1. Ventoy with Secure Boot/MokManager
2. Ventoy (no Secure Boot)
3. Ventoy with Kaspersky shim - can Secure Boot as long as the Kaspersky shim is not blacklisted in the BIOS UEFI DBx blacklist database (same as used by agFM).
Please update to v1.73c if you want to try out this new Kaspersky Secure Boot Bypass version of Ventoy.
The standard Ventoy image that was made by the Make_Latest_Ventoy_Partion_Image.cmd script contained the Secure Boot enabled EFI boot files.
However, this version does not boot on many systems (such a Lenovo laptops, etc.) - I get a 'Linpus Lite' boot option but it won't Secure Boot or load MokManager.
So I have now modified the script to produce two Ventoy images, one with the Secure Boot (InSecure Boot) files and the other image which does not support Secure Boot. which is much more compatible (but won't work if Secure Boot is enabled in the BIOS).
I also find that MokManager does not work on many Secure BIOSes (crashes/hangs/doesn't load) which is why E2B does not use it.
So you can now you pick which Ventoy image you want (no need for two Ventoy USB drives).
First follow the previous blog article, then...
1. Download the latest agFM v1.72b Beta version
2. Extract it to Partition 2 of your E2B USB drive
3. Run \e2b\Update agFM\Make_Latest_Ventoy_Partion_Image.cmd to make the new Ventoy image files.
You should now have two img files on Partition 2:
The startup_default.cfg file will also be updated, but you will need to change your startup_menu.txt file if you have made your own agFM startup menu.
The current 'Ventoy for Easy2Boot' version is a modified version of Ventoy v1.0.35. It is a modified, re-compiled version of the 'official' Ventoy v1.0.35.
The E2B version of Ventoy is exactly the same as the official version but the size check of the 32MB Partition 2 has been removed so that we can have a Partition 2 greater than the paltry 32MB installed by the Ventoy tool.
agFM v1.72a can now switch-in any 'official' Ventoy Partition 2 image file in-place of the agFM partition.
You can make the image file simply by running the Make_Latest_Ventoy_Partition_Image.cmd file:
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| grubfm multiarch will load the user menu in the Ventoy partition. |
To obtain your free update, use the original email that was sent to you on initial purchase.
Purchase eBooks from here. Most are just $5 each and you get a 10% discount on all of them if you buy more than one! Read some reviews to see what others have to say before you buy.
Visit https://easy2boot.xyz/blog/ for new articles as well as the posts in this blog which are listed here.
agFM v1.71
Windows 10 seems to have a nasty habit of sometimes not detecting a USB drive that had been working fine 5 minutes ago and still works OK in other systems - just not the one you are using!
I can have no problem for months and then one day, Windows 10 does not seem to recognise my USB drive because it does not list the drive volume letters in Explorer - but only if I connect it to a certain specific USB port! I can connect the same drive to a different USB port and everything works as normal.
One month it can be the lower USB 3 port and the SanDisk Extreme 3 USB drive - another time it can be my super-fast SilverStone USB 3 M.2 SSD enclosure and a different USB port. It's just pot luck!
Another issue I often come across, is that I insert a particular USB drive into a particular USB port and Windows goes into an everlasting cycle of mounting the drive and then dismounting it again and again and again ('dong-diddle-ding' - then 'ding-dang-dong', etc. etc.)! Often a reboot fixes this (as long as I first unplug the USB drive before a Windows Restart).
Here is what I do to fix USB drive issues (after trying a Windows Restart, of course)
Note: A simple Windows Shutdown is not good enough! You must use Restart or SHIFT+Shutdown so that Fast boot is not used when you next switch on.
E2B sorts payload files alphanumerically, so Ubuntu.iso will be listed after Tails.iso in the E2B menu.
E2B also supports filename prefixes in the form of _*_ (underscore - any number of characters - underscore), e.g.:
_100_Ubuntu.iso
_110_Tails.iso
These will be listed in the E2B menu as:
Tails
Ubuntu
You can also add file extension override suffixes, these too will not be displayed in the E2B menu system, e.g.
Format: _ (file extension _ [agfm (agfm file extension)] . file-extension
_100_Ubuntu_.isodef_agfmisoagfm.iso
_110_Tails_.isodef_agfmismap.iso
The agfm file override is optional. If not specified then the first file suffix will be used for both E2B and agFM - e.g. _100_Ubuntu_.isodef.iso.
These will be listed in the E2B menu as:
Tails
Ubuntu
BUT both agFM and Ventoy will list the full filename.
E2B will boot as if the file had a .isodef file extension, agFM will boot as if the file had a .isoagfm (or .isomap) file extension.
Note: If E2B MyE2B.cfg is configured to show the file extension (EXTOFF) then E2B shows the whole filename but without the prefix - e.g. Ubuntu_.isodef_agfmisoagfm.iso.
Previous versions of agFM recognised the .imgPTNREP3 file extension.
If you have a partition image .imgPTNREP3 file (e.g. hfs partition containing a bootable Mac OSX installer files) on Partition 3, you could select it in the agFM menu system and it would replace the current Partition 3 (if any) with the new image. The partition should be recognised as being in FAT/NTFS/hfs format and use the correct Partition type (e.g. hfs= 0xAF).
You can thus UEFI-boot to agFM, switch-in any image to partition 3 and then boot to it from the agFM F3 boot menu or the MAC boot menu (e.g for Catalina Installer hfs image).
To restore the original partitions, you can UEFI-boot to the agFM menu system and choose the 'Restore E2B Partitions' menu option.
I have added a post here which describes how to add a .cfg file to boot Kali with Persistence.
agFM seems to have a small problem when the findiso parameter is used. It seems to 'lock' a partition and this causes Kali to not shutdown. The persistence file seems to be saved OK, but it won't then turn off the system or restart it.
This also occurs if you just boot the Kali ISO using agFM (without persistence) and choose the 'Debian - Debian Live' boot entry (which also uses findiso=).
I cannot report the issue as a1ive's grub and grubfm project seem to be in 'archive' read-only status recently.
A recent Windows Update in Windows 10 has meant that the Kaspersky Microsoft-signed EFI boot file that is used by agFM on the Easy2Boot USB drive is often blocked by the target systems UEFI Firmware.
This prevents us from Secure UEFI-booting.
Apart from disabling Secure Boot in the BIOS, you can go into the BIOS Setup menu and delete/clear/reset the DBx UEFI database - or - another way around this problem is to place a version of WinPE on a new FAT32 3rd partition of the E2B USB drive.
My latest eBook 'How to make $1000 a month from the Internet' has now been reduced to only $5 (was $10). It also now updated to revision v1.01.
If you want to supplement your income with some passive income from the Internet, then this book should help you.
See here for more details.
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| Fedora 33 with persistence |
The Fedora LiveCD ISO can support persistence but the persistence file must be on a FAT32 or ext2/3/4 partition.
To boot from an Easy2Boot NTFS USB drive, we can convert the ISO to a FAT32 .imgPTN file and then add in the persistence file to the new FAT32 partition.
This process was described in a 2017 blog article here, however it seems Fedora persistence has changed slightly since then and recent versions no longer recognise the persistence file.
The blog instructions have now been updated so that you can Legacy and UEFI64-boot to a Fedora 33 .imgPTN file with a persistence file. Two folders needed to be added inside the persistence volume to fix the problem.
E2B v2.09c
agFM 1.71c
So when was the last time you backed up your files?
I tend to keep most of my 'important' files in the 'Cloud' these days, but if my main Windows SSD went kaput, it would still probably take me a good day to re-install Windows and add all the applications that I use and then I would need to allow all the files to re-sync with the 'Cloud'.
Kon-Boot (#ad) is currently the only solution worldwide I am aware of that can bypass Windows 10 online passwords!
The latest release fixes issues with Win10 20H2Main updates:
Updates for Windows 10 (Fixed issues and blue screen errors in newest Windows 10 releases (20H2 with newest security updates))
I have been doing a lot of work to transfer the content from the old RMPrepUSB.com website (which was hosted by Google Sites) to a WordPress website (now hosted by Hostinger). Well over 150 pages of text and about 300 images!
There was a lot of swearing, fist-banging and tears, I can tell you, because there was no easy, automated way to transfer it all! I have written up how I did it here, in case others want to move away from the 'New Google Sites' which we are being forced to do by Google because they are discontinuing the old Google Sites hosting. The New Google Sites cannot be integrated into Ezoic and it does not support Google AdSense(!). and so it is even less versatile and compatible than the old CMS version was.
I guess that's the problem with free sites and services - they can just decide to withdraw or drastically change them at any time! It wouldn't surprise me if Blogger wasn't up next for an 'improvement'. Actually this Blogger site and it's CMS is quite adequate for my needs and is free too, so they will probably muck that up soon as well!
My old rmprepusb.com site can still be found at the 'New Google Sites'
https://sites.google.com/rmprepusb.com/www/home
But www.rmprepusb.com now points to the new WordPress site. At the moment it does not go through Ezoic however, so any ads on the site are placed there by Google AdSense automation.
I have also started a new WordPress website at www.easy2boot.xyz - this is intended to be a 'simple' website for anyone who is new to E2B. The 'old' site is still at www.easy2boot.com.
Please look at the new site and let me know if there is anything I have missed out, that someone will need to get started.
At least the experience of migrating to WordPress has proved useful to me whilst writing my new eBook 'How to make $1000 a month from the Internet'!
If you are thinking of building a website, here is a tip for you - always go for a WordPress hosting site (Linux based) - never go for a host that only offers their bespoke Content Management Systems like Wix, etc. and don't be sucked-in by offers of free or very cheap rates for the first year (because the following year's rates won't be cheap)! More info in the eBook ;-).
Some people were grateful for the articles and ask me to set up a 'Donate' page so they could buy me a cup of coffee or two.
After a while, I placed AdSense ads on that site and so I started to get some revenue from the adverts. After that, I realised that I could actually make some money from the website and it helped to pay the website host costs which were approx. £100 a year.
Since then, I have made YouTube videos, blogs, an E2B website and written some eBooks - all of these have helped to pay my expenses as well as bring in an income.
I have chatted to friends over the years, and I even managed to convince a few of them that they also can make money from the Internet (which a few have done).
I have now scribbled down a lot of my ideas, methods, hints, tips and mistakes into an eBook called 'How to make $1000 a month from the Internet'.
I chose the figure of $1000/month because I really do feel that it is possible for almost anyone who is willing to spend a little time and effort to achieve that figure (if not more).
I have now updated eBook #3
How to install Microsoft Windows using Easy2Boot_v1.8.pdf
If you want the latest version, please use link in your original Payhip email receipt to download it.
Updates are free!
Contents