6 replies to this topic

[Uneitohr]

We have an HP windows embedded os that on sysprep prepares a USB drive for the capturing process then saves the image onto the drive. I need to clone the partition table from one usb stick to another, larger one.

 

I tried RMPrep but it did a full clone, including the data.

[Wonko the Sane]

Use dd or dsfo/dsfi (part of the DSFOK package) to make a copy of the MBR ( first absolute sector of device) and then write it to the new stick , or maybe easier, use hdhacker.

Just search on the board or in google, there are tens of posts explaining the use of these tools.

Or you can use *any* hex editor with direct disk access.

 

Wonko

[Uneitohr]

Well I cloned the boot code with bootice and hdhacker and it doesn't work.

 

Let me explain what is the problem better. The HP utility sysprep formats the USB stick somehow so that it would be recognized. I tried to make a full clone, partition boot code, still doesn't recognize the drive. 

[Wonko the Sane]

Look, the MBR contains both boot code and the partition table, you asked about cloning the partition table, then you stated that you cloned the boot code, and then you are talking of a full clone, and later of the partition boot code.

 

You might want to try to explain better the issue at hand and what you actually tried exactly, making sure you use the proper terms or better explain in your words the situation.

 

A clone is an EXACT, integral, copy of course  if even a singe byte is different between source and target it is not a clone anymore.

 

Without knowing what OS is that, how it boots, which particular hardware is involved, what is the final goal, what exactly happens etc., etc. we will just make wild guesses at it. 

 

As a side note (not necessarily your case) some (badly coded BIOSes) will only accept up to a given size of USB stick.

 

For all we know the *whatever* you are running may make (say) a checksum of the *whatever* it writes to the USB stick and this will make any modification to it detected and discarded.

 

Wonko

[Uneitohr]

 

 

We bought some HP Thin Clients. The operating system, Windows 8 Embedded, comes in a stick customized by HP. For instance instead of install.wim they use flash.ibr and the only way to extract it is by a utility called IBRPE.exe. It the same as any windows disk except it is modify to appear as if they made it.

 

In such a sistem, the original sysprep does not work, you are forced to use their own utility for sysprep, named HP ThinCapture. This re-partitiones and formats your USB drive in order to capture the image.

 

On install you need to have both the original install USB plus your additional USB containing your captured image. Basically you boot off your original usb and IT will recognize your captured stick. Here is the problem, it doesn't recognize any capture unless the stick was formated and partitioned by it. I tried all utilities, and I've also re-created the table using a hex editor.

 

For all we know the *whatever* you are running may make (say) a checksum of the *whatever* it writes to the USB stick and this will make any modification to it detected and discarded.

 

Exactly. But where is it? 

 

As a side note (not necessarily your case) some (badly coded BIOSes) will only accept up to a given size of USB stick.

 

No, that's not the issue.

[Wonko the Sane]

Here?

http://blog.wapnet.n...ture-usb-stick/

 

It doesn't seem there are the issues you reported.

 

Seemingly the USB stick has two partitions, one (bootable) containing a PE (FAT32 formatted) and one (NTFS formatted, possibly "hidden" or marked as "no automount" ) containing the actual image to deploy:

http://h30499.www3.h...ed#.VgPQpr0Zk_g

 

Wonko

[Uneitohr]

Ours does not have two partitions. 

The original USB is formatted as FAT32 and contain the untouched embedded image.

The one it creates by sysprep is NTFS.

 

That link describes the same thing I did.