Installing custom programs in MVP_ATIPRBuilder_v143
Nice job with this program guys. I just did my first build on my Windows 7 (32 bit) system using ADK 8.1 and it worked beautifully! I really like the interface with all the windows features and programs. Problem is I'm a beginner and I'd like to be able to add some additional windows programs I require. I use TrueCrypt with full disk encryption so it's an essential for me. Is there any detailed information anywhere about how to do this, someone doing an example of this process would sure go a long way? Is there a program I can run that can create a portable app from one that is non portable and currently running in Windows? I'm not sure what .dll files may be required that are not running in the program's parent directory? Although I haven't tried it, my current understanding is that I just drop the program's folder into the Extra folder located in my MVP_ATIPEBuilder folder location and rebuild my boot image? Hopefully, my original registry is included in the build and there won't be any missing information there. If I could learn how to do this procedure this program would be invaluable to me. Although I couldn't locate anything, perhaps there are some posts that get into this subject. Also are there any websites that may already have apps available in a portable form that could be used with your program? Thanks for any suggestion or help you can offer.
TrueCrypt development ended in 2014 and may not be secure as a result. You might consider moving to Bitlocker which is already available in the tool.
Enchantech has given you the best advice!
I've never looked at TrueCrypt, so I don't know what it needs to run in WinPE. If there is a portable version that has no registry entries or services, putting it in the Extra folder could work. Your assumptions about the registry are wrong. If it needs registry entries to work, you will need to learn to identify and add them yourself.
I had no problem getting TrueCrypt to work with my MVP-ATIPE USB boot stick. All I had to do was simply drop my existing TrueCrypt windows directory into the Extra directory. I didn't have to locate a so called portable version. It would have been nice if there was someway to create a shortcut in the start menu or taskbar like there is for all the other programs. I had to actually go into the Extra folder and click on the executable which is kind of clunky. Anyone know how to create the shortcut? I tried this same procedure with 2 other programs but they did not work. I know TrueCrypt is obsolete but it's one of my favorite programs and I just hate to give it up. I guess I'm not that convinced in my own mind that it's really that big of a big security risk as it uses AES 256 bit encryption and my password is 30+ characters. I may eventually try VeraCrypt which is a supported continuation of the TrueCrypt project. TrueCrypt just works so darn well and the features and options are so impressive. Also when it comes to computers, security is just a matter of degree as nothing is 100% secure anyway. Just look at the recently discovered flaws they found in our computer processors called Meltdown and Specter. Security sacrificed for the sake of performance! Who's to say Bitlocker doesn't have vulnerabilities? Anyway, I wish the people that wrote this program would better explain how to go about the procedure they used when getting programs into the build. How do I handle registry entries? How do I find and handle required services not in the program directory? For instance when I tried to get Keepass (a password manager) to work by simply loading it's windows directory into the extra folder, this did not work. When I clicked on the executable it gave me the following error message, the application was unable to start correctly (oxcoooo135). Click OK to close the application. I even downloaded a so called portable version and still got the same error message? Wouldn't it be nice if someone wrote a program that allowed us to simply select a windows program and integrate it seamlessly into the boot build. That would make an already good program great! I'm not a programmer so maybe the reason this process is not better explained is because it's simply to complex for the average user to understand and use. Shame if that's the case!
Glad to hear TrueCrypt was easy to get working in WinPE. I can help you with adding a shortcut to the MVP Tool. There are a number of steps, but it is easy to understand.
1. Use a USB flash drive as a source to create the shortcut from. Assign X as the drive letter of the USB drive. Create a folder on the drive called X:\Program Files\Extra.
2. Copy the TrueCrypt folder to the X:\Program Files\Extra folder.
3. Create a new shortcut named TrueCrypt on your desktop pointing to X:\Program Files\Extra\TrueCrypt\TrueCrypt.exe.
4. Open a command prompt from Windows Start Menu/Windows Kits/Deployment and Imaging Tool Environment. You will need to open that as administrator.
5. You now need to modify the wim file on your USB media found at \sources\boot.wim to add the shortcut. Create a folder on your C drive called C:\mount. Create another folder named C:\Temp. Copy the boot.wim from the USB sources folder to C:\Temp. In the open command prompt enter: dism /Mount-Wim /WimFile:C:\Temp\boot.wim /Index:1 /MountDir:C:\mount. Leave the command window open.
6. Copy the shortcut for TrueCrypt from your desktop to C:\mount\Program Files\LaunchBar\StartMenu\Programs.
7. Return to the open command window and enter dism /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:C:\mount /commit.
8. Now replace the sources boot.wim file on your USB media with the file from C:\Temp\boot.wim.
That will add the shortcut for TrueCrypt to the Programs menu in the media.
As you were afraid, adding programs that involve registry entries and windows services is very complicated and won't be discussed here. Adding a shortcut as described above is very simple in comparison. If you want to learn more about the process, you may want to look at MustangPE instead of the MVP Tool. MustangPE is based on a plugin concept where each program added has its own plugin. There is documentation in the form of a Sample plugin to help you learn how to create plugins to add programs. You need to be able to program in a language of your choice to create plugins. There is no easy way to add programs to WinPE.
If you want to experiment a bit with all of this you might have a look at WinPE SE HERE
There is good support and a Forum for more help. It might be more of what your looking for.
Thanks for the great advice guys and thank you Paul for those shortcut creation instructions. I'll give it a try and let you know how it works out. I'll also take a look at that MustangPE tool as well. If I was able to create program plugins that worked with MustangPE, would they be guaranteed to work with the MVP tool as well. I kind of like this MVP tool because of its excellent inclusion of several very useful Acronis Programs, bitlocker, and several really useful system utility programs. I think it could be very difficult to create these programs all over again from scratch on the MustangPE platform. I need to get all my useful programs on a single stick as well. Right now with the MVP tool I'm only missing a couple of programs I need for a complete recovery toolkit. I'm still hopeful I can figure out how to get them to work in the MVP program.
The MVP Tool has no way for users to add programs by plugin. MustangPE offers plugins for the Acronis programs available for download in my website.
Does MustangPE have a dedicated forum? I was a little concerned that it may not be appropriate to discuss it on this forum? Anyway, I'm running Windows 7 and downloaded the ADK 8.1 to do my build for MVP_ATIPE. Should I be using ADK 10 or 10.1 instead? I'm not sure what the significance of the different versions are? Which one would you recommend for doing the MustangPE build? Also where can I find information on the MustangPE website for creating a program plug in? Maybe I was on the wrong website URL but I didn't see anything there!
MustangPE doesn't have a dedicated forum. You can discuss it with me using the provided email address.
The Windows 10 ADK's are backwards compatible with Windows 7. Using a later ADK's gives you more up to date driver support.
Information on creating MustangPE plugins is provided by the app in the Docs folder and plugins\SamplePlugins folder in the SamplePlugins.txt file. Just download and install the ADK version of MustangPE. There is no modification to your system by the installation. Uninstalling it as simple as deleting the MustangPE folder from your C drive.
Thanks Paul for that interesting procedure for adding a shortcut to the MVP tool. I was successful in creating a shortcut for my TrueCrypt program by following your instructions. It occurred to me that if I did a rebuild again, I would most likely loose the shortcut, but that is not a big deal as it's easily recreated. I found that ADK DOS tool for editing the .wim file quite interesting. The commands I didn't fully understand but perhaps there is a listing of them somewhere? Anyway, I'm going to play around with it and see if I can get the shortcut to appear on the taskbar at the bottom of the MVP screen as well. Shame you can't use existing portable program plug ins or there is not some explainable procedure or information for installing custom programs with this MVP tool. It really limits what would be a fantastic tool. I'll have to try MustangPE and see if it is more to my liking. Appreciate the information about your program and I'll try upgrading to ADK version 10.1.
For built-in help with dism.exe, enter dism /?
You can add your TrueCrypt shortcut to the bar using the same method as follows:
1. Also put the TrueCrypt shortcut in C:\mount\Program Files\LaunchBar\Shortcuts.
2. Add a line to the end of C:\mount\Program Files\LaunchBar\LaunchBar.txt as follows:
TrueCrypt;%programfiles%\Launchbar\Shortcuts\TrueCrypt.lnk.lnk
Does anyone know if there is a program out there that will monitor the start up of a windows 7 program so one can identify the files, services, and registry entries that that program is accessing while starting up? It seems to me that a program of that nature would be necessary in the plug in creation process for programs like MustangPEBuilder or MVPPE builder.