Tutorial: make an up-to-date Alienware Respawn Image

Before using this procedure, i used to install my Alienware machine using the Alienware respawn disk and doiing a lot of updating an installing after the initial installation.
I found this to be quite cumbersome so i set out to make an image that could be applied to my machine and install a full blown image without to much extra installation and fuzz...

Searching and reading through all Windows installation tutorials here i see they have covered a lot of ground, but as far as i can see i am missing a tutorial about how to update your Alienware Respawn disk to the latest version of Windows including all updates, drivers etc.

With this tutorial i present you a way of making a new and updated installation image, to be used for installation using DVD- USB media or else, using RT Seven Lite (a freeware tool to modify installation media and create bootable media)

DISCLAIMER: As Always with tutorials like this; i take no responosibility for anything goiing wrong during creation- or installation or anything else happening to your computer(s) of stored data using this tutorial. Use this tutorial at your own responsibility.

Not that many things can go wrong in my opinion, but remember doing installations of your OS; always have a backup of your data (or entire system) available in case somethings goes wrong!

Now let's start

Prerequisites
Before goiing into the build of a new image, please have ready- or arrange the following:

1. Backup of your system, or important data
2. Alienware Respawn disk (windows 7 version) or Windows 7 installation media
3. A Windows 7 computer preferably with lots computing power, 64 bit architecture and diskspace, fast HDD's or SSD's and lots of RAM (although you can also do this on an old 32 bit system, bottom line have at least 50Gigs of free diskspace)
4. Internet access
5. Installation media like USB disks or DVD

Creation of a new state-of-the-art image

Step 1; prepare the upgrade envirmonment
On the machine on which you are going to make the new image open Windows Explorer, browse to the drive you are going to use for update and make the following folder structure:

[\RespawnDisk]
[ \Drivers]
[ \OriginalDisk]
[ \ServicePack]
[ \WindowsUpdates]

Step 2; inject Alienware respawn disk (or Windows 7 installation disk) contents
in the OriginalDisk folder

Step 3; download all drivers of your machine to the drivers folder, just put the exe's there and unpack them there with your favourite tool like Winzip, 7zip or ...

Step 4: download the latest Windows 7 Service Pack for your architecure, link 32bit/64bit

Step 5: Install RT Seven Lite link

Step 6: Import respawn disk link

Step 7: Integrate Service Pack . Use the tutorial on the sevenlite forum on integration of service pack link

Step 8: Integrate drivers into the image, use the following link on how to integrate.

Step 9: Integrate windows update drivers into the image, use tutorial on the seven lite forum here

Step 10: Create media, see the link, paragraph Create bootable ISO,DVD and USB

Use the media on the machine

For creation of a bootable USB stick, do the following:

Please Note! Please save all data from the stick before executing these steps because all data will be gone at the end of the procedure

1. Insert the USB stick in the computer
2. Start a command shell with elevated credentials in Windows [Start-run and type [CMD] on the white list, rightclick on the displayed cmd icon and choose [Run as Administrator] ]
3. type the command DISKPART followed by [ENTER]
4. type
   [LIST DISK] and identify the disknumber of your USB stick
5. now select to the disk identified by the previous step (look at the size of the disks to identify the right disk Please make sure you have identified your USB stick right, the bootdisk of Windows cannot be destroyed but all other attached drives can!!, so if your USB stick is listed as disk 1 type [SELECT DISK 1]
6. type the command [CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY]
7. type the command [ASSIGN LETTER=Q] (or any other free drive letter you have)
8. type the command [ACTIVE]
9. Format the newly created disk in windows or type [FORMAT Q: /Q (or use another driveletter if Q cannot be used, example FORMAT E: /Q if you assigned driveletter E: to the USB disk]
10. after all has gone well the USB stick is now bootable, just copy the contents of the previously created installation media to the USB stick in explorer

Now you have installation media that's up to date till creationtime of the media, use it for your installation and have fun

09/06/2012 Moderator Edit: The latest version of Alienware Respawn allows installation of Respawn on a new OS installation and creates a new recovery partition.

It can be downloaded here: http://alwdownload.alienrespawn.com/alwdownload-en.html

 

negyuh - nice tutorial. I'll give it a try when I have time.

 

smart man......where were you when i had to pay for Acronis

 

Thanks for the nice replies, anybody already tried it?

 

Not yet, but plan to give it a try before too long. I've subscribed to the thread so I can find it when I am ready.

 

+rep

Another method you can use (which IMO is much easier)
No need to use Respawn, or RT Seven Lite, or downloading and slipstreaming service packs/updates/drivers/applications yourself, or making any bootable USBs or special recovery media. Simply set up your PC exactly the way you want it (install latest updates, drivers, applications, desktop personalisation, anything) and then use the Windows 7 built in backup utility. I have used it plenty of times and it works just fine. Once restored your PC is exactly as it was when you made that backup. It is also free aswell, as you don't need to pay for or install any additional software as this Backup utility is built into Windows 7.

Note that negyuh's method has the advantage that the final backup media can be used on multiple PCs. The method I have described makes a backup image specific to the PC it was made on only.

 

But it isn't the AlienRespawn, i under stand there are other app's to do the same thing. But some of us really want the factory image an flow AlienAutopsy and respawn give kind of like the theme. Hats of to the OP as I will try this after the Holidays. Nice job.

 

Some technical info on this way of updating the alienware image; by using RT seven light technically you update the install.wim and boot.wim file. this means all constomizations made by alineware to make the 'disk' an Alienware respawn disk is not altered,

in laymans terms this means you get an Alienware installation but, as a bonus, you do not have to update the installation with service packs, updates and drivers because these are already installed by using the updated install.wim.

 

Bumping thread... with all the new models starting to ship/deliver, this may be of interest.

 

I been using Acronis lately when get a new laptop I do a backup and that back up works for restoring on any kind of drive configuration raid or not raid also running benchmarks on the SSD cloned VS fresh install never saw performance degradation

I am not saying Alienware respawn is bad but sounds kind of complicated

 

Hi, Mr. Fox,
+1 Repped
thanks for bringing out this thread!

 

You're very welcome. +1 rep back to you. Have a nice weekend.

See this post (in this thread) [ LINK]

 

The only time I used AWR was when I first got my system and I needed to switch to a SSD. With that said, now that I have a SSD, I followed a few guides inregards to tweaks. One of them being to dissable system restore. Now that I don't have system restore, I'm interested in purchasing the full version of AWR. Before I do, I have a few questions to anyone who may already have the full version.

1. I have three drives in my computer, 1 standard, 1 hybrid, and 1 SSD. Will AWR back all three drives up?
2. Does it create an image or actually backs up all the information? Meaning I have a total of 1.75 TB of space (not all being used now). If I back it up, will it take up the actually amount of space for the data its backing up, or will it compress it into something smaller.
3. How well does it work?

Thanks in advance

 

Yes, it will back up all 3 drives. You decide what data to back up, and where to back it up.

1. No, it will only take as much space as the compressed data, not a sector-by-sector drive copy including the free space.
   It does not make a single file image, but creates a restore partition. It also allows you to create restore media on USB or optical disk.
2. It works great... I really like the full version.

One word of caution... it does not appear to be Windows 8 compatible. I am not able to install it using Windows 8.

I'll have to do some research to see if Windows 8 has a recovery environment available like Windows 7. See error message below.

Spoiler

 

What would be the advantages to using the updated Alienware Respawn over the back up program in Win7 ultimate?

 

yes it does.

It uses win pe 4.0.

Recovery image for windows 8 is under C:\recovery

In that folder you have a boot file and a winre.wim image.

It might be because windows 8 uses WIN PE 4.0?

Did you try installing alienrespawn in compatibility mode for windows 7?

Regards

 

Yes I have, and it refuses to install with Windows 7 compatibility mode.

I did a clean install of Windows 8 (complete wipe and new partition) and there is no c:\recovery folder. Perhaps there is if someone does an upgrade in place, but I did that the first time and Respawn would not install.

 

^ forgot to add C:\recovery is a hidden folder.

 

It's not hidden on my system. I have no hidden folders. I always disable that stupid feature, LOL. It's simply not there.

 

Update: Here's a link to download the latest version of AlienRespawn. It works for Windows 7 or 8, and takes care of the problem with Windows 8 not having the recovery environment.

Unlike the older versions of AlienRespawn, you can use this with a brand new hard drive and don't need to worry about losing your original recovery partition. Your very own custom Windows installation becomes the new "factory recovery" partition.

http://www.alienrespawn.com/en-us/Index.html

For further discussion, please visit this thread.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...rket-drive-alienrespawn-q-27.html#post8982425