Fix partition creation when Windows uses EFI as system partition

- Fix ProcessService logic to allow creating ISOBOOT when only system EFI exists
- Improve mount_partitions.cmd timing and error handling for automatic execution
- Update PartitionCreator to conditionally create only missing partitions
- Add better synchronization and diagnostics in WinPE partition mounting

Author: Andrey

src/config/StartnetConfigurator.cpp

@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ bool StartnetConfigurator::createMinimalStartnet(const std::string &mountDir, st
         ")\r\n"
         "\r\n"
         "rem Wait for filesystem initialization and partition stabilization\r\n"
-        "ping 127.0.0.1 -n 4 > nul\r\n"
+        "ping 127.0.0.1 -n 8 > nul\r\n"
         "\r\n"
         "rem Start wpeinit in background and continue\r\n"
         "start /min wpeinit\r\n"
@@ -90,31 +90,54 @@ bool StartnetConfigurator::createMinimalStartnet(const std::string &mountDir, st
                                "echo [1/4] Rescanning disks...\r\n"
                                "echo rescan > X:\\rescan2.txt\r\n"
                                "diskpart /s X:\\rescan2.txt\r\n"
+                               "if errorlevel 1 (\r\n"
+                               "  echo WARNING: Disk rescan failed\r\n"
+                               ")\r\n"
                                "del X:\\rescan2.txt 2>nul\r\n"
                                "\r\n"
                                "rem Mount all partitions with verbose output\r\n"
                                "echo [2/4] Mounting all partitions on disk 0...\r\n"
+                               "echo list partition > X:\\list_part.txt\r\n"
+                               "diskpart /s X:\\list_part.txt > X:\\part_list.txt 2>&1\r\n"
                                "for /L %%p in (1,1,6) do (\r\n"
                                "  echo Mounting partition %%p...\r\n"
                                "  echo select disk 0 > X:\\mount%%p.txt\r\n"
                                "  echo select partition %%p >> X:\\mount%%p.txt\r\n"
                                "  echo assign >> X:\\mount%%p.txt\r\n"
-                               "  diskpart /s X:\\mount%%p.txt > nul 2>&1\r\n"
+                               "  diskpart /s X:\\mount%%p.txt > X:\\mount_out%%p.txt 2>&1\r\n"
+                               "  findstr /C:\"DiskPart successfully assigned\" X:\\mount_out%%p.txt > nul 2>&1\r\n"
+                               "  if errorlevel 1 (\r\n"
+                               "    findstr /C:\"No drive letter or mount point\" X:\\mount_out%%p.txt > nul 2>&1\r\n"
+                               "    if errorlevel 1 (\r\n"
+                               "      echo WARNING: Failed to mount partition %%p (may not exist or already mounted)\r\n"
+                               "    ) else (\r\n"
+                               "      echo SUCCESS: Partition %%p already has a drive letter\r\n"
+                               "    )\r\n"
+                               "  ) else (\r\n"
+                               "    echo SUCCESS: Partition %%p mounted\r\n"
+                               "  )\r\n"
                                "  del X:\\mount%%p.txt 2>nul\r\n"
+                               "  del X:\\mount_out%%p.txt 2>nul\r\n"
                                ")\r\n"
+                               "del X:\\list_part.txt 2>nul\r\n"
+                               "del X:\\part_list.txt 2>nul\r\n"
                                "\r\n"
                                "rem Wait for partitions to stabilize\r\n"
                                "echo [3/4] Waiting for partitions to stabilize...\r\n"
-                               "ping 127.0.0.1 -n 3 > nul\r\n"
+                               "ping 127.0.0.1 -n 5 > nul\r\n"
                                "\r\n"
                                "rem List all available drives for debugging\r\n"
                                "echo [4/4] Searching for Windows installation files...\r\n"
-                               "echo Available drives:\r\n"
+                               "echo Available drives after mounting:\r\n"
                                "for %%d in (C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z) do (\r\n"
                                "  if exist %%d:\\ echo   %%d:\r\n"
                                ")\r\n"
                                "echo.\r\n"
                                "\r\n"
+                               "rem Additional wait for critical partitions to be ready\r\n"
+                               "echo Waiting for critical partitions to be fully accessible...\r\n"
+                               "ping 127.0.0.1 -n 3 > nul\r\n"
+                               "\r\n"
                                "rem Find partition with install.esd/wim and setup.exe (exclude only X: WinPE)\r\n"
                                "set INSTALL_DRIVE=\r\n"
                                "for %%d in (C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z) do (\r\n"

src/models/PartitionCreator.cpp

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 
 PartitionCreator::PartitionCreator(EventManager *eventManager) : eventManager(eventManager) {}
 
-bool PartitionCreator::performDiskpartOperations(const std::string &format) {
+bool PartitionCreator::performDiskpartOperations(const std::string &format, bool createIsoBoot, bool createEfi) {
     std::string logDir = Utils::getExeDirectory() + "logs";
     CreateDirectoryA(logDir.c_str(), NULL);
     if (eventManager)
@@ -42,13 +42,17 @@ bool PartitionCreator::performDiskpartOperations(const std::string &format) {
     scriptFile << "select disk 0\n";
     scriptFile << "select volume C\n";
     scriptFile << "shrink desired=12000 minimum=12000\n";
-    scriptFile << "create partition primary size=10000\n";
-    scriptFile << "format fs=" << fsFormat << " quick label=\"" << VOLUME_LABEL << "\"\n";
-    scriptFile << "create partition efi size=" << REQUIRED_EFI_SIZE_MB << "\n";
-    // Set GPT attributes: Hidden (0x8000000000000000) + Required (0x1) = 0x8000000000000001
-    // This prevents Windows Setup from automatically detecting and using this partition
-    scriptFile << "gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001\n";
-    scriptFile << "format fs=fat32 quick label=\"" << EFI_VOLUME_LABEL << "\"\n";
+    if (createIsoBoot) {
+        scriptFile << "create partition primary size=10000\n";
+        scriptFile << "format fs=" << fsFormat << " quick label=\"" << VOLUME_LABEL << "\"\n";
+    }
+    if (createEfi) {
+        scriptFile << "create partition efi size=" << REQUIRED_EFI_SIZE_MB << "\n";
+        // Set GPT attributes: Hidden (0x8000000000000000) + Required (0x1) = 0x8000000000000001
+        // This prevents Windows Setup from automatically detecting and using this partition
+        scriptFile << "gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001\n";
+        scriptFile << "format fs=fat32 quick label=\"" << EFI_VOLUME_LABEL << "\"\n";
+    }
     scriptFile << "exit\n";
     scriptFile.close();
 
@@ -136,11 +140,15 @@ bool PartitionCreator::performDiskpartOperations(const std::string &format) {
         logFile << "select disk 0\n";
         logFile << "select volume C\n";
         logFile << "shrink desired=12000 minimum=12000\n";
-        logFile << "create partition primary size=10000\n";
-        logFile << "format fs=" << fsFormat << " quick label=\"" << VOLUME_LABEL << "\"\n";
-        logFile << "create partition efi size=" << REQUIRED_EFI_SIZE_MB << "\n";
-        logFile << "gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001\n";
-        logFile << "format fs=fat32 quick label=\"" << EFI_VOLUME_LABEL << "\"\n";
+        if (createIsoBoot) {
+            logFile << "create partition primary size=10000\n";
+            logFile << "format fs=" << fsFormat << " quick label=\"" << VOLUME_LABEL << "\"\n";
+        }
+        if (createEfi) {
+            logFile << "create partition efi size=" << REQUIRED_EFI_SIZE_MB << "\n";
+            logFile << "gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001\n";
+            logFile << "format fs=fat32 quick label=\"" << EFI_VOLUME_LABEL << "\"\n";
+        }
         logFile << "exit\n";
         logFile << "\nExit code: " << exitCode << "\n";
         logFile << "\nDiskpart output:\n" << Utils::ansi_to_utf8(output) << "\n";

src/models/PartitionCreator.h

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ class PartitionCreator {
     explicit PartitionCreator(EventManager *eventManager);
     ~PartitionCreator() = default;
 
-    bool performDiskpartOperations(const std::string &format);
+    bool performDiskpartOperations(const std::string &format, bool createIsoBoot = true, bool createEfi = true);
     bool verifyPartitionsCreated();
 
 private:

src/services/partitionmanager.cpp

@@ -303,46 +303,60 @@ bool PartitionManager::createPartition(const std::string &format, bool skipInteg
                 LocalizedOrUtf8("log.partition.usingExistingPartitions", "Using existing partitions.\r\n"));
     } else {
         // Only one partition exists - this is an inconsistent state
-        // CRITICAL: Check if Windows is using the EFI partition before attempting to delete it
         bool windowsUsingEfi = volumeDetector->isWindowsUsingEfiPartition();
 
-        if (windowsUsingEfi) {
-            if (eventManager) {
-                eventManager->notifyLogUpdate("\r\n");
-                eventManager->notifyLogUpdate("========================================\r\n");
-                eventManager->notifyLogUpdate(LocalizedOrUtf8("log.partition.criticalError", "CRITICAL ERROR:\r\n"));
-                eventManager->notifyLogUpdate(
-                    LocalizedOrUtf8("log.partition.windowsUsingEfiSystem",
-                                    "Windows is using the ISOEFI partition as its system EFI partition.\r\n"));
-                eventManager->notifyLogUpdate(
-                    LocalizedOrUtf8("log.partition.cannotDeleteBreakBoot",
-                                    "Cannot delete or recreate this partition - it would break Windows boot.\r\n"));
+        if (partitionExists() && !efiPartitionExists()) {
+            // Only ISOBOOT exists, no EFI - recreate both
+            if (eventManager)
                 eventManager->notifyLogUpdate(
-                    LocalizedOrUtf8("log.partition.manualRecovery",
-                                    "Please manually recover space and ensure both partitions exist.\r\n"));
-                eventManager->notifyLogUpdate("========================================\r\n");
-                eventManager->notifyLogUpdate("\r\n");
-            }
-            return false;
-        }
+                    LocalizedOrUtf8("log.partition.onlyIsoBootExists",
+                                    "Only ISOBOOT partition exists. Recreating both partitions...\r\n"));
 
-        if (eventManager)
-            eventManager->notifyLogUpdate(
-                LocalizedOrUtf8("log.partition.inconsistentState",
-                                "Inconsistent state: Only one partition exists. Recreating both...\r\n"));
+            if (!spaceManager->recoverSpace()) {
+                if (eventManager)
+                    eventManager->notifyLogUpdate(
+                        LocalizedOrUtf8("log.partition.errorRecoveringSpace", "Error: Space recovery failed.\r\n"));
+                return false;
+            }
+            needsToCreatePartitions = true;
+        } else if (!partitionExists() && efiPartitionExists()) {
+            // Only EFI exists
+            if (windowsUsingEfi) {
+                // Windows is using the EFI partition - reuse it and create ISOBOOT
+                if (eventManager) {
+                    eventManager->notifyLogUpdate(
+                        LocalizedOrUtf8("log.partition.onlyEfiExistsWindowsUsing",
+                                        "Only EFI partition exists and Windows is using it as system EFI.\r\n"));
+                    eventManager->notifyLogUpdate(
+                        LocalizedOrUtf8("log.partition.reuseEfiCreateIsoBoot",
+                                        "EFI partition will be reused. Creating ISOBOOT partition...\r\n"));
+                }
+                // Don't run space recovery since we want to keep the EFI partition
+                // Just create the ISOBOOT partition
+                needsToCreatePartitions = true;
+            } else {
+                // Windows is not using EFI - safe to recreate both
+                if (eventManager)
+                    eventManager->notifyLogUpdate(
+                        LocalizedOrUtf8("log.partition.onlyEfiExistsRecreating",
+                                        "Only EFI partition exists (not used by Windows). Recreating both...\r\n"));
 
-        if (!spaceManager->recoverSpace()) {
-            if (eventManager)
-                eventManager->notifyLogUpdate(
-                    LocalizedOrUtf8("log.partition.errorRecoveringSpace", "Error: Space recovery failed.\r\n"));
-            return false;
+                if (!spaceManager->recoverSpace()) {
+                    if (eventManager)
+                        eventManager->notifyLogUpdate(
+                            LocalizedOrUtf8("log.partition.errorRecoveringSpace", "Error: Space recovery failed.\r\n"));
+                    return false;
+                }
+                needsToCreatePartitions = true;
+            }
         }
-        needsToCreatePartitions = true;
     }
 
     // Step 4: Create partitions using diskpart (only if needed)
     if (needsToCreatePartitions) {
-        if (!partitionCreator->performDiskpartOperations(format)) {
+        bool createIsoBoot = !partitionExists();    // Create ISOBOOT if it doesn't exist
+        bool createEfi     = !efiPartitionExists(); // Create EFI if it doesn't exist
+        if (!partitionCreator->performDiskpartOperations(format, createIsoBoot, createEfi)) {
             return false;
         }