Forum :: Easy2Boot

Topic: Easy2Boot

Issue cannot copy: Robocopy or winXP?

Bertholdouz-2 16/09/2017

Hi Streve. I use winXP x32 from my user account with admin attributes.
I deleted some files on Easy2Boot pendrive, hoping to copy them on E2B updating. However, this could not copy "Make this drive contiguos.cmd", and maybe other files that I don't know.
Image E2B folder device: https://s6.postimg.org/9sldrzs1d/Cannot-copy-makethisdrivecontiguos-and-others.png

This displays the dialog window, but really E2B could not copy these files on second try, neither:

E2B USB Drive Letter to update? (e.g. E) : F

"robocopy" no se reconoce como un comando interno o externo,
programa o archivo por lotes ejecutable.
Using XCOPY /d to update - please wait...

C:\DOCUME~1\User~1\CONFIG~1\Temp\RarSFX0\MAKE_E2B_USB_DRIVE (run as admin).cmd
C:\DOCUME~1\User~1\CONFIG~1\Temp\RarSFX0\MAKE_THIS_DRIVE_CONTIGUOUS.cmd
C:\DOCUME~1\User~1\CONFIG~1\Temp\RarSFX0\QEMU_MENU_TEST (run as admin).cmd
C:\DOCUME~1\User~1\CONFIG~1\Temp\RarSFX0\UPDATE_E2B_DRIVE.CMD
4 archivos copiados

Presione una tecla para continuar . . .

I once tried to install a robocopy (2005 version) downloaded from the internet, but this did not work.

Re: Issue cannot copy: Robocopy or winXP?

SteveSi 16/09/2017

Is there any free space on the USB drive?
Try just copying all the E2B files to the USB drive using Explorer.
Maybe your Anti-Virus is stopping it?
Maybe your USB flash drive is faulty?

Re: Re: Issue cannot copy: Robocopy or winXP?

Bertholdouz-2 20/09/2017

I wonder if maybe it's a lack of winXP.
The XP remains without AV and internet, currently, just XP-Firewall turned On.
The USB Drive is the Kingston DataTraveler SE9 16GB. It's filled by 46%, 54% free space.
I write you from a GNU/Linux distribution.

Re: Re: Re: Issue cannot copy: Robocopy or winXP?

Stevesi 20/09/2017

So what happens if you just copy the files yourself. ?
P.S. Why are 8.3 short folder names listed by xcopy (as shown in your example in first post)? Usually XP will show the full folder names and not the short file name?

What was the previous wallpaper (red sky)?

Bertholdouz 13/09/2017

Hi Steve. Thanks, great work!
Plz, I want to download the previous wallpaper (Red Sky, and others), but I have not found it in Alternate Area.
P.S: Google+ to gmail users it's a problem to answer on rmprepusb.blogspot.com
Thanks.

Re: What was the previous wallpaper (red sky)?

SteveSi 13/09/2017

I have added all (?) default wallpapers to Themes - Default E2B Backgrounds folder on Alternate Download Sites now.

Greek language Beta files for E2B

SteveSi 18/08/2017

https://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/beta-version-of-greek-language-available.html
Also in E2B v1.95c Beta

If you speak Greek, please test and correct.

rebootPro Forum

Ivan 17/08/2017

Hello SteveSi,
Two questions:
Do you remember, I asked for your convenience about a reboot.pro account issue? I can't complete the change of email address, and all the forum operations got blocked to me. Also, I couldn't email the admins. Although I might have given the impression that it worked, this topic haven't reached it's end. Waiting for another update, thanks.

This forum page 2 and beyond doesn't exhibit the further discussions. It gives Error 502.

Re: rebootPro Forum

SteveSi 18/08/2017

If you email me or use the Contact Me form, I will give you nuno's email address.
Is the forum page 2 issue fixed now?

UEFI .imgPTN direct booting from menu

Allen 02/08/2017

I want to UEFI boot from an .imgPTN file from E2B main menu (I removed Windows sub menu with your instructions) but I don't know how to do it. I can only boot from UEFI by switching partitions but with that i can't use the main menu (Only windows setup) which is i want to use. I will be glad if you help me.

Thank you.

Re: UEFI .imgPTN direct booting from menu

SteveSi 02/08/2017

If it was possible to UEFI-boot to the E2B menu, I would have done it!
E2B uses grub4dos which cannot be UEFI-booted.
You may like to try the complex E2B Grub2 Menu system. This needs to be 'switched' too, but once switched you can MBR and UEFI-boot to many different linux payloads/ISOs. However, it does not support Windows ISOs/payloads.
If your main usage is for Windows and MBR\UEFI, you should try WinSetupFromUSB.
If you like it, you can make a .imgPTN file from a WInSetupFromUSB flash drive and add the image to your E2B USB drive. There is a page of instructions on this site.
Note that some 'buggy' BIOSes will not MBR-boot if there are valid UEFI-boot files on the drive. Also note that most UEFI-solutions use FAT32 which means you cannot have files >4gb.
Due to these limitations, E2B uses the partition-swap\Switch process. That way everything is kept separate but you can boot to 100's of different MBR and UEFI payloads on all types of systems.

WPI ISO

karencho 12/07/2017

Hello i have downloaded WPI iso file how configure easy2boot to auto oper the WPI ISO?

Re: WPI ISO

SteveSi 12/07/2017

Can you give me a clue as to what WPI stands for?
Exact name of ISO? URL to download it from?

Re: Re: WPI ISO

karencho 12/07/2017

here you go :
LINK REMOVED AS VIRUSES IN DOWNLOADS!

Re: Re: Re: WPI ISO

SteveSi 12/07/2017

I think I found the torrent- will download...
But for most ISOs that are AIO's you make a FAT32 .imgPTN file using the MPI Tool Kit.

Re: Re: Re: Re: WPI ISO

SteveSi 12/07/2017

The ISO does not seem to be bootable.
Furthermore that URL is full of terrible malware\viruses\PUPs as .exe downloads!!!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: WPI ISO

karencho 12/07/2017

but how can i install applications plus have universal Lan Drives that is possible?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: WPI ISO

SteveSi 12/07/2017

E2B is a USB multiboot solution.
It allows you to boot a wide variety of different payloads.
I can only answer questions directly related to E2B.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: WPI ISO

karencho 12/07/2017

my antivirus showing nothing

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: WPI ISO

SteveSi 12/07/2017

Clicking on the first utorrent button downloads minstall-by-andreyonohov-leha342-lite-v_09_05_2017-x86-x64-2017-rus.zip
This contains minstall-by-andreyonohov-leha342-lite-v_09_05_2017-x86-x64-2017-rus.exe
Which if you run it puts lots of malicious nasty things on your Windows drive and infects your system and browser! Also known as bitchkeyru_key.exe and steam_api64.exe
https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/d85e30bd9c24ee361adc1b517f9f28f2667981fe0e3506a2e69b06394bac1e32/analysis/1499882771/

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: WPI ISO

karencho 12/07/2017

sorry for the link i did bot know but when i download that iso file there was no .exe files((( but i have an .iso file that is not starting i just put it in main menu folder but cant run it,and for example i have a Folders and files that i need to be in E2B how can i create an iso file to run it from E2B?how to do it correctly?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: WPI ISO

SteveSi 12/07/2017

It is not a bootable ISO. It does not contain boot files. It cannot boot. I am not sure what the ISO is supposed to do? I know nothing about it. It is not my software.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: WPI ISO

karencho 12/07/2017

but if it will be bootable it will work yes?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: WPI ISO

karencho 13/07/2017

for example i have Programm folders ,and there is many sub folders like ,CD&DVD,Codecs and etc.... in this folders there are .exe instalations files that i need... plus there is an autorun.exe file that is runing the whole program to use that intalation .exe files what i should do to put them in E2B?

Force make e2b to identify internal hdd

Zachary Haynes 01/07/2017

It may seem counter productive, but i would really like to make the first partition of my fixed internal drive an e2b drive. This would allow me to use a vhd for my primary os, and make restoration as simple as copying a file. I can't get the "make e2b drive" program to identify any internal disk as an option. Any suggestions? (Other than taking the disk out and attaching it to my usb dock)

Re: Force make e2b to identify internal hdd

SteveSi 01/07/2017

E2B is just a set of files.
You can make the internal hard disk boot to grub4dos by using RMPrepUSB - Install grub4dos.
Then extract all the E2B files to the first partition.
This will only work on FAT32 or NTFS volumes and only for MBR booting (not GPT disks or UEFI).
So I hope you know what you are doing or you could lose all your files!

Re: Re: Force make e2b to identify internal hdd

Zachary Haynes 01/07/2017

That's why I love e2b... It takes all the guesswork out of the equation. Hd0 is currently blank and waiting for me to do something with it. I was just wondering if there was a line in one of the config files e2b uses that i could alter to make it identify fixed drives. Every time i have tried to manually configure boot loaders or grub i never seem to get it right.

Re: Re: Force make e2b to identify internal hdd

Zachary Haynes 01/07/2017

Thank you!!! At first the program seemed a little daunting... but once I realized what I was doing...

Everything about the work you are doing (while possibly intimidating to the uninitiated) is with out a doubt the greatest thing since sliced bread! No more yumi, No more unetbootin, No more any other program. You sir, have made me appear much smarter than I actually am. Thank you for the work you have done!

Hide a switched imgPTN

7root 28/06/2017

Hi

The "Hide E2B Partition" script works great for me. For maximum privacy though, is it possible to hide a switched in patrition image? So that you can hide the new partition when a imgPTN file is being switched in? That'd be great

Re: Hide a switched imgPTN

SteveSi 28/06/2017

If the .imgPTN is a FAT32 partition, you can add the following lines just below the set VER=0.076 line
# Hide this FAT32 partition from Windows
cat --locate=\x00\x00 --skip=0x2a --length=2 --replace=\xaa\xaa (hd0,0)+1
hide (hd0,0)

This will cause the FAT32 ptn to be hidden from windows but not from linux.
You need to boot to the CSM menu once so the code is run.

See http://www.rmprepusb.com/tutorials/130 for more details

Re: Re: Hide a switched imgPTN

7root 29/06/2017

I found an even simpler solution to hide a switched in imgPTN from Windows (will still be visible to Grub4Dos and Linux): start diskmgmt.msc as admin and remove the drive letter!
Windows immediately unmounts the partition.
It works!

Re: Re: Re: Hide a switched imgPTN

SteveSi 29/06/2017

No - all that does it makes a registry entry in YOUR Windows system. It has no effect if you plug the drive into a different system.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Hide a switched imgPTN

7root 30/06/2017

Which was exactly what I was trying to achieve

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hide a switched imgPTN

SteveSi 30/06/2017

So you don't mind other people being able to see the partition!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hide a switched imgPTN

7root 01/07/2017

As long as it remains attached to my computer physically, they won't!

Re: Hide a switched imgPTN

lachance 02/07/2017

Another way to do it is to "unswitch" (i.e. restore the e2b partition table) upon shutdown. That would make it impossible to access the files in your imgPTN since it restores e2b when you shut down your PC. I dont know how to implement this into e2b tho, probably u need to edit some file. Maybe @Steve can help here?

Boot options toggle

JimmyK 05/06/2017

Hi
Great program - its so configurable its brilliant
I am trying to get my home PC to automatically boot between two options and it should choose the opposite choice from what was automatically chosen last time - ie a toggle. This should be totally automated and not require me to be at the boot screen (ie If I am in Windows I choose restart and it will via easy2boot - boot automatically into another environment).
So far I have got as far as getting it to the CSM menu which I am using with my image and menua defaulting it to choice 3 but as mentioned I want it so that because choice 3 was automatically chosen 3 last time, then next time I want F7 (HDD boot) to take place.
I thought I might be able to it by creating txt file and getting it to check for the existence of that txt file ie
(if exist lastchoice.txt then boot USB option 3,
del lastchoice.txt)
(if not exist lastchoice.txt then boot F7, create lastchoice.txt)
and so on - effectively making it boot into the CSM menu and choosing the opposite choice of what was automatically chosen last time.
Many thanks!

Re: Boot options toggle

SteveSi 05/06/2017

Do you really want a toggle or would you prefer to be able to boot or reboot into either OS?
What is Option 3 - I can't see your menu...
What OS is the HDD booting to and what is Option 3 booting to?

Re: Re: Boot options toggle

SteveSi 05/06/2017

Set the default to boot to the Unraid entry
At the top of the \menu.lst (just under comments) use
find --devices=h /unraid.tag || map (hd0) (hd1) && map (hd1) (hd0) && map --hook && rootnoverify (hd0,0) && chainloader (hd0)0+2 && boot

This says - look for \unraid.tag on all hard drives (includes the USB) - if NOT found boot to internal HDD.

Create the \unraid.tag file using a batch file in Windows and create a script to delete the file in UnRaid to make it boot to Windows.

Bad or Invalid E:\Unattend.xml

ElMariachi 18/05/2017

Hello!
I am trying to make a working USB flash helper drive for installing Windows 10 for some hours now, but it won't work.
The drive is recognized properly, and Windows is trying to maker us of it, but then there's always the Bad or Invalid E:\Unattend.xml error.
In your error messages collection I found this hint:
"check that the blank \AutoUnattend.xml and \Unattend.xml are at least as large as your original .xml file - if not you will need to make them larger! Check that no other drive contains these xml files in the root."
I tried increasing the size of the blank xml files to 2MegaByte, but it wouldn't help. And what do you mean by "original xml files"? I have no original xml files, I just want to plain install Windows 10.
Thank you in advance!

Re: Bad or Invalid E:\Unattend.xml

SteveSi 18/05/2017

Did you follow the guide
http://www.easy2boot.com/make-an-easy2boot-usb-drive/how-to-make-a-helper-usb-flash-drive/
Make sure no other flash drive or CD is present in the system.
Does E2B say WinHelper drive was found and it is wiping it, just before E2B menu is displayed?
Is drive E: the correct USB drive (press SHIFT+F10 to get command console in Windows Setup).
Original files are the 100K ones in the WinHelper docs folder

Re: Re: Bad or Invalid E:\Unattend.xml

ElMariachi 19/05/2017

Hello!

I followed the instructions. I have tried multiple flash drives. A;; are of removable type. The path "E:" is correct. The xml files are the same as in helper directory, I have tried copying them over multiple times. Also I have tried FAT32 and NTFS.

Re: Re: Re: Bad or Invalid E:\Unattend.xml

SteveSi 19/05/2017

When E2B boots, just before the Main menu loads, you should see a message that says
Wiping /AutoUnattend.xml and /Unattend.xml files on WINHELPER.USB
Do you see this when you boot to the E2B menu with the Helper USb drive also connected?
When do you see the E:\Unattend.xml message - after installation of Windows or before you can start the installation?
P.S. You can chat with me if the chat icon is displayed on website.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Bad or Invalid E:\Unattend.xml

SteveSi 10/06/2017

Did you get this working?
What does 'A;; are of removable type' mean??
Did you format the WinHelper USb drive using RMPrepUSB?

Unbootable ISOs

solstiv 11/05/2017

Hello there, I need to decide about proper extension for some ISOs I can't make booting from E2B -
- Acronis Backup 11 (unknown)
- DLC Boot 2016 (unknown)
- Macrium Reflect 7 rescue media (appears to be WinPE)
- SystemRescueCD x86 (unknown)

Also I want to ask how to remove default main menu entries which are related to E2B menu, such as fonts demo, change menu default, timeout etc., or move them all to submenu, so that at top level only appear direct choices for bootable ISOs.

Thanks!

Re: Unbootable ISOs

SteveSi 11/05/2017

Hi
You do not say what type of USB drive you have - Removable Flash drive or 'Fixed Disk' type?
E2B will usually suggest the best extension - did you turn this off? if so, press SCROLL LOCK before you select an ISO to see suggestions.
First search this page.
http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/list-of-tested-payload-files/
DLCD is a variant of Hirens so see
http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/hirens-isos
WinPE based ISOs may boot as .isoPE01 from a removable USB drive or convert to .imgPTN file.
SystemRescueCD.iso should just work.
If you ran PimpMyDrive.cmd then a \_ISO\MAINMENU\PIMP folder will have been created - delete any .mnu file in that folder you do not want.
Use
set DEFMENU=0 in \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg file
to remove Set Timeout and defaults menu entry.
See http://www.easy2boot.com/configuring-e2b/
To re-order menu entries, rename the payload and .mnu files in the menu folder.
If you have any specific issues with specific ISOs, please give details.
Remember that when you run E2B Update, the update process will copy the E2B files back, so if possible, use MyE2B.cfg settings or ADD extra files, but do not change existing files.

Re: Re: Unbootable ISOs

solstiv 11/05/2017

Firstly it's a removable drive.
As for DLC2016 I did already check suggestions at http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/hirens-isos/
.isowinvh seems work only for base Hiren's CD 15.2
.isowinvh seems work partially for Hiren's Boot DVD 15.2 Restored Edition 1.1 Proteus, only DOS utilities and no boot to Windows. i need a suggestion here too
DLCBoot2016 seems to fail with all suggested extensions <= suggestion here

SystemRescueCD and Macrium are sorted

Re: Re: Unbootable ISOs

solstiv 11/05/2017

Acronis Backup is also not fixed - kernel panic not syncing VFS
True Image 2017 ISO just boots fine as .isope

Re: Re: Re: Unbootable ISOs

SteveSi 11/05/2017

Acronis Backup?? You mean Acronis True Image 2017? Works OK for me as .iso.
If it is linux based, then it should work.
Maybe there is a hardware compatibility issue?
Did you make the 32-bit version or 64-bit version?
If 32-bit you can try booting it using \QEMU_MENU_TEST.cmd in root of drive.

re. DLC - it says to use .isoHW

For some you may need to convert to .imgPTN. HBCD Proteus is listed on the page link I gave you as tested and working if you use .imgPTN.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Unbootable ISOs

solstiv 11/05/2017

About the Acronis
Acronis Backup Advanced 11.7.50064 Boot CD
there's a difference between TI and BA

the root structure is as

<boot.images>
<efi>
<Recovery Manager>
abr32ker.dat
abr32ram.dat
abr64ker.dat
abr64ram.dat
bootmenu.exe
bootmenu.xml
bootwiz.cfg
bootwiz.sys
C1.png
C2.png
cpp.so
dat4.dat
dat8.dat
fox.so
gen_boot.so
graphapi.so
icu38.so
icudt38.so
libc.so
libgcc_s.so
menulogo.png
mouse.com
osfiles.so
resource.so
sgn5.sgn
sgn9.sgn
SPL1.EXE
SPL5.EXE
threads.so

I have an additional question, if I want to preserve all the default e2b menu entries (Change font, boot to hd0 etc..) and move them to some 2nd level menu, what do I edit?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Unbootable ISOs

SteveSi 11/05/2017

They use bootwiz which seems to need a real CD.
You can convert to a .imgPTN file, but it will also need a special menu entry in the \menu.lst file which will need to be worked out
see http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/boot-acronis-true-image-2017-ng-from.html
re. .mnu files. You can just copy them to any other standard menu folder, e.g. \_ISO\UTILITIES.
If you want to make a new sub-menu folder, then see http://www.easy2boot.com/configuring-e2b/add-a-new-menu-folder/

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Unbootable ISOs

SteveSi 12/05/2017

I made a DLC 2016 3.2 ISO.
This seems to work well just as .iso

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Unbootable ISOs

solstiv 12/05/2017

Thanks, I'll have look at Acronis forum.
Except DLC which won't boot for me as .ISO everything cleared.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Unbootable ISOs

SteveSi 12/05/2017

The first time I made the DLC2016 ISO it did not boot. I then used RMprepUSB - Ctrl+F11 (boot from ISO in QEMU) to test it and it reported a corrupted file. I then made the ISO again and that time it worked. So check your ISO actually works by booting directly from it in a VM.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Unbootable ISOs

SteveSi 12/05/2017

Acronis Backup
\menu.lst (inside .imgPTN file) - add to bottom of menu...

title Acronis Backup 11.7.50064 (32-bit)
kernel /abr32ker.dat product=bootagent media_for_windows vga=791 quiet
initrd /abr32ram.dat /dat4.dat
boot

title Acronis Backup 11.7.50064 (64-bit)
kernel /abr64ker.dat product=bootagent media_for_windows vga=791 quiet
initrd /abr64ram.dat /dat8.dat
boot

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Unbootable ISOs

SteveSi 12/05/2017

http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/add-dlc-boot-2016-to-e2b.html

Auto GFX=NONE and or Enable GFX mode depending on hardware/Resolution/Components

Jonathan 10/05/2017

I know you have the "prompt for faster boot option in the E2B.cfg...Wondering if there would be a way to have E2B detect if the machine is capable of running graphics/GFX mode or if it would be faster to use GFX=none. Either by checking date of machine make or cpu speed or ram size or other? Thoughts?

Re: Auto GFX=NONE and or Enable GFX mode depending on hardware/Resolution/Components

SteveSi 10/05/2017

You misunderstand.
Slow speed is due to slow USB access. This is caused by the BIOS having poor USB drivers (e.g. USB 1.0 or slow USB 2.0 drivers) and\or a slow USB drive.
The unifont font file (576Kb) is only used in graphics mode, it cannot be used in text mode. The wallpaper file (103k) cannot be used in text mode.
If we use text mode, then we don't have to load these files from a slow USB device, thus speeding up the boot process.
All systems with a USB port will be capable of 800x600x32 mode and any CPU will be fast enough.
We could run a speed test on the USB drive as it boots - but as this would take many seconds, there is no point!

Re: Re: Auto GFX=NONE and or Enable GFX mode depending on hardware/Resolution/Components

Jonathan 10/05/2017

Let me try this example, perhaps I am still misunderstanding..

EX: I have a graphic interface and wallpaper with animated logo on my USB 3.0 E2B drive. I plug it into a very old machine that has usb 1.0 ports and or a bad bios, this takes significantly longer to load...

Could E2B detect a system like this, usb 1.0 or bad bios notification and automatically select text mode to boot E2B?

Thank you!!

Re: Re: Re: Auto GFX=NONE and or Enable GFX mode depending on hardware/Resolution/Components

SteveSi 10/05/2017

How could it detect such a system?
Can you detect such a system - if so how?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Auto GFX=NONE and or Enable GFX mode depending on hardware/Resolution/Components

Jonathan 10/05/2017

I know you have the bad bios detection. But that doesnt mean it would be a slow usb drive. SO I guess our only options would be to test the usb port at boot and you are right at that point it would take too long! Trying to automate too much me thinks..hehe.. oh well. Thank you!!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Auto GFX=NONE and or Enable GFX mode depending on hardware/Resolution/Components

SteveSi 10/05/2017

Exactly!
You can always try holding down the SHIFT key just before E2B boots to load the grub4dos USB 2 driver.

AHCI_XP_Z170

christophe 07/05/2017

Hello, or put the AHCI files to be taken into account when installing xp on a z170 platform?
As are firadisk.
thank you

Re: AHCI_XP_Z170

SteveSi 07/05/2017

Hi
Go to Alternate Download Area - Other Files and download DMZ170_DPMS2.zip. This is 32-bit drivers. Note that E2B does not support 64-bit XP DPMS drivers.
Read ReadMe.txt inside for instructions.

New Utliman hack and windows 10 ISO

Jonathan 03/05/2017

A long time ago, windows 8 days. Someone was able to make a modified wim that was basically just the recovery portion of the win 8 installer. (the special reboot screen you get if you hold shift down on windows 8+) basically from there you could also run commands, .exes, portableapps, with the help of a little loader baked in. I have the wim if you would like to look. But I wonder if there could be a way to do this with windows 10 to use with utilihack so we dont need a full win 10 ISO to use?

Re: New Utliman hack and windows 10 ISO

SteveSi 03/05/2017

Sure, just delete the \sources\Install.wim or .esd from a standard MS ISO and use it with E2B Removable flash drive.

Re: Re: New Utliman hack and windows 10 ISO

Jonathan 04/05/2017

It worked! Downloaded the dual 32/64 bit version for MS media creator. Removed the .esd, file size is now 1gb iso. I am sure I can get it smaller with some more tinkering or gimagex... thank you!!!!

Re: Re: Re: New Utliman hack and windows 10 ISO

SteveSi 04/05/2017

Why do you need a dual version? Just a 32-bit version will work.
Or if you have a WinPE ISO already, you could just boot to that and run the first .cmd file manually.

Re: Re: Re: Re: New Utliman hack and windows 10 ISO

Jonathan 04/05/2017

Good point. I thought there was issues with 64/32bit uefis on some tablets. Some requiring one or the other?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: New Utliman hack and windows 10 ISO

SteveSi 06/05/2017

if you boot using UEFI you will need to convert the ISO to a .imgPTN file.
In that case, you will need to name the file \AutoUnattend.xml and put it in the root of the partition (if the USB drive is a Removable drive) or put the file in the boot.wim file (if the USB drive is the Fixed disk type).

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: New Utliman hack and windows 10 ISO

Jonathan 10/05/2017

Thank you that works!!

DBAN and Parted Magic?

Kel 17/04/2017

Reboot.pro doesn't seem to work so hopefully someone will see this. I'm looking to make a flash drive that I can use for wiping hard drives. I've used DBAN for non-SSDs and Parted Magic for SSDs. Is there an easy way to put both of those on the same flash drive with a menu using E2B? I didn't see a tutorial about that but figured maybe someone had already done it.

Thanks!

Re: DBAN and Parted Magic?

SteveSi 17/04/2017

Hi - no need for a tutorial?
After you make the E2B USB drive, copy the ISOs to \_ISO\MAINMENU and boot!

Grub2 menu system.. how to install Kali 2.0

mikoloko 17/04/2017

Hi, i successfully got to the installation menu of kali linux 2.0 by using loopback.cfg, but when the cd error thing comes up i cant find the iso mount in shell.

Re: Grub2 menu system.. how to install Kali 2.0

SteveSi 17/04/2017

I don't think that the loopback.cfg is the correct menu for an install.
Look inside the ISO at \isolinux\install.cfg for the way to invoke the install menu.
You could convert the ISO to a .imgPTN file. Then you should get the install option.

Re: Re: Grub2 menu system.. how to install Kali 2.0

mikoloko 17/04/2017

yes i convert it to .imgptn and everything is working fine but i just want to try if grub2 is capable of installing os through .iso in uefi mode.

Re: Re: Re: Grub2 menu system.. how to install Kali 2.0

Steve Si 18/04/2017

Look at the kali EFI64 menu in the linux.grub2 file and make a new .grub2 file with just that entry.
Test it.
Then look at the \isolinux\install.cfg file inside the ISO file and use that to modify the new .grub2 menu - adapt the menu to use the install lines
#graphical install
linux /install/gtk/vmlinuz video=vesa:ywrap,mtrr vga=788 -- quiet
initrd /install/gtk/initrd.gz

However, Kali may not support UEFI installation??

Re: Re: Re: Re: Grub2 menu system.. how to install Kali 2.0

mikoloko 22/04/2017

hi sorry for the late reply, i confirmed that kali linux 2.0 weekly 15 supports uefi booting now, i am dual booting windows10 and kali on my uefi laptop. gonna try your suggestion on grub2 thank you very much :)

100% disk usage booting vhd

Legenda 16/04/2017

hello

I got an intenso speedline 256 GB (usb 3.0)

Whenever i boot from my windows 10 VHD, it boots fine, but it is really slow. I open task manager and the disk shows 100% using only 0.1 MB.. What can i do to improve this?

Thank you for this wonderful tool!

Re: 100% disk usage booting vhd

SteveSI 16/04/2017

Some USB drives have really fast Sequential rd/wr access but terribly slow 4K random access.
http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/beware-of-this-fast-usb-30-flash-drive.html
Test with CrystalDiskMark and check 4K times - should be well above 5

Re: Re: 100% disk usage booting vhd

Legenda 16/04/2017

Thanks i will read the link.

Would changing from VHD help increase performance a bit?..

Re: Re: Re: 100% disk usage booting vhd

SteveSi 16/04/2017

The problem is probably the drive itself - you can't fix that - test it with the CrystalDisk benchmark to find out and let us know the result.

e2b stucks

Fourty 12/04/2017

Today i tried a new version of e2b (1.91) and new Windows 10 1703. So i formatted my pen drive, put win10 iso to win10 folder, rebooted pc. I was successfully booted to e2b (MBR mode) and i can go to UTILITIES menu to see my utils but when i'm choosing WINDOWS INSTALL Menu it just hangs. No errors, waiting didn't helps, just hang, that's all :(

Re: e2b stucks

Steve Si 12/04/2017

What happens if you run \QEMU_MENU_TEST.cmd ?

Are you sure the format process when you made a new drive actually worked successfully?

Re: Re: e2b stucks

Fourty 13/04/2017

Hi Steve!

I got it working, let me tell you what happened:
Even on old Win 10 Ent LTSB (that was pre 1703 for sure) i had a problems with formattind using v1.91, script said me he can't find "grubinst_new.exe" so i entered "Make_E2B_USB_Drive" dir and found there "grubinst.exe", renamed it to "grubinst_new.exe" and formatted my pen drive successfully.

After this i rebooted and stucked at WINDOWS INSTALL menu and come here to post my first message. Then i tried QEMU and it worked as planned, so i started to search the problem. First i tried another .iso, rebooted and stucked again (QEMU works).

I came to downloads section, found v1.90 on your google drive, unpacked it and just manually copied all contents to pen drive with overwriting, without reformatting (cuz i'm lazy and already copied bunch of .iso there and don't want to format again :)) to see what happens and it worked! Now i have working e2b pen drive with grub from 1.91 and all the stuff from 1.90.

I'm successfully installed new Win 10 Pro 1703 .iso, used Acronis Boot CD 2016 and 2017 .iso's and other stuff like HBCD 15.2 .iso without any problems.

By the way, i have only modified MyE2B.cfg file:
!BAT
if "%LANG%"=="" set LANG=ENG
set KBD=
set MYWBMP=0x000000
set EXTOFF=
set NOHELPER=1

Nothing else changed from original and ofc i'm making the drive contiguous after each new file that i put there.

I hope this will help, with best regards, FourtyTwo :)
P.S. Sorry for bad English :)

Re: Re: Re: e2b stucks

SteveSi 13/04/2017

If QEMU worked but a real system did not, then the problem is with your system's BIOS.
The usual reason is that you are using a partition of >137GB and the BIOS can only access sectors on a USB drive that are before 137GB.
grubinst_new.exe should never be used by the script because grubinst.exe is present in the directory and will always be used (unless there is a problem with your Windows somewhere).
The code is (where GR=grubinst.exe)
%GR% -h 2> gr.txt
set SILENT=
find "--silent-boot" gr.txt > nul
if not errorlevel 1 set SILENT=--silent-boot
if "%SILENT%"=="" set GR=grubinst_new.exe

so the find command should *always* be successful because the output from grubinst.exe included in the download will have the --silent text in the help output.
Please check you Windows PATH environment variable - maybe it is running the Cygwin version of FIND instead of the Windows version?

windows 10 creators update got 2 usb e2b drive

Samuel 04/04/2017

Windows 10 X64 Build 15063.11 v1703 (windows 10 creators update) seems to had 2 usb drives. when i try to create new usb e2b drive. anyone can verify ??

Re: windows 10 creators update got 2 usb e2b drive

SteveSi 04/04/2017

http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/windows-10-creator-edition-brings-major.html

On Debian 8.7.1 Live mate desktop ISO No Persistence Despite Following Prescribed Procedure.../

Sidheshwar 31/03/2017

I have followed following procedure prescribed in FAQ.
"You MUST run WinContig after preparing the USB drive and making the ext2 file - all files including the ext2 file need to be contiguous.
Check that you have created the ext2 file according to the instructions in the .mnu file (use the latest RMPrepUSB version 2.1.711+ which allows you to set the file name and volume name separately). Check the file name and the volume name are correct - you can edit\change the ext2 filename but do NOT change the name of the Volume name from the one specified in the .mnu file."
Despite following suggested procedure, no persistence observed.

Re: On Debian 8.7.1 Live mate desktop ISO No Persistence Despite Following Prescribed Procedure.../

SteveSi 31/03/2017

What instructions did you follow?
What .mnu file are you using?
What is exact name of ISO?

I tried the debian-live-8.7.1-amd64-mate-desktop.iso and debian-live-8.1.0-amd64-mate-desktop_Persistent.mnu
and found the echo command gave a 'permission denied' error after following the instructions in the .mnu file!
You need to use
sudo bash -c "echo '/ union' > /mnt/usb/persistence.conf"
instead

Increase payload description detail lines

Chuck 20/03/2017

Hi Steve
My E2B drive is working great. I did notice though that the payload detail description lines is limited to 4 even though I see the screen allows for 3 more lines.
How do I increase the number of detail lines? ...I'll continue to look for this in the sample file and the other help pages as well.
Thank you

Re: Increase payload description detail lines

SteveSi 20/03/2017

The maximum number of menu help lines is 4 - it is a limitation of grub4dos.
grub4dos can use the 5th line for its own messages/prompts, so any menu should leave 5 lines free below the menu area to allow for a maximum of 5 lines.

Re: Re: Increase payload description detail lines

Chuck 23/03/2017

It would be helpful to have another line but I understand. Thanks for your reply Steve.

Re: Re: Re: Increase payload description detail lines

SteveSi 23/03/2017

Why not re-design the menu to make the menu wider. Then you can use longer lines and get more words into each line?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Increase payload description detail lines

Chuc 27/03/2017

Ah ok. I guess I'll look into that. If that works, it should take care of the extra line of text I'd like to add on some payloads. Thanks.

Hiding payload names as sub menu loads

Chuck 16/03/2017

First, thanks a ton for all the work you have put into E2B. Fantastic.
I have setup a password with MD5 to hide certain payloads in various menus. This is all working great. However, by default many payloads are hidden as I want but when you go into the menu E2B seems to take an inventory of the items for that menu and you can see *ALL* payloads in that list just prior to the menu being shown with the appropriate payloads hidden.
How can I stop E2B from showing all payloads it is discovering prior to displaying the actual menu?
Thanks!

Re: Hiding payload names as sub menu loads

SteveSi 16/03/2017

Hi
If you add
set redir=> nul
in your \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg file, then E2B will not show the files that are being enumerated.
It also reduces other messages too, like QRUN autosuggest messages. See http://www.easy2boot.com/configuring-e2b/reducing-the-e2b-messages/
http://www.easy2boot.com/configuring-e2b/autosuggest/
Tip: Check the \_ISO\Sample_MyE2B.cfg file for lots of different settings.

Re: Re: Hiding payload names as sub menu loads

Chuck 16/03/2017

Thank you! setting redir= worked perfectly.

Yes I have been referring to the Sample_MyE2B.cfg file a lot and have been reading a lot of the very well written help pages on your site.

The http://www.easy2boot.com/configuring-e2b/reducing-the-e2b-messages/ page that you referenced was exactly what I needed and I didn't find my way there before when I was reading. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

At this point, I think my e2b tools thumbdrive is done. I learned a lot relating to how e2b works and I know I still have a lot to learn but this is an excellent environment for creating these types of toolkits. Thanks again for all your work on this and also for your quick and helpful reply to my question here. :)

Troubles with Hiren Extracted

Andrew 13/03/2017

So I extracted the entire Hirens contents onto the root of my flash drive & tried to put Hiren's Extracted.mnu in my Utilities folder of E2B.
Doesn't seem to be working :-(
Tried the contact form once a few weeks ago.. no dice.. figured once I got an address to reply to I'd send some pictures of my directory structures.

Re: Troubles with Hiren Extracted

SteveSi 13/03/2017

There are many different Hirens ISOs - exactly which one do you have?
The Contact Me form seems to work OK for me - can you try it again pls?
There is also an anonymous suggestions link too.

Re: Re: Troubles with Hiren Extracted

SteveSi 23/03/2017

FYI - Andrew had a DLC ISO file but was using the Hirens .mnu file instead of the DLC .mnu file. It works now!

UEFI, stuck at shell

Michael 12/03/2017

Hi Steve!

I have been at it all day trying to make my usb hdd uefi boot. I have read and watched nearly all you have put up, but I can't find anything about being stuck at the uefi shell in virtualbox. It loads fine non-efi VMs both mbr and csm but when I load a efi enabled VM I just get a UEFI Interactive Shell. It tries to load a start.nsh but just goes to Shell> and then nothing.

I am using a windows 7 32 bit aio which should work on both types of "bios". It is sourced from a localized retail dvd so not downloaded. Could it be that the iso I made from it is the problem? I have multiple machines running the 64 bit version from that source also with no problems but that was bios/mbr machines.

Sincerely Michael

Re: UEFI, stuck at shell

Michael 12/03/2017

I would just like stop wasting your time. I tried the mediacreationtool for windows 8.1 and that works just fine. So it is my win7 isos that have some kind of efi error. Sorry for bothering you and a big thank you for all your time giving us e2b!

Re: UEFI, stuck at shell

SteveSi 12/03/2017

Win7 32-bit does not support UEFI. It does not contain the UEFI boot files, etc. and is not supported by Microsoft.
Win 7 64-bit does support UEFI, but you must modify the files inside the .imgPTN image.
http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/win7-uefi/
When you switch to a .imgPTN file, E2B will tell you what UEFI-boot files are present and also it is listed below the CSM menu too.

Acronis 2017 NG

Warren 12/03/2017

Installed Acronis 2017 NG and installed the product key This allows me to create a Acronis image file for booting ether from a CD or for easy2boot usb works fine But when converting to a imgPTN file system it say's its a Trial version which it is not ,
is the conversion overwriting the product keys

Any advice would be appreciated

Re: Acronis 2017 NG

SteveSi 12/03/2017

Is it the linux-based version or WinPE-based?
Did you try creating a USB drive using Acronis and then making a .imgPTN file from the USB drive?
Did you try UEFI-booting from .imgPTN file?

Re: Re: Acronis 2017 NG

SteveSi 12/03/2017

Add this to the end of your \menu.lst

#Acronis - must use quiet switch or get busybox error!
iftitle [if exist /Recovery\ Manager/kernel.dat if exist /dat3.dat && if exist /dat2.dat] Acronis 32-bit \n Acronis True Image
kernel /dat2.dat vga=791 force_modules=usbhid quiet
if exist /dat4.dat set d4=/dat4.dat
initrd /dat3.dat %d4%
boot

#Acronis 64 - must use quiet switch or get busybox error!
iftitle [checkrange 2,3 is64bit && if exist /Recovery\ Manager/kernel.dat if exist /dat10.dat && if exist /dat11.dat] Acronis 64-bit\n Acronis True Image
kernel /dat10.dat vga=791 force_modules=usbhid quiet
if exist /dat12.dat set d12=/dat12.dat
initrd /dat11.dat %d12%
boot

http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/boot-acronis-true-image-2017-ng-from.html

Re: Re: Re: Acronis 2017 NG

Warren 12/03/2017

will try inserting the instructions in the menu.lst later

Thank You for the quick response

Re: Re: Acronis 2017 NG

warren 12/03/2017

Yes to all parts created iso with Acronis and that works ok with easy2boot but need it to work with a image file imgptn

Re: Re: Re: Acronis 2017 NG

SteveSi 13/03/2017

The ISO will work for MBR booting.
The .imgPTN will work for UEFI booting.
If you add the lines I gave to the end of the \menu.lst file (inside the .imgPTN file - just switch to the .imgPTN file to get CSM menu and then you can edit the \menu.lst file using Notepad) then you will get MBR booting from .imgPTN also working.

Partition setup?

James Newton 05/03/2017

I'm a little confused about how I should partition the drive before I use easy2boot... did I miss that in the docs? Or does it not matter?

My goal is to have a USB drive that I can use to store files like any standard USB, from windows, mac, linux, etc.. but also be able to boot linux and still access those same files.

Doesn't that require a separate partition?

Re: Partition setup?

SteveSi 05/03/2017

Please define 'USB drive'?
What type? Removable or Fixed?
What size?
Plenty of docs available under 'Make a USB drive' pages.
Since the whole idea of E2B is that you just copy on or delete the ISO files from linux or Windows, you can also add any other files\folders you like.

switch_e2b.exe reported as Trojan.

Tyler Nguyen 26/02/2017

Hi,
My Symantec Antivirus 14 reporting it as a trojan.

Re: switch_e2b.exe reported as Trojan.

diggity 04/03/2017

Is there an actual forum with proper threads and posts that this this can be discussed on? I have some questions but this is site format is just too much.... I would even offer hosting and set up a forum deicated to it if that would help!

Re: Re: switch_e2b.exe reported as Trojan.

SteveSi 04/03/2017

I have already given a link for a proper Forum - reboot.pro - see top of page.

.imgPTN files

Jorge 15/02/2017

Taking in account that i already have all .imgPTN files that i need Is it necesary to create again .imgPTN files when newer version of MPI Tool Pack is released and go to the process of creating E2B bootable USB again?

Re: .imgPTN files

SteveSi 15/02/2017

No. Old .imgPTN files will still work as long as they worked before!

How to display Directory locations when adding menu entry .txt files?

Bertholdoüz 15/02/2017

Hi Steve. Great work.
By default, when I select any ISO payload on Menu, E2B shows as Help text under menu the Directoy location of ISO payload.
When I make a .txt file to display title of each ISO payload, then I cannot see these Directory locations how was by default.
Please. What "variable" must I adding to .txt files to show that location data to each ISO?
Thanks.

P.S.: I suggest adding permanent links over Subjects (Topics) on forum.
This makes it easy to save them as bookmarks or local html offline files.

Re: How to display Directory locations when adding menu entry .txt files?

SteveSi 15/02/2017

Please see the page about .txt files
http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/change-the-menu-entry-text-using-a-txt-file/
You can use $HOME$ and $NAME$
e.g. title Boot to $NAME$ \n Boot $HOME$/$NAME$.ISO

(but not for Windows Installer ISO .txt files)

This Forum page is pretty primitive and I cannot change it because it is a fixed feature provided by the WebNode host.
All info should be available on the site pages as I always add anything that is relevant if it comes up in the Forum questions if it is not already there. So just use the Search feature and the Site Map.

CSM is NOT UEFI!

Gobsmacked 12/02/2017

Never have I seen/heard so much verbiage that appears intent to obfuscate the fact that Easy2Boot itself cannot boot in a UEFI environment; it can only boot under a 'standard' BIOS (whether actual or emulated as CSM).

Tell me I am wrong - nothing could please me more.

Better yet, show me how to create a Easy2Boot USB drive that itself boots under 'standard' UEFI (not CSM), preferably without mention (let alone half the discussion) of any virtual machine. Even better, present an approach that does not involve any Microsoft product other than FAT32

Re: CSM is NOT UEFI!

SteveSi 12/02/2017

Hi
E2B supports UEFI-booting in two ways.
1. Use .imgPtN files
2. Use the grub2 menu system (MBR or UEFI-boot)
As you correctly point out, grub4dos cannot be booted in UEFI-mode. So with .imgPTN files, you need to switch-in the partition before you can UEFI-boot. It does mean that you can secure boot from a wide variety of UEFI OS's - something that no other multiboot USB solution can do!
There are videos about .imgPTN on YouTube and there is a page about the grub2 menu system (last in side menu tab).
grub2 menu systems are not generic, each menu has to be tailored to each individual payload. This means that those solutions need to be continuously updated/maintained.
If you want to GENERIC UEFI-multiboot for a variety of different payloads and want to prepare it under linux, then look elsewhere (and let me know if you find one)!

Windows 10 don't open Flash-Easy2Boot

BlagoYar 09/02/2017

If flash-drive in .imgPTN mode - all is good, but in normal mode - "No access to H. Access denied"
http://savepic.ru/12853594.png
Why?
PS. Windows 10 Enterprise 14393. Log in as administrator.

Re: Windows 10 don't open Flash-Easy2Boot

SteveSi 09/02/2017

If the drive is in normal E2B mode, how did you manage to copy any ISO files to it?
You need to describe how I can reproduce this issue.
It obviously is not a problem other people have - only you!

Sample_MyE2B.cfg looks many changes Vs. MyE2B.cfg

Bertholdoux 08/02/2017

Hi Steve.
Long ago I keep my old file MyE2B.cfg.
Now I have compared this Vs. Sample_MyE2B.cfg, and I notice that there are many differences, far more than the custom changes I had applied.
So, Do you suggest updating it manually by copying from Sample_MyE2B.cfg? and to apply custom changes again?
P.S.: Below, nice another topic about "Defrag NTFS USB drive on Linux"...
We should promote E2B on GNU/Linux forums. :-)

Re: Sample_MyE2B.cfg looks many changes Vs. MyE2B.cfg

SteveSi 08/02/2017

Most of the settings in the Sample_MyE2B.cfg are commented out.
You are welcome to change anything you like.
You can also find some settings in the E2B_Editor.exe GUI to help design your own menus or look at the \_ISO\docs\Templates folder for ideas.

Windows Install trying to install on EZ2BOOT USB

Matthew 06/02/2017

im trying to install windows and it always says its going to install on the ez2boot USB, how do i get it to install windows on the internal drive?

Re: Windows Install trying to install on EZ2BOOT USB

SteveSi 06/02/2017

You mean the internal hard disk is not listed?
What Windows are you trying to install - XP, Vista, 98, Me, 7, 8, 10, server 2016 or something else?
Are you installing from an official Microsoft ISO?
If you are using XP ISO, are you using the DPMS version of E2B (hint: you should be!)?

Re: Re: Windows Install trying to install on EZ2BOOT USB

Matthew 07/02/2017

its all windows installs, i converted an official windows iso to a imgPTN and i go boot to the EZ2BOOT and select whatever windows im wanting to install and after i select it i get "WARNING: THE E2B DRIVE PARTITION TABLE IS ABOUT TO BE OVERWRITTEN!" with a bunch of other read text and some blue about UEFI booting then it asks "OK to replace E2B partitions ([Y]/ N) :

so from my understanding it is trying to install the windows i selected onto the E2B bootable, therefore overwritting it, is this correct or is it installing to the internal hard disk?

Re: Re: Re: Windows Install trying to install on EZ2BOOT USB

SteveSi 07/02/2017

No - that is not correct.
It is replacing the partition containing E2B files with a new partition which contains the files that were inside the ISO so that it can run Windows Setup.
Why don't you just answer Y and you will see!
Or watch the YouTube videos or read the .imgPTN page on this site...

E2B 1.88 Symantec Heuristic Virus

Rodommoc 01/02/2017

I just updated to Easy2Boot 1.88 this morning and Symantec Endpoint 14 1904 is flagging Switch_E2B.exe as a Heur.Adv.ML.B Heuristic Virus and it is being Quarantined.

Also, what is the maximum size USB drive allowed without the use of a WinHelper USB? I have been using 128Gb without issue. someone I knwo bought a 256 and it is telling him he needs a WinHelper USB.

Re: E2B 1.88 Symantec Heuristic Virus

SteveSi 01/02/2017

You will have to whitelist it
The size of drive is not important , it is whether it is a Removable type or Fixed type. Some USB flash drives are fixed type. Most are removable

Re: Re: E2B 1.88 Symantec Heuristic Virus

Rodommoc 01/02/2017

Sorry, I should have supplied the USB drive model info: Sandisk Ultra 256 USB 3.0. I'm trying different settings in RMPrep to see if I can get it to work. So far I have Used WinPEv2..., NTFS, and unchecked the boot as HDD option.

Re: Re: Re: E2B 1.88 Symantec Heuristic Virus

SteveSi 01/02/2017

The type cannot be changed.
RMPrepUSB will tell you what type it is.
If it is Removable type then it is OK.
E2B only WARNS if any drive is over 128GB - it does not say that it will not work - it just says that Fixed disks will not work.
E2B (grub4dos) cannot distinguish between fixed and removable property - so it just looks at size and warns user if over 128GB because it is probably a HDD.
P.S. Many BIOSes have a USb driver bug and cannot access sectors past 137GB. For this reason, I don't recommend using a Removable USB Flash drive that is over 128GiB because if you make a 2nd partition it cannot be seen by Windows and this causes issues.

Booting Windows ISOs

Paul R 31/01/2017

I am having problems booting Windows installation ISOs via Easy2Boot. I have got it set up fine booting to Acronis, Linux ISOs and various WinPE ISOs, but when I try to install Windows things generally go like this:

A) After choosing an ISO I get a menu of options, most of which I don't understand. I just want the ISO to behave in the normal fashion, so I choose the option that I guess is going to get closest to that.

B) 9 times out of 10, it doesn't work. e.g. I just installed W7 on a PC, that worked fine, but now I am trying to install W10 on the same PC and it's stuck at "Setup is starting". I have tried 2 different options.

Any advice?

Re: Booting Windows ISOs

SteveSi 31/01/2017

Any error messages at all from E2B? What is size of USB drive? What is type of E2B drive?
Delete the ISO. Then copy the ISO again to the \_ISO\WINDOWS\WIN10 folder.
Run \MAKE_THIS_DRIVE_CONTIGUOUS.cmd
Now use a Windows utility to get the CRC\MD5\SHA1 hash value of the file on the E2B drive and compare it with the same file that you downloaded onto the system hard disk (or with official published value). This will check the file for corruption. If not same you have bad USB drive.
Otherwise, it may be a hardware issue with Win10. If it was an E2B issue, I would expect some other sort of error. For Win10 you need to choose correct Product Key for the version you are installing - but you should get an error message from Windows Setup if it was wrong.

Re: Re: Booting Windows ISOs

Paul R 31/01/2017

Thanks, it was a corrupt ISO.

That left me with another problem - booting via Easy2Boot does not behave like booting from a real disc. In this case, all the Easy2Boot options I tried either asked me for a Windows 10 key (which I don't have because the Windows 10 licence on this machine came via an upgrade from Windows 7) or left me with an installation that would not activate.

Booting from a real disc (actually an SD card with the ISO installed on it) installed & activated fine without entering a product key.

Is there any way I can make Easy2Boot Windows installs behave exactly like installs from real discs?

Re: Re: Re: Booting Windows ISOs

SteveSi 31/01/2017

The keys that are provided in E2B are installation keys. If you are installing Win 10 Pro (retail) simply pick the Win 10 Pro installation key.
Once you have booted to Desktop, you can enter the Win7 key and it should activate.
However, if you want it to be able to accept your Win7 key during Setup, use the MPI Tool Kit to convert the ISO to a .imgPTN file.
This will then behave like the DVD.
MPI will ask you about an EI.cfg file - if you have a retail ISO, say R and you will be able to install either Core or Pro (it will ask you to pick).
With .imgPTN (FAT32) you can also boot via UEFI too if you wish. See videos for more info and MPI pages on this site.

Is .mnu file cached somewhere?

Long Vu 17/01/2017

I have created a .mnu file for unattended Centos 7 Installation using a Kickstart file.
I have modified the "title" inside the .mnu file but in the boot menu, it is still the same.
I also tried the delete that .mnu file from my usb key and the boot menu still list it !
So is that .mnu files cached somewhere? What to do to be absolutely sure the latest .mnu files is being used?

Re: Is .mnu file cached somewhere?

SteveSi 17/01/2017

The Main menu is cached if you use FASTLOAD.
If so, just press F8 in the Main Menu to refresh the cache.
If you are not using FASTLOAD, are you using a VM to test or a real system? If a VM please describe how it is configured.
Where did you place the .mnu file and what does it contain?

Re: Re: Is .mnu file cached somewhere?

Long Vu 17/01/2017

I am not sure what you mean by FASTLOAD, how do I verify this?
I tried F8 anyways and it did not work (did not delete the entry from the Linux iso list).
I was testing my usb key like this "sudo qemu-system-x86_64 -machine accel=kvm:tcg -m 512 -hda /dev/sdc"
Here is the content of my .mnu file (that has been deleted from my usb key but keeps showing on the Linux menu)

=========================
[[email protected]:6 16:04:02 Iso]$ cat CentOS7_AutoInstall.mnu
# CDLABEL must match ISO volume label (usually file name)
# NTFS is not supported! use FAT32 or ext2/3/4
# ISO must not have spaces in path or name

title Auto Install CentOS 7 from Kickstart\n Auto Install CentOS 7 from Kickstart

#ISO is full path to ISO (no spaces)
set ISO=$HOME$/CentOS-7-x86_64-Minimal-1611.iso

#LBL=CD VOLUME LABEL OF THE ISO use \\x20 instead of a space
set LBL=CentOS\\x207\\x20x86_64

map %ISO% (0xff) || echo -e $[0147]%ISO% IS NOT CONTIGUOUS! && map --mem %ISO% (0xff)
map --hook
root (0xff)
echo
echo -e $[1174]WARNING: THIS WILL NOT WORK ON NTFS DRIVES (use FAT32 or ext2/3/4).
echo
kernel /isolinux/vmlinuz root=live:CDLABEL=%LBL% iso-scan/filename='%ISO%' rd.live.image vga=791 inst.ks=nfs:it-deploy2.intelerad.com:/srv/exports/ks/wkstn_centos7-dev-ah.ks
initrd /isolinux/initrd.img
boot
==============================

The file was put under _ISO/Linux folder on the usb key, next to the CentOS-7-x86_64-Minimal-1611.iso it was refering to. Is that location allowed for .mnu file?

Re: Re: Re: Is .mnu file cached somewhere?

SteveSi 17/01/2017

FASTLOAD is not the problem if you have not enabled it and it only caches the MAIN Menu, not the Linux menu.
If you place the .mnu in \_ISO\LINUX and the CentOS ISo file in \_ISO\LINUX, you will see two menu entries - one for the ISO and one for the .mnu file.
Try booting on a real system?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Is .mnu file cached somewhere?

Long Vu 17/01/2017

I actually want 2 menus. One to boot the .iso as-is and one that does full unattended install.
Have not tried on a real physical system yet. Need a real machine that I can zap the real harddrive under unattended mode.
Is there another way to test this "virtually"?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Is .mnu file cached somewhere?

SteveSi 17/01/2017

The problem is that you cannot see the .mnu entry in the LINUX menu or that you can see it when it should not be there?
So boot on a real system to E2B, go to LINUX menu - What is in the menu?
You do not need to run anything.
Or run QEMU_MENU_TEST.cmd under Windows?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Is .mnu file cached somewhere?

Long Vu 17/01/2017

I see it when it should not be there (I deleted the .mnu file).
I'll wait until I can get a real physical system to test again.
Will report my results.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Is .mnu file cached somewhere?

SteveSi 17/01/2017

OK. QEMU may be in snapshot mode or something...
You can also go to grub4dos console
SHIFT+P easy2boot
SHIFT+C
ls /_ISO/LINUX/
can you see .mnu file?
P.S. You are quitting QEMU before you edit the drive contents and then re-running QEMU?

Re: Is .mnu file cached somewhere?

Long Vu 18/01/2017

Tried on a real physical system, the menu behave as expected (it is there when the .mnu file is there and not there when the file is not there).
Retried in qemu, also good.
I think, in addition to shutdown qemu, I have to also disconnect the usb drive and reconnect again.
So I think this is due to some kind of filesystem caching and not easy2boot caching.
Sorry for the false alarm.

Re: Re: Is .mnu file cached somewhere?

SteveSi 18/01/2017

OK.
If you have an NTFS E2B drive, you could try using the partnew technique. You can adapt one of the other sample .mnu files (e.g. ubuntu) to see how it is done. Then the iso-scan/filename= is then not needed and i should work on NTFS or even exFAT.

bootmgr missing

EdP 04/01/2017

bootmgr missing, using XP. I downloaded bootmgr from Microsoft.
TroubleShooting Instructions say to copy it to folder "\_ISO\e2b\grub\DPMS\NTBOOT.MOD" on the E2B drive.
But no such folder. The DPMS folder is there but pasting bootmgr to it don't work.

Any ideas?
Thanks

Re: bootmgr missing

SteveSi 04/01/2017

Hi Ed
if you look at the E2B download zip file, you will see that it does contain that NTBOOT.MOD folder. If your E2B drive does not, then please update it.

Re: Re: bootmgr missing

Ed 04/01/2017

So I copied the NTBOOT.MOD folder to the DPMS folder on the E2B drive with a WIN7 bootmgr file in it.
Getting the same bootmgr missing message.

Re: Re: Re: bootmgr missing

SteveSi 04/01/2017

I said you need to UPDATE your E2B drive.
Download the latest version.
Unzip it into a new empty folder.
Run Update_E2B_DRIVE.cmd.
Also, you will need a Win8.1 version of bootmgr - not all versions are compatible - e2b will warn you if it is the wrong version.

Re: Re: Re: Re: bootmgr missing

SteveSi 04/01/2017

P.S. What EXACTLY are you trying to boot?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: bootmgr missing

SteveSi 13/01/2017

@Ed - is it working now?

onlymainmenu and unattended files

dnecro 25/12/2016

when **.iso.auto files in present windows iso folder it give "if exist %folder/%iso%.auto call %folder%/%iso%.auto"
error 13

Am I doing something wrong or missing ? maybe add something mye2b.cfg?

Re: onlymainmenu and unattended files

Stevesi 26/12/2016

.auto is not a valid file extension (for a normal payload file). ??

Re: Re: onlymainmenu and unattended files

dnecro 26/12/2016

wait what? How not valid? unattended install guide and example files in folders already have these files. Then which extension I should use?

Re: Re: Re: onlymainmenu and unattended files

SteveSi 26/12/2016

So you are following instructions on
http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/windows-install-isos/unattended-installs/

If so, you need to give all details. Exact paths and filenames you are using, contents of files, etc. What .mnu file you are using, etc.

Re: Re: Re: Re: onlymainmenu and unattended files

SteveSi 26/12/2016

P.S. Is the first line of your xxxxx.iso.auto file

!BAT

???

make drive contiguous

dancaer69 17/12/2016

When an iso isn't contiguous, I get an error and a prompt to hit "ctrl+f2" to make drive contiguous, but when I press this key combination it doesn't do anything. Is it possible to use this function from usb stick?

Re: make drive contiguous

SteveSi 17/12/2016

It says Press Ctrl+F2 in **RMPrepUSB**.
or you can run USB drive \MAKE_THIS_DRIVE_CONTIGUOUS.cmd.

Re: Re: make drive contiguous

dancaer69 17/12/2016

Thanks for the fast responce.
Yes this is the message, but I still don't understand. Can I make the drive contiguous from stick(without the need to reboot to windows/linux), and if yes which is exactly the procedure? It's not clear to me.

Re: Re: Re: make drive contiguous

SteveSi 17/12/2016

MAKE_THIS_DRIVE_CONTIGUOS.cmd and RMPrepUSB.exe are Windows programs - so they must be run under Windows.
If you are a linux user, see http://www.easy2boot.com/make-an-easy2boot-usb-drive/make-using-linux/

Re: Re: Re: Re: make drive contiguous

dancaer69 17/12/2016

Yes, I've used both windows/linux. I just thought that you can do it from usb stick too and "ctrl-f2" was the combination to run the command.
Thanks.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: make drive contiguous

SteveSi 06/05/2017

If I could do it from grub4dos then I would not need to ask the user to do it!

contiguous drive

dimm0k 14/12/2016

if I create a new E2B drive, add ISOs, make contiguous, will I have to make contiguous again if I add non-E2B files to the drive after? non-E2B files would just be random stuff like videos, music, etc - essentially things not related to E2B AFTER the drive was made contiguous.

Re: contiguous drive

SteveSi 14/12/2016

No, the FILES are made contiguous by WinContig, not the drive. E2B needs contiguous payload files.

w32.trojan.gen

Gigante 12/12/2016

Hi,
Webroot antivirus reports this program as a trojan. Is the downloaded files infected, or is it the program? (the function to override windows installation-files and default settings)

Re: w32.trojan.gen

SteveSi 12/12/2016

What program> Which download?
Use the web based VirusTotal to check it with all virus scanners. https://www.virustotal.com/
E2B is used 1000's of times a day and is downloaded 100's of times a day. If it had a virus, I think it we would know about it!

Re: Re: w32.trojan.gen

Gigante 14/12/2016

This file: %Documents% EASY2BOOT V1.86DPMS_MAKE_E2B_USB_DRIVE.EXE
I cannot find the file (maby temorary while installing? or removed by webroot?) It seems to warn when I make bootdisks with the cmd-file.
I have sent the question to Webroots support to see what exactly it warn for.

Re: Re: Re: w32.trojan.gen

Gigante 14/12/2016

Got reply from Webroot that it was false alarm. :) (Y)

E2B and reports

Filil J 09/12/2016

Hi.
I have sort of hdd testing software in iso format.
thise software doesn't work for me becouse need to write reports after finish work.
Is there any way to use e2b with thise tool ?
Regards Filip

Re: E2B and reports

SteveSi 09/12/2016

Are you using a Removable USB drive or Fixed Disk drive for E2B?
Did you try converting to .imgPTN file, then you may have better access?
If you tell me what s/w is or can send me a copy, I can help.

Up to date OpenELEC/LibreELEC Live

john3voltas 24/11/2016

Hi.
I'd like to be running OpenELEC or LibreELEC live from E2B. Not interested in the installation, just the live functionality.
I've seen a couple of articles from 2013/2014 here at E2B.com. Are they still up to date?
Could you please make an update on those articles?
Thanks in advance.
Cheers

Re: Up to date OpenELEC/LibreELEC Live

SteveSi 24/11/2016

Yes, the 2014 instructions still work for the latest version 6.0.3

Re: Re: Up to date OpenELEC/LibreELEC Live

john3voltas 24/11/2016

Thanks, SteveSi.

Usb drive does not boot anymore

Long Vu 16/11/2016

I just bought a brand new Kingston SE9 G2 USB 3.0 64GB.
Formatted it with Easy2Boot.
It booted a first time.
I added more isos, it stopped booting. But I can still read and write to it as a data drive.

I format it again. Still do not boot.
Thinking it's my computer BIOS that is messed up, I tried an older usb drive that also has Easy2Boot and that worked.
Any pointers how to debug this weird problem?

Re: Usb drive does not boot anymore

SteveSi 16/11/2016

See Troubleshooting page
http://www.easy2boot.com/faq-/troubleshooting-e2b/

Re: Re: Usb drive does not boot anymore

Long Vu 17/11/2016

Here's some surprising findings:

The problematic Kingston SE9 G2 USB 3.0 64G key works for:
- qemu
- my work machine Dell Precision T3610, all usb ports
- my older laptop Dell Vostro 3350, all usb ports
- my current laptop (where the problem originally occured) Dell Latitude E6230, only on the USB 2.0 port (USB 3.0 port do not boot). On the USB 2.0 port, it displays "Invalid Partition table!", then I press enter and it continue to boot the usb key.

Note that as previously stated, the USB 3.0 port did work once, then stopped working. Also that same USB 3.0 port was able to boot a smaller and supposely cheaper quality Kingston DataTraveler 101 G3 16 G.

I also destroyed the partition table on the 64G key, recreate from scratch, then format again, same result. This is using latest Easy2Boot_v1.86DPMS.zip, the fmt.sh script (Fat32).

I verified by Latitude e6230 is using Legacy BIOS and not UEFI. My ssd boot drive is using MBR partition anyways so it can not be using UEFI.

I am really stumped. Any other pointers as to why this weird problem happens?

I bought a bigger usb key so I can put my entire collection of Iso on it. I hope it is not the size of the key that is the problem because that will make me really sad.

Re: Re: Re: Usb drive does not boot anymore

SteveSi 17/11/2016

The fmt.sh script does not add a small second partition. As explained on the website, when you use RMPrepUSB or the MAKE_E2B_USB_Drive.cmd Windows script, it makes a second small hidden partition on the USB drive. This is because some systems will try to boot a USB drive as a floppy disk if they only have one partition.
Can you add a small second PRIMARY partition to the USB drive or use the Windows script to make it?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Usb drive does not boot anymore

Long Vu 19/11/2016

Added a 2nd primary partition, still the same weird behavior.

sudo fdisk -l /dev/sdb
[sudo] password for lvu:
Disk /dev/sdb: 57.8 GiB, 62087233536 bytes, 121264128 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xefda3cf9

Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sdb1 2048 119566335 119564288 57G b W95 FAT32
/dev/sdb2 119566336 121264127 1697792 829M b W95 FAT32

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Usb drive does not boot anymore

SteveSi 19/11/2016

Did you switch off the system and switch on again?
Did you check the BIOS settings. e.g. USB Settings?
Does it say USB HDD in the BIOS boot menu?
Is the first partition marked as Active (boot flag)?
Did you install grub4dos to both PBR and MBR?
Latest BIOS version is A16 25th Oct 2016 with improved USB support. Do you have this?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Usb drive does not boot anymore

Long Vu 19/11/2016

Did you switch off the system and switch on again?
Yes

Did you check the BIOS settings. e.g. USB Settings?
Yes, boot order is USB first.

Does it say USB HDD in the BIOS boot menu?
This is the interesting part, it doesn't say when the usb key is plugged into the usb 3.0 port. Looks like BIOS do not detect/see a usb hdd on usb 3.0 port ... but only for my new 64G usb key. The older 16G usb key was booting fine from that same usb 3.0 port.

Is the first partition marked as Active (boot flag)?
No.

Did you install grub4dos to both PBR and MBR?
I don't know, I just run the fmt.sh script.

Latest BIOS version is A16 25th Oct 2016 with improved USB support. Do you have this?
I only have A15.

I also tried to format the usb key using Windows instead of linux. This is the latest fdisk output after Windows format:

sudo fdisk -l /dev/sdb
[sudo] password for lvu:
Disk /dev/sdb: 57.8 GiB, 62087233536 bytes, 121264128 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xfc5ed0c2

Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sdb1 * 63 121242491 121242429 57.8G c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/sdb2 121242492 121242554 63 31.5K 21 unknown

Still the same behavior (usb 3.0 port do not boot) with formatting using Windows. However at least usb 2.0 port stop staying "invalid partition table!".

I guess a new BIOS might be the fix. At least now the usb 2.0 port boots properly so I have a fall back. I'll reply my findings if I feel brave enough to update the BIOS. I got burned once in the past updating BIOS.

Thanks for all the help. Looks like formatting on Windows does a more complete job than Linux. Is it because Linux is lacking any functionality or you just didn't get around to have feature parity between Windows and Linux?

I am still puzzled as to why my older 16G usb drive was working fine on that same usb 3.0 port although it was formatted on Linux.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Usb drive does not boot anymore

SteveSi 20/11/2016

The * in
/dev/sdb1 * 63 121242491 121242429 57.8G c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
I think means that the partition is active. So one difference is that the first partition was not active until you used Windows to prepare the USB stick.
The fmt.sh script only formats an existing partition it does not create partitions.
Did you enable both options in the BIOS under System Setup - USB Configuration - Enable Boot Support and Enable External USB Port?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Usb drive does not boot anymore

SteveSi 20/11/2016

P.S. I have improved the linux fmt.sh script in E2B v1.87b so that it makes the partition active and installs grub4dos to the PBR.
The only thing it does not do is make a 2nd small partition on the USB drive. You should do this yourself or it may not boot on some systems.

E2B Multi-Boot

Farid 07/11/2016

Dear Stevesi,
first of all thank you for the software package development and that for free!
I've been trying to make a Multiboot USB Stick/HDD usable for both UEFI and Legacy Mode Bioses and I've already read several tutorials on E2B website and have also seen several videos from other resources. But still haven't been able to make such a drive, which would work on both kind of Bios types (MBR/UEFI). The best results have been either working on some MBRs OR on some UEFIs, not both at the same time.
Therefor my first question is that, if you could recommend one main method/tutorial to focus on; because as I mentioned there are several Versions suggesting different methods, like using RMPrepUSB (and that with variety of options like choosing between ntfs or fat32, Boot as HDD as checked or not etc.) or using the scripts like MAKE_E2B_USB_DRIVE .cmd
My other question is that, if you by any chance know some tool to convert usb "fixed" drives into "removable" disks? Most of my USB drives are detected as "fixed" drives. I assume that, first of all they have to be "removable" drives for being able to make them bootable using E2B.

Re: E2B Multi-Boot

SteveSi 07/11/2016

E2B will work on Removable drives or Fixed Disk type.
The website explains the difference.
Not all payloads (ISOs) support UEFI booting.
Look at the 'List of tested payloads' page to see the best way to add each payload file.

Find Only in hd0

SalimS 05/11/2016

Dear Stevesi
iftitle [find /ntldr] OS * Windows XP Loader..
how to set find only search in hd0.. If not found ntldr in hd0 then message not found ntld in hd0.
How to make menu like that's..??

Re: Find Only in hd0

SteveSi 05/11/2016

That is tricky!
When you boot from USB, hd0 will be the USB drive.
hd1 will be the first internal hard disk.
So if you want to boot from the internal disk try
iftitle [ls (hd1,0)/ntlrd] Boot from NTLDR

or maybe

iftitle [ls (hd1,0)/ntldr || ls (hd1,1)/ntldr] Boot from NTLDR

Re: Re: Find Only in hd0

SteveSi 08/12/2016

For interest
# Ignore boot device and boot to Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8 from the internal hard disk
# This works by mapping the boot device (bd) which may have bootmgr or ntldr on it, to a virtual memory drive so that files on it are not found by the find command
title Boot to Windows from an internal hard disk
map --mem (md)+8 (bd)
map --hook
find --set-root --ignore-floppies --ignore-cd /bootmgr || find --set-root --ignore-floppies --ignore-cd /ntldr
map (bd) (bd)
map --rehook
chainloader /bootmgr || chainloader /ntldr

Unable to defrag NTFS USB drive on Linux

Long Vu 05/11/2016

Hi,

I got this error on Ubuntu 16.04:

[[email protected]:12 12:47:29 linux_utils]$ sudo ./udefrag -om /dev/sdc1
[sudo] password for lvu:
sudo: unable to execute ./udefrag: No such file or directory
[[email protected]:12 12:53:38 linux_utils]$

USB drive was created using Easy2Boot_v1.86DPMS.zip.

I used 'sudo bash ./fmt_ntfs.sh' to create the drive initially.

Then I copy over some .iso.

Re: Unable to defrag NTFS USB drive on Linux

SteveSi 05/11/2016

Does the file exist?
Did you use chmod on it?

Re: Re: Unable to defrag NTFS USB drive on Linux

SteveSi 05/11/2016

The udefrag binary is a 32-bit program.
If you have Ubuntu 64-bit, you may need to add 32-bit support. See the linux page on this site.

Re: Re: Re: Unable to defrag NTFS USB drive on Linux

SteveSi 05/11/2016

udefrag came from the tools.zip file at
http://jp-andre.pagesperso-orange.fr/advanced-ntfs-3g.html#download
If anyone would like to supply me with a 64-bit version of udefrag (find it or compile it), I will include it in E2B.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Unable to defrag NTFS USB drive on Linux

Long Vu 06/11/2016

Yes udefrag file exist. Yes I chmod a+x it.

I will try to add additional 32-bits libraries to my 64-bits machine to see if I can run udefrag.

Thanks.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Unable to defrag NTFS USB drive on Linux

Long Vu 13/11/2016

Confirmed able to defrag NTFS on Ubuntu 16.04 by following intructions on Linux page:

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install libc6:i386 libncurses5:i386 libstdc++6:i386
(change to _ISO/docs/linux_utils folder)
sudo chmod 777 *
sudo udefrag -om /dev/sdX1 (where sdX1 is your NTFS USB partition)

Thanks.

Administrative rights for RestoreE2B script

Codeplayer 04/11/2016

Hi!

I just wanted to thank you for the hugely useful software package development and also for providing that for free. I haven't been able to give much back to you. I noticed that I might be able to contribute with some code though. The thing is that its quite annoying to start the RestoreE2B script with administrative rights. Usually on broken computer the right click menu might take ages to pop up in Windows Explorer. Here is how I make batch scripts ask administrative rights, use it however you like:
In the beginning I usually add:

set "_FilePath=%~f0"
set "_FileDir=%~dp0"
setlocal EnableExtensions EnableDelayedExpansion

And then in the appropriate location the admin rights prompt trigger:

fltmc >nul 2>&1 || (
echo Set UAC = CreateObject^("Shell.Application"^) > "%temp%\GetAdmin.vbs"
echo UAC.ShellExecute "!_FilePath!", "", "", "runas", 1 >> "%temp%\GetAdmin.vbs"
"%temp%\GetAdmin.vbs"
del /f /q "%temp%\GetAdmin.vbs" >nul 2>&1
exit
)

I hope that helps. I feel that I cannot thank you enough for your kindness. So thank you again.

Kind regards,
Codeplayer

Re: Administrative rights for RestoreE2B script

SteveSi 04/11/2016

Thanks for the code. I haven't seen that before.
The thing is that RestoreE2B needs to work in a minimal WinPE environment and not rely on fltmc or vb script runtime components.
Why not use SWITCH_E2B.exe instead?

Boot from a USB HDD with two partitions

John 26/10/2016

I have a 1Tb USB3 External HDD
Two primary partitions, the second one has data, the first one is empty.

I would like to install EASY2BOOT in the first one.
When I launch the installer, it says "WARNING: ALL PARTITIONS ON DRIVE 1 WILL BE DESTROYED..."

I don't want to destroy the second partition.

What can I do?
Thanks.

Re: Boot from a USB HDD with two partitions

SteveSi 26/10/2016

The cmd script is only for making a new drive.
See http://www.easy2boot.com/make-an-easy2boot-usb-drive/make-and-e2b-usb-drive-using-rmprepusb/
Use RMPrepUSB to add the grub4dos boot code using 'Install grub4dos' button and just copy E2B files to the first partition.

Re: Re: Boot from a USB HDD with two partitions

John 26/10/2016

Thanks SteveSi for the fast answer

Unable to launch the setup application

Crave 21/10/2016

Hello, Sir,

I found a problem while trying to install Windows 7 and 8. Both of them are AIO x84/x64 activated ISO files . When i pick which system type to install, i see Windows logo and then a blue screen with an error: "Unable to launch the setup application". I tried all of the methods to somehow fix it, (renaming iso to isope, rewriting the program, editing autounattend.xml) except converting iso to imgptn. I also tried to find something about this problem on e2b forums and pretty much on the whole e2b site, but unfortunately, it's not even listed in the list of errors. For example, Windows 10 works fine, without any problems at all. I really like this program and i don't really want to change it if it has such malfunctions.

Thank you in advance for the help.

Re: Unable to launch the setup application

SteveSi 21/10/2016

AIO ISOs may not work because they have been changed a lot by the developer. You should convert them to a .imgPTN file if they don't work as an ISO file.

win 7 pe.wi kas iso boot

zhuanglee 17/10/2016

Hi sir,
Sorry for my poor english.
I have latest version of e2b.
Recently i add win7pe.wim but getting winload.exe missing error. Try with almost wim and no luck. I have bootmgr on root of hdd partition. (format as fat32).
Also i want to know if i can add kas.iso to e2b, because my usb hdd has more than 2 partitions so partnew method cannot get to work.
I know that we can extract kas to rescue folder but i do not want to use this method (may not safe to extract since kas is antivirus rescue)
Try iso boot with some code from rmprep site too, but no luck.
Finally tks for your greate project.
God bless u :)

Re: win 7 pe.wi kas iso boot

SteveSi 17/10/2016

A Windows bootable wim file should contain one image and a \windows\system32\loader.exe file should be present. Please check using 7Zip.
What is 'kas.iso' ? Do you mean Kaspersky AntiVirus Rescue disk iso? If so it can be booted directly using E2B. Only one free partition entry is needed.
http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/adding-kaspersky-rescue-iso-to.html

Windows ISOs and imgPTN boot issues

Liam 12/10/2016

Hello, my apologies if I've missed something obvious, but I've been attempting to create a multiboot windows install / linux E2B USB for a couple of days and am flummoxed by windows ISO issues. I've looked through all the tutorials and topics I can but can't find the solution.

I can boot a linux ISO, and create a imgPTN from it and boot it no bother - tested with Puppy Linus.

However, Windows ISOs downloaded from the 'Windows Iso Downloaded' recommended on the site are another story.
- If the plain ISO is used in the correct folder, I get Error 13 Invalid or unsuppoted executable format.
- If I convert to imgPTN I get 'has no menu.lst file'.
- I created working Winsetupfromusb, Sagefile and Rufus USBs, and converted them to ISO/imgPTN, but get the same error
- For each attempt, I can mount the img using Imdisk as a removable drive and explore the contents, but after I attempt to boot, the image becomes corrupted and can no longer be accessed.
- I've tried different USB pens, same problem.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Re: Windows ISOs and imgPTN boot issues

SteveSi 12/10/2016

Can you describe what USB drive you are using and how you made it, size, make, model, etc.
If it is a flash drive, did you test it with H2TESTW or FakeFlashTest to see if it is a fake one?
You say you can mount an .imgPTN file using ImDisk and see the \menu.lst file and other contents - is the file on your internal Windows drive or are you using the .imgPTN file directly on the USB drive?

There is not enough space on the disk

Bruce 23/09/2016

I have a problem using MPI to create imgPTN. It always says "there is not enough space on the disk" even though I have increase the size.
Please help. thanks a lot!

Re: There is not enough space on the disk

Bruce 23/09/2016

I include the screenshot here for visual ref. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7VPcKBuhELCMGgzc1k1YUNsYUU

Re: Re: There is not enough space on the disk

SteveSi 23/09/2016

AOI ISOs tend to be heavily compressed. There is a special option when making an ISO that allows an image to contain a single file with multiple entries for duplicate files in the same ISO.
You may have to add a LOT more to the size before it works.

Windows 10 UEFI install choosing a version?

Charles 08/09/2016

Is there a way for me to choose a version for UEFI install? For regular windows installation, I have the options to choose between pro and home. But for UEFI it would just install the Pro version every single time. Any workaround here? Thank you so much!

Re: Windows 10 UEFI install choosing a version?

SteveSi 08/09/2016

When you use the MakePartImage script, it should prompt you to delete or make a EI.CFG file. For a Win8/10 standard Retail\OEM ISO, choose R=Retail.

Error on Windows iso

JimP 29/08/2016

I have a 6,4GB iso of Windows 10 with both 32 and 64 bit Pro & Home edition. When i choose the version to install and pick 64bit i get a fvevol.sys error. Can someone help? Thanks in advance.

Re: Error on Windows iso

SteveSi 29/08/2016

From Googling, it seems that this is something to do with BitLocker. Several people have fixed it by updating the BIOS/firmware to a later version.
Does this error only happen on one type of system?

Re: Re: Error on Windows iso

JimP 29/08/2016

It happens on every system i try to install the 64 bit version.

Re: Re: Re: Error on Windows iso

SteveSi 29/08/2016

Try a different ISO. If that gives the same problem, then it must be a problem with your systems?

Debian (lxde) multiboot + persistence

Capum 19/08/2016

Hello, There is a E2B page where linux with persistence, one should use imgPTN for multiboot + persistence. Which leads to http://rmprepusb.blogspot.com.br/2015/08/add-debian-live-iso-with-persistence-to.html but not a word about imgPTN tutorial. What's the proper way of doing it? Or should I look other distro tutorial for equivalence. Have patience and a great time! Capum

Re: Debian (lxde) multiboot + persistence

SteveSi 19/08/2016

Hi,
The Debian-live-8.5.0-amd64-lxde-desktop.iso does not contain EFI boot files. So I don't think it will be UEFI-bootable. Why don't you use an ISO file + persistence and MBR booting?

Re: Re: Debian (lxde) multiboot + persistence

Capum 19/08/2016

UEFI with legacy boot? sure! actually this notebook is BIOS, just checked that. I could manage it if I wasn't kind lost, you have two pages about linux persistence. Could I use the the guide page with more reliable ext3,4 volume instead? thanks it's amazing tool.

Re: Re: Re: Debian (lxde) multiboot + persistence

SteveSi 19/08/2016

If you just want legacy BIOS boot, then you dont need a .imgPTN file.
See \_ISO\docs\Sample mnu files\linux
debian-live-8.1.0-amd64-mate-desktop_Persistent.mnu
and the blog post on how to make a persistence file.
A persistence file of ext3 or ext4 is more reliable in case of file corruption (which happens a lot with USB drives because you tend to just switch off the system or remove the drive without shutting down properly!).

Re: Debian (lxde) multiboot + persistence

Capum 19/08/2016

This way... would it be multiboot ?

Re: Re: Debian (lxde) multiboot + persistence

SteveSi 19/08/2016

Yes, you can have as many Debian ISOs as you like and as many persistence files as you like - just use a different persistence file for each one and edit the .mnu file to use the named ISO and persistence file.

Manual Key input for Windows description

ElMariachi 19/08/2016

Hello!

Thank you for the best working USB-MUltiboot solution (at least for me). :)

Recently I had to enter the Generíc Windows setup key multiple times for different setups. When choosing to manually enter a key in E2B, the description says something like "25 digits". So I sometimes entered the key unhyphenated (without dashes) because otherwise it wouldn't have been 25 digits, but 29. Of course this was wrong and I had to enter the key a second time, including dashes. So I wanted to suggest that you might add a little hint, that dashes have to be input, too?

:)

Re: Manual Key input for Windows description

SteveSi 19/08/2016

Hi
Thanks for the feedback. In the English version of 1.82 it says
'Product keys must be in AAAAA-BBBBB-CCCCC-DDDDD-EEEEE format (29 characters)'
So are you using an old version or a different language?
Also, what Generic Product Key are you entering? I thought that I had all the generic keys in the list?

Re: Re: Manual Key input for Windows description

SteveSi 19/08/2016

I looked through the languages files and the German one says 25 instead of 29. I will fix this in next v1.83 Beta.

SDI_CHOCO

SteveSi 08/08/2016

Has anyone tried the SDI_CHOCO feature in v1.82 yet? Any questions? Just looking for feedback...

how can I use ghost.exe

hao 19/07/2016

I want to use ghost11
the file name is "ghost.exe"
not .iso and .img
how can I use it in E2B? dos? or other ways
thanks

Re: how can I use ghost.exe

SteveSi 19/07/2016

Ghost.exe is (probably) a Windows executable, so it must be run under Windows.
You could try booting to a Windows 10 ISO to Setup, then press SHIFT+F10 and then run Ghost from the E2B USb drive (e.g. D:\Ghost.exe if D: is the USB drive).

Error grub

Sheeddy 19/07/2016

Hi!
I have problem and I want to avoid reinstall.

message error:

Booting from hard disk...
GRUB loading.
error: no such device: 4d074ea1-008f-4cf9-a6c5-1a7fb76c38f2
Entering rescue mode...
grub rescue>

ty

deleted

nobody 19/07/2016

nada

Re: Error grub

SteveSi 19/07/2016

It sounds like the partition has been changed/deleted/formatted. Try booting from USB and use gparted to look at the partition or try an automatic boot repair utility
http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/add-boot-repair-disk-isos-to-e2b-multi.html

Re: Re: Error grub

Sheeddy 19/07/2016

sorry, I was not specific.
The error is in the booting from USB and room "QEMU_MENU_TEST"
view the image->
http://prntscr.com/bux02v

TY and sorry for hassle.

Re: Re: Re: Error grub

SteveSi 20/07/2016

E2B uses grub4dos not grub.
It looks like something has installed grub onto the USB drive. Use RMPrepUSB - Install grub4dos and run twice, once with Yes and once with No option.

Slackware Live with persistence.

babam 19/06/2016

Hi,

1. How to create Slackware Live with persistence (Ext2 / Ext4 persistence file). http://alien.slackbook.org/blog/slackware-live-edition-1-1-0-comes-with-the-latest-plasma5-on-iso/

2. How to make Remix OS / Phoenix OS with persistence.

Thanks.

Re: Slackware Live with persistence.

SteveSi 20/06/2016

See blog tutorials
http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/p/easy2boot-useful-blogs.html

Mastering E2B

Palteza 13/06/2016

Hey guys,

1st thanks for your great tools.

I've been trying for almost 3 hours now, i swear you, but i can't build that multiboot usb.

Tried the standard iso way, tried the conversion to .imgPTN also ... with NTFS or FAT32 (the drive and the files).
My BIOS can even handle both UEFI and legacy mode, i switched couple of times ... but i always fail, i must be noob.
I also checked /EFI/BOOT stuff.

Does the problem could be because i have multi os on my drive (seven and 8.1)? The default one is Windows 7 x64.
It's GPT NTFS formating.

It never wants to boot on this USB key.

Am i really that noob ?
Maybe I missed a useful link ???

Re: Mastering E2B

SteveSi 14/06/2016

Booting from GPT USb drives is not supported

Re: Re: Mastering E2B

Palteza 14/06/2016

Ok that means i have to format my hard drive in MBR ?

Re: Re: Re: Mastering E2B

SteveSi 14/06/2016

Yes - format as two partitions.
First one 137GB NTFS for E2B, 2nd one as rest (up to 2TB).
Instructions are on this site
http://www.easy2boot.com/make-an-easy2boot-usb-drive/make-and-e2b-usb-drive-using-rmprepusb/

Lenovo tools

jojo baquir 07/06/2016

Hi sir, I have a lenovo tools that can update and edit machine type model of laptop,it is used and run only on a usb flash disk, i convert this utility into an iso (converting all contents into 1 file) when i copy this iso to my easy drive, the utility run but when i tried to use the functionality it always prompts that eeprom is write protected..is there other way to avoid this error anytime i used this utility.

Re: Lenovo tools

SteveSi 07/06/2016

You should convert the flash drive to a .imgPTN file and boot from that. P.S. Are you sure that when you use the Lenovo USB flash drive it works on the same system?

Re: Re: Lenovo tools

SteveSi 07/06/2016

You can also make a .ima floppy disk image - see http://rmprepusb.blogspot.com/2016/06/adding-lenovo-maintenance-utilities-ibm.html

Windows 7 Install Now, contains all other available versions, menu was slow to load

Berthollucci 26/05/2016

Hi Steve. Please these questions and experience.

1). I tried Install Windows 7, Easy2Boot displays various commands inbox, but, ¿Is it normal that E2B does not display the "Windows 7 Install Now" window?:
http://s6.postimg.org/9ku02l981/windows7_install_5.jpg

2). Is it normal that E2B displays all other available versions of Windows 7? They are not hidden from view.
Does E2B ignore the ei.cfg file inside ISO?
http://s6.postimg.org/fn1mt2xo1/windows_7_iso_ei_file_removed.png

3). I experienced the trouble that E2B takes a long time to display the Main Menu.
I fixed Load Optimized Defaults from BIOS. Still it works.
Mobo: MSI 760GM-P34 (FX), AMI BIOS version 2013-04-28.
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/760GM-P34-FX.html#down-bios

Thanks!

Re: Windows 7 Install Now, contains all other available versions, menu was slow to load

SteveSi 26/05/2016

Q1 - for win7, it is normal
Q2. yes ei.cfg is ignored because we use an unattend.xml file
Q3. Either slow USB drive or slow USB BIOS driver.
Read FAQ - menu is slow to load.

If you want the more standard install experience, convert the ISO to a .imgPTN file.

need an E2B HELPER USB FLASH DRIVE

luqman 24/05/2016

Hi.

when I tried to install using a 500GB hard drive appears caption

"install windows froam a sub hard disk you also an E2B HELPER USB flashdrive. if you do not have one you will get a "DVD drive device driver is missing" message"

please help me

Re: need an E2B HELPER USB FLASH DRIVE

SteveSi 25/05/2016

http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/windows-install-isos/installing-windows-with-a-helper-drive/

USB formats

Mark Keith 22/05/2016

Just found this site/program and looks very handy. I do wonder if you use UDF format for the usb device? I have use UDF formats to move large files between Windows and Linux computers. (don't have any apples to play with)

RestoreE2B alert ?

Kent 17/05/2016

Steve,
E2B is the best !
One little suggestion for us beginners about rebuilding an E2B flash drive though . . .
I started out just making an .imgPTN of Gandalf, dropped it into ISO\MAINMENU and the thing booted right off, no problem.

But when I went back to add another .iso, there was no ISO directory to be found because of the repartitioning from booting into an .imgPTN and I was a bit confused.

It took me a while to figure out I would have to run the "RestoreE2B" to get the expected partitions back. Up until then I was starting to think I'd have to rebuild the E2B drive each time I added something new.
Maybe I missed it but you might want to put an alert in there for us beginners.

Nonetheless, thanks a million for all your efforts developing this - it's really cool and I'm looking forward to experimenting and playing around with it.

Re: RestoreE2B alert ?

SteveSi 17/05/2016

Hi, yes that catches quite a few people.
When you select the .imgPTN file in the E2B menu, you should see a WARNING in lots of colours which you are supposed to read. if you don't read it then you may get a surprise. The first item on the CSM menu is to restore the E2B menu.
You can also use SWITCH_E2B.exe to switch and restore the partition.
How do you suggest I can improve the warning?

Re: Re: RestoreE2B alert ?

Kent 17/05/2016

Actually I saw that warning and wrote it down, not really knowing what it was about. I figured it was some expert optional choice as, when you're really excited to see something boot up and run, you're not really in the frame of mind to stop and contemplate something that comes up unexpectedly.
The whole notion that your flash drive is going to have partitions remade and shifted around takes a while for your head to wrap around (but now I get it).
And you don't really absorb it until you run into it. (Very ingenious though.)

So I was thinking, maybe on the "Adding Payload" or "Adding-uefi-images" page(s) something like, "NOTE : once you boot into an .imgPTN . . . . ".
That is, some page where you're in learning mode, so to speak.'
Just an idea.

E2B asking for a helper usb, haven't needed one before

Josh 13/05/2016

I have been using e2b for quite a while with no problems, but today I went to install windows server 2012 and it said I needed a helper usb. I looked into this and it said if my device showed as a fixed device in windows explorer I would need one, but mine shows as a removable device.. Am I missing something?

Re: E2B asking for a helper usb, haven't needed one before

SteveSi 14/05/2016

grub4dos/E2B cannot tell if the USB device is a Removable type, so E2B just looks at the size of the device and warns you if the USB device appears to be a large device. The inference being that most large USB devices are USB HDDs or Fixed-type removable USB flash drives. If you are sure that your device is a Removable type (as displayed by RMPrepUSB) then just go ahead and press C and ENTER as prompted.
What USB device are you using?

grub2

Starla 08/05/2016

Hi Steve.

After booting to grub2 in EFI mode, does it allow for a menu entry to boot the E2B drive in legacy mode (grldr)?

I'm currently using rEFInd on my E2B drive for EFI booting, but it doesn't support manual legacy entries, only those scanned at boot. This boot scan for legacy bootloaders usually fails for external USB drive, depending on mobo, requiring enabling deep_scan option. And deep_scan is too agressive, as it rewrites the mobo boot options permanently (reset to defaults required).

Re: grub2

SteveSi 13/05/2016

You cannot change from UEFI to Legacy mode.
You can go from Legacy to UEFI by using Clover because Clover is a BIOS-in-RAM implementation of a UEFI BIOS, but AFAIK, there is no equivalent Legacy BIOS-in-RAM for a UEFI-BIOS.

E2B partition placement problem.

Marcinoo 05/05/2016

Hello again!
Part II: Continuation of the vicissitudes.
I have decided to merge my Easy2Boot USB Pendrive #1 with my external USB HDD 500GB
used for my PC's internal HDD files backup so that I have
E2B boot & repair stuff (partition 1) + the PC's internal HDD's files backup (partition 2)
on a single device (the external USB HDD 500GB)
so that I later can get rid of the unnessesary USB Pendrive.
So I begun to install E2B on the external USB HDD 500GB
following instructions from:
http://www.easy2boot.com/make-an-easy2boot-usb-drive/make-and-e2b-usb-drive-using-rmprepusb/
I wanted 20 GB E2B partition,
but because space from 4 GB to 99GB on the external USB HDD 500GB is damaged (bad sectors)
I created 137 000 (137GB) WinPE & NTFS E2B partition (unticked Boot as HDD)
and then in some partition program I shrunk that partition from 137 GB to 20 GB from left to right, (as I did not see in RMPrepUSB a possibility to set start & end of E2B partition, only can set size, thus I had to use so trick) leaving first 99 GB as an unallocated space before E2B partition.
Then behind it, I created a second 346 GB NTFS partition for the PC's internal HDD's files backup.
Then I run "Install grub4dos" thing two times.
Everything completed successfully.

So I got following structure:
0 GB - 99 GB - an unallocated space
99 GB - 119 GB - the first primary 20 GB NTFS partiton with E2B boot & repair stuff
119 GB - 465 GB - the second primary 346 GB NTFS partiton with the PC's internal HDD's files backup

Then I copied all my boot images from Easy2Boot USB Pendrive #1 onto the external USB HDD 500GB onto E2B partition.

Then I begun testing phase 1:
1) I Rebooted my PC, and booted successfully to E2B menu.
Then I begun testing phase 2:
2) I Rebooted my PC again to OS, and run SWITCH_E2B.exe, and double-clicked one of imgPTN images to test imgPTN images UEFI booting, and I got an error:
MBR is not an E2B MBR ?
ERROR: MBR on drive 1 does not contain a partition near the start of the drive.
Use 'Safely Remove Drive' System Tray icon and re-insert USB drive.
But I cannot make a 20GB partition near the start of the drive because as I already mentioned before , space from 4GB to 99GB of the drive is unusable and damaged.
So now my question is: does E2B partition must be near the start of the drive?
If not, then how to solve the SWITCH_E2B.exe error issue? (maybe some hack/trick/sector swap?)
If not then maybe for ex. as first 4GB of the drive are undamaged I may create a small 4 GB primary E2B partiton and put E2B stuff there (it takes something like 600+MB) + some of the images and then behind the damaged space, make two logical partitions, and on the first one put rest of the images files, then edit somehow E2B settings to boot the rest of the images from this partition. (I have read somewhere on E2B webpages that this is possible). The second logical partiton will be for the PC's internal HDD's files backup.
This way I will have:
0 GB - 4 GB - the primary 4 GB NTFS partiton with E2B boot & repair stuff (some of the images)
99 GB - 115 GB - the logical 16 GB NTFS partiton with the rest of the images
115 GB - 461 GB - the logical 346 GB NTFS partiton with the PC's internal HDD's files backup
But I would rather prefer to fix the issue in a better way than complicated jugglery of partitions.
Steve, I know you can find the solution,
You are the man !
please help.
Thank You!

Re: E2B partition placement problem.

SteveSi 05/05/2016

That is a safety feature of SWITCH_E2B to prevent someone from accidentally 'restoring' a drive that contains grub4dos but is not an E2B drive.
You should be able to use the E2B menu to switch partitions (e.g. boot it on a real system or under QEMU or VBox to E2B).
I don't recommend using a known faulty drive. It is bound to let you down just at the wrong time!

Re: Re: E2B partition placement problem.

Marcinoo 05/05/2016

Astounding,
it really works !

Since it did not work in OS, I was supposing that it won't work also in menu, thus I didn't even checked nor made sure, however, just right after your post I checked and it really works in menu!

Thanks for creating E2B, it make life easier !

And as regards damaged disks, I am aware of risks and danger, however you're right, such damaged disks may fail at any time. I don't know myself why I still keep data on it - I think I have gambler :)

Best Regards :)

Boot XP VHD from bootmgr blog post (cont).

Starla 04/05/2016

Ok Steve I've been reviewing the latest English release by SS and the following procedure is used to boot provided ISO/IMG files from DOS bootmgr. Sadly I haven't yet a XP VHD for a quick test. Would you be so kind to confirm it's able to boot yours?

1. Copy your grldr file of choice (ie the one provided at E2B root) to the folder containing your XP VHD file.
2. Rename grldr to payload.mbr (ie Fullxpvhd.mbr).
3. Run BOOTICE>Utilities>Grub4DOS Menu Editor and open Fullxpvhd.mbr.
4. Replace displayed default embedded menu.lst with the commands on your blog post and save changes.
5. BOOTICE>BCD>Other BCD and select your BCD. I use Professional Mode for editing.
6. Right-click any entry under "Application objects" and select "New RealMode Entry".
7. Select the created entry, then on the main panel, right-click "Aplication path", select "Edit" and point to Fullxpvhd.mbr file. You can also edit the "Description" value.

That should work: bootmgr>Fullxpvhd.mbr>ntldr within XP VHD file.

Unable to boot sedutil *.img images

Marcinoo 04/05/2016

Hello,

I have a problem !

I used Win32DiskImager and burned successfully two images:

1) UEFI64_Debug.img
2) Rescue.img

downloaded from

https://github.com/Drive-Trust-Alliance/sedutil/wiki/Executable-Distributions

onto my USB Pendrive #2, and they both successfully booted in UEFI mode.

You may read more about the images here:

https://github.com/Drive-Trust-Alliance/sedutil/wiki/Test-the-PBA (UEFI64_Debug.img)
https://github.com/Drive-Trust-Alliance/sedutil/wiki/Test-the-Rescue-system (Rescue.img)

Now what I want is to add the images to my main Easy2Boot USB Pendrive #1 as I always have all boot things on a single pendrive.

First try was simply to put the *.img images into Easy2Boot USB Pendrive #1\_ISO\LINUX folder (just out of curiosity and for test purposes as I already know they are UEFI images and won't boot this way), thus as I expected, they both didn't boot, I got a black screen with a char indicator flashing in left-top corner of the screen and I had to reset the computer.

Another try was a proper way, to convert the *.img images to *.imgPTN format.
I made it by program "MakePartImage_AutoRun_FAT32.cmd" from the tool "MPI_Tool_Pack_Plus_CloverLite_064".
I made all strongly with instructions from ReadMe.txt file (except I didn't convert the *.img to *.iso first, but another time I converted to *.iso, and that made no difference) Result was: successfully!
Then I used "SWITCH_E2B.exe" to enable the UEFI images on my Easy2Boot USB Pendrive #1 and rebooted the computer but again they fails to boot, the one image just don't even boot, nothing happens, and just the OS boots as usual, and the another one boot to CSM menu (and when I choose boot from current image as MBR) the same thing happens like in "First try", I got a black screen with a char indicator flashing in left-top corner of the screen and the USB Pendrive flashing to infinity and I had to reset the computer.

Perhaps the images require some special settings to get booting?

Please, help!

Thanks.

Re: Unable to boot sedutil *.img images

Marcinoo 04/05/2016

I forgot to add that I already have Windows 7 64 SP1 UEFI.imgPNT on my Easy2Boot USB Pendrive #1 and it boot with no problems (as I also used it to install W7 on my computer)

Re: Unable to boot sedutil *.img images

SteveSi 04/05/2016

Hi
Something odd is going on when 7zip upacks the images. When you use the rescue.img file with MPI_FAT32 you get a 0.img file inside the .imgPTN file instead of it extracting the files!
However, if you copy this 0.img file and place it on the E2B partition at \_ISO\LINUX (for instance) it boots fine!
Its a similar story with the EFI DEBUG file - for this, just extract the contents to an empty folder and then drag and drop the folder onto the MPI_FAT32 shortcut. Then you can boot the .imgPTN file (but it doesn't seem to like booting with Clover - you must UEFI-boot from a UEFI system).

Re: Re: Unable to boot sedutil *.img images

Marcinoo 04/05/2016

Hi again,

I confirm, odd things happens when extracting the both images by 7zip., it seems that there is some bug in 7zip or the images are corrupted in some way or there is some conflict between 7zip and the images.

I extracted both images by 7zip but at the end of the both extractions I got:
"Warning: there are some data after the end of the payload data" for Rescue image and
"Unexpected end of data" for EFI Debug image.

However, I followed your workarounds and both image are booting this way.

Thanks.
Best Regs

XP not in C drive

Graham 03/05/2016

Hi.
After successfully installing XP to my Win 7 laptop, all is well, except I have some old software that has to be installed to drive C: - but C is a small system partition and XP is in a partition called D.
Is there a way to get the XP to be in C: not D:
Hope that makes sense!

Re: XP not in C drive

SteveSi 03/05/2016

I don't think you can change it (at least not easily and without some risk of it not booting again!).
I would re-order the partitions and then re-install XP.
http://www.computing.net/answers/windows-xp/rename-drive-letter-on-xp-installation/196484.html
OR
hide the first small partition (e.g. set to Type=27hex or 17hex instead of 07hex if NTFS) and then delete the large ptn and reformat it. Then *reboot* to XP Setup and install to the large ptn (which is the only one XP should see).
Also, make sure you boot using the BIOS Boot Selection Pop-Up box, do not set the E2B USB drive as the first hard disk in the BIOS.

Re: Re: XP not in C drive

Graham 03/05/2016

Thanks for the reply!
The weird thing is, when I boot into Win7, the 300MB System partition is there, but it has no drive letter allocated, so Win 7 in in C: .... When I boot XP, the Win 7 partition appears as F:, the system partition appears as C instead of no letter.
Previously, the machine dual booted Win7 32 or 64 bit, in both cases the booted partition appeared as C. I wonder if there's something in the MBR that controls this?

Re: Re: Re: XP not in C drive

SteveSi 03/05/2016

What partition type is the 300MB system partition? Is it hidden? If it is set as the Active partition then maybe XP assumes that it is the system partition? If you set the larger boot partition as Active, then installed XP and then changed it back so the 300MB ptn was active (and re-installed your boot manager), it would be happy?

Re: Re: Re: Re: XP not in C drive

Graham 03/05/2016

Good thoughts, thank you.. I'll have a poke around. At first I thought it was a quirk of e2b, or rmprepusb, but then Win 7 would likely be the same. Ideally I'd get rid of that partition, but re-installing W7 would be a nightmare, so much installed software....

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: XP not in C drive

SteveSi 03/05/2016

XP Setup tells you what drive letter it is going to use. So only start the install if it says C:.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: XP not in C drive

Graham 03/05/2016

Can I assign a drive letter via e2b? As when I create the partition I'm in win7, and that already uses drive C. I actually told it not to assign a drive letter, but I've never been convinced Windows pays attention to that.
Meanwhile, the boot manager entries are:
Entry #1
Name: Windows 7
BCD ID: {current}
Drive: C:\
Bootloader Path: \windows\system32\winload.exe

Entry #2
Name: Microsoft Windows XP
BCD ID: {e7ae09f6-96a4-11e0-ae57-d033c0a160e3}
Device: \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Bootloader Path: \NST\ntldr

... does the device: setting come from e2b? If I could alter that to match the Win7 entry it may also work?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: XP not in C drive

Graham 04/05/2016

Ok, so it seems Win7 creates a small hidden partition for it's boot stuff, and to allow for bitlocker.
Win XP can't boot from an un-lettered partition.
So, I either have to delete the system partition, or try and symlink C: to D: in Xp...
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/71363-system-reserved-partition-delete.html

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: XP not in C drive

Graham 04/05/2016

So, I fixed this.. Hope it will help someone else too!
I removed the small system partiton as per this process:
https://www.terabyteunlimited.com/kb/article.php?id=409
Thanks for helping!

Boot XP VHD from bootmgr blog post.

Starla 28/04/2016

Hi Steve.

Very interesting post. I've seen that approach before being used in Sergei Strelec's DOS section of his distros, for booting different ISOs, IMGs, etc, from a bootmgr menu, but didn't know how those .MBR files (which seem to contain grldr + corresponding boot commands) where generated.

According to your blog post, .MBR files act as the the grldr written to the MBR in our E2B drives, but also includes info about the correct ANGx file to load. And the ANGx files would be the equivalent of grldr at E2B root, but including custom boot command for each payload.

On SS distros, only .MBR + payload pairs are used, there aren't multiple ANGx equivalents at distro root or elsewhere. So my question is: are the .MBR files (as created by EasyBCD) actually required as the entry point in BCD? Could the BCD entry simply point to the ANGx file of choice?

Re: Boot XP VHD from bootmgr blog post.

Stevesi 28/04/2016

If it was possible, then there would be no need for the mbr file!
The mbr file is just the same as the boot mbr+first 20 sectors which searches for grldr. They have modified it so it searches for ang0. Ang0 is just grldr but with an embedded menu which loads the payload.

Strelec WinPE WinPE8 x86 WinPE10 x64 06.06.2016

Rangle_Newfangle 26/08/2016

Hey Starla & Steve. Reboot.Pro isn't allowing me to validate my registration email today so I'll go ahead and post this here instead.

I'm having some difficulty getting the latest Strelec (WinPE8 x86 WinPE10 x64) 06.06.2016 to work with my Easy2Boot as an .imgPTN.

I have a UASP mSATA drive in a USB 3 enclosure that's working great for the Win7 & Win10 .imgPTN I have on it. However, when I attempt to boot the Strelec .imgPTN on either PC I have I just get "an operating system wasn't found." I've attempted it as NTFS & Fat32. No change. Also Easy2Boot prompts as follows near the end of the .imgPTN creation.

INFORMATION: LABEL occurs in .LST files
UUID should use F694-A790
CDLABEL should be LABEL
LABEL should use EASY2BOOT
'media=cdrom' should be 'media=usb'
AUTO-CORRECT these? ([Y]/N) :

Whether I select autocorrect or not, still no luck with booting it.

Strelec's boot disc is in the list of tested payload files (it says to do it as FAT32 .imgPTN) however I'm guessing that was previous version???

I didn't pick up on anything in the FAQ, sample menu files, or forum thread on Easy2Boot.com that may help me to figure this out.

The latest Strelec works great with a USB flash drive...albeit mind numbingly slow compared to my high 4k iops mSata. Any ideas how I might debug this???

I'm pretty sure the ISO file extensions would only work if I was using a USB flash drive...even so I tried .isope01 without any luck. Should I try .isowinvh or .isoask or is that a waste of time like I think it would be???

Re: Strelec WinPE WinPE8 x86 WinPE10 x64 06.06.2016

SteveSi 10/09/2016

I drag-and-dropped the SS 06.06.2016 ISO onto the MPI_FAT32 desktop shortcut and the .imgPTN seems to work OK for me.
If you boot it as an ISO from a fixed disk, you will need to use ImDisk to mount the ISO file as a virtual CD and then click on the blue MInstall icon in the bottom task bar.

error 13 for ancient Linux

torrvic 16/04/2016

Hello to everybody!

My problem is:

Error 13:(http://grub4dos.chenall.net/e/13)
Invalid or unsupported executable format

I have very ancient RedHat of 2002 year (Linux 2.4.10). It works good.
Now I need to make bootable USB-device with this system.

I have made all the instructions from here:
http://www.easy2boot.com/make-an-easy2boot-usb-drive/

but I have this error message about error 13.

FAQ sais:
This usually means your payload file (.ISO, .IMA, etc) was not bootable or it is corrupt.
Some Windows ISOs are upgrade CDs or DVDs and are not bootable - they are designed to run
from within Windows.

I have tried simple DD-image from my partition /boot
and ISO-image made by "mkisofs" - error 13 both.

Please, help!

Thanks.

Re: error 13 for ancient Linux

SteveSi 16/04/2016

Do you mean you have an installed system running Linux (or a Linux 2.4.10 ISO?).
If a live system, what partitions does it have (swap, etc.). You cannot just make an ISO from a live system and expect it to boot! You could maybe try clonezilla to copy the live system to a fresh USB drive. You may have to re-install grub to the USB drive to get it to boot.

Re: Re: error 13 for ancient Linux

torrvic 19/04/2016

Yes, it is installed system running Linux. Partitions: "/boot", "/" and "swap".
I made ISO-image by command "mkisofs" from "/dev/hdb1" (/boot).
I looked in image by command "od -x rh24boot.iso | more" and saw: first 512 bytes are not zeroes.
(But in DD-image they are zeroes.)

I tried make my own MBR:
1). copy first 512 bytes of "/dev/hdb" (not "/dev/hdb1" !)
2). combined MBR: 446 bytes from Linux (loader) and Partiton Tables from Windows where I have
"easy2boot".

I have the same results: error 13.

May be I understand wrong, (please tell me about it), but I think:
old BIOS-es did not have interruption for reading from USB-devices, due of that old kernels
did not have calls to it,
old kernels (at the first stage of booting) call only BIOS-interruption for reading from
hard disk, therefore they can not mount partitions, can not do anything with USB-device.

I think "easy2boot" makes this job instead Linux-kernel. If I am wrong?

Thanks.

Re: Re: Re: error 13 for ancient Linux

SteveSi 20/04/2016

AFAIK, you cannot easily make an ISO from a fully installed linux OS. What you are trying to do will not work (maybe you can find instructions on the internet). A full OS expects to be booting from a rd/wr disk of some sort, not a cd.
You may be able to make a .imgPTN file from the installed OS, but not an ISO. Sorry.

Re: Re: Re: Re: error 13 for ancient Linux

torrvic 27/04/2016

Thank you for the hint about ".imgPTN" file.
I made it by program "MakePartImage.cmd" from the tool "MPI_Tool_Pack_Plus_CloverLite_064".
I made all strongly with instructions from ReadMe.txt file. Result was: successfully!
Then I have copied it to my USB-drive in the folder "_ISO\MAIN_MENU".
It's name is "rh24b-mkisofs.imgPTN".

When rebooting from my USB-device and selecting my image I have the message:

"(hd0,0) rh24b-mkisofs.imgPTN
WARNING: THIS E2B DRIVE'S PARTITION TABLE IS ABOUT OVERWRITEN!
..............................................................
..............................................................

INFORMATION: *** NO UEFI BOOT FILES IN FIRST PARTITION ***

To boot using UEFI, reboot and select the UEFI:xxxx boot option from your UEFI boot menu.
To switch back to Easy2Boot, boot in non-UEFI mode (Legacy or CSM Mode)
and select the Easy2Boot menu option.
(OPTIONS: a=Make-Active, LBA=Adjust-LBA)

OK to replace the E2B partitions ([Y]/N): "

I am surprised why "hd0,0"? May be "hd1,0"?
I am very surprised why E2B wants to overwrite my Partition Table !
BIOS of my computer is enough old and has not UEFI mode.
If I answer "N" I return back to E2B menu.
If I answer "Y" I get another message:

"Easy2Boot CSM Menu (v0.63) (UUID=..................)
rh24b-mkisofs
0 EASY2BOOT - switch back to Easy2Boot menu
1 BOOT from this drive (MBR mode)
2 Boot from internal Hard Disk [F7]
3 Rebbot [F9]
4 Shutdown [F10]"

The Line "1 BOOT from this drive (MBR mode)" is highlighted.

If I press "Enter" I get the next message:

"BOOTMGR is missing
Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart"

I tried this for FAT32, NTFS and ExFat -the same result.
Please, tell me what I do wrong?
Thanks.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: error 13 for ancient Linux

SteveSi 27/04/2016

As I said, you need a bootable source. You can't just copy some files from a partition and expect it to boot.
Via what mechanism did the redhat system boot? Syslinux, grub, grub2? Do you have the boot files in the source?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: error 13 for ancient Linux

torrvic 28/04/2016

In the source I have partition /boot with all files: vmlinux-2.4.7-10, etc.
I have the directory "grub" with all files: grub.conf, etc.
The version of grub is 0.90.

I think "mkisofs" doesn't make simple copy.
I looked in image by command "od -x rh24b-mkisofs.iso | more" and saw: first 446 bytes are not zeroes.
(But in DD-image they are zeroes. Command "dd" makes just a copy.)

File "rh24b-mkisofs.imgPTN" was made from this source: "rh24b-mkisofs.iso".

Do you mean I should make the .imgPTN from "/dev/hdb1", not from file "rh24b-mkisofs.iso"?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: error 13 for ancient Linux

torrvic 30/04/2016

You said: "... you cannot easily make an ISO from a fully installed linux OS."

Now I have found the source of this distro:
http://archive.download.redhat.com/pub/redhat/linux/7.2/es/iso/i386/

May be it would be more easy way?

But there are two ISO files here... I have burned them to CDs. What should I do with them
to get a bootable USB-device? (If I simply copy them to the subdirectory _ISO\LINUX
I get installation USB-device, but I need not installation USB-device, I need bootable.)

In the other words I wish now to make LiveCD USB-device.

Thanks.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: error 13 for ancient Linux

SteveSi 30/04/2016

Can you not find a LiveCD version?
If you only have the Install CD, then I suggest you install to a spare USB flash drive, but to a single partition with no swap partition (i.e. \ root and \boot on same partition on USB drive). Use FAT32.
Then you can make an imgptn FAT32 file from the flash drive and put the .imgPTN file on your E2B drive.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: error 13 for ancient Linux

kinjo 02/07/2016

got the fix
www.deskdecode.com/how-to-fix-bootmgr-is-missing-error-on-windows-desktop-or-laptop/

Suggestion: add Option to clear/empty keyboard buffer before showing MAIN MENU?

BilBg 07/04/2016

I'm afraid I annoy you by too many posts/suggestions...
Your package is best that can be found, that's why I'm here and not on other site.

(I know about 7-8 programs that make bootable USB drives (I tested only the old XBOOT)
I don't like those that can put only one "thing" on the USB (and waste the entire drive for e.g. 100MB)
I don't like those that extract files because: 1) to copy 100s of small files to an old slow USB flash is just ... very slow; 2) extracted ISO usually prevents using several versions of the "same" ISO)
So, if you are still not (very) annoyed:
Suggestion: add Option to clear/empty keyboard buffer before showing the MAIN MENU
(or do we already have that Option?)
Maybe only when the MAIN MENU is first shown?
_____________________

What happened: during an experiment with Animated_BritneyLZMA I "accidentally" hit [Enter] several times and that sequence was executed (one of the ISO started) after showing the MAIN MENU
I start the Animated_BritneyLZMA from my real MyE2B.cfg by:
!BAT
call /_ISO/docs/BritneyLZMA/BritneyLZMA2.cfg
set GMODE=800
........

Since this was running very slow on QEMU I attempted to cancel it (sorry, I didn't read the code in detail) by [Esc] [Space] [Enter]

in QEMU (I still don't find a time to try VirtualBox + VMUB despite I Downloaded them a week ago):
Can the Animate be cancelled/skipped?
Can the picture be centred (it is in top-left for me)?
I see yellow vertical line of 1-2 pixels wide at the right of the small pictures (like big text cursor?), is this supposed to happen?

Re: Suggestion: add Option to clear/empty keyboard buffer before showing MAIN MENU?

SteveSi 09/04/2016

re. SoakKeys - It is a feature of E2B that whilst it is booting, you can press a key (e.g. Ctrl-I) and it will jump to the next menu. If I add SoakKeys code, then this will not be possible. You can add the code yourself if you wish (I can tell you how).
re. Animation- if you have it set as 'play' rather than 'infinite' then you cannot abort it.
The position can be changed by specifying a different offx/offy position.
Britney is not a very 'clean' animation in transparent mode, you may see some odd pixels around the edges. Try DNA animation.

Re: Re: Suggestion: add Option to clear/empty keyboard buffer before showing MAIN MENU?

SteveSi 09/04/2016

Here is the contents of a SoakKeys.g4b batch file
!BAT
# soak up any previous key presses
:loopk
# Check for key in BIOS keyboard buffer
call Fn.20
# Call Fn. 19 to get the key character if present
if not %@retval%==-1 call Fn.19 && goto :loopk

I will include \_ISO\e2b\grub\SoakKeys.g4b in the next version of E2B. To use it, add
call /_ISO/e2b/grub/SoakKeys.g4b
anywhere that you want all key presses to be absorbed (e.g. after an animation 'play' command).

Sample_MyE2B.cfg - not commented line

BilBg 06/04/2016

in Sample_MyE2B.cfg this line have no #
GMODE is set in the lines above - run graphicsmode before splashimage

Re: Sample_MyE2B.cfg - not commented line

SteveSi 06/04/2016

Thanks - will fix in next 1.80c

FASTLOAD bug in new Easy2Boot versions (v1.78h is OK, v1.79 have the bug)

BilBg 06/04/2016

I think this bug was introduced when NOWINXP checks were implemented.
I don't set NOWINXP - while v1.79 is "installed" I searched for string NOWINXP all the files < 1 MB on the USB (using Total Commander) and the only 2 are:
U:\_ISO\e2b\grub\MenuWinInstall.lst
U:\_ISO\Sample_MyE2B.cfg

Reproduce:
1) install Easy2Boot v1.79 (final) (UPDATE_E2B_DRIVE.CMD)
2) put one ISO in \_ISO\WINDOWS\XP\ (no other ISOs in any \_ISO\WINDOWS\ subdirectory), e.g.:
Windows_XP_Professional_SP3_Nov_2013_Incl_SATA_Drivers.iso

3) boot from USB (I used QEMU_MENU_TEST (run as admin).cmd)
4) Enable FASTLOAD
5) Rebuild Main Menu [F8]
Observe how "WINDOWS INSTALL Menu [Ctrl+I]" is shown

The Bug:
6) Reboot [F9]
"WINDOWS INSTALL Menu [Ctrl+I]" disappears

Notes:
Easy2Boot_v1.78h do not have the bug

in Easy2Boot_v1.78h\_ISO\e2b\grub\menu.lst is this line which is deleted in menu.lst of v1.79 (I don't know if this is the cause of bug):
# add Windows counts to menu for FASTLOAD
if not exist WINCOUNT if exist /FASTLOAD.YES echo -e iftitle [set CALL=%CALL% \&\& set CXP=%CXP% \&\& set CV=%CV% \&\& set C7=%C7% \&\& set C8=%C8% \&\& set C28=%C28% \&\& set C12=%C12% \&\& set C10=%C10% \&\& if 1=0] dummy\nboot\n >> (md)0x3000+0x50

Re: FASTLOAD bug in new Easy2Boot versions (v1.78h is OK, v1.79 have the bug)

SteveSi 06/04/2016

Yes, somehow those two lines got deleted!
Try putting them back in and see if that fixes the problem.

Re: Re: FASTLOAD bug in new Easy2Boot versions (v1.78h is OK, v1.79 have the bug)

SteveSi 06/04/2016

Don't test using QEMU_TEST because writes don't work very well. Use VBox+VMUB or a real system.

Re: Re: Re: FASTLOAD bug in new Easy2Boot versions (v1.78h is OK, v1.79 have the bug)

BilBg 06/04/2016

In this case they are OK
I compared the generated FASTLOAD.MNU from v1.78h and v1.79 - they are different:

v1.78h:
..............
password --md5 $1$1$okAQ3AJUdhqf3TVrwKvJP1
debug 0
set MFOLDER=/_ISO/MAINMENU
#SS
default 1
timeout -1
iftitle [set CALL=1 && set CXP=1 && set CV=0 && set C7=0 && set C8=0 && set C28=0 && set C12=0 && set C10=0 && if 1=0] dummy
boot

set MFOLDER=/_ISO/MAINMENU
..............

v1.79:
..............
password --md5 $1$1$okAQ3AJUdhqf3TVrwKvJP1
debug 0
set MFOLDER=/_ISO/MAINMENU
#menu_defaults.txt
default 1
timeout -1
set MFOLDER=/_ISO/MAINMENU
..............

Re: Re: Re: Re: FASTLOAD bug in new Easy2Boot versions (v1.78h is OK, v1.79 have the bug)

SteveSi 06/04/2016

Try v1.80b in Alternate Download Area

Re(5): FASTLOAD bug in new Easy2Boot versions (v1.78h is OK, v1.79 have the bug)

BilBg 07/04/2016

Yes, v1.80b is OK
(Was this affecting only XP or all Windows?)

I can only guess what happened for the 2 lines to disappear - maybe you used Ctrl+X to move the lines up/down and then forget about it (no Ctrl+V)
Phone-call? ;)

Re: Re(5): FASTLOAD bug in new Easy2Boot versions (v1.78h is OK, v1.79 have the bug)

SteveSi 07/04/2016

Don't know how it happened (maybe WinMerge accident??). Yes, it would affect all Windows Install menu entries, not just XP.

MPI_Tool_Pack - MakePartImage.cmd fails in rare (my) case

BilBg 04/04/2016

in MakePartImage.cmd , line:
for %%a in (U T S R Q P O N M L K I H G F E D) do (

- is there a special reason to omit J and V W X Y Z in search for a free drive letter?

In my case the only free drive letters are V W Z so the above fails with:
"Can't find an spare driveletter to mount RAMDRIVE on."
(3 HDDs (c-i, x, y), DVD j, Alcohol 120% (k-t), USB flash (u) = free are V W Z)

I changed the line and .imgPTN was created OK using V as the first found free:
for %%a in (U T S R Q P O N M L K J I H G F E D V W X Y Z) do (

Re: MPI_Tool_Pack - MakePartImage.cmd fails in rare (my) case

SteveSi 04/04/2016

Missing J was an oversight
I omitted VWXYZ just because I thought that no one would have more than 20 drives!
I will fix in next version 0.065

What USB 2.0 flash drive works with E2B?

Carlos 24/03/2016

Hi Steve,
What USB 2.0 flash drives have you tested that work with Easy2Boot? I am going to buy a new one but i'm afraid that it could be one of the Windows To Go drives that are recognized as fixed disk by Windows.

Re: What USB 2.0 flash drive works with E2B?

SteveSi 25/03/2016

I recommend a SanDisk Cruzer Extreme USB 3.0.
It is removable and compatible with USB 2.0. Fast and reasonably priced with retractable connector (so no cap to lose).

Bug report - Robocopy 5.1.2600.26 for XP do Not support /MT:1 switch

BilBg 24/03/2016

(This report is only for info - fix only if/as you wish)

Windows XP
Easy2Boot_v1.77A ... 1.79b
Robocopy 5.1.2600.26 (Robocopy GUI 3.1.2.0 - 2006) (I think the last Robocopy for XP)

Robocopy GUI (UtilitySpotlight2006_11.exe) from:
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2006.11.utilityspotlight.aspx

Before installing: UPDATE_E2B_DRIVE.CMD was working using XCOPY

After installing:
ROBOCOPY.EXE is in D:\WINDOWS\system32\
UPDATE_E2B_DRIVE.CMD gives error about Robocopy fail and exits (do not try to use XCOPY)

To remedy: I just edit the .CMD file to remove /MT:1 so the line for me is:
robocopy "%~dp0\" %USB%:\\ /E /NFL /NDL /NJH /r:2 /w:3 /XF %~nx0 "MAKE_E2B_USB_DRIVE (run as admin).cmd" E2B_ReadMe.txt

Re: Bug report - Robocopy 5.1.2600.26 for XP do Not support /MT:1 switch

SteveSi 24/03/2016

Thanks,
The MT:1 is needed for Vista+ because without it we get fragmented files. The Xp version is single-threaded anyway (I think). Most people won't have robocopy in XP and it is MS copyright so I cannot include it in E2B.

Re: Re: Bug report - Robocopy 5.1.2600.26 for XP do Not support /MT:1 switch

BilBg 25/03/2016

From:
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc733145.aspx
"
/MT[:N]
Creates multi-threaded copies with N threads. N must be an integer between 1 and 128.
The default value for N is 8.

Note
The /MT parameter applies to Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7.
"
So:
1) It seems to me "The default value for N is 8" applies Only if you actually use /MT and omit [:N]
i.e. without /MT on cmdline Robocopy will not "Create multi-threaded copies with 8 threads" (= will just use 1 copy thread)?

2) Are you sure Vista version of Robocopy have /MT switch? ("Note: The /MT parameter applies to Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7")

Re: Re: Re: Bug report - Robocopy 5.1.2600.26 for XP do Not support /MT:1 switch

SteveSi 25/03/2016

No, the default of 8 applies if you do not specify the switch. I found that when I used just Robocopy default switches to copy the files, it produces fragmented files. That is why I had to specify 1.
Maybe also not in Vista (I haven't tested that).

Re(4): Bug report - Robocopy 5.1.2600.26 for XP do Not support /MT:1 switch

BilBg 26/03/2016

In old unused installation of original Vista 32-bit (no SP1) I found Robocopy.exe in the usual place (\Windows\System32\)

It can't start on Windows XP ("Robocopy.exe is not a valid Win32 application.") to use /? but Unicode strings are visible inside the Robocopy.exe (using Total Commander - F3 View)

It also don't have /MT switch
(I don't know how it is on Vista SP1, SP2)

The Properties of the two files (all is Copy/Paste):

XP file:

ROBOCOPY.EXE 212992 22.11.2005 06:14
1bf6e85078ca54fed534afdb436b2ecc *ROBOCOPY.EXE
File version: 5.1.2600.26
Product Version: XP026
Copyright 1995-2005

Vista file:

Robocopy.exe 87040 02.11.2006 11:45
f7a0790ebc72bd740137fa0c12aaf79f *Robocopy.exe
File version: 5.1.10.1027
Product Version: XP027
Copyright 1995-2004

Re: Re(4): Bug report - Robocopy 5.1.2600.26 for XP do Not support /MT:1 switch

SteveSi 01/04/2016

v1.79 should work with the XP version of robocopy now.

Re(6): Bug report - Robocopy 5.1.2600.26 for XP do Not support /MT:1 switch

BilBg 05/04/2016

:) Yes, v1.79 works (I didn't expected such kind of detection using /? ;) )

Re: Re(6): Bug report - Robocopy 5.1.2600.26 for XP do Not support /MT:1 switch

SteveSi 06/04/2016

Yes, it's a nice way to check different versions which I thought of, and I have used it several times before (e.g. checking grub4dos versions).

Grub4dos dd command

thailand_guy 09/03/2016

Hi Steve,
You're grub4dos master while i'm new with grub4dos. Please forgive me if my question is a stupid question. Tks

With dd command

dd if=(hd0)30+1 of=(hd0,0)/MBR.BIN
dd if=(hd0)60+1 of=(hd0,0)/MBR.BIN
these command backup grub4dos MBR.
So my question is: grub4dos always locate at (hd0)30 and (hd0)60 ?? Can you explain what (hd0)30 vs 60 mean?

And to backup current PBR, we use

if=()+1 of=()/PBR.BIN

so my question is how can I backup PBR at partition 2?

and some other "special" parameter such as skip= seek= bs= count=

Tks.

Re: Grub4dos dd command

SteveSi 09/03/2016

http://www.rmprepusb.com/tutorials/grub4dos#TOC-Using-dd-to-edit-sectors
so to back up PBR of ptn 2 use
dd if=(hd0,1)0+1 of=(hd0,0)/PBR2.BIN
but file PBR2.BIN must already exist and be 512 bytes or larger in size.

Re: Re: Grub4dos dd command

thailand_guy 09/03/2016

Dear master,
Your tut is very very detail.
I'll read it carefully.
And another question, from your tut, it say that the best way to install grub4dos for USB is use RMPrepUSB.
After download and use RMprepUSB, i foud that grub4dos is not latest ver, and i replace grldr with grldr from E2B.
But after replace, grub4dos stuck with text say that

grub4dos 0.4.6a 2016-03-03, root is (0x80,0)
Processing the preset menu ....
grub4dos 0.4.6a 2016-03-03, root is (0x80,0)
Processing menu file /menu.lst ....

My menu.lst is very very simple.
If replace it with menu.lst from E2B then it work.
Can you tell me why?
Tks, master.

Re: Re: Re: Grub4dos dd command

SteveSi 09/03/2016

This forum is about E2B, not grub4dos.
If you have any questions about grub4dos or RMPrepUSB, etc. either use Contact Me form or reboot.pro forums.
If you have questions about E2B then post here.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Grub4dos dd command

thailand_guy 09/03/2016

Oh, i'm sorry.
I will create an account then start new topic. tks

DLCD/DLC MiniXP BSOD

congnt92 06/03/2016

Hi Steve,
i'm come from Vietnam and i use DLC/DLCD Boot instead Hiren's.
After some works, I found that if I boot DLC.ISO with map 0xff or map hd32, then MiniXP get BSOD error.
But if I boot to DLC with extract method then boot to MiniXP and it boot fine.
Can you explain what differences between ISO boot with extract Boot? Tks

p/s: I'm sorry for my bad English
p/s2: ISO Boot work fine with E2B (.WH extension), I just want to know why map 0xff not work
Tks :)

Re: DLCD/DLC MiniXP BSOD

SteveSi 06/03/2016

http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/why-is-it-so-difficult-to-boot-iso.html

Re: Re: DLCD/DLC MiniXP BSOD

congnt92 06/03/2016

Hi Steve,
Tks for your reply.
Your link is useful for newbie like me. But this problem only happen for me, not others.
If extract ISO then MiniXP boot OK.

Re: Re: Re: DLCD/DLC MiniXP BSOD

SteveSi 06/03/2016

What do you mean 'it only happens for me'?
How does it know who you are?
What if you wear a mask?
Seriously, what do you mean?
Do you mean that it only happens on one particular computer? How many have you tried? Have you tried booting via QEMU or VBox? It should boot OK. So the problem is that your system is different from normal systems?
So maybe look at your system memory size, CPU, etc?

Re: Re: Re: Re: DLCD/DLC MiniXP BSOD

congnt92 06/03/2016

Hi Steve,
I'm sorry if I say something make you not happy.
I just want to say that: with same XP.WIM, i can boot it with extract method, but if i boot with ISO boot then get BSOD.
With the same ISO Boot code, virtualbox or some other machines boot fine (my friend laptop, and some other DLC Boot user). My laptop 5 years old, corei3, 2gb RAM
Here the code in case you need. Tks
title DLC Boot (ISO)
set isoname=/DLC.ISO
map %isoname% (0xff)
map --hook
root (0xff) || rootnoverify (0xff)
chainloader (0xff)
boot

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: DLCD/DLC MiniXP BSOD

SteveSi 06/03/2016

I have already communicated with you on reboot.pro, and we discussed using e820cycles parameter and also loading whole ISO into memory using map --mem (which you have not replied to). Except that discussion was about Hirens not DLC.
The BIOS on your system is 'bad'. If there is no new version of BIOS, you just have to try different methods and see what works.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: DLCD/DLC MiniXP BSOD

congnt92 07/03/2016

Hi Steve,
May you have a confusing here.
After you hint me try map --mem method, I reported it's still BSOD via inbox.
And it's is MiniXP from LiveXP project with wimboot method not Hiren.
After each advice that you give me, I alway try and report to you.
Please forgive me if I say something wrong via inbox.
Tks

E2B NTFS+FAT32

kayathone 05/03/2016

Hi sir,
I want to create USB multi partition with FAT32 for some Linux persistence and NTFS for ISO Windows install.
I do not know why grub4dos can map an ISO put on another partition while you say that
"You can move and run payload files (but not Windows Install ISOs) to other partitions or even on other drives."
ISO was map to (0xff) and chainload from (0xff) so it's not important where to put Windows Install ISO, right?

Tks

Re: E2B NTFS+FAT32

SteveSi 05/03/2016

Windows and linux boot in two stages:
1. Use BIOS (or UEFI) to boot from media
2. Load own OS drivers and access media direct

Consider Windows ISO. grub4dos can map ISO as a CD and we can start Phase 1 because it uses BIOS calls to access media and load OS drivers. Now in Phase 2, Windows uses Windows drivers. All grub4dos BIOS mapping is lost - Windows drivers do not use BIOS, they access the media direct but all they find is .ISO file, not \sources\install.wim, etc. because it is inside the ISO. Also, if E2B is a Removable USB drive, Windows can only access 1st partition.
http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/why-is-it-so-difficult-to-boot-iso.html
http://www.easy2boot.com/faq-/how-e2b-works/

Re: Re: E2B NTFS+FAT32

SteveSi 05/03/2016

For linux persistence, use NTFS E2B drive and create ext2 files.
http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/linux-isos/linux-with-persistence/
http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/persistence/
or can have full linux OS (not boot from ISO but fully installed)
http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/how-to-have-multiple-fully-installed.html

Re: Re: Re: E2B NTFS+FAT32

kayathone 05/03/2016

Hi sir,
Tks for your reply.
And i'm sorry but can i ask a question?
I do not think that Linux can work with NTFS USB.
I tried to boot ubuntu ISO file from harddisk with grub4dos, it boot fine if ISO put on FAT32 partition but fail if i put it to NTFS partition.
If you need screenshot, i can give you later.

Re: Re: Re: Re: E2B NTFS+FAT32

SteveSi 05/03/2016

Many linux distros work OK with NTFS.
It depends on what linux distro you have and how you are booting it.
Please use Contact Me form and I will email back.
I need details.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: E2B NTFS+FAT32

kayathone 06/03/2016

Hi sir,
Because partnew will not work with my HDD, so I use this code

title ubuntu
find --set-root /ISO/ubuntu.iso
map /ISO/ubuntu.iso (0xff)
map --hook
root (0xff)
kernel /casper/vmlinuz file=/cdrom/preseed/ubuntu.seed boot=casper persistent iso-scan/filename=/ISO/ubuntu.ISO splash
initrd /casper/initrd.lz
boot

On NTFS partition, I create ISO folder, then rename Ubuntu ISO to Ubuntu.ISO and put it here. Boot and error.
But if I format this partition to Fa32, then it boot fine.
Tks
p/s: I'm not test with many ISO, just Ubuntu, Kubuntu.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: E2B NTFS+FAT32

SteveSi 06/03/2016

older versions of Ubuntu does not like 'persistent' on NTFS.
Remove word persistent and try.
http://www.rmprepusb.com/tutorials/ubuntu
Ubuntu 13 and 15 do work on NTFS+persistent cheat code.
P.S. case-sensitive - .iso .ISO ???
If you need 'persistent' then check casper-rw volume is not corrupt.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: E2B NTFS+FAT32

kayathone 06/03/2016

Hi sir,
i use lastest ubuntu ISO, download from homepage.
And you say that ubuntu 15 do work on NTFS with cheat code. So you meant "partnew" command.
I cannot use partnew command on HDD.
Tks.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: E2B NTFS+FAT32

SteveSi 06/03/2016

This works OK for me on NTFS
title Ubuntu 15.10\n Boot using .mnu file
set ISO=/_ISO/LINUX/ubuntu-15.10-desktop-amd64.iso
map %ISO% (0xff)
map --hook
root (0xff)
set k=/casper/vmlinuz
if exist /casper/vmlinuz.efi set k=/casper/vmlinuz.efi
kernel %k% file=/cdrom/preseed/ubuntu.seed boot=casper iso-scan/filename=%ISO% quiet splash --
initrd /casper/initrd.lz
boot

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: E2B NTFS+FAT32

kayathone 06/03/2016

Tks sir,
I will try it now.
How can i use this code if i need a persistence.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: E2B NTFS+FAT32

SteveSi 06/03/2016

As I said, it does not work using a \casper-rw file because it does not detect it on an NTFS partition.
You could create a separate partition on the hard disk with a volume name of casper-rw and formatted as ext2/3/4.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: E2B NTFS+FAT32

kayathone 07/03/2016

Greate. Now I clearly understand. Tks, Sir

Method 5 - NTFS UEFI

zhuanglee 04/03/2016

Hi Steve,
from e2b website, i found a method that we can use NTFS for UEFI.
After following your method5, UEFI boot fine but I get grub2 command instead of loading grub.cfg file
Can you tell me which step i did wrong

- Create 2 partition, one Fat32, one NTFS
- Copy EFI 2 go files to FAT32 partition
- Swap to NTFS by RMPrep
- Copy all contents of E2B to here
- install g4d to MBR and PBR by RMPrep
- Make imgPTN then rename to imgPTNlba23
- Swith to imgPTN by Switch USB.exe
- Boot to UEFI machine
Tks

Re: Method 5 - NTFS UEFI

SteveSi 04/03/2016

Once you have switched, check the partitions.
ptn 1 should be NTFS and contain the payload files
ptn2 should be FAT32 and contain the EFI folder and EFIToGo files.

Re: Re: Method 5 - NTFS UEFI

zhuanglee 04/03/2016

tks for your quick reply.
As you describe, i think you are saying about method 4. I follow method 5 which need rufus or EFI 2 Go files from download area.
That's right?

Re: Re: Re: Method 5 - NTFS UEFI

SteveSi 04/03/2016

Sorry, you are right (I got confused with Method 4).
See previous edited post!
What do you mean about grub2?
What are you booting to?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Method 5 - NTFS UEFI

zhuanglee 05/03/2016

Hi Steve,
I have EFI folder put in NTFS partition and of course this NTFS par has E2B files.
In EFI folder, i have boox64.efi which configfile boot/grub/grub.cfg (this .efi file from Androidx86).
My goal is, if we boot on legacy machine, then E2B will work.
If we boot on UEFI machine, then EFI file from fat32 partition will call bootx64.efi file from NTFS par then this file config file grub.cfg and display menu for booting Androidx86 on UEFI.
Tks

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Method 5 - NTFS UEFI

SteveSi 05/03/2016

If you can boot to grub2, then it has worked.
The grub.cfg may be wrong for working from the 2nd partition.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Method 5 - NTFS UEFI

SteveSi 08/03/2016

The E2B NTFS partition should not have an EFI folder (it does't need it).
You make a .imgPTNLBA23 file from the android iso using MPI_NTFS shortcut.
When you switch to it using Switch_E2B, then it should already have an EFI\boot folder with either bootx64.efi and/or bootia32.efi (from the android ISO). If it does not contain either, then the original source did not support UEFI-booting.
So we should have:
Ptn1: NTFS with all android files + CSM files
Ptn2: FAT32 EFIToGo files
I that what you have?

Why do you need NTFS? Why not just make a FAT32 .imgPTN file and use that?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Method 5 - NTFS UEFI

zhuanglee 08/04/2016

Hi Steve,
After long time now i come back to e2b uefi ntfs. (my laptop has broken and it take long time to fix).
I follow your method 4 but do not know how efi2go file work.
I create android.imgptn and efi (no extension) and put to \_ISO\LINUX folder.
switch e2b drive by click on .imgptn
but i just got ntfs partition. how about efi file and fat32 partition?
Tks

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Method 5 - NTFS UEFI

SteveSi 08/04/2016

You need to create two partition images, e.g.
abc.imgPTN
abc

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Method 5 - NTFS UEFI

zhuanglee 09/04/2016

Hi Steve,
Tks for your reply.
I create 2 files: Android.imgptn and android (without extension).
When i run e2b switch, it only detect .imgptn file
I click .imgpnt file to switch USB but USB still NTFS. So i cannot boot to UEFI machine.
Tks

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Method 5 - NTFS UEFI

SteveSi 09/04/2016

As an experiment, name the android file as android1.imgPTN and use Switch_e2b to load just that file. This will check that it is actually the correct format and works as a partition image.
if not, explain how you made the android file.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Method 5 - NTFS UEFI

zhuanglee 10/04/2016

Hi Steve,
Here all of steps that I did.
- Run makee2b.cmd to create a "clean" e2b NTFS usb drive.
- Download make part image and create desktop shortcut.
- Download android.iso and drag it to MPI NTFS shortcut.
- ENTER all step to leave setting default.
- Copy android.imgptn to \_ISO\LINUX folder.
- Download EFI2Go folder and drag to MPI_FAT32 to make android (without extension)
- Copy android to LINUX folder
- Run switch e2b.exe and double click android.imgptn
- E2B switched, and its format is NTFS
- Boot from UEFI machine but it failed
Tks

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Method 5 - NTFS UEFI

SteveSi 10/04/2016

I do not understand why you need to use two partition images? Why don't you just drag-and-drop the androidx86.iso onto the MPI_FAT32 Desktop shortcut to create a ,imgPTN file and use that file? Why do you need to create two partition images and why does one of them need to be NTFS???

Anyway, assuming you have made the NTFS+FAT32 files, does SWITCH_E2B v1.0.10 show:

android.imgPTN :&: android

i.e. two images? It should.

I followed your method using android-x86-4.4-r4.iso and it at least booted under VBox both on a 32-bit UEFI VM and a 64-bit UEFI VM to a console/shell.

You do not specify the EXACT ISO you are booting and you do not give any details except 'but it failed'. So it is difficult to diagnose the problem any further.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Method 5 - NTFS UEFI

SteveSi 10/04/2016

P.S. I see androidx86 has a .img version which it says is for EFI - maybe the ISO does not work for UEFI. Did you try making a FAT32 .imgPTN file from the .img download?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Method 5 - NTFS UEFI

SteveSi 10/04/2016

I downloaded a copy of Remix_OS_for_PC_64_B2016020201_Alpha_EFI.img and dropped it onto MPI_FAT32. It seems to boot OK on UEFI if you select Guest Mode (but not resident mode) on VBox. It doesn't MBR boot.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Method 5 - NTFS UEFI

SteveSi 10/04/2016

I also download the android 5.1.1rc5.img file and converted that via MPI_FAT32 to a .imgPTN file. This boots on my Z87 via 64-bit UEFI (but I had to type exit twice in the shell before it booted to the 'Desktop'). In fact, I am writing this now from within android!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Method 5 - NTFS UEFI

zhuanglee 14/04/2016

Hi Steve, tks for your detail reply.
Also i'm sorry for my delay respone.
All of these day, i test many times with some Android base ISO: Androidx86, phoenixos, remixos and consoleos to make sure E2B Boot fine before ask you again.
And of cources all of it work fine if just use one NTFS partition for E2B then use FAT32 imgptn convert.
But It would be greate if we have 2 partition at one: 1 NTFS vs 1 very small FAT32 par with EFI2Go files.
I try to find on your E2B website and found method 4. it is very helpful for me. But i failed when try to test it.
E2B switch only display .imgptn extenstion, so android file (without extension) created from EFI2GO folder cannot be list on E2B switch.
Tks

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Method 5 - NTFS UEFI

SteveSi 14/04/2016

Well, it works OK for me. Are you using the latest version? If so, use the Contact Me form and then we can try to find out what is going on by email.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Method 5 - NTFS UEFI

zhuanglee 15/04/2016

Hi Steve,
yesterday i had a busy day.
Now I will take a screenshot for each step then send you via email.
Tks for your support.

Tut 96

thailand_guy 02/03/2016

Hi sir,
I'm very interested your #96 tut.
But automenulinux.bat just work for .ISO file.
Can you update newer version to show some other extensions, such as: .img, .ima, or can you help me make my own automenulinux.bat.
tks, sir

Re: Tut 96

thailand_guy 02/03/2016

I found this command in automenulinux.bat

WENV check "#.iso#"=="#%~x1#" || goto :EOF

so i need check some other extensions, can i edit it to something like

for %%x in (.iso .img .ima ...) WENV check "#%%x#"=="#%~x1#" || goto :EOF

tks

Re: Re: Tut 96

SteveSi 02/03/2016

The partnew trick only works for linux ISO files. It will not work for other extensions. You have to use different code and methods for other extensions.
Easy2Boot will work for many extensions. Look at the \_ISO\e2b\grub\QRUN.g4b file to see how it works.

Re: Re: Re: Tut 96

thailand_guy 02/03/2016

Tks steve, i'll try e2b and see how it work.

Full icon for DLC/DLCD

vfcontig 27/02/2016

Try rename to isowinvh but no luck. since we boot DLC/DLCD by iso boot, then we still need to extract some folder to USB??
Can we use firadisk to mount ISO after boot to winpe ?? Tks

Re: Full icon for DLC/DLCD

SteveSi 27/02/2016

DLCD normally works with .isowinvh, but why not try .isoask and then test a few other extensions - e.g. isofira.
The best thing for an Hirens ISO is to convert it to a .imgPTN file.
http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/hirens-isos/

Re: Re: Full icon for DLC/DLCD

SteveSi 27/02/2016

P.S. for Win8 you can use .isoPE file extension, but E2B must be running from a Removable drive. Otherwise, when you get to the Dekstop of Mini8, run \_ISO\e2b\firadisk\LOADISOPE.cmd to mount the ISO as drive Y:. Then run the menu.exe file from Y:.
E2B v1.78 has new .isoHW file extension.

Re: Re: Re: Full icon for DLC/DLCD

vfcontig 28/02/2016

tks for detail explain. i try DLCD 2015 ver1.0 with isowinvh but no luck. after boot to desktop, ISO was not mount.
I will try with isoask then report.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Full icon for DLC/DLCD

SteveSi 28/02/2016

DLCD 2015 has two WinPEs - XP and Win8.
XP will work OK
Win8 will not work unless you have a Removable USB flash drive and name the file .isoPE.
If you use E2B v1.78h, then name the file as .isoHW and it should work for both WinPEs if you have a Removable USB E2B drive.
If your E2B USB drive is a fixed disk, then either extract the DLCD folder onto the E2B USB drive or make a .imgPTN file. This is all explained in the Hirens page in the link I already gave you.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Full icon for DLC/DLCD

vfcontig 29/02/2016

Oh, i'm using Removable USB, not HDD Box
But not ver1.78,
I will update it now then test and report.
tks sir.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Full icon for DLC/DLCD

vfcontig 29/02/2016

Try isowinvh for DLCD on some laptop, MiniXP cannot boot to desktop
winvblock bug??
And where can I download ver1.78h
Tks

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Full icon for DLC/DLCD

SteveSi 29/02/2016

Check Alternate Download Area on Download page for Beta versions.
What is model of system that does not work with .isowinvh ? Dell? What model? In what way does it 'not work'?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Full icon for DLC/DLCD

vfcontig 29/02/2016

Try .isowinvh from laptop Toshiba.
Not BSOD, just not logon to desktop

After Logo Windows XP show and disappear, MiniXP hang, screen goto blank.

P/s: Now i try with ver1.78 then report

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Full icon for DLC/DLCD

vfcontig 01/03/2016

ver 1.78h work very well.
but still same error with MiniXP, i don't know why but if i add # before line using winvblock then it work.
so i sure that this problem came from winvblock.
tks.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Full icon for DLC/DLCD

vfcontig 01/03/2016

Hi steve,
I found that i can map firadisk with fd0 then use f6 to load firadisk then use code in menu.lst to tell where .ISO located to mount it after boot to minixp.
can you tell me how to do it?
where can i download firadisk.img
and what grub4dos menu.lst to do?
tks

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Full icon for DLC/DLCD

SteveSi 01/03/2016

Does .isofira work?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Full icon for DLC/DLCD

SteveSi 01/03/2016

Use .isoask and try alternatives - e.g. .isowinvhe0 or other e0 alternatives.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Full icon for DLC/DLCD

vfcontig 02/03/2016

Tks steve, rename to .ISOask then type HW then it works.
i.e. use .isoHW file extension.

Remove E2B and restore USB

Jason 22/02/2016

Hi there,

I'm trying to find instructions to remove E2B from a USB and restore it to it's original size.
I've tried formatting but it only shows 4GB of the original 16GB.

Thank you

Re: Remove E2B and restore USB

SteveSi 22/02/2016

Just formatting a drive under Windows will not change the partition size.
It sounds like you have used a .imgPTN image.
Under Windows you can run \e2b\SWITCH_E2B.exe and Restore E2B partitions - or just use RMPrepUSB to re-partition and re-format the drive.

Re: Re: Remove E2B and restore USB

Jason 24/02/2016

Thanks Steve :)

automenu

dan 21/02/2016

I use AUTOLINUXMENU for multibooting internal HDD.
Is possible to change the created automenu in order by date?

Re: automenu

SteveSi 21/02/2016

No. Grub4dos is not able to get the date of a file.

Disk write error

Carlos 20/02/2016

Hi Steve
I recently bought a 16 GB Kingston DataTraveler DT 101G2 pen drive and installed Easy2Boot on it, but when i boot from the pen drive and select an ISO file from the Easy2Boot menu i get this error message:
if not exist CD dd if=(bd)%XML% of=()/AutoUnattend.xml > nul
Error 29(http://grub4dos.chennal.net/e/29)
Disk write error
Press any key to continue...
I have updated to the 1.78c beta but the problem persists.
I don't get this error when i boot from a 8 GB Sony Microvault pen drive, which is what i've been using before for Easy2Boot.

Re: Disk write error

SteveSi 20/02/2016

It is probably a fake!
Test it using RMPrepUSB - Quick Size Test or FakeFlashTest.
P.S. DT10x are too slow. Alway buy USB 3.0 and preferably fast one like SanDisk Extreme.

Re: Re: Disk write error

Carlos 21/02/2016

The Quick Size Test didn't report any errors, what else can i do to fix this problem?
Also, i know there are faster pen drives but i can't afford them, they are expensive where i live.

Re: Re: Re: Disk write error

SteveSi 21/02/2016

Try using QEMU (RMPrepUSB - F11) and see if you get the same error.
What XML file did you pick? What ISO are you running and where is it located? Does it happen with any ISO and any XML file?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Disk write error

Carlos 21/02/2016

With QEMU i get error 21 with a Windows 7 x86 ISO. I always choose the Easy2Boot XML file, the ISO is located at _ISO/WINDOWS/WIN7 and i get the error with any of the XML files. The error also occurs with a Xubuntu 15.10 i386 ISO with persistence but with "partnew (%E2BDEV%,3) 0x0 %ISO%" command instead of the "if not exist..." command above the error 29 text, but after pressing a key to continue and reselecting Xubuntu 2 times, it boots.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Disk write error

SteveSi 21/02/2016

Something seems wrong with that drive!
It is failing on writes to the drive.
If a different drive works under the same set of conditions, then it points to a faulty drive.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Disk write error

Carlos 21/02/2016

Well, i guess i'll have to buy a new one. Thanks for the help :).

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Disk write error

vfcontig 01/03/2016

Hi,
Well, i'm not sure about this problem, but if your usb has a button that can switch on/off write protected mode then may it is reason.

Accessing other partitions when booting imgptn

Tec 17/02/2016

Hello,

I am using a large external usb drive with 2 partitions. The first for booting is 137GB, the second partition is used for storing data/manuals/utilities/various files.

Is there a way to boot from a imgPTN file and still access the second partition? It seems to vanish when an imgPTN file is booted from.

Thanks

Re: Accessing other partitions when booting imgptn

SteveSi 17/02/2016

Sure, just give the file a .imgPTNLBAa23 file extension.
http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/list-of-file-extensions-recognised-by-e2b/

Grub4dos command

bighero 17/02/2016

Hi Steve,
I'm new with grub4dos command.
I try cat --locate command and don't know how it work.

boot grub4dos from qemu
type c to get command line
type:
echo 123a > (md)0x300+1
cat --locate=a (md)0x300+1

result: 3
I don't know why is 3. From string "1233a", so the result must be 4??

Can u explain me why? Tks
p/s: i'm sorry for my poor English!

Re: Grub4dos command

SteveSi 17/02/2016

Cat --locate returns the offset (address of string)
byte at offset 0 = 1
byte at offset 1 = 2
byte at offset 2 = 3
byte at offset 3 = a
use cat --hex --length=16 (md)0x300+1
to see bytes

Re: Re: Grub4dos command

bighero 18/02/2016

Oh, tks Steve.
Another question,
Why we must map mem winblock twice

map --mem /winvblock.img.gz (fd0)
map --mem /winvblock.img.gz (fd1)

when install XP from ISO or load Hiren ISO (use from QRUN easy2boot

Tks

Re: Re: Re: Grub4dos command

SteveSi 18/02/2016

You don't have to map twice on many systems. But some systems which have a floppy disk don't work (it has been reported to me), so I map to fd0 and fd1 for best chance of it working.

openSUSE

dan 11/02/2016

Hi Steve,
openSUSE-Edu-li-f-e.x86_64-42.1.1.iso fails to boot under easry2boot(partnew)

Re: openSUSE

SteveSi 11/02/2016

openSUSE live DVDs are a bit tricky!
See http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/boot-opensuse-isos-from-e2b.html

Re: Re: openSUSE

dan 11/02/2016

Thank you Steve, I read it.
This simple way works for me:
1. Format external HDD as NTFS
2. Install Grub4dos
3. Copy openSUSE-Edu-li-f-e.x86_64-42.1.1.iso
4. Create menu.lst:
title openSUSE-Edu-li-f-e.x86_64-42.1.1.iso
root (hd0,0)
set myiso=openSUSE-Edu-li-f-e.x86_64-42.1.1.iso
partnew (hd0,3) 0x00 /%myiso%
map --heads=0 --sectors-per-track=0 /%myiso% (0xff)
map --hook
root (0xff)
chainloader (0xff)

The problem is Partnew/opensuse does not create iso9660 partition but create udf partition instate.

I will email you a screenshot

Re: Re: Re: openSUSE

SteveSi 11/02/2016

Glad it works for you - I cant get it to work for me.
Why is the ISO being visible as a udf a problem?

Re: Re: Re: Re: openSUSE

dan 12/02/2016

Sorry, I did some testing udf looks like cause a problem, but I think the problem is the opensuse.

I found, Easy2boot will work fine to boot opensuse.iso with partnew methode if no hidden/unknown or unallocated partition exist.

During booting opensuse will find in first place the hidden/unknown partition and convert/format to EXT4 and fail to continue booting.
The same with unallocated partition, opensuse will format it and fail to boot.

The solution is you have to format hidden/unknown/unallocated to NTFS/Vfat/ext* etc. or resize to one whole partition.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: openSUSE

SteveSi 12/02/2016

I think you are correct. It is making a type 0x83 partition out of any spare space on the drive and then failing to boot. If I use the ISO cheat codes then it doesn't do this. They seem to assume that the OS has been installed on the disk rather than live booting.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: openSUSE

SteveSi 12/02/2016

I had a HDD with
PTN1 NTFS
PTN2 NTFS
(very little unused space)
This would not boot. I then reduced the 2nd partition to leave 3GB of unused space at the end of the drive. This still would not boot. I then changed the partnew command to use type 0x83 - now it boots and creates PTN3 as type 0x83 read-write partition.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: openSUSE

dan 15/02/2016

Booting opensuse.iso using type 0x83 on external HDD works fine in any way: One whole disk or One PTN with unused big/small space or 3 primary PTNs with space or no space.

But never try booting opensuse.iso using type 0x83 on internal HDD.

Removing Keybinds

JGR 08/02/2016

Hi guys,

I'm really interested to know how to remove the keybinds.. or rather how to get the Chars in one line
Example:
0 Utilities [Ctrl+8]
1 Tools [Ctrl+4]
2 Things [Ctrl+2]

Would be nice if anyone could help._.
Thanks !:)

Re: Removing Keybinds

JGR 08/02/2016

Bad example..Thje lines correct theirselfes here ..
I hope you know what i mean

Re: Removing Keybinds

SteveSi 08/02/2016

Not sure what you mean, but the current hotkeys for the menu folders are set in the STRINGS.txt for each language.
e.g. Copy the \_ISO\e2b\grub\ENG\STRINGS.txt to the \_ISO folder and then change the entries
change
$$STRm018=^Ctrl+O DOS Menu [Ctrl+O]\n MS-DOS and FreeDOS utilities
to
$$STRm018=^Ctrl+2 DOS Menu [Ctrl+2]\n MS-DOS and FreeDOS utilities

Re: Re: Removing Keybinds

JGR 09/02/2016

I meant that the "[Ctrl+O]" and so on ... aren't in one row like it should be. The one is more left then then the other one. They are differently shifted.

Re: Re: Re: Removing Keybinds

Stevesi 09/02/2016

What language?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Removing Keybinds

JGR 09/02/2016

German

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Removing Keybinds

SteveSi 09/02/2016

They seem OK to me in E2B v.1.76 and 1.77m?
Are you using latest version? It is easy to update.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Removing Keybinds

JGR 09/02/2016

Yep. I updated it yesterday.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Removing Keybinds

SteveSi 14/04/2016

Try latest v1.80e and use GERMAN_ALT as language.

Just load Win8 ISO

Thxdr 26/01/2016

How can I make E2B just load a Win8 Core ISO, without asking for a key input or an option with a pre-defined key? We have many machines with keys already embedded on BIOS, so it is not necessary to enter a key before instalation.

Re: Just load Win8 ISO

SteveSi 26/01/2016

If you install exactly the same version, then just pick the correct generic key that is in the E2B key files.
Once the system boots, it should use the BIOS key to activate via the internet.

Re: Re: Just load Win8 ISO

Thxdr 21/02/2016

Thank you.

About grldr.mbr vs g2ldr.mbr

zhuanglee 17/01/2016

Hi Steve
Can u tell me what does grldr.mbr do? I found that if we install grub4dos menu entry on windows vista and later, we need to copy grldr.mbr to C:\
So grldr.mbr is need to copy to usb if we install grub4dos to usb??
Same question with g2ldr.mbr.

Tks.

Re: About grldr.mbr vs g2ldr.mbr

SteveSi 24/01/2016

It depends on how grub/grub4dos is launched. The .mbr files contain the MBR sector data boot code and can be run from the XP boot.ini or Vista+ BCD.
See http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/files/install_windows.htm for details.
So, if the boot sector of the disk does not contain grub4dos (or the PBR of the active partition), but we boot using Windows NTLDR or bootmgr, then we use a .mbr file to load grub\grub4dos.

Re: Re: About grldr.mbr vs g2ldr.mbr

zhuanglee 24/01/2016

Tks for your reply, Steve
grldr and grldr.mbr can be download from grub4dos pack. But I can't find where I can download g2ldr and g2ldr.mbr. Can you send me a link?

I need g2ldr because with g2ldr file I can chainload from grub4dos to grub2

title grub2
kernel /g2ldr

Re: Re: Re: About grldr.mbr vs g2ldr.mbr

SteveSi 24/01/2016

http://www.rmprepusb.com/tutorials/chainload-syslinux#TOC-Load-grub4dos-from-grub2
http://www.filewatcher.com/m/g2ldr.mbr.8192-0.html

Re: Re: Re: Re: About grldr.mbr vs g2ldr.mbr

zhuanglee 24/01/2016

that's great, steve. but how about g2ldr. where can i download it? I mean, latest version (grub2.02 beta)

Tut #27 Diagnose how your BIOS boots USB drives

zhuanglee 14/01/2016

I'm very interest tut #27. But in latest RMPrepUSB version, I cannot found File >> USB to load .bin file.
Can u show me how?

Re: Tut #27 Diagnose how your BIOS boots USB drives

SteveSi 14/01/2016

File -> Drive button in RMPrepUSB utility.

Re: Re: Tut #27 Diagnose how your BIOS boots USB drives

zhuanglee 15/01/2016

Ahh, tks Steve. I see

E2B on encrypted disk

Luciano (aka. llbranco) 06/01/2016

hi Steve, there is a way to install E2B in a encrypted disk (any kind of encryption)?
because, some times (against of my desire) I need to borrow my HDD and the other plug it on inffected systems and everytime I need to make it again and again, and again.
there is a way to avoid it by using an encrypted file system?
can u answer me by email too?´
Luciano Branco
A.K.A llbranco

Re: E2B on encrypted disk

SteveSi 07/01/2016

I have replied by email, but basically read
http://www.easy2boot.com/configuring-e2b/protection-and-security/

UEFI and GPT

congnt92 04/01/2016

Hi Steve,
First, I'm sorry for my poor English!
From this link http://windowsitpro.com/windows-8/q-what-tips-will-help-me-install-windows-uefi-machine-i-built-myself,
I read a line which wrote: A UEFI system can boot only from a GPT disk
From easy2boot website - UEFI things to know, you wrote:
"Do I have to use GPT if I want to boot via UEFI?
This is a common misconception!"
I don't clearly understand why we have diffrences between 2 sites. Can you explain why? Tks

Re: UEFI and GPT

SteveSi 04/01/2016

Since I can boot via UEFI from a FAT32+NTFS Removable USB drive by using a VHD, which do you think is more accurate!
Windows Setup will not allow you to install to an MBR partitioned disk if you UEFI-boot to Setup, but that doesn't mean it is not possible to UEFI-boot from an MBR partitioned drive!

Re: Re: UEFI and GPT

congnt92 05/01/2016

Oh, install vs boot. I confuse two concepts.
Cannot INSTALL windows to MBR disk (in UEFI)
But we can BOOT uefi from MBR disk.
Tks Steve!

Re: Re: UEFI and GPT

congnt92 06/01/2016

Hi Steve,
From #127 - How to make Dual-boot 32 & 64-bit MBR & UEFI WinPE USB drive
http://www.rmprepusb.com/tutorials/127-make-dual-32-64bit-pe
I just want to ask a question (Sorry because of rmprepusb.com not allow user leave a comment so I must be ask you here)
Why we must use both of 32 and 64bits Windows PE since we can install Windows 64bits from WinPE 32bits. I read this info from this link
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh824993.aspx
Quote: X:\windows\system32> D:\setup /InstallFrom:"N:\Windows_64-bit\sources\install.wim"
Tks

Re: Re: Re: UEFI and GPT

SteveSi 06/01/2016

If you have a UEFI system and want to install Windows in UEFI-mode, you need to first boot via UEFI.
How can you do this on a 32-bit UEFI system and a 64-bit UEFI system unless you have both EFI boot files present?

Re: Re: Re: Re: UEFI and GPT

congnt92 07/01/2016

But if we can install windows 64bits from 32bits of Win PE sao we just need 32bits version of Win PE, right?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: UEFI and GPT

SteveSi 07/01/2016

Why not read the article
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh824993.aspx
There is a difference between UEFI-booting and BIOS booting.
How can you boot on a 64-bit UEFI system if you only have 32-bit UEFI boot files?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: UEFI and GPT

congnt92 07/01/2016

Ah, Ok. Now i do understand. Tks Steve.

Encryption

Ceapa 29/12/2015

Hello. I was wondering if there is any way I could encrypt my entire easy2boot USB drive so that no one could see or use the files on it. I've looked into it but so far I haven't found any useful information on the subject. Thank you.

Re: Encryption

SteveSi 29/12/2015

http://www.easy2boot.com/configuring-e2b/protection-and-security/

Back convert imgPTN to iso

Yura 25/12/2015

Hi. I can convert iso to imgPTN by MakePartImage.cmd. But can I process back operation?

Re: Back convert imgPTN to iso

SteveSi 25/12/2015

Short answer -> no!

Get back those Backgrounds :-¿

Bertholdous Perez 23/12/2015

Hi author.
I'm missing. What happened to the classic Forest with northern lights Background (theme)?, and your other nice backgrounds?
It scares the background with boy closer to a Trash can. x-p .
Moreover, that StripedFlat requesting password. Horrible!
It is "fred"?

Re: Get back those Backgrounds :-¿

SteveSi 23/12/2015

Hi
You can easily change the background - just add a \_ISO\MyBackground.bmp file or a \_ISO\MyBackground.bmp.gz file.
You can download the old wallpapers and a new Aurora wallpaper from the Themes folder in the Alternate Download Area - Aurora Backgrounds.7z.

Re: Re: Get back those Backgrounds :-¿

Bertholdous Perez 25/12/2015

Thanks Steve.

I applied to use a background image of a different name or location (/MyBackgrounds/), copy the configuration file \_ISO\Sample_MyE2B.cfg file to \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg and changing the MyWBMP entry, (bmp images compressed to gzip).

Also, I could see that E2B recognizes jpeg images; and even, images own bitmap not exactly as you advised, ex: 900x506 pix.

Good work with /_ISO/docs/mythemes, I want to apply any of those "scheme fonts" on wallpapers.

I tried these wallpapers:
[URL=http://www.imagebam.com/image/20a114454462021][IMG]http://thumbnails114.imagebam.com/45447/20a114454462021.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://www.imagebam.com/image/2a331a454462062][IMG]http://thumbnails114.imagebam.com/45447/2a331a454462062.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://www.imagebam.com/image/4f7f46454462086][IMG]http://thumbnails114.imagebam.com/45447/4f7f46454462086.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

I read: http://www.easy2boot.com/configuring-e2b/wallpaper/

Re: Re: Re: Get back those Backgrounds :-¿

SteveSi 25/12/2015

You can use E2B_Editor to design the menu and see also Laura's examples
http://www.1910.eu/

Re: Re: Re: Re: Get back those Backgrounds :-¿

Bertholdous Perez 26/12/2015

Ok, Ok. Tks.

Steve, I deleted accidentally the autorun.inf file inside E2B pendrive USB.
I tried paste this autorun.inf again, but the file manager displays there is an (invisible) autorun.inf file, dated March 02, 2009, size 5B.
I tried from windows, and distro Linux too.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Get back those Backgrounds :-¿

SteveSi 26/12/2015

You may have a virus?
Configure Windows Explorer to display system and hidden files to see if the autorun.inf file is there. If it is, delete it (you may have to change it's attributes) also run an antivirus program on the USB drive (in Safe Mode).

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Get back those Backgrounds :-¿

Bertholdous Perez 30/12/2015

Hello Steve.
Scanning in secure mode throught Panda Antivirus and Malwarebytes AM. They got 0 threats.
I think if there is a conflict of autorun.inf Panda usb vaccine which could not be properly saved, I think I deleted the proper autorun.inf of E2B.
Or conflict copy/paste to replace factory (invisible) autorun.inf usb harware.
Currently, Panda vaccine Autorun.inf neither can be saved to this pendrive USB. Nevertheless, Panda displays that USB is vaccinated. :-¿ But its autorun.inf would have to be available as hide, but it's not like that.

E2B works nice, I think.
Pendrive USB: Kingston DTSE9 2.0.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Get back those Backgrounds :-¿

SteveSi 28/01/2016

See http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/remove-panda-vaccine-protection-from_28.html

Boot from HDD 2

HCT 11/12/2015

Hi,
by default pressing F7 in E2B will boot from first internal disk. Is it possible to boot from a second internal disk as well without changing boot order in BIOS first?? If yes how can this be enabled optionally within E2B main menu ?
Helmut

Re: Boot from HDD 2

SteveSi 11/12/2015

Just add a new .mnu text file - e.g. \_ISO\MAINMENU\Boot2.mnu
It should contain a title line and then the comand lines - e.g.

title Boot from Disk 2 \n This will boot from disk 2 in the system
rootnoverify (hd2,0)
chainloader (hd2)+1 || chainloader (hd2,0)+1

It is unusual not to remap the USB drive though, so depending on what is on disk 2, this may not work.

If you want the menu to appear only when there is a 2nd disk present use
iftitle [cat --hex --length=1 (hd2)0+1 >nul] Boot from hd2\n Boot from 2nd disk in system

Re: Re: Boot from HDD 2

SteveSi 11/12/2015

This may work better...

iftitle [cat --hex --length=1 (hd2)0+1 >nul] Boot from Disk 2 \n Boot from second disk
errorcheck off
map (hd0) (hd)
map (hd1) (hd0)
map (hd2) (hd1)
map --hook
# hd0 is now 1st internal disk, hd1 and hd2 is 2nd internal disk, hd3 is USB drive
rootnoverify (hd1,0)
chainloader (hd1)+1 || chainloader (hd1,0)+1

Re: Boot from HDD 2

HCT 13/12/2015

That's great!
Exactly what I was searching for. Many thanks.
Helmut

persistence

shmu26 26/11/2015

is it possible to have persistence for linux distros?

Re: persistence

SteveSi 26/11/2015

http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/persistence/

imgPTN on USB HDD

gggirlgeek 24/11/2015

Hello. I have another issue with 1.75e.
On my 1TB USB HDD I can't boot imgPTN's anymore, but my USB key works great. I'm getting Error: "Sector at lba30 appears to contain code."
I updated my HDD to 1.75e (from a very old version) and made sure the MBR and PBR were set to Grub 046c (several times) with Bootice. The 60Gb Grub partition is the first one.
I don't want to reformat of course because I'll have to move all of my partitions and 500Gb of data.
Anything to be done?

Re: imgPTN on USB HDD

SteveSi 24/11/2015

You probably have grub boot code in sector 30.
You just need to erase that sector.
One way is to use RMPrepUSB - Drive->File - x.mbr - 0 - 1sec - 0 to save a 512byte MBR
Then write it to LBA30 using
RMPrepUSB - File->Drive - x.mbr - 0 - 30 - 0 to write it to sector 30.
Then switching .imgPTN files should work.

Re: Re: imgPTN on USB HDD

gggirlgeek 24/11/2015

Worked!
I assume by x you meant any .mbr so i used grldr.mbr.
Thank you! Honestly don't know what I'd do without you.

Re: Re: Re: imgPTN on USB HDD

SteveSi 24/11/2015

Good!
E2B needs to see an unused sector at LBA30 (full of FF, 00, or E5 bytes) or it should contain a valid MBR.

Hiren's booting Error

gggirlgeek 23/11/2015

Hi,
After updating to E2B v1.74 I cannot boot my HBCD_16.imgPTNLBA23 formatted as Fat32.
My error: Cannot find the batch label specified: HBCD_16.imgPTNLBA23
Never had this problem before so I updated to v1.75b and no luck. Tried Qemu and same thing. Also tried recreating the imgPTN as imgPTNLBAa and imgPTNLBA23.
I am booting a UEFI system in Legacy CSM mode.

Re: Hiren's booting Error

SteveSi 23/11/2015

hmm. Not quite sure how it happened, but there are several typos in the labels in QRUN.g4b!!
Please try v1.75BetaD

Re: Re: Hiren's booting Error

gggirlgeek 23/11/2015

Oops just saw your message about 1.75D. Will try now. Thanks

Re: Re: Re: Hiren's booting Error

gggirlgeek 23/11/2015

Now nothing will start -- not imgPTN's nor .iso's. They just kick me back into the E2B menu. I used the Update cmd to install 1.75D

Re: Re: Re: Re: Hiren's booting Error

SteveSi 23/11/2015

Seems to be a bug in grub4dos!
I added an extra label and now it doesn't work as a batch file. I will report the bug to chenall.
The label
:.imgPTN23aLBA
seems to cause grub4dos to think it is not a batch file!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hiren's booting Error

SteveSi 23/11/2015

1.75BetaE available. Should work now!

Re: Hiren's booting Error

gggirlgeek 23/11/2015

I've gone back to v1.68 for now. Should I just wait for stable 1.75 or 1.76 then?

Re: Re: Hiren's booting Error

gggirlgeek 23/11/2015

Never mind. I keep posting before I've seen your latest post. :-)
I'll try 1.75e

Re: Re: Re: Hiren's booting Error

gggirlgeek 24/11/2015

That did the trick. Thank you!
Thanks also for adding Switch_E2B and the imgPTN format. Life just keeps getting easier with E2B. You're the best!

Re: Hiren's booting Error

gggirlgeek 23/11/2015

Update: I tried rebuilding the drive with E2B 1.74 from scratch. Same result.

E2B 1.74

Starla 08/11/2015

Working great for me. Thank you so much Steve. Keep on the good work.

E2B menu 1: http://i68.tinypic.com/2r2swh3.png
E2B menu 2: http://i65.tinypic.com/24yy58i.png
PI menu: http://i67.tinypic.com/ic3cqh.png

Re: E2B 1.74

SteveSi 08/11/2015

Cool menus! very 'steam punk'! Did you use .bmp or .jpg?

Re: E2B 1.74

Starla 08/11/2015

BMP-saved resources from extracted FOT:BoS raw assets. And using uncompressed BMP in E2B. Can't notice any boot delay (USB3.0 booting).

E2B 1.73 font size...

AdekHadek90 06/11/2015

Hi Steve and everyone else;)

I got a question: Is there any way to change the font size in all E2b menu's?? I try edit string in grub folder (polish language) buy i didn't find any of that option....

Sorry for my Pidgin English - I'm not a champion;)

Re: E2B 1.73 font size...

SteveSi 06/11/2015

No not unless you use a GFXboot menu

Re: Re: E2B 1.73 font size...

AdekHadek90 07/11/2015

I'm used menu wich looks like that:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-osqd4BhlrB8/UZEXSLPRSnI/AAAAAAAAAS8/ECWAxhSXHiQ/s1600/TEST_MyMenu.lst.jgp.jpg

It is gfx menu??

Re: Re: Re: E2B 1.73 font size...

SteveSi 08/11/2015

No, GFXMenu is an example of a GFXBoot menu
\_ISO\docs\Templates\GFXMenu
Read
http://www.easy2boot.com/configuring-e2b/gfx-menu-support/

Re: E2B 1.73 font size...

SteveSi 09/04/2016

P.S. E2B now supports large 24-pixel high fonts!

Re: Re: E2B 1.73 font size...

Sergey 30/10/2016

Hello Steve.
How to change the font size in my menu?

multiboot usb problem

imran malik 05/11/2015

hi face a problem with easy2boot usb during process make multiboot usb plz u tell me how we can send a large file up to 4 gb in our easy2boot usb fat32 file system from our ntfs windows 7 os without split files i,m waiting sir.....?

Re: multiboot usb problem

SteveSi 05/11/2015

http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/adding-windows-install-isos-without-needing-a-helper-flash-drive/
If that doesn't help, please give exact details (payload, large files, what you are trying to do, etc.)

Windows Install .imgPTN Not in Menu

John D 04/11/2015

The way I read the instructions, I should be able to create .imgPTN files and place them in the directory, then E2B more or less does the rest. However, for Windows installs, the E2B menu does not show the .imgPTN files. Rather, I always have to do Switch_E2B to boot into them via UEFI. Am I just reading the instructions wrong?

Re: Windows Install .imgPTN Not in Menu

SteveSi 04/11/2015

Yes - you are probably reading the instructions incorrectly. Try reading them again!
http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/

Re: Re: Windows Install .imgPTN Not in Menu

John D 04/11/2015

OK, I think I finally get it. ISO files go into the WINDOWS subdirectories while imgPTN files go into the WIN (or some other) directory. I don't understand why, but at least I think I understand the what.

Re: Re: Re: Windows Install .imgPTN Not in Menu

SteveSi 13/11/2015

Starting with E2B v1.75BetaB you can now add .imgPTN files to the \_ISO\WINDOWS\xxxx folders (except XP folder).

Unable to create imgPTN of Openelec : error IMDisk

Pupoul 28/10/2015

Hi, thank you for all the stuff you made here :)

I was trying to create an imgPTN of Openelec :
1. Use of RMPrepUSB to create USB Stick Openelec from Openelec.img. Ok, drive L:
2. Drag icon of L: on MPI_FAT32 shortcut. Ok.
After typing size and pathname of imgPTN, some errors appears :
SOURCE = "L:\"
RAMDRIVE = U:
NEW IMAGE = "c:\temp\essai.imgptn"
FORMAT = FAT32
VOLUME NAME = EASY2BOOT
IMAGE SIZE = 185MB (Source=166MB)

CREATING AND MOUNTING RAMDRIVE U: as "c:\temp\essai.imgptn"

Running: imdisk -a -s 185m -m U: -f "c:\temp\essai.imgptn" -x 63 -y 255 -p "/FS:FAT32 /Q /Y"
Error defining drive letter: Descripteur non valide
Creating device...
Created device 0: U: -> c:\temp\essai.imgptn
ImDisk operation failed to mount "c:\temp\essai.imgptn"

After this message, i press enter and then 2 more messages but too fast to copy "Il manque une opérande" then the window close and ImDisk opens, with the file in the list. No drive created, no files copied i guess, fileSystem indicates N/A.

I have no clue of what happens :/
Im' using imdisk 2.0.6, and MPI_Tool_Pack_Plus_CloverLite_055 on Windows 10 Biuld 10565.

If you have some ideas :D

Re: Unable to create imgPTN of Openelec : error IMDisk

SteveSi 28/10/2015

Hi
When you create the USB stick containing Openelec, what files can you see on the USB stick? Are they accessible to Windows?
If you want to have Openelec, why not follow my blog posts on how to create an Openelec and OpenElec-Live image?

Re: Re: Unable to create imgPTN of Openelec : error IMDisk

Pupoul 28/10/2015

Hello, thanks for your answer.

I'm following this tutorial (maybe old) :
http://rmprepusb.blogspot.fr/2013/10/how-to-add-openelec-installer-to.html

If I create USB Stick from Openelec image with Win32DiskImager or REMPrepUSB, i see the 2xxMB partition with all files needed to boot and begin Openelec installation (what i did last night).

To be totally clear, this is not Openelec wich cause metrouble, because as you can see, there is alternate option to add it to easy2Boot.

But if imdisk is not working on my PC, i could not be able to add Windows 7, 8 and 10 install as i need imgPTN to do this (if I fully understood what I read on easy2boot website).

Re: Re: Re: Unable to create imgPTN of Openelec : error IMDisk

Pupoul 28/10/2015

I forgot to list files on USB Stick, sorry. Result of list l:\ /s /b
l:\syslinux.cfg
l:\KERNEL
l:\SYSTEM
l:\EFI
l:\EFI\BOOT
l:\EFI\BOOT\bootx64.efi
l:\EFI\BOOT\ldlinux.e64
l:\EFI\BOOT\syslinux.cfg
l:\System Volume Information\IndexerVolumeGuid

Re: Re: Re: Re: Unable to create imgPTN of Openelec : error IMDisk

SteveSi 28/10/2015

Is U: a free unused drive letter?
Try rebooting Windows.
Try copying the files from the USB flash drive to an empty folder and then drag-and-drop that folder onto the MPI_FAT32 desktop shortcut.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Unable to create imgPTN of Openelec : error IMDisk

Pupoul 29/10/2015

Hello,

Reboot done, same problem.
u: unused, "subst u: c:\temp" creates u: drive.
"subst u: /delete" frees hit.

I copy files in folder then drag-drop and error message changed only one time :
"Accès refusé" (access denied)
after that, all trys show precedent error message : "Descripteur invalide"

I'm able to create c:\temp\essai.imgPTN with imdisk GUI in control panel : 28MB, drive U:. Windows says after that i have to format drive u: before use it...what i did with success.

I will try to disable antivirus when i come back. thanks for your time.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Unable to create imgPTN of Openelec : error IMDisk

SteveSi 29/10/2015

It may be your AV - what AV do you have?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Unable to create imgPTN of Openelec : error IMDisk

Pupoul 29/10/2015

I cannot free U: with imdisk control panel because imdisk cannot create U:.

My AV is Comodo : i disabled all comodo parts, and even exclude imdisk files, exe, cpl and sys, in system32 and syswow64. No change.

When i try to create imgPTN file and imdisk failed to create U:, i cannot delete imgPTN file created, because it always mounted in imdisk : if i remove it, imdisk warns me "can not lock file...." i can click ok and remove it.

I opened cmd as Admin and type :
"imdisk -a -s 280m -m U: -f "c:\temp\essai.imgptn" -x 63 -y 255 -p "/FS:FAT32 /Q /Y"
same error : "Descripteur invalide"

When I said i can create file in control panel, yes I can, but if i put files in it, they are not saved when I re-mount the file, and i cannot use "Save image File..." because "acess denied"...

:/

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Unable to create imgPTN of Openelec : error IMDisk

SteveSi 29/10/2015

I have had ImDisk problems with 10565 build - I think it is Win10 10565 problem?
What Edition are you using? I had problems on 10565 Enterprise with ImDisk.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Unable to create imgPTN of Openelec : error IMDisk

Pupoul 29/10/2015

You right i guess, I'm using Windows 10 insider 10565.

I tried to stop insider program, but this is not working, maybe because stable 10565 not in live.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Unable to create imgPTN of Openelec : error IMDisk

Pupoul 30/10/2015

The problem is persistent with b10576...
My hope is an update of ImDisk now.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Unable to create imgPTN of Openelec : error IMDisk

SteveSi 30/10/2015

10576 is not released - you should report issue to MSoft.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Unable to create imgPTN of Openelec : error IMDisk

Pupoul 31/10/2015

Of course b10576 is released in the insider fast ring, the day I posted :D

imdisk dev Olof already had knowledge of my problem, caused by -p switch.

I modified the batch MakePartImage.cmd to format drive AFTER imdisk created letter, with format command and by passing parameters from -p switch. It is a little more dangerous for sure.
here the modifications of MakePartImage.cmd :

REM Modification for suppress Windows 10 build 10565&10576 error
REM Following 3 lines had been commented, then following 5 lines had been added

REM --------------------Commented------------------------
REM echo Running: imdisk -a -s %MYSIZE%m -m %SPAREVOL% -f !MYIMG! -x 63 -y 255 -p "/FS:%MYFMT% /Q /Y"
REM imdisk -a -s %MYSIZE%m -m %SPAREVOL% -f !MYIMG! -x 63 -y 255 -p "/FS:%MYFMT% /Q /Y" > imdisk.log
REM if errorlevel 1 type imdisk.log & echo ImDisk operation failed to mount !MYIMG!! & pause & goto :unmount
REM ----------------End of commented---------------------

REM ----------------------Added--------------------------
echo Running: imdisk -a -s %MYSIZE%m -m %SPAREVOL% -f !MYIMG! -x 63 -y 255 then only if no error FORMAT %SPAREVOL% /FS:%MYFMT% /Q /Y
imdisk -a -s %MYSIZE%m -m %SPAREVOL% -f !MYIMG! -x 63 -y 255 >imdisk.log
if errorlevel 1 type imdisk.log & echo ImDisk operation failed to mount !MYIMG!! & pause & goto :unmount
format %SPAREVOL% /FS:%MYFMT% /Q /Y >>imdisk.log
if errorlevel 1 type imdisk.log & echo ImDisk operation failed to mount !MYIMG!! & pause & goto :unmount
REM ------------------End of added-----------------------

This is not for modification of easy2boot (bug or undocumented modification, Olof have no idea as MS did not respond to him), but could be added in the faq ?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Unable to create imgPTN of Openelec : error IMDisk

SteveSi 31/10/2015

I tested a fresh install of Windows 10 Pro insider preview 10565 32-bit under VBox and the MPI Tool Kit 0.055 seems to work OK without needing your additions??

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Unable to create imgPTN of Openelec : error IMDisk

Pupoul 31/10/2015

I don't know why you experienced this, Olof did not be surprised, and show me immediatly where was the problem I encoutered :/
Maybe something on some PC.
But finally, the problem is fixed on my PC, and i'm happy with that :D

boot imgPTN into Memory

Azrat 28/10/2015

Hi!

I am trying to boot an imgPTN (image of an USB-Key)- file direct into the memory, like under isolinux with the keyword memdisk. Is something similar like this possible with Easy2Boot?

I am trying around with zip but that's not working for me. The key itself is about maximum 200MB large.
Thanks and Greetings!

Re: boot imgPTN into Memory

SteveSi 28/10/2015

No. What image is it and why do you want it in memory?

Re: Re: boot imgPTN into Memory

Azrat 28/10/2015

I dont understand your question... It's an image of an Service-USB-Key provided by an manufacture. It's supposed to scan system. To detach the usb-key after the scan has started I need to run it from memory. Under isolinux / syslinux it's working like I said. Now i am looking for an possible way by Easy2Boot as well.

Re: boot imgPTN into Memory

Azrat 28/10/2015

I got it working finally, and want to let you know what i did:

I made an Compressed Image File of the USB-Key (img.gz), done by the tool "USB Image Tool". Just place this file where you want, such as in _ISO/UTILITIES.

Easy2Boot is doing all by itself.
Source: http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/list-of-file-extensions-recognised-by-e2b/
" .. E2B\grub4dos automatically detects if a file has been compressed to gzip or LZMA format. The file extension is not used by E2B to determine if a file is compressed or not. For instance, a LZMA-compressed DOS floppy image can be named .ima or .imagz."

Greetings

Re: Re: boot imgPTN into Memory

SteveSi 28/10/2015

Glad you found a solution. It is possible to run images from memory using various file extensions, but not .imgPTN files, which is what you asked about.
P.S. What form is the original source file(s) provided in? Why not just use that?

Re: Re: Re: boot imgPTN into Memory

Pupoul 31/10/2015

I just followed the tutorial given some posts ago, source is Openelec Installer as .img file.

stable e2b 100% acquired

dcplx1 27/10/2015

KEEP IT COMING XD

USB harddisk

dan 22/10/2015

Hi Steve,

USB harddisk works fine in qemu test.

I'm not sure What is wrong in real boot:
"Booting Easy2Boot vl.72 - please wait...
Using settings in /ISO/MyE2B.CFG
Using strings from /ISO/e2b/grub/ENG/STRINGS.txt
BIOS 11/24/11
Last Sector of last partition of (hd0) is 58605052 (27Gb)
Checking last sector is accessible... "
and no go!

Re: USB harddisk

SteveSi 22/10/2015

Did you format the drive using the Make_E2B_USB_Drive.cmd script? If not, try it.

Re: Re: USB harddisk

da 22/10/2015

Yes I did run it as admin under win7.
It created 2 partitions: ntfs=27.94Gb and hidden/unknown=31.5Kb,
but it didnt create any cdfs-partition to boot my.iso

Re: Re: Re: USB harddisk

SteveSi 22/10/2015

strange, it should be OK. The cdfs partition is only created when you run an ISO. It is cleared on the next boot to E2B.
Try grub4dos 0.4.5c

Copy the \_ISO\e2b\grub\grub_045 file to \grldr and overwrite the \grldr file.

Re: Re: Re: Re: USB harddisk

dan 23/10/2015

Now it works fine just by changing to regular menu.lst.
I dont know how to fix your menu.lst, any help?

I think If you have a lot of partitions on your HDD, still you need to create a space(primary) for cdfs partition.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: USB harddisk

SteveSi 23/10/2015

It is nothing to do with the cdfs partition.
The check is a simple disk read of some sectors near the end of the USB disk. This tests some BIOSes which have a bug and cannot access sectors past 137GB. You can disable the test using
set CHECKBIOS=
in your \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg file, but you may find that some payloads will not work if they are beyond 137GB on some systems due to a bad BIOS.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: USB harddisk

dan 24/10/2015

Thank you for remind me about 137GB BIOS-limit, but my HDD is only 30 GB.
I am curious why E2B created 2 partitions: ntfs=27.94Gb and hidden/unknown=31.5Kb. Is unknown partition necessary or what is the purpose? or may something wrong with rmpartusb?
I hope you have explanation of my questions.

Finally Easy2boot works fine after shrinking the partition, just the problem I have do it manually.

Thanks Steve

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: USB harddisk

SteveSi 24/10/2015

The small partition is to try to fix a BIOS bug which is found on some systems, see FAQ page
After partitioning and formatting a USB drive using the Make_E2B_USB_Drive.cmd script or RMPrepUSB, there is a small hidden partition at the end of the USB drive - what is this used for?
Read more: http://www.easy2boot.com/faq-/

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: USB harddisk

SteveSi 27/10/2015

Do you have any more details on what system you are using and what size partitions work and do not work? It would help to make future versions more 'bootable'. How much did you reduce the partition sizes by and which parititions did you change, etc.?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: USB harddisk

dan 29/10/2015

Fujitsu MHS2030AT 30GB.
E2B (NTFS or FAT32) is not working on some computers:
Dell 4600/intel, Acer 5810TS/intel, Lenovo K100/intel, Toshiba A600/intel and working fine on: HP dm4/intel, Toshiba A215/AMD.

E2B works fine on all computers after shrinking the partition to any size or resize to one whole full partition.

I tested also using 80GB and 20GB HDD and everything work fine without to resize the partition.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: USB harddisk

SteveSi 29/10/2015

So in the case of the MHS2030AT 30GB HDD and one of the 'bad' systems -e.g. Dell 4600 - are you saying that if you prepare the 30GB drive using MAKE_E2B_USB_DRIVE.cmd as either NTFS or FAT32 then it does not boot, but if you reduce the size of a partition (which partition? there should be two, and using what tool?) then it works?
If so, could you prepare the 30GB drive using MAKE_E2B_USB_DRIVE.cmd as NTFS and check it fails, then send me a 'Drive Info - 0' email of the LBA0. Then 'fix' the problem by reducing the partition size and send me another 'Drive Info - 0' printout please? You can use the 'Contact Me' form or directly email me.

uefi system with no csm bios

shah 08/10/2015

how to use hiren or any MBR related tools to boot from cd or usb on system with only uefi support no csm /mbr support using easyboot or any other method. Thanks

Re: uefi system with no csm bios

SteveSi 08/10/2015

See http://www.easy2boot.com/useful-things-to-know/
last item.

Re: Re: uefi system with no csm bios

shah 08/10/2015

Thanks 4 ur quick reply :)

Booting in BIOS mode vs. UEFI mode

Will Pittenger 08/10/2015

I put a Windows 10 ISO on my E2B USB key. But when I tried to boot it, it appears to have booted into BIOS mode. As a result, Windows refused to install to a GPT drive.

Is that the correct diagnosis? If so, can I force UEFI?

Re: Booting in BIOS mode vs. UEFI mode

SteveSi 08/10/2015

You need to boot in UEFI mode.
Convert the .ISO file to a FAT32 .imgPTN file using MakePartImage (MPI Tool Kit) and copy the .imgPTN file to the E2B USB drive \_ISO\WIN folder or \_ISO\MAINMENU folder.
Then you boot to E2B and select the Win10.imgPTN file and switch to the CSM Menu.
You can now either boot using the Clover menu or UEFI-boot using your UEFI BIOS selection menu. Watch the videos for more help.

USB Disk Drive + Windows To Go + E2B

Yavuz 06/10/2015

Hi there,

I have a WD Passport Enterprise, a 500 GB USB Disk Drive with support for BitLocker drive encryption. I have installed Windows To Go (Windows 10 Enterprise) on it; with BitLocker encryption enabled.

I want to be able to use disk for all kinds of situations, so besides Windows To Go (WTG), I also want to install Linux LiveCDs.

Is it possible to install E2B on a USB Disk Drive with WTG on it, and to boot into either Windows or E2B?

Re: USB Disk Drive + Windows To Go + E2B

SteveSi 06/10/2015

I am not sure, I have not tried that. I would
1. Make a 2nd primary partition
#1 - E2B NTFS (first 137GB or less)
#2 - WinToGo (rest of disk)
Check WinToGo still boots OK or use EasyBCD or BootIce to fix BCD.
2. backup the first 2048 sectors of the disk to a file using RMPrepUSB - Disk>File for safe keeping.
3. Install grub4dos to MBR and PBR of first (E2B) partition using RMPrepUSB - Install grub4dos
4. Add E2B files to #1 partition
5. Add a bootmgr .mnu file to \_ISO\MAINMENU for partition #2

Try it! If it doesn't work you can restore MBR+first sectors saved in step 2.

Acronis True Image 2016 b5620 (Linux-based)

Starla 16/09/2015

Hi Steve, this is the first .ISO I'm having trouble with to boot. I copy the .ISO as downloaded(dl.acronis.com/s/AcronisTrueImage2016.iso) to \_ISO\BACKUP. It then boots to lang+arch selection menu. After selecting x64 option (english default is ok for me), linux seems to start booting, but then my display blanks, no further activity. Since 2013 and 2014 versions were tested working, maybe the booting method in the new version has something to offer to improve E2B.
Thanks in advance.

Re: Acronis True Image 2016 b5620 (Linux-based)

SteveSi 17/09/2015

I tested the Acronis ISO under VBox with no problems. Usually a blank screen issue is due to the version of linux that is used does not support your graphics adapter.
Try converting the .ISO file to a .imgPTN file and then using the 2nd Acronis Recovery option. This will prompt you to choose a VGA mode - try different modes and see if that works.
I would also check the Acronis forums as probably others have found the same issue if they have the same graphics adapter.

Re: Re: Acronis True Image 2016 b5620 (Linux-based)

Starla 18/09/2015

You are right Steve. While I can not be sure about my physical graphics card being the problem (GTX 770, nothing new as of today for a "2016" product), exactly same E2B drive tested on VBox 5.04, and the x64 TI boots just fine. Definitely some hw incompatibility. Well, everything elese boots just fine, so no TI for me then (I'm not interested in the WinPE-based option).

Hangs at "Adding menu entries..."

Joshua 13/09/2015

Hi,

I've created the USB key and am testing booting with Virtual Box 5.0.4 (nothing added as yet). Boots OK but when it gets to "Adding menu entries from files in /_ISO/MAINMENU..." it just stops there, can't tell if it has hung completely or is trying to do something. Anyone else come across this before ?

Thanks.

Re: Hangs at "Adding menu entries..."

SteveSi 13/09/2015

Not seen that before.
How did you make VBox boot from USB?
Did you use VMUB?
What happens if you boot using QEMU?
http://www.easy2boot.com/testing-e2b/using-qemu-or-virtual-box/

Re: Re: Hangs at "Adding menu entries..."

James J Greensky 07/12/2015

Increase the memory size of the emulated system, it gets stuck with 64MB. Increased to 512MB and booted successfully.

DPMS for Windows Vista/Seven

Max 11/09/2015

Hello. How integrate DPMS for Vista/7 x86 and x64 into easy2boot?

Here is this driverpacks:
http://driverpacks.net/driverpacks/windows/7/x64/mass-storage/12.12.1
http://driverpacks.net/driverpacks/windows/7/x86/mass-storage/12.12.1-0

but this driverpacks without ini files. Any solution? Thank you so much

Re: DPMS for Windows Vista/Seven

SteveSi 13/09/2015

I used a thing called 'Google Search' and found this
http://www.win-raid.com/t750f25-Guide-Integration-of-drivers-into-a-Win-image.html

Re: Re: DPMS for Windows Vista/Seven

Max 14/09/2015

I know about that perfect thing 'Google Search', but i need full driver pack on my E2B usb-flash, instead of instructions about how to embed a particular driver in a particular system image

Re: Re: Re: DPMS for Windows Vista/Seven

SteveSi 14/09/2015

Why not just copy the driver pack files onto the USB drive? Once you have booted to PE, you could try loading the INF file using drvinst or drvload maybe?
What driver did you need to add?

Re: Re: Re: Re: DPMS for Windows Vista/Seven

Max 14/09/2015

That's right, it can be used as one of methods, but on different hardware need different driver. It is mainly server hardware. Each time a different driver needs. So I'm looking for a way to integrate these drivers to E2B's DPMS

Bootable DVD

Iznogoud 08/09/2015

Can I create on some way bootable dvd with this app? Thanks!

Re: Bootable DVD

stevesi 09/09/2015

http://www.easy2boot.com/make-an-easy2boot-usb-drive/make-and-burn-an-e2b-dvd/

Winhelper USB as a USB harddisk

Siddhesh Dinde 07/09/2015

hi,
i have been using e2b from longtime. the only thing i want to know, why usb harddisk cant be used as winhelper usb drive or what that usb flash drive does at the point of mounting iso that usb hard disk can not do??
can u explain me the trigger function of menu.lst present on usb flash drive that leads to work installing windows iso??

Re: Winhelper USB as a USB harddisk

SteveSi 07/09/2015

http://www.easy2boot.com/faq-/how-e2b-works/

Re: Re: Winhelper USB as a USB harddisk

Siddhesh Dinde 07/09/2015

so thats the Microsoft's way of installing an iso,
solution for this problem is either connect winhelper USB or modify iso to use firadisk
i will go for Winhelper USB
thanks for ur support!!

Re: Re: Re: Winhelper USB as a USB harddisk

SteveSi 07/09/2015

Best solution is to convert the ISO to an image partition (.imgPTN) file. Then you can UEFI and MBR boot.
Conversion does not add firadisk or any other driver.

Winhelper USB as a USB harddisk

Siddhesh Dinde 07/09/2015

so i have to keep both file,
an iso and an imgptn file??
right??

Re: Winhelper USB as a USB harddisk

SteveSi 07/09/2015

No, only the .imgPTN file is required.
Watch the YouTube videos for more info.

MESSED UP

dcplx1 06/09/2015

always there's something wrong in newer versions of e2b like win7.imgptn it list AGAIN usb dribe as drive0. Can we not have a bugfree e2b

Re: MESSED UP

dcplx1 06/09/2015

srx, nm installs just fine, only sometimes in expanding windows files it misreads some files,
made a new vm with default settings. OK now

Re: Re: MESSED UP

SteveSi 06/09/2015

Sorry, don't understand, "srx nm"??
Do you mean that E2B is OK and something was wrong with your .imgPTN file?
P.S. I release Beta versions for feedback from users. If no one reports a problem, I can only assume it is OK. I cannot test every conceivable function of E2B - there are thousands of configurations and hundreds of payloads to test!

Win 7 AIO Ask me activation key

Suresh 05/09/2015

Dear sir, I convert Win 7 AIO imagePTN and booted
it ask me win7 activation key to in put manually so please help me

Re: Win 7 AIO Ask me activation key

SteveSi 05/09/2015

Win7 normally requires activation.
Buy a licence!

Kali 2

Alex 04/09/2015

Anyone else having issues having Kali Linux 2.0 boot up, or is it just me?

Re: Kali 2

SteveSi 05/09/2015

Kali is in the list of tested ISOs.
It works fine for me.
If you have problems please give details.
First thing to do is check the MD5/CRC32 hash value of the ISO file on the USB drive to check for file corruption.

Re: Kali 2

EmmA 07/09/2015

Same, when I choose Install or Graphical Install it doesn't boot. Live works fine.

Re: Re: Kali 2

SteveSi 08/09/2015

Kali2 *boots* fine for me.
The only problem is that it cannot find the 'Install CD' - but this is easily solved by specifying \dev\sdb4 as the CD-ROM drive (or use \dev\sdc4 or \dev\sdd4, etc. depending on what the USB drive letter is).
This is detailed in the 'List of tested ISOs' page which you should ALWAYS look at if you have problems (or even before you have problems!)
P.S. See "\_ISO\docs\Sample mnu files\Linux\kali-linux-1.0.5-amd64.txt" for a .txt file which will remind you what to do.

Automating Windows Install from .imgPTN

Ryan Gray 24/08/2015

Hi,

I have Windows 7 AIO, 8 and 10 and am trying to get them automated. Just trying to work on the Windows 7 first as I imagine once I get that it will be simple for the others. I have the latest version 1.71. My Windows 7 AIO is about 5GB. I converted it to a imgPTN (NTFS) and deleted that file it prompts you when following the bouncing ball. I forget exactly what it is called. I am doing method three "http://m.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/automating-windows-install-from-imgptn-files/" and have done everything however it boots up, runs that mysetup.cmd (looks like it does anyway) then the computer just reboots. Is there anything I have missed or need do something? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank You.

Re: Automating Windows Install from .imgPTN

SteveSi 24/08/2015

There are no official Windows AIO ISOs - different people make different AIOs in different ways.
You need to look inside the boot.wim at the \windows\system32 files winpeshl.ini, startnet.cmd, mysetup.cmd and other files of a similar date to see how it has been modified.
Since you are using a USB drive and not a DVD, you have plenty of room, so why use a AIO ISO - why not just use the official MS ISOs?

Re: Re: Automating Windows Install from .imgPTN

Ryan Gray 24/08/2015

I copied the files in there and I followed this thread http://m.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/automating-windows-install-from-imgptn-files/. I haven't touched the startnet.cmd. Do I need to look at that? My reason for using AIO is they are smaller then having all the individual ISO's. My USB is only 64GB and I have a fair bit of stuff on there already. Not really sure why it wouldn't be working. They didn't mention that startnet.cmd on that link.

Re: Re: Re: Automating Windows Install from .imgPTN

SteveSi 24/08/2015

You have not told me anything about your AIO ISOs, as I said they are all different - what are they, where did you get them from, how were they made, how do they work? I don't have super-powers - do you expect me to guess!
The Easy2Boot instructions are for standard MS ISOs, not heavily modified AIO ISOs by some unknown author and modified in some unknown way!
It is also important to know if your E2B drive is a Removable type or fixed disk type.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Automating Windows Install from .imgPTN

Ryan Gray 24/08/2015

Sorry mate. I got the Windows AIO from iptorrents.com. Here is another link http://torrent-release.com/software/14632-windows-7-sp1-5in1-x86-x64-en-us-aug2015.html. It has 5 different versions in there. As you can see nothing has been modified or changed from that link. What I have done is converted that ISO x64 into a imgPTN. Then I have followed those steps in that link provided before method three. I am assuming method three is referring to AIO as it talks about selecting different windows installation images. There is also another thread on rmprep that suggests the same thing how to suppress the OS Image http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/easy2boot-and-automating-windows-78.html. So I thought both those links are referring to AIO. But basically after i converted the image into imgptn I mounted the image picking image 2 from the boot.wim and copied those two files in \windows\system32 committed the changes and copied that other .cmd to the root of the imgptn. It boots up fine from CSM loads the files get the little windows 7 install thing and then it is as if its running the cmd but then the computer just restarts. Sorry for providing less information before. I hope that helps more. my E2B drive is removable as well.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Automating Windows Install from .imgPTN

SteveSi 24/08/2015

Hi
I used Win7SP1_5in1-x86-Aug2015-en-US.iso.
I followed Method 3 (boot.wim image #2) and used the modified Auto.cmd with the menu.
I added a AutoUnattend7.xml file which was the same as \_ISO\WINDOWS\WIN7\Sample.xml but had a Win7 Pro product key
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">

<settings pass="windowsPE">

<component name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup" processorArchitecture="x86" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<UserData>
<AcceptEula>true</AcceptEula>
<ProductKey>
<Key>HYF8J-CVRMY-CM74G-RPHKF-PW487</Key>
</ProductKey>
</UserData>
</component>

<component name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<UserData>
<AcceptEula>true</AcceptEula>
<ProductKey>
<Key>HYF8J-CVRMY-CM74G-RPHKF-PW487</Key>
</ProductKey>
</UserData>
</component>

</settings>
</unattend>

This worked as expected just fine.
Either you corrupted the boot.wim or your xml file is causing the problem.
P.S. I used the MPI_FAT32 shortcut.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Automating Windows Install from .imgPTN

Ryan Gray 25/08/2015

Got it working mate. I noticed before when I copied in winpeshl.ini it already existed. On those steps on method three it just tells you to copy it in. What I did was edit the winpeshl.ini to look like this

[LaunchApps]
%windir%\system32\wpeinit.exe
%windir%\system32\netstart.exe
%windir%\system32\mysetup.cmd

After I did this I was able to get the custom menu to select what Image I want. Did you have to do something similar. Is it worth updating that page? Incase similar users run into the same problem.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Automating Windows Install from .imgPTN

Ryan Gray 25/08/2015

That was for the x64 AIO did NTFS as well for the .imgPTN

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Automating Windows Install from .imgPTN

SteveSi 25/08/2015

I just followed the Method 3 and copied the two files to windows\system32 and it worked.
wpeinit and netstart should not be needed unless you want the network and PnP devices initialised.
If you just wanted to see all OS choices, there is no need to modify the boot.wim.

Re: Automating Windows Install from .imgPTN

Starla 26/08/2015

After trying all possible methods offered by amazing E2B for Windows OSes installation my recommendations are:

1. Get a light PE image with ImDisk installed or allowing you to install it. Even a spartan boot.wim from one of those AIOs from m78 will work, though youll need to install ImDisk .inf manually. I use a .cmd for that. Boot to that .wim using E2B and install ImDisk.
2. Setup your target drive using diskpart (manually or by script of choice).
3. Use WinNTSetup to deploy your OS. You can mount your untouched AIO ISOs (though I convert them to imgPTN because I previously tweak them, and you can mount a imgPTN with ImDisk like you do with an ISO).
Optional: select the autounattend.xml file to use ( no need to modify the ISO)
Optional: Choose a folder containing your drivers (INFs, can be arranged in subfolders).
4. Deploy. Shutdown. Remove your USB. Boot to your target drive and let the install finish.

'Windows cannot find the Microsoft Software Licence Terms'

SteveSi 12/08/2015

This message is caused by specifying the wrong product key (e.g. a Retail product key for Enterprise Win8 or 10).
Even if an ISO does not require a Product Key to be entered, when using E2B with a XML file, you need to specify a key (or modify the ISO).
An alternative is to convert the ISO to a .imgPTN file so that an XML file is not used.

weird windows install problems

Dominic 11/08/2015

Hi, i get a really weird issue when i try to boot from windows iso. when i choose a windows installation folder i get Usage:/_iso/e2b/grub/pickafile.g4b <folder> <extention> returns : %chosen% Aborting...

i try to replace a lot of file with original file from the download selection but it always do that

Re: weird windows install problems

SteveSi 11/08/2015

Need more details. What ISOs? What menu entry are you using? How can I reproduce? What version of E2B? Did you try fresh install of E2B? etc.

Re: Re: weird windows install problems

dominic 11/08/2015

I tried with a lot of iso. all windows iso. it was withe e2b 1.7 my iso is in _isos/WINDOWS/XXXXX I try to replace all the e2b file i try to update e2b but i didn't try to format. Also I notice that after i tried to boot on windows iso my /Unattended.xml was modified. The file is juste <unattended></unattended> anymore

Re: Re: Re: weird windows install problems

SteveSi 12/08/2015

Check the version of \grldr. It may be old version? Use same version that is in the download 7zip file.
XML files go in \_ISO\WINDOWS\xxxxx folders. \AutoUnattend.xml and \Unattend.xml are updated by E2B.

create .imgPTN -> menu.lst does not contain any code

Azrat 27/07/2015

I try to get an .imgPTN - image of an USB-Stick.
This stick is made by a tool of the manufacture I repair computers for. Lets call this USB-Key just 'A'.
As I understand now, the usb-key('A') is based on FreeDos and I want to migrate it into my Tools-HDD / Stick based on E2B ( I tried yumi before, worked well, but then changed to use ISO's instead and E2B works like charm, love it! ).
Before, i just used another tool to get an img-Image of 'A' but since never version of the manufacture-tools it doesn't work any more this way. Don't know why.
My Idea so was to get an imgPTN - file of 'A', but whenever I use the tool "MakePartImage" (no matter if iso or anything else), I get later in process the Message:
"ERROR: T:\menu.lst does not contain any code to restore the E2B partitions"
As I saw in tutorials it looked easy, but I don't get any Idea what and when I shall give more information to the command.
Maybe someone can help me how to get to next step to get the Tool-Stick finally again inside my beloved E2B!
Thanks and Greetings!

Re: create .imgPTN -> menu.lst does not contain any code

SteveSi 27/07/2015

Can you describe exactly how you are converting the ISO or USB drive to a .imgPTN file?
i.e. Are you dragging-and-dropping onto MPI_FAT32 Desktop shortcut? Are you prompted with any questions and how do you answer?
Actually, for DOS, you should just make a .img or .imghd file or for a DOS iso just use .isodos or .isodos01. Did you try other file extensions?

Re: Re: create .imgPTN -> menu.lst does not contain any code

Azrat 27/07/2015

I use only the MakePartImage.bat with administrative permission rights.
1. Source ISO or Folder
e:\ (my usb-drive)
2. Use Fat32 for new image?
Y
3. Size for Image file
*just enter*
4. OUtput Filename for new Image
c:\tmp\key.imgPTN
5. Volume Name for partition image
DIFS
6. Enter a name for the title of the CSM menu:
DIFS
Then i could have a look into drive T and continue with enter
(don't need to have a look into it)
Then comes the mentioned error message.
I also tried your mentioned file extensions, but the error-message still exists and is the same.
Before I tried the simpliest way by RMPrepUSB to get an Image of the USB-Key, or otherwise with the tool called "USB Image Tool", also tried several as well. But the result with these is finally it won't boot entirely any more. So I am looking for new and other solutions. So my hope is now on tips and hints from here :)

Re: Re: Re: create .imgPTN -> menu.lst does not contain any code

SteveSi 27/07/2015

It sounds like something is wrong with the MPI download.
Can you redownload it and try again?
If still no joy, use the Contact Me form.

Re: Re: Re: Re: create .imgPTN -> menu.lst does not contain any code

Azrat 27/07/2015

You are correct, there really was something wrong.

So i redownload and tried again the same steps,
and it works fine now!
Thanks a lot! :)

hall to run Easy2Boot with grub2

xaxoto 22/07/2015

how to run Easy2Boot in grub2 as grub2 can not load file *.lis. He loading only *.cfg files? Is there any sw2 file to indicate the program and boot from it?

Re: hall to run Easy2Boot with grub2

xaxoto 22/07/2015

I apologize instead I wrote "*.CFG" "sw2".

Re: Re: hall to run Easy2Boot with grub2

SteveSi 22/07/2015

Easy2Boot is written in grub4dos batch language, not grub2.

UBCD4Win+F4UBCD+Win7 Install+XP Install

Jesrani 21/07/2015

I tried to make a Easy2Boot on a 16Gb USB of all the above since I ue both UBCD4Win and F4UBCD regularly to sort out issues and also make disk images. I followed the instructions and added the ISO's. For Win7, the ISO was recognized easily by Easy2Boot. For XP I had an iso with OEM folder which was already on a USB for installing. So I made an imgPTN of that drive with the tools. But I had to put this in the MAINMENU to get recognized, not the XP folder. Also both XP and Win7 installs seemed very very slow and I aborted after few minutes. The normal individual USB's are not so slow, I install from USB only. Am I making some mistake or is Easy2Boot slow for installation of OS?

Re: UBCD4Win+F4UBCD+Win7 Install+XP Install

SteveSi 21/07/2015

Installation is fast for me.
As explained everywhere(!), the _ISO\WINDOWS folder is for Windows Install ISOs ONLY (not .imgPTN files or other types of payloads).
How many different USB drives and systems did you try?
Did you try loading the Fast USB driver (UTILITIES menu)? Also try the Speed Test menu.
Did you read the FAQ pages?
How did you prepare the USB drive?

Re: Re: UBCD4Win+F4UBCD+Win7 Install+XP Install

Jesrani 21/07/2015

The USB was prepared by Easy2Boot as per instructions. Then I copied the Win7 ISO in the correct folder. It went upto a point where I had to choose some xml file and then just sort of frooze. For XP, you had written that if the ISO has OEM folder (mine did) then we had to make USB and then take imgPTN of that. I already had USB which I was using for installs so I made the imgPTN and put in MAINMENU folder. This worked and I started Part 1 but it was too slow. Then I tried with a 2Gb USB which I was using for installs and it was very quick. Maybe will try again later.

Re: Re: Re: UBCD4Win+F4UBCD+Win7 Install+XP Install

Jesrani 21/07/2015

I made a UBCD4Win+F4UBCD+UBCD+Linux+SystemRescueCD+PartImage and some other ISO's. It boots fine and does not take much time on a Core2Duo system but I tried on an old P4 2.8GHz system with 256Mb RAM and it took about 10 minutes to get to the menu, 10 minutes to get to F4UBCD menu and further 10 minutes to boot F4UBCD. Is something wrong in the way I made my USB? Otherwise very happy and can use it on newer computers.

Re: Re: Re: Re: UBCD4Win+F4UBCD+Win7 Install+XP Install

SteveSi 21/07/2015

Something must be wrong with your BIOS/settings?
Check BIOS settings - especially USB 1.0 or 2.0 speed in BIOS Setup menu.
Also, install the Fast USb 2.0 grub4dos driver first from Utilities Menu and then load ISO, etc, from Main menu.

win81 Go VHD

dcplx1 13/07/2015

Hi Steve,

I setup vhd using win8.1 32bit with the winnt from your internet storage
I get error http://postimg.org/image/jzcx5nord/

please help

Re: win81 Go VHD

SteveSi 13/07/2015

Follow blog
http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/how-to-easily-create-windowstogo-vhd.html exactly and it should work.
If not use Contact Me form and describe exact steps, equipment, etc.

Re: Re: win81 Go VHD

dcplx1 13/07/2015

cpu amd athlon 64x2 4600+ /
3gb ram / geforce 210

1st: bios boot option
-chose seagate portable drive E2B NTFS 2nd partition
-win8.1 getting devices ready 100%
-cpu shutdown and reboot reboot
-normal int hdd boot win7

2nd virtualbox usb machine boot
error from the image I posted
<Enter>or <F8> goes back to error win8.1 menu
no other option but to shutdox VB.

Re: Re: Re: win81 Go VHD

SteveSi 13/07/2015

The message seems to indicate that the system (VM) is not set up for PAE or has an incompatible CPU. Are you using VBOX+DavidB's VMUB? Is it set to Win8.1 64-bit with PAE enabled in settings - system - processor?

Re: Re: Re: Re: win81 Go VHD

dcplx1 14/07/2015

stuck at getting ready..
2nd boot just loading circle no hdd activity

I used win8.1 iso installed just fine on dual boot, but not on winnt vhd

=[

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: win81 Go VHD

dcplx1 14/07/2015

will try old version>rc2 my bad used v3 x]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: win81 Go VHD

dcplx1 15/07/2015

win8.1GO failed made my usb devices sleep keyboard, mouse, wlan usb like it was emp'd 10 plugs woke it up.

Most stable version for me v1.65
-fast loading at startup 6secs
-no graphics glitches

New version 1.71
-snail boot load have to wait forever for the menu to load 1min
-ExpensiveTV theme doesn't work just show default bgnd
with big fonts

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: win81 Go VHD

SteveSi 15/07/2015

1.71 should be faster.
Have you done careful comparison using same freshly formatted USB device?
You can use
set SHOWTIME=1
in \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg to tell you what is taking the most time before menu is shown.
Can you 'update' to 1.65 = fast, update to 1.71=slow, update 1.65=fast to prove your assumption?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: win81 Go VHD

dcplx1 15/07/2015

I know what is loading only UTF8.gz takes some time to load

I update/downgrade anytime using Winmerge windows app just compare both folders flashdrive and e2b folde.

update_e2b.cmd messes things up like an init.d script that erases everything and copies files 3x like using an 0 blocks hdd formater eraser 5-10 pass, I just make drive bootable then copy e2b.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: win81 Go VHD

SteveSi 15/07/2015

I am having trouble understanding you because you do not write clearly and accurately.
What is UTF8.gz??? Do you mean unifont.hex.gz ?
New version is smaller and should load faster. Are you saying the speed difference is caused by the smaller unifont.hex.gz file?
I do not understand what you say about UPDATE_E2B_DRIVE.CMD Do you have XP system? XP does not have robocopy and so copies all files.
Please be clear and accurate in your reply.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: win81 Go VHD

dcplx1 20/07/2015

srx, i remembered I removed the motherboard battery and it reset to its defaults.

Change Background

YON 12/07/2015

I have a background bmp 800 x 600 24 bits but for my E2B Editor is always 640 x 480.I don´t understand anything.

Re: Change Background

SteveSi 13/07/2015

Try another image e.g. extract the .bmp file from \_ISO\docs\Templates\Blue\blue.bmp.gz" and use that.
If that doesn't work, use the Contact Me form and I will email back.

Rearrange folder structure?

John D. 10/07/2015

I'd like to rename / move folders for more intuitive organization. I especially don't like the "_ISOs" folder. How can I do so? Thanks.

Re: Rearrange folder structure?

SteveSi 10/07/2015

Hi
Sorry, _ISO it is hard-coded into many of the scripts and menus, etc.. Also in the XML files used to install Windows, etc. It occurs in about 200 different files!
You could try a search and replace utility such as Find and Replace FNR.exe at https://findandreplace.codeplex.com/
You can replace every occurrence of _ISO with some other name but it won't be compatible with any future update, etc,
You can create additional menu folders under \_ISO\ and you can delete the existing menu folders (except the MAINMENU folder, and keep the WINDOWS folder if you want Windows 7/8 install ISOs).

E2B bootloader overwritten

Peter 03/07/2015

First, sorry I tried reboot but the site always seems to give me an error. Second, it's not urgent, I have several E2B drives. But... I have an external HD that I carry around with my old laptop. It has multiple partitions with E2B being the primary boot partition. On a later partition there is data and a Linux install which is booted from the Grub menu on the laptop. The same Grub menu also chainloads the USB drive to boot E2B. I recently decided to try installing AndroidX86 in another partition and it went fine, but it installed its own bootloader on the USB HD instead of using the one on the laptop. Now all I can boot is AndroidX86. The direct boot to the Linux distro also still works, but I am unable to boot into E2B. All the files are still there, nothing has been erased. How can I tell it to boot from the first E2B partition instead of booting the last partition? I have also written an entry into Grub to boot directly into AndroidX86 as well, so it's no loss there. I just want it to boot into E2B when I chainload to the USB instead of redirecting the pointer to the last Android partition. Thanks, and Great work, hope you have a great day!

Re: E2B bootloader overwritten

SteveSi 03/07/2015

Why not just use the Install grub4dos button in RMPrepUSB and re-install to the MBR only?

Re: Re: E2B bootloader overwritten

Peter 07/07/2015

Thank you! For some reason I didn't think that would work or something... Anyway, thank you!!!!

Install Easy2Boot on an existing partition without erasing drive?

Kamikaze 25/06/2015

I'm trying to install using Windows to a USB drive that is GPT and contains 5 existing partitions. I've gone through quite a few hurdles to get Windows 7 Professional installed and accepted as bootable by the system (along with an EFI partition) so I would prefer to not have to erase EVERYTHING and start over.

So here's my question: how can I install Easy2Boot to a new/existing partition without touching the existing layout?

Re: Install Easy2Boot on an existing partition without erasing drive?

SteveSi 25/06/2015

Sorry. grub4dos and E2B only supports booting from MBR partitioned USB disks.

Re: Re: Install Easy2Boot on an existing partition without erasing drive?

Kent 25/06/2015

Darn, but ok! Thanks for the fast response. I'll add this to my library of tools to use when the opportunity arises! Thanks for the awesome software

F4UBCD-4.61.imgPTN - MiniXP Boots but no programs

mysongranhills 21/06/2015

I read the following links:
http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/hirens-isos/
and http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/add-multiple-hirens-isos-to-easy2boot.html
And since I wanted to have a copy of Hiren's and F4UBCD I converted both to imgPTNs. This worked perfectly for Hiren's (boots into miniXP and all programs show up/work) ,but Falcon 4 UBCD gives errors about missing ISO and when it eventually finishes loading MiniXP none of the usual programs are accessible.
However if I then plug the USB back into my windows desktop that i used to create the E2B USB I can see the HBCD and F4UBCD folders.
So the folders are there ,but in F4UBCDs MiniXP the programs dont load and I cant find the folders by browsing manually.
If any one can help I'll send 2$ bitcoin. Thx

Re: F4UBCD-4.61.imgPTN - MiniXP Boots but no programs

SteveSi 22/06/2015

4.6 and 4.6.1 work for me. What version are you using?
Are you testing on a USB 2.0 port?
When it gets to the XP F4 desktop, can you see the USB drive?

Re: Re: F4UBCD-4.61.imgPTN - MiniXP Boots but no programs

mysongranhills 22/06/2015

Using 4.6.1
The laptop I was testing on only has USB 3 ports - however I do not believe this is the issue b/c hirens worked fine and F4UBCD 4.6.1 works fine as well booted from USB (with it on USB by itself - no E2B invovled)
When I get to desktop - no I can not see the USB drive

Re: Re: Re: F4UBCD-4.61.imgPTN - MiniXP Boots but no programs

SteveSi 22/06/2015

I get same symptoms as you if I use a USB 3.0 port on a real system.
If you cannot see the USB drive under F4 then it sounds like F4 does not have the USB 3 drivers needed.
Try booting the E2B F4 .imgPTN file using RMPrepUSB and QEMU F11.

Re: Re: Re: Re: F4UBCD-4.61.imgPTN - MiniXP Boots but no programs

mysongranhills 24/06/2015

I'm not sure what steps you intend for me to take from your last post, could you be more specific? Thanks for trying to help

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: F4UBCD-4.61.imgPTN - MiniXP Boots but no programs

SteveSi 24/06/2015

Run RMPrepUSB on your Windows system
Insert E2B USB drive into your Windows system
Select USB drive in RMPrepUSB (top window)
Press F11
Run Falcon F4 .imgPTN file
Does it work OK or not?

MPI - cannot read sector 0

Fredrik 18/06/2015

Okay, I'm trying to make imgPTN files, I have installed all the files per instruction, and have followed the instructions :

1. Download and extract the MPI Tool Kit to your system hard disk
2. Install ImDisk from the ImDisk folder (WinRar is also recommended to be installed too - read the ReadMe file for details)
3. Double-click CreateDesktopShortcuts.cmd to create the Desktop icons
4. Drag-and-Drop an ISO (or USB drive icon or folder) onto the MPI_FAT32 Desktop icon to make a .imgPTN file. If prompted, just hit [ENTER] to accept the default size.

So ... what happens is that it runs as expected, extracts all the files, but in the end I get this :
Installing syslinux to u:\syslinux using .\syslinux\syslinux_4
cannot read sector 0
and I get this error with all isos I have tried, ubuntu iso, clonezilla live ... I don't know what's wrong,and I hope someone has an idea of what to do ...
cheers from sweden !!

Re: MPI - cannot read sector 0

SteveSi 19/06/2015

Sounds like a permissions/access problem.
Do you have Admin rights?
Try disabling any AV or other sort of protection you may have.
What OS?
Can you try on a different 'vanilla' system?
Are you using a real system (not an OS in a VM)?

Re: Re: MPI - cannot read sector 0

Fredrik 19/06/2015

I'm runnning windows 8.1 on an asus t100ta (atom 64 bit cpu that needs 32 bit uefi to boot anything), and I am administrator, at leat I think I am, how should I run it different as admin ?

tried disabling AV, still same error ...

Re: Re: Re: MPI - cannot read sector 0

SteveSi 19/06/2015

Try disabling AV and reboot to ensure it is off.
Do you only have one AV/protection program?
I use Win 8.1 64-bit (MBR not UEFI) with MS Security Essentials and is OK. Normally it is a problem with some background app. blocking access.

Re: Re: Re: Re: MPI - cannot read sector 0

Fredrik 19/06/2015

tried disabling AV and reboot, same problem, so I then tried to run the same setup on my mediaplayer, (ECS LIVA Mini PC, 64 bit atom uefi), that is virgin, only program installed is kodi ... there I ran into a new problem, windows wants to format U:, the virtual disk :)

I have to ask you, do I have to set some kind of admin rights when Idrop my ISOS on the MPI_FAT32 shortcuts that I created per instructions, because that is the only thing I haven't done now :)

ps ... do you celebrate midsummer in brittain ? really bright night here in northern sweden, the birds are chirping outside :)

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: MPI - cannot read sector 0

Fredrik 19/06/2015

ok, Those last errors about having to format U: was me trying to run the isos from an external hdd, but when I put them on my c: drive, I get the same error as I got on computer 1, cannot read sector 0, abort ....

so, obviously I must make some horrendous error, since I get the same problem on 2 machines :)

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: MPI - cannot read sector 0

SteveSi 19/06/2015

Can you send me a screenshot of the console Window so I can see what folders, filenames, etc .you have used when you get the error?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: MPI - cannot read sector 0

Fredrik 19/06/2015

console window, what exactly is that ? I will of course send you these if you want them :)
I managed to get it working on a 3rd (and old computer), running windows 8.1 x64 MBR, it's funny, I did exactly the same as I had done on the 2 previous computers, and 2 of the computers have exactly the same setup, except for the hardware of course ...
the files I have run are : ubuntu x64 15.04 iso, windows 8.1 iso, clonezilla-live-2.4.2-10-i686-pae , none of these files worked on the 2 first machines, and all of them worked on the last ...

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: MPI - cannot read sector 0

SteveSi 20/06/2015

So something must be different about the first two systems?
These are known to cause problems:
Defraggler
Genie Timeline Backup Pro
Lexar JumpDrive Secure USB device
Panda USB vaccine
RealPlayer Cloud
Trend Micro OfficeScan and some other versions of Trend Anti Virus.
USB Drive Letter Manager (USBLDM)

Not sure what else to suggest...

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: MPI - cannot read sector 0

Fredrik 20/06/2015

the first 2 systems .... yes, many things are different between the first2 systems, but not many things are different about the 2 last 2 systems, on the 2 last systems I had only windows 8.1, winrar and kodi installed, nothing else, and on one of the systems mpi worked and on the other it didn't, so 3 systems checked, and on the 2 systems that mpi didn't work on, the only thing that is the same is that it is baytrail, though one system is atom 32 bit, and the other is x64 (ECS liva mini PC), but none of them worked), the one system that worked is an old laptop, toshiba satelite amd sempron3600+, but the 2 last systems have identical windows setup, like I said, only windows, winrar and kodi installed, nothing else ....

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: MPI - cannot read sector 0

SteveSi 24/06/2015

You said... 'only winrar and kodi' installed.
ImDisk should be installed - please read ReadMe file in MPI download.
Hardware differences should not matter. Must be software issue or the way you have configured Windows...

BartPE

Kuemmel 15/06/2015

Does Easy2Boot works with a BartPE-ISO? Which settings?

Re: BartPE

SteveSi 15/06/2015

Try .isomemF01
E2B should suggest .isoask - if you answer Y then you can choose from a selection of different extensions.

Re: Re: BartPE

Marius Kümmel 16/06/2015

Does it work on your Flash Drive?

Re: Re: Re: BartPE

SteveSi 16/06/2015

Yes, BartPe.isomemF01 works for me (and BartPE.isomemwinv)

Re: Re: Re: Re: BartPE

Marius Kümmel 19/06/2015

Okay. Can I also have two images of BartPE on the stick at the same time?

Booting to local Drive ( has encryption)

KalCorp 09/06/2015

I have Gub4Dos setup now and it works great.
Just tested your E2B and it is nice and was thinking about using it.
However its setting up the Boot USB as hd0,0 and my local drive as hd0,1 is this normal?
Also when i try to boot to the local drive with the gub4doc code i have working already in another project its does not boot and loads the USB Again.
my current code is simple and works ok.
title NGOS Boot hd0,0
root (hd0,0)
makeactive
chainloader +1

The bios comes back with the drive as 0,1 So i tested with hd0,1 also and get the same issue.
what do you think?

Re: Booting to local Drive ( has encryption)

SteveSi 13/06/2015

When you boot from a USB drive, the BIOS always makes it drive 0. Your internal drive will be drive 1.
To boot from the internal drive, press F7 in E2B.
See also http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/proect-your-system-boot-to-truecrypt.html

About NTBOOT

Starla 04/06/2015

Hi Steve.

I'm a bit confused about NTBOOT. As I understand by reading your article, one direct advantage of using it is that I could remove my current setup for loading NT6 WIM files which relies on:
- mnu file which chainloads to \boot\bootmgr in my 1st (E2B) partition
- bcd file properly setup with entries to all my wim files

and directly select any of those wims (only if they contain 1 single image) and it will boot. Will they only boot from 1st partition in removable drive?
What about cheats like No Integrity Checks and Testsigned drivers that I have setup for each wim in my current bcd?
Would booting Strelec wims (x64 and x86) stored on 2nd partition of removable drive require SSTR folder in 1st partition?
While not officially supported, could you expand on advantages of VBOOT, as chenall seems to suggest that it would allow for booting VHDs in "inmutable" mode (no persistence), but not sure how could this be possible without "anything" capturing session changes in a real system (outside a VM, I mean)?

Thanks in advance.

Re: About NTBOOT

SteveSi 05/06/2015

.wim files should boot from any partition.
NTBOOT creates it's own BCD, modifies it to point the the VHD or WIM file and then boots to bootmgr.
NTBOOT seems to support NODETECTHAL as an option, but I am not sure about No integrity checks and TestSigned drivers, I can see no sign of support for this, though it should be possible to add it. Edit - actually DDISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS and nointegritychecks seems to be already included in the BCD settings for NTBOOT.
You would need to experiment with wims which require other folders.
I am not sure myself about VBOOT.
NTBOOT vboot=/vboot/winxp/winxp-s1.vhd opt="immutable"
should work from command line or in a .mnu file but I haven't tried it.
VMLite docs say you can specify two VHDs, one for the OS VHD and the other for an immutable.VHD??? Maybe writes go to ramdisk and are lost on reboot?

Re: Re: About NTBOOT

Starla 06/06/2015

Thank you Steve. I will study the NTBOOT batch file code.

Oh, and regarding your last blog post on WTG VHD files, just wanted to note that WinNTSetup allows to select an AutoUnattend.xml file to be used for deployment, which will speed up the "first boot" process you described.

Win XP how to continue after first restart

shortee 03/06/2015

Hi Steve , thanks for your time spend on this site and tuts,your day is not 24 but 50 hours long :>
My question is i was able to create usb with XP,Win7,Win8 and hirens boot. When i start HP and it format hdd and start copying files and reboot after that ,nothing happens on pc.If i plug USB again,installation start over again,if i change in bios first boot device to be HDD still nothing happens,just blank screen...i have changed also in bios from ACHI to compatibility mode ,but still same thing...thank you.Regards.

Re: Win XP how to continue after first restart

SteveSi 03/06/2015

https://youtu.be/YyQ7xSvVMHE
You need to boot twice to E2B USB drive

Re: Re: Win XP how to continue after first restart

shortee 04/06/2015

Hi Steeve,thanks for answer,i did that ,first time it start installation ,copy files and then it reboots,than i choose option 2,and it loads win into memory (i have 4 gigs so plenty space for this ) ,and i just got blinking dot in upper left corner of laptop...tried 10 times always the same...when i try that same iso file form cd it installs windows normally on this same pc....i have watched your tuts on YT and read whole site....masterpiece i can tell you...thank you for sharing your brain to world :D

Re: Re: Re: Win XP how to continue after first restart

SteveSi 04/06/2015

Are you talking about installing XP from a .ISO file?
If so, what ISO are you using exactly - is it a standard Microsoft ISO?
What system are you installing to? How many have you tried? Did you try installing to a VM?
If not you may need to use WinSetupFromUSB to create a working USB Flash drive. If it works, you can then convert it to a .imgPTN file and add it to your Easy2Boot drive.
If any more trouble please give accurate and precise details of ISO, target system(s), etc.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Win XP how to continue after first restart

thanks 04/06/2015

will check all that and update you...all the best mate.

Window 10 to go

Dominic 02/06/2015

Hi I try to make a windows 10 to go but I have some issue on installing windows on imgptn file... is there a step by step guide some where ( I just need one windows to go )

Re: Window 10 to go

Dominic 02/06/2015

or is there any other way to have a full windows on runing on e2b ?

Re: Re: Window 10 to go

SteveSi 02/06/2015

Why not use one of the Tutorials on my sister site?
http://www.rmprepusb.com/tutorials/129
If you create a VHD, the next version of E2B will be able to boot directly from it!

Re: Re: Re: Window 10 to go

dominic 02/06/2015

Wow nice !! is it actually on the beta ? if so can you tell me how to tes it ?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Window 10 to go

SteveSi 02/06/2015

It will be in 1.69Beta2 - just uploading now...
See also http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Window 10 to go

Dominic 03/06/2015

Thanks again but is it normal that once i put the vhf on mainmenu it boot automatically that without showing me the e2b menu ?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Window 10 to go

SteveSi 03/06/2015

Do you mean .VHD file?
It should show menu.

Can't change background?

Elijah Ryker 01/06/2015

So i'm absolutely loving this tool! never thought it would be this easy to make my own "swiss army knife" of bootable media and tools. the only thing i can't get to work right is the background for the main menu! no matter what i do it sits at the default. I have converted an image to a .bmp @800*600 and renamed it "mybackground.bmp" and placed in the /_ISO folder but it doesn't change it.. all the other customization works (text, headers etc etc etc) and i did my best to follow all the instructions on this site to a T. and even when i tried loading one of the preloaded theme's i STILL got the original background.. what am i doing wrong?

Re: Can't change background?

SteveSi 01/06/2015

Try latest Beta of E2B - the bmp file had to be EXACTLY 800x600. Try also using the E2B_Editor to load it.
Also try renaming the \_ISo\MyE2B.cfg file so it is not used.
Check filename is \_ISO\Mybackground.bmp (not mybackground.bmp.bmp). Check it is 800x600x24 bit colour.

parted magic 2015_05_04 does not boot with isoboot.g4b

abubin 30/05/2015

In parted magic latest version, I notice there are 2 extra files being loaded in the kernel. That is the fu.img and m32.img files. I configure using iso files (without extract) and then added the Parted_Magic_isoboot_Persistent.mnu file. However, isoboot.g4b does not load these files and that caused pmagic unable to boot up.
I tried adding into the initrd line in isoboot.g4b to include those files but it boot up with kernel panic.
Any idea how to fix this?

Thanks.

Re: parted magic 2015_05_04 does not boot with isoboot.g4b

SteveSi 30/05/2015

Hmmm - this has exposed two bugs in grub4dos 0.4.6a!!
I can get it to work using 0.4.5c (load from Utilities Menu) but isoboot.g4b needs modifying to load 3 modules for initrd.
The following .mnu file works with 0.4.5c only.
title PMAGIC TEST
set ISOSCAN=/_ISO/MAINMENU/pmagic_2015_05_04.iso
map %ISOSCAN% (0xff)
map --hook
root (0xff)
kernel /pmagic/bzImage load_ramdisk=1 prompt_ramdisk=0 rw gfxpayload=text loglevel=9 iso_filename=%ISOSCAN% eject=no edd=on vga=normal vmalloc=512MiB
initrd /pmagic/initrd.img /pmagic/fu.img /pmagic/m32.img
boot

I used a small file on E2B drive \pmagic\pmodules\PMAGIC_2015_05_04.SQFS to get Save feature working.

Re: Re: parted magic 2015_05_04 does not boot with isoboot.g4b

SteveSi 06/06/2015

E2B 1.69 Beta 4 now has fixed grub4dos so pmagic should work with 0.4.6a now. I also updated isoboot.g4b too.

Windows installer ISO crashing on boot

Greg D 17/05/2015

Hi guys - first off, great software and kudos on the hard work!
Having issues getting ANY Windows installer ISO's to work though. They all crash during the boot process, after text mode setup has copied the files over.
I think it's an issue with the XML files, but I have absolutely no idea what. I don't really need or want an unattend.xml or language file - more than happy with the defaults that are built into the ISO I have supplied. The ISO I'm using boots when used on it's own (i.e. reformatting the USB drive and manually creating a bootable Windows installer from the ISO).
The ISO I'm using is Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit. I've tried the 32bit version as well as Windows 8 with the same issue.
I can boot Linux ISO's without any problems, and I can also boot utility ISO's such as WinPE without problems.
USB details:
Corsair Voyager 64GB
NTFS file system
Using USB 2.0 ports ONLY
I've tried using all of the language options that are provided out of the box - not actually sure why this is required though, since the ISO has all the built in things I need as it is.
Any help appreciated!

Re: Windows installer ISO crashing on boot

SteveSi 17/05/2015

So you placed the Windows 7 64-bit (standard MS) ISO in \_ISO\WINDOWS\WIN7, booted to E2B and selected the ISO from the Windows Installer menu and the default E2B XML file?
So how exactly did it crash (what messages, etc?) and what are you installing to?
E2B needs to use an XML file to load the ISO as a Virtual DVD before Setup starts to run. It is needed but that is all it does. The default (0) XML file does not automate the build in any way.

Re: Re: Windows installer ISO crashing on boot

Greg D 17/05/2015

Cheers for responding :)
The ISO was in the _ISOWINDOWSWIN7 folder, correct.
Also correct, I selected the image through the menus as it should be. When selecting the lang/cfg file I have attempted booting with ALL of them, including the default E2B config.
No errors, just hangs with the Windows logo partially loaded. Have left for hours with nothing happening. Occurs on all Windows ISO's I've tried so far.
I have tried this on a Dell Latitude E6320, also attempted on my own custom build PC with same results.
That makes sense then about the virtual dvd wrapper, didnt realise. Thought it was an unattend file lol.

Re: Re: Windows installer ISO crashing on boot

Greg D 17/05/2015

Also, just to add, I don't have these issues with any of the Linux ISO's. Only Windows. I guess because it uses grub, which is native to Linux?

Re: Re: Re: Windows installer ISO crashing on boot

SteveSi 17/05/2015

Not really anything to do with grub4dos once it starts booting.
1000's of people use E2B for installing, so there must be something different about your setup.
If you have a 32-bit version try QEMU .cmd file in the root.
Or VBox + DavidB's utility.
Look for corrupt ISO, bad USB stick, bad ISO (not official MS download).

Re: Re: Re: Re: Windows installer ISO crashing on boot

Greg D 18/05/2015

Ok thanks.
I've been using custom built ISO's with updates and service packs slipstreamed in, and pre-activated.
They work fine on their own though. What does E2B do that's different from a normal USB boot when booting to Windows based ISO's? It must be something to do with that?
I will try again with my company enterprise ISO's, as they are official MS ISO's. Wrong version of Windows for me, but worth it to see if it works.
G

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Windows installer ISO crashing on boot

SteveSi 18/05/2015

OK, for 'special' versions, it is best to convert them to .imgPTN files - then it is the same as booting from the files on a USB stick.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Windows installer ISO crashing on boot

Greg D 19/05/2015

Hmm. Went through the process for this - seemed to be all going well, but getting the crash in the exact same place :(
Managed to build the imgPTN file all well and good using MakePartImage tools, and copied the resulting img file to the USB _ISOMAINMENU folder (as per instructions).
Go through the process of re-writing the USB partition table on the fly, and it starts to load windows setup (yay). Then crashes in exactly the same way as previously, using the ISO file (boo).
Looks like I'm going to have to maintain 2 USB sticks. Thanks for all the help so far.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Windows installer ISO crashing on boot

Steve si 19/05/2015

What do you mean '2 USB sticks?
You mean you have a working usb stick with your installer on it? How did you make it?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Windows installer ISO crashing on boot

Greg D 05/06/2015

I meant 2 physical sticks; 1 to install/liveboot Linux ISO's and the other for Windows.

I chose E2B to get both going on 1 stick :)

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Windows installer ISO crashing on boot

SteveSi 05/06/2015

I thought E2B was OK with linux for you. It was just your special Windows ISOs that wouldn't work, so how can you boot them from a USB drive and get them to work if you don't use E2B? What type of USB drive do you use for your Windows ISOs?

2 new themes

dcplx1 30/04/2015

2 new themes
http://hugefiles.net/9ozb88le4x49

Re: 2 new themes

dcplx1 01/05/2015

http://hugefiles.net/urwsj81yt364

If you want to make choose theme
in below the imgptn and other iso
just rename $Changetheme to ZChangetheme.mnu

Missing theme remake
see_nam_kyu_li

Re: Re: 2 new themes

SteveSi 01/05/2015

There is no heading or footer text and menu is too long and goes below the screen???

Re: Re: Re: 2 new themes

dcplx1 02/05/2015

.have no internet this time so i could only make cfg, I will research when im online to make gfxmenu in scrnshot there is no header footer in nam kyu theme. My first post have I upload 2 themes.

Re: Re: Re: Re: 2 new themes

dcplx1 03/05/2015

http://hugefiles.net/bdirryjzoem2
Seeya Nam Kyu Li GFX

E2B 1.66 CENTREHD

Starla 28/04/2015

Hi Steve.
I think HPAD is being calculated as rstart-1 space characters and applied to pad headings position when HPAD is set to empty (HPAD=) in MyE2B.cfg.
I'm using GMODE=800. According to E2Bed it can hold 100 char per line. So I'm using CENTREHD=100 in order to get screen-centered (not on-the-box centered) headings. I use HEADPOS=0100, but my headings keep being displayed padded to right by 3 spaces (my rstart=4 minus 1) from correct screen center.
I've been trying to find what's setting HPAD to 3 spaces and it seems to be
if not exist HPAD call /%grub%/SetHPAD.g4b %rstart%
However HPAD is supposed to exist, although I set it as empty in MyE2B.cfg.

Re: E2B 1.66 CENTREHD

Starla 28/04/2015

Oh, almost forgot. On a side note I've found that by setting AUTONUM=0x2002 the line numbering is removed but 3 space chars are written between menu marker and the menu entries (2 spaces accounting for 1-99 numbering and the space after them I guess). This looks better IMHO than using AUTONUM=0x0000 (no space between marker and entry). I think this is happening for any value of AUTONUM where last 2 digits are greater than 01, i.e. AUTONUM=0x0002.

But I'm not sure whether using this values could cause problems?

Re: Re: E2B 1.66 CENTREHD

SteveSi 28/04/2015

sample mye2b.cfg describes AUTONUM and use of 0x20
# E.g. The user can type '23' to select item 23 in the menu and so it is useful to have the menu items numbered.
# Auto-numbering is enabled by default. AUTONUM=CCMM where CC is the marker character (byte) and MM is bit0=numbering and bit1=space after number,
# Use AUTONUM=0x0000 to set auto-numbering off, 0x2001 sets numbering on with a space after number (default), 0x2d01 autonumber with hyphen after number, 0x1a01 arrow, 0x3a01 colon, 0x0701 dot
# e.g. 0x2d00=►menutext, 0x2d01=►nn-menutext, 0x2d02=►___menutext, 0x2d03=same as 0x2d01 (where nn=two-characters for menu numbering 0-9/10-99)

Re: E2B 1.66 CENTREHD

SteveSi 28/04/2015

set HPAD=
does not make HPAD empty - it deletes HPAD. Use
set HPAD=\x20\x20
set CENTREHD=98
set HEADPOS=0100
P.S. Latest E2B_Editor 1.0.70 comments out lines after -- ADVANCED line, rather than just omitting them.

Re: Re: E2B 1.66 CENTREHD

Starla 29/04/2015

Thank you very much Steve. I ended using just HPAD=\x20 with CENTREHD=98. That yields center of heading at position 0149, which is exactly 50 chars from left screen border. Great.

New $NAME$ support in 1.67bA is supercool!

Can't install Debian 7.8

Me 14/04/2015

So... I've done everything I could but I can't use my debian 7.8 Iso.. For some reason it says that it can't find the Cd-Rom drive, and I can't start the live either.. Is it not supported?
(I've tried the solution from the Kali distro and that didn't work)..

The drive is contiguous and it's the KDE Amd64 full install image.

Re: Can't install Debian 7.8

SteveSi 14/04/2015

If you look at the 'Tested ISOs' page, you will see instructions on how to boot Debian

HP Quickweb

sTe 11/04/2015

On my hp laptop 6460b i can download quickweb. When it runs it creates 2 partitions and installs files to the second partition the first one looks empty (maybe boot sector loader?). If i power off my laptop i can click the hp dedicated button for quickweb and it then boots into a Unix web interface/browser etc. Don't suppose you could have a look and suggest how i might convert to imgptn .

Re: HP Quickweb

SteveSi 12/04/2015

There should be a partition on your hard disk with a volume name of HP_TOOLS with a \hewlett-packard folder in the root. If you can unhide this so you can see the files, copy the \hewlett-packard folder to a new folder on your C: drive and then hide the HP_TOOLS partition again.
Now create a \menu.lst file inside the new folder and add a menu for the linux files (I used qw.cfg to get the correct parameters)

title QUICK-WEB
kernel /hewlett-packard/quickweb/kern BTTYPE=PART WINRTCOFFSET=00 PTL_BIASED_TZ=0000 log_buf_len=2M floppy=nofifo root=/dev/ram nomce init=/linuxrc max_loop=64 elevator=cfq usbcore.autosuspend=1 vga=0x0f04 panic=10
#very_quiet
initrd /hewlett-packard/quickweb/init.gz

Now you have the contents in a folder, you can drag-and-drop the folder onto the MPI_FAT32 shortcut to make a .imgPTN file. When asked about Menu.lst - choose MERGE/COMBINE
I cannot test as I think the installer adds more stuff and a video driver.

external multi purpose hard disk

Shapoor 30/03/2015

hi,
I have a 4 TB external hard disk. I want to use it as a bootable media a install some repair software and also windows installer. and also use it as a storage media. I think it's very practical to devide it into 2 partition, one partition for bootable sofware, and the other as mass storage. How can I do it?
Another question;
How could I install an OS on an external hard disk, which could be booted into from any given system?if it is possible, how could I bring this OS in the multiboot partition menu mentioned above?

Re: external multi purpose hard disk

someone 02/04/2015

Make a 2nd partition in your hard make it primary using minitool partition wizard and mark it as active on the tool copy all e2b files on the new partition you can make it as NTFS format then copy all ur iso , imgptn files on it then run as administrator make all files contiguous then it is good to go.

PS I made mine 128gb 2nd partition then test it on virtual box or qemo

Re: Re: external multi purpose hard disk

SteveSi 04/04/2015

Many BIOSes cannot access sectors on a USB disk past 137GB. This is a very common bug. So I recommend that E2B is placed on the first partition and the partition size is kept to below 137GB. Once you boot to an OS like linux or Windows, it uses it's own drivers and so it can access all the disk.

Re: Re: external multi purpose hard disk

Shapoor 06/04/2015

Thanks for ur answer,
I devided the HDD into 2 partition, one primary and active with 20 GB volume, and another logical and inactive and about 3.6 TB it's volume.
Then I copied E2B files to the primary partition. But the command file "MAKE_THIS_DRIVE_CONTIGUOUS", makes an error, "can't find wincontig.exe in this folder or in wincontig folder !" .
I run the script as administrator.
Also the software "RMPrepUSB", doesn't recognize the smaller partition. Just greater partition is detected.
Any response is appreciated.

Re: Re: Re: external multi purpose hard disk

SteveSi 06/04/2015

Try running WINCONTIG from the \_ISO\docs\WINCONTIG folder.
To get a disk of more than 2TB, you will have had to format it as GPT. Can you see the smaller partition under Windows? Does it have a volume letter?
Using GPT is going to cause big problems with many iso, etc, and I am not sure if grub4dos even fully supports it!
You need to format the drive as MBR, but then your maximum is 2TB.

Re: Re: Re: Re: external multi purpose hard disk

Shapoor 06/04/2015

Thanks for ur response.
The derive is devided into 2 partition.One is 30 GB and primary and active and the other is 3.6 TB and logical and inactive. Both are represented by letters under "mycomputer", on "win 7".
I checked the drive in "disk management", and it is "MBR".
I run "wincontig", and difrag the smaller partition, without any change in it's bootability. Still the HDD isn't bootable, and still when I run "MAKE_THIS_DRIVE_CONTIGUOUS", it issues the error, "can't find wincontig.exe in this folder or in wincontig folder!"

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: external multi purpose hard disk

SteveSi 06/04/2015

You cannot have a >2TB partition unless the disk is GPT.
Use RMPrepUSB - Drive Info - 0 to view the partition table.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: external multi purpose hard disk

Shapoor 06/04/2015

hi, thanks again;
Here is the result of RMPrepUSB - Drive Info - 0;
"Accessing Drive 1 - "Seagate Expansion Desk" (4,000,787,025,920 bytes)

Error accessing sector 0 on Drive 1

ERROR: The parameter is incorrect."

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: external multi purpose hard disk

SteveSi 06/04/2015

It sounds like the disk is a 4k sector disk.
You cannot MBR boot from such a disk.
You must use a 512-byte per sector 512e disk.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: external multi purpose hard disk

Shapoor 07/04/2015

It's a 4k 512e drive.
Can I use a usb flash drive, as an assistant, to boot into the mentioned HDD.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: external multi purpose hard disk

SteeSi 07/04/2015

Sorry, most BIOSes cannot read 4k devices.
There is some new work for the USB driver in grub4dos 0.4.6a to support 4k drives, but I have not tested it.
You can test by making the USB flash drive the boot drive for grub4dos 0.4.6a and loading the USB driver using
usb --init
but it only works for USB 2.0 ports and many USB controllers are not detected. Unless you are very experienced and are prepared for a lot of problems, I would not go there!

Windows installing problem

Agim 20/03/2015

im using usb helper, the problem is :
Windows could not parse or process unattend answer file [D:\autoattend.xml] The answer file is invalid

Re: Windows installing problem

SteveSi 20/03/2015

Windows 95,98,3,XP,7,8.10???
What XML file did you use?

Re: Re: Windows installing problem

Agim 20/03/2015

win7
xml from E2B\_ISO\docs\USB FLASH DRIVE HELPER FILES
autounattend.xml and unattend.xml

Re: Re: Re: Windows installing problem

SteveSi 20/03/2015

You copy the ISO to \_ISO\WINDOWS\WIN7
When you run the ISO from the menu - it asks you to pick a .XML file.
Q. What XML file did you pick.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Windows installing problem

Agim 20/03/2015

well i have tried all of 3 and i got same error

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Windows installing problem

SteveSi 20/03/2015

Are you testing on a real system (not a VM).
Using USB 2.0 ports?
Are you using original Helper .XML files from E2B \_ISO\docs\USB FLASH DRIVE HELPER FILES folder on Helper flash drive?
Try this:
1. Delete both XML files from the USB HDD (not from Helper drive).
2. Boot to E2B and run Win7 - choose first default XML option.
3. Wait until you get the invalid XML error.
4. Do NOT reboot to E2B menu - just examine .XML files on the HELPER USB drive - the AutoUnattend.xml contents should be the same as \_ISO\e2b\firadisk\au.xml.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Windows installing problem

Agim 20/03/2015

real system, usb 2.0, yes the original
autounattend.xml on usb drive is emty, nothing there

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Windows installing problem

SteveSi 20/03/2015

So \AutoUnattend.xml file is not being written to.
I assume Helper drive is FAT32 or NTFS?
Try this.
1. Insert both USB E2B HDD and USB Helper flash drive
2. Boot to E2B menu
3. Press P key and type easy2boot for password
4. Press C key to get to grub4dos console
5. Type find - is Helper USB drive listed?
Try to list contents of helper drive - e.g. if drive is (hd1,0)
ls (hd1,0)/
can you list files on Helper drive OK?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Windows installing problem

Agim 20/03/2015

jep, it is listed, but i think usb helper method its "messy thing" because i tried on other systems. on my laptop setup freezes, on my other llaptop i cant do nothing with e2b drive when i plug helper usb. So im not smart and I beg you to find other way.
Or can you tell me, it is possible to boot .imgPTN into legacy mode ? and how to do it ?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Windows installing problem

SteveSi 20/03/2015

Just drag-and-Drop ISO onto MPI_FAT32 or MPI_NTFS desktop shortcut to make a .imgPTN file.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Windows installing problem

Agim 20/03/2015

maybe ure getting bored. But i really love this masterpiece so i need to make it work. after i made .imgptn, replace the e2b partition, select keyboard and language (no blue console showed), then it stuck on windows setup is starting ... Tried 17 times all day and same result :S

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Windows installing problem

SteveSi 20/03/2015

You don't need or get the blue console with a .imgPTN arrangement because Windows can access the install.wim directly on the USB drive (it is not inside the ISO).
If it is hanging on Windows Setup then there is something about the system that Setup does not like. Maybe bad internal HDD or bad memory (or you have bad USB drive and files are corrupt).
Try another system, a different ISO or a different USB drive. Experiment to find out where it works and where it does not.

install E2B on HDD with 3 partition

Veton 18/03/2015

So basically i want to install E2B on my internal\external HDD but i need to have installed windows 7 on HDD cause sometime ill use it like internal HDD. So tell me, is there any tutorial for that, or can i make 2 partitions for this purpose ?

Re: install E2B on HDD with 3 partition

SteveSi 18/03/2015

I don't recommend having a Win7 external USB HDD - Win8 WinToGo would be better. E2B is intended to be used on a multiboot external drive, not as a main OS. For instance, if you use .imgPTN files, you may switch out the Windows partition and then may not be able to boot to Windows.
In any case, you can use the same NTFS partition for both Windows and E2B or use two Primary partitions, one for each. Install Windows first and then add the E2B files and install grub4dos to the MBR. You will then need to boot to E2B and press F7 to boot to Windows each time.

Re: Re: install E2B on HDD with 3 partition

Veton 19/03/2015

when i press f7, its says selected disk does not exist.
i have installed windows 7 and E2B in same partition ?
what i have missed ?
pls help me solve this

Re: Re: Re: install E2B on HDD with 3 partition

SteveSi 19/03/2015

Sorry, my mistake!
If the Win7 is on the same drive that you boot from, you need to add the 'Boot Windows bootmgr.mnu' Sample menu file to \_ISO\MAINMENU folder.

making winhelper.usb converting it to imgPtn file

Rayees 16/03/2015

I have convert winhelper.usb image to a file in .imgPtn extension I want to use this file instead of helper drive but i do no t know what to change in menu.lst and else where plz help thanks.

Re: making winhelper.usb converting it to imgPtn file

SteveSi 16/03/2015

Your joking, right?
Read http://www.easy2boot.com/faq-/how-e2b-works/ Windows Install ISOs section.
The WinHelper files MUST be on a Removable USB drive.
If what you are doing would work - don't you think I would have suggested it or just added it to E2B already...
Convert the ISO to a .imgPTN file.

bootloop on real system

disciplexone 16/03/2015

I have problem in booting e2b on real system
I get continous scrolling http://s7.postimg.org/477iriba2/IMG_20150316_092238.jpg
and i add the lines to the menu.lst in easy2boot but I get a black screen? =']

Re: bootloop on real system

disciplexone 16/03/2015

bad sata hdd

Booting e2b from fixed Hard Disc

Mohammad Rayees Ahmad my email id [email protected] 13/03/2015

I used Grub4dos installer 1.1 and install gldr on hd0 fixed drive with whole mbr option and i finally replace the gldr file on hard disc from e2bver1.62.ZIP file and copy all file from e2b.zip file to hard disc and i got successfully e2b drive on my hard disc working very well. but i have some iso file on another partition i have only two partition on my hard disc one is primary partition c drive and another is logical partition d drive my iso file is on drive d:\ and i want to run these iso file using Ptn2_menu.mnu file but it is not working please help. thanks

Re: Booting e2b from fixed Hard Disc

SteveSi 13/03/2015

Partitions are numbered 0-3 for primary partitions and 4-n for logical.
So first Logical partition is (hd0,4). Use PTN_LOG1_Menu.mnu for Logical partition 1.

Windows 7/8 Restore

Dave 13/03/2015

Hi,
Can anyone tell me how to create a menu selection for Windows 7/8 restore? Basically I would like to be able to get to the screen which allows me to select system image restore and then choose my image based on whatever HDD I have attached to the computer - just like doing it manually with a Win7/8 install CD.
Thanks,
Dave

Re: Windows 7/8 Restore

SteveSi 13/03/2015

What's wrong with just using the Install ISO?

persistent knoppix

THE Sorcerer 09/03/2015

I would like to boot knoppix:
http://www.knopper.de/
and with some persistent solution
Nota Benne: I can imagine my own solution like I install knoppix on stick, then I make an entry in it's own isolinx boot which will start easy2boot grub, I already done such think for Hiren,
but I would like to have knoppix "contained" in an iso image
thank you :)

Re: persistent knoppix

Steve Si 09/03/2015

No problem!
Please see new blog post
http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/add-knoppixpersistence-to-your-e2b-drive.html

Boot from folder

БлагоЯр Тишина 06/03/2015

Is it possible to boot from a folder? WinPE have chance add a folder with drivers and iso which have me, support the installation of certain folders.

Re: Boot from folder

SteveSi 06/03/2015

Please explain more clearly what you want to do. e.g.
1. Boot xxxxxx from an ISO? on E2B
2. Install drivers from a folder on the E2B drive ???
Automated?

Re: Re: Boot from folder

БлагоЯр Тишина 28/03/2015

No.
I have an ISO (http://www.sergeistrelec.ru/forum/20-198-1) that provides unpacking on the flash drive. Can I make a menu in Easy2Boot, that will not boot from the ISO, and from the folder of unpacking the ISO. Since one of the folders unpacked ISO can put my drivers, who established at startup.

Re: Re: Re: Boot from folder

SteveSi 28/03/2015

I would suggest you use MakePartImage.
Drag-and-drop the ISO onto the MPI_FAT32 Desktop shortcut to make a .imgPTN file.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Boot from folder

BlagoYar 18/06/2015

And that it will give me?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Boot from folder

БлагоЯр Тишина 18/06/2015

And that it will give me?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Boot from folder

SteveSi 18/06/2015

It will give you what you desire.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Boot from folder

БлагоЯр Тишина 19/06/2015

I don't understand - how?

Many Booting Problems

ElMariachi 03/03/2015

Hello I installed 8 different images on an Easy2Boot USB-Drive.
But only two of these actually are working, all the others get stuck during the boot process. I also tried convertign all non functional images to imgPTN Files, but that only led to even more errors. I ran the the make continuous script after any change.

FreeBSD 10.1 amd64 dvd version
(.iso):
"Mounting from cd9660:/dev/iso9660/10_1_RELEASE_AMD64_DVD failed with error 19.
(.imgPTN):
"No OS found. Remove All Drives containing no OS."

FreeBSD 10.1 Memstick version
(.img):
"Mounting from ufs:/dev/ufs/FreeBSD_Install failed with error 19."

FreeNAS 9.3 Stable
(.iso):
"mountroot: waiting for device /dev/iso9660/FreeNAS_INSTALL"
(.imgPTN):
"No OS found. Remove All Drives containing no OS."

lxle-12045
(.iso):
"(initramfs) Unable to find a medium containing a live system"
(.imgPTN):
"(initramfs) Unable to find a medium containing a live system"

PCBSD10.1.1 x64 DVD-USB
(.iso):
"Mounting from cd9660:/dev/iso9660/PCBSD_INSTALL failed with error 19."
(.imgPTN):
"No OS found. Remove All Drives containing no OS."

TRUEOS10.1.1x64 DVD-USB
(.iso):
"Mounting from cd9660:/dev/iso9660/PCBSD_INSTALL failed with error 19."
(.imgPTN):
"No OS found. Remove All Drives containing no OS."

super-grub2_disk_i386
(.iso):
working

Hiren's BootCD 15.2
(.iso):
working

Could you help me with some of these please?

Re: Many Booting Problems

ElMariachi 03/03/2015

Sorry, I forgot to add:
I know there are solutions, like using some manual commands during the boot process for making some stubborn OSses boot, but it's not very workable having to put these commands every time I want to boot one of these images and I can never remember these commands at all. So I could use a more generic solution.

Re: Re: Many Booting Problems

Steve Si 04/03/2015

Are you booting using a Real system and are you using a USB 2.0 port?

Re: Re: Re: Many Booting Problems

SteveSi 05/03/2015

lxle just works for me as a .iso file??
See also blog page http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/adding-freebsd-freenas-pcbsdtrueos-to.html

Re: Re: Re: Re: Many Booting Problems

SteveSi 08/03/2015

FreeBSD 9 and 10 and pfSense 'memstick' images are now supported by the new MPI Tool Kit and new E2B v1.62 Beta 3 versions.
See new page http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/freebsd/
and blog http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/easy2boot-163-beta-3-now-supports.html

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Many Booting Problems

ElMariachi 08/03/2015

Seems like good news :)
I just saw your post regarding E2B v1.62 Beta 3 and the new MPI Tool Kit after I had responded to your answer, so nevermind.
Thank you!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Many Booting Problems

ElMariachi 08/03/2015

Thank you for help!
1) Yes, I tried the USB drive using the physical USB 2.0 Port of my Thinkpad T60.
2) Thanks for the link. If I understand that site right, then there currently is no way for creating working images from FreeBSD 10.x drives at all?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Many Booting Problems

SteveSi 10/03/2015

Yes - see latest blog post and use new MPI Tool Pack and E2B 1.63 Beta 3. http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/easy2boot-163-beta-3-now-supports.html
Also http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/freebsd/

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Many Booting Problems

ElMariachi 18/03/2015

Hello!
Thank you for your help!
I wanted to inform you, that the recently bought USB drive I was using is faulty. Probably the problems with booting lxde and such came from that. It's now on RMA.
Also, I got another question:
Do you think you could make proxmox ISOs work out of the box?
This distribution is debian based. The setup hangs when trying to start the install script. I have to follow these instructions for making it work everytime:
http://rmprepusb.blogspot.de/2014/03/add-proxmox-isos-to-easy2boot.html

Persistence and .mnu files

Dreeg 17/02/2015

Hi all and thanks for this project!
I have a problem with persistence.

I have ubuntu.iso and ubuntu.mnu file in /_ISO/LINUX/MNU folder and EXT2 with "casper-rw" name of volume in root of USB drive. ubuntu.mnu was an ubuntu sample file with all paths edited for my organization.
Nothing.
The MNU file is not read, even the title and "help text" are detected.

So I made a new attempt:
I created the MNU file with /_ISO/docs/E2B Utilities/E2B MNU Maker.cmd and now MNU file is read with title and "help text" right.. but in this file there isn't persistence.
I tried with "kernel ..." line before "boot" line but generate an Error "file not found".

How do I enable the persistence?
Thanks in advance,
Dreeg

Re: Persistence and .mnu files

SteveSi 17/02/2015

If a .mnu file does not appear to be working, it is probably because you have not edited it to contain the name of your ISO file (two places usually).

There are some Ubuntu mnu file examples in the \_ISO\docs\Sample mnu Files folder - e.g. Ubuntu-13.04-desktop-amd64_Persistent.mnu.
Just copy the one for your version to the \_ISO\LINUX\MNU folder and read the instructions inside the .mnu file. e.g.
# Make a ext2 file using RMPrepUSB in the root of the drive (i.e. File Name=Ubuntu1304-rw Volume Name=casper-rw)
# Place this .mnu file and the Ubuntu ISO in (_ISO\xxx\MNU), e.g. \_ISO\MainMenu\MNU or \_ISO\Linux\MNU
# This menu will work even on an NTFS USB boot drive
# IMPORTANT: you MUST run WinContig (Ctrl+F2) before booting E2B.

You must edit the name of the .iso file inside the .mnu file to match your own ISO file name.

Re: Re: Persistence and .mnu files

Dreeg 17/02/2015

Hi, thanks for reply.
I already edited all occurrency of .iso and ubuntu1404-rw in .mnu sample file but don't work.
Now I create manually a new .mnu file (and deleted old .mnu file, I haven't duplicate :P ) and all work but return error "File not found" on hd0,3 or %E2BDEV%,3 (that is ubuntu1404-rw).

Re: Re: Re: Persistence and .mnu files

Stevesi 17/02/2015

hd0,3 is ISO not rw file!
Please show your menu file...

Re: Re: Re: Re: Persistence and .mnu files

Dreeg 17/02/2015

This is my .mnu file in /_ISO_/LINUX/MNU
http://pastebin.com/SMUZUgsM

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Persistence and .mnu files

SteveSi 17/02/2015

You have
iftitle [if exist $HOME$/ubuntu-14_04_1-desktop-i386.iso] Ubuntu 32-bit v14.04.1 \nAvvia Ubuntu 14.04.1 i386 con 2GB di persistenza
set ISO=%MFOLDER%/LINUX/ubuntu-14_04_1-desktop-i386.iso

This is NOT what is in the sample .mnu files???

Try this instead
iftitle [if exist $HOME$/ubuntu-14_04_1-desktop-i386.iso] Ubuntu 32-bit v14.04.1 \nAvvia Ubuntu 14.04.1 i386 con 2GB di persistenza
set ISO=$HOME$/ubuntu-14_04_1-desktop-i386.iso
etc etc

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Persistence and .mnu files

Dreeg 18/02/2015

It work!! As I said I tried to create the .mnu file by hand, taking inspiration from various sources since the sample didn't work for me.
Thanks a lot! A good make,
Dreeg

Hiren's menu changing text color.

Jeremysoftbeard 12/02/2015

I made my own theme config and when I navigate to the menu for Hiren's boot cd restored (extracted) it changes my settings for text color and highlighting. Is there a way to make it adhere to my theme?

Re: Hiren's menu changing text color.

SteveSi 12/02/2015

The .mnu file contains
configfile /HBCD/menu.lst

So /HBCD/menu.lst must contain color commands.
You just need to remove them. They are usually near the top of the file.

Is it possible to add separator lines to the menu?

Kelemvor 11/02/2015

On the main menu of E2B I have 5 or 6 different things. By default, they all show up together. Is there any way to add something to separate each item? Maybe just a blank line. Maybe a line of ****************s or something like that? I saw some docs on the text files you can edit but wasn't really sure where to start looking.
Thanks.

Re: Is it possible to add separator lines to the menu?

Steve Si 11/02/2015

See the \_ISO\docs\Sample .mnu files folder
A_BlankMenuEntry.mnu
A_BlankMenuEntrySeparator.mnu
Just add one to the folder (e.g. MAINMENU) and then rename it so that it is where you want when ordered alphabetically.
or rename the ISOs too and use a .txt file
(you can use a .txt file for each ISO/payload.)

e.g.
1_myiso.iso and 1_myiso.txt
2_separator.mnu
3_mynextiso.iso and 3_mynextiso.txt
4_separator.mnu
etc.

Can't get it to run on a server

Kelemvor 10/02/2015

So I setup E2B on a flash drive and tested it on a Dell laptop and it worked great. I'm using it for imaging Windows. I have 8.1 and server 2012 on it and had no problems during my testing.

I now tried to use it on an actual server (Dell R630) and it doesn't work. I get the menu, choose my OS, and then I get an error stating:
Windows failed to start.
File: \windows\system32\boot\winload.exe
Status: 0xc0000001

Anyone run into this before or have any idea what I can do to fix it?

Re: Can't get it to run on a server

STevesi 10/02/2015

is it UEFI ?

Re: Re: Can't get it to run on a server

Kelemvor 10/02/2015

It supports EUFI per this link:
http://www.dell.com/support/Manuals/us/en/19/Topic/poweredge-r630/R630_OM_Publication-v1/en-us/GUID-12C950B3-B0EF-4089-867E-89277DB2DA6A

Not sure if it's enabled or not as we just unboxed the servers. Should it be off to make it work?

Re: Re: Re: Can't get it to run on a server

Kelemvor 10/02/2015

I just checked and it is NOT set to EUFI mode.

Re: Can't get it to run on a server

Kelemvor 11/02/2015

We got this figured out. It was a problem on the server itself that the raided hard drives hadn't been initialized so nothing was working.

Password protected

Donny Bahama 02/02/2015

I want to heavily customize the menu system so that the main menu is a preliminary menu that requires a password before it will go to the actual main menu - otherwise it boots to the default hard drive. The point of this is (when I accidentally leave my flash drive behind) to scare low-tech users and prevent them from using it (as well as to get them to call me and return my flash drive.) On other USB toolkits, I've used a "DANGER" background bitmap with embedded text that says, "Please Return This To..." I configured the menu to be very small/narrow with all the menu text/borders/highlights/shadows/selection/etc. set to the same color as the background image. Assuming the password is "1234", you'd have to press 1 to get to the next menu, then at the next menu, you'd have to press 2 to get to the 3rd menu (otherwise you go back to the first menu), etc. I know this is low tech and not super secure, but it accomplishes the goal - and usually gets my toolkit returned to me. So my question is, can I replace the main menu with my "password menu" and automatically populate a submenu the way the current main menu is done?

Re: Password protected

SteveSi 02/02/2015

http://www.easy2boot.com/configuring-e2b/protection-and-security/
See Other Passwords heading

This will show any bitmap you like which can contain text.
Just change the password to 1234 instead of fred.

Re: Re: Password protected

SteveSi 19/02/2015

Did you manage this or do you need more help?

split external hard drive

rodney 31/01/2015

i have a 1TB external hard drive. what i want to do is split it into 2 partitions, a 20GB bootable for E2B, and the rest non bootable for other things. is this possible? And if so, what is the process I should use to accomplish it?

Re: split external hard drive

rodney 31/01/2015

I actually have just made the whole thing a E2B drive. any way to shrink the E2B portion down to 100GB?

Re: Re: split external hard drive

SteveSi 31/01/2015

You can shrink it and repartition it any way you like - e.g. Easeus Home Partition Master or MS Disk Manager or whatever.
Just make sure you only have two Primary partitions - use RMPrepUSB - Disk Info - 0 to check.
If you have a small Type 21 hidden partition you can delete it.
You can have two primary partitions or 1 primary and any number of logical partitions (as they just use one type 0F primary partition entry).

Re: Re: Re: split external hard drive

rodney 01/02/2015

when i get to step 5 it only bring up the whole drive as a whole and not the individual partitions. This is after I used Easeus and split it in two.
by step 5 I am referring to..........
In Windows Explorer, right-click and choose 'Run as Administrator...' on the \_ISO\docs\Make_E2B_USB_Drive\Make_E2B_USB_Drive.cmd

Re: Re: Re: Re: split external hard drive

SteveSi 01/02/2015

Make_e2B_USB_Drive.cmd uses RMPartUSB to partition and format the whole drive. You have two choices
1. Use Make_E2B_USB_Drive.cmd or RMPrepUSB to make the USB drive first and then resize the partition and add partitions using Easeus HPM (recommended)
http://www.easy2boot.com/make-an-easy2boot-usb-drive/make-and-e2b-usb-drive-using-rmprepusb/
2. Create partitions using Easeus HPM then install grub4dos to MBR and PBR using RMPrepUSB

Where is MAKE_THIS_DRIVE_ CONTIGUOUS.cmd ?

xamindar 27/01/2015

I can only find one mention of MAKE_THIS_DRIVE_ CONTIGUOUS.cmd on the site but do not see it in any of the downloads. Is this something that didn't work out?
I was just thinking it would useful to just run that on the drive to make everything contiguous while I am on another computer that doesn't have wincontig installed.

Re: Where is MAKE_THIS_DRIVE_ CONTIGUOUS.cmd ?

SteveSi 28/01/2015

It's in the latest Beta 1.62 version on the Alternate Download area (Google Drive and OneDrive).

grubinst

Antonio 21/01/2015

Hello,

Running the script ../Make_E2B_USB_Drive.cmd, after copying the files to the USB, it fails in grub4dos instalation with error "grubinst: partition not found"

Please advise

Re: grubinst

SteveSi 22/01/2015

First test USB drive using FakeFlashTest to see if it is a fake.
If it passes, try again and pick FAT32 when running Make_E2B_USB_Drive.cmd. If that works but you want NTFS, then run it again and pick NTFS.
Any more problems, give details of what system you have and what USB drive you have and what drive number you picked.

Re: Re: grubinst

Antonio 22/01/2015

Hi Steve, thanks for your response. Ill test the usb drive as soon as i get home.

When i run the Make_E2B_USB_Drive.cmd i do pick FAT32 (the iso i want to install is 700mb) but it fails on grubinst with the error mentioned above.

I have the same suspicion as you - the usb drive might be somehow corrupted.

My system is WinXp SP3 32 bits and I dont have my usb pen here to lsusb it and give you the details but i do have one exactly the same model (with some company data):

"UDisk :

Product ID: 0x1234
Vendor ID: 0xabcd
Version: 1.00
Serial Number: 1405251407421358464002
Speed: Up to 480 Mb/sec
Manufacturer: General
Location ID: 0xfd130000 / 5
Current Available (mA): 500
Current Required (mA): 100
Capacity: 2.01 GB (2,013,265,920 bytes)
Removable Media: Yes
Detachable Drive: Yes
BSD Name: disk1
Partition Map Type: MBR (Master Boot Record)
S.M.A.R.T. status: Not Supported
Volumes:
NO NAME:
Capacity: 2.01 GB (2,013,249,536 bytes)
Available: 1.88 GB (1,880,064,000 bytes)
Writable: Yes
File System: MS-DOS FAT16
BSD Name: disk1s1
Mount Point: /Volumes/NO NAME
Content: DOS_FAT_16"

Re: Re: Re: grubinst

Antonio 22/01/2015

Hi Steve,
I did a fakeflashtest and it passed.
The number of the drive is 1 when running the script.
Let me know if you need more info.

Re: Re: Re: Re: grubinst

SteveSi 23/01/2015

So after you run Make_E2B_USB_Drive.cmd what is on the drive?
Has it been formatted? Is it empty? Can you copy files to it?
If you do a Drive Info - 0 what does it report?

Product ID: 0x1234
Vendor ID: 0xabcd
Looks very suspicious! Not a proper ID!!!

True Hide feature and comments on VMwareWks11+E2B

Starla 16/01/2015

Hi again Steve.

Regarding this True Hide feature you are working on, I would like to suggest the following implementation on a future E2B update: a menu option under \_ISO\UTILITIES folder that would scan detected physical storage devices connected to system for True Hidden partitions, which would be listed, and then the user would be allowed to choose which one(s) to unhide (if any). Found partitions hidden in the conventional way could also be listed, and offered to unhide as well.

As for VMwareWks11 (I've not tested previous versions) + E2B removable USB drive. I've been using VBox+VMUSBBoot for my E2B tests, but had to try VMware because it supports UEFI boot to Windows OSes. However according to your articles there was the USB boot limited support (read only via Plop, USB 2.0 boot speed because of no Plop xHCI driver).

Well WMwareWks offers native USB 3.0 boot support in *UEFI* mode, by powering the VM up to firmware and choosing boot device accordingly. Well, that's the VMware claim. What they don't say is that USB storage connected to USB 3.0 ports are supported only for certain USB 3.0 controllers (my Etron is not one of them).

Anyway I've found a way to get both BIOS and UEFI USB 3.0 boot support, read *and* write on VMwareWks11 by applying the same approach as VMUSBBoot does for VBox.

1. Ensure that VMware USB Arbitration service is running. Sidenote: this is the only "VMware" service that needs to be running unless you require network access from your installed guest OSes or being able to run your VMs from a remote computer (o_0).
2. Connect your E2B drive to USB 3.0 port on host computer.
3. Start VMware, select your VM of choice and open its settings window.
3. Under Hardware tab, click Add and select New HDD. Follow the wizard. The key choices are using "SCSI type" (using "SATA type" throws an error at the end of the process, and I've not tested "IDE type") *and* using a Physical disk instead of creating a virtual drive. You need to select the "physicaldrive" from a list. You can find the one that belongs to your E2B drive by running CMD->diskpart->list disk. Finally you will be asked to create (I don't know why) a virtual disk (.vmdk file). Create it wherever you want, it will stay at 1 kB in size, so don't worry.
4. After finishing the Add HDD wizard, a new SCSI HDD will be listed on your VM hardware. Select it and click on Advanced button on the right. Ensure the disk is "Independent" and changes are "applied inmmediately". Not sure if this step is required, but I think this will be the fastest and more straightforward way to go.
5. Depending on your needs, enable or disable the EFI firmware for your VM.
6. Power on your VM *to the firmware* (important). Be sure your boot priority is set to the E2B "SCSI HDD". After that initial config you can simply power on the VM.

That's it. Feels even faster than VBox. The downside is VMware is a lot more system invasive than VBox. I had to spend some time disabling uneeded services, network connections and network protocols after installation.

Re: True Hide feature and comments on VMwareWks11+E2B

SteveSi 16/01/2015

Hi
VBox will boot Windows via UEFI - just make sure you have lots of graphics memory allocated (65MB+) or you get just a black screen. I use it all the time.
I don't use VMWare but I had heard that now it supports USB booting but never tried it. Thanks for the info.
re. Hide/Unhide - it would require a grub4dos batch file - you could base it on the Mark 2 version I have just posted on reboot.pro or Tutorial 130 (just changed to mk2 version too).

Re: Re: True Hide feature and comments on VMwareWks11+E2B

Starla 17/01/2015

Oh :(

I have 256 MB for graphics and I can't UEFI boot to W7 from rEFInd on E2B under VBox (after several tries VBox crashes). First try on VMware.

I installed UEFI W7 x64 with WinNTSetup in both cases using GPT disk with EFI partition(fat32)+OS partition(ntfs). I only installed UEFI boot files (WinNTSetup option). I can even use EFI Kon-Boot from rEFInd on the VMware guest.

I'll try again without E2B at all on VBox to be sure...

Re: Re: Re: True Hide feature and comments on VMwareWks11+E2B

Starla 17/01/2015

Ok, no need to try again, last 3 comments (as of this post's date) here: www.virtualbox.org/ticket/7702

I've only tested W7 x64, which is still unsupported. I guess you are UEFI booting to 8.1.

Thanks for the new hide feature. I could manage to code the suggested utility based on your examples, except I'm not sure on the correct way to detect the total number of attached storage drives + total partitions on each with grub4dos commands. After that all and each partition would be tested a per your unhide/true unhide code to offer a list of candidates to unhide.

Re: Re: Re: Re: True Hide feature and comments on VMwareWks11+E2B

SteveSi 17/01/2015

Yes, I tested UEFI Win8/8.1 with VBox.
re. hiding
You could try the find command in a batch file

e.g.

!BAT
find > (md)0x300+1
cat --locate=\x0a --replace=\x20 (md)0x300+1
cat (md)0x300+1 | call :g
goto :eof

:g
if "%1"=="" goto :eof
echo Now we test %1
# code here!
shift
goto :g

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: True Hide feature and comments on VMwareWks11+E2B

Starla 17/01/2015

Thank you Steve.

Ophcrack

Baptiste 14/01/2015

Hello,
I'm starting to cry, i follow each steps on this website to ophcrack live working. I try 3.4 and 3.6 with the mnu or by extracting the tables to tables folder at the root, ophcrack never find tables ..
Do you know if it still working with Ophcrack 3.6 live ?
I download iso with vista table inclued, i create a folder "tables" at the root of my key and i put the folder vista_proba_free with his content.
My iso of ophcrack is in linux directory (G:\_ISO\LINUX)
What i am doing wrong ? :/
Thank you !

Re: Ophcrack

SteveSi 15/01/2015

Hi
I tested 3.6 on a FAT32 E2B v1.62 USB HDD
\tables\vista_free\(files here - e.g. table0.ind)
\_ISO\MAIN\MENU\ophcrack-notables-livecd-3.6.0.iso
works fine!
If not work for you, please describe your USB drive type and folder structure.

Re: Re: Ophcrack

Baptiste 17/01/2015

My folder structure is exactly the same, after your reply I tried with the same version and the same table as you.
I am running E2B v1.60 but usb my USB key is running NTFS as HDD.
It can be the problem, ntfs vs fat32.
I haven't other idea.

Re: Re: Re: Ophcrack

SteveSi 17/01/2015

No - works fine from E2B NTFS 2TB WD Passport USB 3.0 drive under VBox.
Note: Tables NOT found if using exFAT E2B drive though.
Did you try booting under QEMU or VBOX or real system?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Ophcrack

SteveSi 17/01/2015

P.S. Are you using a USB 3 port? maybe ophcrack does not have USB 3 drivers? Use a USB 2.0 port.
P.S. Yep - just checked - USB 3.0 ports do not work but USB 2.0 ports do. Slitaz does not detect USB 3.0 devices connected to USB 3.0 ports (unless under VBox)!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Ophcrack

Baptiste 18/01/2015

Thank for your time.

My usb key is 3.0 but i am only trying on usb 2.0 port.

I have updated my E2B to v1.61 and i am using exactly the same structure as you.

For my test, i use first qemu, when i start ophcrack under qemu, my tables are found, so i was happy !
I try to reboot my system and this time my table is not detected.
I don't understand the difference Qemu and my desktop boot

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Ophcrack

SteveSi 18/01/2015

When linux runs, it uses drivers to detect various devices in the system
I would guess that Slitaz does not have the drivers for the USB 2.0 controller for your system.
Try a shell command like
sudo fdisk
sudo blkid
sudo mount

to try to find your USB drive - or use a different machine.

Boot imgPTN on 2nd partition via mnu on 1st (E2B partition)

Starla 08/01/2015

Hi Steve!

Your recent sample mnu file "Parted_Magic_isoboot_Persistent.mnu" suggests an interesting approach to boot ISO files from a second partition:

iftitle [if exist (hd0,1)$HOME$/BIG.iso] BIG ISO file\n This is stored on my 2nd partition.
set ISOC=(hd0,1)$HOME$/BIG.iso
/%grub%/isoboot.g4b
boot

which means that I could stop using "PTN2_Menu.mnu" to list and boot the ISO files on my 2nd NTFS partition by just adding a mnu file like the previous one to corresponding folder on my 1st FAT32 (E2B files) partition. I would have to mirror E2B folder structure on 2nd partition because of the %HOME% usage, but that's even better.

However I also have imgPTN files in my 2nd partition. I guess QRUN.g4b should be called instead, but I'm not sure about the proper way to pass the imgPTN to it.

Thanks in advance.

PS: Your MAKE_THIS_DRIVE_ CONTIGUOUS.cmd seems to always use WinContig 32-bit no matter if there is WinContig64.exe in WINCONTIG folder. I'm using this slightly modified batch using the MS recommended approach to check for OS-bitness:

===BATCH START===
@echo off
if "%~d0"=="C:" echo ERROR: Drive C: specified! & pause & goto :EOF

set WC=
set _Bitness=64
if /i "%PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE%" == "x86" (
if not defined PROCESSOR_ARCHITEW6432 set _Bitness=32
)

if exist .\WINCONTIG_new\WinContig64.exe set WC=.\WINCONTIG_new\WinContig64.exe
if exist .\WINCONTIG_new\WinContig.exe (
if %_Bitness% equ 32 set WC=.\WINCONTIG_new\WinContig.exe
)
if "%WC%"=="" echo ERROR: Cannot find WinContig %_Bitness%-bit tool on this E2B drive! & pause & goto :EOF

echo Making all files on %~d0 contiguous - please wait...
echo %WC% "%~d0\" /DEFRAG /CLOSEIFOK /NOGUI /CLEAN:0 /LANG:Auto /NOINI
%WC% "%~d0\" /DEFRAG /CLOSEIFOK /NOGUI /CLEAN:0 /LANG:Auto /NOINI
===BATCH END===

I've harcoded it so cmd must be exec from \_ISO\docs\ (a root cmd looks sorta "hostile" to me). \WINCONTIG_new there contains latest release (1.3.5.04), with both 32 and 64-bit executables.

I've been quickly inspecting isoboot.g4b and could be a similar problem. Ie: latest SystemRescueCd 4.4.1 ISO includes both 32 and 64-bit kernels. According to current (1.62b7) isoboot.g4b, which kernel would be launched? It seems that it would be always the 32-bit version.

Re: Boot imgPTN on 2nd partition via mnu on 1st (E2B partition)

SteveSi 10/01/2015

What problem does using a 32-bit program cause you?
See http://www.easy2boot.com/configuring-e2b/about-mnu-files/ for qrun examples.

Re: Re: Boot imgPTN on 2nd partition via mnu on 1st (E2B partition)

Starla 10/01/2015

I missed that article. Exactly what I needed, thank you Steve.

Of course, no problem with using the 32-bit WinContig (been using it for months from RMPrepUSB before all my tests). I just checked your defrag CMD and realised that a 64-bit version existed. By just adding it to WINCONTIG it didn't work, I had to remove the 32-bit version for the 64-bit to be used. But I wanted to use both version according to OS architecture. I offered the modified cmd here should you or any other user liked it.

Regarding isoboot.g4b, I can always rename SysRes iso to get its boot menu again (I think you noted this in your WIP article about booting non-contiguous ISOs IIRC).

Keep the excelent work Steve.

Re: Re: Re: Boot imgPTN on 2nd partition via mnu on 1st (E2B partition)

SteveSi 15/01/2015

If I used both 32-bit and 64-bit apps, then I would increase the download size and the disk space usage. There is no benefit in using a 64-bit app unless you need lots of memory.
The only benefit in using a 64-bit app would be if you were running WinPE 64-bit and it had no SysWoW support. Running 32-bit apps on 64-bit Windows may show a small performance decrease due to SysWow, but for these sort of apps it would not be noticeable.
For the isoboot - yes, I use 32-bit version just because it will run on all platforms. 64-bit versions often require more memory too.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Boot imgPTN on 2nd partition via mnu on 1st (E2B partition)

Starla 16/01/2015

Understood ;)

And thanks a lot for fixing the QRUN.g4b line swap bug that was forcing processing of contiguous ISOs via isoboot.g4b. Now I don't need to rename SysResc ISO to get back its boot menu as long as it is a contiguous file (I remove CONTIG.iso, so I was experiencing the bug when posted above about my SysResc bitness concerns).

pb with custom Seven ISO file

Victor 07/01/2015

Hi ,
Great Job is Easy2boot, and you site with lots information for create a key with all sysadmin tool.
I have a little problem. I was create a key , with linux tool (gparted, ubuntu voyager ...) All tool work ;-) ,
and i was put 2 versions Of Windows Seven.
- The first Iso that contains all version of Windows Seven ( starter until ultimate) works perfectly. Iso present into _ISO\WINDOWS\WIN7.
- The second files, is a custom Windows named Windows 7 Titan, present in _ISO\WINDOWS\WIN7.
ISO Boot perfectly , But after imdisk was lanched after few second, I respond N to do a new install, after Seven ask me langage and after "Next", Installation doesn't find Operating system to install. I think i forgot one detail.... but witch ?
Thank you for your help,Victor.

Re: pb with custom Seven ISO file

SteveSi 07/01/2015

If you get the Blue LOADISO console then it should load the ISO as a virtual DVD - you can check this by using SHIFT+F10 and then looking for the DVD virtual drive.
For non-standard Windows Vista/7/8 ISOs, it is best to convert them to a .imgPTN file.

Re: Re: pb with custom Seven ISO file

Victor 07/01/2015

Thanks a lot... generation of imgPTN in progress.... wait and see...

Re: Re: Re: pb with custom Seven ISO file

Victor 07/01/2015

SteveSi, it works perfectly !!
Ouah, it's an amazing and wonderfull Tools.
Great thanks.

Add Easy2Boot to the boot menu entry using Bcdedit

babam 27/12/2014

How do I add Easy2Boot to the boot menu entry using bcdedit.exe in Windows 7. Thanks

Re: Add Easy2Boot to the boot menu entry using Bcdedit

SteveSi 27/12/2014

Use EasyBCD to add a 'NeoGrub' entry.

Add entries to EFI BCD

Starla 24/12/2014

Hi again Steve.

Your latest Tutorial 127 is a jewel. You describe my goal UFD setup, but my plan was adding grldr.mbr to MBR BCD to boot to E2B from BCD. I like your approach more (MBR boot to E2B, and then to MBR BCD), as it allows to use a currently working E2B.

Regarding editing EFI BCD in your tutorial, is it possible to add entries to boot to EFI tools like i.e. Kon-Boot or memtest86, in addition to Win8.1SE x86/x64, like shown in your tutorial for the "Windows Memory Diagnostic"?.

I also would like to try (I'm no expert) to answer your questions about WinNTSetup in your post from 18DEC14 ".imgPTN files were originally devised so..."
WinNTSetup will use ImDisk (if available) to mount your NT6 ISO of choice (by right-clicking the Browse button) in order to access the install.wim. WinNTSetup supports .WIM, .SWM and unencrypted .ESD. This support comes from 2 options:
A) Downloaded on first run wimgapi.dll (x86 and x64 versions, along with bcdboot, bcdedit and bootsect). It downloads 6.2 versions, but I replaced them with 6.3 ones.
B) DLLs from wimlib x86/x64 release. wimlib will work even when run from XP PE.
You can add booticex86/x64 to correponding tools folder as an alternative to bootsect (and to easily check BCDs before first reboot after WinNTSetup finishes sysprep. from chosen NT6 ISO).
Encrypted ESDs can be handled as a previous step to using WinNTSetup, using esddecrypt command line tool by qad at MDL.
Finally, XP and WinNTSetup: 2 options to add required storage drivers:
A) Add driver checkbox: Just browse for driver and MSSTMake will add it to sysprep. This requires the user knowing which driver to add.
B) Use same DPMS as in current E2B (the advantage being that you can have it in the UFD as 7z archive). WinNTSetup developer instructions:

1. Download DPs_BASE_1006.exe and DP_MassStorage_wnt5_x86-32_1209.7z from http://driverpacks.net/downloads
2. Run DPs_BASE_1006.exe and select C:\DPsBase for extracting
3. Copy DP_MassStorage_wnt5_x86-32_1209.7z to C:\DPsBase\DriverPacks
4. Run Winntsetup and select "Run DriverPacks BASE (x86 only)" checkbox
5. Push the setup button and wait for winntsetup to copy the files
6. You will be asked to select DPs_BASE.exe, browse to C:\DPsBase and select that file.
7. DriverPacks BASE will launch, select Settings --> DriverPacks in the treeview
8. Select the Driverpacks Massstorage checkbox and hit Slipstream button
9. The driver integration will take a few minutes, wait and hit okay in the success message that show up in the end.
I think DPs_BASE.exe can be customized via .INI, so user interaction can be avoided or at least minimized.
Note that any quality custom XP ISO out there will include storage drivers, so the above procedures are not needed.
Unattended files (sif, txt and xml) and image index to install can be also specified.
Oh, and Merry Christmas!

Re: Add entries to EFI BCD

SteveSi 27/12/2014

Thanks for the WinNTSetup instructions.
I have added a extra section to Tutorial 127 which shows you how to add rEFInd to the USB drive. That will allow you to boot to .efi files or other efi linux payloads.

Re: Re: Add entries to EFI BCD

Starla 28/12/2014

Sometimes this pure gold stuff can be found, like your masterpiece E2B project and this unbelievable rEFInd.
Thank you for pointing us to it Steve. Honestly.

Just to add to the WinNTSetup "tour" above, latest 3.7.5b3 added the option to include the whole DISM (x86/x64 resp.) folder from latest ADK (which you can download with GetWAIK tool by same author), so you can use DISM from WinNTSetup to add drivers to sysprep OS, before first reboot (so source ISO remains untouched).
User Atari800XL at WinNTSetup thread at MSFN forum describes his smart strategy on this. He keeps different ISOs in his UFD with different driver sets. Depending on target system, he mounts one of the ISOs and uses WinNTSetup to slipstream drivers on sysprep OS. He showed a commandline sample:
run,q:\winntsetup\WinNTSetup_x86.exe nt6 -source:y:\os\w7.wim -syspart:c: -unattend:"autounattend_w7.xml" -savedriveletters -sysletter:c -reboot -disableuac -drivers:L: -runafter:"CopySetupScriptsW7.exe"
where L: contains the (ImDisk) mounted drivers ISO.
Actually before b3 WinNTSetup used DISM from source OS ISO, but after some debugging last days, author offered option to use DISM from WinNTSetup Tools folder for reliability reasons.
Thanks again for rEFInd, sir.

Entry For Linux

Bill Stone 19/12/2014

Y'all:
I have a 64GB USB 3.0 Cruzer Ultra Fit. It's divided into three partitions:
o An NTFS partition for E2B.
o An EXT4 partition on which there is an INSTALLED Ubuntu 14.10 installation. This is not booting from an ISO: I actually went through the installation process and installed Ubuntu to that partition.
o An 8GB SWAP partition for Ubuntu.
What payload file would I need to add to E2B in order to boot from Partition 2 of the flash drive? I.e., I'd like a menu option to boot Ubuntu 14.10, and then boot from the second partition on the flash drive.
Thanks!

Re: Entry For Linux

SteveSi 19/12/2014

If you installed Ubuntu then is should boot to Ubuntu.
Did you then install grub4dos?
Presumably at the moment then it boots to the grub4dos main menu?

So add a \_ISO\MAINMENU\Ubuntu.mnu text file with
title Ubuntu\n Boot to ptn 2
chainloader (hd0,1)+1

Re: Entry For Linux

William Stone III 20/12/2014

Perfect. That worked like a charm. I wasn't sure what the correct syntax would be for getting to the second partition.
So my deal now is:
I fire up any computer and boot from E2B. Ubuntu 14.10 is listed as the first item. I can either choose from my installers/utilities, or boot to Ubuntu -- on ANY computer.
And since it's a 64GB USB 3.0 flash drive, Ubuntu's actually usable.
Then to add onto that, I've also got PortableApps installed on the E2B partition, making those tools available under the Windows side.
Additionally, E2B is mounted to /e2b on the Ubuntu side. When booting to the Ubuntu partition, various directories under my home drive are symlinked to the corresponding PortableApps \Documents directories.
This is the tool I've been waiting a good twenty years for. Excellent work.

DOS and NTFS

Michael 17/12/2014

Hi,
i had bad luck with expensive fixed USB keys dying quite quickly. So now I'm going for a removable one. The downside is, that I can't create a 2nd partition for FAT which is easily accessible from Windows any longer (1st is NTFS).
I'd like to have an easy way to store some files for using in DOS again. Just some small ones for BIOS or firmware upgrades.
Is it maybe possible to have a folder on the NTFS part whose contents are automatically copied to a 2nd FAT partition by e2b when starting DOS? Or something else what doesn't require to much fiddling around once it is configured?

Re: DOS and NTFS

SteveSi 17/12/2014

external USB hard drives that spin must be treated with great care. Don't move them once they are spinning.
For two partitions did you miss...?
http://www.easy2boot.com/make-an-easy2boot-usb-drive/multiple-partitions-on-a-usb-flash-drive/
See Make a 'secret' E2B partition on a USB Flash drive
Read more: http://www.easy2boot.com/configuring-e2b/protection-and-security/

Re: Re: DOS and NTFS

Michael 17/12/2014

Thanks for your quick reply.

It were USB keys, not hdds. Win8 2Go certified. Two Kingston DataTraveler Workspace which lasted for a few months. And one SuperTalent USB 3.0 Express RC8, only lasted for a few days. All of them became quite hot after a few minutes. At least they were fast...

I already stumbled over these pages while searching for a solution. But I was hoping there was something which wouldn't require me to swap the partitions every time I want to add something my FAT partition.
Thinking about it again, it maybe is not to bad with RMprepUSB being portable. So thanks for your hint for thinking about it again :-)
I'd still prefer a solution which doesn't require me to swap the partitions, though.

Re: Re: Re: DOS and NTFS

SteveSi 18/12/2014

Once you have made the partitions on the E2B drive, then you can boot to E2B and swap the partitions using a menu entry in E2B (and swap back again afterwards using E2B or RMPrepUSB or BootIce).
You can install a driver onto your Windows PC that will treat Removable drives as a fixed drive, so it will allow you to access all partitions on a Removable drive - e.g. hitachi microdrive cfadisk driver just as if it was a hard disk.
P.S. Win8.1ToGo does not work on a Removable drive - it must be Win8 not 8.1!

Installing Windows 7 From a (Removable) USB3.0 Flash drive

Ran 15/12/2014

Hi,
I'm having a trouble installing Windows 7 on certain machines using USB3.0 flash drive (shown as REMOVABLE, on either USB2.0 or USB3.0 ports). I have done my research and already integrated the required INFs into the boot.wim files. After setup starts, I get the infamous "A required CD/DVD drive device driver is missing" error. When browsing, the flash drive isn't listed. On the problematic machines I was only able to proceed by connecting another device, loading the INFs from it, through setup, and then manually running LOADISO from the newly recognized USB3.0 drive.
How can I make it work permanently? How come integrating the drivers into the WIN isn't enough? or better - What's the difference between adding the drivers to boot.wim and adding them manually while in setup??

BTW, strangely enough - I got it to work on several other machines (with USB3.0 ports, of course) - even without making a single change to the original ISO!

Thanks!

Re: Installing Windows 7 From a (Removable) USB3.0 Flash drive

SteveSi 15/12/2014

It must be a problem with the driver(s).
Did you just add one USB 3 driver or a whole bucket load?
I have seen problems when installing lots of similar drivers - the driver files eventually end up in the same windows folder - e.g. if USBX uses usbabc.sys and USBY uses usbabc.sys and USBZ also uses usbabc.sys, then the last one to be added to the boot.wim will overwrite the previous ones.
To test this, start with a new original boot.wim and just add the correct USB 3.0 driver for your 'troublesome' system.

Re: Re: Installing Windows 7 From a (Removable) USB3.0 Flash drive

Ran 15/12/2014

Thanks for the fast reply.
I've actually done this, adding only 2 Intel INFs - didn't work. Only when I manually added the same drivers during setup. Thing is, when I list the 3rd party drivers within the WIM, I SEE THEM... What can I possibly do wrong??

Re: Re: Re: Installing Windows 7 From a (Removable) USB3.0 Flash drive

SteveSI 15/12/2014

Are you adding them using Dism?
How are you manually installing them once booted?
Did you try looking at log files?
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee851579(v=ws.10).aspx

Re: Re: Re: Re: Installing Windows 7 From a (Removable) USB3.0 Flash drive

Ran 16/12/2014

Well... I don't know whether to be happy or even more frustrated...
After trying some other ISOs (all unmodified!), I somehow got it to work, then switched back to the ISO(s) I've tried before - and could never reproduce to problem!! Strange. Very strange!
Something tells me you're gonna hear from me again :)

Anyways, as for what I was doing before (trying for hours to avoid the need of steps 7-12):
1. Extract boot.wim and mount it
2. [Elev. CMD] Dism.exe /image:C:\Mount /Add-Driver /driver:C:\Drivers /recurse
[C:\Drivers contains x86 versions of:
iusb3xhc.inf iusb3xhc.cat iusb3xhc.sys iusb3xhc.man
iusb3hub.inf iusb3hub.cat iusb3hub.sys iusb3hub.man ]
3. Unmount, add boot.wim back to ISO.
4. Copy ISO to _ISO\WINDOWS\WIN7; Make the ISO contiguous
5. Boot from USB and start Windows 7 setup.
6. Click on Install Now. Setup starts (no "blue command window" appears) and the missing driver error appears after few seconds.
7. Plug in another USB with the same drivers on it.
8. Click Browse and select the folder containing the drivers.
9. Select both drivers and click Next
10. Error message appears...
11. Click X to go back to the first setup screen.
12. Click Install Now... Setup run flawlessly.

Thanks again!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Installing Windows 7 From a (Removable) USB3.0 Flash drive

SteveSi 16/12/2014

7. plug in another USB ????!!!!!

Then surely the USB 3.0 drivers are loaded - or are you plugging it into a USB 2 port?
Are you using the same USB ports each time? Did you change/re-arrange/remove/add any USB devices?
Did you try unplugging and reconnecting the USB drive?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Installing Windows 7 From a (Removable) USB3.0 Flash drive

16/12/2014

It's a USB3.0 port but a USB2.0 device.
Tried different ports on the computer (DELL laptop).
Tried unplugging and reconnecting to no avail.
I didn't understand your question about change/re-arrange/remove/add any USB devices....

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Installing Windows 7 From a (Removable) USB3.0 Flash drive

SteveSi 16/12/2014

If it's a laptop then forget about the change USB devices Q (PCs have many ports and many USB devices (kbd, mouse, wifi, etc) connected - sometimes a different arrangement causes device enumeration is a different order).
So, if you just boot to Win 7 setup - press SHIFT+F10 and run diskpart - LIS DIS and LIS VOL - is the USB 3 device listed?
The INF file should be in X:\WINDOWS\INF (usually oem1.inf or oem2.inf) there should also be corresponding .PNF files - are there?
Then try loading from each C:\WINDOWS\INF\OEMx.inf file or use drvload.exe from the command line.
HTH
Steve

Win7 Setup imgPTN

Starla 14/12/2014

Hi Steve.

I've found this problem while using a Win7 Setup imgPTN from an ISO to install it under VBox.

1. Booted from my E2B UFD (1st partition FAT32) into E2B Main Menu.
2. Switched to my 2nd PTN (NTFS), where the Win7 Setup imgPTN (FAT32) was stored.
3. Booted the imgPTN and Windows Setup started. After entering required data I went away while Setup performed its job.
4. When I returned, I was expecting to find the CSM menu from my imgPTN. Contrary to that Windows Setup had already rebooted and was waiting for final user input before first logon.
5. After reaching Win7 desktop I rebooted to check what was happening with my USB boot, just find a bootmgr menu, where the 2 options were A) Just installed W7 and B) Boot to Windows Setup (the imgPTN in my USB). My CSM was gone.
6. Using the "Restore CSM/E2B" batch files in \e2b of imgPTN didn't help, no backup was found.
7. I recovered my CSM (and be able to switch to E2B Main Menu) by reinstalling grub4dos to UFD MBR with RMPrepUSB.

Seems like the problem is that Removable USB drives are seen as fixed when using "Virtual Machine USB Boot" tool. Win7 overwrote my UFD MBR and even edited the BCD in my \boot folder thinking it was a 2nd installed OS (although it was just the extracted contents of installation media), hence the bootmgr menu on boot.

I just hope this is not the behavior on real PC, where my UFD will be seen as removable.

Re: Win7 Setup imgPTN

SteveSi 14/12/2014

Yes, that is expected.
The USB drive is seen as a hard disk in VBox - what it more significant though is that in the VM, the USB drive is configured as HDD0 and the virtual HDD is HDD1 - so the 'system boot drive' is considered to be HDD0 (the USB drive).
On a real system it does not happen even if you install from a USB HDD.
You can restore the MBR by running RMPrepUSB - Install grub4dos, as you found.

Re: Re: Win7 Setup imgPTN

Starla 15/12/2014

Thank you Steve, that sounds good.

Btw, ImDisk was updated to 1.8.5 back in september. Maybe next MPI TP and E2B updates could include it. I've found your extracted approach in \firadisk to be very useful to add mount support to bare-bones boot.wims from Windows Setup \sources.

Actually a Win8.1 x64 boot.wim (booted with your wimboot sample menu) happily installs extracted ImDisk and allows running WinNTSetup, so is a quick and nice PE for OS deployment. Tested with XP ISO and Win7 imgPTN.

Re: Re: Re: Win7 Setup imgPTN

SteveSi 17/12/2014

For XP installs you really need an ISO with added SATA\SCSI\RAID drivers. The vanilla ISO needs DPMS which is included in E2B and WinSetupFromUSB.
http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/e2b-v162beta1-windows-xp-install-isos.html

Re: Re: Re: Re: Win7 Setup imgPTN

Starla 18/12/2014

I've been reading that article with great interest because 2 weeks ago I was performing a deep review of the available approaches to deploy my OS ISOs (XP and W7) from an E2B UFD.

I tested all methods described here and at RMPrepUSB site, and those listed in your above article.

Honestly, my conclusion was that WinNTSetup was the most straightforward and "clean" approach since it doesn't require "pre-processing" of OS sources (imgPTN conversion, Rufus creation, WinSetupFromUSB creation, etc). I was surprised this software solution wasn't mentioned in the article, because is perfectly compatible with E2B in regards to the "easy to maintain" concept.

Actually using it is like "Install from PE" method, but you can use it for deploying any Windows. And it handles "custom" ISOs (driverpacks, post-install activity) just fine. Even the W7 install problem I described before didn't happen on VBox, because WinNTSetup set up properly in advance the bootldr+BCD chain, before first reboot, avoiding W7 setup "guessing".

And please note that I LOVE your imgPTN option. Actually I don't mind converting my W7 to imgPTN since I usually have to modify original sources to suit my needs, so it saves me from the re-create ISO step. Since I can mount with ImDisk in read-only mode, it also ensures that imgPTN remains untouched after creation.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Win7 Setup imgPTN

SteveSi 18/12/2014

.imgPTN files were originally devised so that E2B could support UEFI booting (linux, konboot, etc. as well as Windows) without any complicated menu/bcd editing.
I haven't used WinNTSetup much, but of course you can use it with E2B. WinNTSetup seems to need an install.wim file which means it must be extracted from the ISO first. It also has problems with encrypted .esd files.
As regards XP, can you install a vanilla MS XP Install ISO to an AHCI system with WinNTSetup without expert knowledge and having the right drivers on hand? You can do this easily with WinSetupFromUSB and E2B.
I will have to take a closer look at it some time though, especially as it can be scripted and thus automated.
thanks for the idea.

Persistence and Menus

whiplite 12/12/2014

Hi again
I using a couple vesions of linux and need persistence in most of them. I have accomplished it by following the .mnu sample files.
The poblem is that some of the instuctions tell me specific sub foldes to save them in i.e. _iso\mainmenu\mnu\slax8_32 for the extracted SLAX iso. or _iso\linux\mnu for linux mint etc. This make the persistence work which i'm grateful for but It changes the mainmenu list and linux lists. and seems to use the file name as a list entry.

Is there a way to keep persistence working while stile being able to create a .mnu file for the title and help text?
And (it would be nice) to be able to list all my distros and utilities in the main menu with persistence active if need be.

Re: Persistence and Menus

SteveSi 12/12/2014

I am not sure what you mean? If you want all your distro .mnu files and ISOs in the Main menu then put them in the \_ISO\MAINMENU\MNU folder.
Most .mnu files use the $HOME$ variable - this is translated by E2B to be the foldername of where ever you place the .mnu file. So you can move them to wherever you like.
The .mnu file determines the menu entry and menu help text - you can change this to whatever you like.
If you want to have two entries for each ISO - one for persistence and the other non-persistent, you can do this by adding a few lines to your persistent .mnu file - e.g.

title HERE IS MY non-persistent linux\n HERE IS MY HELP TEXT
/%grub%/QRUN.G4B $HOME$/MYISO.ISO

This will run the MYISO.ISO as if it was just placed in the \_ISO\xxx folder.
See http://www.easy2boot.com/configuring-e2b/about-mnu-files/

In the case of slax - you can either place the ISO file in \_ISO\MAINMENU or use the persistent ,mnu and press ESC key as detailed in http://www.slax.org/en/documentation.php#booting

Re: Re: Persistence and Menus

whiplite 13/12/2014

Thanks for the help i figured it out. I was was following the file paths examples in the "sample.mnu" file too strictly. I just moved all the .iso and .mnu files to the main menu folder and changed the title and help text within the sample mnu file for each distro. this accomplished listing all the distros in the main menu with my titles/help text and having persistence on the ones i needed it on.
Thanks to you for the help and if your not the creator thanks to them for the files. If i had some funds i would donate but i'm trying to get back on my feet.
after trying xboot, mlutiboot, uneboot, yumi, lulu, and probably a dozen others this was the system that work for me so far.
now to test on multiple systems

Re: Re: Re: Persistence and Menus

SteveSi 13/12/2014

No problem. Once you get the hang of it, it is pretty easy to just drop the .mnu and iso files onto an E2B drive.
You can change the order of the entries in each menu by changing the name of the .iso file or the .mnu file
You can change how the .iso file is listed by creating a matching .txt file. Watch the videos at the bottom of the Home page for more help and demos.

fade out the version number

Timo 12/12/2014

Hey Guys,
at the top of my main menu e2b displays me the version number of g4d: grub4dos 0.4.6a 2014-11-10, Mem: 630k/1945m.....
is there any possibility to fade out this message ?

Re: fade out the version number

SteveSi 12/12/2014

Use latest E2B v1.61

Re: Re: fade out the version number

Timo 12/12/2014

I already use the latest version. Maybe any Code to disable it ?

Re: Re: Re: fade out the version number

SteveSi 12/12/2014

Easy2Boot covers this up with a menu heading, Easy2Boot uses grub4dos 0.4.5c by default.
Therefore you must have changed E2B in some way. I cannot tell you how to fix it unless you can tell me what changes you have made. Are you using a MyE2B.cfg file?

customizung further

whiplite 11/12/2014

I hope someone can help me with this.

My goal is to configure the master password page so that only the backgound image is shown i.e. NO password prompt. i got rid of the "E2B password text" no problem but it still gives me a "password:" prompt. I've made the standard text color black/black and this helps because my image is dark but the cursor is a bright white. kind of defeats the purpose, which is to give no indication to the user to even enter a password.

Thank you in advance for any help with this.

also THANK YOU for this awesome program and the chance to learn something new.

Re: customizung further

Steve Si 12/12/2014

See http://www.easy2boot.com/configuring-e2b/protection-and-security/

For more grub4dos tips see
http://www.rmprepusb.com/tutorials/grub4dos
http://www.rmprepusb.com/tutorials/grub4dos/grub4dos-internal-variables-and-functions

# skip if already loaded menu once
if exist DONEMENU goto :pok

# set screen to show bitmap immediately
call Fn.70 3
# load bitmap
splashimage /_ISO/docs/Templates/Aliums/Aliums.bmp.gz > nul
# show bitmap
clear

# turn off cursor
call Fn.70 0
:mpwd
password fred > nul && goto :pok
goto :mpwd
:pok

# reset to normal mode after good password (use Fn.70 0 if you want background to be cleared)
call Fn.70 3

Pb with Windows 7 Live CD

kiko 07/12/2014

Hi,
Can you help me, please ? I would like to use my Windows7LiveCD (not installable CD), created with WIN7PE in my e2b USB key. I tried different solutions:

1
I put Windows7LiveCD.iso file in differents folders like:
\_ISO\MAINMENU\
\_ISO\WIN
\_ISO\WINDOWS\WIN7\
\_ISO\WINPE\

i boot on USB key, i choose my Windows7LiveCD, the OS boot and a few seconds after the logo of Windows 7, i have the BSOD blue screen of the death with this error: *** STOP: 0x0000007B ....
2
i extract the contents of the ISO directly to the root of E2B drive and then use a \_ISO\MAINMENU\Windows7LiveCD.mnu file containing:
title Windows7LiveCD
chainloader /bootmgr

I have following error:
*** STOP: 0x0000007B ....

Can you help me, please ?
Thank you for this e2b software, it is very much good

The solution will be able for Windows XP liveCD created by BartPe ?

Re: Pb with Windows 7 Live CD

SteveSi 07/12/2014

It should work either from ISO or as flat extracted files.
Windows 7 does not have USB 3 drivers - are you booting from a USB 2.0 port or USB 3.0?
I have Windows 7 LiveCD from usb.iso - it works fine just as .iso in Easy2Boot for me.

Re: Re: Pb with Windows 7 Live CD

07/12/2014

i boot from usb 2.0 port. My test computer does not have USB 3.0 port.

Re: Re: Pb with Windows 7 Live CD

07/12/2014

I have only one W7LiveCD.iso file, which is fully fonctionnal on bootable cdrom. i will try another one if i find one.
Never mind !

Re: Pb with Windows 7 Live CD

Starla 09/12/2014

The following thread may help you, Section 3 "Boot Win7 VHD Image file from USB":

http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=23553

It seems that you need to fix the registry in Win7 in your live CD in order for it to work from USB (step 14).

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit LiteTouch .ISO

John 05/12/2014

I have an MDT LiteTouch .ISO, which is an deployable image of Windows 7, captured using Windows Deployment Service. I can boot to this .ISO from DVD or from a single .ISO USB stick (using Rufus to burn the image to USB). When adding this .ISO to Easy2Boot, it will boot to MDT, however, it can't find the X:\Deploy directory, which is where the deployment share files are at. Maybe I'm not adding the ISO to the correct folder? I tried under Windows 7, and WinPE folder and neither 1 works.
Thank you

Re: Microsoft Deployment Toolkit LiteTouch .ISO

SteveSi 06/12/2014

Are you sure you mean X:\Deploy? X: is the RAM Drive and loaded from boot.wim - it should be there.
If however you mean the USB drive or CD, then I think you will have to make a .imgPTN file from the ISO. Lookup MakePartImage on this site for details.
http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/makepartimage/
and watch the video. Use FAT32 when making the image to allow for UEFI booting.
Add the .imgPTN file to the \_ISO\MAINMENU (or any other 2nd level menu folder except \_ISO\WINDOWS)

Re: Re: Microsoft Deployment Toolkit LiteTouch .ISO

John 08/12/2014

Creating an .imgPNT file is exactly what I needed; the images work. Thank you so much.
One note: I used NTFS MPI instead of FAT32, since the images are more than 8GB.
Thanks again.

Re: Re: Re: Microsoft Deployment Toolkit LiteTouch .ISO

SteveSi 22/02/2015

If the size of the .imgPTN file is over 4GB then the E2B drive needs to be NTFS. BUT - as long as all the files INSIDE the .imgPTN file are <4GB then you can use FAT32 or NTFS.

multiple boot usb drive

ttminh 11/11/2014

i have 2T seagate usb drive, i want to have multiple boot choice of 1 windows 8 running on the usb drive, the other boot to any iso image of windows install, UBCD, hiren's, antivirus recovery disk ...etc
I read on rmprepusb and easy2boot but not clearly understand how, so many thanks for any help :D

Re: multiple boot usb drive

SteveSi 11/11/2014

You can install win8 first on a freshly formatted USB drive and then add the E2B files to the same partition.
OR
You could have two primary partitions, Win8 to go on the first and E2B on the 2nd.
You will need to make the USB drive boot to the E2B menu by installing grub4dos using RMPrepUSB. Then you can either add a .mnu file to \_ISO\MAINMENU or for a quicker boot you can edit the \menu.lst file and add extra menus

title E2B
configfile /_ISO/e2b/grub/menu.lst

title Win8
root (hd0,0)
chainloader /bootmgr

For WinToGo see
http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/add-windows-78-to-go-images-to-your.html

Due to many BIOSes not being able to access sectors past 137GB on USB drives however, you should keep the total size of both partitions to below 137GB.
If you just use one partition for both E2B and Windows, then you could make a 130GB 1st partition and use the 2nd partition for a data partition for Windows.

Chromium OS Images

Carrot Cruncher 08/11/2014

Hi. Should I be able to boot these image files (.img) using Easy2Boot:
http://chromium.arnoldthebat.co.uk/
The partition table looks like this:
parted Camd64OS-20141101010101.img print
Model: (file)
Disk Camd64OS-20141101010101.img: 2590MB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:
Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
11 32.8kB 8421kB 8389kB RWFW
6 8421kB 8422kB 512B KERN-C
7 8422kB 8422kB 512B ROOT-C
9 8422kB 8423kB 512B reserved
10 8423kB 8423kB 512B reserved
2 10.5MB 27.3MB 16.8MB KERN-A
4 27.3MB 44.0MB 16.8MB KERN-B
8 44.0MB 60.8MB 16.8MB ext4 OEM
12 128MB 145MB 16.8MB fat16 EFI-SYSTEM boot
5 145MB 147MB 2097kB ROOT-B
3 147MB 1499MB 1353MB ext2 ROOT-A
1 1499MB 2573MB 1074MB ext4 STATE

When I try I get:
Disk error on boot
Do I need to do anything special for this type of image?
Thanks.

Re: Chromium OS Images

SteveSi 08/11/2014

No. You can't boot complex disk images and that is way to complex!
Simple hard disk images .imghd or .vhd can be booted but they must contains an OS that has a single-stage bootloader.

Re: Re: Chromium OS Images

Carrot Cruncher 08/11/2014

Thanks for confirming.

Easy2Boot - DriverPack updates?

TechDud 03/11/2014

Is there anything i can change for upcoming DP_MassStorage_wnt5_x86-32 [Nightlies]?
Perhaps changes in DPMS_z87.zip or elsewhere could be integrated with credits to SteveSi (et al) in changelogs?
Am adding following HWID's to ..\i\9\dps7achi.inf (XP-RST11.2)
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1F23&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1F32&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1F33&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0F23&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8D62&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_9C03&CC_0106,
(2k3)
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1F23&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1F33&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0F23&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_9C03&CC_0106
Symbios24 seems to have found a bug affecting one AMD AHCI HWID, and a fix for that is in the works too.
Thank you for the write-up too, by the way. :)
http ://www.easy2boot.com/make-an-easy2boot-usb-drive/adding-latest-dpms/
A reminder that all updated NT5 packs can be obtained via this search for [Nightlies]: http ://forum.driverpacks.net/search.php?search_id=1573691157
For the reader, please remember, true Friends don't let friends run XP for internet access! http://forum.driverpacks.net/viewtopic.php?id=10886 Activation is the only internet access an XP install should ever see now. WLAN can use cable, btw.

I'm thankful as well to those who started the DriverPacks project in the first place, and all those many people whom have selflessly contributed their time too in the last decade or so. You can find me in that forum.
Thank you, SteveSi! :)

Slow boot

Alon 02/11/2014

Hi Steve.
First, as other mentioned before, let me thank you for an amazing software. I was looking for ALL in One solution for a long time :)
In your YouTube video, after deploying the E2B to your pen drive, i saw that it is taking only 5 seconds to boot (using QEMO)
In my case it takes no less than a minute :( (QEMO and Actual Boot)
I followed the steps in the video precisely .
i Have tried the following:
1. Different E2B version (Easy2Boot_v1.58DPMS + Easy2Boot_v1.11)
2. Different Pen USB (32 TOSHIBA + KINGSTON 16)
3. Different PC
Any suggestions?
Thank U again :)
Alon,

Re: Slow boot

SteveSi 02/11/2014

QEMU is slow to boot - may take 20-40 seconds.
Most of my videos are speeded up if I use QEMU.
Best to use VirtualBox which is much faster.
A real system should boot in 15-30 seconds.
In the Utilities menu there is a Measure BIOS USB performance menu entry - what timings do you get on a real system - on my EeePC + USB 2 Corsair 32Gb pendrive I get 100 loops = 10 seconds which is pretty slow as the USB BIOS is very slow.
P.S. Formatting the E2B USB drive as FAT32 should improve the boot speed.

Re: Re: Slow boot

Alon 03/11/2014

Thank U for the fast Reply.
I am using FAT32 and not NTFS.
This are the numbers i am getting when using the speed test:
100 loops - 53 Seconds
1000 loops - 8 Minutes and 49 Seconds
I am guessing that those numbers are not good :)

Re: Re: Re: Slow boot

SteveSi 03/11/2014

Yep - you can test the speed of your USB drives using RMPrepUSB - Speed Test, but I suspect that your BIOS USB internal driver code is really bad!
Why not try the grub4dos 0.4.6 version (menu entry in E2B) and then select the Load USB driver option - then do the 100 loop E2B speed test. If the grub4dos USB driver finds the USB drive, then the speed should be a lot faster and proves that it is your BIOS that is slow.
There are lots of tips for speeding up E2B in the FAQ page.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Slow boot

Alon 03/11/2014

It Worked!! It is now extremely faster (100 Loop test takes only 1 seconds :)
One question remain though. How do i keep using the grub4dos 0.4.6?
In the FAQ you wrote:
"To always enable the Grub4dos USB driver use set GRUB_USB=Y in your \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg file to permanently enable it"
But i only have "Sample_MyE2B.cfg" (which is set to Y in GRUB_USB, but it is not really enabled)
Thank again steve :)

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Slow boot

SteveSi 03/11/2014

You are supposed to copy the Sample_MyE2B.cfg file to MyE2B.cfg and then edit it (as it says in the file and on this website) - if you prefer, just make a \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg text file using Notepad

!BAT
set GRUB_USB=Y

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Slow boot

Alon 03/11/2014

I must have missed that :/
Sorry for the troubles, and tnx for all your support!!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Slow boot

SteveSi 03/11/2014

No problem. I recommend VirtualBox+DavidB's VMUB utility - it makes testing your E2B drive so much easier and it is fast (if you have a USB 3 drive and USB 3 port it will run at USB 3 speeds under Windows).
See http://www.rmprepusb.com/tutorials/how-to-boot-from-usb-under-vmware-server and watch the video.

PTN2_Menu.mnu Error

Starla 01/11/2014

Hi Steve.
First of all thank you for your hard, hard work developing, improving and fixing this incredible software.
I'm using E2B 1.57a Beta11 (last 1.57a before 1.58). Everything is working good so far, except the Sample PTN2_Menu.mnu is not working for me. Here are 2 shots from VBox, same error in my real PC.
http://i62.tinypic.com/2lbcbis.png
http://i59.tinypic.com/2pzw56r.png
I have 2 primary PTNs. PTN1 is FAT32 and contains E2B files. PTN2 is NTFS and contains 2 big imgPTN files under _ISO folder. I can change "Accessible Windows PTN" with RMPrepUSB without problems, and even tools like Paragon HD Manager and Easeus Partition Master can see both PTNs in my UFD when launched from E2B in VBox.
I think the problem is that PTN2_Menu.mnu has to be updated somehow due to all changes/fixes in grldr/QAUTO.g4b, but I'm not sure.
Thanks in advance

Re: PTN2_Menu.mnu Error

SteveSi 01/11/2014

Hi - did you edit lines 1 and 3 as in the instructions inside the .mnu file? in your case you want hd0,1 ...
e.g.
iftitle [ls (hd0,1)/_ISO/ > nul && if "%GFX%"==""] ^Ctrl+2 PARTITION 2 Payload Files Menu [Ctrl+2]\n Run payload files in Partition 2 \\_ISO folder
set LBACKMENU=(bd)/%grub%/menu.lst
(bd)/%grub%/QAUTO.g4b .automenu (hd0,1)/_ISO
debug 0
configfile (md)0x3000+0x50

I will try to make this clearer in the next version!

Re: Re: PTN2_Menu.mnu Error

Starla 01/11/2014

I miss to edit line 3:
(%myhd%) -> (hd0,1)
I thought it was one of your variables, like %grub%, and this was correctly set in line 1.
Sorry and thank you Steve!

Running a Cosair GTX 128gb usb flash drive

Devon 28/10/2014

The flash drive shows up as "fixed disk" in RMPrepUSB... therefore when i go to install windows, it gets stuck after the install part, saying it needs drivers for cd. Meaning the emulator cannot find the xml because it is looking for a "removable disk" Alot of the drives today are of the "fixed disk" type, its just the way they are being manufactured. And there is no way to permanently modify the flash drive to be "removable" Last resort is me asking yall to add support for the "fixed disks" in the next update.

Re: Running a Cosair GTX 128gb usb flash drive

SteveSi 28/10/2014

Hi
There is a manual fix for this which is to use SHIFT+F10 to open a Windows console and then run the \_ISO\e2b\firadisk\LOADISO.cmd file. See http://www.easy2boot.com/testing-e2b/using-qemu-or-virtual-box/
The other way is to make a .imgPTN file from the Windows install ISO. If you do this then not only will it work from a hard disk, but you can also install when booting from a UEFI system too. You can also try the .imgPTNAUTO file extension to avoid the warning text before it switches in the partition image.

Windows 7 installation problem

Just assking 23/10/2014

Sandisk Extreme USB 3.0 64GB fixed disk, using MBR installation of Windows 7 (with a Win8.1 boot.wim) via imgPTN on a Lenovo G510 notebook USB 2.0 port.

After installation loads, choose language, choose "Install now" and then getting error "A media driver your computer needs is missing". Any advice?

Re: Windows 7 installation problem

SteveSI 23/10/2014

When it boots to setup, press SHIFT+F10 to open a command console.
Then look at all drives (e.g. use Notepad - File Open or dir C:) - can you find the USB drive?
If you can then problem is caused by using the win8 boot.wim file (e.g. looking for a file like install.esd or something that it cannot find).
If you cannot see the USB drive then probably the boot.wim does not have the correct drivers for your USB controller.

Re: Re: Windows 7 installation problem

Just assking 25/10/2014

The installation can see the USB drive ("notepad - file open" let's me explore it). I used win8 boot.wim so that I could use install.esd format, instead of *.wim to save space on the flash drive, but I guess I'll have to return to win7 boot.wim, and the larger install.wim, which work fine.

Windows Image

Tealk 17/10/2014

Hi, if i install Windows 7/8 from a Boot Stick with E2B i have there some options to choos key like this "http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/windows-install-isos/windows-8-install-isos/"
But if i use a key from there the installation aborts

Re: Windows Image

SteveSi 17/10/2014

You must use the correct key - see FAQ page for help.

partition ??

irma_e2b 14/10/2014

google traduction for my post - i'm french
hello,
OS linux mint13-maya update
E2B 1.55a not dpms
E2B: http: //www.easy2boot.com
I have a usb key I made this: http://pix.toile-libre.org/upload/thumb/1413214593.png
1 partition fat 32 with 4GB easy2boot (called "EasyBoot") which contains
- partedmagic
- Boot repair
- Details
1 4GB encrypted partition (called "crypt") which contains
- My documents
no problem, the boot drive and E2B fully functional
no problem with the encrypted partition
accuracy:
I also did these tests with one partition 8GB fat and so is
I noticed by cons:
E2B when I leave and return in mint13
I plug in my key
- Partition "EasyBoot" rise automatically: OK
- Partition "crypt" rise automatically: OK
BUT there is a new partition mounted more http://pix.toile-libre.org/upload/thumb/1413214775.png
she was appointed to be partedmagic, bootrepair, tails depending on what I used in E2B
gparted does not see
Disk Utility sees it, lets take it apart, then remove
Have you encountered this problem?
how can it be automatically deleted?
thank you

Re: partition ??

SteveSi 14/10/2014

Your .png files are fuzzy and too small - I cannot see any detail.
What payload files do you have exactly (.ISO, .imgPTN)?
Please send output from RMPrepUSB - Drive Info - 0
Are you referring to the small hidden partition on the USB drive that is made by RMPartUSB\RMPrepUSB?

Re: Re: partition ??

irma_e2b 14/10/2014

mon OS est LINUX MINT13 (équivalant ubuntu 12.04)
RMPrepUSB ne marche pas sous linux (avec wine)
images plus grandes
création partition
http://pix.toile-libre.org/upload/original/1413214593.png
le problème
http://pix.toile-libre.org/upload/original/1413214775.png
les images sont .ISO (partedmagic - bootrepair)

Re: Re: Re: partition ??

SteveSi 14/10/2014

The partition is created by E2B.
It is the ISO file that is mapped to ptn4

ptn1 = E2B
ptn 2 = unused
ptn 3 = used by some E2B .mnu files for persistence
ptn 4 = E2B maps ISO to this partition

If you reboot to E2B, then E2B will delete ptn 4 automatically.

Re: Re: Re: Re: partition ??

irma_e2b 16/10/2014

thank you for all the answers

Case 1:
E2B boot on partedmagic and utiliise
it restarts partirmagic
the partition is not deleted from the key
http://pix.toile-libre.org/upload/original/1413438603.png

2nd case:
E2B boot on bootrepair and is used
we leave bootrepair turning off the pc
the partition is not deleted from the key
http://pix.toile-libre.org/upload/original/1413438689.png

3rd case:
E2B is used or an ISO pmagic bootrepair
is restarted BUT you must leave reappear menu E2B
and then we reboot from E2B
partition is deleted
everything is ok
http://pix.toile-libre.org/upload/original/1413438732.png

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: partition ??

SteveSi 16/10/2014

Yes, that is all expected.
When E2B boots to the Main Menu it clears the partition entry.
E2B creates a new partition when you run an ISO.
When you reboot to E2B Main Menu it will clear the partition entry again.
I don't understand why this is a problem - that is how E2B works.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: partition ??

irma_e2b 16/10/2014

no it is not a problem, I did not understand how to operate
because I created two partitions on my key and the E2B me in a crushing
I understand better now and I can fit as I want
thank you very much for the info

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: partition ??

SteveSi 16/10/2014

How E2B Works
http://www.easy2boot.com/faq-/how-e2b-works/

Support for 32bit Linux Deepin

Emil Skibsted 08/10/2014

Hi all,
I am trying to get Deepin to work on my 64GB USB pen, but I can only get the 64bit to load, the 32bit stops before it finishes booting.
I am very new to E2B and Linux so might be a stupid question...
cheers

Re: Support for 32bit Linux Deepin

SteveSi 08/10/2014

I downloaded the ISO and tested under VBox - works fine for me. MD5 is 142696171e39c98e10a21f8221b967e9

Live USB

Dominic 03/10/2014

Hi ! i have an iso of mini windows 8, is there a way to boot it with the extract iso. I will explain my self, I want to be able to make change on my mini windows and keep it when I reboot

Re: Live USB

SteveSi 03/10/2014

Hi
Most mini-Windows have a /sources/boot,wim file which is loaded into RAM. If you have this then you cannot make changes to it.
You can extract the contents of the ISO directly to your E2B drive and then use a /_ISO/MAINMENU/Mini8.mnu file containing
title Mini-Win8
chainloader /bootmgr

OR
you can use the MPI toolpack to make a .imgPTN file from the ISO.
However, as explained, I don't think it will remember any changes. For that you need a full Win8 To Go install. http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/add-windows-78-to-go-images-to-your.html

Re: Re: Live USB

Dominic 03/10/2014

Thank you very much !
This look really interesting : http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/add-windows-78-to-go-images-to-your.html
But i wanna test this before
You can extract the contents of the ISO directly to your E2B drive and then use a \_ISO\MAINMENU\Mini8.mnu file containing
title Mini-Win8
chainloader /bootmgr

The only question I have to you is where I put the content of the iso and how i call it in the .mnu file !?

Re: Re: Re: Live USB

SteveSI 03/10/2014

extract the iso to the root of the drive
i already told you how to make a .mnu file.

CSM mode with 2 partition

erenz 29/09/2014

hi there, is there a way to make csm mode using 1st partition only, not using whole HDD but only the 1st partition?

Re: CSM mode with 2 partition

SteveSi 29/09/2014

Use an .imgPTN23 file extension for the .imgPTN file. This will keep partitions 2 and 3 on the E2B drive.

Re: Re: CSM mode with 2 partition

erenz 29/09/2014

Dear Steve, thx for your reply
i'm testing it and it's working, you really made my day :D

making boot DVD

Amir 28/09/2014

hi
before anything great thanks for professional program
I want to ask:
Is there any method that when i created usb Drive completely , make an iso from it to write it on dvd and boot from DVD?
best regards

Re: making boot DVD

SteveSi 28/09/2014

Yes and No! RMPrepUSB has a feature (File - Make grub4dos ISO from Drive), which will turn a grub4dos bootable USB drive into a grub4dos bootable ISO. The problem is this won't work with Easy2Boot because Easy2Boot is designed to be run from a writeable drive that has a MBR partitition.
Some things may work, but for most things like linux ISO booting, Windows ISO booting, etc. you must make your own .mnu files that do not rely on partnew or other tricks used by E2B. See the Make an E2B drive - Make and burn an E2B DVD page for details.

MakePartImage textmode

Bob 26/09/2014

Can anybody help me to get MakePartImage CSM Menu into textmode?

Re: MakePartImage textmode

SteveSi 28/09/2014

(accidentally deleted thread - sorry!)
change menu.lst in .\CUSTOM folder to graphicsmodes -1 640 and no splashimage
Try changing two lines to this
set CHBTM=2401 ;; # HELP TEXT BOTTOM POSITION XXYY
set CHELPTEXT=\x20 This menu has booted in MBR\\CSM Mode (not UEFI) \x20
if you use 640x480 you will have less rows in the menu, so you need to adjust things (much easier if you used 800x600!)

Using no Unattended File to install Windows 7

Ray 18/09/2014

Is there a way I can install Windows 7 without specifying an unattended file?

Re: Using no Unattended File to install Windows 7

SteveSi 19/09/2014

Why do you not want to use an xml file?
You can convert the ISO to a .imgPTN file - that does not require a xml file.

Re: Re: Using no Unattended File to install Windows 7

Ray 20/09/2014

I will be installing to many different PCs and do want to load any settings.

Re: Re: Re: Using no Unattended File to install Windows 7

SteveSi 20/09/2014

If you choose the Default E2B XML file then there are no 'settings'.
Have you actually tried it?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Using no Unattended File to install Windows 7

Kronical 08/11/2014

I too would like to bypass this. I want the original "Install Now" screen with the Recovery options, not the automated recovery done by E2B.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Using no Unattended File to install Windows 7

SteveSi 08/11/2014

You will get the Blue Console Windows which asks for Recovery, just press ENTER or N + ENTER and it will go to the normal Windows Install GUI.

Getting Hirens on e2b menu

Ed 13/09/2014

Hello,
I'm been trying to get hiren's to show up on the e2b main boot menu but haven't had any luck and I've tried the guide here:
http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/hirens-isos/
with no success. I have a 32 GB USB flash drive that runs e2b without issue. I'm hoping someone knows of a simple way to make it show up.

Re: Getting Hirens on e2b menu

SteveSi 13/09/2014

Any file placed in \_ISO\MAINMENU folder will show up as long as it does not end in . or .txt or .mnu or .cmd.
If a .iso file does not show up in the menu then it must have a file extension of . or .txt or .mnu or .cmd.

Kudos!

Niraj K. Yadav 10/09/2014

E2B makes life so much easier. I now have a 128 GB USB 3 UFD that can install every OS that I have access to install, from XP --> Win 8, plus many other files, like Office .ISOs, and every AV rescue disc I could find using 3 different repositories for them, all on a single UFD (with a duplicate for a backup, just in case ;p).
RMPrepUSB is an awesome tool in and of itself, but E2B takes all of the hassle out of, well, everything!
Kudos!

Easy2boot with PXE?

Catsrules 04/09/2014

I just had a thought, could Easy2boot be modified to work with a PXE boot server? This would be very powerful tool for a large environment with many computers like a school.

Re: Easy2boot with PXE?

SteveSi 04/09/2014

No - it needs real media with a writeable partition table.
Have you looked at SERVA? It is relatively easy to set up and you do not need to touch the DHCP server at all (so you won't upset the school servers or admin!).
http://www.rmprepusb.com/tutorials/serva

Re: Re: Easy2boot with PXE?

Catsrules 04/09/2014

I didn't know PXE is not writable. I guess I just assumed that is was. Darn
But I will give Serva a try, it sounds like a cool program. But not as cool at Easy2Boot :)

imDisk.iso was unexpected at this time?

tamir 24/08/2014

hello there,
i installed easy2boot on my usb flash, and i was booting nicely to the grub menu but when i did open the windows install there was an unknown problem which i tried to search my self with no luck. when the blue cmd screen opened it stopped the progress by saying "mounting the windowsinstall.iso using imDisk,iso was unexpected at this time"
image:
http://i.imgur.com/LqySaM4.png?1
so i tried an older versions of e2b (1.54,1.53,1.50,1.41) and the only one that worked for me was 1.04.
i want to be updated with this wonderful utility so i need your help here buddy

Re: imDisk.iso was unexpected at this time?

SteveSi 24/08/2014

Please avoid iso filenames that have ( ) or & in them.
Just use A-Z0-9_-

Re: Re: imDisk.iso was unexpected at this time?

tamir 25/08/2014

work like a charm, thanks steve keep up the good work!

Re: Re: Re: imDisk.iso was unexpected at this time?

SteveSi 25/08/2014

Try v1.56Beta - may be able to use () and & in filenames now.

Win7 installation from 2nd partition on removable USB drive (not the E2B partition)

Starla 24/08/2014

Hi all. Only 3 days into all this amazing E2B thing, so please sorry if this does not make sense at all. I've been reading the articles about using E2B with a 2 partition removable drive, the limitations regarding Windows installation ISOs (must be on the E2B partition) and the useful E2B_PTN_SWAP.mnu option. But what if I use an imgPTN of the Win7 ISO (or a imgPTN of corresponding Rufus USB drive) instead of the Win7 ISO itself, so
PTN1: FAT32, E2B files + less than 4GB payloads + PTN2_Menu.mnu
PTN2: NTFS, imgPTN Win7 installation + other greater than 4 GB payloads (imgPTN where required).

Could it work to install Win7?

Thanks in advance.

Re: Win7 installation from 2nd partition on removable USB drive (not the E2B partition)

SteveSI 24/08/2014

Yes, it should work.

Re: Re: Win7 installation from 2nd partition on removable USB drive (not the E2B partition)

Starla 25/08/2014

Great, I will test it then. Thank you so much.

Error 60 with Windows 2012R2

John 20/08/2014

Hello,
I'm using Easy2Boot on my 64Gb USB stick. When I want to start a Windows 2012R2 Update 1 iso file I get an error :
Error 60: File for drive emulation must be in one contiguous disk area.
I have started RMPrepUSB and started Ctrl-F2 but no fragmented files were found. When I start a Windows 8.1 Update 1 iso file the iso file is loaded. Does Easy2Boot support Windows 2012 R2 Update 1 iso files ?

Re: Error 60 with Windows 2012R2

SteveSi 20/08/2014

If you are seeing a 'not contiguous' error then we need to solve that first.
What folder is the ISO in? Did you check the MD5 of the ISO on the flash drive is correct (use RMPrepUSB - Ctrl+C.)
When do you see this Error 60 message exactly?

Re: Re: Error 60 with Windows 2012R2

John 20/08/2014

Hello,
The file is located :
u:\_ISO\WINDOWS\SVR2012\en_windows_server_2012_r2_vl_with_update_x64_dvd_4065221.iso
The error comes after selecting a key.
SHA1 of the file is d4b28f350981a7c3306dd409b172aea10d8599ac
The source is MS MSDN :
File Name: en_windows_server_2012_r2_vl_with_update_x64_dvd_4065221.iso
Languages: English
SHA1: D4B28F350981A7C3306DD409B172AEA10D8599AC

Re: Re: Re: Error 60 with Windows 2012R2

SteveSi 20/08/2014

So file is not corrupt?
Can you open it with 7zip from the USB drive? NTFS formatted?
Can you do following
in E2B menu type p then enter password easy2boot
then type c for console
then type
blocklist /_ISO/WINDOWS/SVR2012/en (then press TAB for auto completion)
does it list one cluster or more?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Error 60 with Windows 2012R2

jOHN 20/08/2014

I can open the file with 7zip no problem. The drive is NTFS formatted.
If i do the command I get :
(hd0,0) 16079296+4753344,65691248+4129952

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Error 60 with Windows 2012R2

SteveSi 20/08/2014

It IS fragmented then!! It shows 2 parts...
first block starts at sector LBA 16079296 and is 4753344 sectors in length, second block starts at sector 65691248 and is 4129952 sectors in length.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Error 60 with Windows 2012R2

John 22/08/2014

Hello Steve,
The problem is solved. I have copied the ISO files to my pc and back and now it works.
John

Re: Error 60 with Windows 2012R2

Craig Nagy 21/08/2014

Hi, if you haven't already, I'd recommend updating RMPrepUSB to the latest version (v2.1.724a) listed here: http://www.rmprepusb.com/documents/rmprepusb-beta-versions
And then try to Ctrl F2 the drive again. I had a similar issue and this worked for me.

Re: Re: Error 60 with Windows 2012R2

SteveSi 22/08/2014

Latest RMPrepUSB has a newer version of WinContig. Must be a problem with the older version of WinContig?

Older versions

silver 15/08/2014

Hello,
one quick question, where can I find older versions of Easy2Boot?
Thx

Re: Older versions

SteveSi 15/08/2014

Older versions are usually removed. The latest version should be compatible with any older version. Just overwrite your current version.

Re: Re: Older versions

silver 15/08/2014

I thought so. I already have the latest version on one of my sticks. I'm trying to find the older version to use for testing on my other stick. Is it possible for you to upload 1.11 version?
Thx

Re: Re: Re: Older versions

SteveSi 15/08/2014

It will be in the Archive folder on the MS Drive - Archive folder in a few minutes...
Why do you want an old version? Is there a problem with the newer versions?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Older versions

silver 16/08/2014

Got it, thx. :)
I have 1.11 + DPMS on one of my old sticks and to be honest, it boots faster with payloads than empty 1.53. I just wanted to compare these 2 sticks and see why.
Btw, keep up the good work ;)
Thx again

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Older versions

steveSi 16/08/2014

You can compare raw speed using RMPrepUSB - Speed Test.
Grub4dos is twice as fast accessing FAT32 than NTFS - maybe one is FAT32 and the slow one is NTFS?

E2B + Z97 chipset

Nicolas FKA The Real Deal 29/07/2014

Hello Steve,
After a lot of difficulties to make a reliable bootable USB pen with Win XP and a lot of AIO solutions, i found Easy2Boot.
This is the one and unique solution which led to a complete installation of the OS.
The support of AHCI controler is great. The necessity is to plug the destination drive on the ASMEDIA 3rd party controler (dev id : 1b21 0612). My board is an Asus Maximus VII Gene.
I have this small request ; is it possible to implement the native intel Z97 controler to plug my hard drive on it ? Dev id is 8086 8c82
To conclude i would like to thank you, this site is a mine of knowledge.

Re: E2B + Z97 chipset

SteveSi 29/07/2014

Hi
The driverpack included in E2B is rather old and does not have the latest chipset drivers.
See the page http://www.easy2boot.com/make-an-easy2boot-usb-drive/adding-latest-dpms/
for instructions on how to update the drivers.
I have checked the 1405176 driver pack and it does have the 8086 8c82 driver in the INI file..
[I-9]
ms_count=2
; 11.2.0.1006
ms_1_deviceName="Intel ICH7M/R-DH/8R/9M/10, 5/6/7/8/9series - RST 11.2"
ms_1_tag="iastor9"
ms_1_sysFile="iastor.sys"
ms_1_hwids="PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1C02&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1C03&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1E02&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1E03&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2923&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A03&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A23&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C1&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2929&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A22&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3B22&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3B23&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3B29&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3B2F&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C3&CC_0104,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C6&CC_0104,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2822&CC_0104,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_282A&CC_0104,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0816&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2323&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8C82&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8C83&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8C02&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8C03&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8D02&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1F22&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_9C02&CC_0106"
ms_1_isBusExtender=false
ms_1_exc_skipIfOS="w2k,w2k3"

so try that.

Re: Re: E2B + Z97 chipset

Nicolas FKA The Real Deal 29/07/2014

Thank you for the fast reply and for the check.
To clarify, do i have to rerun the command "make all files on drive contiguous" after the drivers update ?
On a side note, i will give a donation the next week ; it's really the least i can do.
This experience was a model of usefulness :)

Re: Re: Re: E2B + Z97 chipset

SteveSi 29/07/2014

Only payload files (ISOs, etc.) need to be contiguous, so there should be no need to run WinContig again.

BOOTIA32.efi

Leebee 28/07/2014

I have a 32bit based tablet with a UEFI Boot loader, its a HP so its a bugger to edit the bios functions.
There is a lot of reference in the E2B site stating "you need the BOOTIA32.efi if your running a 32bit system", but I cannot find that file ANYWARE, both in the download and/or on the site as a seperate download.
I "did" copy the CLOVERIA32.EFI file to my USB stick and re-named it, and it booted into clover, which was good... however Cover had no menu options.
Can anyone point me to the E2B BOOTIA32.efi please?

Re: BOOTIA32.efi

SteveSi 28/07/2014

\EFI\BOOT\bootia32.efi is the first file executed by a 32-bit UEFI system. What it contains depends on where it has come from.
For instance, in Windows, the bootia32.efi and bootx64.efi files will be equivalent to bootmgr and try to boot Windows. On a UEFI linux OS, these files will probably contain grub2.
There is a \EFI\boot\bootx64.efi file in E2B, but this is a 64-bit UEFI memory test (nothing to do with E2B functions).
If you booted Clover, it will be looking for 32-bit \EFI\*.efi files - what OS are you trying to boot? What are you trying to achieve?

P.S. Clover is no good for the HP - Clover is useful for booting in MBR mode and then running EFI payloads. Your HP only boots in UEFI mode - so you just need a bootia32.efi file on a FAT32 partition which is what a .imgPTN file will make for you (IF the source supports 32-bit UEFI booting).

Re: Re: BOOTIA32.efi

Leebee 28/07/2014

Basically, I want to create a Utility disk for our Tablets, you know, usual stuff, like imaging software, diagnostics, etc. E2B looks like a great solution to multiboot into various ISOs.
Unfortunately, all our tablets are 32bit processors :( so bootx64 will not boot. The tablet even pops up a message saying "No 64bit processor found" if I try to boot with bootx64.
on this page -> http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/adding-uefi-images/ <- it states under "Troubleshooting UEFI Mode" - If your system has a 32-bit only CPU, then the bootia32.efi file MUST be present. If your system has a 64-bit CPU, then a \EFI\boot\bootx64.efi file MUST be present
Cant find the "bootia32.efi" that it talks about anywhere in the E2B download. :(

Re: Re: Re: BOOTIA32.efi

Lee 28/07/2014

Oh hang on, I just read your comment again regarding bootx64.efi.
So its just a memory check? Ok this is an issue :( as these darn Tablets have no other boot options other than UEFI/EFI.
So I cant use easy2boot then. Back to the drawing board for me.!

Re: Re: Re: Re: BOOTIA32.efi

SteveSi 28/07/2014

Yes, you can use Easy2Boot to UEFI boot from either 32-bit or 64-bit systems.
Whatever files you want to boot to, MUST support 32-bit UEFI booting however (if you have 32-bit UEFI) - e.g. Some Fedora Live ISOs, Clonezilla Live 2.2.2, Win7 32-bit (with some fiddling).
What are you trying to boot to? Want is it you want to do?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: BOOTIA32.efi

Leebee 28/07/2014

how can I use easy2boot on my UEFI 32bit system then?
because the "Make_E2B_USB_Drive" will only make a 64bit UEFI boot.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: BOOTIA32.efi

SteveSi 28/07/2014

Using .imgPTN files, you can boot from 32-bit and 64-bit UEFI systems.
Say you want to boot CloneZilla Live 2.2.2 ISO via 32-bit UEFI.
1. Drag-and-drop the ISO file onto the MPI_FAT32 shortcut (see MakePartImage on this site) - this makes a .imgPTN file.
2. Copy the clonezilla.imgptn file to \_ISO\MAINMENU on your E2B USB drive
3. Boot in MBR mode (e.g. use RMPrepUSB -QEMU button) and select the Clonezilla.imgPTN file - this will switch partitions and load the CSM Menu
4. Quit QEMU - connect the E2B USB drive to your HP system and use the BIOS to UEFI boot from it.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: BOOTIA32.efi

Leebee 28/07/2014

That doesn't work, because these Tablets will ONLY boot from UEFI if they can see the BOOTIA32.EFI file :(

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: BOOTIA32.efi

SteveSi 28/07/2014

Yes it does work! Clonezilla 2.2.2 has a bootia32.efi file and a bootx64.efi file and can boot from both a 32-bit and 64-bit UEFI system.
Same for the others I mentioned.

Whatever you are trying to boot to - e.g. Ghost, Clonezilla, pmagic, , Windows, memtest86, etc. MUST have a \EFI\BOOT\bootia32.efi file in it. If it does not have that file then it does not support 32-bit UEFI booting.
The Passmark memtest86 memory test has such a file. You can add that to E2B and it should boot on your HPs (if the E2B is FAT32). For the other OS's. make FAT32 .imgPTNfiles - but each source files MUST contain their own bootia32.efi file.
P.S. Clover is no good for the HP - Clover is useful for booting in MBR mode and then running EFI payloads. Your HP only boots in UEFI mode - so you just need a bootia32.efi file on a FAT32 partition which is what a .imgPTN file will make for you (IF the source supports 32-bit UEFI booting).
To switch to the .imgPTN partition, boot the E2B drive in MBR mode using QEMU, VirtualBox, VMWare, MobaLiveCD.exe or a real MBR BIOS system first.

iso files

Steve D 28/07/2014

I recently downloaded easy2boot and found it to be very useful and just what I wanted, to multi-boot iso files and not burn them first. I used it on a 64GB pny usb 3.0 and put O&Odiskimage on it and it booted fine. I created a bootable usb drive that boots to windows 7 dos and from there I run ghost, ccleaner, etc...,
works great for posible restoring of my computer. At the dos prompt I can do a dir command and see all the files and start them. I then made a bootable iso from this usb and put it on the easy2boot usb stick. It boots but I do not see the files from the iso but the files from easy2boot.

Re: iso files

SteveSi 28/07/2014

If you have a bootable USB drive that is working and it is a single partition, then it is best to use MakePartImage to make a .imgPTN file.
Just drag-and-drop the USB drive icon from Windows Explorer onto the MPI_FAT32 Desktop shortcut to make the .imgPTN file.
This will make an image from the USB drive.
Then just copy the .imgPTN file to your E2B USB drive.

Re: Re: iso files

Sam 21/08/2014

What does MakePartImage exactly do with an ISO file? And what .imgPTN will actually be comprised of when created from an ISO?

Do you have a Tutorial explaining why there is a need to convert an ISO to .imgPTN? For example, I've a UEFI laptop without Legacy mode, and wanted to boot UEFI-Linux-based Acronis True Image 2014 Recovery ISO from a USB or HDD. Can you suggest, how I can boot such ISO directly on a Windows 8.1 PC without any conversion? Or may be the solution is posted on some forum?

Re: Re: Re: iso files

SteveSi 21/08/2014

Please see http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/makepartimage/ for explanations and details.
If you don't have legacy mode on the target system, you need to boot the E2B drive somehow in legacy mode first and select the .imgPTN file. Then unplug it and connect it to your UEFI system.

There are a number of ways you can boot E2B in Legacy mode and select the required .imgPTN file:
1. Use a legacy BIOS system (e.g. spare notebook)
2. Use RMPrepUSB - QEMU button to boot under QEMU
3. Use VirtualBox+VMUB to boot from the E2B drive under VBox
4. Keep a copy of MobaLiveCD.exe on the E2B USB drive and run it to boot from the E2B USB drive under Windows (it uses QEMU).

Re: Re: Re: Re: iso files

Sam 21/08/2014

Thanks Steve,
I know its kinda offtopic, but given a broad range of topics covered on this site historically, and your personal experience, would you be so kind to depart from Easy2Boot concept just for a brief moment, and point to a thread on any forum that provides a solution on directly booting UEFI-base WinPE or Linux Acronis ISO on a UEFI -system without Legacy Boot. The main reason is, I'd like to be able to boot the ISO from my internal HDD rather than from external Flash, ideally without any unpacking of image, possibly by means of Grub2 installs as an extra to Windows Bootmgr. Thanks... :)

Getting Windows Aio Install disks to work ie by Murphy76

Friz 26/07/2014

Hi,
Thank for making and supporting such a great program.
I am trying to load various Windows Aio (all in 1) .isos , Two examples of these are:
Windows 7 SP1 AIO 24in1 x64 en-US Jul2014 - murphy78
Windows 8.1 AIO 24in1 with Update x64 en-US Jul2014 - Murphy78
I am using a std 32gb Sandisk flash drive (not a fixed disk).
All appears to work (the AIO's appear in the E2B menu , but when I run the iso after creating , they will not install Windows and I get the "Driver missing screen/error" mentioned in the FAQ. I do have the Autounattended.xml file in the root of the flashdrive that is mentioned in the FAQ. But whatever I try and do I cannot seem to get either of these AIO isos not to not have this error. Both work fine when writing on their own to a flash drive.
I presume these is something "special" about the Murphy78 Aio Windows installs.
Has anyone actually managed to get these FULLY working with Easy2boot?
Thanks in advance as it would be so nice to have these fully working on one single USB bootable flash drive.

Friz

Re: Getting Windows Aio Install disks to work ie by Murphy76

Friz 26/07/2014

Hi again,
Very sorry , I just rechecked as I had been using a couple of Different Flash Drives , the one I was using in the above was in fact a "fixed". I switched to another brand of 32gb, which is now detected as a Removable one, and all Works fine.
Sorry to waste everyone's time reading this..
Great utility

Re: Re: Getting Windows Aio Install disks to work ie by Murphy76

SteveSi 26/07/2014

Ok
The other alternative is to make a .imgPTN image file from each ISO using MakePartImage. Then you can use either type of USB drive and you can also install in UEFI mode if the ISO supports it (look for a \EFI folder).

Vector Linux 7.0 LIGHT kills my e2b hdd

brewsr 26/07/2014

I wanted to install Vector to a blank hdd. It wrote partition changes and said it needed to reboot. It must also write something to the e2b device as it will not boot now. It is easy to rebuild e2b so I will do that. This is just a warning to others that may wish to do the same thing.

Re: Vector Linux 7.0 LIGHT kills my e2b hdd

SteveSi 26/07/2014

Thanks for the warning.
Try just re-installing grub4dos to the MBR of the USB HDD using RMPrepUSB first - it may just need the boot sector fixing.

Error installing Windows 7 from Easy2Boot USB Flash Drive

Masked Avenger 24/07/2014

When I try to install win 7 HP from a USB flash drive the installation starts and proceeds to the choose language section, after this the following error message appears:
'CD/DVD device driver is missing'
the installation does not proceed.
Any help appreciated.

Re: Error installing Windows 7 from Easy2Boot USB Flash Drive

SteveSi 24/07/2014

If you search this site (e.g. FAQ) you may find the solution.
If not, I will need more details - use the Contact Me form.

Re: Re: Error installing Windows 7 from Easy2Boot USB Flash Drive

Martyn 31/07/2014

Fantastic support has enabled me to resolve this problem, thanks!!!!

Re: Re: Error installing Windows 7 from Easy2Boot USB Flash Drive

Photoray 27/08/2014

From the FAQ I discovered you cannot install Win 7 or earlier from a USB 3 PORT. Only use USB 2. This was the only thing that was holding me back.
Thanks Steve.

Large Disk Error

Waqar Ali 23/07/2014

When I select my flash . message show "large disk selected. My Flash is 64GB. My drive show as a hard drive. Can You Software work in my flash?

Re: Large Disk Error

SteveSi 23/07/2014

Yes, it should work.
That is just a warning - it should say 'press OK to continue or Cancel to abort' - it is to prevent you from accidentally erasing the contents of a USB backup drive which you may have connected and forgot about!

Change main menu CAPS menu items

John 21/07/2014

Hello,

Is there a way to change the menu WINDOWS INSTALL Menu to Windows Install Menu.
Can I rename UTILITIES to TOOLS?

John

Re: Change main menu CAPS menu items

SteveSi 22/07/2014

You can change the Sub-Menu headings and most of the default E2B messages and menu entries by editing the STRINGS.txt file.
See http://www.easy2boot.com/configuring-e2b/changing-the-e2b-preset-text/ for details.

Re: Re: Change main menu CAPS menu items

John 24/07/2014

Hello,

Thanks worked like a charm. Now looking how to get the menu entries in in the right order and with blank lines. I now have a xboot USB disk and want to migrate to easy2boot.

Just like this example :

### MENU START
LABEL -
MENU LABEL Image for Linux 2.88
LINUX /boot/syslinux/memdisk
INITRD /images/ifl.iso
APPEND iso
TEXT HELP
Image for Linux 2.88
ENDTEXT
### MENU END

### MENU START
LABEL -
MENU LABEL
### MENU END

### MENU START
LABEL -
MENU LABEL Parted Magic 28-04-2014
LINUX /boot/syslinux/memdisk
INITRD /images/pmagic_2014_04_28.iso
APPEND iso
TEXT HELP
Parted Magic 28-04-2014
ENDTEXT
### MENU END

### MENU START
LABEL -
MENU LABEL
### MENU END

### MENU START
LABEL -
MENU LABEL Memtest 86+ 5.01
KERNEL /images/memtest/mt86plus
TEXT HELP
Memtest 86+ 5.01
ENDTEXT
### MENU END

But want to use the iso loader from easy2boot because its much faster.

Re: Re: Re: Change main menu CAPS menu items

SteveSi 24/07/2014

Menu entry order is in alphabetical order.
Each submenu has a ZZSubMenuxxxx.mnu file in the \_ISO\MAINMENU folder - simply rename these ZZSubMenuxxxx.mnu files to have them appear in the main menu in any order you like - e.g.
$$ASubMenuDos.mnu
$$BSubMenuUtilities.mnu
etc,

The same with ISOs and other files, simply rename them to change their order, e.g. change pmagic_2014_04_28.iso to $pmagic_2014_04_28.iso and it will be listed after the $$ submenus but before any other ISO file.

The menu entry text can be changed by using a ,txt file of the same name as the ISO file.

This is all explained in the website and in the YouTube videos - did you not read and watch?

Look in the docs\Sample mnu files folder for a blank menu entry .mnu file. Change the name so it appears in the order you want.

Install Multi OS

Robert 17/07/2014

Hello,
I wanted to use the E2B to make a multiboot USB (Vista, 7, 8 ISOs), removable. It boots up, everything OK, I select the OS, then is starts the Grub4DOS, that I cant use. There is no tutor here on how to use it and frankly I only want to install the OS, nothing else. How can I turn off Grub4Dos? Is it possible that I click on the OS, and it starts to install?
Thank you for your help

Re: Install Multi OS

SteveSI 17/07/2014

Did you watch the YouTube videos on the Home page?
You select the ISO from the E2B menu, select an xml file and/or product key and then it boots to Windows Setup (you should see a blue console Window first).
You need to explain clearly what happens in your case.

Re: Install Multi OS

Robert 18/07/2014

Yes I watched and followed the instructions. My problem is as soon as I click the iso name to install, the grub4dos fires up and gives me a command line. If I type HELP it gives me the commands, but I have no clue how to use them. Is it a settings problem or something else? Can you help me?

Re: Re: Install Multi OS

SteveSi 18/07/2014

Well, in the video it doesn't do that, so there is obviously something wrong with the contents of your E2B drive. Maybe the ISO is not a bootable ISO or you have not prepared the USB drive correctly.
1000s of people have no problem - so something about your situation must be different from all the other people!
So you must describe accurately how you prepared the USB drive, what ISO you use, what USB drive and target system you have, whether you have tried booting using QEMU or Virtual Box and what other steps you have taken to try to solve the problem - for example, as described in the Testing E2B and FAQ & Troubleshooting pages on this site.

Re: Re: Re: Install Multi OS

Robert 21/07/2014

I started to us e2b, because it seemed so easy. I used these instructions to make my USB. I dont know where could I even make a mistake, it is so simple. And if it isn't, why there is no proper instruction. I am really angry, I wanted it so much to work and now it seems, that I stuck again with the bl..dy dvd writing.

"To make a new Easy2Boot USB Flash drive (Windows OS):

1. Download and install RMPrepUSB (www.rmprepusb.com)
2. Insert your USB Flash drive into your computer's USB port
3. Right-click on the Make_E2B_USB_Drive.cmd file and choose 'Run as Administrator...'
4. Follow the instructions to format your USB Flash drive and add the Easy2Boot files.

To add your ISO files, simply copy them to the correct folder on your Easy2Boot USB drive.

e.g. Copy linux ISOs to \_ISO\LINUX
Copy Windows 7 Install ISOs to \_ISO\WINDOWS\WIN7"

If this isn't everything, why it is not stated. Please advice me another utility that makes a USB, that I can add multiple OSs, and I can decide upon booting which OS I want to install. It sounds soo easy and I don't want anything else from it. On the e2b website it states that it works easily (make the usb and copy the bootable isos) and it seemingly not. Thank you for your help.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Install Multi OS

SteveSi 22/07/2014

As I said, E2B it works for many 1000's of people, so something about your equipment or method must be different. If you are not prepared to take my advice and test using QEMU or VBox or give any details, then please feel free to try another solution such as WinSetupFromUSB or YUMI or XBOOT.

How long does it take to copy over Easy2Boot files to USB?

MJP 17/07/2014

I started creating the Easy2boot USB stick and it's taken around 20-30 minutes, so far it's still saying "Copying over Easy2boot files to G: please wait..."

It's very slow to refresh in Windows Explorer, so I'm guessing it's legitimately doing something - but how long do I need to wait for it to finish?

Re: How long does it take to copy over Easy2Boot files to USB?

SteveSi 17/07/2014

The script using xcopy. The E2B+DPMS download extracts to over 500MB. So it will take as long as it takes to copy 500MBish of files.
For me it's about 10-20 seconds but I have fast USB devices and USB 3.0 ports, for others it may take longer - a very slow device might take 2-3 minutes.

unattended

Mikeo 16/07/2014

I need to turn off the unattended install for all install. I Install a lot of different OS and I need to enter the information every time.

Re: unattended

SteveSi 16/07/2014

XP installs can be automated using a winnt.sif file. Vista and later OS's can be automated using an unattend.xml file or autounattend.xml file. Look for these files inside your ISOs.
Standard Microsoft ISOs don't auto-install, so you must have a modified ISO of some sort. I suggest you use standard MS ISOs.

To automate Win installs in E2B you need to add files, see the relevant page
http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/windows-install-isos/unattended-installs/

E2B running EXTREMELY SLOW

Jon 13/07/2014

Is there some known issue with E2B running extremely slow on certain computers/setups?

When I first tried out E2B, I thought, WOW! This is great! This blows YUMI out of the water! Everything loaded fast, all ISOs I tried worked, even some that would never work with others. And all with drag and drop ease. This was on a Lenovo R60 Core Solo laptop with 1GB.

But then I tried the same USB stick on a couple of desktops, and it was painfully slow. These aren't super powerful desktops by any means, just as old as the R60. The Athlon 64X2 and Core 2 Duo systems, each with 2GB RAM and both benchmark higher than the R60 on CPU, memory and HD. All USB 2.0.

On the R60 it got to the main menu in under 10 seconds. But on these two desktops, it took SEVERAL MINUTES! Very slow in all stages of loading and seems like each "adding" line for MNU or ISO that zipped by on the R60 takes a second each on the desktops.

Re: E2B running EXTREMELY SLOW

SteveSi 13/07/2014

Hi
First make sure you have USB 2.0 enabled in the BIOS Setup menu - sometime called 'Hi-speed'.
Some BIOSes have very slow USB drivers. You can try to use the grub4dos driver instead.

Boot to E2B
Select the grub4dos 0.4.6 driver menu entry
Select the load USB 2.0 driver menu entry
Now press F8 - is it now a lot faster? If so then your BIOS has slow USB drivers.

You can enable 0.4.6+USB driver support by changing the MyE2B.cfg file. However, the 0.4.6 USB driver is not 100% reliable and you may have problems with some systems (or it may work for your systems).

P.S. The other thing you may prefer is to enable FASTLOAD. See the \_ISO folder for instructions and this site.

Re: Re: E2B running EXTREMELY SLOW

Jon 14/07/2014

The USB ports are definitely running at USB 2.0, been using for years and they are performing at high speed. The BIOS has enable/disable USB2.0 port, or change to low speed. They have always been USB2.0 enabled and high speed.

Tried the grub4dos and USB driver option, that did not work, no USB device found it said.

Tried the FASTLOAD, and that cut down some of the load time but not the root cause.

Just to clarify, everything works, but the E2B menu/loading is just very slow on some systems. I'm just curious why the E2B likes the R60 laptop but doesn't work well with the supposedly more powerful desktop systems.

For a speed example: if I time it after POST completes, it takes 10 seconds for the main menu to appear on the R60. On the desktop systems, that takes 90 seconds. With FASTLOAD that time is cut down to 60 seconds, so still a big noticeable difference.(compared to 10 seconds)

Once an image/ISO is selected though, everything appears normal. For example, it takes about 60-70 seconds to load GParted Live or Slacko Puppy Linux ISOs to the desktop gui once selected. This is about the same time as booting those images from a YUMI USB. Only the E2B menu loading portion is slow.

Very strange.

Re: Re: Re: E2B running EXTREMELY SLOW

SteveSi 14/07/2014

It's not a question of CPU power, it's to do with I/O access of the USB drive. Did you format it using RMPrepUSB?

Re: Re: Re: Re: E2B running EXTREMELY SLOW

Jon 14/07/2014

Yes, didn't do anything unusual. Just used the provided Make_E2B_USB_Drive.cmd and the installed RMPrepUSB/RMPartUSB to format and create the E2B drive.
I tried several different USB drives, but the result is the same.

Without even adding any payload files, just a freshly created E2B drive, the loading of E2B menu is very slow on many older computers.

Speed results for loading E2B main menu following POST:
Laptop Lenovo R60, Core Solo, 1GB, Intel 945GM chipset - 10 seconds
Desktop Core 2 Duo, 2GB, Intel 945GC chipset - 85 seconds
Note these two above chipsets and USB controller are very similar, and the desktop is superior in all aspects, CPU, RAM, HDD, yet it is very slow to load main menu compared to the R60.
Other PCs I tried were even slower:
Desktop Athlon 64X2, 2GB, NVidia nForce 550 - 90 seconds
Desktop Pentium 4, 512MB, Intel 845G - 130 seconds

Does E2B really have that big of an overhead, or maybe something is wrong? How much data is being read during the main menu loading and what how many I/O operations? I can't believe it would be maxing out the entire 480Mbps and USB controller the whole time.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: E2B running EXTREMELY SLOW

SteveSi 14/07/2014

If it boots in 10 seconds on some systems, then it is obviously something to do with the other systems rather than any 'maxing out'.
Have you tried booting from a rear USB port and from different ports? Maybe try with no other USB peripherals connected.
E2B is just grub4dos scripts. It just uses grub4dos (which uses the BIOS) to access files on the USB drive. No one else has complained about this issue (at least not as severe as this).
Do the PCs have a manufacturer, make, model? Do they have similar BIOSes?
Can you email me rather than use this forum as it is rather cumbersome for quick comms?
cheers
Steve

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: E2B running EXTREMELY SLOW

Jon 16/07/2014

Really? Nobody has experienced the slow E2B loading before, I am the only one? Well, Ok then. I guess I'm just special. ;)
The list is growing of slow systems. The only one that loads fast is the R60. Slow systems like noted above, range from desktop generic no-brand Athlon 64X2 w/AMI BIOS MSI K9N Neo board, Shuttle SD30G2 Core2Duo w/Phoenix-Award BIOS, Shuttle SK21G Athlon 64, Dell GX260 Pentium 4, Lenovo R51.
Rather than assume that all these systems have some USB I/O limitation or problem, I would think there is something your program does not like about certain systems? No?
I can send you a problem report on your contact form, but its a lot of different systems. Just surprised that nobody else has experienced this slow loading before? Anyone? ...

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