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Which tool to enlarge Windows system drive (C:)?


Best Answer alacran , 04 July 2021 - 04:29 AM

Also, each time I reboot, Windows wants to check a drive.  So I allowed it, and it checked drive E: and said it had fixed it.  Huh?  Wonder what problem it found?

 

I have seen this many times after run any Linux software, and latter reboot to Windows, it seems to me when Linux shuts down do not make this process in accordance with Windows standards, and then the HD gets the dirty bit (related to a not well closed sesion on the drive), that's for me the main reason to avoid as much as possible using Linux tools, especially if there are very good free Windows tools that can do same tasks without this irritating inconvenience.  Best are MiniTool Partition Wizard Free and DiskGenius Portable  (also free), I have even cloned NT compressed + Compacted LZX drives to/from VHDs with both ot them in just a few minutes.

 

I usually only have Linux installed on one PC dedicated to it at home, my favorites are Linux Mint and Linux Lite, both derivated from Ubuntu, of course I have also both installed on VHDs (that I can boot anywhere from grub2 and grub4dos on MBR and also UEFI), also Porteus, FossaDog and Puppy Linux are on my USB.

 

It's very easy to create a Win10XPE and include your favorite (Windows) Partition and recovery tools, and a big etc.

 

 DiskGenius Portable runs very fine from a WinPE, it even has an option to create a DiskGenius WinPE Bootable USB drive, haven't used as I make my own WinPEs.

 

alacran

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#1 Al Gorithm

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Posted 29 June 2021 - 10:45 PM

So, I received and installed a new Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD on a Gigabyte GA-H170M-D3H-GSM mainboard, which currently has a Samsung 850 EVO 500GB SSD, containing system (C:), data (D:), and G4D (E:) partitions.  Formatted, and copied all data from the old data partition to the new drive.  The original drive layout:

 

500GB:

| C: System (Primary) | Recovery (Primary) | D: Data (Logical) | E: G4D (Logical) |

 

The old data partition is now drive L:, to allow the new data drive to be D:.  The new layout:

 

500GB

| C: System (Primary) | Recovery (Primary) | L: Data (Logical) | E: G4D (Logical) |

 

1TB

| D: Data (Primary) |

 

The intention is to delete drive L: (old data partition) and to use that space to increase the size of both the C: and E: drives.  At the same time, why not change the E: drive from Logical to Primary?  So the target layout:

 

500GB

| C: System (Primary) | Recovery (Primary) | E: G4D (Primary) |

 

1TB

| D: Data (Primary) |

 

To delete the L: drive is pretty easy.  But the real question here is:  what tool to use to extend the C: system partition, which will also involve moving the Recovery partition towards the end of the drive?  An additional question would be:  should the E: partition be converted from Logical to Primary?

 

The recommended tool will likely be a Linux tool (GParted?), which could be installed in the E: G4D partition--but since that partition will also be modified (extended), it would likely be safer to run the tool from a USB stick, yes?

 

Thanks for any assistance.

 



#2 Guest_AnonVendetta_*

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Posted 29 June 2021 - 10:55 PM

I personally have always used GParted to manage my disks' partitions.

Although i sometimes will just use diskpart/Disk Management in Windows if i just need to create a single primary partition on a disk. I dont trust Microsoft's tools to do anything more complex than that. If you have advanced partitioning needs, dont use Microsoft's tools.

#3 antonino61

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Posted 30 June 2021 - 12:22 AM

hard disk genius portable



#4 Guest_AnonVendetta_*

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Posted 30 June 2021 - 05:14 AM

hard disk genius portable

No thanks, i generally dont trust Windows partitioning tools. Linux tools are far superior.

But if i had to use a Windows based tool, then it would be either MiniTool or EaseUS. They're both very similar and have a nearly identical GUI. In terms of which is better, I'd rate them as being equal.

My preferred way to partition disks is to boot a Linux VM, then attach the physical (not virtual) disk to the VM. VMware Workstation does physical disk attachment very well.

The exception is when i need to partition all internal drives at once, for that i boot into a Linux live disc image (non-VM).

#5 antonino61

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Posted 30 June 2021 - 06:10 AM

Attaboy!!!



#6 Al Gorithm

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Posted 30 June 2021 - 05:14 PM

hard disk genius portable

Did you mean https://www.portable...dex.php?id=3021?  And is that software from https://www.diskgenius.com/, which on its site makes no mention of a free version?



#7 Al Gorithm

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Posted 30 June 2021 - 05:19 PM

No thanks, i generally dont trust Windows partitioning tools. Linux tools are far superior.

But if i had to use a Windows based tool, then it would be either MiniTool or EaseUS. They're both very similar and have a nearly identical GUI. In terms of which is better, I'd rate them as being equal.

My preferred way to partition disks is to boot a Linux VM, then attach the physical (not virtual) disk to the VM. VMware Workstation does physical disk attachment very well.

The exception is when i need to partition all internal drives at once, for that i boot into a Linux live disc image (non-VM).

In the past, I have used both MiniTool and EaseUS.  I liked MiniTool, and in fact it is still installed on my number two system, where it was used some years ago.  But it seems that the current versions of most of these tools have become more restrictive, and that many things now require the paid version.  This is true specifically of MiniTool to expand the system partition.

 

In any case, like you I am uneasy with using a Windows tool to modify the Windows system partition.  I would prefer to use something like GParted, but am not sure whether it can resize a Windows NTFS system partition?



#8 Guest_AnonVendetta_*

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Posted 30 June 2021 - 06:48 PM

In the past, I have used both MiniTool and EaseUS.  I liked MiniTool, and in fact it is still installed on my number two system, where it was used some years ago.  But it seems that the current versions of most of these tools have become more restrictive, and that many things now require the paid version.  This is true specifically of MiniTool to expand the system partition.
 
In any case, like you I am uneasy with using a Windows tool to modify the Windows system partition.  I would prefer to use something like GParted, but am not sure whether it can resize a Windows NTFS system partition?


Well, you can always obtain the paid version from an "unofficial source". It depends on your level of comfort with that kind of thing. My morals/ethics are quite ambiguous, so it doesnt bother me.

And yes, GParted can resize a Windows NTFS system partition, no problem. If that partition is heavily fragmented, then it will take much longer.

#9 antonino61

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Posted 30 June 2021 - 08:11 PM

Did you mean https://www.portable...dex.php?id=3021?  And is that software from https://www.diskgenius.com/, which on its site makes no mention of a free version?

the portable version, no such thing as a free version.



#10 Al Gorithm

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Posted 30 June 2021 - 11:47 PM

And yes, GParted can resize a Windows NTFS system partition, no problem. If that partition is heavily fragmented, then it will take much longer.

 

Okay, so I've got my GRUB4DOS USB stick with the latest versions of three images:  Clonezilla, GParted, and Memtest86+.  Clonezilla and Memtest86+ run fine.

 

GParted goes through the usual quick screens of Linux booting, and then clears the screen and shows:

Debian login:  user (automatic login)

A few lines here about Debian GParted being without warranty, etc.

 

And then it just stops.  At that point, anything I type is echoed to the screen, as though I were in a terminal, but no matter what is typed, nothing else happens.  Eventually I need to reboot.

 

My menu entry is:

 

title GParted Live\nGParted Live 1.3.0-1 manual mode.\n\n\nPress arrows to highlight; ENTER or b to boot; e to edit; c for command-line.
find --set-root /images/gparted-live-1.3.0-1-amd64.iso
map /images/gparted-live-1.3.0-1-amd64.iso (0xff)
map --hook
root (0xff)
kernel /live/vmlinuz initrd=/live/initrd.img boot=live union=overlay config components quiet noswap noprompt nomodeset ip=frommedia nosplash keyboard-layouts=NONE locales=en_US.UTF-8 vga=789 screen=1024x768 xmode=1024x768 xvideomode=1024x768 video=uvesafb:mode_option=1024x768-24 utc=no gl_batch username=user findiso=/images/gparted-live-1.3.0-1-amd64.iso toram=filesystem.squashfs
initrd /live/initrd.img

This pretty much parallels the menu entry for Clonezilla, apart from the parameters of the kernel line being quite different.  Does anyone see any errors there?
 



#11 Guest_AnonVendetta_*

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Posted 01 July 2021 - 12:40 AM

Definitely sounds like a graphical issue. Or xwindows/Wayland are failing to load you into the desktop, so it just drops you into a terminal instead.

What happens if you use the "startx" command (no quotes, just type it and hit enter)?

I cant tell you what kernel command line options to use, it depends on your hardware. I would have recommended nomodeset or nosplash, but it looks like you're using those already. I know that most Linux distros i use load fine on my hardware, no need to mess with the parameters most of the time.

What's your hardware setup, like:

Desktop?
Notebook?
Dedicated GPU (NVidia or AMD)?
Integrated/shared GPU (Intel)?

Instead of a Grub4dos USB, try making an Easy2Boot USB drive. Drop the ISO files into the /_ISO/Linux folder. Then boot the USB and try to load them. Once you've gotten past E2B and into the main bootloader menu of the ISOs, try using all available options that are there. You might get different results.

You can also try making a Ventoy USB, but i have no experience with that.

If all this doesnt work, then you might want to try loading a live ISO of a different distro, like Ubuntu/Linux Mint/Fedora. I personally use a Parted Magic live CD. It's paid software, but i obtained it from an "unofficial source". PM is the slimmest live CD i've ever used, and its' packed with tools. Its' main use is to be used in live CD mode, as a repair/diagnostics tool. It's not meant to be installed to disk as an everyday OS, like a "normal" distro.

#12 alacran

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Posted 01 July 2021 - 07:52 AM

@ AnonVendetta

 

Hi, even if I don't share your preference for using Linux tools for easy things that can be made using Windows tools as a WinPE + DiskGenius Portable free, or MiniTool Partition Wizard Free, It is good to see you helping other people, I'm glad you finally got the spirit of this forum.

 

By the way, I have also used since long time ago Parted Magic (paid software $11 US) it's a very good tool, it boots fine from Ventoy, but there is also this old Topic here: Boot Parted-Magic.iso from usb with grub4dos & grub2

 

@ Al Gorithm

 

Hope this info could be useful for you.

 

alacran



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Posted 01 July 2021 - 08:47 AM

@ AnonVendetta

It is good to see you helping other people, I'm glad you finally got the spirit of this forum.

It's weird that you say this, because I actually could give 2 fucks about helping anyone here. I dont have a helping spirit. I mainly post to burn time, and when I'm having issues. If I post to help someone, it's not my intent, it just means that my day has been better than usual. You clearly dont know me that well.

My main reasons for not buying Parted Magic are:

1. They've assembled a great distro...but the issue is that they take free and open source tools, bundle them into a convenient package, then charge for them. The devs are hypocrites. Linux is about free as in freedom, and free as in "monetarily free". And of course, freely sharing, which I could care less about.

2. I fly the pirate flag, preferring to reap the benefits and not pay, when feasible.

#14 karyonix

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Posted 01 July 2021 - 02:41 PM

Recovery partition is not really necessary.  You may delete the recovery partition.

If you run Windows Setup "upgrade" later, it may re-create a new recovery partition.

 

Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc) can be used to extend a partition to the following empty space.

The command line utility diskpart can be used to extend a partition as well.

Disk Management may not allow to delete recovery partition though.

 

My favorite tool to copy or move partitions is "gparted" in ubuntu desktop live system. Current ubuntu release is 21.04.

I usually use "Rufus" when I write ubuntu to USB flash drive from iso.

 

Before you shutdown Windows to boot to ubuntu, or another OS, or another instance of Windows, make sure you disable the "Turn on fast startup (recommenced)" option in Control Panel - Power Options - Choose what the power buttons do.

 

When recovery partition on MBR disk is moved, its reference in the BCD is broken.

After move, the broken value in BCD can be fixed with bcdedit.

 

Assign a drive letter for the recovery partition.

In Administrator Command Prompt

diskpart

list disk

select disk 0  ---- The drive number can change. Make sure you choose the correct drive.

list partition

select partition 2  ---- Your recovery partition number. Make sure you choose the correct partition.

assign letter=R

 

In another Administrator Command Prompt window:

bcdedit /enum {default}

  There is recoverysequence {guid1}. Copy the guid {guid1}.

bcdedit /enum {guid1}

  Its description should be "Windows Recovery Environment".

  Look for value device and osdevice. They are supposed to be like "ramdisk=[...]\Recovery\WindowsRE\Winre.win,{guid2}".  Copy the guid {guid2}.

bcdedit /enum {guid2}

  Its description should be "Windows Recovery".

  Look for value ramdisksdidevice. It is supposed to be like "partition=..." .

If the new recovery partition is assigned R: ,

  bcdedit /set {guid2} ramdisksdidevice partition=R:

 

EDIT : The file C:\Windows\system32\Recovery\ReAgent.xml and its copy R:\Recovery\WindowsRE\ReAgent.xml contain offset of the recovery partition. You may also have to update the offset.

 

Back to diskpart window.

remove  ---- Remove drive letter

exit

 

I think this should be enough to make Windows Recovery work. I am not sure if there is any thing else in the recovery partition.

 

Alternatively "BootICE" 1.3.3.2 can be used to view/edit BCD with a GUI. Edit BCD in Professional Mode, Look in BcdStore\Device objects\Windows Recovery. Set SdiDevice value to the new recovery partition after moving.


Edited by karyonix, 02 July 2021 - 12:38 PM.


#15 Al Gorithm

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Posted 01 July 2021 - 06:08 PM

This is a desktop with a Gigabyte GA-H170M-D3H-GSM mainboard using integrated graphics, i7-6700 (Skylake), 8GB RAM, Samsung 850 EVO 500GB main drive, and now Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB M.2 NVMe data drive.

 

Typing 'startx <return>' did nothing, just like typing 'ls', or 'pwd', or anything else.  Although typing is echoed as in a terminal, there are no prompts, and it may not actually be a terminal.

 

How is Parted Magic better than GParted?  I have no problem with spending $11, if it will solve the issue at hand, but I would still like to solve the issue, rather than leaving it unresolved.

 

Will now try some of the other suggestions.  Thanks for help.

 

@karyonix, thanks for help with fixing BCD after moving Recovery partition, which I will try once I've done the move.



#16 Guest_AnonVendetta_*

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Posted 01 July 2021 - 07:55 PM

I dont see anything wrong with your setup, other than the integrated gfx. Linux used to have alot of issues with iGPUs, and to a much lesser extent it still does. Dedicated GPUs like mine have always been more reliable when booting Linux, regardless of distro.

I'm not saying that you should use a different GPU though, only that you will need to do more testing. If you dont play games or use other software that can make use of a dedicated GPU's graphics acceleration capabilities, then integrated is fine for your needs.

It's weird that you say that other basic commands like ls dont return output either (other than echoing back to the screen), so yeah, you're probably not in a terminal/shell. Because under normal cirmcumstances, ls should give a list of files/directories in the current working directory.

The startx command merely tries to start the xwindows GUI subsystem. Or more simply, what most people would call the desktop. The point of making this suggestion was to see if it would return an error. If so, then it's probably a graphics issue.

But even still, i think it's a graphics issue, since it apparently didnt drop you into the desktop or a functional terminal. That most likely means that something failed to load.

Parted Magic includes a recent version of GParted, as well as a ton of other diagnostics/recovery tools. It's quite frankly the best Linux based recovery CD i've ever used. I do believe that it also includes MemTest86, so no need to keep a separate ISO for that. I know there is also a dedicated GParted distro, but i think GParted is its' main attraction and it doesnt include much else.

It looks like PM doesnt have a trial/shareware download, you have to pay to access it at all (legitimately). And i think i remember that it used to be one payment for a lifetime membership that got you access to all future updates. It looks like it is $11 to buy access to the current version, but future versions will require paying again. Or you could get the one year sub for $39, which would get you access to all the updates released within a year. There are typically 3-4 updates released within a 1 year period.

However, all this means you cant legitimately try without buying. So...i will suggest that you pirate the most recent version of PM from an "unofficial source". If it works and you like it, then do the "right thing" (in your mind) and pay. If it doesnt work, then delete it. I'm basically saying to pirate it as a way of "try before you buy". Which i sonetimes do, although i usually just not pay, ever.

However, if you ONLY need access to GParted, then you can just boot some other regular/common live CD distro that already has it built in.

I know you're trying to solve the issue, that's why i've suggested different things, like creating other bootable USBs, trying other distros and all the available options in the bootloader menus, etc.

Once you get this working some other way, then you can go back to trying to get Debian booting (or whatever else, if you change your mind) on a Grub4Dos USB. I would honestly suggest trying to boot the ISOs via Easy2Boot, as it is powered by G4D anyway.

#17 Al Gorithm

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Posted 01 July 2021 - 08:29 PM

Okay, I'm going to try some of those suggestions.  Just an update here on what I've been trying.

 

In the Gparted forum, in a thread about boot problems, someone described a problem similar to mine (hanging after the warranty disclaimer), and the response was, Do other live distros boot; if so, try to find one that has GParted in it, or try systemrescuecd.

 

So I downloaded the latest systemrescuecd, and found a couple of G4D menu entries for it, which I tried.  The first menu entry was similar to ones above which I have for Clonezilla and GParted; that one simply returned immediately to the G4D menu.  The second menu entry uses chainload, and that one actually booted the systemrescuecd menu, where one can choose graphics options, etc.  But after selecting any of those, it timed out and gave the error:

'/dev/disk/by-label/RESCUE803' device did not show up after 30 seconds...

Falling back to interactive prompt

sh:  can't access tty; job control turned off

[rootfs ]#

 

At that point, not knowing what else to try, I reboot back to G4D menu.  Then, I tried using the chainload method with GParted, and like systemrescuecd, this brought me to the GParted menu.  But again, selecting a graphics mode and continuing, results in an error:

'Unable to find a medium containing a live file system'

after which it drops into BusyBox (this time, an actual shell), and then I reboot.

 

This is very odd, because I know that in the past, I have run several other live instances off USB stick on these computers.  As far as I know, nothing has changed with these systems to cause these current problems--perhaps the only difference being that I am now trying the now current versions of the live distros, rather than the versions that were current back then.

 

Perhaps I'll try just making a GParted live USB, without G4D.  I can always recreate my G4D USB stick after that.  But it's interesting that when using 'USB Image Tool (Alexander Beug)' to save my USB stick images, and then after restoring an image, Windows says 'There is a problem with this drive.'?



#18 relynx

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Posted 01 July 2021 - 08:31 PM

You could try Puppy Linux (fossapup64-9.5.iso 409 MB).
It is my main on the go Linux distro.

Make sure that the downloaded isos have the correct checksums or check in VirtualBox,
if they can be properly booted as CD-ROMs.

$ sha256sum fossapup64-9.5.iso
9f30d1c86f7e905833377b411c57866b30e59fe4535161002005bb938e8b38f5  fossapup64-9.5.iso

$ sha256sum gparted-live-1.3.0-1-amd64.iso
471f77652bf2ec7c7534622ffbab406e26a0317a189206f1630db9d2a884a762  gparted-live-1.3.0-1-amd64.iso

.

 

...

This is very odd, because I know that in the past, I have run several other live instances off USB stick on these computers.
 


Another suggestion for a boot stick: Ventoy.

It is as easy as:

  1. Create boot stick with Ventoy installer.
  2. Drop ISO into first partition.
  3. Boot.

 


Edited by relynx, 01 July 2021 - 08:55 PM.


#19 Guest_AnonVendetta_*

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Posted 01 July 2021 - 08:52 PM

Do you only have 1 flash drive? If so, i'd definitely suggest having more than 1, just in case. Just buy a pack of multi-sizes variety flash drives from Amazon or whereever. Different sizes for different things. Or just a pack of same-sized USB drives. Awhile back i bought a 10 pack of 32GB drives, just for booting only, in case i ran into something that didnt boot with E2B.

You may also want to consider an iODD/Zalman drive. It's basically an external shell that holds a drive, but it has booting capabilities for ISOs, disk images, etc, all built right into the firmware. Quite a nifty hardware tool, and there's not much else like them out there.

I will again suggest E2B, since you can boot multiple ISOs, disk images, etc from the same flash drive/disk, without having to create multiple USBs for each. Another reason i like E2B is that i can install it onto the disk inside my iODD. They complement each other's capabilities very well.

If you have the time and will, check out PM. Even though you may not immediately need it, i'm sure you'll find a use for it once you boot it up. I'm sure they'll let you refund it if it doesnt work. For many, it's worth the price.

#20 Al Gorithm

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Posted 01 July 2021 - 10:55 PM

@relynx, thanks, yes the SHA256 sums are correct for GParted and for Puppy Linux, which I downloaded and tried with G4D, and it gave the error:

'Finding puppy main sfs file.   failed'

Then it dumped the last few lines from /tmp/bootinit.log:

6:  ONE_PART=sdb6 ONE_TRY_FN=/puppy_fossapup64_9.5.sfs PDRV=

 

and kernel log:

*** sdb6 /puppy_fossapup64_9.5.sfs not found.

 

BUT... it would appear that these problems are somehow related to running these .iso files under GRUB4DOS, because... see next post...



#21 Al Gorithm

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Posted 01 July 2021 - 10:56 PM

So I used rufus to write the Puppy Linux .iso to USB, and... it ran successfully.

 

Then I used rufus to write the GParted .iso to USB, and received the message:

This image uses Syslinux 6.03/20171017 but this application only includes the installation files for Syslinux 6.03/2014-10-06.

New versions are not compatible... blah blah... two additional files must be downloaded from the Internet ('ldlinux.sys' and 'ldlinux.bss')...

Clicked 'Yes' to download, but errored that the files could not be found.

Proceeded with install to USB stick anyway.

GParted started successfully (it did present the warranty disclaimer stuff, but after a few seconds proceeded).  The graphics were not particularly good (plain grey background, MAX, MIN and CLOSE buttons just solid colour with no symbol, etc.), but GParted ran and showed all partitions.

 

Next, I used rufus to write the systemrescuecd .iso to USB.  Again, the message about needing newer file, but they could not be found.  This time, rufus would not let me proceed to write to the USB stick.  So I downloaded the newest version of rufus and tried again.  This version obviously includes the newest files, since no message about downloading, and it proceeded to write the image.  And, systemrescucd ran successfully.

 

Yes, I can also try Easy2Boot and Ventoy.  But, why do the .iso files run successfully standalone, but not with GRUB4DOS?  (Recall that Clonezilla does run successfully with G4D.)



#22 Guest_AnonVendetta_*

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Posted 01 July 2021 - 11:20 PM

If you're writing the ISO files to USB with Rufus or whatever, then you're not actually booting the ISO file. You're just booting the "burned" written contents that are on the USB.

Whereas, when you just copy the ISO files to E2B/Ventoy/G4D USB, you're booting the ISO file itself. Of course, you have to create the USB first. These programs boot from USB, then chainload the ISOs.

I have mostly had success with E2B in regards to booting Windows/Linux ISOs, although it did fail with a few. E2B also doesnt seem to boot FreeBSD ISOs very well, it's an OS that's similar to Linux, but more like the original Unix OSes that preceded Linux. I would say that I've had a 90 to 95% success rate with E2B. But if the distro you're using still needs certain kernel parameters, then E2B wont help with that. You'll have to figure out what you need to use, then enter them manually.

My iODD has nearly a 100% success rate when booting ISOs or disk images. Just plug it in, "mount" the ISO via the device's hardware buttons, then select the relevant option in the boot options menu. The device presents the ISO to the PC as a physical disc, as if it were in a real disc drive, the OS cant tell the difference. There is some emulation going on in the background, managed by the firmware. Money well spent, I'd say, and it's the most effective solution i have for all in one booting. I rarely have a need to create standalone USBs.

If you have trouble with Rufus, try Win32DiskImager or Etcher by Balena.

#23 Al Gorithm

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Posted 01 July 2021 - 11:39 PM

Just to be clear, so as not to mislead anyone, Rufus did work great.  I just needed to update to the latest version of Rufus to handle the newest .iso's.

 

So, do you think the issue then might be just to find the right kernel parameters to use with these .iso's under G4D?  If so, I might spend a little more time looking for the solution, because I do have a small G4D partition on each of my three desktop systems, that I would like to have work with these tools.  (But especially with Clonezilla, which does work.)

 

But then, on to try E2B and Ventoy.  Can either of those be used with a local SSD partition?



#24 Guest_AnonVendetta_*

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Posted 02 July 2021 - 12:07 AM

Yes, i do think it's probably kernel parameters that will solve your issue. I'm kind of going on the assumption that your iGPU is partly to blame in regards to booting certain distros.

As for the errors about not finding sfs/SquashFS/rootfs, i think that's something to do with your chosen booting solution not passing some info along. Exactly what info, not sure. The booting solution creates mappings of its' own that work for itself, but those may be lost once control is handed over, the distro has to rediscover some things on its' own. The booting solution boots in "real mode", whereas the distro/OS will generally have to boot in "protected mode". It's also possible that the booting solution is passing along incorrect kernel parameters that dont work on your setup, causing these things to not be found.

I will again suggest to create an E2B flash drive, then copy the ISOs onto that. Boot E2B, select the ISO in the menu, boot it with default options. Once the ISO's menu options appear, try them all to see what works. Once you've found what works, repeat this process, but stop at the boot options screen (for the ISO once it's booted that far, not E2B's menu). Once you can see what the parameters are for the option(s) that worked, write them down or take a pic. You should then be able to use these options with your G4D USB.

E2B works better with removable media (flash drive), but you can also use it with regular HDDs/SSDs. Possible, but not suggested, since you'll need to let E2B format the entire drive. And, last time i read, there were some downsides to running E2B from fixed media. Maybe that's changed not sure. I have E2B installed on the HDD that's inside my iODD, so far all functions seem to work. But i'm also using this drive as removable, not fixed/internal. It's been over a year since i last updated it. Why change what works fine?

#25 Wonko the Sane

Wonko the Sane

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Posted 02 July 2021 - 08:13 AM

In other news, tools change over time.

 

Very often these bootable .iso's, and particularly Linux distro's, may radically change some approaches, including kernel parameters or "cheat codes"[1], so that a set of them that worked just fine with (say) version 8 of something won't work with version 9.

 

BUT, and this is "general advice" (not specific), it is not that the latest-latest is necessarily "better" that an older version, as long as the feature/capability that you need exists in an older version, you can use that one instead.

 

What you want/need to do is among the "basic" chores of a partition manager, these features exist since several years, and as a matter of fact an older version is more likely to have been tested in more scenarios than latest-latest.

 

Specifically gparted comes in a iso-hybrid format, if I recall correctly, and these, in some cases, can create some issues with booting (because the file is at the same time a CD image and a hard disk image).

 

And about Parted Magic, the latest free version is December 2012:

https://archive.org/...agic_2012_12_25

I mean, not before the war ;), i.e. it comes from a time when Windows 7 was already around since a few years, and should be more than able to do what you need.

 

Same goes for Gparted, if you cannot boot latest-latest, try an earlier version.

 

:duff:

Wonko

 

[1] and different distro's have a knack for using different parameter names, like findiso= vs. fromiso= vs. live-media-path=, etc. , and - still only for the record - both gparted and parted magic are re-known for providing very little or confusing or plainly wrong information about these cheat codes and changing them from release to release, see as examples:

http://reboot.pro/to...ed-in-grub4dos/

http://reboot.pro/to...arted-magic-41/






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