Windows 10: Migration vs Clone to New PC

Hi,

It contains install.esd. Hence my suggestion of either converting that to a new ISO or to download the ISO straight from MS bypassing the extra step.

Either way, what seems simple to us is not necessarily simple to a relatively new user.

Cheers and thanks for chipping in, *Wink

 

Ok, I'm not getting these new instructions, they assume I know more than I do currently. I downloaded the ESDtoISO, extracted it in its own new folder and see the readme file, BIN and ESDtoISO.cmd file. Following the readme, I turned off Windows Defender, ran ESDtoCMD.cmd as admin. which opens. Now I'm supposed to enter the path to the install.esd but it's not in the BIN. Where is it? Am I supposed to use the the install.esd from the old windows.iso you said may have compression issues? If so what do I do - mount that one, then copy that install.esd? If so to where? Then use that place as the path I enter in CMD?

 

Hi,

Just copy it from your mounted ISO to the root directory of ESD to ISO. Open the .cmd file with administrator rights and pick option 1 .
Let it run, it will create a Windows installation ISO file with a install.wim in the "Sources" directory.

Cheers, *Wink

 

"Just copy it from your mounted ISO to the root directory of ESD to ISO. " Ok but where is its root directory - the folder I downloaded it into?

 

Hi,

I take it you downloaded and unzipped ESD to ISO. It will have created two new folders. The top one contains an .rtf file and ESD to ISO.cmd. That's where you need to copy the install.esd file to.

Once that's done do as per my instructions as mentioned above.

Cheers, *Wink

 

Yes, as I said I did download it into its own new folder, then unzipped it and presented folder ISDtoISO. That folder has just one subfolder - BIN, not two as you said, plus the readme (rtf) and ESDtoISO.cmd file. So the install.esd from the other mounted iso is copied into there - that's the root?

 

Hi,

I wrote two folders, not two subfolders. Never mind.

Correct. Now you can right click on ISO to ESD.cmd, run as administrator and the menu shell will launch. Choose option 1 from the menu.

Cheers, *Wink

 

I tried to decipher your instructions as best I could and went ahead with that location being the root. I ran the ESDtoISO.cmd as you said to and it started a mass scrolling of items for several minutes and what looks like a hidden subfolder named ISOFOLDER was created. There are 9 items in that folder after the scrolling completed. Windows.iso is now gone from C: , which is where it was when I was mounting it, although I still have it in the folder where it was originally downloaded to and id also in C:\Source folder. Also in the C:\Source folder is install.wim which has a date and time that seems to be the same as when I ran the ESDtoISO.cmd. I then ran ImageHealth.cmd and got the same failed results as last time.

Although I don't understand what the ESDtoISO is or does, it seems the desired result did happen. The ImageHealth tool is supposed to do the fixes. I don't get how ESDtoISO and ImageHealth work together but if I need to copy something ESDtoISO created into ImageHealth or Source somewhere so it will work right, what do I need to do next. Please be specific and clear.

 

Hi,

It didn't work as expected and that's entirely my fault, sorry for that. I had completely forgotten that ESD to ISO won't work when using an .esd file pulled from an ISO file created with W10 Media Creation tool.

You now have a massive amount of files in that ISO folder but no ISO file.

If you still have install.wim in your "Sources" folder then use NavyLCDR's instructions and change the path to the "Sources" folder so it's the same as yours. I.e. C:\Sources.
DISM should the run correctly and restore your damaged system files.

Cheers, *Wink

 

I highly recommend that @BretMan delete all the extra crap he has scattered all over his hard drive now, go back to simple basics, download the official Windows 10 ISO file from Microsoft, mount it, and use the install.wim file in the mounted ISO file. This is getting ridiculously out of hand quickly. Bretman probably has 20 GB of extra files by now.

 

Thanks NavyLCDR. I started following your instructions as of this morning. I too was thinking I had a lot of crap I needed to delete after the needed fixes are done, not that the ones I was following won't eventually work I just haven't gotten matching step-by-step instructions so I keep coming back for explanations of every blip to check on so I don't make things worse.

Windows 10 iso from the link you provided is finally downloaded now. I will follow your instructions but I see it's for v1607 and I'm still running v1511. I also see it's a larger file, maybe because it also includes the needed install.wim which the other windows.iso I have did not come with? Does it matter and if so what do you recommend?

 

I would go ahead and mount the ISO file and run the command. If it fails because it is the wrong version, I can show you how to download the v1511 ISO file. Keep the version 1607 ISO file - if we get the current Windows 10 install fixed, you can use it to upgrade to v1607.

Here is a link to 64-bit English Windows 10 v1511. It is only good for 24 hours starting about 2:35 Pacific Time:

https://software-download.microsoft....d99628eb3611b5

 

Hi,

Why not online upgrade to 1607 ? That should take of a lot of problems already.

Cheers, *Wink

 

Because he already has the ISO file downloaded. So why, basically, download the exact same thing again?

 

Hi,

TS only has to mount his downloaded ISO and run setup from within Windows.

Cheers, *Wink