E2B v1.98b/c BETA available

v1.98b BETA is available
v1.98c BETA (small change to QRUN to add NCQ tip message)
v1.98d BETA (small change to QRUN for .isopersist tip messages)
v1.98e BETA FreeDOS floppy image now has increased conventional memory (was 300K, now 530K) so can run larger programs

Download here - if you have problems with Windows Defender, download the .zip version or E2B instead - extract the files and run Make_E2B.exe.

Changes from v1.98a BETA

• Support for .iso filenames ending in new NCQ suffix (e.g. WinPEx64_ncq.iso)
• Other v. small changes

About the *NCQ filename suffix

Grub4dos 0.4.6a/E2B does not always need the file to be contiguous to be able to boot from it.

As long as the file is not too fragmented, grub4dos 0.4.6a can boot from it (but not v. 0.4.5c).

However, the file does usually need to be contiguous if it is a linux ISO or a .imgPTN file, because the partnew command is required and it will only work if the file is contiguous.

But if we are booting from a WinPE ISO, it will often boot successfully, even if it is not contiguous - you just need to keep pressing ENTER to get through the various E2B 'not contiguous' error messages!

E2B now supports the Q suffix at the end of the filename, but v1.98b now also supports NCQ special suffix, where NCQ=Not Contiguous and Quiet. - e.g.

• WinPE_Q.iso - boot iso without prompting user to change file extension
• WinPE_NCQ.iso - boot iso without prompting user even if not contiguous

The 'NCQ' suffix (not case-sensitive) is useful for large WinPE or WinBuilder ISOs that you have problems making contiguous.

Tip1: You can use a .txt file if you don't want the actual filename to appear as a menu entry.

Tip2: If the ISO prompts you to 'Press any key to boot from DVD or CD', then use the .ISOBF file extension to remove this prompt (it removes the file bootfix.bin from the ISO), then rename back to .ISO again.