USB IMAGING ADVICE RMPREP

Posted 13 August 2010 - 07:41 AM

Hi

I really like the speeds of RMPREP imaging utility but I just cant get it to work how I want to.

Maybe I cant do this but please help if I can.

My Main USB is 32gb. The data is about 7.5 gb.
I want to make an image that I can "roll out" to other smaller say 16 or 8 USB sticks.

I know I can specifiy the number of bytes the image can be when taking a clone so I tried this.
1. Stuck the 32 in
2. USB to file.
3. selected the byte size of the total ammount of data on the stick.
4. completed process.


THEN TO TEST
1. Stuck in test 8gb
2. File to USB
3. Loaded file from above
4. Complete without errors.

However straight away windows says its corrupt and unreadable, I even couldnt get any machines to format it because it hung the system. Good job my main stick has a linux distro on there to smash it back into action.

Gparted was having trouble with the imaged stick, it said something about file table being outside of the disk area, only when I reloaded a new partition table was I able to get it formatted etc.

Whats wrong team?

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Posted 13 August 2010 - 08:07 AM

Whats wrong team?

Your approach.

Summed up:
Q: My Main USB is 32gb. The data is about 7.5 gb. I want to make an image that I can "roll out" to other smaller say 16 or 8 USB sticks.
A: THEN I made a PARTIAL image and expected it would work.

This sounds a lot like:
Q: My dad's car is a Station Wagon, 4.8 meters in length. The seats occupy just 4.3 meters. I want to park it in garages that are, say 4.4 or 4.5 meters long.
A: THEN I sawed off it last 50 centimeters with a chainsaw . I am 10 years old and my dad is strangely very, very angry at me!



OW, comeon!

The OBVIOUS reply to:
Q: My dad's car is a Station Wagon, 4.8 meters in length. The seats occupy just 4.2 meters. I want to park it in garages that are, say 4.3 or 4.3 meters long.
is:
A: THEN I brought it to a to a wreckers yard and had it pressed shorter . I am still 10 years old and my dad is STILL very, very angry at me, but at least the car has still 4 wheels !


Wonko

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Posted 13 August 2010 - 08:35 AM

Haha Hilarious


So "obviously" thats a bad idea, but I need to have a system in place, what would YOU do, DAD?

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Posted 13 August 2010 - 08:51 AM

Haha Hilarious


So "obviously" thats a bad idea, but I need to have a system in place, what would YOU do, DAD?

Use an appropriate method.

Since - generally speaking - it is MUCH easier to EXPAND an image than to SHRINK it, I would build the smallest possible image able to contain the data, and the expand it to the actual stick size:

A couple of things for you to test:
http://www.boot-land...?showtopic=8480
http://www.boot-land...showtopic=12077

Also take your time checking the apps listed here:
http://www.msfn.org/...howtopic=100299


Wonko

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Posted 13 August 2010 - 10:13 AM

Yep -as WtS said

Create a stick with a 7.8GB partition using RMPrepUSB and make an image of that.It will then work on any 8GB+ stick

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Posted 13 August 2010 - 10:50 AM

Ok cool - I think I'm all set - Just did that, and it worked a treat!! Much faster than ghosting will use the 8gb stick image as the master, to then load on to 16's or maybe 32's if & when they come for mastering.

I take it if I slapped a 8gb IMG on to say 32gb the 32 would show as 8 gb until the part was grown?
In RMPREP if I set the max byte size of the file to the max bytes of the target USB will it do that or am I being dumb again?
edit
yes I am max bytes relates only to the iMG file. I guess I just have to grow the partition afterwards.

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Posted 13 August 2010 - 12:07 PM

I take it if I slapped a 8gb IMG on to say 32gb the 32 would show as 8 gb until the part was grown?
In RMPREP if I set the max byte size of the file to the max bytes of the target USB will it do that or am I being dumb again?
edit
yes I am max bytes relates only to the iMG file. I guess I just have to grow the partition afterwards.

You are no dumb at all , you are simply illiterate (currently) when it comes to partitions/filesystems/images, take your time, read and learn, there is nothing really *difficult* just a little of magic here and there...


Wonko

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Posted 13 August 2010 - 01:19 PM

Ouch, good job I learnt not to be too sensitive in BOOT LAND. "Simply" illiterate I would personally upgrade to "slightly". My problem today has stemmed from coming from "do it all for you" GUI's (i.e Ghost ) straight into RAW and trying to apply the principals of one to the other. Failed. But I'm here to stay and become the best booter in town! I'll get there, you 'll see. Although thinking about it, there's not much I can think of given current employment. Probably refinements to exisitng.

3 months ago, I couldnt boot a goose!

Now I have a domestic 500 gb utility disk partioned up to the max, with windows XP, vista, seven installers flying off it in every direction and also a utility for every occaision. + GFX MENU'S
I have transformed the way we deploy images at work, multi image dos usb driver loaded USB drives and utils etc.

Introduced remote rebuilding with G4D ( something others wrote off as impossible ).
I couldnt have done it with out all the kind folks at BL with their tips and advice. Love it!
I'm not trying to justify anything but just pointing out that this is the achievements of a "slightly" Illeterate rather than a "complete retard".

I mean how else would I be able to read all your instructions in order to achieve the above

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Posted 13 August 2010 - 01:58 PM

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Posted 13 August 2010 - 01:59 PM

I'm not trying to justify anything but just pointing out that this is the achievements of a "slightly" Illeterate rather than a "complete retard".

We are saying the same thing.

"dumb": (meaning #6)
http://www.merriam-w...dictionary/dumb
or "retard(ed)":
http://www.merriam-w...ionary/retarded
both mean being incapable of understanding or learning.

"illiterate" means simply that you still need to learn on a given field. (meaning #3):
http://www.merriam-w...nary/illiterate

So, given the recent evolution of your abilities in booting geese , if you want to be defined "fast learning illiterate" (still talking of partitions/filesystems/images) it's OK.

...I see your achievements NOT as an arrival but rather as a starting point for more and better....
http://www.boot-land...?...c=2398&st=1


Wonko

P.S.: I have a scoop, an actual image of the goose you use in your experiments:

it seems like it doesn't particularly appreciate being booted....

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Posted 13 August 2010 - 02:07 PM

Title Big Duck Boot

find --set-goose

Map --Shoe(L&R)/Gooses.ar$e

buk--squark

airborne/?

VERIFIED

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Posted 13 August 2010 - 02:14 PM

Map --Shoe(L&R)/Gooses.ar$e

You should be careful with plurals:
http://www.merriam-w...ictionary/goose


Your menu.lst makes me shiver get goose bumps!



and BTW, you miss a space between the buk directive and the --squark option , if you try that on command line you will get:

error 73: unnkown squeak

Wonko

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Posted 13 August 2010 - 05:19 PM

LOL....

Are you trying to make me feel like (wait for it) a..."GOOOOOSE-BERRY"


(guufffaaawwwww)

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Posted 13 August 2010 - 10:05 PM

re assurance required......

I just cut a tight "final" raw USB image from my (now) 8 GB master PEN DRIVE ready to "deploy"/"rollout" to colleagues who want in on the action.

First 8GB stick I get, RMPREP tells me the drive isn't big enough. Nooo

I guess being a different brand the geometry differs enough to cause the mis match of sizes.

On the master stick there is about 650 mb spare so about 6.80GB filled.
If I then in my next attempt tell REMPREP to copy only 7GB (in bytes as it wants) and then try to reclone to the new drive, the drop in size WILL let me continue won't it? Or will I be chainsawing dads wagin all over again?

Thanks

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Posted 13 August 2010 - 10:23 PM

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Posted 13 August 2010 - 10:39 PM

Hey Thanks I think I get it now.....just been looking at the RMPREP webby...I wish I'd seen that multi windows installer article a bit sooner......!!!!!!!!

I was mixed up between setting the BYTE size of the image file as opposed to prepping the drive from scratch and setting MAX (part 1) to say 7000 MBS which is gonna be fine. THEN image, and the defaults will make the image size the same as max partition size clearing my problem.

Just having a go on beta version aswell for the latest tech! Awsome. Thanks, looks like I'm on the way now to FAST and reliable imaging for my project.

Many thanks
Do you think Imdisk is a good editor for updating images created in RMPREP?

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Posted 14 August 2010 - 09:48 AM

Do you think Imdisk is a good editor for updating images created in RMPREP?

NO!.


IMDISK does NOT deal (in the way needed/wanted) with HD-like images.
It is a "volume" driver, you need a "whole disk" driver (if you want to modify the MBR and partition size), it's OK if you just want to add/delete files to/from the volume.

Time to stop guessing and start reading:
http://www.boot-land...hp?showforum=94


Hints:

• VDK by Ken Kato
• MS own VSS drivers
• Firadisk
• WinVblock

are "whole hard disk" drivers.


Wonko

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Posted 14 August 2010 - 11:28 AM

Yes it is then! just files and menu entries is the only editing I need to do now sorted the size issue.RELAX TURBO!

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Posted 14 August 2010 - 03:17 PM

I always used WinImage to make a backup of the 16Gb UFD. To update that backup I simply mount it with ImDisk. And yes, it is logical drive processing, not the whole (as "physical" in WinHex), with many possible partitions inside. But WinImage/ImDisk suit my basic needs perfectly. I have only one UFD to be updated frequently, not many different.

The imaging functions of RMPrepUSB suite are also great variant to do the job. I just began to get acquainted with this great app. And the Clonedisk -- never heard about it, screens look very very promising. Thanks for bringing up the thread, Technotika -- you helped others!

And Wonko and steve also get greetings, of course!!

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Posted 14 August 2010 - 03:58 PM

Yeah the other beauty of rmprep compared to things like ghost32 ghost explorer is the speed. In ghost usage sometimes we had to wait over an hour in some cases for a image to transfer. With or without any compression. Also in ghost explorer the cases of folders and file names changes sometimes during edit which as many have found out can create havoc when trying to chain off BooTMgR!!! And having one of our builds chaining off exactly that, there can't be any room fir this kind off problem.

Rmprep 22 minutes and only 5 to create.

Defintley big thanks for this awesome software, to boot land and everything helpful within it; posts, links, suggestions, code the lot. You come here post some problems and ALWAYS next time you check your email you got a response. A rare thing to behold. The kindness of strangers. And all that Jazz.

Looking forward to giving something back soon.

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Posted 14 August 2010 - 05:07 PM

I always used WinImage to make a backup of the 16Gb UFD. To update that backup I simply mount it with ImDisk. And yes, it is logical drive processing, not the whole (as "physical" in WinHex), with many possible partitions inside. But WinImage/ImDisk suit my basic needs perfectly. I have only one UFD to be updated frequently, not many different.

Just to keep up the tradition of grumpiness , the Second worst app for dealing with "Whole disk" images is IMDISK, the First being Winimage.

• IMDISK will (once mounted a "whole disk" image) completely IGNORE the MBR.
• Winimage will RECREATE one (export to image with MBR) and more often than not it will create a wrong geometry for it OR use filedisk (also a "volume only" kind of driver)

The possibilities of "ruining" the image using an unintended command is high.

@Technotika
Ghost DOS may well be slower than something else.
I doubt about ghost32, most probably it depends on the options used. If you have a clean source and select to skip empty sectors it should be faster, expecially on large drives.

Odin and selfimage also have this feature, AFAICR, but if your 7.x Gbytes are "full" there will be of course no or very little difference.

It would be interesting to do a comparison test of different imaging utilities....


Wonko

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Posted 14 August 2010 - 06:17 PM

Mr Wonko, "grumpy"? Nooo, surely not. Whatever next.

Grumpy people, last time I looked, don't take much pleasure in messing about with conceptualised goose booting.

In keeping with "reassurance" & "s-s-s-sl-l-l-o-o-o-w-w-w learning", can I just be clear on this "1" matter.

IMDISK "is" OK for shifting files and folders about within the image. I understand that editing the geometry or more complex aspects of imaging the *.IMG file is not advisable with IMDISK.
At this stage I'm solely concerned with the files/folders aspect.

Peaceable Kingdoms

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Posted 14 August 2010 - 06:53 PM

Wonko
So I'm kinda sitting now on a barrel of gunpowder? OMG, what am I to do?! Yes, I know about MBR cause I always have to install GRUB after restoring the image And it works! I affirm this

I like ImDisk for its easyness of use. It does mount ISOs, it does mount images ...em-m-m volumes, right? Anyway, not all of us are programmers, and we want something more handy, and would be better if with a pleasant GUI!

Technotika
It seems to me that Ghost images by files-and-folders method, not sectored one. That's the only guess of mine why it is so slow.

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Posted 14 August 2010 - 07:25 PM

Yes, I know about MBR cause I always have to install GRUB after restoring the image And it works! I affirm this

Sure, you can also type the values in a disk editor nibble by nibble and it works....

If you don't have a Philips #2 screwdriver, and you want to drive a #2 Philips screw in a plank, you can try with a Philips #1 one, or with a flat one of the appropriate size, or even with a hammer .

Most of the times you'll manage to do it, but do not pretend that anything but the appropriate #2 screwdriver is the better choice.


Wonko

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Posted 15 August 2010 - 10:16 AM

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