agFM v1.25 available with UEFI Secure Boot from Windows Install ISOs

Todays version is v1.25 and a1ive has worked some magic and it now seems to be able to boot Windows Install ISOs even in Secure UEFI64-boot mode! (I haven't tested Secure UEFI32 as I don't have a suitable UEFI32 computer).

No more 0xc000000f BSOD errors and we don't have to create dual FAT32+NTFS .imgPTN files to Secure Boot to large Windows Installers!

By adding your own .cfg file, you can also auto-install directly from a Windows ISO in Secure Boot mode using a suitable XML file and even install Drivers and Apps automatically. If you use the Win10 1909 x64_UNAME_PCNAME.cfg config file, you can specify the Computer Name and User Name before the build starts.

Please let me know if it works for you by using the checkboxes below.

Note: If you have any problems UEFI64 booting and installing Windows directly from a Windows ISO, please let me know,

A1ive has also added an option to recognise Kaspersky ISOs and UEFI-boot to them.

Norton Bootable Recovery Tool - nbrt.iso - no EFI boot files, use the nbrt.grubfm sample file provided for UEFI booting.

agFM v1.24 now available (with support for UEFI64 boot from krd.iso)

Todays version fixes the issue of user input not accepting [BACKSPACE] which made it difficult to type in a string if you make a mistake (e.g. when specifying the computer name or user account name).

It also fixes an issue when trying to UEFI64-boot to the krd.iso Kaspersky Rescue Disk.

All credit should go to a1ive who has made the required changes to grub2 and helped with suggestions.

Note: agFM now supports krd - there is no need for a .grubfm file.

The krd.grubfm filecan be added. Just copy it from the \Menu Files to copy to payload volume folder to the \_ISO\ANTIVIRUS folder where your krd.iso is located.

When you UEFI64-boot to the agFM menu system, select the krd.iso file and then pick the 'User menu' entry.

agFM v1.23 now available with support for modifying XML files

Todays version uses the latest build of a1ive's grub2 and grubfm (the ipxe part is in Beta status, i.e. may have bugs).

The main changes in todays release are:

1. Bugfix in Win10 1909 x64.cfg - due to a change in the a1ives grubfm scripts, this now needed modifying.
2. New Win10 1909 x64_UNAME_PCNAME.cfg config file

The new Win10 1909 x64_UNAME_PCNAME.cfg file allows the user to modify the contents of any XML file.

a1ive kindly helped me with the lua script which was needed for this.

This new .cfg file means that you can use an automated install XML file but change the User Name and Computer Name before Setup runs. This is useful for computer shops who often install the same Windows Edition but need a different user account name and computer name.

The example version uses an XML file which has the user name and computer name set to UNAME and PCNAME. The script will then allow you to change those strings.

Instructions

E2B v1.B9k with grub4dos 'Error 25:' bugfix

There was a bug introduced into some recent grub4dos versions used in E2B v1.B7 and 1.B8.
A typical symptom is 'Error 25: Disk read error'.

To fix the error, it was necessary to make sure all ISO files are contiguous by running \MAKE_THIS_DRIVE_CONTIGUOUS.cmd.

E2B v1.B9k2 has the new grub4dos version (v1.B9k had the old version).

previous versions:

2019-08-09 OK (E2B v1.B5)
2019-09-09 OK (E2B v1.B6)
2019-10-28 FAIL (E2B v1.B7)
2019-12-30 FAIL (E2B v1.B8)
2020-01-28 FAIL (E2B v1.B8A)

Other changes:

• The \_ISO\docs\Wincontig folder can now be copied to any drive volume and be placed in any folder. You can then make files contiguous on that volume by running one of the .cmd files.
• Bugfix - set EXTOFF=1 did not suppress the file extension in the menus.

agFM v1.21 Beta now available

The developer a1ive has yet again done loads of brilliant work and managed to get the contiguous file test working for the partnew command. He has also added multiple language support to the main English version - just press F4 and select a different language or set the language in your user startup_menu.txt file.

F4 Settings Menu (auf Deutsch).

In your startup_menu.txt file, set the desired language:
#set language: en_US, ru_RU, fr_FR, tr_TR, ko_KR, ja_JP, zh_CN, de_DE, he_IL, vi_VN, es_EM, zh_TW
export lang=de_DE

I feel that the UEFI agFM system is getting very near to release status now, so please try it out for yourself.

Try the new version.

agFM v1.20 now available

The main change in this version is that a1ive has added an option to remove filename case sensitivity.

I don't know about you but I find the case-sensitivity of Linux\grub very annoying - especially when you have to verbally tell someone the name of a file and you have to say 'oh - and you have to type it with an uppercase F and a lowercase u'!

This change means we don't need to use the exact case for any letters used to specify the filenames in any of the .cfg or .grubfm menu files that we make.

There is now an extra option in the F4 Settings menu to enable case-sensitivity if you wish to have it on. You would only need to enable case-sensitivity when the same folder has two files with the same name but some of the letters were in a different case - which is quite unlikely!

agFM is looking quite nice now, however there is one major issue to overcome which I hope a1ive can crack. When using the partnew command to switch in partition images or ISO files, we should check to make sure that the file is contiguous. If it is not then it may fail to boot or it could even result in serious file corruption of the E2B drive! However the grub2 commands used to check if a file is contiguous (blocklist and stat -c) currently take over 1 minute to check a large 3GB file if the file is on an NTFS partition. If there are two files to switch in then it can take even longer. The partnew command currently does not check that the .imgPTN or .ISO file is contiguous.

E2B v1.B9j Beta available + grub4dos bug discovered

This version fixes the issue where Make_E2B_USB_Drive.cmd did not make a CONTIG.ISO file when requested.

It also now searches on Partition 3 for partition image files which have no file extension.

e.g.
Ptn1: \_ISO\WINDOWS\WIN10\Win10 x64.imgPTN23    (FAT32 boot files)
Ptn3: \_ISO\WINDOWS\WIN10\Win10 x64    (NTFS >4GB INSTALL.WIM)

The Win10 x64 file (which has no extension) can either be in the root of the volume or in \_ISO or in the same path as the .imgPTN file. The file name should not have any dot in it or else it will be treated as having an extension.

This means the .imgPTN23 file can be the FAT32 boot partition and the file with no extension can be the NTFS volume containing your large install.wim file. You can secure boot and install >4GB install.wim files in this way. Instructions are on the agFM E2B page here.

Grub4dos bug discovered!

agFM v1.19 now available

v1.19 2020-02-25 - This version has a few bug fixes and improvements. The main one is support of .imgPTN and auxilliary partition images on partition 3 (no extension).

• WinBuilder ISOs (e.g. Gandalf) now should work correctly (no yellow triangle desktop icon) when using (map) option or .isoPE file extension.
• Support multiple .imgPTN files
• Add support for WinPE .ini files and wipe on boot
• Wipe \autounattend.xml and \unattend.xml in case booting from a Windows Install partition
• Latest build of a1ive grub2 - improved File Manager

See the agFM page for more details.

About .imgPTN files

agFM v1.17 available

This version has a few bug fixes, the menu font has been changed too and a1ive has added fat file rename\copy support to grub and the agFM menu system.

ESET + persistent updates instructions now revised

The previous Eset blog article was tested (with much frustration) by 'Pusher' who could not get the Eset SysRescue app to auto-run.

It turns out that my instructions were wrong and the ext3 persistence file must be copied from a working Eset flash drive (as detailed in a previous blog).

I have revised the previous instructions now and provided a download for the persistence file to make it easier to set up.

Sorry for any frustration that this may have caused anyone!