Educational directions for customizing the MRI BDE

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saltinesandbeer
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NeoApprentice
Joined: 2009/02/27

Okay, so far I haven't received any PM's regarding my version... understandable, given my n00b status in this forum, and my n00bness in general on these hax... That being said, here's my n00bish guide to customizing this stuff (For educational purposes only. Anything anyone does with this I have no responsibility over. This is simply a compilation of my education thus far on this site, and all is available to everyone who wants to simply search for it.):

1. Download and Install everything:
     a.  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=C7D4BC6D-15F3-4...
              I.  This is used to edit the boot.wim file, which is a 
compressed file containing all of the items which will be loaded into 
the ram disk on boot.  You can see your files using gimagex (more 
later, but download it starting now!!!!).
     b.  http://www.autoitscript.com/gimagex/
              I.  This will allow you to easily (as in, within a gui, not a 
command prompt) mount a Windows IMage file to a specified directory.  
The directory has to be already created.
     c.  http://angusj.com/resourcehacker/
              I.  This will allow you to edit the decompressed / partially 
decompiled resources within an .exe file.
     d.  http://rs169cg.rapidshare.com/files/189385486/3326911/OLLYDRX-110U.RAR
              I.  This is supposedly able to decompile / unpack / 
decompress an .exe file. (I haven't done it successfully yet myself)
     e.  http://rs340tl2.rapidshare.com/files/104264619/3270188/qunpack21.zip
              I.  As with d, this is supposedly able to decompile / unpack / 
decompress an .exe file. (I still haven't done it successfully yet myself)
     f.  http://www.soldierx.com/bbs/MRI-BDE-503-Cracked-No-expiry-and-Unpacked
              I.  Read between the lines
     g.  http://www.soldierx.com/bbs/Unpacked-MRI-BDE-503s-MRIPEShlexe-shell-load...
              I.  Read between the lines
     h.  http://www.soldierx.com/bbs/MRI-BDE-503-Released
              I.  Read between the lines
     i.  get ultraiso from the usual places... or from within h
              I.  This will be used to test, to edit your .iso file, and I 
believe it can be found already on the MRI disk
2. Read: http://reversengineering.wordpress.com/
     a.  Yes, I know, reading sux...  that said, you can learn a lot 
from this guy about unpacking / de-compiling / decompressing / 
hex editing files.  I believe he is on this site, but his username 
slips me.  (yeah, yeah, you can skip this one, but you'll miss out 
on a lot of interesting stuff)
3.  Understand:  None of these tools are infallible.  At most, I have 
been able to edit an edited edited version...  yes, that's three iterations 
of saves.  Any more, and I usually corrupt the .exe.
4.  Okay, now the good stuff:  
     a.  Find the extracted .exe file, or if you're adventurous, extract it 
yourself using one of the above tools.
     b.  Using Resource Hacker, replace all the text, .bmp, .ico, & colors 
you want.  It should show you a tree to the left, and allow you to 
view the resource on the right, and with text, edit it.  
              I.  Once you see something you wanna edit (you can search 
out the text you want and edit it directly on the right), you can replace 
images by right clicking on it, then selecting replace resource...  
Personally, to maintain aspect ratios, I save the bitmap to it's name, 
then use Paint.net to edit the file which I've just saved.  The weird 
purple is usually a weird color that shows up as blank when you see 
it on the program.  
              II.  I will then replace resource... using that edited file.
     c.  Edit, Edit, Edit...  Play with it.  I usually make revisions.  v1 v2 
v3.  If I end up on the second version, I know I've got only one save 
left before I corrupt it, and I already am risking corruption.  Once 
you've gotten a lot of it the way you want it, you can click File -> Save 
As...  Test it.  See if you've gotten the dreaded "this is not a valid 
win32 executable"...  Start over if you have.
     d.  Okay, so we have the two files we need, right?  Good, so lets 
put them where they go...  wait, where's that damn MRIPEShl.exe?  
WTF, where is it?  I don't see it anywhere in ultraiso...  yes, my friends, 
this is where that GOD AWFUL HUGE ASS DOWNLOAD above a comes in.  
I put it in the first, and get to it in the last for a reason...  it takes a 
while to download.
              I.  get that boot.wim file from within the Sources directory.  
You will use gimagex.exe by extracting the zip to within the directory: 
Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\x86\gimagex.exe and executing it.  
Select the Mount tab.  Select the directory you will be working out of:  
c:\wim\.  and select the source\boot.wim file.  Check read and write, 
and click mount.  When you're done placing your wim\Windows\Wallpapers 
and your wim\Windows\System32\MRIPEshl.exe, highlight your mounted
 boot.wim file & be sure to check commit changes in gimagex.exe
 and click unmount.
                     A.  WOW, that was difficult to make easy.
     e.  Now, place that new boot.wim file where it goes in your sources 
directory using ultraiso.  Place your MRI.exe file in the root as well.  Save 
your new iso, burn, and have fun.