be seamlessly downloaded from the Internet and implemented into the system. So, when making settings in the "Components" tab, you need to be very careful with unchecking.
In the "Features" tab below, Windows features are selected that are not cut out, but they can be disabled in the distribution by default. Or, conversely, they are enabled, while they are disabled in the official image from Microsoft. Like, for example, NET Framework 3.5 or IIS. Among the pre-installed functions, you can disable if they are not used:
Gadgets Windows 7;
Established 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 intrasystem search;
- Note : NTLite may even suggest disabling Internet Explorer, however, this should not be done. Disabling Internet Explorer may cause other applications on the system to crash.
To disable a particular feature, uncheck it. To enable, check the box.
The Services tab allows you to disable unused Windows services. 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 is another important step in setting up the distribution, where you need not to overdo it with disabling. Without autostart of certain services, Windows may simply not start. Here you also need to clearly understand what and why we turn off.
Settings
In the tab " local computer"Collected some system settings such as setting paging file parameters, 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 a light tweaker for fine tuning system usability.
Updates, drivers, registry tweaks
In the "Updates" tab, we can view the list of updates already integrated into the original distribution, as well as add new update packages.
The "Drivers" tab is used to add, respectively, drivers. By clicking the "Add" button, we can point the NTLite program to a folder with a selection of drivers for specific device. Or, for example, integrate universal USB drivers 3.0.
Interestingly, when working in the same version of the system and on the same computer for which the assembly is being prepared, you can not look for disks with drivers, download them from official sites, but import them from the current system. To do this, click the "Import current OS" button, and when the drivers are loaded, click the "Exclude unused" button.
If we have some tweaks system registry- REG-files with certain settings, we can add them to the distribution kit. And these tweaks will be applied in the stage presetting system 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 that:
Language, time zone;
Computer name, activation key;
Network settings;
And then these installation steps will take place automatically. These settings are set 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 launched installation processes for third-party software. Implementation of software build Windows even in the form installed programs, even in the form of Post-Install - a controversial improvement if we are talking about computers ordinary users. Versions of programs quickly become obsolete, and such improvements, of course, increase the weight of the distribution. However, several regular programs such as browser, archiver, file manager can be implemented. The Post-Install feature implemented by the NTLite program is launched at the final stage of Windows preconfiguration. And at this stage - without the system interface, without the activity of unnecessary services and drivers - the installation of programs is very fast.
- Note: friends, if due to the introduction of third-party software, the Windows installation ISO image becomes larger than 4 GB, the WinSetupFromUSB utility will help to burn it to a USB flash drive for computers with a UEFI BIOS, 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 installation of any rubbish along the way, you can specify their silent installation keys.
When all the settings are made, we can press the "Apply" button below.
Packaging a modified assembly into an image
So, the modified distribution is set up, but not ready yet. All operations are still planned. They need to be applied, and the distribution package itself must be packed into an image.
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On the Internet, on software sites, you have probably come across software assemblies distributed as a single ISO file or several directories with one convenient installation menu. Would you like to know how such 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 in batch mode install programs, codecs, and even drivers, although the developer has a separate utility for installing drivers. Also MInstAll allows you to run from the main menu portable applications, regular Windows utilities and Control Panel applets, turn off and restart the computer.
The application supports adding descriptions, links, icons from the built-in library, keys to assembly programs command line, automatic check for the presence of programs already installed on the PC, deleting those already added, sorting into groups, creating exceptions, importing registry files and much more.
2. How to work with MInstAll
There is nothing complicated in working with the program. After unpacking the archive with the utility, you will receive an executable file AutoRun.exe, configuration file AutoRun.ini, checksum file and directory 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 the point. If they are not needed, you can always remove them through the main menu of the utility. After the directories software and Portable will be completed, launch AutoRun.exe and let's get to work. Select profile from the drop down menu. Application installation”, 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 have to fill in several fields. This is optional, since the most important ones, in particular, the path and name, are filled in automatically, but if you want the person who will use your set not to be guessing, we advise you to enter data in the following fields: Version», « Group», « Status», « Developer site», « OS Compatibility" and " Description».
Additionally, you can set the path to the icon. The rest of the fields, if you do not know what they are for, you do not need to fill in. As for startup keys, sometimes MInstAll picks them up on its own, in other cases you will have to specify them yourself, so we recommend asking which key is responsible for which action. In the same way, we add utilities and other applications to the menu. Then the program and its folders can be written to a disk or flash drive, and then 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, supports launch on all popular editions of Windows. On the official website, those who wish can also find the author's assembly of programs with a total weight of more than 3 GB.
Did this article help you?
Minimize time and effort for the process reinstalling windows 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 will not need to mess with system updates;
- Store installers of third-party programs in one folder so as not to remember them and not to run around the sites of their developers for downloading;
- With part of the programs and do work in their portable versions;
- Use browser synchronization services, export-import program settings.
Another, not entirely unambiguous, 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 freeze for a long time in updates. Yes, and software that is not updated automatically will then have to be manually refreshed.
The best option is still to install the system from a clean, fresh distribution. BUT desired programs in a quick way, you can install using a special type of software - multi-installers. Let's consider some of them.
Multi-installers for batch installation of programs in Windows
1. Install Pack
https://installpack.net
Free portable installpack utility - 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 are short descriptions and rating. To install the necessary programs, put their checkboxes 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 silent installation mode. Therefore, individual installation steps 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 path for installing programs other than the default, then this, on the contrary, is a plus. At the end of the batch software installation session, either we return to the beginning and install something, or we complete the work with InstallPack.
InstallPack installs only licensed software into the system.
2. Ninite
https://ninite.com/
Ninite is a specific package installer and is a free web service. The choice 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, run and wait for the software installation to complete. Ninite runs in "silent mode". Only in separate windows of the package installer we will observe a report on the ongoing process and its progress.
Ninite is an English-language web service, but if Russian is the main language on Windows, programs that support Russian localization, will be installed in our language by default. Ninite works honestly, because in the service software catalog we will find only 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, various philistine programs, but also system components and software platforms for developers. It can install, update and even remove programs from the system, all in batch mode. Npackd operates with the latest installers of programs, their versions available for installation appear 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, holding Ctrl key. Then click the "Install" button and confirm the start of the installation.
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 safely browse the list of software and click the "Install" button for each individual program. Thus, it will be added to the list of tasks and installed when necessary, in "quiet mode".
One of the specifics of Npackd's work is the failure 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, aka WPI for short, is the so-called post-installer of software 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 software selections 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.
Separately (without pirated builds of Windows), WPIs usually exist in ISO image format. They can be burned to DVD and used on different computer devices. Or you can simply mount the image to display in the operating system environment and run the WPI application.