E2B 1.62Beta8/9 (monthly PIN code support)

A few new tweaks.
Beta9 fixes a bug - if you deleted CONTIG.ISO then it ran isoboot without using the normal partnew code! Thanks to Cristian for reporting this!

• If you hold down either Left-CTRL key (think 'Ctrl=Crc') whilst selecting a payload file (not a .mnu file) and keep it held down for a few seconds after pressing ENTER to boot to the payload file, E2B will calculate and display the CRC32 value of the file before it runs the payload file. For instance, if an ISO file does not seem to boot correctly, you can find it's CRC32 value and compare it with the CRC32 value of the original file. Note that this feature only works with files that run using QRUN.g4b  - so this CRC32 feature does not work with .mnu menu entries and Windows Install ISOs in the \_ISO\WINDOWS\xx folders.
• If you hold down a SHIFT key whilst selecting a (linux) ISO file (think 'Shift to isoboot') and keep it held down for a few seconds after pressing ENTER to boot to the payload file, E2B will run it using only isoboot.g4b - in this way you can test out the E2B isoboot feature even if your ISO file is contiguous. Note that isoboot is a 'last resort' attempt to boot a non-contiguous linux ISO - it probably won't work for old or non-standard linux ISOs and quite a few others too!
• Monthly PIN code - use the MyE2B.cfg file to request a 4-digit pin number from the user before it will load the E2B Main menu. The PIN code automatically changes every month, so you will need to tell the users the PIN code for the next month at the end of the previous month. A small Windows utility (see below) can be provided which the admin can use to display the  monthly PIN numbers. The seed value can be changed so that your E2B version will have a unique set of PIN numbers.

Try this UEFI multiboot E2B drive (just add ISOs)

This E2B drive should run most UEFI payloads once you switch-in the a1ive File Manager.

Once it has been made, just copy your .ISO, .VHD, .VHDX, .WIM, .IMG. EFI, .IPXE payload files to the 3rd NTFS partition then run WinContig or Defraggler to make the ISOs contiguous.

You should then have a USB drive which will Secure or non-Secure UEFI64 boot or non-Secure UEFI32 boot (and MBR boot on some systems too).

It will also allow you to run SWITCHPE so that you can switch out the a1ive File Manager partition and switch in a different .imgPTN file should you need to.

This system is much easier to maintain than the E2B grub2 menu system because you just add (or delete) payload files. No other .imgPTN files need to be made. You can create grub2 menus if you wish however (e.g. UEFI\MBR booting Ubuntu-based ISOs + persistence in my previous blog).

Note: Win8.1 ISOs will require you to enter a Product Key. This can be an installation-only generic key (or you can add a \sources\ei.cfg file into the ISO). Version 1.4 or later also accepts XML unattend files too!

See also here for a E2B UEFI USB drive.

Instructions

E2B v1.99 now available

At last E2B v1.99 is now available!

Note: I have just quickly updated the 2018-06-18 download to v1.99 2018-06-16 - the more recent version just has improved help in Make_E2B.exe, a small bugfix to grub4dos and a new sample mnu file added.

Note: The new eBook is written for use with E2B v1.99.

Changes from E2B v1.98 are:

Easy2Boot v2.00 released

V2.00 is now released.

https://www.fosshub.com/Easy2Boot.html

The main change is that when you make a new drive, it will now download the agFM files and copy them to the second FAT32 partition (if present). This allows UEFI-booting to the agFM grub2 File Manager system. All thanks to 'a1ive' for developing his grub2 branch and agFM.

• Make_E2B.exe and Make_E2B_USB_drive.cmd - downloads agFM if 2nd FAT32 partition is made. If drive is <128Gib then 2nd FAT32 partition of approx 500MB is automatically made. Allow user to define sizes in GB of ptns1, 2 and 3 if Gear Wheel button used. If drive >128GB it always prompts user for partition 1, 2 and 3 sizes and type even if AUTO selected.
• New default wallpaper.
• .isoPE extension now updates the WinBuilder .ini files (e.g. for Gandalf ISOs) - use .isoPE extension if you get a yellow warning triangle on desktop.
• \_ISO\docs\Wincontig folder can now be copied to any volume\folder - e.g. copy to partition 3 so it will make all files on that partition contiguous.
• Update SDI_CHOCO scripts and add chocolatey.nupkg for offline install of chocolatey.
• Add support for windows ISOs on ptn3 in qrun.g4b so can have Windows Install ISOs on ptn3 or ptn2 or ptn1 and use a .mnu file, add $$Install_Win10_from_Ptn2or3.mnu sample mnu file
• Switch_E2B.exe now looks for auxiliary *. files on other volumes at \(path), then \_ISO, then \ - e.g. ptn1:\_ISO\WINDOWS\WIN10\Win10.imgptn23 and ptn3:\_ISO\WINDOWS\WIN10\Win10.
• Bugfix - Latest grldr with bugfix for non-contiguous files
• Bugfix - Fix EXTOFF variable not working in MyE2B.cfg (file extension always displayed in the menu).

Read more: https://www.easy2boot.com/download/e2b-version-history/

Add Kali Linux + persistence (UEFI+MBR) to E2B

There is already a .mnu file for booting to a Kali ISO file in MBR mode with persistence.
E2B v1.B4+ also supports the special .isopersistdebian file extension so no .mnu file is required.
There is also a blog tutorial for a full OS install of Kali onto E2B here.

Recommended method: See also the Kali with persistence sample agFM .cfg file in the \e2b folder on the 2nd agFM partition (see here).

Easy2Boot 1.69Beta2 (experimental) now supports Win7/8/10 .VHD and .WIM files

Previously, you could add .VHD files to your Easy2Boot USB drive, but these would only work for XP/PE1 if the VHD had a WinVBlock or FiraDisk driver added.

The v1.69Beta2 version now supports Win7/8/10 .VHD files and Win7/8/10 .WIM files. It uses Chenall's NTBOOT. No need to make .imgPTN files for simple MBR booting of WindowsToGo/WinPE.

Add a 'Change Theme' menu to Easy2Boot

It is fairly easy to add a .mnu file which allows the user to choose a different background wallpaper:

title Change Wallpaper\n Choose a new E2B menu background
set CHOSEN=
call /%grub%/pickafile.g4b /_ISO .gz
if "%CHOSEN%"=="" configfile (md)0xa000+0x50
clear
splashimage /_ISO/%CHOSEN%
configfile (md)0xa000+0x50

The .gz files must contain a bitmap of exactly the correct resolution size - e.g. 800x600  (801x588 will NOT work!). The actual existing menu text and border positions, etc. is not changed however, so the images that you use should work with the same settings used by E2B as the default (or as used in your \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg file). So you will need to pick your images carefully (plain colour ones work best).


Today, devdevadev asked me if he could have a menu to switch between themes. You can use this to demo E2B, e.g. switch backgrounds, language, font, colours, etc.

A menu would prompt you to pick a .cfg file as shown below:

Here is the .mnu file that I came up with:

# Place all MyE2B.cfg and wallpaper files in \_ISO\mythemes and all rename .cfg files (amd any message GFXBoot file if more than one)
# Edit each \_ISO\mythemes\xx.cfg file so background or GFX has correct path
# e.g. set MYWBMPGZ=/_ISO/mythemes/stripedflat.bmp.gz  OR set GFX=mythemes/message  (note: no /_ISO/ for GFX path)
# Rename \_ISO\Sample_MyE2B.cfg to \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg (must be >1KB and larger than largest xxx.cfg file)
# For the default E2B theme, make a \_ISO\mythemes\Default_Theme.cfg file with just !BAT on the first line
# \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg file must be contiguous due to bug in grub4dos!

title Change Theme\n Choose a new E2B Theme
if not exist /_ISO/MyE2B.cfg echo ERROR: Please create a large \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg file && pause && configfile (md)0xa000+0x50
set CHOSEN=
errorcheck on
debug normal
graphicsmode 3
clear
echo Pick a Theme...
call /%grub%/pickafile.g4b /_ISO/mythemes .cfg
if "%CHOSEN%"=="" set DONEMENU= && configfile ()/%grub%/menu.lst
echo
echo Overwriting \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg file with \_ISO\mythemes\%CHOSEN%...
# fill (rd) with 0's , 0x82d0 is rd-base mem address, Fn24 is memset - fill memory  <addr> <string> <size>
map (md)0x300+200 (rd) > nul ;; read 0x82d0 > nul ;; call Fn.24  %@retval% 0x20  102400 > nul  
dd if=(rd)+1 of=()/_ISO/MYE2B.cfg > nul
if exist ()/_ISO/mythemes/%CHOSEN% dd if=()/_ISO/mythemes/%CHOSEN% of=()/_ISO/MyE2B.cfg > nul
if exist ()/_ISO/mythemes/%CHOSEN% chainloader /grldr
boot

I tested this using these files in the E2B \_ISO\mythemes folder :

The 'graphicsmode 3' switch is required only if you use GFX Boot menus such as the sample Jolene_GFX.mnu. You can delete it if you don't have any GFXBoot .cfg files. If you do use GFXBoot menus, you will also need to copy all the \_ISO\docs\GFXSubMenu Files .mnu files into \_ISO\MAINMENU or else some menu entries will be missing from the GFXBoot menu when selected (this applies to any GFXBoot menu).

Both .mnu files will be in the Sample mnu Files folder in v1.55 of E2B and I will also put them in the Alternate Download area for a while too.

v1.55 will have the mythemes folder and a selection of .cfg files to choose from. You will just need to copy a $Default E2B Menu.cfg file to \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg and the .mnu file to \_ISO\MAINMENU.

Notes: due to a bug I just discovered in grub4dos, make sure you run WinContig on the E2B drive to make all files contiguous. It seems there is a problem with grub4dos and NTFS volumes if this is not done (if the target file is fragmented, then only the first 8096 bytes are actually copied when using dd on some files!).

And due to another bug, the full path for the bitmap file needs to be kept shorter than approx 64 characters as the splashimage command cannot handle long pathnames!

E2B v1.B4 now available

I just noticed that the file extension suffixes '64', '32', '4GB' and '3GB' no longer work on recent versions of E2B!

e.g.  Ubuntu 64.iso64 should only be listed in the menu if the CPU is a 64-bit CPU. Similarly, Ubuntu.iso3GB should only be listed in the E2B menu if the system contains less than 4GB of RAM.

E2B extension suffixes (not case sensitive)

These should work with most file extensions (v1.B5 will also allow .wim and .vhd extensions to have these suffixes)...

32 - file is only listed in menu on systems with 32-bit CPU
64 - file is only listed in menu on systems with 64-bit CPU
3GB - file is only listed in menu on systems with less than 4GB of RAM
4GB - file is only listed in menu on systems with more than 4GB of RAM
pwd - user must enter a password before the payload file can be run
NCQ -  (non-contiguous+quiet), the payload will not prompt the user with suggestions, redir will be set and will not try to make the file contiguous
quiet - redir will be set so that most messages will be suppressed
quietp - redir and redirp will be set so that all messages including warnings will be suppressed

e.g.
Ubuntu amd64.iso4GB64pwdquietp
Ubuntu i386.iso3GBncq

Read more: http://www.easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/list-of-file-extensions-recognised-by-e2b/

New feature in v1.B4

I have also added support for Debian\Kali + persistence by using the new .isopersistdebian file extension in E2B v1.B4 (details here). Although you still have to create the persistence file, you don't need to create a .mnu file for it now.

I noticed the issue '64' extension suffix bug because I tested .isopersistdebian64 as a file extension and found it was still being listed on a 32-bit system!

The new 1.B4 version is also available on the two Alternate Download Areas.

Add Mepis antiX MX-15 with persistence to E2B

MX-15 ISOs can be booted straight from E2B - just copy the ISOs to the E2B drive (e.g. \_ISO\LINUX folder), make them contiguous (run \MAKE_THIS_DRIVE_CONTIGUOUS.cmd) and boot.

E2B 1.77k Beta available

The 1.77k version has the following changes from the previous 1.77 Beta:

1. Default Main Menu heading and all sub-menu headings now begin at the extreme left of the menu area instead of two spaces to the right (see screenshot). If you want to move them across to the right, use set HEADPOS=0002 or 0004 in a \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg file. This means all the default language STRINGS.txt files have been changed.
2. New default 'night sky' wallpaper
3. Sample E2B Menus .mnu file - Test_redir_redirp_EXTOFF_Patchme.mnu - allows you to test the effect of the redir, redirp and EXTOFF variables and also runs the patchme utility which patches grub4dos on the E2B drive so that you get no boot messages from grub4dos. Copy it to the \_ISO\UTILITIES folder if you want to use it (see screenshot). Note: I strongly suggest you do not use redir or redirp if E2B is to be used by naive users, because they cause important usage tips, warnings and diagnostic error messages to be hidden from the user.
4. Small changes to QRUN.g4b to improve error handling (e.g. if file is not contiguous, the blocklist is displayed - a contiguous file should only have one block).
5. Any .exe file accidentally copied to a menu folder (!) will not be listed in the menu.
6. New version of TXT_Maker.exe (small improvements)

You need to copy the Test_redir_redirp_EXTOFF_Patchme.mnu file
to the \_ISO\UTILITIES folder to get the new menu entries.

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.

Download a 'LiveDVD' version of a Windows 11 ISO

NTDEV is the developer behind Tiny11, a slimmed down version of Windows 11 Pro which did not require a TPM and only needs 2GB of RAM, has now unveiled a new modified variant of Windows 11.

This is called Live11 (alpha): which is a live but cut-down version of Windows 11 22H2 64-bit which is loaded into memory. You can make a DVD from the ISO or legacy boot to it from Easy2Boot.

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):

Adding FreeBSD, FreeNAS, PCBSD/TrueOS to Easy2Boot

Update: E2B 1.63 now supports FreeBSD, pfSense and GhostBSD .img files! See blog post here.

Recent versions of FreeBSD, FreeNAS, PCBSD/TrueOS ISOs do not 'just work' when copied to the E2B USB drive. However, if you can make a bootable FAT32 USB Flash drive that works correctly (e.g. using Unetbootin), then it is often possible to use the MPI Tool Kit's MakePartImage to make a .imgPTN partition image file directly from the working USB Flash drive.

Adding Lenovo Maintenance Utilities (IBM DOS-based) to E2B

Some Lenovo (ex-IBM) maintenance utilities make an IBM-DOS bootable USB flash drive.

These USB flash drives are formatted with a FAT12 volume which boots to IBM DR-DOS via IBMBIO.com. Typically, they are in floppy diskette format (i.e. no partition table).

Under grub4dos, it is possible to boot from a FAT12 drive using:

chainloader --pcdos /ibmbio.com

However, if you convert the Lenovo USB flash drive to a FAT32 .imgPTN file and try to boot from it using E2B, you will find that it does not boot. The reason for this is that, unfortunately, IBM DR-DOS does not seem to boot from a FAT32 volume.

The IBM DOS boot chain is:

IBMBIO.COM -> IBMDOS.COM -> COMMAND.COM

We can fix this by using FreeDOS boot files in the .imgPTN partition image or by making an image .IMA file...

Add ProxMox Install ISOs to a USB Easy2Boot drive

ProxMox VE 8.2 ISO

1. Use E2B or agFM to boot to ISO.  Legacy or UEFI64 can be used.

2. At ProxMox boot menu, select GUI or Text mode install and then press 'e' to edit the entry (don't press Enter)

3. Move cursor to just before 'rw' in the menu and type the string

lvm2root=/dev/sdX4

where X is the USB drive letter which proxmox will give the USB drive when it boots.

If legacy booting this will be sda4 because the boot drive is always hd0 when legacy booting.

If UEFI64 booting it may differ from a. To check, press c key and then type ls. If USB drive is listed as hd0 then you need to use /dev/sda4. If USB drive is listed as hd1 then you need to use /dev/sdb4.

You can use a .mnu file if you want to automate it under the E2B menu system. For E2B legacy, modify and use proxmox_v5.4_iso_with_patch.mnu from \_ISO\docs\sample mnu files folder and edit iso name.

For agFM (legacy and UEFI64), you will need to use a .cfg or .grubfm file - see here for details.

You can copy the proxmox commands but insert the lvm2root command - however, different systems will give the USB drive a different drive letter, so it is not a good solution unless you add some code to enumerate existing drives (as done by the .mnu file for legacy grub4dos). I will leave this as an exercise for the geeks!

Other versions

For ProxMox4-7 see end of this article

ProxMox 3

The ProxMox install ISOs don't 'just work' with Easy2Boot. The ISO shows a 'PROXMOX INSTALLER' splash screen and then seems to hang. However, if you press F2 or ESC to get to the linux command prompt, you can easily start the installer as follows:
1. Type
    fdisk -l
to find the USB 4th partition. This will usually be /dev/sdb4 on a single disk system.
2. Next type
    mount /dev/sdb4 /mnt
to mount the 4th partition (this will already contain the ISO file set up by E2B).
3. Finally type
    chroot /mnt sbin/unconfigured.sh
to start the installer (it takes a minute or two to load - be patient).

If you prefer, you can copy the ISO file to the \_ISO\MAINMENU\MNU folder and make a small .mnu file in the same folder to remind you of the commands that are required:

title ProxMox Installer ISO \n Use fdisk -l to find 4th partition\n mount /dev/sdb4 /mnt\n chroot /mnt sbin/unconfigured.sh
set ISO=proxmox-ve_3.2-1933730b-2.iso
/%grub%/qrun.g4b $HOME$/%ISO%
boot

P.S. If the E2B drive is an NTFS drive, the mount command fails (for some reason).

For NTFS E2B USB Drives

1. Create an empty folder on the Windows Desktop

2. Copy your PROXMOX.ISO file to the empty folder (do NOT extract the contents)

3. Drag-and-drop the folder onto the MPI_FAT32 Desktop icon and create a PROXMOX.imgPTN file on your NTFS E2B USB drive that is about double the size of the ISO file - e.g. 1400MB for a 665MB ISO.

4. Boot to E2B and select the PROXMOX.imgptn file to get to the CSM Menu - then Quit.

5.  Edit the \menu.lst file on the E2B USB drive (it should be the large CSM menu.lst and there should be a \e2b folder present also).

Add to the bottom of the menu:

title ProxMox Installer ISO \n Use fdisk -l to find 4th partition\n mount /dev/sdb4 /mnt\n chroot /mnt sbin/unconfigured.sh
partnew (hd0,3) 0 /proxmox.iso
map /proxmox.iso (0xff)
map --hook
root (0xff)

chainloader (0xff)

Note that the PROXMOX.ISO file inside the .imgPTN file needs to be contiguous - this is why we must choose a much larger size for the .imgPTN file than we need. If you get a 'not contiguous' error from the above menu, use WinContig to defrag the PROXMOX.ISO file on the E2B USB drive. If it is not possible, create a larger .imgPTN file and try again.

ProxMox 4/5/7

The file structure has changed with proxmox 4 and later versions.

Here is one way to get it to work:

1. Copy the .ISO file to \_ISO\LINUX on your E2B drive
2. Boot to the proxmox boot menu
3. Select the first install option in the menu and press e for edit
4. Add the string lvm2root=/dev/sdX4  where X is the drive letter for your USB drive (try sda4 first).
For instance, on a notebook with a single hard disk, add lvm2root=/dev/sdb4
Under a VM where the USB drive is the first drive in the system, use /dev/sda4
Also, on a notebook which had an internal hard drive, /dev/sda4 worked but /dev/sdb4 did not!

Add in lvm2root=/dev/sdX4  in the exact place shown  (the \ character at the end of the line in the screenshot just shows that the line continues)

5. Press F10 to boot.


E2B v1.B3 contains a sample .mnu file which uses this method to modify the grub.cfg file in the ISO so that you dont need to manually edit the menu. See ....

proxmox_v5.4_iso_with_patch.mnu

# MBR-boot from proxmox iso
# This assumes the \boot\grub\grub.cfg menuentry line inside the ISO file ends in 'quiet splash=silent'
# It loads the ISO contents into memory and then patches the grub.cfg menu entry
# You must pick the correct device - sometimes this is sda and sometimes it is as suggested
# Copy this .mnu file and the ISO file to \_ISO\LINUX folder

iftitle [if exist $HOME$/proxmox-ve_5.4-1.iso] ProxMox VE v5.4.1 Installer (patch ISO)\nTip: Try sda or sdb or sdc, etc.
set ISO=$HOME$/proxmox-ve_5.4-1.iso

# set DEV to the drive device number of the USB drive - e.g. a
#don't echo of values on screen
debug off
#make sure all drives are unmapped as this can change the count
#reset hdcount in BIOS to default
map --unhook
map --unmap=0:0xff
root (bd)
#set number of hard disks in system from BIOS location 475h
set /a HDCNT=*0x475 & 0xff > nul
# cannot install to E2B drive!
if %HDCNT%==1 pause --wait=3 ERROR: No internal hard disk detected && configfile (md)0x3000+0xA0
# add 0x60 so drive 1 = a, drive 2 = b
set /A ldisk=%HDCNT%+0x60 > nul
call echo -e sd\%ldisk:~1,4% | set ldisk=
echo %HDCNT% disks in system including USB drive
echo
echo -e      I guess the USB drive will be sda or $[0104]%ldisk%
echo
set /p ldisk=Enter linux device name for USB drive, e.g. sda or sdb (A=abort, ESC=%ldisk%) : 
echo
# must start with sd
if not "%ldisk:~0,2%"=="sd" pause --wait=3 ERROR: Must begin with "sd" && configfile (md)0x3000+0xA0
echo Will use /dev/%ldisk%4 for ISO file

set NOSUG=1
set redir=> nul
echo Loading ISO into memory and patching menuentry...
/%grub%/QRUN.g4b force.isomem %ISO%
root (0xff)
clear
echo
cat --locatei=menuentry --number=1 ()/boot/grub/grub.cfg > nul
set /a st=%?%
cat --skip=%st% --length=570  ()/boot/grub/grub.cfg
echo -e \n.......... NEW PATCHED MENU .............\n
cat --locatei=quiet    --replace=lvm2root=/dev/%ldisk%4\x20 ()/boot/grub/grub.cfg > nul
cat --locatei=lvm2root --replace=lvm2root=/dev/%ldisk%4\x20 ()/boot/grub/grub.cfg > nul
cat --locatei=\x20e\x20 --replace=\x20\x20 ()/boot/grub/grub.cfg > nul
#display menu
cat --skip=%st% --length=570 ()/boot/grub/grub.cfg
pause Press a key to boot...
chainloader (0xff)
boot

Alternative for Proxmox 4\5

Or you can use a .mnu file to automate the process (but you need to check the suggested /dev/sdx device is correct for that system)...

# place ISO and this .mnu file in \_ISO\LINUX\MNU folder.
# vga=791 is required or will get Installation aborted error.
# lvm2root must be set the the E2B USB drive partition which is mapped to the ISO

iftitle [if exist $HOME$/proxmox-ve_4.4-eb2d6f1e-2.iso] proxmox 4.4\n You must enter the correct USB name.
set ISO=proxmox-ve_4.4-eb2d6f1e-2.iso

#don't echo of values on screen
debug off
#make sure all drives are unmapped as this can change the count
#reset hdcount in BIOS to default
map --unhook
map --unmap=0:0xff
root (bd)
#set number of hard disks in system from BIOS location 475h
set /a HDCNT=*0x475 & 0xff > nul
# cannot install to E2B drive!
if %HDCNT%==1 pause --wait=3 ERROR: No internal hard disk detected && configfile (md)0x3000+0x50
# add 0x60 so drive 1 = a, drive 2 = b
set /A ldisk=%HDCNT%+0x60 > nul
call echo -e sd\%ldisk:~1,4% | set ldisk=
echo %HDCNT% disks in system including USB drive
echo
echo -e      I guess the USB drive will be $[0104]%ldisk%
echo
set /p ldisk=Enter linux device name for USB drive, e.g. sdb or sdc (A=abort, ESC=%ldisk%) : 
echo
# must start with sd
if not "%ldisk:~0,2%"=="sd" pause --wait=3 ERROR: Must begin with "sd" && configfile (md)0x3000+0x50
pause --wait=3 Will use /dev/%ldisk%4 for ISO file
set NOSUG=1
set redir=> nul
/%grub%/QRUN.g4b $HOME$/%ISO%
kernel /boot/linux26 ro ramdisk_size=16777216 lvm2root=/dev/%ldisk%4 vga=791 rw quiet splash=silent
initrd /boot/initrd.img
boot


Note: proxmox 5.4 seems to be broken. It won't even boot if I dd the ISO to a USB drive.

proxmox 5.4.1 UEFI booting

This seems to not 'just work' for USB drives. Here is a workaround.

1. Make a FAT32 .imgPTN file from the ISO
2. Copy it to the E2B drive and switch-in the .imgPTN file
3. UEFI boot - it will fail and it will land you at the grub rescue prompt
(note VirtualBox will try to boot the MAC EFI boot file and it will hang in VBox - so rename the \System folder to \SystemXX).
4. At the grub rescue prompt, type set to see the variables.
Type ls to determine the USB drive number.

We need to fix the root and prefix variables, so type
set root=hd0,msdos1
set prefix=(hd0,msdos1)/boot/grub
5. Now we need to load the normal module from the $prefix config folder which could not be loaded before and boot, so type
insmod normal
normal

6. At the proxmox boot screen, select the first menu entry 'Install proxmox VE' but press e instead of ENTER so you can edit the menu and add lvm2root=/dev/sdX1  where X will be the USB drive letter (this may depend on how many drives are in the system).

P.S. This doesn't seem to work on ProxMox 6.3.1 !!! :-(  Mass Storage USB drivers appear to be missing from the ProxMox grub2 so it does not even see the USB drive.

E2B 1.62 Beta7 with Parted Magic LIVE SAVE support

The Parted Magic Parted_Magic_2014_09_21.iso (490MB) can be booted just by adding it to your E2B USB drive. Note: This Parted Magic release is not free but it is only $10.

See end of article for PMagic 2022-09-04.iso with Save feature

However the file must be contiguous or else it will copied using dd to the CONTIG.ISO each time you boot it (if it exists).

I have now modified isoboot.g4b so that it will boot directly from a non-contiguous Parted Magic iso file and it also will support LIVE boot so that you can save the settings on exit.

To run it using isoboot, select the ISO file in the E2B (v1.62+) menu and hold down the SHIFT key before pressing ENTER (or use a .mnu file).

Note: If you make an .imgPTN file from the PMagic iso using the MPI Tool Pack and MakePartImage, it can boot in MBR or UEFI mode and you can select LIVE or non-LIVE mode and choose from a range of supported languages. No modifications or menu editing is required but you will need to allow for at least 200MB of extra free space for storage of the session settings..

P.S. For non-E2B users (why not?!!!) - there is an article on RMPrepUSB.com here.

Add Lenovo diagnostics and BIOS Updates to E2B

The linux bootable Lenovo Diagnostics ISOs can simply be copied to any E2B menu folder (e.g. \_ISO\UTILITIES). The diagnostics will only run on Lenovo-branded systems.

The linux-bootable-cd-41308857.iso is also UEFI 64-bit bootable.

Install the E2B MPI Tool Kit and then drag-and-drop the ISO onto the Windows MPI_FAT32 shortcut (I suggest you rename the ISO first because the CSM menu title has the same name as the ISO file).


Lenovo also supply UEFI-bootable versions of their diagnostics (see below).

Boot to an XP VHD from Windows 7/8/10 using bootmgr

If you have a USB-bootable Windows XP VHD, you can simply give it a .vhdboot file extension and it should boot using Easy2Boot.

But what if you want to boot an XP VHD file from a normal Windows 7/8/10 system (not grub4dos) that uses bootmgr (i.e. a standard non-UEFI Windows 7/8/10 system)?

Windows bootmgr can boot Windows 7 or later VHDs, but will not boot directly to XP VHDs.

However, you can boot automatically to an XP VHD from bootmgr, by using grub4dos as an (invisible) intermediary!

How to pre-activate all your Win7/8 systems for Windows 10 without actually installing Windows 10 (even after 2016-07-29)!

Time is running has run out! However, you can still activate Windows 10 using a Windows 8 or Windows 7 Product Key even though the 'upgrade' deadline has expired!

Note: This will probably not work after 2017-12-31 - see here.

Microsoft have said that Win10 will probably be their last version of Windows, because they will release continuous updates for Win10.

So even if you don't like Windows 10 now, you may like Windows 10 a lot more in 6 months time or in 3 years time. Unless you activate and register each system now, you will have to pay for it later!

If you are still running Win7, you should definitely upgrade to Win8.1 or Win10 because Win7 has reached 'end-of-life'. Manufacturers are no longer releasing peripherals with Win7 drivers, so any new peripherals you purchase may not run on Win7 if it requires a special driver.

Tip: You can check the Windows version by running 'winver' from the Start - Run box.

As I have mentioned before in previous blogs, you don't have to install Win10 onto a system's internal hard disk in order to get it registered with Microsoft for Windows 10. All you need to do is boot the Win7/8 system from a USB drive which has Windows 10 To Go on it. Here are the steps: