E2B v2.02 released

v2.02 is now live and is just a small update to E2B.

• Latest WinContig.exe (small bugfixes wont affect 99.9% of users)
• Add support for .isoagfm extension (same as .isodef)
• Update new ChocBox.cmd and ChocolateStore.exe (now requires .Net 4.8)
• Bugfix in Make USB cmd - if  user specifies 32GB FAT32 then it failed to format it.

If you want to install offline Chocolatey packages using the offline SDI_CHOCO install process, you will need to make the packages using ChocolateStore. However, it no longer worked because .Net 4.8 is now required to download the package files. The developer has just updated the executable, so now we are back in business.

In case you didn't know, once you have set up a Windows SDI_CHOCO configuration on your E2B drive, you can quickly install Windows with the correct locale/language/country options, Windows components, add extra missing drivers (auto-detected and installed), install applications (online or offline Chocolate) and your own app packages and tweak the final settings. During installation it actually speaks to you to let you know what's going on at each stage (if you have speakers connected).

If you use SDI_CHOCO + PCNAME + UNAME XML files (you can make your own XML file easily using a web page and then XMtoE2B.exe), you can start an unattended Windows install as follows:

1. MBR or UEFI boot to E2B USB drive (with interweb Ethernet if doing an online install of apps)

2. Select ISO and  XML file (if UEFI booting you select a .cfg file)

3. Type in the PCName and User Account name you want for the final OS of the new system

4. Go and get a cup of coffee.

When you come back in 12+ minutes, you will have a fully install OS with drivers, all apps, power config, etc. It can even run WSUS (Windows updates offline) to fully update the system and activate the OS if you have specified your activation key.

When a new version of Window 10 comes out, just copy on the new unmodified Microsoft ISO - that's it!

Of course, when installing to 'special' systems such as notebooks - or PCs with special graphics adapters - then you may need to add the correct manufacturers drivers. However, you can install specific drivers within SDI_CHOCO process too, but you will need to use a specific configuration set for each specific model of PC\Notebook (or detect which model you have and install the correct drivers).

Full details with step-by-step Exercises are in eBook #2 and #4.

The Make_E2B_USB_Drive.cmd bug occurred if the user selected '32GB' as the FAT32 partition size when making an E2B drive. It failed to format the 32GB volume because it was slightly over 32GB and so Diskpart failed.