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[Trevor]

For those using high-speed USB 3.0 flash drives in USB 3.0 ports (or even USB 2.0 drives in USB 3.0 ports where those are the only ones available, as in some laptops now) you must include USB 3.0 drivers within your Windows 7 installer .wim files or the installation environment will be unable to mount the drive (very much like SATA drivers for Windows XP or Windows 2000). Drivers should be slipstreamed into .wim files prior to combining for creation of All In One (AIO) installer ISO images.

To do this, you will need the following:
1) Original Windows 7 installation media
2) Windows Automated Install Kit
3) USB 3.0 drivers (if you just want it to work for your mainboard, just grab those drivers. However, if you want it to work for any USB 3.0 port, you will need drivers from all the major USB 3.0 controller manufacturers (Intel, NEC/Renesa, VIA, Asmedia, Etron). (I do have a copy of all the extracted files in a 5mb 7z file if someone wishes to host them).

First, install WAIK. Next, extract your driver files to a temporary folder (such as "C:\Temp\x86Drivers" and "C:\Temp\x64Drivers"). You will need the appropriate .inf, .sys, .cat and sometimes .dll and other files - if you don't include all files referred to in the .inf, the driver won't successfully slipstream. Bear in mind, Windows will disable some drivers from installing if it believes they have simply been copied from another PC - to get past this, right-click on the driver file and select Properties, then click on the Unblock button.

Next, copy the contents of your Windows 7 installation media to a new folder (for example, "C:\Temp\W7x86" and "C:\Temp\W7x64"). Extract your install.wim files from your x64 media to "C:\Temp" and rename it "installx64.wim". Now extract the install.wim and boot.wim files from your x86 media to "C:\Temp".

Now you need to slipstream the drivers into the .wim files. Ideally, this should be done to virgin wim files prior to combining for AIO installer. So you'll have two sets of slipstream routines, one for x86 and another for x64:

x86 Install.wim portion:

Code: Select all

Dism /Mount-Wim /WimFile:C:\temp\install.wim /Index:1 /MountDir:C:\temp\installx86
Dism /Image:C:\temp\installx86 /Add-Driver /Driver:C:\temp\x86drivers /Recurse /ForceUnsigned
Dism /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:C:\temp\installx86 /Commit

x86 Boot.wim portion (not specifically named x86 because you will only use the x86 boot loader for the combined AIO ISO image):

Code: Select all

Dism /Mount-Wim /WimFile:C:\temp\boot.wim /Index:2 /MountDir:C:\temp\boot
Dism /Image:C:\temp\boot /Add-Driver /Driver:C:\temp\x86drivers /Recurse /ForceUnsigned
Dism /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:C:\temp\boot /Commit

x64 Install.wim portion:

Code: Select all

Dism /Mount-Wim /WimFile:C:\temp\installx64.wim /Index:1 /MountDir:C:\temp\installx64
Dism /Image:C:\temp\installx64 /Add-Driver /Driver:C:\temp\x64drivers /Recurse /ForceUnsigned
Dism /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:C:\temp\installx64 /Commit

Once you have successfully slipstreamed the drivers, combine your two install.wim files as usual to create your AIO installer.

I've been discussing with Davide whether a script could be written to automate this process, and while such a script would be straight-forward I don't know if it could be run with the requisite permissions (as slipstreaming requires an elevated command prompt to work). Additionally, you can't automate unblocking of a restricted driver file, so a workaround for any drivers blocked by Windows (from memory I believe I had issues with the VIA drivers) would also have to be found...

[davidecosta]

Thanks

[Beercow]

There is also a GUI for ImageX for people who have trouble with command line. AIK needs to be installed on your system.
http://www.autoitscript.com/site/autoit-tools/gimagex/

[UFdFan]

Thanks also and again.

[jeffery.curdt]

x64 Install.wim portion:

Code: Select all

Dism /Mount-Wim /WimFile:C:\temp\installx64.wim /Index:1 /MountDir:C:\temp\installx64
Dism /Image:C:\temp\installx64 /Add-Driver /Driver:C:\temp\x64drivers /Recurse /ForceUnsigned
Dism /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:C:\temp\installx64 /Commit

I have gotten up to this part by slip-streaming the drivers and creating a new install.wim. I bypassed the x86 that seems to use both the Boot.wim AND Install.wim.
I only use the above mentioned x64 method and seemed to complete successfully. Although like I said I ended up with a Installx64.wim file.

Once you have successfully slip-streamed the drivers, combine your two install.wim files as usual to create your AIO installer.

I have bypassed this "combine" since I am only doing x64 method. All I did was copy my installx64.wim file back to the USB. I also deleted the original install.wim file from the usb and copied the installx64.wim to install.wim in the same folder.
So on the usb stick i have "installx64 & install.wim" being identical files in the "sources" folder.
Perhaps this is where I am messing about about creating the mentioned "AIO installer". Basically used the Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool to create the USB Win7 Installer and then when it was finished, replace the install.wim file with my newly created one AND added the installx64.wim just in case I was missing something.

In any event, it still asking for drivers during the install. I clicked Browse and it did not show anything. I basically cannot see any usb drives since I can get the USB 3.0 installed.
I also cannot see my 32GB ssd since it probably isn't doing that driver right either.

Any suggestions or tips what I may have missed?