Adding RedHat Install ISOs to Easy2Boot

[Edit] To install RedHat from an ISO, it is easier to just convert the ISO file to a .imgPTN file using the MPI_FAT32 Desktop shortcut. The notes below are now outdated...[/Edit]

I tried to add the RedHat ISO rhel-server-5.7-i386-dvd.iso today to my Easy2Boot NTFS USB drive, so that I could install RedHat to the 2nd partition of my notebook, but found that the RedHat installer failed to find any source 'packages'. The ISO was mounted on /dev/sdb4 as a CDFS filesystem by E2B, but it couldn't access it for some reason! This was odd, as it must have used it to boot in protected mode, but once booted to linux, the installer does not seem to find it (not even on /dev/sdb4).
The next thing I tried was to specify the source of the packages as a HDD and point it to /dev/sdb1  (the USB drive) and the /_ISO/MAINMENU folder. This worked, but only if the Easy2Boot USB drive was formatted as a FAT32 volume! It seems the RedHat installer environment cannot read NTFS volumes.
The next problem I hit was that the installer wanted to install RedHat linux to my hard disk (which I wanted) but only gave me the option of installing the grub bootloader to the /dev/sdb MBR (i.e. the E2B USB drive) or, using advanced options, it would install grub to the partition sectors of /dev/sda2  (the partition I was installing RedHat to). I wanted to install grub to the MBR of my hard disk (/dev/sda) but this choice was not offered! It seems I needed to swap over the USB boot disk with the internal hard disk.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, here is how to add RedHat to E2B:

1. Ensure that you E2B drive is formatted as FAT32
2. Copy the rhel-server-5.7-i386-dvd.iso file to the \_ISO\MAINMENU\MNU folder
3. Make a new rhel-server-5.7-i386-dvd.mnu text file in the \_ISO\MAINMENU\MNU folder with the following contents:
title REDHAT Installer ISO \n When prompted, specify Hard Disk, /dev/sdb1\n and $HOME$ for the path
set ISO=rhel-server-5.7-i386-dvd.iso
/%grub%/qrun.g4b force.iso01 $HOME$/%ISO%
boot
4. Boot from the E2B USB drive on the target system and run RedHat from the menu entry
5. When prompted for a Package source, choose Hard Drive option and then use:
/dev/sdb1                                       - the E2B USB drive
/_ISO/MAINMENU/MNU                  - the path to the ISO file

Using an NTFS E2B USB drive

OK, but what if my E2B drive is formatted as NTFS? Well, I haven't found a nice way round this. There is no point extracting the files from the ISO if RedHat cannot read the E2B NTFS volume!
One solution is that you make a 2nd FAT32 partition on your E2B USB drive and copy the rhel-server-5.7-i386-dvd.iso file to a new\_ISO\MAINMENU\MNU folder on that partition.

Then you can then modify the .mnu file like this:
/%grub%/qrun.g4b force.iso01 (hd0,1)$HOME$/%ISO%
and point the installer at /dev/sdb2 which will be the USB drive's 2nd FAT32 volume, instead of /dev/sdb1. This worked for me :-)

# FOR NTFS E2B USB DRIVE - e.g.
# PTN0 = NTFS    /_ISO/MAINMENU/MNU  contains .mnu file
# PTN1 = FAT32  /_ISO/MAINMENU/MNU  contains the iso file

Another way to get round the problem is to make a hard disk image of a FAT32 partition which contains the ISO file and then map that FAT32 volume to a partition on the E2B USB drive - the .mnu file for this is shown below (it requires a spare USB flash drive just to make the image file):

# This can be used if your E2B drive is NTFS (or FAT32)
# Format a spare USB Flash/HDD as FAT32, 1 partition, SIZE=(size of Redhat ISO) + 100MB (e.g. if ISO is 3149MB, format USB flash drive as 3250) - Use RMPrepUSB for this.
# Copy redhat ISO onto the root of the FAT32 USB drive
# Use RMPrepUSB - Drive->File, Filename=REDHATPTN.IMG, start=P1, size=P1, filestart=0 to make an image of the USB drive partition
# Copy REDHATPTN.IMG and this .mnu file to \_ISO\MAINMENU\MNU folder (or any \_ISO\xxxxxx\MNU folder) on E2B NTFS drive
# change rhel-server-5.7-i386-dvd to match your ISO filename
# See http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/adding-redhat-install-isos-to-easy2boot.html for more info

title REDHAT FOR NTFS\n To install, choose Hard Drive, sdb4 and /
set IMG=REDHATPTN.IMG
set ISO=/rhel-server-5.7-i386-dvd.iso
if "%E2BDEV%"=="" set E2BDEV=hd0 && pause E2BDEV forced to hd0!
if exist CD echo WARNING: Cannot use partnew command! && pause && configfile (bd)/menu.lst
debug on
parttype (%E2BDEV%,3) | set check=
debug off
set check=%check:~-5,4%
if "%check%"=="0x00" partnew (%E2BDEV%,3) 0 0 0
if not "%check%"=="0x00" echo WARNING: PARTITION TABLE 4 IS ALREADY IN USE! (%E2BDEV%,3)=%check% && pause && configfile (bd)/menu.lst
debug 1
if "%check%"=="0x00" partnew (%E2BDEV%,3) 0x0 $HOME$/%IMG% || pause ERROR: $HOME$/%IMG% NOT CONTIGUOUS? && configfile (bd)/menu.lst
map (hd0) (hd1)
map (hd1) (hd0)
map --hook
# set root as new FAT32 partition on E2B drive
root (hd1,3)
map %ISO% (0xff)
map --hook
root (0xff)
chainloader (0xff)
# replace FAT32 partition number C or B with 0 as linux doesn't need it (E2B USB drive is hd1 now)
cat --locate=\x0c --number=1 --length=1 --skip=0x1f2 --replace=\x00 (hd1)+1
cat --locate=\x0b --number=1 --length=1 --skip=0x1f2 --replace=\x00 (hd1)+1

I have added Tutorial #120 which includes these details.

This will only work if the ISO file is <4GB in size however. You could format the spare USB Flash drive as ext2/3 instead of FAT32, but the last two lines of the mnu file would need to be changed to match the ext2/3 partition type number and the ISO file would need to be made contiguous.

Any other suggestions are welcome...

Add Tablet PC and Media Centre Edition (XP) installs to Easy2Boot

If you want to install Windows XP  Tablet PC or Media Centre Edition using Easy2Boot, you will find there is a slight problem. These versions of Windows XP Professional require an additional CD which contains the extra software components requested during the GUI mode install stage. This means that half-way through the GUI install stage, you will be asked to insert CD #2 (which is difficult when you have booted from a single ISO!).

The two CDs used to install Tablet PC 2005 are (MCE is similar):
CD #1 : Windows XP Professional SP2 (this is identical to the standard SP2 ISO)
CD #2:  Windows XP Tablet PC Edition  CD2 (contains a \CMPNENTS folder)

It is important to note that the Product Key that you enter when prompted during the install, determines whether Windows XP Pro, Tablet PC 2005 or Media Center is installed. Therefore, to install Tablet PC, you need to enter a valid Tablet PC Product Key (usually found on the Certificate of Authenticity label on the reverse of the Tablet PC).

What we need to do is combine the two CDs. To do this you need an ISO editing tool such as Daemon Tools (though other utilities such as Magic ISO, UltraISO or WinISO may also work). Whatever ISO editing tool you pick, it is important that the ISO retains it's boot code after editing it and also, if you are using a modified/edited ISO containing filenames that are longer than the standard 8.3 filename length, that it does not convert these filenames to 8.3 when you save the new ISO file.

Using Daemon Tools Pro, to combine the two ISOs is quite simple:
1. Extract the \CMPNENTS folder from the CD #2 and copy whole folder to a temporary folder on your hard disk.
2. Load the CD #1 (XP Pro SP2) ISO in the Daemon Tools Pro Editor
3. Drag and drop the \CMPNENTS folder to the root (i.e. at the same level as the i386 folder)
4. Save the ISO with a new name (e.g. XP_TABLET_PC_1_2.iso)

Now simply copy the new ISO file to the \_ISO\WINDOWS\XP folder of your Easy2Boot USB drive (and make sure it is contiguous using RMPrepUSB - Ctrl+F2 or WinContig, as usual).
Now just install it as you would a normal XP ISO (use the DPMS version of E2B if installing to a SATA hard disk) - just remember to use a Tablet PC Product Key or else you will end up with Windows XP Professional instead of Tablet PC 2005! Also, note that because the ISO is now larger, you will need more memory in the system than if you were installing from two real CDs.

Tip: If you have BSOD or reboot/crash problems using the E2B Step 2 (512MB+) option, try the Step 2 (Low RAM) option instead.

P.S. I found that I had to install under VirtualBox with Virtual Technology CPU enhancements OFF for both the first (textmode) and second (GUI mode) install stages, otherwise it crashed!

Service Pack 3
You may be aware that there is no SP3 version of Tablet PC or MCE; you will have to run the SP3 update after installing the SP2 version. However, there are instructions here on how to prepare an SP3 Tablet PC ISO (actually an SP2 ISO which auto-updates to SP3). I suggest you use nLite to make this new ISO if you run into trouble with 8.3 filename conversion (check the \$OEM$\$$\Microsoft.NET folder name looks correct and is not 'MICROSOF' before saving the ISO file!).

Don't forget to delete the original \i386\SVCPACK.IN_ file and add (or edit) a new \i386\SVCPACK.INF file. I used this for the new SVCPACK.INF file:

;Windows XP
[Version] 
Signature="$Windows NT$"
MajorVersion=5
MinorVersion=1
BuildNumber=2600

[SetupData]
CatalogSubDir="\i386\SVCPACK"

[ProductCatalogsToInstall]

[SetupHotfixesToRun]
NETFX.CMD
ULTIMATE.BAT

Tip: If you are installing a Tablet PC from a Volume Licence version of XP Pro SP2 32-bit, you will need to enter the correct VL Tablet PC key for your establishment. I found one beginning with KT3Q2 got me past the install stage (though it may not be valid to use or activate correctly).

Build your own Porteus ISO and run it with persistence using Easy2Booot

Porteus is a linux distro that is quick to boot and you can be running a browser within 30 seconds from selecting the menu entry in the E2B menu. Porteus is a complete linux operating system that is optimized to run from a USB flash drive. It's small (under 300MB) and fast which allows you to start up and get online while most other operating systems are left spitting dust.

You can also configure and build your own ISO online in just a few seconds too!

To download the ISO of your choice, click on the Download button on the top of the page at www.porteus.org. This will take you to a page that walks you through selecting and downloading your ISO. Users with 64-bit hardware can use either version, but users with 32-bit hardware can only use the 32-bit (i486) version so I suggest you stick with the 32-bit version.

You can make a Desktop Edition or a Kiosk Edition. The Kiosk Edition has been restricted to only allow public users access the web browser. It is ideal to boot to if you just want to quickly boot to a browser from another system. Furthermore, the browser has been locked down to prevent users from tampering with system settings. The kiosk edition will run on both 32-bit (i486 or greater) and 64-bit (x86_64) systems and is extremely lightweight in terms of size and used resources. Default kiosk image size is under 50 MB while your custom kiosk ISO size will depend on your choice of adding extra components like flash, java, additional fonts, end even what home page you want, etc. When the kiosk boots it automatically opens firefox to the home page. When firefox is restarted all caches are cleared and browser reopens automatically with a clean session. By adding Flash and Java, I could play YouTube videos with sound on my Asus EeePC with no problem.

For your first ISO, I suggest you start with the Desktop 32-bit - GUI - KDE4 version. Just select your options from build.porteus.org, choose a browser (choice of Firefox, Chrome or Opera), a Word Processor (AbiWord or LibreOffice), Skype and Development tools (binutils, gcc, make, etc.), video card drivers (nVidia, Radeon, Linux OpenSource) and Printer Support (as desired) and click on the large BUILD button. Within a few seconds your ISO will be ready to download and copy to your E2B drive!

The Kiosk version is worth checking out also, just to see what configuration options you have in the Kiosk build wizard!

MBR-boot Porteus with persistence on E2B from ISO

To run Porteus from Easy2Boot with persistence, use the correct Porteus-xxx-persistent.mnu file or Porteus_generic_persistence.mnu  (in the \_ISO\docs\Sample mnu files folder of E2B). Instructions are inside the .mnu file.

1. Add generic .mnu file to \_ISO\LINUX\MNU folder

2. Add ISO to \_ISO\LINUX\MNU folder

3. Create \porteus persistence file on USB drive (see .mnu file for instructions)

4. Run \Make_this_file_contiguous.cmd

See also here for more details or you can follow the instructions in Tutorial 73.

UEFI-booting with persistence

Using agFM (legacy and UEFI64)

Create a .cfg file using the text below.

Then follow the instructions on the commented lines. The same /porteus  persistence file can be used for both E2B and agFM if you wish.

# agFM .cfg file for Porteus 4 x64 iso boot with persistence

# For UEFI and legacy

# Place this .cfg file in \_ISO\LINUX folder, place ISO file in \_ISO\LINUX\MNU folder

# Use Make_Ext.exe to create persistence file \porteus  with volume name of porteus in root of USB drive

# make all files contiguous

# NO SPACES in filenames or paths

# If you get a 'spawning too fast' error, just reboot. It is a known issue (maybe to do with NTFS filesystem and dirty shutdown?)

# Only show menu if 64-bit CPU:

if [ "$CPU" = "64" ] ; then

menuentry "Porteus 4 64-bit with persistence" --unrestricted --class ubuntu {

# WARNING: partnew will write a new partition entry

   set "grubfm_per=(${grubfm_device})/porteus"

   

   set "grubfm_path=/_ISO/LINUX/MNU/Porteus-CINNAMON-v4.0-x86_64.iso"

   

    set "grubfm_file=(${grubfm_device})${grubfm_path}"

if [ ! -e "${grubfm_per}" ] ; then 

echo ERROR ${grubfm_per} does not exist on (${grubfm_device}) ; read ; fi

if [ ! -e "${grubfm_file}" ] ; then 

echo ERROR ${grubfm_file} does not exist on (${grubfm_device}) ; read ; fi

if [ ! -e "(${grubfm_device})${grubfm_path}" ] ; then 

echo ERROR (${grubfm_device})${grubfm_path} does not exist on (${grubfm_device}) ; read ; fi

# check files are contiguous

set x=0

set NC=0

stat -c -q -s x "${grubfm_per}"

if [ ! "${x}" = "1" ] ; then 

echo ERROR: ${grubfm_per} is not contiguous or does not exist!

sleep 5

set NC=2

fi

   if test -d (${grubfm_disk},4) ; then echo ERROR: Partition 4 in use ; sleep 5 ; set NC=5; fi

if [ "${NC}" = "0" ] ; then 

   if ! test -d (${grubfm_disk},4) ; then partnew --type=0x00 --file="${grubfm_per}"  (${grubfm_disk}) 4 ; fi

   loopback loop "${grubfm_file}"

   set root=(loop)

   set gfxpayload=keep

   linux /boot/syslinux/vmlinuz from=${grubfm_path}  changes=LABEL:porteus/

   initrd /boot/syslinux/initrd.xz

   boot

fi

}

fi

menuentry "Back" {

grubfm "${grubfm_current_path}"

}

Using .imgPTN

Porteus uses rEFInd for UEFI-booting. I used Porteus-XFCE-v3.2rc5-x86_64.iso.

1. Convert the ISO file to a FAT32 .imgPTN file. Increase the suggested size to allow for a persistence file (e.g.  add 300 MB extra).

2. Switch to the .imgPTN file

3. Edit the \EFI\BOOT\refind.conf file as below:

menuentry "Porteus GUI mode" {
volume KERNELS
icon EFI/BOOT/icons/os_porteus.png
loader boot/syslinux/vmlinuz
initrd boot/syslinux/initrd.xz
options ""
submenuentry "Save changes" {
add_options "changes=/porteus/porteussave.dat"


4. Edit the \boot\syslinux\porteus.cfg file as below for MBR booting:

LABEL GRAPHICAL
MENU LABEL Graphics mode
KERNEL vmlinuz
APPEND initrd=initrd.xz changes=/porteus/porteussave.dat
TEXT HELP
    Run Porteus the best way we can.
    Try to autoconfigure graphics
    card and use the maximum
    allowed resolution
ENDTEXT

5. Boot to Porteus and use the Systems - Porteus Save File Manager   (password=toor) to create a \porteus\porteussave.dat file on the E2B USB drive. Set the size so that it uses all the free space available.

You may get some error messages on first boot but these can be ignored.

Tip: Use CTRL-S to pause the boot messages and CTRL-Q to resume, so you can see if the persistence file was accepted as valid or not.

Login using  root (pwd-toor) and type startx to start the Desktop GUI if any problems.

Now you should be able to UEFI (press F2 in rEFInd menu and choose 'Save changes' menu entry - see below) or MBR boot with persistence.

Porteus 3.2

The latest builds of Porteus come as straight ISO files (the Porteus Build Wizard has been discontinued).

If you make a FAT32 .imgPTN file from the ISO (I used Porteus-MATE-v3.2.2-x86_64.iso), then you can also download any of the .xzm modules (e.g. palemoon-27.2.1-x86_64-1.xzm) and copy them into the \porteus\modules empty folder which is already present.

When you next boot to Porteus from the .imgPTN file, the modules will be automatically added (e.g. Applications - Internet - PaleMoon).

Tip: Create the persistence file as detailed above only after you have added all the modules that you want. If you add modules afterwards, it may prevent Porteus from running startx and booting to the Desktop GUI.

Note: To boot with persistence via UEFI - press Insert or F2 in the rEFInd menu and choose the 'Save changes' boot option.

Thanks to Ed.P for the info about adding modules.

Major bug in WinMerge 2.14.0?

If you are using WinMerge 2.14.0 I recommend you use the older 2011 version instead (change the .7z file extension to .exe to install it).

If I compare two folders in WinMerge 2.14.0 and then sort on the  'Comparison result' column, it does not sort the column correctly. This means that some files which are 'Left only' are not sorted to the top or bottom and so if you have a lot of files, you will miss the 'Left only' files as they appear further down the listing and are mixed in with 'Right only' entries! This is a serious bug and so I recommend you to use the 2011 version instead.

P.S. I had this issue on two different Win7 64-bit systems. It seems to depend on which folder you have on the Left and which one is on the Right. If I simply swap over the two folders, then it works correctly (i.e. Left=folderX v. Right=folderY = WORKS OK, Left=folderY v. Right=folderX = DOES NOT SORT CORRECTLY!

BIOS type and 64-bit CPU detection features for Easy2Boot

The next version (available soon! v1.28 now available!) will have a BIOS string-detection feature.

You will be able to detect which system E2B is running on and boot the correct ISO file for it.

Suppose you had some EeePC laptops and some Samsung laptops and you want to run a different  .isoPE file for each one (or different linux ISO or Windows Install ISO). Now you can do this using this type of menu:

# Example menu. Look for a BIOS string and then pick correct ISO file
# force.isope01 forces it to run as a .isope01 even if the file is an ISO file
# strings are not case-sensitive - ISO files must be in same folder as this .mnu file
# 0x7ff+0x01 searches 512 bytes at end of BIOS ROM
# 0x680+0x180 searches all of BIOS from 0xD000:0 to 0xFFFF:F (and so will be slower)
# remove > nul text if you want to see the strings that it has found


title Run Win PE ISO \n Auto-detect based on BIOS
set ISO=
call /%grub%/SearchBS.g4b 0x700+0x100 "eeepc" > nul
if "%GOTSTR%"=="1" set ISO=AsusEeePC.iso
if not exist GOTSTR call /%grub%/SearchBS.g4b 0x680+0x180 "samsung" > nul
if "%GOTSTR%"=="1" set ISO=Samsung.iso
if "%ISO%"=="" echo WARNING: BIOS NOT IDENTIFIED!" && pause && configfile /menu.lst
if not "%ISO%"=="" echo BIOS IDENTIFIED - WILL BOOT %ISO% && pause
/%grub%/qrun.g4b force.isope01 $HOME$/%ISO%
boot

All you need to do is specify the BIOS string and the ISO you want to run.
Depending on your ISO, this may work with Windows Install ISOs too (depending on if they require a Product Key in the AutoUnattend.xml file or not!).
0x600+0x40 is a good base address and range to test for Video BIOS ROM strings (C000:0-C800:0).

Note that the line:
/%grub%/qrun.g4b force.isope01 $HOME$/%ISO%
forces the file to run as an .isope01 file, even if the file has a different extension. You can change this as you wish (e.g. use force.iso to make it boot as a plain ISO file or just omit the force.isope01 text completely to run it with whatever file extension you have used in the ISO= variable line).

If you have different Windows 8 ISOs that you want to install depending on which system that you boot the E2B USB drive from, then use a menu like this:

title Install Windows 8 \n Auto-detects based on BIOS type
set ISO=
call /%grub%/SearchBS.g4b 0x700+0x100 "eeepc" > nul
if "%GOTSTR%"=="1" set ISO=AsusEeePCWin8.iso
if not exist GOTSTR call /%grub%/SearchBS.g4b 0x680+0x180 "samsung" > nul
if "%GOTSTR%"=="1" set ISO=SamsungWin8.iso
if "%ISO%"=="" echo WARNING: SYSTEM NOT IDENTIFIED! && pause && configfile /menu.lst
if not "%ISO%"=="" pause --wait=3 SYSTEM IDENTIFIED - WILL BOOT %ISO%
set MFOLDER=/_ISO/WINDOWS/Win8
/%grub%/%LANG%/RunWin8.g4b  Win8
boot

In this case the .ISO files need to be in the \_ISO\WINDOWS\Win8 folder.

Reducing the search area will improve the speed of the string search.

P.S. To experiment in finding strings and reducing the search area, run E2B and get to the grub4dos command console (press p then enter the password 'easy2boot' then press c). Now you can run the grub4dos batch file from the command console, e.g.:

/%grub%/SearchBS.g4b 0x680+0x180 "Inspiron"

This will display any matching strings it finds for 'Inspiron' and their location. If 'Inspiron 530' is displayed, you can try specifying that as the search string. As the exact location of the BIOS string may vary from BIOS version  to BIOS version, it is best to search an area of xxxx+0x80 - don't just use xxxx+0x1 or it may not work on a slightly different BIOS version even if it is the the same system type and mainboard.

Please let me know if you think this might be useful for you and how you might like to use it. For instance, if some of your systems require a different parameter when booting linux but other systems crash when the same parameter is used, you can use this feature to identify which system you have booted from.

CPU 64-bit detection

You can also do a similar thing to detect 64-bit CPUs. Thus you could have an 'Install Windows 8' menu item and it would install Win8 64-bit on 64-bit systems and 32-bit Win8 on 32-bit systems. See Tutorial 72a for more details.

To boot an ordinary payload (ISO, IMA, IMG) file, use the following .mnu file (see 64Bit_Auto_Detect_ISO.mnu)

# Change the 1st, 2nd and 3rd line as required - line 4 may be deleted if no pause required

title Run a 32-bit or 64-bit linux ISO \n Auto-Detect system type and run correct ISO

set ISO=Ubuntu32.iso

checkrange 2,3 is64bit && set ISO=Ubuntu64.iso

pause WILL BOOT %ISO% - Press ENTER key to continue...

/%grub%/qrun.g4b $HOME$/%ISO%

boot

P.S. It would also be possible to change the linux vga parameters for linux livecd ISO booting, based on what vga modes the system supported by the BIOS when E2B was booted. Let me know if you would be interested in this (and give me an example grub4dos menu).

Com! Magazin Readers (ISOs vom Stick booten)

Welcome, Com! magazine readers. This is just to tell you that the latest version of Easy2Boot is v1.28. The magazine used v1.17 which is now old.

Please obtain the latest version from here. If you want to install XP from an XP Install ISO, download "E2B + Windows XP Mass Storage Drivers [30MB]" - this includes XP 32-bit Mass storage drivers.

Herzlich willkommen, Com! magazin Leser. Dies ist nur zu sagen, dass die neueste Version der Easy2Boot ist v1.28. Das Magazin verwendet v1.17, die jetzt alt ist. 

Erhalten Sie die neueste Version von hier. Wenn Sie von einem XP XP installieren Installieren ISO wollen, laden Sie "E2B + Windows XP Massenspeichertreiber [30 MB]" - dazu gehören XP 32-Bit-Treiber für Massenspeicher.

Easy2Boot in Com! Magazine

If you subscribe to Com! Magazin (a German computer magazine), look out for an article on Easy2Boot in the 03/2014 issue on Friday 7th February!

http://www.com-magazin.de/news/com-magazin/neue-com-3-2014-da-237003.html

Easy2Boot v1.27

Note: I just re-tried v1.26 and it is working now! Seems this was a false alarm??? v1.26 and v1.27 should be the same and no need to update to 1.27!

v1.26 seems to have a problem with Win8 Install ISOs if a Helper USB drive is used together with a USB HDD - please update to E2B v 1.27 or later!!!

The problem seems to be in the \_ISO\e2b\grub\ENG\RunWin8.g4b batch file, but as far as I can tell it has hardly changed for at least 3 previous versions, so I am not quite sure what the problem was. When I added a few lines to debug it, it just started working again!

v. 1.27 seems to work though, so please update to this new version ASAP.

Sorry for the inconvenience, I am still trying to figure out why it stopped working....

Easy2Boot v1.26 available (with new batch file to make an E2B USB drive)

v1.26 2014-02-05

1. Small changes so we can have individual XP ISO entries in the Main menu (e.g. 'Install XP Home' and 'Install XP Pro' can be in the main menu with no need to pick the ISO name). Use XP_Inst_from_MainMenu.mnu in sample mnu folder as an example.
2. A few new sample .mnu files added for OpenElec and XiaOpan
3. Latest grub4dos version 0.4.5c 2014-01-17
4. New \_ISO\docs\Make_E2B_USB_Drive.cmd batch file added to automate making of an E2B drive (requires RMPrepUSB to be pre-installed).

The Make_E2B_USB_Drive.cmd batch file is designed to be run from the \_ISO\docs folder.

Download the E2B .zip file, extract it to a temporary folder on your hard disk and then double-click on the Make_E2B_USB_Drive.cmd batch file to make an Easy2Boot USB drive (requires Admin rights). It formats the USB drive (choice of FAT32 or NTFS), installs grub4dos and then copies the E2B files across. Your E2B drive is then ready to boot!

The batch file requires RMPrepUSB to be pre-installed on your system in the default (C:\Program Files) folder.

Make_E2B_USB_Drive.cmd - Initial Drive Selection

Make_E2B_USB_Drive.cmd - E2B drive completed

Adding Xiaopan to Easy2Boot

Xiaopan is a linux distro used for wireless penetration testing (e.g. cracking WPS). You can add the latest ISO to Easy2Boot in the usual way (i.e. just copy the .iso file to \_ISO\MAINMENU and then run WinContig to make the iso file contiguous). This will work on both FAT32 and NTFS E2B USB drives even though Xiaopan does not support NTFS.

However, if you want to run Xiaopan with persistence, it is easiest to use a FAT32 E2B USB drive.

To make your extensions and changes persistent, Tiny Core needs a directory to store them.

1. Extract the mydata.tgz file from the root of the ISO file using 7Zip
2. Copy the file to the root of the FAT32 USB boot drive
3. Rename the file to xi.tgz

If however, you have an NTFS E2B USB drive, we need to create an ext2 filesystem...

1. Use RMPrepUSB - Create ext2 FS to create an ext2 file of the filename x-rw in the root of the NTFS E2B USB drive (any size you choose).

2. Copy the Xiaopan.mnu file from the \_ISO\docs\Sample mnu files folder to an E2B subfolder (e.g. \_ISO\MAINMENU\MNU) - see below.

3. Move the Xiaopan ISO file to the same folder and rename it to Xiaopan.iso

Now when you boot from the ISO for the first time, use the Control Panel - Backup\Restore applet in Xiaopan and change the backup location from sdb4/ (may differ on your system but it should end in 4) to sdb3/. Now change the wallpaper colour and Exit. There should be no error message (if there is, try using Control Panel - Mount Tool to mount \sdb3 first and then Exit). When you run Xiaopan again, the wallpaper settings should be remembered.

The .mnu file is shown below:

#create an ext2 file in the root of the E2B USB drive called x-rw

#when Xiaopan boots, use the Control Panel - Backup\Restore applet to change the location to partition 3 - e.g. sdb3/

iftitle [if exist $HOME$/XIAOPAN.iso] Xiaopan (with persistence)\n Boot using .mnu file with persistence

if exist CD echo WARNING: Cannot use partnew command! && pause && configfile (bd)/menu.lst

set ISO=XIAOPAN.iso

set PER=x-rw

if "%E2BDEV%"=="" set E2BDEV=hd0 && pause E2BDEV forced to hd0!

#enable parttype output

debug 1

# make empty table entry in 3rd position in ptn table

parttype (%E2BDEV%,2) | set check=

debug off

set check=%check:~-5,4%

if "%check%"=="0x00" partnew (%E2BDEV%,2) 0 0 0

if not "%check%"=="0x00" echo WARNING: PTN TABLE 3 On %E2BDEV% IS ALREADY IN USE - PERSISTENCE MAY NOT WORK! && pause

debug 1

if not exist /%PER% echo WARNING: /%PER% persistence file not found! && pause

errorcheck off

if "%check%"=="0x00" partnew (%E2BDEV%,2) 0x0 /%PER%

errorcheck on

#map ptn 4 to ISO

partnew (%E2BDEV%,3) 0x0 $HOME$/%ISO%

map $HOME$/%ISO% (0xff)

map --hook

root (0xff)

chainloader (0xff)

Transferring ISOs from an XBOOT USB drive to Easy2Boot

If you already have an XBOOT USB drive containing linux ISO files, you may have found that when you copy them to your Easy2Boot USB drive, they don't work.

This is because XBOOT modifies the ISOs. For a typical linux ISO, XBOOT will extract the files from the casper folder of the ISO file and then copy them to a subfolder under the \images folder on the USB drive. XBOOT also modifies the \isolinux\isolinux.cfg file contents (inside the ISO file) to add some cheat codes which will direct the linux kernel to load the squashfs files from a different folder, e.g.

label driverupdates=Use driver update disc
append driverupdates=debian-installer/driver-update=true

is converted to:

label driverupdates=Use driver update disc

append driverupdates=debian-installer/driver-update=true ignore_uuid live-media-path=/images/fdraptor/casper

The cheat codes added by XBOOT may work for some linux distros (or versions) but not for others. This is why it is 'hit-or-miss' as to whether XBOOT will work or not with 'unsupported' ISOs.

To move these XBOOT converted ISOs to an E2B USB drive we need to:

1. Copy the whole \images folder from the XBOOT drive to \images on the E2B drive

2. Move the ISO files to the \_ISO\MAINMENU folder

So if we had 'fdraptor' on our XBOOT drive, we would now have an E2B drive with these folders:

• \images\fdraptor\casper\ - several files including filesystem.squashfs (700MB)
• \_ISO\MAINMENU\fdraptor.iso (32MB)

As many linux initial kernels do not support NTFS, XBOOT does not work well on an NTFS drive. If you use these files on an E2B drive, the E2B USB drive needs to be formatted as FAT32 and not NTFS.

Of course, you can just download the original ISOs from the web and copy them to your E2B drive (even on an NTFS E2B drive) and it should work just fine.

The other alternative is to make a .imgPTN file from the XBOOT USB drive by dragging-and-dropping the drive letter onto the MPI_FAT32 desktop shortcut.

Easy2Boot .mnu files

Usually, when adding payload files to Easy2Boot, you just need to copy the file over and make sure it is contiguous. In some cases you may need to modify the file extension slightly too. However, for some 'special' payload files or if you want persistence when booting from linux ISOs, we need to use a .mnu file.

Below is a list of some of the .mnu files that can be found in the \_ISO\docs\Sample mnu Files folder of the Easy2Boot download in v1.25. More may be added to later versions, so always check for new examples!
Instructions on how to use .mnu files can be found by opening them in Notepad and reading the instructions within.

Make a 'Forensics To Go' 32GB USB Flash drive

If you have a 32GB or larger USB pen and want a ready-made 'Forensic' multiboot USB Flash drive, try the (virtual disk) image provided on 'Hacking Exposed' by David Cowen\Kevin Stokes.  Download is here.

This USB disk image contains two FAT32 partitions, with XBOOT installed ISOs of...

• SIFT 2.14
• Kali Linux
• Paladin 5
• Raptor 3

on a hidden 2nd partition, and 4GB-worth of the following portable apps and tools on the first partition (which is visible to Windows):

Documents
analyzing-malicious-document-files.pdf
log2timeline-cheatsheet.pdf
Memory-Forensics-Cheat-Sheet-v1.pdf
Network Forensics Cheat Sheet.pdf
SANS-DFIR-Poster-2012.pdf
sbag.users.guide.v.0.24.pdf
SIFT Cheat Sheet and DFIR Curriculum.pdf
USB-Device-Tracking-Artifacts.pdf

Linux Tools
TZworks_64bit
TZworks_32bit
Truecrypt

Mac Tools
FortiClient_Installer.dmg
nmap-6.40-2.dmg
TrueCrypt 7.1a Mac OS X.dmg
TZworks

Portable Apps
PortableApps.com
2XClient
7-ZipPortable
AbiWordPortable
AntRenamerPortable
AutorunsPortable
BabelMapPortable
cdrtfePortable
ClamWinPortable
CommandPromptPortable
ConverberPortable
CrystalDiskInfoPortable
CubicExplorerPortable
DaphnePortable
DatabaseBrowserPortable
EraserPortable
EraserDropPortable
Explorer++Portable
FileAlyzerPortable
FileZillaPortable
FoxitReaderPortable
FrhedPortable
GetSudokuPortable
GoogleChromePortable
grepWinPortable
HDHackerPortable
HijackThisPortable
HWiNFOPortable
InfraRecorderPortable
IniTranslatorPortable
IrfanViewPortable
JkDefragPortable
KasperskyTDSSKillerPortable
KchmViewerPortable
KeePassPortable
KeepNotePortable
KiTTYPortable
McAfeeStingerPortable
Monster2Portable
CamStudioPortable
ChecksumControlPortable
ConvertAllPortable
DiffpdfPortable
Notepad++Portable
PasswordGorillaPortable
PeerBlockPortable
PidginPortable
ProcessExplorerPortable
ProcessHackerPortable
ProcessMonitorPortable
PuTTYPortable
PWGenPortable
RegshotPortable
SIWPortable
SkypePortable
SmartDefragPortable
SpybotPortable
SQLiteDatabaseBrowserPortable
SqlitemanPortable
StickiesPortable
SumatraPDFPortable
SystemExplorerPortable
TeamViewerPortable
ThunderbirdPortable
Toucan
UUID-GUIDGeneratorPortable
VLCPortable
WhoDatPortable
WindowsErrorLookupToolPortable
winMd5SumPortable
WinMTRPortable
WinSCPPortable
WiseDiskCleanerPortable
WiseProgramUninstallerPortable
WiseRegistryCleanerPortable
xpyPortable
CppcheckPortable
KompoZerPortable
NetHackPortable
PeaZipPortable
qBittorrentPortable
RevoUninstallerPortable
PortableApps.comLauncher

Windows Tools
volatility-2.3.1.standalone.exe
WiresharkPortable-1.10.5.paf.exe
Imager_Lite_3.1.1
NirSoft Tools
Password Tools
rrv2.8
Scalpel-2.0
SysinternalsSuite
Tools that require Install
TZworks 32bit
TZworks 64bit
USB Write - EnableProtect
Woanware

To make this USB Flash drive

You need a 32GB or larger USB drive.

1. Download the 8GB (!) USB_Multiboot.zip file from the blog here or the updated image here.

2. Extract the 30GB 'USB image for download.img' file to your system hard disk using 7Zip (or similar utility)

3. Run RMPrepUSB and insert your 32GB (or larger) USB Flash drive

Select the 32GB USB Flash drive in the top drive selection box and click on the File->Drive button.

Enter 1SEC for the file start sector (see screenshot), 0 for the USB start sector and 0 for the length.

After 10 -30 minutes you will have a bootable USB flash drive.

The image is from a 32GB USB Flash drive made using XBOOT. If you wish to add more files to it using XBOOT, you can must first change the partition order over as follows:

1. Run RMPrepUSB and select the 32GB drive

2. Type CTRL-O and select partition 2 when prompted

This will swap over the partitions and make visible the XBOOT 1st FAT32 partition containing the (modified) ISO files:

• fdraptor.iso
• hirensbootcd.iso
• paladin.iso
• siftworkstationrevusb.iso

You should now be able to run XBOOT and modify the contents.

When you have finished testing the USB drive, use RMPrepUSB - Ctrl-O to change back the partitions and make the applications partition visible to Windows again.

You can either boot from this USB drive on a 'live' system or boot from it (or the original .img file) with the 'target' hard-disk image in VirtualBox.

Note: XBOOT modifies the .ISO files and extracts and removes the squashfs (casper) files into a subfolder under \images. Therefore these .iso files cannot just be 'dropped' onto an Easy2Boot drive as they will not boot correctly. These XBOOT ISOs can be used if you copy the whole \images folder from the XBOOT partition to the root of a FAT32 E2B USB drive (not NTFS - it won't work!) and then move the .iso files to the \_ISO\MAINMENU folder (i.e. the E2B drive will contain a \images folder with subfolders).

Of course, you can download the original ISOs from their websites and simply add them to your Easy2Boot USB drive.

Note: There is a later download here which may have some of the files missing (I have not tested it).

Easy2Boot v1.25 available (new $HOME$ keyword for .mnu files)

Easy2Boot v1.25 adds a new feature for .mnu files.

Previously, you had to 'hard code' the sub-folder name into the .mnu file text. For example, here is a typical .mnu file which expects the ISO file to be in the MNU subfolder (e.g. \_ISO\MAINMENU\MNU) :

iftitle [if exist %MFOLDER%/MNU/Ylmf_OS_3.0.iso] Boot YlmF (Windows Like OS) Non-Persistent 
map %MFOLDER%/MNU/Ylmf_OS_3.0.iso (0xff)
map --hook
root (0xff)
kernel /casper/vmlinuz file=/cdrom/preseed/ubuntu.seed boot=casper  persistent iso-scan/filename=%MFOLDER%/MNU/ylmf_OS_3.0.iso floppy.allowed_drive_mask=0 splash
initrd /casper/initrd.img

However, now we can use $HOME$ to represent the path of the .mnu file like this:

iftitle [if exist $HOME$/Ylmf_OS_3.0.iso] Boot YlmF (Windows Like OS) Non-Persistent 

map $HOME$/Ylmf_OS_3.0.iso (0xff)

map --hook

root (0xff)

kernel /casper/vmlinuz file=/cdrom/preseed/ubuntu.seed boot=casper  persistent iso-scan/filename=$HOME$/ylmf_OS_3.0.iso floppy.allowed_drive_mask=0 splash

initrd /casper/initrd.img

This means that we can place the .mnu files and their payload files in any sub-folder of any name and we don't have to edit the .mnu file to match it.

This is useful because it means we can control the order of the items in the menus more easily by simply changing the name of the folders that we place our .mnu files in.

Consider an E2B file and folder arrangement of:

\_ISO\MAINMENU\b.iso
\_ISO\MAINMENU\k.iso
\_ISO\MAINMENU\MNU\a.mnu  (and a.iso)
\_ISO\MAINMENU\MNU\y.mnu  (and y.iso)
\_ISO\MAINMENU\z.iso

The menu entries in the Main menu would be ordered like this because the MNU folder's files will be enumerated after k.iso:

b.iso
k.iso
(title text from the a.mnu file)
(title text from the y.mnu file)
z.iso


Now if we want the a.mnu entry to be listed first in the Main menu, previously when using the %MFOLDER% variable, we would have had to make a new $MNU folder and then move the a.mnu and a.iso files also edit the .mnu file to change 'MNU' to '$MNU'.

However, if we use the new $HOME$ keyword in the .mnu file, all we need do is move the a.iso and a.mnu files to a new $MNU folder and we don't have to edit the .mnu file at all.

\_ISO\MAINMENU\$MNU\a.mnu  (and a.iso)
\_ISO\MAINMENU\b.iso
\_ISO\MAINMENU\k.iso
\_ISO\MAINMENU\MNU\y.mnu  (and y.iso)
\_ISO\MAINMENU\z.iso

The keyword $HOME$ will be expanded by E2B to be "/_ISO/MAINMENU/$MNU" automatically.

If you also want to change the position of y.mnu, you can simply rename the MNU folder (e.g. use $A to list it first or ZZ to list it last in the menu).

I have changed all of the Sample mnu Files in the \_ISO\docs\Sample mnu Files folder in v1.25 of E2B to use the new $HOME$ keyword. You can still use %MFOLDER% in your .mnu files if you wish.

The new v1.25 downloads are linked here.

Combine SARDU with Easy2Boot

To add SARDU to your Easy2Boot menu

1. Make your E2B USB drive as usual
2. Run SARDU and install SARDU plus any ISOs etc. to your E2B drive. This will add a dozen or so files to the root of the E2B drive and also a \SARDU folder.
3. Re-install grub4dos to the PBR using RMPrepUSB
4. Open an Administrator command prompt and navigate to the RMPRepUSB\SYSLINUX\Syslinux_4.06 folder  (tip: you can press F3 in RMPrepUSB to find the folder)
5. At the command prompt type:

syslinux.exe -f   X:   X:\SARDU\sardu.bin

where X: is the drive letter of your Easy2Boot USB drive

6. Create a SARDU.mnu file and add it to the \_ISO\MAINMENU\MNU folder:

title SARDU\n Run SARDU

chainloader /SARDU/sardu.bin

2 new Easy2Boot videos now on YouTube

I have added a couple more Easy2Boot videos to YouTube which I hope you will find useful.

Please let me know if you want any more and what topics to cover...

Part 1
Part 2

Part 1
1. Make an E2B drive - See other E2B videos for how to add and run Windows Install ISOs
2. Helper USB Flash drive
3. Folder structure
4. Can add own files anywhere except under \_ISO
5. WinContig -- Error 60 -- file not contiguous
6. Test with QEMU and VBox+VMUB
7. Add ISOs -- linux ISOs to Mainmenu
8. Add ISOs to \_ISO\LINUX
9. Add ISOs to \_ISO\AUTO and explain difference
10. What happens if delete DOS files -- menu entry disappears
11. How sub-menus work -- UTILITIES and UTILITIES_MEMTEST
12. Change names to reorder
13. Add .txt files

Part 2
14. Hirens - Change file extension to .isowinv
15. List of file extensions supported - see Tutorial 72a
16. Hirens - Add a .mnu file -- mnu can be any name
17. Change background -- add \_ISO\mybackground.bmp or mybackground.bmp.gz
18. Rename Sample_MyE2B.cfg to MyE2b.cfg -- explain -- sample mnu files
19. Demo master password + font + hotkey + remove F7 + menu pwd
20. Add blank line in menu
21. Speed up menu loading -- FASTLOAD, no font file
22. Suppress E2B startup messages
23. Suppress grub4dos messages - patchme
24. 'Skins'

See www.rmprepusb.com Easy2Boot - Tutorial 72a for more details.

Easy2Boot 1.24 available

Just a few small changes:

1. If you had an E2B USB HDD and a USB Helper Flash drive and both contained the E2B folders, then LOADISO would try to run ImDisk twice which would cause it to loop. I have added some checks in LOADISO.cmd so that if it is being run from the drive containing WINHELPER.USB or is being run for a 2nd time, it will just exit. If you have problems with the LOADISO blue console window, check that you only have one instance of the E2B folder structure on one drive in the system (which should be the E2B boot drive).

2. Some of the Sample .mnu files in the \_ISO\docs folder had not been updated to use the new ENG folder and use the new %LANG% variable for that folder. These files have now been updated.

E2B v1.23 available

This version allows you to boot from a different grub4dos bootable drive and then 'chainload boot' to your E2B USB drive. This means that if you use an E2B USB Hard drive, then you could boot from either your E2B USB Hard drive or your E2B Helper USB Flash drive.

Helper drive menu.lst file:

clear

pause --wait=3 Booting from Easy2Boot USB Helper Flash Drive...

find --set-root /_ISO/e2b/grub/menu.lst

chainloader /grldr

boot

Note that to support this, the sample .mnu files in the \_ISO\docs folder have also been changed because the E2B drive will no longer be (hd0,0) and so the partnew commands have been modified to use the correct device name for the E2B drive (e.g. hd2). If you have used any of the sample .mnu files then you will need to update them in order to use this new feature.

If you always boot from the E2B drive then you don't need to change your .mnu files. The standard E2B .mnu files have not changed.

Fake Flash drives on Amazon!

It seems even Amazon sellers are offering these fake capacity flash drives!
See here for a review of one on Amazon.com.

In case you missed it, I wrote a blog post on fake flash drives and FakeFlashTest here.

Easy2Boot v1.22_DPMS bugfix!

Somehow the DriverPack.ini file was missing from the Easy2Boot_v1.22_DPMS.zip download, this has now been fixed. Please download Easy2Boot_v1.22B_DPMS.zip and either overwrite your whole E2B drive or just extract and copy DriverPack.ini from the Easy2Boot_v1.22B_DPMS.zip file.

v1.22B Small bugfix so that NOF7HD variable works if used in MyE2B.cfg.

Note: This link may not work at a later date - please check Tutorial 72a for the latest downloads.




P.S. Why is spam mail so dumb? I have been getting lots of spam mail recently for nursing bras and hair restoration oil - who do they think I am - a bald mother?

Booting a CrunchBang ISO from a grub4dos USB drive

I had not heard of CrunchBang before (why are there are so many linux distros? .If only these developers would collaborate, I am sure linux could easily beat Windows!).

Anyway, here is a menu which will boot to the Live desktop from a CrunchBang 11 ISO file

title CRUNCHBANG
set ISO=/crunchbang-11-20130506-i686.iso
uuid () > nul
set UUID=%?%
echo %UUID%
map ()%ISO% (0xff) || map --mem ()%ISO% (0xff)
map --hook
root (0xff)
kernel /live/vmlinuz boot=live fromiso=/dev/disk/by-uuid/%UUID%%ISO% live-media-path=/live config splash noeject
initrd /live/initrd.img

Of course, as usual, you can boot the ISO to the Live OS just by adding the ISO to your Easy2Boot \_ISO\MAINMENU folder (no need to edit a menu).

Installing CrunchBang! from a USB drive

If you wish to boot from the CrunchBang ISO using E2B and then select the 'Install' option to install it onto another disk, you will need to use the same 'mount -t iso9660 -o ro /dev/sdb4 /cdrom' shell command that I detailed in my previous 'kali' blog post.
If using a .imgPTN file (no real need as not UEFI?) then you will need to use the 'mount -t vfat -o ro /dev/sdb1 /cdrom' shell command.

Installing Kali to a disk from a Kali ISO located on an E2B USB drive

Kali will run as a Live OS just by copying over the ISO to your E2B drive (e.g. copy to \_ISO\MAINMENU), however if you try to use the Install options to install Kali to another disk, you will find that you get an error as it will not be able to find the 'CDROM'. The same problem occurs with USB drive made with YUMI too, however with Easy2Boot we can work around the issue.

You can manually fix this problem if using E2B by typing in a linux command from the command shell to mount the partition #4 that will now contain the ISO file mapped by E2B before booting it, as follows:

When the CD-ROM is not detected, choose 'No' 'No' <Continue>, and choose the Execute the Shell menu option, then type ls /dev/ to find the fourth USB partition name - sdx4 (usually sdb4) and then type
mount -t iso9660   -o  ro   /dev/sdb4   /cdrom
and check if it was successful using the mount command - then type
exit
and proceed with install.

Other useful commands are:
list-devices disk
ls /dev/s*
umount /cdrom            to unmount the cdrom.

If you cannot remember this, why not make a .txt file with the same name as the ISO with these instructions in the text file, e.g. (all one long line)

title Kali Linux\n To INSTALL to another disk, run the shell and type:\n mount -t iso9660 -o ro /dev/sdb4 /cdrom\n You can use ls /dev/ to find the correct name of the USB drive\n Then type exit to continue

Note: E2B has a sample .mnu file in the \_ISO\docs\Sample mnu Files folder for Kali.

If you use a MakePartImage .imgPTN file to boot to Kali, you can use a similar command - e.g.
mount -t vfat -o ro /dev/disk/by-label/EASY2BOOT /cdrom

or
mount -t vfat -o ro /dev/sdb1 /cdrom

where EASY2BOOT is the label of the partition (EASY2BOOT is the default volume label when you create the image file using MakePartImage).

Easy2Boot v1.22 now available (bugfix)

If you find the Ptn2_Menu.mnu menu doesn't work, this should now be fixed in version 1.22. Thanks to DvdK for spotting this! 4 files have been changed in the \_ISO\e2b\grub folder.
Note: 1.22A fixes the bug where if you are using Ptn2_Menu.g4b, then the F7-F10 menu entries are missing from the resulting menu of ISOs on the 2nd partition so you cannot go back to the main menu.
1.22B fixes a small bug if you are using the NOF7HD variable to suppress the F7 menu item.

Easy2Boot v1.21 available

Small update to DPMS2. If two XP mass storage drivers are found, then a firadisk/winvblock driver was not selected - this resulted in a BSOD. What you should do is use F6 to select the required drivers.
Only two virtual F6 floppies are recognised by XP Setup, therefore we cannot have two default mass storage drivers + a default Firadisk or WinVBlock driver. fd0 can have one default driver and fd1 can have another default driver, but we cannot have 3 default drivers!
I have changed the behaviour now so that one mass storage driver is selected + the firadisk/winvblock driver. However, if the wrong mass storage driver is selected by DPMS2, you will need to press F6 and select the other mass storage driver manually (as well as the firadisk/winvblock driver).
The only way to load  3 or more drivers is to use the F6 key.
V 1.21 of E2B and V1.21 +DPMS2 mass storage drivers are now available.

Easy2Boot v1.20 now available

v1.20 is now available, changes are:

1. Now should work with Win8.1 Retail install ISOs which use \sources\install.esd instead of install.wim
2. Option to erase partition 4 if detected on the E2B drive when booting (use with care!)
3. 64-bit XP install ISOs will now not use DPMS2 (which is 32-bit only) if there is '64' in the ISO name - so you can now press F6 and install the firadisk and winvblock 64-bit drivers. 
4. 3rd level folders now removed except for a single MNU folder - e.g. \_ISO\MAINMENU\MNU and Sample .mnu files changed to use \_ISO\xxx\MNU folders.
5. 8.1 Enterprise 90-day Eval product key added so you can install from the free M$ downloadable ISOs. 
6. Windows Vista+ ISOs are now only loaded using ImDisk and not Firadisk - the Firadisk drivers are no longer used and have been removed (but still used for XP using an F6 floppy image).
7. Memtest86-5.0.0 ISO added to Utilities - Memory Test menu

Note: You can still use any name for the 3rd level folders instead of MNU, and you can overwrite your E2B drive with v1.20 and it will still work.

Please let me know if there are any problems with this new version (and any successes you have too!)

Add the Windows 8.1 Enterprise 90-day Evaluation ISOs to Easy2Boot

If you copy the Windows 8.1 Enterprise 90-day Evaluation ISO to your Easy2Boot \_ISO\WINDOWS\Win8 folder of your Easy2Boot USB drive and try to install it, you will find that you will receive a pop-up error message which reads 'Windows cannot find the Microsoft Software License Terms'.

This is a sign that the product key chosen by you, and subsequently written to the AutoUnattend.xml by Easy2Boot, is missing or incorrect.

Although this version does not require the user to enter a Product Key when installed from a DVD or from a 'flat-file' USB drive, to get these ISOs to work in Easy2Boot, you need to use the product key that is embedded inside the product. To find out what the product key is, you can install it to a VM from the ISO file, or use RMPrepUSb to extract the ISO to a USB drive and install it to a real system. Then run the Magical Jelly Bean KeyFinder to find the Product Key. In the case of Windows 8.1 Enterprise 90-day Evaluation it turns out to be 76FKW-8NR3K-QDH4P-3C87F-JHTTW.

We can now either create a .key file in the \_ISO\WINDOWS\Win8 folder for this key (copy an existing example file and modify it), and/or add it to the CHOOSE FROM A LIST.key file (in both the menu and the place where the variable is set).

E2B version 1.20 will contain a key file for Windows 8.1 Enterprise 90-day Evaluation.

P.S. Use the command slmgr -rearm from an Admin command console to get an extra 90-days when your first 90 days expires.

As an alternative, you can convert the ISO to a .imgPTN file using the MPI Tool Kit. If you use the MPI_FAT32 shortcut, then it will also be UEFI-bootable too.

Something for the Christmas holidays (GeGeek Toolkit)?

Update: a donation is required for GE Geek ToolKit now.

OK, you have eaten as much Turkey as you possibly can and even the Brussel sprouts weren't too bad, you've also consumed as much alcohol as you can (probably a bit too much!) and opened all your presents (ready to exchange as soon as the shops open). There is nothing on TV except repeats, and Uncle Fred is snoring his head off so you can't hear a thing anyway.

So why not checkout the massive GE Geek Tech Toolkit? The link for the Toolkit is at the very top of the GE Geek home page or click here for a direct link to the download page.

The download is a 1.3GB ZIP file which extracts to almost 2GB of portable apps. It works like this:

1. Extract the files to the root of a USB drive and makes a \GeGeek Toolkit folder on the drive.

2. Run GeGeek_Toolkit.exe from the \GeGeek Toolkit folder on the USB drive - this puts an icon in your Windows Desktop TaskBar (a small arrow in a circle)

3. Now right-click on the taskbar icon and run 'Run Ketarin Update' - this will update all the apps to their latest version (if you have an internet connection)

4. Quit GeGeek_Toolkit (right-click on the icon and Exit) and then run it again.

You now can run hundreds of portable apps from the GeGeek Tech_Toolkit panel (right-click the task bar icon)!

As well as the apps listed in the pop-up panel, WSCC Portable contains the Microsoft and NirSoft apps. This also has an auto-update feature.

The toolkit is regularly updated by the author and is free (though you can make a donation).

Put this on your USB toolkit drive and you have a load of useful apps all in one place and all easily update-able! Why not download it and check out the 100's of useful apps! Also checkout the very useful references and utilities listed on the main home page.

P.S. Did you know Brussel sprouts taste better now than they used to 10 years ago? That bitter taste that many people don't like has been genetically engineered out of them. There are about 30 varieties of the 'sprout' now and the new ones are really nice (honest!). You can even eat them raw - try slicing them up and adding them to a salad (but it would be best to sleep alone that night or blame the dog!).

Easy2Boot v1.19 full release now available

I have now changed the links in Tutorial 72a.
v1.19 is now available as the E2B download and as the E2B+DPMS2 Mass Storage Drivers download.
The only difference between v1.19 and v1.19Beta is that v1.19 will warn the user if he/she is trying to install from a Vista/7/8 Install ISO from a USB Hard disk without a 'Helper' USB Flash drive also being present.
Hopefully, this will give new users a hint that they need a USB 'Helper' drive if they try to install from a USB Hard drive.

RMPrepUSB v2.1.716 now released

• Bug in Drive->File and File->Drive functions fixed
• lateste grub4dos grldr file 0.4.5c 2013-11-30 used.

Download from here.

Boot HitManPro from Easy2Boot (or any grub4dos USB Flash drive)

HitManPro (Hitman Pro) can be booted from a grub4dos multiboot or Easy2Boot USB flash drive as follows:

Avast! Anti-Virus Rescue Disk USB boot problems (+fixes)

If you have installed Avast! AV (Avast 2014.9.0.2008) onto your Windows system, you can make a bootable USB drive or ISO file from the Tools menu. However, you may run into problems when using it to make a USB drive. Here are some quick instructions for 3 different situations (see the 'Long Story' below for more details):