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how to add grub4dos and XP boot entries in W7 BCDstore?


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#1 Zoso

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Posted 12 July 2016 - 07:35 PM

have a system set up to multiboot several W7 from HDD that I have used easyBCD to rearrange the boot order.

I tried to then use easyBCD to add an entry for XPx64 but easyBCD seems to have done something strange and I cant find the boot.ini it uses so i can edit that or the ntldr so Id rather quit using easyBCD and manualy edit the BCDstore with bcdedit to add a grub4dos that i specify and can change when needed and an entry for XP on the third primary partition.

easyBCD is ok for adjusting W7 boot order but too secrative about grub4dos (it renamed to neogrub) and im getting way too much unexpected behavior when using it to boot other stuff so I no longer want to use it.

just need to add two new entries, one for grub4dos and one for XP. i suppose I could get away with one for grub4dos and get to XP from there which i will probably do anyway but for now i would like to learn how to get to XP directly from BCD first then to grub4dos from the BCD.

ive found Misty's tutorial here: http://www.mistyrebo...Edit/index.htmlvery helpful for the basics but cant seem to get to where Im trying to go from there.

thanks

#2 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 13 July 2016 - 10:34 AM

I tried to then use easyBCD to add an entry for XPx64 but easyBCD seems to have done something strange and I cant find the boot.ini it uses so i can edit that or the ntldr so Id rather quit using easyBCD and manualy edit the BCDstore with bcdedit to add a grub4dos that i specify and can change when needed and an entry for XP on the third primary partition.

Most probably because NO boot.ini is used in your case to boot a Windows NT system from BOOTMGR. :dubbio:
 

easyBCD is ok for adjusting W7 boot order but too secrative about grub4dos (it renamed to neogrub) and im getting way too much unexpected behavior when using it to boot other stuff so I no longer want to use it.

Sure, though not actually "news", JFYI:
http://reboot.pro/to...a-bcd/?p=162186

 

just need to add two new entries, one for grub4dos and one for XP. i suppose I could get away with one for grub4dos and get to XP from there which i will probably do anyway but for now i would like to learn how to get to XP directly from BCD first then to grub4dos from the BCD.

ive found Misty's tutorial here: http://www.mistyrebo...Edit/index.htmlvery helpful for the basics but cant seem to get to where Im trying to go from there.

I would rate Misty's effort as the best, most comprehensive, complete and easy to follow guide available.
WHAT is the problem with it? :dubbio:
WHAT EXACTLY you cannot understand or find lacking?
WHAT are the contents of your current BCD (you know like):
http://www.mistyrebo.../files/enum.htm

:duff:
Wonko

#3 Zoso

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Posted 14 July 2016 - 12:57 AM

hi Wonko,

Most probably because NO boot.ini is used in your case to boot a Windows NT system from BOOTMGR. :dubbio:

it seems there is.. (a hidden one) when I use easyBCDs add OS with automatic detection selected, when I reboot I gets new XP selection in bootmgr screen when I select that I get what looks exactly like a boot.ini screen that has two selections, one for each XP partition I had on the HDD and they work but I cant find the actual boot.ini file to manually edit it.

Sure, though not actually "news", JFYI:
http://reboot.pro/to...a-bcd/?p=162186

my comment about it was intended as opinion, not a news report.

I would rate Misty's effort as the best, most comprehensive, complete and easy to follow guide available.
WHAT is the problem with it? :dubbio:
WHAT EXACTLY you cannot understand or find lacking?
WHAT are the contents of your current BCD (you know like):
http://www.mistyrebo.../files/enum.htm

:duff:
Wonko

yeah, it is the best info on the subject that ive been able to find, but unless i missed it, it doesnt indicate how to do exactly what the title question of this thread is asking.


i'll have to report back with enum results when I get back to this system.

thanks

#4 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 14 July 2016 - 07:02 AM

yeah, it is the best info on the subject that ive been able to find, but unless i missed it, it doesnt indicate how to do exactly what the title question of this thread is asking.

Something *like*:

http://www.mistyrebo...ples1.htm#ntldr

http://www.mistyrebo...s1.htm#grub4dos

you mean? 

 

:duff:

Wonko



#5 Zoso

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Posted 14 July 2016 - 11:32 PM

thanks Wonko.. im an idiot. i overlooked that "objects" in the index descriptions were entries in the BCD by thinking that "objects" was a line or hive in the BCD instead of a complete entry.

thats all I need now to be done with easyBCD for good. they really should make it less secretive and where you can swap grub4dos versions or boot.ini

#6 Zoso

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Posted 15 July 2016 - 02:15 AM

hey Wonko, completely off topic but i found an interesting tool from ms that i thought you might be interested in if youre not aware of it already.

it is cvtarea.exe

more info here: https://support.micr...en-us/kb/321880

ive read posts here about needed certain space reserved on ntfs and this looks handy for that, no?

i stumbled across it here: http://www.bluestari...rivers/sysprep/ while looking at EWF infos

#7 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 15 July 2016 - 08:11 AM

hey Wonko, completely off topic but i found an interesting tool from ms that i thought you might be interested in if youre not aware of it already.

it is cvtarea.exe

more info here: https://support.micr...en-us/kb/321880

ive read posts here about needed certain space reserved on ntfs and this looks handy for that, no?

i stumbled across it here: http://www.bluestari...rivers/sysprep/ while looking at EWF infos

Yep, it is one of those lesser known (and actually of very limited use/never used by anyone) tools though everyone has it (it is in the Windows install CD, in /support/tools/deploy.cab) together with Sysprep, but it is a DOS tool, see:
https://web.archive....preinstall.mspx

Just for the fun of it, read what was suggested (around that time) on Redmond Magazine:
https://redmondmag.c...-converter.aspx

The cvtarea tool however operates only on FAT (16 or 32) filesystems, it simply creates an entry in the FAT for an "empty" file of given size and position.
It could be useful when playing with FAT volumes, but noone (on its right mind) would make a FAT volume to later convert it to NTFS unless in some special-special cases, like (example and slight plug) the good ol' install XP from USB method:
http://www.911cd.net...showtopic=16713

It could be useful for - say - creating a NTFS filesystem on a stick to avoid the issue about error 60 in grub4dos with huge files:
http://reboot.pro/to...disk-emulation/
but it wouldn't get the same efficiency of the methods seen above as even the first file in a FAT volume will come after the WHOLE (normally 2 copies) of the FAT, which in the case of a largish (GB's) volume will be rather big, so it wouldn't start as low as one created by making a small NTFS and expanding it.

:duff:
Wonko






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