agFM v1.31 Beta now available

This version has some bug fixes and I have tidied up the folder structure (now has an \e2b folder).
I have found the AT keyboard scan code maps to cause issues - if you have a non-responsive keyboard then remove the terminal_input at_keyboard and keymap lines in your startup_menu.txt file!

You may need to modify your startup_menu.cfg file for the new folder structure.

I have included a sample submenu for the use Startup menu to show you how you can add more submenus to the first Startup menu.

I have also included a new example .cfg file for installing 64-bit Windows 10 ISO.

WIN10_64_INSTALL_Choose_UNAME_PCNAME_PRODUCTKEY_XML_AgFM.cfg

The sample file should be copied to any folder on the E2B drive (same partition as the ISO) and can be renamed. When run, it will ask you to choose a product key (Edition), an XML file, a user name and a PC name.

It will modify a copy of the chosen XML file  (in memory) for you.

Many thanks to Phong for reporting an issue and providing a sample .cfg file which I based this version on.

If you want the username and PC name and Product Key substitution to work, all the XML files that you include in your menu choices will need to include UNAME, PCNAME and ASKME-ASKME-ASKME-ASKME-ASKME in the relevant fields.

This could be used with Win10_Pro_US_UNAME_PCNAME_SDI_CHOCO_ASKME.xml for instance. Using this with a modified .cfg file, you will choose the Edition (Home/pro, etc), Computer Name and User Name. You will then create and format the install partitions manually on the target system using the standard Setup dialogue. The installation will then proceed unattended and if you have set up your SDI_CHOCO config and SNAPPY driver folders correctly, it will install all missing drivers and install your desired apps automatically (internet Ethernet connection required if using online app choco installs). You can use the same process for MBR\Legacy or UEFI installs.

If you use an XML which also wipes and creates partitions, the process can be fully automated but you will need one XML for UEFI GPT partitions and a different XML for MBR\Legacy partitions.

More details on XML files can be found in eBook #3.

agFM v1.29 Beta available with keyboard selection

I have added keyboard map files to agFM so that you can use AZERTY and QWERTZ and other keyboards.

The latest agFM version can be found here.

P.S. Using the console set to at_keyboard seems to stop the keyboard from working on some systems! I suggest you don't use this unless you have to!

agFM v1.28 Beta available

This version fixes a bug where the UEFI agFM menu is left on the screen and the Windows Setup form is displayed on the wrong screen so you cannot see it.

The Windows ISO appears to boot correctly and then you just see a blank agFM menu...

The Windows Setup is actually running but it is displayed on an alternate screen. In the case of my IdeaPad 300, this issue occurred randomly about 1 in every 2,3,4 or 5 boots to the Windows Install ISO!

I have now added a 'known issues' list to the end of the agFM page on the E2B website.
Please let me know if you find any more.

Windows could not update the computer's boot configuration

P.S. If you ever see this issue when installing Windows to a clean hard disk, please let me know:

I think this issue may be caused by Windows Setup not liking the BCD file on the FAT32 partition of the USB hard drive you are installing from!

I have noticed that the date&time stamp of the \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bcd file on the USB drive has changed after Windows Setup stage 1 runs if you UEFI-boot from an E2B USB Hard drive. Setup seems to load the USB drive's bcd to see if it is the 'system' bcd??? It does not seem to change it's contents. My guess is that if it cannot load and parse it successfully the install will fail with this error message.

I started to get this error very consistently at the end of the file copy phase in Windows Setup, when installing to a blank disk in a VM and a real system (UEFI install). I tried for hours to find out what was causing it and then the error magically disappeared - probably after I used BootIce to look at the BCD file on the USB drive's FAT32 partition - but I can't be sure. This error seems to have stumped a number of people on the internet who had the same problem but I could not find anyone who had reliably identified the cause...

Latest Easy2Boot v.1.B9 and agFM Betas - call for feedback

I am thinking of releasing the next version of E2B soon.

I will rename Beta E2B v1,B9m and agFM v1.27 as Easy2Boot v2.00.

The Make_E2B utility will prompt the user to add the agFM files after downloading them.

Please can you send me a quick email with any feedback on E2B+agFM (latest versions).

In particular, I would like to know:

1. Type of E2B USB used: Removable or Fixed/HDD
2. Version tested: E2B and agFM
3. Windows Install tests: UEFI64 Windows install from ISO works OK? XML files work?  WipeDisk+SDI_CHOCO.xml files work?
4. Any issues with any particular payloads? Please give details on how I can reproduce the issue.
5. Any other feedback welcome.

Please email me at steve @ easy2boot.com  with your observations.

Note that Make_E2B.exe will only make the second agFM partition + files if you are using Windows 10 OR you are using any Windows OS plus a Fixed-disk USB drive.  i.e. If you are using Windows 7 or Windows 8 AND a Removable USB drive, then the agFM partition will not be made (because those versions of Windows cannot access a 2nd partition on Removable flash drives).

The more feedback I get, the sooner it can be released.
Thanks
Steve

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.