Symantec Ghost, WinPE, & startnet.cmd

Hello all,

I am currently setting up my Symantec Ghost Solution Suite GhostCast server. Everything is working smoothly at the moment. However, when I boot into PXE, there is a program startnet.cmd that runs and displays "echo off". Basically, I boot into PXE, a command prompt window opens and says:

X:\Windows\system32> echo off

From my researching of this issue, this has to do with my WinPE environment. Here is a excerpt from one resource material that I found:

You can add customized command-line scripts in Windows PE by using Startnet.cmd By default, Windows PE includes a startnet.cmd script located at %systemroot%\System32 of your customized Windows PE image. Startnet.cmd currently starts Wpeinit.exe

However, I cannot find this startnet.cmd file in my C:\Windows\system32\ folder and I cannot access drive X:\

I simply want to edit startnet.cmd to get rid of the "echo off" or maybe to even change it to "Loading Wpeinit.exe" or something to that effect.

I do not think that I have to create a "new" startnet.cmd because there obviously is one already created, if the script runs when I boot into PXE.

Do I have to "mount" my WinPE image to do this? If so, please try to explain what "mounting" my WinPE image really means. I understand that I have to use ImageX due to this excerpt from another resource material that I found:

9. Open "c:\winpe_x86\mount\Windows\System32\startnet.cmd".
NOTE: The boot.wim is mounted on ram disk as x: drive when WinPE boots. At that time, the startnet.cmd is in "X:\Windows\system32\" folder.

PLEASE, ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED. I am not understanding the purpose of "mounting" the WinPE image and/or where I am screwing up.

Thanks,
AndyzSym

PS: Here are my resource links:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc766521(WS.10).aspx
http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=HOWTO31340

 

Okay,

I have found startnet.cmd by using GImageX to "mount" my boot.wim

However, when I edit startnet.cmd, save it, and unmount the image. When I go to boot into PXE I now get:

Windows Boot Manager

Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause. To fix the problem:

blah blah blah

Status: 0xc000000f

Info: The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible.

Whenever I go back into the Ghost Boot Wizard and recreate my boot.wim file; I can go back and PXE boot into ghost without error. I just want to be able to edit this .cmd file, save the changes, and boot into that file. It seems to me that everything is getting convoluted because I'm using both Ghost & gImageX to modify my .wim file. PLEASE HELP!

Thanks,
Andy

 

Okay, I figured out the 0xc000000f issue. I had to put a copy of my boot.wim file into my c:\winpe_x86\ISO\sources folder. However, when I boot to this wim file I am still getting the "echo off" in my startnet.cmd window; even after editing the file, saving it, and unmounting the WinPE image.

My brain is melting.

 

ello all,

I figured out what I was doing wrong and I figured that I would share that information with the world.

I used the program gImageX to mount my WinPE image. This allowed me to edit my startnet.cmd file. HOWEVER, my boot.wim file had TWO images. I was only editing the startnet.cmd on IMAGE 1. I had to select "Image 2" in gImageX and edit that startnet.cmd as well

When I looked at the code for startnet.cmd on Image 1 it was very basic and simply executed wpeinit

However, when I looked at the code for startnet.cmd on Image 2, I could easily see that the code simply needed a "@" infront of "echo off" to make it "@echo off" and the issue was RESOLVED.

To celebrate I put the ghost busters movie emblem on the desktop background. Cause I ain't afraid of no ghost.