[Help] Gena Win PE 1 rambooting tutorial

Hi Lancelot!

Nice to hear again from you!

Thank you for the inputs. I think wlanapi.dll is likely to fail with win2k3. So I will try sourcing winxp first. If that does not solve the wifi problem then I will attempt to extract windowsxp-kb918997-v6-x86-enu.exe.

Will keep you posted of the progress.

Thanks once again!

-Gamma

Hello Lancelot!

I changed the source from win2k3 to winxp. Now I can see the wireless networks. But PENM (ver 0.56) doesn't connect to them. It asks for wifi password and then simply igonres. I don't see the networks in windows native wifi conect dialogue either. This is the best situation I've encouontered.

Probably I am missing some dll ...? Wifi definitely works on PE1 (ref : http://reboot.pro/topic/976-scriptpenetwork/page-24#entry147091) Am I missing some plugin?

I have two options.

1. Run Hoelger's script as per his suggestion : http://theoven.org/index.php?topic=3079.msg36920#msg36920

But I don't know how to run a standalone script. Do I replace 20CoreNet.script with Holger's, and press big blue button?

2. Try out newer PENM version. Let me see how far it goes.

Thank you for your help and guidance.

-Gamma

I changed the source from win2k3 to winxp. Now I can see the wireless networks. But PENM (ver 0.56) doesn't connect to them. It asks for wifi password and then simply igonres. I don't see the networks in windows native wifi conect dialogue either. This is the best situation I've encouontered.

I hope it is WinXPSP3 ?
If not download XP Service Pack 3 and install. 

On WinXPSP3 I had seen native wifi connect on previous replies - If you do not see that I guess PENetwork will fail too ...

If you can not connect wifi by using WinXPSP3 you can not connect with Gena ;)

Traditionally, people first make things work on a normal Windows where all things exist
 and later try to make them work on PE 

Reminding, I was not using wi-fi at my XP(x64) times, On this topic, I only experiment with Virtual tests ..

If you search internet with : XP can not connect wi-fi
you will find lots of links to try ... let us know when you are able to connect wi-fi on normal Windows (not Gena)


*
to fix misunderstanding:
for now, no, do not run Holger Plugin ... forget about that, it is all miscommunication (my bad english)
 --> Focus on connecting normal Windows XP to wifi

I wish my best luck.

Hi Lancelot!

Thank you for prompt response. Yes, the xp source is sp3. PENM simply ignores the wifi password.

I will try to install normal xp sp3 on a vm. Let us say I am succesful in connecting with wifi. Does that mean that I can repeat this functionality on Gena PE1?

Thank you!

-Gamma

Hi Gamma,

Let us say I am succesful in connecting with wifi. Does that mean that I can repeat this functionality on Gena PE1?

I do not know details on your side, but I bet the answer is Yes after your success.

Good luck

Thank you Lancelot, for reassuring me! :-)

Yes, the winxp is connecting to wifi usingthe dongle. But Gena isn't. Where do I begin to analyse the difference? I am a complete newbie. Is there any step-by-step guide?

Thanks!

-Gamma

Yes, the winxp is connecting to wifi using the dongle.

Better clear things :

*
You have a dongle which I guess means you have usb-wifi device ?
eg. https://cdn.techterms.com/img/lg/dongle_33.jpg
(ref. https://techterms.com/definition/dongle )

*
You use Virtual-XP-SP3 with this usb-wifi device and success connecting to wifi 
Good news. 
(
at this point I am not successful with my TP-Link TL-WN823N - v2
https://static.tp-link.com/TL-WN823N_UN_3.0_03_normal_1507511752438u.jpg
(ref. https://www.tp-link.com/en/support/download/tl-wn823n/v2/#Driver )

let me know what extra things you did to connect ????
)

*
Now time to use same USB device on Gena to connect wi-fi .

First thing to do is make sure you have your USB-device on Device manager ?
You add your usb-device drivers ?

Hi Lancelot,

Yes, I have a usb wifi dongle. I use it to connect my virtual machines over wifi. Irun my vms on VirtualBox, which does not access the host's built-in wifi adapter. So to connect my vm over wifi I need to insert the usb dongle in the host and attach a 'Device Filter' to virtual machine. On VirtualBox the options are :

Relevent VM --> right click --> settings --> usb --> Add new usb filter

Of course you need to tick the option 'enable usb controller' on the same panel.

Once the usb filter is added, you can boot the vm. Then pl go to the device manager and scan for hardware changes. If the usb dongle doesn't show up, please remove and reattach to the host and svan for hw changes again. The dongle should now show up. You can add/update driver manually.

The Win xp remembers this procedure after reboot. However Gena forgets everything after reboot.

As of now, the wifi dongle works perfectly with win xp vm. The Gena vm PENM shows the available networks, and prompts for password when double clicked. But it then just ignores.

Gena is falling short of something. How do I find out, that's my next goal. :-)

Hope this helps.

Thank you.

-Gamma

Hi Lancelot!

I tried to add the wireless network manually. The option is Control Panel --> Network --> properties --> Wireless (tab) --> Add

After adding the wifi network, I revisited the properties again. The panel crashes along with the explorer.exe. I had to run explorer as a new task from task manager.

Something has gone corrupt. How do I ensure that the build is error free? For the time being, I am going to try out the things without PENM. Let me see how far this option goes. :-)

Thanks.

-Gamma

Hi Lancelot!

I made some trial-and-error attempts to get to the bottom of the problem. I noticed that when I do not use PENM, the Gena build picks up an outdated driver. So I manually imported the driver after booting Gena.

And the good news is : IT CONNECTED!



But I had to reattach the dongle after installing the driver.

My problem is suddenly limited to picking up correct driver path/files. Currently I am using a virtual machine. When I migrate this setup to the real machine, I won't be able to reattach the built-in wifi adapter. But I am not bothered. I can fall back on the usb dongle, in case the built-in wifi adapter is not connecting.

Thank you for the support you and the whole team gave. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

-Gamma

Hi Gamma,

Good news. 


Maybe same problem also happened with Gena-Win2k3 (pick up an outdated driver) too on your side 

Something to test on your side, using Gena-Win2k3 with native wifi connect (PENetwork do not work on Win2k3) using correct driver. 

Memo: Maybe outdated driver comes from Drivers\3 Network\"DPs WLAN Drivers" plugin , maybe better disable this plugin since you will use Gena on single machine.

+
As far as I can remember, PENetwork could not find my usb-wifi drivers (and I guess hwpnp could not too)
Memo: PENetwork at first start search and install lan driver

+
memo: to add lan driver (or simple driver) we put .sys and inf files to :
....\drivers\
....\inf\
folders

after Gena put, PENetwork finds and adds "network" drivers by scanning these folders
There is also Hwpnp that scans these folders to add "all" drivers (all - I mean all connected)


***
As written initially:
 Gena (or any PE) is not good to be used as a OS replacement,
  consider installing XP/2k3 as a second OS side by side with Vista

I am sure you can quickly find many tutorials on the internet about Installing XP to Vista Machine
same tutorials valid for 2k3 and 2k3/XP-x64  (maybe Win2000 too but I do not know)

*******
After you set up everything,
 I will be glad If you write a detailed step by step topic (a new topic will be good) about all you did so we can point to your topic when someone comes with same things to theoven 


See You

Hi Lancelot,

Thank you for your encouragement. 

1. Outdated WLAN drivers :

Your observation about outdated drivers coming from 'DPs WLAN Drivers' is spot on.    In fact the things began falling in place after I disabled the said plugin. I've disabled 'DPs LAN Drivers' plugin as well.

2. Bonus find :

I got a bonus. The 'Drivers\6 Other\Driver Import PE AE' panel has a note saying PENM is required for this plugin. But it isn't necessary. I put my usb wifi adapters drivers in '%GlobalTemplates%\peDrivers' and Gena imported the driver without PENM. Made my life easier, Yaay! 

3. Installing other OS :

Yes, I plan to install Win XP. I will remove Vista completely as it isn't much useful. On the contarary it considerably slows down my laptop.

4. About the writeup :

Yes, I will put my experience in writing. Done! 

-----------

I checked the builtin wifi adapter on the loptop. It's driver is also connecting smoothly. Now I have two devices to connect over wifi. Migration from virtual machine to physical machine is no more an issue. 

-----------

From here onwards I've a couple of questions.

1. I manually connect to a wifi ssid. Whereas PENM can do it automatically. It has a facility to import wireless ssid profiles.

I found a Win XP cmd utility ( WiFi.exe ) that adds the necessary resources to the registry. This tool works great on normal Win XP. But not on Gena. I guess the registry structure is different. I think PENM is a good starting point.

Do you know which plugin to analyse?

2. The Gena booting takes 15 seconds, out of which the usb card driver takes 12 seconds! Can I install the driver beforehand? Say via RegFactory? I am trying a way to put the driver into Gena at build time instead of run time.

Thank you.

-Gamma

Hi Gamma,

*
> Driver Import PE AE
Good, it is useful for you.

I keep Amalux Driver Import PE Plugin for such things years on the project now. 

But I do not use "Driver Import PE AE" Plugin, Instead, I use simple Driver Import PE Plugin for such things and do things manually.

Code: [Select]

Call,DownloadX,"%BaseDir%\Projects\Yomi\AppY\System Tools\Drv_ImpeD.script"

*
> Yes, I plan to install Win XP. I will remove Vista completely as it isn't much useful. On the contrary it considerably slows down my laptop.

Be sure you have a bootable PE (Gena) for this machine that can access disks during operation (usb-cd whatever ... )
 It is the main goal of PE.
  If something fails, Boot with PE and access disk will rescue the day. 


Bonus for you :
During the current topic, I start to work on Updates Adjustments etc. for XP/2k3 (x86/x64) - and also Ready Virtual images of Win2k3/XP ..... very long task,
 I need a week more to finish and open a topic ...
   Keep an eye around. 

*
Memo:
DPS Packages are for Generic use of Gena on multiple machines,
 such packages may have outdated drivers ....
  you aim to use on the single machine  .....


*
> Yes, I will put my experience in writing. Done!

I hope you write a nice tidy topic. 


*
I do not know wifi.exe you try to use, give a link.


*
> Can I install the driver beforehand? .... build time
RegFactory will not work since the device not connected ...
(or we can connect virtual and add lines ... but too much time for me now ... )

There is a regular path for such goal :

to create a Driver Plugin (not Mass Storage)
+ With writable X:
+ before using Dipe use RegShot2 or RegShot --> Dipe --> RegShot == see registry difference
+ also file difference to figure out added .sys .inf etc. files
ps: Procmon available inside project, Some other Debug Plugins,

Code: [Select]

//Debug Plugins
Call,DownloadX,"%BaseDir%\Projects\Yomi\AppY\System Tools\Debug\FileAccessErrorView_NirSoft.Script"
Call,DownloadX,"%BaseDir%\Projects\Yomi\AppY\System Tools\Debug\FileActivityWatch_NirSoft.Script"
Call,DownloadX,"%BaseDir%\Projects\Yomi\AppY\System Tools\Debug\FolderChangesView_NirSoft.Script"
Call,DownloadX,"%BaseDir%\Projects\Yomi\AppY\System Tools\Debug\ProcessActivityView_NirSoft.Script"
Call,DownloadX,"%BaseDir%\Projects\Yomi\AppY\System Tools\Registry\RegFromApp_NirSoft.Script"
Call,DownloadX,"%BaseDir%\Projects\Yomi\AppY\System Tools\Registry\RegistryChangesView_NirSoft.Script"

---> It is quite easy to figure out which registry added during installation 
writing long, but it is easy.

+
Utils\"PC Packed" Plugin have a small "e" button at right bottom to create new empty plugin ...
+
Utils\RegCPE available to convert .reg
+
Inspect Gena\Drivers\2 Video\"VirtualBox Video" Plugin codes


++++++
Reminding,
As written on my previous post
It will be much easier by only copying .inf .sys ... files to respective folders and run hwpnp
Gena\Drivers\6 Other\"HWPnP" Plugin

First, try HWPnP 



*
Good Luck

Hello Lancelot,

Thanks for your inputs. I already found a registry difference viewer (nirsoft). Let me see how it goes. But it would be nice to use plugin tools. Please bear with me for a very newbie question :

Where do I execute your line?  Call,DownloadX,"%BaseDir%\Projects\Yomi\AppY\System Tools\Drv_ImpeD.script"

I need to learn to use the Gena cli.

Thank you once again!

-Gamma

Where do I execute your line?  Call,DownloadX,"%BaseDir%\Projects\Yomi\AppY\System Tools\Drv_ImpeD.script"

Under Gena CodeBox ....
Replied before on current topic, I guess you missed

Lancelot Reply 13 http://theoven.org/index.php?topic=3079.msg36756#msg36756

First See: Downloading Plugins with a CodeBox

After you read short topic replies, here is QtWeb Plugin (2 files)

Code: [Select]

Call,DownloadX,"%BaseDir%\Projects\Yomi\AppY\Network\QtWeb.script"
Call,DownloadX,"%BaseDir%\Projects\Yomi\AppY\Network\QtWeb_x86_File.Packed"

Lancelot Reply 31 http://theoven.org/index.php?topic=3079.msg36835#msg36835

*
I create a plugin to be used with "Gena Backup" to prevent accidental usage

Call,DownloadX,"%BaseDir%\Projects\Yomi\ay_Halt_L1.Script"
See: Downloading Plugins with a CodeBox

Lancelot Reply 41 http://theoven.org/index.php?topic=3079.msg36851#msg36851

+
Some other debug utilities that may or not help

Call,DownloadX,"%BaseDir%\Projects\Yomi\AppY\System Tools\Debug\ProcessActivityView_NirSoft.Script"
Call,DownloadX,"%BaseDir%\Projects\Yomi\AppY\System Tools\Debug\RegFromApp_NirSoft.Script"

See: Downloading Plugins with a CodeBox

See: Downloading Plugins with a CodeBox

Hello Lancelot!

Yes I missed it. Sorry for the trouble! 

-Gamma

Hi Lancelot,

The WiFi Configuration utility that creates wireless profiles on windows xp (but not on Gena) is listed here : http://www.edugeek.net/forums/scripts/34952-script-joining-wireless-networks-3.html

But you need to register. The filename is WifiCfg_XP.7z.

The page also lists an old version of zwlancfg. But it didn't work on winxp nor on pe1. But you can give it a try.

Thank you!

-Gamma

Hi Lancelot!

Just a quick question. Has anyone ever tried to install Gena on a hard drive? That's known as flatbooting a PE. If yes, could you please point me in that direction?

Thank you!

-Gamma

Hi Gamma,

Boot your compilation, create a principal NTFS partition on your HDD, make it active, copy the content of your media to that disk, remove your media and reboot.

Hi Lancelot,

Thanks for your advice.

The wireless profile I add to is lost after Gena reboots. A solution is embedding the wireless profile in Gena. I tried to analyse the registry difference results. It seems there is some cryptography involved in creating wireless profile. Looks like too much for me. So I thought of booting Gena from a hd partition, which is a persistent boot.

I tried along your lines but I get a missing files errors. PE1 is such a non-standard that there is absolutely no searchable material ! But never mind, let me see how far this approach goes. Will keep you posted.

Thanks! :-)

-Gamma