486 replies to this topic

[Doodoo]

@sara,
Bravo for the hard work ! It really sounds like you have managed to make many people's dream come true !!

Quite some time ago, I tried myself to boot a full XP from USB, without success . Some of my findings were told in http://reboot.pro/11731/
My method was also based on WinVBlock rather than FiraDisk, but apparently there was (at the time) a limitation of WinVBlock which prevented booting from USB (it was working fine from HDD). See Shao's explanation here http://reboot.pro/11...post__p__102058).

I'm afraid I'm not as experienced or knowledgeable as you guys... Could you try to explain me, with as little jargon as possible, in which way this method is different from Wimb's (IMX_XP), or the variant I proposed (based on IMX_XP too, but with WinVBlock, and booting from a file backed-disk instead of RAM) ? Obviously there is nothing better than going through the steps one by one, but I'm lacking a bit of time and I would just like to get the bigger picture for now.

Many thank! Cheers,David.

[adric]

@adric



That could do it.

Sorry to say, but that did not work. The other two machines I tried was an Intel Pentium M and an Intel Atom Processor. I rebooted from USB with the working laptop and checked to verify the reg change. Too bad, would have been great ..

[neogio]

WOW! I think Sara was listening to me in another post and I think she has not only delivered but knocked the ball right out of the park. So I thank her greatly in advance because this maybe what I was looking for. When I get time to try it I just hope I have the capability to pull it off.
Brains and Beauty truly do exist.

Many Thanks

NeoGio

[sjoch]

This project looks interesting and I have questions.
1. Are you using virtual pc to create the xp vhd file?
2. grub4dos, are you using the full grub4dos or grub4dox exe?
3. step 3. is the setup command and boot all in the menu.lst file?

4. Do you load apps like anti virus program separately or are can apps be part of the boot up?

[grrrrg]

curious... does this method allow one to utilize apm/acpi calls i.e. hibernation? I have used both s4e's and jacqlez/dietmar's method for about two years, finally settling with usboot, which gives me all the functionality and portability I need barring the afore mentioned features. I never get a 7b bsod on any machine. The original 700mb ghost image works perfectly on all systems I have tested. What are the advantages of this method over those mentioned?

[gez]

Hi all and thanks sara for a very good idea

I am having problems getting this to work I am able to get to windows xp setup but windows xp cannot use the vhd, it will not allow me to select it also if I select F6 during setup phase, windows setup does not see the mapped virtual floppy, these are the steps I took to build my copy

1. Setup grub on stick (fat32)
2. Created the menu.lst entries:

title start setup xp on img
map --mem /winvblock.ima (fd1)
map --mem (md)0x6000+800 (fd0)
map /xp.vhd (hd0)
map --mem /IMAGES/xp.iso (0xff)
map --hook
dd if=(fd1) of=(fd0) count=1
chainloader (0xff)

title continu setup xp on img
map --mem /winvblock.ima (fd1)
map --mem (md)0x6000+800 (fd0)
map /xp.vhd (hd0)
map --mem /IMAGES/xp.iso (0xff)
map --hook
dd if=(fd1) of=(fd0) count=1
root (hd0,0)
chainloader /ntldr
boot

title Boot XP from image file
map /xp.vhd (hd0)
map --hook
root (hd0,0)
chainloader /ntldr
boot

3. Created floppy image using imdisk (not bootable)
4. Copied winvblock files to floppy image
5. Created 1Gb vhd using virtual pc
6. Created a striped down windows xp iso (only unused directories removed)
7. Copied files to stick in following structure

menu.lst
winvblock.ima
xp.vhd
images\xp.iso

Pity this does not work for me, tried two different sticks, and used above on two different pc's, perhaps someone can advise where I am going wrong.

Edited by gez, 01 February 2011 - 10:19 PM.

[sara - pmedia]

Sorry for the delay in response. I answer you from my cell phone...

@sha0

thanks for the tip about sector 0...
you can give me exempe of needed code for tell to winvlock the file name As you wrote? What should I add to g4d to prevent potential problems?


@gez

Your work good except for some things:
* Do not forget to combine chip+mass+cpu drivers
* You try to install directly on usb .. It is not possible .xp.vhd file must be on local drive and only after running the usbbootwather you can move it to your usb drive.
* make sure your vhd is fixed


@sjoch

1. yes i creat my vhd with virtualpc but you also creat it with win7/win7pe disk managment
2. yes, standard grub4dos grldr
3. yes, all boot comands run from menu.lst
4. yes , after you boot your xp.vhd you can install Whatever you want.... its completely normal xp


@adric

If you followed exactly the guide and you failed
I have nothing to say to you except I'm sorry for you
did you try part13? did you can boot the vhd from local disk?


@neogio

thank you!

[Sha0]

...I am having problems getting this to work I am able to get to windows xp setup but windows xp cannot use the vhd, it will not allow me to select it also if I select F6 during setup phase, windows setup does not see the mapped virtual floppy, these are the steps I took to build my copy...

title start setup xp on img
map --mem /winvblock.ima (fd1)
map --mem (md)0x6000+800 (fd0)
map /xp.vhd (hd0)
map --mem /IMAGES/xp.iso (0xff)
map --hook
dd if=(fd1) of=(fd0) count=1
chainloader (0xff)
...

Where did you get the dual floppy idea from? I recall reading that in someone's post earlier today, but now I can't find it... I believe that poster did that due to some hardware problem on their particular hardware. I don't recall that from sara - pmedia's original post. How about:

title start setup xp on img

  map --mem /winvblock.ima (fd0)

  map /xp.vhd (hd0)

  # Dummy WinVBlock parameter disk (0x55)

  map --rd-size=2048

  map --mem (rd)+4 (0x55)

  map --mem /IMAGES/xp.iso (0xff)

  map --hook

  # Tell WinVBlock the filename for (hd0)

  write (0x55) #GRUB4DOS\x00v=1\x00xp.vhd\x00\x80\x00

  chainloader (0xff)

?

...
thanks for the tip about sector 0...
you can give me exempe of needed code for tell to winvlock the file name As you wrote? What should I add to g4d to prevent potential problems?...

I wrote your exact MENU.LST plus the needed modifications in post #6. Also, sector 0 was just an example. The point being that the virtual disk is mapped to sectors on the backing disk... Without using a filename, any of these sectors could be overwritten by accident. Then your HDD image will be corrupt.

[adric]

@sara

Sorry for hijacking this thread. I am booting XP directly from an active partition. I do not use
the vhd method. I was looking for some additional information to make my XP more universal.

[adric]

@adric

Could it be that you prepared your USB on Intel machine and now wants to boot from USB on AMD machine ?

In that case you might need to fix intelppm Service using reg tweak
It is needed to change the Start value of intelppm service from Start=0 into Start=3

Procedure:
In other OS e.g. XP run regedit and click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

Then Load SYSTEM registry of XP on USB-drive as systemdst
You will find SYSTEM registry on USB in Windows\system32\config folder

Then run registry tweak or edit direct the Start value of intelppm service of systemdst

Then select and Unload systemdst registry component

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00



[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\systemdst\ControlSet001\Services\intelppm]

"Start"=dword:00000003

That could do it.

Yoohoo .. your tip put me on the right track. I changed a few more Start values to zero and bingo, I can now boot from my USB HDD using any of my three laptops. I get a few 'found new hardware messages' after logon, but that is secondary now that I have a full-blown system that I can boot stand-alone. I can add the missing drivers later if necessary.

After changing intelppm to Start=3, I changed the following Start=4 to Start=0
AliIDE
CmdIDE
TosIDE
ViaIDE

The other keys were already Start=0
IntelIDE
PCIIDE

There was no entry for msahci, but I did not add that key. I rechecked the values after booting on all the laptops and the intelppm Start value was changed at some point from 3 (load on Demand) to 1 (System). I have not yet noticed any ill-effects from that change.

Since I did not use the vhd method, I will post the steps I used for my bare-metal system in another thread if anyone is interested.

[wyyyxz]

thank you beautiful girl, you rock, this is very clever

[wimb]

There is no SCSI controller visible, but I do see Unknown device, which is probably WinVBlock.
That is what I observed too for this way of direct install of XP in xp.vhd file - I get Unknown Device

For Install of XP on partition followed by manual install of WinVBlock,
then I get SCSI controller > WinVBlock Driver
http://reboot.pro/13...post__p__120930

This might be interesting for Sha0 regarding this post
http://reboot.pro/13...post__p__121152

[sambul61]

I do not see anything needed updating. If anyone sees , tell me please

@ everyone

You have no idea how happy I am

Sara,

For those not familiar with all previous XP install methods you used here, you might consider adding to para.3 of the Tutorial your post 5 in this thread, and also noting at what point the XP.vhd image is partitioned and formatted to installed XP_SP3 to it. Otherwise the impression is, this step is a mystery.

What I mean, ideally each Tutorial should strive to be self-sufficient for a novice, containing not only Step-by-Step "HOW TO" Guide, but also Step-by-Step "WHY & WHAT HAPPEN" brief Notes.

You may want to include some info from post 35 showing how you use this XP.vhd and USB disk, to motivate an unfamiliar reader how this complex undertaking might benefit her in practice.

You may also want to clarify, whether you use a USB Thumb Drive (model & specs), or 2.5" laptop HD in a USB Enclosure to improve performance and reliability. When you mention it boots in 11 sec, its interesting to know the PC specs.

I also wonder if you tried eBoostr with XP.vhd to allow full RAM usage with XP, speed up apps startup, and redirect temp files writing from a slow Thumb to RAM when running XP and your apps from vhd?

[TheRookie]

Hi,

Sara, I'd like to say thank you very much, for putting all the different ideas together, to create this wonderful tutorial on bootting xp (universal) via vhd.

To all the rest of the guys and developers, big thanks go out to you as well, for coming up with various ideas and projects, wherein booting universally via vhd is possible.

Following the tutorial, I'm really stuck, and hope someone can lend a hand here please?

The ima file of winvblock I created, doesn't seem to be mounting.

When I press f6, followed by s then enter, The file of txtsetup.oem is unable to be found.

I believe I'm using the latest development of WinvVBlock, from here:
https://github.com/S...tree/master/bin
The ima file was created using imdisk with the following command:
imdisk -a -s 1440K -m R: -o fd -f C:\winvblock.ima -p "/fs:fat"
The files I added to the disk were:
txtsetup.oem
WinVBlk.inf
WVBlk32.sys
After which I ran the command for unmounting the ima file.
My menu.lst is exactly the way it is written in the first post of this topic.

Again, some help would be much appreciated.

Regards,

[pippox0]

Wow, really dreams come true . A Full universal xp to boot from vhd on usb ...

This is right what i need ..

Thanks you Sara , very very good work ..

[01e6e10]

Hello, Sarah!
Thank you for your guide, and may you reupload "ewfmgr.iso" to another site, like mediafire.com.

Thank you in advance,
01e6e10.

Edited by 01e6e10, 02 February 2011 - 11:41 PM.

[sara - pmedia]

@therookie

If I will have some time today, I'll upload the winvblock.ima for you
e.g , you dont must prees f6...

@01e6e10

upload ewfmgr again, what for?


@pippox0

I'm happy for you too
* this way also the easiest way to be installed xp on an existing computer without reformatting,
you can simply copy your vhd to any place, add some lines to menu.lst

@wimb

The 1 unknown device you see is bluetoth (I chose not to install becouse unneeded 90mb driver), its not winvblock
What matters it works no matter whether scasi entry or not

@sambul61

I'll try to find time to update

[wimb]

The 1 unknown device you see is bluetoth (I chose not to install becouse unneeded 90mb driver), its not winvblock
What matters it works no matter whether scasi entry or not

OK, thanks for info.

I tried again several times to direct install xp in vhd file using my AMD Athlon Dual Core test computer.
Only with latest WinVBlock driver I can use your method to install XP,
but in that case the XP Image is unstable and crashes on reboot e.g. after install of audio and video driver
Also these drivers are not auto installed at T-9 by DriverForge which normally occurs for my install of XP on partition.
So for me this way of direct install of XP into xp.vhd file is not working in this case.

I tried now also ewfmgr and could use the ISO after burning and booting from CD.
The same ISO when launched from grub4dos menu results in BSOD 7B

Is it possible to install ewfmgr in XP on USB just using other OS like running XP or 7 PE ?
What files are really needed to install ewfmgr in XP on USB ?

What is your processor to get 11 sec boottime from USB ?
With or without ewfmgr enabled I get boottime of 1.8 minute on AMD Athlon Dual Core and
without ewfmgr I get 45 sec on i3-550 Intel Quad Core.

[sara - pmedia]

I tried now also ewfmgr and could use the ISO after burning and booting from CD.
The same ISO when launched from grub4dos menu results in BSOD 7B

use this code

title ewfmgr

map --mem /IMAGES/firadisk.IMA (fd0)

map --mem /IMAGES/firadisk.IMA (fd1)

map --mem /IMAGES/ewfmgr.ISO (0xFF)

map --hook

chainloader (0xFF)/I386/SETUPLDR.BIN

I tried again several times...So for me...

Maybe try on another computer... another xp source..
Or install from virtual pc to vhd and continue from there...

Is it possible to install ewfmgr in XP on USB just using other OS like running XP or 7 PE ?
What files are really needed to install ewfmgr in XP on USB ?

I do not know about other installation methods. This one quick and easy

What is your processor to get 11 sec boottime from USB ?
With or without ewfmgr enabled I get boottime of 1.8 minute on AMD Athlon Dual Core and
without ewfmgr I get 45 sec on i3-550 Intel Quad Core.

Weird, I guess it's not just the processor

my toshiba satalite a200 has only 1gb ram + T2450 cpu , but somehow all usb booting its very very fast even more than my pc with Q6400 + 2gb ram

As I wrote, i reducing my xp with XPlite Professional 1.9

[TheRookie]

Hi Sara,

Just a question, I don't quite understand this.

You say that one need not press f6 with the ima file that you have.

How then, does it automaticly get detected by setup?
I thought the purpose of using:
map --mem /winvblock.ima (fd1)
is to mount the ima file as a floppy, and then one could press f6 to find the necessary driver?

Regards,

[Wonko the Sane]

Hi Sara,

Just a question, I don't quite understand this.

You say that one need not press f6 with the ima file that you have.

I am not Sara , and the reply is seemingly unrelated and is not even coming from me :
http://www.msfn.org/...e/page__st__213


Wonko

[wimb]

use this code

title ewfmgr

map --mem /IMAGES/firadisk.IMA (fd0)

map --mem /IMAGES/firadisk.IMA (fd1)

map --mem /IMAGES/ewfmgr.ISO (0xFF)

map --hook

chainloader (0xFF)/I386/SETUPLDR.BIN

Thanks Sara

This works quite well for me and is more convenient than using a CD

[TheRookie]

Hello Mr. JacLaz,

thanks much for the reply.

A question, if you don't mind, taken from the way I understood the answer to my question:
1. setupldr.bin looks for txtsetup.oem automaticly, hence the need not to press f6.
however, f6 is pressed only if "x" wanted to select a different driver.
so, is it by default that txtsetup.oem can only have say, one driver, which setupldr.bin will use by default?

I appoligise for going off-topic, but I just took quite an interest in it, and decided to ask.

I read further down the thread concerning spoonfeeding, and gosh I feel like i'm being spoon fed by asking for the ima file from Sara.
I just wonder where, and how I messed up with creating the ima file as I've taken the instructions that went like so:
1.Install Imdisk
2.Execute the following command from command prompt
imdisk -a -s 1440K -m R: -o fd -f C:\winvblock.ima -p "/fs:fat"
3.Copy WVBlk32.sys, WinVBlk.inf, txtsetup.oem to drive R:
4.Unmount drive R: using the following command -
imdisk -d -m R:

[01e6e10]

@01e6e10

upload ewfmgr again, what for?

I had problems with megaupload earlier - it disconnected at 4% and the speed was very low (~10kb/s).
But now it's over and i downloaded the image.



One more question: is it possible to make "Step-by-step" guide for "dummies"? (even in hebrew... )

Edited by 01e6e10, 03 February 2011 - 01:34 PM.

[Doodoo]

I tried now also ewfmgr and could use the ISO after burning and booting from CD.
The same ISO when launched from grub4dos menu results in BSOD 7B

Everyone have their preferred way to install EWF filters... For me I find that the following is extremely simple and does a perfect job:
http://www.saunalaht...ws_embedded.php

If you fancy GUIs instead of command line tools, you can also consider:
http://www.computa.c.../staff/dan/?p=5
or even:
http://www.thevod.or...lication=active but this one requires .NET3.5

Hope that helps !