Surface Pro 3 WIMBoot guide + discussion

[jnjroach]

Ive gone as far as I only leave these apps:
Alarm
Calculator
Camera
Scan
Sound Recorder

The reason why I remove metro apps is because you can download it from the Store later anyway. Those don't use so much space (less than 100MB combined), so I left them there. Take note that OneNote is not there, so there is no pen pairing screen when you setup the SP3 for the first time.


I have an idea. Can it boot WinPE and apply the WIM with Secure Boot disabled from the BIOS? We can activate it later anyway, right?

Not sure... I've never tried...

 

[ptrkhh]

I have managed to get the install.wim file size to just 3.72 GB (slightly below 4 billion bytes), so it can (theoretically) now be Rufus-ed into a USB stick.
I got it by deleting ManifestCache in WinSxS (I googled and they said its harmless), some 200 MB left of builtin Office which I forgot to remove, and localized Speech data (about 300 MB), so Speech feature MIGHT NOT WORK.

I will post the ISO as soon as it has finished uploading.

I couldn't try on mine right now since I use my SP3 for practically everything but gaming. I have, however, tried the image on VM, and its working

 

[guymalloc]

For PXE to work you need the Microsoft Surface Ethernet Adapter as it is the only one that has drivers for Pre-boot (again this is part of Secure Boot).

What about the ethernet port on the Surface dock, will it support PXE boot?

 

[jnjroach]

What about the ethernet port on the Surface dock, will it support PXE boot?

I'm not sure, if it is the same Chipset as the External then it should, I don't own a dock.

 

[ptrkhh]

BUILD 2:

I am building a new one with ONLY these unnecessary files removed:

1. OEM Office (2GB). No Office license anyway. Moreover, when you update Office, the old one (inside the WIMBoot image, read-only) cannot be updated, so youd keep the old version, for no reason.
2. Most metro apps (200MB). Just like Office, when you update an app, the old app cannot be replaced. You can download all builtin metro apps (Reading List, Alarm, Flipboard, Fresh Paint, Bing apps, etc) from Windows Store anyway. Don't worry, all integrated metro apps that cant be uninstalled like IE, Store, OneDrive, etc are still there . I keep OneNote to (hopefully) keep the OneNote button pairing screen at the OOBE.
3. 300MB: All files inside Windows\WinSxS\ManifestCache\ , I read its harmless to delete. I need feedback on this one though.
4. 13MB: All files inside ProgramData\Package Cache\, the same reason as above.

The final install.wim size is just 5MB less than the maximum size allowed in FAT32.

EDIT: Failed, pen pairing screen doesn't appear at OOBE

 

[leeshor]

I think numbers 3 and 4, if not already a problem, will be at some point. I have recovered lost of disk space on lots of systems and don't remember either of those being safe to remove.

 

[Hingle McKringleberry]

For PXE to work you need the Microsoft Surface Ethernet Adapter as it is the only one that has drivers for Pre-boot (again this is part of Secure Boot).

I figured he would of had the adapter. I'm working on a custom surface image for our enterprise since adapting the corporate image itself has been less than optimal for the platform. This thread gave me some ideas.

 

[ptrkhh]

Guys, apparently the problem lies in the VM itself. I tried using the original WIM file without any modification, and the pen setup screen wasn't appearing as well. Then I tried flashing the SP3 with the smallest possible WIM file, with as much files removed as possible (3.7 GB install.wim), and, surprise, the pen setup OOBE appears.

No problem so far, I will give it a week or two to make sure the image is stable (it should though).

So, if youre interested in testing it (or saving as much space as possible), I will post the download link soon. Do you want it on Box sync, Google Drive, MEGA, or OneDrive?

Free space

I havent disabled hibernation (4 GB), and reduced pagefile (~2 GB). If you do both of them, you would get more than 50 GB out of the 64 GB model.

Included apps

Only 7 metro apps out of the box (you can install the rest later) and a Microsoft Office link (not working). Other desktop apps like Excel, MATLAB, IDM, etc are not included

 

[Hingle McKringleberry]

I'm not sure, if it is the same Chipset as the External then it should, I don't own a dock.

Yes, it PXE boots just fine in the dock.

 

[Hingle McKringleberry]

Guys, apparently the problem lies in the VM itself. I tried using the original WIM file without any modification, and the pen setup screen wasn't appearing as well. Then I tried flashing the SP3 with the smallest possible WIM file, with as much files removed as possible (3.7 GB install.wim), and, surprise, the pen setup OOBE appears.

No problem so far, I will give it a week or two to make sure the image is stable (it should though).

So, if youre interested in testing it (or saving as much space as possible), I will post the download link soon. Do you want it on Box sync, Google Drive, MEGA, or OneDrive?

I installed the surface pro 3 recovery image on VMWare workstation on Friday. I'll have to double check, but I don't remember seeing the pen setup during OOBE either. It's best I don't have it though I don't want that popping up during the task sequence. I plan to capture this build for SCCM imaging.

 

[ptrkhh]

December build available for download from OneDrive
https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=E5E8A7DE0FA794BC!68359
(for next uploads, which one do you recommend: Box sync, Google Drive, MEGA, or OneDrive?)

Features:
1. Only 1.2 GB footprint on C: drive (54 GB free out of 55.2 GB C: drive on the 64 GB model) (excluding hibernation and pagefile)
2. August, September, October, November, and December update rollups slipstreamed
3. Surface Pro 3 specific updates included (KB2978002, KB2969817)
4. Bloat free: (Microsoft devices are shipped bloat-free? Think again)
- Only 6 metro apps included (Camera, IE, OneDrive, PC Settings, Photos, Store). The rest can be downloaded from Store
- Trial Office removed
- Speech data removed (who uses that anyway?)
5. Pen Pairing OOBE appears and working
6. Languages included: Dutch, English, German, French. Since it is Windows 8 Pro, you can download any other language later.
7. WinRE from vanilla Windows, 200 MB saving (working so far, please report if something wrong happened)

I have been using this build for 2 days, as well as the previous, similar build for a week. No issues experienced from my side.

This *might* also work on the Surface Pro 2 since they have similar components. Not tested.

How to install:
0. Get a keyboard and USB hub (Type Cover might also work, but I don't have one to test)
1. Download and extract the package
2. Set up the ISO image on a CD or USB stick.
- If you use Rufus, set it on "MBR for UEFI computer" (only for the USB stick, the Surface will be set up as GPT)
3. Boot it on the Surface
4. Enter cd /d D:\scripts
5. Enter diskpart /s part43.txt (part43.txt means the recovery partition is 4300MB. I tried 4200MB, it didn't work)
6. Enter applywim D:\Images\install.wim D:\Images\winre.wim
7. You can repeat the step #6 just to be sure
8. Reboot, unplug the USB stick.

 

[ptrkhh]

I don't remember seeing the pen setup during OOBE either. It's best I don't have it though I don't want that popping up during the task sequence.

From what I found from the internet, the pen pairing OOBE relies on the files inside C:\Windows\system32\oobe\info, so you could try deleting those files if you don't want it to appear