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Converting USB Removable To Fixed Disk (BCDedit Menu List)


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#26 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 13 November 2014 - 02:25 PM

No, in the case of a hard disk it is not much about the tool used, but rather on HOW it was partitioned/formatted.

 

If you prefer, before and outside using the nt6x fast installer (or - advised - it's evolution:  http://www.msfn.org/...inntsetup-v372/  ) one should make sure that the disk is bootable. 

 

There are several possible hiccups in doing this sometimes also due to the particular combination of the way the hard disk is partitioned (and the CODE used in MBR and VBR) with the particular BIOS and even in some rare cases with the actual controller in the USB enclosure.

 

A "complete" answer to the "HOW EXACTLY" question would be something like:

I used tool x under Operating System y to make:

  • a MBR (or GPT) disk, with
  • a single primary partition, formatted it as (NTFS/FAT16/FAT32/exFAT etc.) and
  • made it Active
  • the partition is Mb (or Cylinder) aligned, and starts at offset xyz, and extends for xyz sectors
  • the MBR code is the one from xyz (example Standard XP or Standard Windows 7 or grub4dos or Syslinux, etc.)
  • the PBR code is the one from xyz (example Standard XP or Standard Windows 7 or grub4dos or Syslinux, etc.)

 

The "No bootable device - insert boot disk and press any key" is likely to come from your BIOS that *somehow* does not consider the disk as a bootable device, it may be connected to the BIOS itself (BTW which make/model is your PC?) but nowadays it is rare to find a machine that cannot boot from USB, so it is more likely that something in the partitioning/formatting is missing or "not suitable".

 

You could make a copy of the MBR of the USB disk using (say) HDhacker (you want to get first sector of PhysicalDrive):

http://dimio.altervi.../eng/index.html

compress it in a .zip file, upload it on *any* free hosting site and post a link to the .zip archive, so that I can have a look at it.

 

 

:duff:

Wonko



#27 cokicornas

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Posted 13 November 2014 - 02:58 PM

No, in the case of a hard disk it is not much about the tool used, but rather on HOW it was partitioned/formatted.

 

If you prefer, before and outside using the nt6x fast installer (or - advised - it's evolution:  http://www.msfn.org/...inntsetup-v372/  ) one should make sure that the disk is bootable. 

 

There are several possible hiccups in doing this sometimes also due to the particular combination of the way the hard disk is partitioned (and the CODE used in MBR and VBR) with the particular BIOS and even in some rare cases with the actual controller in the USB enclosure.

 

A "complete" answer to the "HOW EXACTLY" question would be something like:

I used tool x under Operating System y to make:

  • a MBR (or GPT) disk, with
  • a single primary partition, formatted it as (NTFS/FAT16/FAT32/exFAT etc.) and
  • made it Active
  • the partition is Mb (or Cylinder) aligned, and starts at offset xyz, and extends for xyz sectors
  • the MBR code is the one from xyz (example Standard XP or Standard Windows 7 or grub4dos or Syslinux, etc.)
  • the PBR code is the one from xyz (example Standard XP or Standard Windows 7 or grub4dos or Syslinux, etc.)

 

The "No bootable device - insert boot disk and press any key" is likely to come from your BIOS that *somehow* does not consider the disk as a bootable device, it may be connected to the BIOS itself (BTW which make/model is your PC?) but nowadays it is rare to find a machine that cannot boot from USB, so it is more likely that something in the partitioning/formatting is missing or "not suitable".

 

You could make a copy of the MBR of the USB disk using (say) HDhacker (you want to get first sector of PhysicalDrive):

http://dimio.altervi.../eng/index.html

compress it in a .zip file, upload it on *any* free hosting site and post a link to the .zip archive, so that I can have a look at it.

 

 

:duff:

Wonko

From your answer I understand that even if I make it work on my friend's computer, it might not work when I plug it on my work laptop because BIOS might be different.

 

Both laptops bios can boot from usb, because I have tried with a usb stick with a linux virtual machine.

 

My laptop is HP elitebook 820. My friend's is HP also, but I don't know the exact model. I can check it later when I arrive home.

 

I'll use that tool to make the copy of the MBR and will upload it later this evening so that you can take a look whenever you have time.

 

Thanks!



#28 cdob

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Posted 13 November 2014 - 03:08 PM

I formated the usb hdd using the windows tool.
 
Hard drive is lacie, 120 gigas.

Did you set the partion active at disk manager?

#29 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 13 November 2014 - 03:44 PM

From your answer I understand that even if I make it work on my friend's computer, it might not work when I plug it on my work laptop because BIOS might be different.

 

Well, you are looking at the glass as half empty :w00t: :ph34r:.

 

What I posted was to highlight instead the possibility of viewing it as half full ;):

 

 

... nowadays it is rare to find a machine that cannot boot from USB, so it is more likely that something in the partitioning/formatting is missing or "not suitable".

 

As cdob suggested, it is very likely that you simply forgot to make the partition active.

 

:duff:

Wonko



#30 rocketero

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Posted 13 November 2014 - 09:29 PM

I am making now a Multi-Boot USB with different ISO's (Most Live CD's including different versions of linux and other bootcds for virus scanners and Disk managers)

So far most of the bootable ISO's work, except for some that give error messages and don't boot. I will use this for Windows 8 installations and to diagnostic no-booting OS's

 

A Note to @cokicornas, I once had a computer that had not support to boot from USB, and using EasyBCD 2.2 I was able to boot from USB. in the EasyBCD Menu on the left select "Add New Entry" and at the half bottom where it says "Portable/External Media" selecting the BIOS tab you'll see a message that says:

 

EasyBCD's BIOS Extender can be used to boot from Network, CD, or USB on computers that don't natively supporte it

 

you can try this approach if the laptop doesn't boot into the USB installed OS.



#31 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 14 November 2014 - 09:26 AM

A Note to @cokicornas, I once had a computer that had not support to boot from USB, and using EasyBCD 2.2 I was able to boot from USB. in the EasyBCD Menu on the left select "Add New Entry" and at the half bottom where it says "Portable/External Media" selecting the BIOS tab you'll see a message that says:

 

EasyBCD's BIOS Extender can be used to boot from Network, CD, or USB on computers that don't natively supporte it

 

you can try this approach if the laptop doesn't boot into the USB installed OS.

Hmmmm. :dubbio:

 

I guess that this should be spelled (or spelt :unsure:) as "plop.iso" or "Plop boot manager". :

 

:duff:

Wonko



#32 yayman

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Posted 01 March 2015 - 02:30 AM

Hi guys, since the Lexar Bootit utility is so illusive to find, I'm gonna add a link here to my Google Drive so that you can get the Utility.

 

Sadly it didn't help me with my EMTEC flash drive... But I hope it will help someone else!

 

https://drive.google...TWc&usp=sharing


Edited by yayman, 01 March 2015 - 02:32 AM.


#33 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 01 March 2015 - 01:51 PM

Thank you, though I would object about it being "elusive", it is attached on post #6 of this thread:

http://reboot.pro/to...u-list/?p=94996

from which it was downloaded 4173 times

and it is also attached on the thread referenced in post #7:

http://reboot.pro/to...u-list/?p=95017

on 911cd.net:

http://www.911cd.net...showtopic=15923

from which it was downloaded 738151 times :w00t:

 

Anyway another mirror may be handy, though it would be better IMHO if you could share the original .zip file including the readme.txt instead of the .exe and .dat file, as it is to be seen whether the tool still works on Vista :ph34r: and later NT operating systems :dubbio:, and on the now becoming common USB 3.0 ports:

 

Requirements:

Operating System: Windows 2k or XP

Hardware: USB 1.1 or 2.0

Directions are same for Windows 2k and XP

 

 

:duff:

Wonko 






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