Easy2Boot Development Discussion

Glad you got it working.

I don't quite follow about the 4K cluster size - it shouldn't matter - how did you come to this conclusion? It would be interesting to reformat it with 64k clusters again and prove your theory?

You won't endanger the image files on the 1st ptn - files don't get un-contiguous during use of a filesystem (unless something tries to move them - like an auto-defrag).

It would be even better if you could make the WinToGo install on ptn 2 a VHD. Then it would be easy to move/copy the VHD for backup purposes, etc.

After a lot of trying I had the idea that this could be the reason, went for 4k sectors and then it worked.
Google found this explaination at Microsoft: http://support.micro....com/kb/2272294
 

I couldn't get Win To Go to run in a vhd, it just told me that it is incompatible with the hardware I'm trying to run it on. Maybe its because I'd need an enterprise license.

After a lot of trying I had the idea that this could be the reason, went for 4k sectors and then it worked.
Google found this explaination at Microsoft: http://support.micro....com/kb/2272294

Thanks - I never knew that!

I use VHDs in my E2B setup, and it works well.  My approach was to make an Oracle VM Virtual Box for Win8 Enterprise into a vhd as the HDD.  After its done, i used VHD_W8_Compact.exe found on this site to make it portable and only 2 gig.  Then i put it in my DVD:\sources dir and modded ADF2MM.g4b and a few g4bs to autoload them using NTBOOT from the G4D systools.  The only problem with this method is once you boot the wim you won't be able to install windows as NTBOOT loads from a cd img so the install won't work unless an install cd is in the drive (it says windows can't install to this partition, blah blah blah).

It looks like this in the end.

http://i41.tinypic.com/vdiiva.png

In my case, i took NTBOOT and added it to the /%grub%/APPS/ so there was the NTBOOT file and NTBOOT.MOD dir.  An optional step was to replace a few files inside NTBOOT.NT6 with English ones inside the image.  Then, in menu.lst i added

ls %hdd%/sources/ > nul && echo $[0113]   Adding WIMs and VHDs in /sources folder...
ls %hdd%/sources/ > nul && /%grub%/ADF2MM.g4b .automenu /sources

In ADF2MM.g4b  i added this so it won't find windows setup files in sources...

:.makemenu
if "%DD%"=="1" echo @MAKEMENU
setlocal
if "%DD%"=="1" echo Checking %DIR%/%1
if "%1"=="" endlocal && goto :EOF
::If is a directory ignore it
#cat --length=0 %DIR%/%1 || goto :EOF

:: if not iso file then ignore
#if "%DD%"=="1" echo MAKEMENU: checking %~x1 extension

if /i "#.exe#"=="#%~x1#" goto :eof
if /i "#.dll#"=="#%~x1#" goto :eof
if /i "#.bmp#"=="#%~x1#" goto :eof
if /i "#.dat#"=="#%~x1#" goto :eof
if /i "#.gif#"=="#%~x1#" goto :eof
if /i "#.ini#"=="#%~x1#" goto :eof
if /i "#.mof#"=="#%~x1#" goto :eof
if /i "#.nls#"=="#%~x1#" goto :eof
if /i "#.sdb#"=="#%~x1#" goto :eof
if /i "#.cer#"=="#%~x1#" goto :eof
if /i "#.inf#"=="#%~x1#" goto :eof
if /i "#.txt#"=="#%~x1#" goto :eof
if /i "#.cfg#"=="#%~x1#" goto :eof
if /i "#.ttf#"=="#%~x1#" goto :eof
if /i "#.bin#"=="#%~x1#" goto :eof
if /i "#.xml#"=="#%~x1#" goto :eof
if /i "#.xsd#"=="#%~x1#" goto :eof
if /i "#.xsl#"=="#%~x1#" goto :eof

if /i "#.cmd#"=="#%~x1#" goto :eof
if /i "#.mnu#"=="#%~x1#" goto :eof
if "#.#"=="#%~x1#" goto :eof

And in Qrun.g4b i added this to boot the wim or vhd.

:.vhd
:.wim
command /%grub%/APPS/NTBOOT NT6=%1
exit

or if you are like me and boot the odd boot.wim with multiple indexes, i use this.

:.vhd
:.vhdx
:.wim
clear
echo
echo
echo
echo
echo
echo
echo $[0113]   Hit enter to boot, or "M" to go to MultiWIM menu...
echo
echo
set /u /p ask=Choose an option :
#  Or...
#echo     Boot the Wim?
#echo M = Boot Wim from a specific index
#echo
#set /u /p ask=Choose an option :
#pause --wait=4  && call :.wimNTBOOT %1  
echo
if "%ask%"==""  call :.wimNTBOOT %1
if "%ask%"=="M" call :.wimMULTIBOOT %1
exit

:.wimNTBOOT
command /%grub%/APPS/NTBOOT NT6=%1
configfile /%grub%/menu.lst
exit

:.wimMULTIBOOT
configfile /%grub%/menuWIM.lst
exit
 

Also, if you notice from the picture, i have the ability to see all the HDDs displayed and what their contents are.  I use this to find all the HDDs and make them variables like %dev1%, %dev2%, etc.

!BAT
#DetHDD.g4b
set n=1
set skip=0
find --devices=h > (md)0x20A+6
call :loop
clear
set dev
goto :EOF

:loop
debug off
cat --locate=\x0a --number=1 --skip=%skip% (md)0x20A+6 || exit
set /a length=%?%-%skip%
cat --skip=%skip% --length=%length% (md)0x20A+6 | set dev%n%=
set /a skip=%length%+%skip%+1
set /a n=%n%+1
goto :loop

Once you have the HDD variables, i use something like this to find the various goodies.

!BAT
#DetDev.g4b
if "%dev1%"=="" &&  goto :eof
if not "%dev1%"=="" &&  ls %dev1%/_ISO/ > nul && set isodir1=(/_ISO)
if not "%dev1%"=="" &&  ls %dev1%/sources/ > nul && set sources1=(/sources)
if not "%dev1%"=="" && if exist %dev1%/bootmgr  &&  if exist %dev1%/boot/BCD && set winmgr1=(/bootmgr)
if not "%dev1%"=="" && if exist %dev1%/ntldr && set winldr1=(/ntldr)
if not "%dev1%"=="" && if exist %dev1%/Windows/explorer.exe && set windir1=(Windows)
if not "%dev1%"=="" && if exist %dev1%/boot/grub/menu.lst && set grldr1=(Grub)
if not "%dev1%"=="" && if exist %dev1%/boot/grub/g2ldr && set g2ldr1=(Grub2)
if not "%dev1%"=="" && if exist %dev1%/casper/vmlinuz && if exist %dev1%/casper/initrd.lz  && set casper1=(Ubuntu)

if "%dev2%"=="" &&  goto :eof
if not "%dev2%"=="" &&  ls %dev2%/_ISO/ > nul && set isodir2=(/_ISO)
if not "%dev2%"=="" &&  ls %dev2%/sources/ > nul && set sources2=(/sources)
if not "%dev2%"=="" && if exist %dev2%/bootmgr  &&  if exist %dev2%/boot/BCD && set winmgr2=(/bootmgr)
if not "%dev2%"=="" && if exist %dev2%/ntldr && set winldr2=(/ntldr)
if not "%dev2%"=="" && if exist %dev2%/Windows/explorer.exe && set windir2=(Windows)
if not "%dev2%"=="" && if exist %dev2%/boot/grub/menu.lst && set grldr2=(Grub)
if not "%dev2%"=="" && if exist %dev2%/boot/grub/g2ldr && set g2ldr2=(Grub2)
if not "%dev2%"=="" && if exist %dev2%/casper/vmlinuz && if exist %dev2%/casper/initrd.lz  && set casper2=(Ubuntu)
repeat until dev9

And then this for a menu title.  By changing %dev1% to %hdd% you can load things from other drives.

iftitle [if not "%dev1%"==""]  **  %dev1%  %isodir1%%casper1%%sources1%%winmgr1%%winldr1%%windir1%%grldr1%%g2ldr1%\n    %dev1%  %isodir1%%sources1%%winmgr1%%windir1%%syslinux1%%grldr1%%g2ldr1%%casper1%
set hdd=%dev1%
set FCOUNTED=
/%grub%/Countfiles.g4b
configfile /%grub%/menu2HDD.lst

And an example of menu2hdd.lst would be

iftitle [if exist %hdd%/sources  && ls %hdd%/sources/ > nul]  %hdd%\\sources  (boot .wim)\n    Run any wim in the %hdd%\\sources  (boot .wim)
/%grub%/ISODir.g4b .automenu %hdd%/sources
configfile (md)0x3000+0x50

This is a short video of my E2B mod in action if you want any code for yours.  Thanks for all the tricks you have taught me the last 6 months.  As you can see, I have come a long way and your teachings weren't in vain.

http://tinypic.com/r/5yexzd/5

nice! 

Hope i am in the right spot.. i would appreciate help from you guys!

I have been playing with Easy2boot and no matter what i try.. the new Active@ Boot disk v7.5.2 dont want to load.

When i run the Easy2boot usb key.. the iso is there.. after a dos-style progress bar it freeze. Also tried v7.0.3 and an old one 5.x without luck.

All those iso work on dedicated usb keys but that defeat the purpose of building a 1 key to rule them all.. usb toolbox!

Any info about the newer Active@ Boot Disk working with Easy2boot would be really appreciated!

Thank you for your time!

DocBurN

Hi

if you are unable to get an ISO to work using it's .iso extension in E2B, then change the iso file extension to  .isoask

Then E2B will prompt you with a range of options to try.

The tutorial 72a indicates .isowinv might work for a PE based ISO (I tried it and it seems to work on the Demo version for Windows). This will run the Windows part immediately (no DOS/Windows menu).

As the ISO is quite small, it may be faster to run it in memory  (use the .isomem extension). 

The DOS portion seems to run OK if the extension is left as .iso and you choose DOS from the menu. .isomem also works for the dos portion.

HTH

Steve

My friend thats here has an ISO of that, so i tried it.  Its just a WinPE 3.1 boot.wim, with the option to add a dos img version using BCDW.   It boots fine with defaults for me in E2B.

http://tinypic.com/r/mjpvmh/5

The weird thing is the serial.  He has a valid name and serial in the product.key but it says its unregistered.

The demo version has a 10-day timeout. Either the date is wrong or it is not picking up a file that has some sort of encrypted data in it....

I copied some files (bootcat.ini, bootdisk.key, _bootDisk.ini) from the ISO to the root of the USB drive and now it gets past the key pop-up prompt.

I need to experiment more to find out which one is the one that made it work!

i got the same result from testing with .isomem (testing on a latitude E6520) froze at the same place "Windows is loading files..."

getting ready to try on a desktop pc in a few minutes to see if its laptop only

I remember my older multi-boot.. active was asking me for a serial.. and could not use BROWSE for the key at all with success.. i fixed that by installing the Active@ boot disk creator who is registered on my pc.. then generate a registred iso.. this one never asked me a serial.

Edited by DocBurN, 02 August 2013 - 05:58 PM.

(facepalm) worked on a desktop.. in .isomem (will try straight iso next)

Active@ is anti-latitude!

Thank you for your fast support guys! this one was my fault

Edited by DocBurN, 02 August 2013 - 06:09 PM.

The BOOTDISK.KEY and _bootDisk.ini files need to be in the root of the USB E2B drive. BootCat.Ini does not seem to be required (at least for serial key validation).

I used .isomem for the iso extension.

(facepalm) worked on a desktop.. in .isomem (will try straight iso next)

Active@ is anti-latitude!

 

Thank you for your fast support guys! this one was my fault

Did it boot to the WinPE Desktop  (i.e no need to extract the key files?)

The BOOTDISK.KEY and _bootDisk.ini files need to be in the root of the USB E2B drive. BootCat.Ini does not seem to be required (at least for serial key validation).

I used .isomem for the iso extension.

I tried on my side.. worked flawlessly moving both at the root. cheers!

EDIT: before moving them.. it asked me the serial

EDIT2: Do you always use .isomem on small iso file ? (and what size would you consider "small") I got a lot to learn on E2B

Edited by DocBurN, 02 August 2013 - 06:17 PM.

I extracted the key file to the root of the USB and it fired right up to the desktop from ISO or if i extracted the wim and loaded it via bcd menu or NTBOOT.  I found i did not need _bootDisk.ini or the isomem.  To see what kind of murder we can get away with, i extracted the wim:\Program Files\BOOT dir (the main program) to the root of my usb, and loaded Win8PEse x86 and tried to run the program exes and it worked (said it was registered)!  The main autorun.exe didn't.  Its about 66 meg and could probably be put inside a PE no problem.

Sometimes isomem works better, but WinPE 2/3 usually loads to X: ramdisk anyway, so in this case it makes little difference. I just assumed that .iso did not work because you had posted that it didn't!

I extracted the key file to the root of the USB and it fired right up to the desktop from ISO or if i extracted the wim and loaded it via bcd menu or NTBOOT.  I found i did not need _bootDisk.ini or the isomem.  To see what kind of murder we can get away with, i extracted the wim:\Program Files\BOOT dir (the main program) to the root of my usb, and loaded Win8PEse x86 and tried to run the program exes and it worked (said it was registered)!  The main autorun.exe didn't.  Its about 66 meg and could probably be put inside a PE no problem.

I extracted just the BOOTDISK.KEY file for the Demo ISO and it complained that the trial had expired.

For the demo version it looks like both files are required???

P.S. many of the .exe's are freeware and can be downloaded from their site.

EDIT2: Do you always use .isomem on small iso file ? (and what size would you consider "small") I got a lot to learn on E2B

There are two kinds of considerations when using RAMdisks (and/or --mem mapping in grub4dos and/or memdisk, etc.).

1. available RAM vs. size of the image
2. time to load the image into RAM vs. increase in speed when working from RAMdisk.

Let's assume that you have a partiicular .iso that works in "all modes", there may be a difference if:

• If it is loaded into RAM once (like with map --mem) and later the SAME ramdisk is hooked by (say) Firadisk or Winvblock
• if it is loaded into RAM twice (like once with map --mem and then the OS in the .iso re-loads the whole .iso or large parts of it into RAM

which will need once (or twice) the size of the image + some free RAM for the OS to run and that will take once (or twice) the time to transfer th eimage from USB device to RAM (but once these processes will be finished the booted OS will be very fast as it is fully contained in RAM).

If it is "direct mapping", the boot time will be usually lower (as not the whole amount of bytes the image is made of will be transferred "at once" through the USB bus) but the booted OS will be as fast as the USB bus and device is (in the case of a USB stick and USB 2  slower than an internal disk, in the case of a USB hard disk and USB 3 probably hardly noticeable).

Please consider how even the transfer to RAM time greatly depends from bus (USB 2 or 3) and actual device (USB stick vs. Hard disk vs. newish High Speed SDI USB Sticks)

In a nutshell, "it depends" or YMMV .

The "all in Ram" approach has the advantage that in most cases you can - once booted - remove the USB device.

Wonko

I didn't know about the freeware part.  I like the password suite because it works with win8.  Its my favorite gui pass cracker of choice, and my last version (a winpe script) only supported up to win7.  My friend said he aquired it from a torrent after i grilled him on the username (not his, it sounds foreign).  The size of the wim for me is 175 MB (184,523,704 bytes) and the iso without dos is 182 MB (191,846,400 bytes).  He also had the exe installer installed and registered.  He added network, and no multiple languages.

  File: ActiveBootDisk7.5.2.ISO
CRC-32: 6301741f
   MD4: aff2fd379ccb05d0f37f46283abd4786
   MD5: cacaac6c88f2fb094d223c05f8bb502f
 SHA-1: e4e6e5bb7b9d12824c15cc75a707da5098a9efb6

As for what to use loading isos, i find the default work for me 99% of the time, and the odd linux iso needs a few files extracted occasionally.  I personally have never renamed the iso extension because i haven't needed to yet.  As for how to load isos, Wonko nailed it.  I generally use a VM for testing, and various live systems from people i fix stuff for (i'm not a paid pro anymore).  I know i still come across alot of USB1 laptops and sometimes it takes an eternity to load a 300 meg iso.  Its nice to have an abundant package\iso as your main tool of choice, but defiantly nice to have a small bootable dos iso version of similar tools for older machines.  Customers offer up strange random configurations of hardware that you occasionally need a strange and random smaller iso in your arsenal.

Edited by halikus, 02 August 2013 - 07:01 PM.

I didn't know about the freeware part.  I like the password suite because it works with win8.  Its my favorite gui pass cracker of choice, and my last version (a winpe script) only supported up to win7.  My friend said he aquired it from a torrent after i grilled him on the username (not his, it sounds foreign).  ....

 

The idea of registering the software (possibly giving out some money in exchange for a legit registering key) didn't even cross your (and/or your friend's) mind, didn't it?

Why don't you directly post a link to the .iso (or upload it to the board) ?

And please also the registering info , new, foreign names are often very nice.

This way the transition to WAREZ board will be complete.

Wonko 

Hello,

This is my first time using easy2boot and was wondering if there is any way to suppress the easy2boot messages.

I get all kind of info messages every time I switch menus. I would like to get rid of the clutter. Would it be possible

to put these messages in a log instead of filling up the screen with them?

I tried patchme, but I still see all the messages zipping by before a menu appears. I'm using v1.04

I wanted to start with a simple test and I am using an ISO that needs a .mnu file to swap drives. My problem

is that the iso and the .mnu both show up as entries.   I put .mnu and iso in \_ISO\UTILITIES\.  I was the understanding that the iso would not display if it was placed anywhere other than MainMenu and Auto. Did I miss something?

You can only suppress the E2B progress messages by editing each of the .g4b batch files. You could try using FASTLOAD which will remove most of the mainmenu ones.

if you are using a .mnu file then you must place the .mnu file and any payload file (e.g. ISO) in a Sub-folder below the \_ISO\xxxx level.

so

\_ISO\MAINMENU

\_ISO\UTILITIES

etc.

are all used for payload files

You can place .mnu file in these folders or in any subfolder under them  e.g. \_ISO\UTILITIES\FRED

.mnu files will be searched for at all folder levels. Payload files are only searched for at the 'top' level - \_ISO\xxxxx

If you place the ISO in a folder below the \_ISO\xxx level  - e.g.  \_ISO\UTILITIES\FRED  then it won't appear in the menu, but any .mnu will be listed in the menu.

@adric

Extract the files below to overwrite your current E2B files in \_ISO\e2b\grub

Then make a \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg text file in notepad and add this line

set redir=> nul

I will add these changes to the next version (v1.05) if they are OK for you.

Thanks for the quick answer. Fastload alleviates the problem, but this is only for the MainMenu.  All other menus produce messages. It would be nice if there was an option to suppress or log all Easy2Boot messages. You can't really do much with these messages anyway. I am trying to leave as much as I can untouched so that any updates to E2B will not have to be re-customized such as the .g4b files you mentioned for hiding messages.

I'm still confused about the Folder structure though. All Submenu files under /_ISO/MAINMENU point to /_ISO/XXX.  So what are the Folders such as FREEDOS, MSDOS or Windows under MainMenu used for since there is no .mnu files pointing to  them?

Thanks ...

Edited by adric, 03 August 2013 - 04:28 PM.