Windows 10 'Print' function is now launching OneNote!!!

My Windows 10 system ran a large Windows Update today and now whenever I try to print a document, OneNote launches instead!

The solution is to set the Default Printer back to your desired printer using Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Devices and Printers.

Right-click on the printer device and choose 'Set as default printer'.

Add ESET + persistence to E2B+agFM

Recent versions of the ESET antivirus ISO have changed the way they use a persistent ext partition.

ESET will now only store the virus definition update files on an ext3 partition with a specific volume name of ESR-USB-DAT and it must be located as Primary Partition 2 (2nd partition) on the USB drive.

This change means that it won't work as a normal xxxx.imgPTN+xxxxx image pair in E2B because the persistent partition is mapped to partition 3 by Easy2Boot.

This means we need to modify the \menu.lst file inside the .imgPTN file.

If you have made an E2B multiboot USB drive with the a1ive grub2 File System on the 2nd FAT32 partition, then you can add a UEFI64-bootable (and MBR-bootable) version of ESET with persistence by using a special .cfg file.

Instructions

agFM v1.9 now available

• Few minor bugfixes
• Improve .imgPTN switching
• Reduced menu font size

Download agFM v1.9

A1ive grub2 File Manager v1.7/1.7A available (with .imgPTN support built-in)

a1ive has now added support for user-definable file extensions, so agFM v1.7A now automatically recognises the following extra file extensions:

• .imgPTN
• .imgPTN23
• .imgPTNauto
• .imgPTN23auto

E2B v1.B8A released

v1.B8 had a few bugs, so v1.B8A fixes these.
v1.B8A does not include the modifications for agFM or user-definable partition sizes as in v1.B9g Beta.

Secure Boot of large Windows Install ISOs with agFM

If your Windows Install ISO is very large and contains a 4GB+ install.wim or install.esd file, then you can still Secure Boot to the agFM then boot from an NTFS partition.

1. Make a .imgPTN23 NTFS image file using the MPI Tool Kit (drag-and-drop onto the MPI_NTFS Desktop icon).
2. Copy it to your E2B NTFS partition.
3. Copy agFM_imgPTN_NTFS_v16.cfg to your E2B NTFS partition (e.g. \agFM folder).
4. Change the name of the .cfg file to whatever you like (keep .cfg extension).
5. Edit the .cfg file to set the file path of your image file and its image type.

Now you can switch in the NTFS image file, reboot and use the F3 menu to boot to (hd0,msdos1).

Note: Later versions fix a few bugs and allow us to simply select the .imgPTN23 file so that a .cfg file is not needed.

E2B v1.B9g Beta available

This version v1.B9g will now ask if you want to download and add the agFM UEFI boot files to the E2B drive after it has been made. The agFM files are then automatically added to the E2B drive for you.

However, it only asks you if the second partition is a FAT partition and it is larger than 60MB.

If you just click the large red arrow button in Make_E2B.exe, then you will get a FAT32 2nd partition of approx. 600MB by default - or use the Gear Wheel button to specify what partition sizes you want.

E2B v1.B9f Beta

This version 1.B9f just has some changes to the Make_E2B_USB_Drive.cmd script which is used to make the E2B drive by the Make_E2B.exe GUI.

Changes are:

a1ive grub2 File Manager v1.5 now available

The 'E2B UEFI File Manager v1.5.zip' latest version is now available from here.

I have modified the RESTORE_E2B.cfg file and there is a new version of agFM_imgPTN_v15.cfg (for switching in .imgPTN files).

Latest grub2 build (todays build)

The second FAT32 partition can be type 0B or type 0C now (some partition tools seem to create type 0B FAT32 partitions).

a1ive grub2 File Manager v1.4 now available (with .imgPTN support)

The grub2 developer a1ive has done some fantastic work and has added more features to grub2 which means we can update partitions even under UEFI.

The 'E2B UEFI File Manager v1.4.zip' latest version is now available from here.

This version allows you to 'switch-in' any .imgPTN file or restore the E2B partitions from within a1ive's grub2 File Manager (agFM).

By switching in a Windows 10 .imgPTN23 file, we can Secure UEFI64-boot and install Windows 10 on a Secure system.

To update, just copy extract the files to overwrite the current files on your FAT32 partition.

Note: This is in Beta development and you could possibly lose all your data on the E2B drive! I haven't lost any data yet however.

It assumes that your first two partitions are:
Ptn1: NTFS Primary (type 07)
Ptn2: FAT32 Primary (type 0C)

a1ive grub2 File Manager v1.3 now available

a1ive has fixed a few small bugs and enhanced the grub2 features.

v1.3 contains the latest grub2 files and I have also added some WinPE files (except for a WinPE 64-bit \sources\SWITCH_X64.wim file which you can add yourself).

It is now possible to UEFI-boot to the File Manager and select a .cfg file which will then switch in a particular .imgPTN file and then reboot to the new image. You do not need to boot to WinPE to switch in the .imgPTN file.

UEFI64 Secure Boot to a1ive grub2 File Manager to the Windows 10 Installer

The UEFI64 Secure Boot seems to work quite well even on systems which are set to 'UEFI: Microsoft OS only' except when installing Windows 10 from an ISO.

The solution for this seems to be that we must boot from a Windows 10 .imgPTN file, so we

1. Secure UEFI64-boot to agFM
2. Boot to WinPE
3. Run Switch_E2B.exe and switch in our Windows 10 .imgPTN23 image file
4. Reboot from the new partition and install Windows 10
5. Reboot to agFM and switch back in the E2B partition

I have added the instructions on how to add in the WinPE files here.

It would be nice to not have to boot to WinPE and run SWITCH_E2B.exe, but I am not sure that grub2 can do this like grub4dos can (P.S. see agFM v1.3 for a solution!).

The other alternative is to use agFM to boot to WinPE and then run WinNTSetup.exe from WinPE - this can install directly from a Win10 ISO and there is no need to use .imgPTN files.

E2B v1.B9d Beta available

Changes from v1.B8 are:

• The E2B menu system will ignore .grubfm files and .cfg files which are not grub4dos batch files (in case added for a1ive grub2 file manager)
• Bugfix for Windows ISOs + XML files (unattend answer file error fixed)
• Bugfix for firadisk/strelec ISO booting
• Bugfix in NTBOOT for .wim booting when using grub2 File Manager
• Language file for Simplified Chinese STRINGS.txt updated (thanks to a1ive)
• Change to MAKE_E2B_USB_DRIVE.cmd script to leave 100MB+ at end of the USB drive so a 2nd FAT32 partition can be easily added without needing to resize the E2B drive.

If you make a new E2B drive now, it will leave approx. 100MB of free unused space on the drive (or if a >128GB drive, it will make a large NTFS partition #2). This allows the user to easily delete the 2nd partition and make a new FAT32 partition of 100MB, so they can easily add the grub2 a1ive File Manager UEFI boot files.

I may add an option to add the UEFI files into the E2B installer later, but I need a lot more feedback from users on how good (or bad) the new UEFI File Manager is.

Download v1.B9d

So please let me have your feedback on the 'a1ive gru2 File Manager' and let me know what works and what doesn't.

KSGER soldering iron reduced in price!

If you are thinking of buying a new soldering iron, it is now available for less than £30 ($35.55) at the moment (via email offer only)!

Create an account with Banggood and subscribe to get newsletters. Use the link in the email that will be sent to you for over £10 discount!

I recommend getting some extra bits at the same time.

See here for details.

A1ive grub2 File Manager for E2B v1.1 now available.

The latest version has a few improvements and bug fixes to make it more reliable for booting .WIM files.

I have also added a MEMTEST86 folder so that you can boot to the MemTest86 EFI files whenever you like.

Just extract the files straight to your FAT32 2nd partition to update the old version 1.0 files.

v1.1 1Drive Download link
v1.2 includes UEFI32 support

Bugfix in grub_filemanager.mnu (booting .wim files did not work)

If you are using the grub2 File Manager with Easy2Boot and have used the grub_filemanager.mnu menu file in the Main Menu  AND you have an animation on the menu, you may find that direct booting of some WinPE NT6 .WIM files does not work.

To fix this, we need to unmap the floppy drive that the animation uses before we load the grubfm.iso file.

Here is the new grub_filemanager.mnu file (the additional lines are in red)

iftitle [ if exist (hd0,1)/grubfm.iso || if exist (hd0,2)/grubfm.iso ] Grub2 File Manager (a1ive)\nBoot a file using grub2
splashimage --animated=0
map --unmap=0:03 > nul
map --unhook
find --set-root /grubfm.iso
map --mem /grubfm.iso (0xff)
map --hook
chainloader (0xff)
boot

E2B v1.B9b (with bugfix for unattend answer file error when installing Windows)

Alexander reported a problem with E2B v1.B8.

When using an E2B USB Flash drive (removable type), after the Windows Setup 'copy files' stage had completed and the system reboots, if you allow it to boot directly from the internal hard drive, you will see an error message:

'Windows Setup encountered an internal error while loading or searching for an unattend answer file.'

grubfm grub2 menus to install Windows+XML files

I have added two examples to the Alternate Downloads - a1ive grub2 file manager folder.

Direct UEFI64 boot from Tails 4.2/4.16 ISO file using a1ive's grub2 File Manager

Note: Later versions of Tails Live DVD ISO files (e.g. Tails v5.1, now have a UEFI-boot grub2 menu with a 'Tails (External Hard Disk) option. So just use a _.isodef.iso file extension and choose that option if you have an E2B USB HDD - otherwise choose one of the first options.

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This .grubfm menu can be added to the same folder as the ISO to get a 'User Menu' option when you select the .iso file. This allows us to UEFI-boot to Tails ISOs.

You must test on a real system (not a Virtual Machine) as it needs to detect a USB boot device.

Note: for Tails 4.6, and 4.16 you must delete the union=aufs parameter (why do the devs keep changing linux parameters every distro?).

As Tails seems to change on every version (!), you should look at the isolinux\live64.cfg file to get the correct 'params' parameters if you have a different version.

Tip: If you are booting from a VM or a Fixed-disk type of E2B USB drive (e.g. USB HDD or Corsair GTX flash drive), then you will need to press TAB at the Tails grub menu and edit the kernel parameters to remove the 'live-media=removable' entry each time you boot. For E2B, you can instead use the Tails_generic_for_USB_HDD.mnu from the sample mnu files folder (copy it and the ISO to the \_ISO\LINUX\MNU folder and edit the .mnu file with the name of your tails ISO file in two places).

tails-amd64-4.2.grubfm

E2B "UEFI version"

I have added a new page to the E2B website.

It describes how to add a second FAT32 partition to your E2B USB drive instead of using a .imgPTN file. This means it is more compatible for E2B Removable flash drives when booting Win7/8.1 ISOs.

UEFI-boot and then directly boot from ISO, VHD and WIM files using a1ive's grub2! 

No need to create .imgPTN files for most payloads. It also supports SDI_CHOCO configuration installs and other XML files.

Download (version 1.0).