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Boot USB with WIM/VHD on Portable SSD

The document provides instructions for booting from a USB drive that contains Windows 10 installation files in WIM or VHD format located on a portable SSD. It describes how to use various tools like USB_FORMAT, UEFI_MULTI, and WinNTSetup to prepare the USB drive with the necessary partitions and boot files, add boot entries to the boot manager, and install Windows 10 to a VHD or hard disk partition from the files on the USB drive. It also provides guidance on using the installed Windows 10 system from the VHD and backing up the system configuration.

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273 views5 pages

Boot USB with WIM/VHD on Portable SSD

The document provides instructions for booting from a USB drive that contains Windows 10 installation files in WIM or VHD format located on a portable SSD. It describes how to use various tools like USB_FORMAT, UEFI_MULTI, and WinNTSetup to prepare the USB drive with the necessary partitions and boot files, add boot entries to the boot manager, and install Windows 10 to a VHD or hard disk partition from the files on the USB drive. It also provides guidance on using the installed Windows 10 system from the VHD and backing up the system configuration.

Uploaded by

n4me
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

How to Boot from USB with WIM or VHD file located on Portable SSD April 21, 2020

USB Format Tool - Make Bootable USB Drive with MBR and 2 Partitions - active FAT32 + NTFS
- Use USB_FORMAT with SAMSUNG Portable SSD T5 500 GB Or USB-Stick gives UEFI/MBR Partitioning with active FAT32 + NTFS Partition
- Copy your PE [Link] file to USB FAT32 Boot Drive for booting from RAMDISK Or use UEFI_MULTI to Add Boot Image - VHD or WIM
- Copy VHD and Rename as [Link] file to USB NTFS Drive for booting as FILEDISK Or use UEFI_MULTI to Add Boot Image - VHD
- Use UEFI_MULTI to Add WIM file to make Portable SSD booting from RAMDISK - filename = [Link] - See below
- Use UEFI_MULTI to Add VHD file to make Portable SSD booting with FILEDISK - W10x64 VHD
- Add Win10x64 ISO file to NTFS System Drive used by WinNTSetup for Installing Win10x64 in VHD or partition of SSD hard disk
- Boot from USB - after beep use F8 or other HotKey Boot Menu - Select Win10XPE-WIM or W10x64 VHD in Boot Manager Menu
- Use WinNTSetup x64 and ISO file for Installation of Windows 10 x64 in VHD or partition of internal SSD hard disk - See below
- Swith off Defender - In WinNTSetup Menu - Local Windows Installations - Ctrl+Shift +O and Capture Wim to make Backup WIM file
Downloads: from wimb GitHub - USB_FORMAT - UEFI_MULTI - System_Info - VHD_WIMBOOT - MBR_Backup
Downloads: UEFI_MULTI and WinNTSetup and Windows 10 x64 ISO from TechBench Or using Windows-ISO-Downloader Tool
More Info: Info USB_FORMAT - UEFI_MULTI topic and Forums MSFN and [Link] and VHD_WIMBOOT and BOOTICE [Link]

How to make Win10XPE WIM file for booting from RAMDISK


Download: Win10XPE Builder Or Win10XPE at GitHub and Unpack with 7-Zip x64 - More Info: Win10XPE and Quick Guide
Download Win10_1909_English_x64.iso or newer from TechBench Or using Windows-ISO-Downloader Tool
Mount ISO with double-click and Copy the Content of the ISO to Folder Win10_1909_English_x64 on your Harddisk
In WinBuilder > Build Core > Select Run ALL Programs From RAM to get WIM file with all Programs integrated
In WinBuilder > Apps > System Tools DeSelect XPE Startup (when Selected build fails)
In WinBuilder Select the Folder Win10_1909_English_x64 on your Harddisk and Start building with Play button
Use Win10XPE\ISO\sources\[Link] as your Boot Image file and use Win10XPE\ISO\Boot\[Link] for booting WIM file from RAMDISK
First copy both files to folder Win10XPE located on NTFS System Drive of Portable SSD and then use UEFI_MULTI to make Boot Manager entry
======================================================================================
Instead of USB_FORMAT you can use Windows Disk Management to Partition and Format USB Drive
1. In Disk Management remove existing exFat Volume and Create new partitions
2. MBR partitioning with 1st partition 20 GB FAT32 Set Active used as Boot Drive and 2nd partition NTFS used as System Drive
3. In admin command window run DiskPart
4. In DiskPart type list volume and select volume <FAT32 volume nr> and active and exit
BIOS mode booting requires Active partition with BOOTMGR bootsector
UEFI mode booting requires FAT32 partition with x64 file efi\boot\[Link] Or x86 file efi\boot\[Link]
- 1st partition 20 GB FAT32 Set Active used for Boot Manager and Grub4dos Boot files
- 2nd partition NTFS used for VHD + PE WIM System files
After booting from USB with [Link] file located on Portable SSD in folder Win10XPE on USB NTFS System Drive

After booting from USB with W10x64 VHD file located on Portable SSD - USB NTFS System Drive
How to use WinNTSetup x64 and ISO file for Installation of Windows 10 x64 in VHD or partition of SSD harddisk
0. Get Ready to have Microsoft Account, Win10 key + Computer name and Backup your User Data
In Windows 10 x64 use produkey-x64 and Save All keys and Backup Data with SyncBack Free and Save System Info
1. Boot from USB - after beep use F8 menu - Select Win10XPE-WIM or Win10x64 VHD in Boot Manager Menu
2. In WinNTSetup x64 - location Windows Installation file sources\[Link] - use R-mouse to select Win10x64 ISO file from TechBench
3. Select Boot drive (usually EFI drive Z:) and Select VHD to Create 50 GB VHD located on internal SSD harddisk - VHD is mounted as Drive Y:
4. Choose Win10 Edition - Home or Professional and Select desired Tweaks - in case of Install on SSD partition use F to Format with NTFS
5. Option for Unattended Install and to Add Drivers - use unattend_local_account.xml for Local Account
6. Select Setup and select Legacy Boot Menu Style and OK to Install Win10x64 in VHD or partition of internal SSD harddisk and Reboot
7. Optionally - Open Admin Command Window and use wmic UserAccount where Name='Vx64W' set PasswordExpires=False
8. Install missing Drivers and Update Win10x64 - Install 7-zip - VLC player and Office and registry_backup_portable and Reboot
9. Swith off Defender - In WinNTSetup Menu - Local Windows Installations - Ctrl+Shift +O and Capture Wim to make Backup WIM file
After Next Install of Win10x64 with Captured WIM file then often first booting via F8 in Safe Mode is required and then Reboot normal
10. Boot from USB - Copy VHD to USB NTFS drive and use UEFI_MULTI to Add VHD to Boot Manager menu for booting from USB with VHD
11. Boot normal - Optionally - on separate Data partition Create 5x empty folder for Documents, Pictures, Downloads, Music and Videos
In My Computer use R-mouse on icon > Properties > tab Location > Move ... Select the Created folder to change the User Data location
12. In case of your normal Windows 10 booting from internal SSD then Swith to Microsoft Account via Config > Accounts and Reboot
How to Inject Win10 VHD System to Fix Computer

In case of computer troubles it is often desired to have a quick fix available without disturbing existing configuration.
We can decide to Inject from USB in 10 minutes a 50 GB VHD with New Windows 10 x64 System for local account.
Windows 10 in VHD has the advantage that the VHD can be copied to any location.
Windows 10 is Universal and will adjust automatically the drivers needed for the hardware in use.

- Prepare Portable SSD Bootable from USB with PE WIM and VHD file as described in this document Win10_Install PDF
- Disconnect Internet LAN Ethernet cable
- Boot from USB - after beep use F8 menu - Select in Boot Manager Menu Win10XPE WIM file located on Portable SSD
- Copy 50 GB VHD with New System for local account and located on USB Portable SSD to your internal SSD Drive C:
- UEFI_MULTI is used to Add VHD in Boot Manager Menu for booting from internal SSD
- BOOTICE use tab BCD and Z:\efi\microsoft\boot\BCD Or Z:\Boot\BCD in Prof Mode to Set as Default the Added VHD
- For existing System Drive C: use Malware Removal Tool like McAfee Stinger
- Restore Registry use Registry Backup Portable - Copy folders from RegBackup\MY-PC\datetime\C to Drive C:
- Reboot from internal SSD by selecting in Boot Manager menu the Injected VHD with New Windows 10 x64 System
- On Data partition Create 5x empty folder for Documents, Pictures, Downloads, Music and Videos
My Computer - R-mouse on icon > Properties > tab Location > Move ... Select folder to change the User Data location
- Swith to your Microsoft Account via Config > Accounts and Reboot
- Restore Backup of User Data earlier created with SyncBack Free on external USB and kept safely offline
- Connect Internet LAN Ethernet cable

Alternatively you can use:

How to Fix Booting of Windows 10 using bcdboot


Use bcdboot to Fix on the hidden FAT32 drive the EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD entry Or Boot\BCD entry
- Boot from USB - after beep use F8 menu - In Win10XPE use R-mouse menu to Open Admin Command Window
- Use bcdboot to Fix the hidden FAT32 drive mounted by WinNTSetup x64 as Drive Z:
bcdboot C:\Windows /s Z: /f ALL

How to Re-Install Windows 10


If you want to Re-Install Windows 10 x64 while completely disturbing existing configuration then
- Boot with Win10XPE from USB - after beep use F8 menu - In Win10XPE then
- Backup to external USB drive your User Data from C:\Users\YourName
- In WinNTSetup x64 use as Windows Installation file your Capture Wim file Or use Win10x64 ISO file from TechBench
- Select as Installation drive your Attached VHD mounted as Drive Y: Or your internal SSD drive C: and Use NTFS Format
- Select Setup and Legacy Boot Menu Style and OK to Install Win10x64 in VHD or partition of internal SSD and Reboot

How to Backup your Computer


A. System Backup
- Swith off Defender - WinNTSetup - R-mouse menu - Local Windows Inst. - Capture Wim to make Backup WIM file - Time = 5 min
The Captured WIM file of your System can be used for fast Re-Install of Win10 including all Programs and Settings
- Registry Backup Portable can make a Backup in folder C:\RegBackup of the Windows Registry useful for System Restore - Time = 5 sec
- MBR_Backup can make Backup of Partition Table and Bootsectors of all Local Harddisks Fixed + Removable - Time = 10 sec
Use TinyHexer to study and Restore Bootsectors - Hopefully Never Needed
B. Data Backup
- SyncBack Free - Make Backup of User Data on external USB and kept safely Offline - Time = initially few hours - update in 10 min
- Backup using File History - available in Windows 10 - More Info - Time = initially few hours - autoupdate running in the background
- Backup your Data in OneDrive in the Cloud - Backup kept safely on Remote Location - Time = initially few hours - autoupdate
How to make USB Drive booting with Linux ISO files in BIOS and in UEFI Secure mode

In USB_FORMAT and UEFI_MULTI select Grub2 or Other as EFI Manager - Other makes use of addon-glim-agFM - More Info
- Use R-mouse 7-zip menu to Extract here will Add the content of addon to existing folder and confirm overwrites with yes

A. Grub2 as EFI Manager - Addon is Not needed - Support for some Linux ISO files only - Download Linux Mint - Knoppix Live - Ubuntu
Copy Linux ISO to folder images on USB Boot - Rename Linux ISO - supported names are [Link] - [Link] - [Link]
UEFI Secure - Grub2 Menu from \Boot\grub\[Link] and \Boot\grub\grub_Linux.cfg - Linux Mint [Link] and [Link] of 15-05-2018
BIOS mode - Grub4dos Menu from \[Link] and menu_Linux.lst
a1ive Grub2 File Manager from Addon can be used in UEFI Grub2 Menu and always in BIOS Grub4dos Menu to boot a lot of Linux ISO files

B. Other as EFI Manager - use addon-glim-agFM - support for a lot of Linux ISO files - Grub2 from Super-UEFIinSecureBoot-Disk_v3
Copy Your Linux ISO to folder \iso\YourLinux on FAT32 USB Boot drive U-BOOT
UEFI Secure - Grub2 Menu from \EFI\grub\[Link] with GRUB2 Live ISO Multiboot (glim) menu in folder \EFI\grub\glim
BIOS mode - Grub2Win Menu with GRUB2 Live ISO Multiboot menu from \EFI\grub\glim\[Link] and [Link] files
a1ive Grub2 File Manager from agFM Addon can be used in UEFI Secure Grub2 and BIOS Grub4dos Menu to select a lot of Linux ISO files
After booting in UEFI Secure mode from USB then use the MokManager to Add ENROLL_THIS_KEY_IN_MOKMANAGER.cer to the firmware
More info on UEFI Secure booting - Super-UEFIinSecureBoot-Disk_v3.zip Release Download and Extracted twice (zip and img) with 7z

In case UEFI Grub2 is not available as Boot option in your F8 HotKey Boot Menu then you need to use BOOTICE [Link] to Add UEFI entry
Unneeded for USB-Stick, but UEFI Grub2 boot entry is easily lost in case of Portable SSD
Select as UEFI Boot entry on USB the Linux Mint Grub2 file \EFI\Boot\[Link]

How to Boot from USB with AIO Boot - Info Win10_Inst_Eng.pdf - Use UEFI_MULTI to Add Grub2 Or Other EFI Manager After AIO
Download AIOBoot-v0.9.8.17.7z - Unpack and Copy content of folder AIOBoot-v0.9.8.17 to USB FAT32, but keep Microsoft Boot files
On USB run [Link] - Select Integration Linux OS and your Linux ISO - Linux Mint - Knoppix Live - Ubuntu - AIO Boot - AIO Info

Common questions

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Back up user data and system configurations by initially using tools like SyncBack Free for user data and capturing a system image with WinNTSetup using a WIM file. For periodic data updates, use file history or cloud services such as OneDrive. Ensure to store backups on an external drive safely offline and use Registry Backup Portable to keep a restore option of the Windows Registry .

Using a VHD for Windows 10 installation offers the advantage of quick system recovery without altering existing configurations. A VHD allows Windows to adjust automatically to the hardware in use and can be copied to different locations for flexibility. This method facilitates the injection of new systems for rapid deployment during troubleshooting .

If a VHD fails to boot, use tools like BOOTICE to ensure the correct boot entry is present, and double-check USB partitioning schemas. Utilize bcdboot to reestablish the BCD entry on the FAT32 system partition, ensuring no disk or partition corruption has occurred. These steps help to diagnose and resolve boot configuration errors .

To install Windows 10 x64 on a VHD using WinNTSetup x64, first, ensure your USB drive is set up with the necessary boot manager configurations. Boot from the USB, select Win10x64 ISO from TechBench, and choose the VHD as the installation target. Format the VHD with NTFS, select the desired Windows edition, apply tweaks, and optionally add drivers for a local account setup. Proceed with the installation process and reboot .

After selecting Grub2 or Other as the EFI Manager in USB_FORMAT and UEFI_MULTI, copy Linux ISO files like Linux Mint, Knoppix, or Ubuntu to a specified folder on the USB drive. For BIOS mode, use a Grub4dos Menu for booting. In UEFI Secure mode, configure the Grub2 Menu for booting from EFI/boot/bootx64.efi, and use any required addons for supporting a broader range of ISO files .

UEFI_MULTI helps manage multi-boot environments by adding configurations for VHD and WIM files to the Boot Manager. It provides flexibility for booting Windows from different storage mediums and configurations (e.g., RAMDISK vs. FILEDISK) by facilitating the inclusion and management of various boot image files, ensuring compatibility and ease of access .

To create a bootable USB drive using the USB_FORMAT tool, begin by formatting the drive with MBR partitioning. Create a 20 GB active FAT32 partition used as the Boot Drive and a second NTFS partition as the System Drive. Copy the PE boot.wim file to the FAT32 partition for RAMDISK booting or a VHD file renamed as 'Win10x64.vhd' to the NTFS partition for FILEDISK booting. Use the UEFI_MULTI tool to add the necessary boot images .

Incorporate unattended installations by using unattend_local_account.xml to automate selections and minimize user input. Include driver packages during installation to avoid post-installation driver issues. Pay attention to the hardware compatibility of the drivers and ensure the unattended files correctly reflect the desired configurations and software settings .

Use Win10XPE to boot from USB, and before starting the reinstall, back up user data from C:\Users\YourName to an external USB drive. Use WinNTSetup with a Capture WIM or an ISO file for the reinstallation process. Choose NTFS for formatting and complete the install process, followed by restoring the backed-up user data. This approach ensures a fresh system environment while preserving personal files .

Construct the Win10XPE boot environment by downloading and unpacking the Win10XPE builder with 7-Zip. Use WinBuilder to integrate all needed programs into a WIM file. Ensure to copy the resulting boot.wim and boot.sdi files into a designated folder on the NTFS system drive of a Portable SSD. UEFI_MULTI is then used to make this environment bootable from RAMDISK .

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