Fix for the KINGS_OVERKILL USB drive not booting to the AMD files on Partition 3

I have updated the previous article with instructions on how to boot to the AMD test files on Partition 3 of the KINGS_OVERKILL USB drive.

So after fixing the problems, you can Legacy and UEFI-boot to the AMD graphics RAM test programs as well as the two nVidia RTX test images.

Please refer to the previous article here.

Adding the AMD files to an E2B drive

It is possible to add an image of the AMD large (60GB) ext4 Partition 3 to an E2B USB drive as a .imgPTNREP3 file.

Please contact me if you want a download link for my 63GB TEST_AMD_GPU_PTN3.imgPTNREP3 file (split into 17 x 2GB 7Zip files).

Just for interest sake - I used RMPrepUSB to make a working image as follows: I first ensured that the original large multipartition KINGS_OVERKILL USB drive would boot to Partition 3 correctly (Legacy and UEFI). Then I used RMPrepUSB - Drive>File button to capture the whole of Partition 3 as a single file (a 60GB file!). Start P3, End P3, file start 0.

How to add the AMD image file to your E2B USB drive

1. First create an E2B USB drive using a 200GB or larger USB drive. You should add agFM and Ventoy for Easy2Boot too. Use the custom gear-wheel button to make the E2B drive and be sure to create a large (100GB) NTFS partition 1, a 10+ GB FAT32 partition 2 and a large 100GB+ NTFS partition 3.

2. Copy the downloaded image file to E2B Partition 3 (NTFS) and name it something like TEST_AMD_GPU_PTN3.imgPTNREP3. 

3. Defragment the .imgptnrep3 file.

Here is the NTFS Partition 3 on my E2B USB drive (the large file must be defragmented - I used Defraggler for this)...

Run nVidia/AMD GPU graphics memory tests from an Easy2Boot drive

I recently came across a YouTube video which booted from a large dedicated USB drive to run Nvidia and AMD diagnostics using MATS (Memory Automated Test System) and MODS (Modular Diagnostic Software).

Nvidia has a proprietary software tool called MODS (Nvidia MOdular Diagnostic Software) which has a standalone VRAM test called MATS. How to use MATS can be found below.

• Here is a written guide on how to use MATS Nvidia Memory Testing Guide.
• Here is a video by MV TechLabs on How to set up and use MATS
• Overview of MATS/MODS: https://rk.edu.pl/en/nvidia-modular-diagnostic-software-mods/

Note: To get the Kings_Overkill USB drive fully working - scroll down!

Also see this article.

To make a new bootable USB HDD with all three test images, see 'How to make a MODS and MATS USB drive' below.

The USB he created comprised of three separate Primary MBR partitions with each partition containing a separate set of bootable files:

• Partition 1: nVidia RTX 30xx Series And Before 5GB
• Partition 2: nVidia RTX 20xx, GTX 16xx/10xx/9xx/7xx/6xx/5xx Series And Before 5GB
• Partition 3: AMD RX4xx/RX5xx/RXVEGA64/R7/R9 Series/HD7xxx 60GB

I made a separate USB drive from the .rar files from the instructions in the video but for some reason the ext4 Partition 3 seems to be corrupt on my drive and would not boot at all :-(.

However I could legacy boot and UEFI64-boot OK to Partitions 1 and 2 of the new USB drive.

I wanted to add some sort of bootable images of these to my E2B drive so I used RMPrepUSB - File - Make grub4dos ISO file function to make a bootable ISO. However, the ISO file only worked when Legacy booting (it hung on a UEFI boot as did Ventoy).

XMLtoE2B.exe v2.0.52 with 'skip TPM check for Win11' now available

I have added a 'Skip TPM checks' button to XMLtoE2B.exe so that you can easily make an XML file for Windows 11 which will not check for a TPM, free disk space, CPU, RAM capacity or a SecureBoot.

The new .exe file is in the Alternate Downloads - Latest Betas folder here.

A slightly tweaked version has now been fully released.

Let me know if you find any issues!

See my earlier article if you don't know what this is.

Kon-Boot 4.1 update released

A Kon-Boot 4.1 update is now available from U-Lead.

Kon-Boot is currently the only solution worldwide I am aware of that can bypass Windows 10/Windows 11 online account passwords and does not modify the Windows files (though you can use the E2B UtilMan hack to do a similar job).

4.1 Main updates: Updates for  Windows 10 / Windows 11 Fixed 0xc0000001 boot error issue on newest Windows 11 release Updates for macOS Monterey 12.4 Updates for legacy BIOS loader Installer updates

Note that the Kon-Boot EFI boot file is obviously not signed by Microsoft so Secure Boot to a Kon-Boot USB drive is usually not possible, however you can add the Kon-Boot files to an E2B drive and then Secure Boot to agFM and from that menu run Kon-Boot. See a previous blog for more details.

Installing Windows 11 offline and creating a local account - is it possible?

The Windows 11 setup procedure now insists that you are connected to the internet and that you must use an online account rather than a local account. However, there are some ways around this:

Setup + Ethernet connection to internet

Win11 Setup will see that you have an internet connection and ask for your account email address and password. However, if you enter an invalid password with Windows Pro or Home, it will fail and then allow you to create a local account. e.g. test@test.com or a@b.com with any password.

Setup + WiFi only

Win11 Setup will insist that you connect to a WiFi network if it cannot detect an internet connection via Ethernet. If you connect to the internet by WiFi by entering the WiFi SSD credentials, you can also use the same trick of using an invalid online account + password or if installing Win11 Home see the next section.

Setup + no internet

If you do not want to or you cannot connect to a WiFi router, you can use the oobe bypass method as in this Britec video.

The other alternative is that you use an unattend XML file which will automatically create a local account for you. You can edit the XML file before you start so it uses the user name that you want (and can also force it to install Pro even if it was OEM registered for Home). The XML file can also skip the TPM and other checks that Win11 insists on.

In E2B v2.14cBeta (Alternative Downloads - Latest Betas folder), I have added some XML files which you may find useful.

WIN11_LOCAL_ACCOUNT_USER1_SKIP_CHECKS.xml   (no product key - Setup will ask)

WIN11_LOCAL_ACCOUNT_USER1_SKIP_CHECKS_PRO.xml

WIN11_LOCAL_ACCOUNT_USER1_SKIP_CHECKS_HOME.xml

Only the default settings will be used. The install is almost fully automated.

You can make an XML file with your own settings using WAFG (and XMLtoE2B.exe - optional) if you wish (see here for more details). The same XML files can be used by E2B, agFM, grubfm and Ventoy.

For more information on fully automating Windows installations see eBook #2.

E2B v2.14dBeta now has XML files which will allow the user to create either a local OR an online account during Setup without having to specify the name of the user account within the XML file. It also bypasses the TPM checks.

agFM update v1.80 available

 1.80 2022-05-13

• Update Make_Latest_Ventoy_Partition_Image.cmd to allow debug CI versions of Ventoy to be used to make new Ventoy partition images. 
• A few new sample .cfg files were added for Porteus+persistence and fossapup+persistence.

Updated eBooks now available

The eBooks below in red have been updated.

If you have already purchased an older version just use the link in the email that was sent to you from Payhip to get the new version for free. You do not need to pay to get the latest revision.

eBooks store is here. Most are $5 each.

The latest versions of the eBooks are:

• E2B #1: How to make a multiboot USB drive using Easy2Boot v2.21
• E2B #2: How to install Microsoft Windows using Easy2Boot v1.9
• E2B #3: How to make a UEFI multi-boot Easy2Boot USB drive v1.02
• E2B #4: UEFI-multiboot using the a1ive grub2 File Manager v1.23
• Getting started with Ventoy v1.09  (for Ventoy 1.0.76)
• Getting started with grub4dos v1.01
• How to make $1000 a month from the Internet v1.08  - now only $3

Some of the eBooks product pages have reader reviews under the descriptions at the bottom of the page.

XMLtoE2B v2.0.51 is now available

XMLtoE2B.exe is a small Windows utility that helps you to make a Windows Install XML file to fully automate a Windows install from an E2B USB drive or from a grubfm\agFM\Ventoy USB drive.

Using multiple SDI_CHOCO config sets, you can automate the online or offline installation of drivers, applications and Windows updates. If a new Windows ISO is released by Microsoft, simple copy the new ISO file to your E2B USB drive!

An updated version of XMLtoE2B is now available. If you have a licence file for the old version, it will also work with the new version.

Note that without a licence file you will not be able to save XML files. If you have purchased 3 or more E2B eBooks then please contact me for a complimentary licence (provide name and email address).

Version changes

v2.0.51 2022-06-07

• Check if ComputerName is same as UserName (illegal)
• Change website URL to easy2boot.xyz
• Change Win10 buttons to 'WIn10/11'.

For details on how to use XMLtoE2B to easily and quickly modify your XML files for automated Windows installs, see here. 

eBook #2 contains detailed exercises on how to set up fully automated Windows installs.

Note: New Beta is v2.0.52 (.exe file only) and includes a 'Skip TPM checks' tick box for Win11 XML files.

E2B DPMS 2.14b Beta available (with Toshiba Satellite C55D-C XP32 disk driver fix)

A user had a problem installing XP 32-bit onto a 2015 Toshiba Satellite C55D-C  laptop containing a 128GB M.2 SATA SSD card. XP Setup did not detect the internal SSD even though it appeared to detect, identify and load a mass storage driver for the PCI Id PCI/VEN_1022&DEV_7801&SUBSYS_F8451179 correctly.

It seems the driver in the DPMS driver pack was not correct and so E2B DPMS v2.14b Beta now contains what I hope is the correct driver which appears to now work on the users Tosh laptop.

The new E2B DPMS v2.14b now uses the AMD AHCI Compatible RAID SB8xx/SB9xx (WXP-RAID) driver,  so if  you cannot detect a hard drive (but could with a previous version of E2B), please let me know that I have broken something!

The download is available from the Alternate Download sites here (Latest Betas folder).

Ventoy 1.0.75 now released with an improved Secure Boot EFI update plus other fixes

You can add partition images of the latest Ventoy release to your E2B USB drive (see here for details) or if you have a Ventoy USB drive, you can update it using the Ventoy download's Update button (and then add E2B if you like for extra legacy support).

IMPORTANT: If you have already switched in a Ventoy .img file you MUST NOT use the Ventoy utility to update it - otherwise it will destroy the E2B USB data and you will not be able to switch E2B\agFM back in! Instead, restore the USB drive to an E2B\agFM drive first, then re-make the new Ventoy .img files as directed (see here for details) .

If you had problems with Ventoy Secure Boot on some systems, the new version may fix that.