Switch_E2B v1.09 available

Following on from previous blog posts about using two partition image files for UEFI-booting of Windows installers with >4GB files...

As an alternative to using the MOVE_IMGPTN.cmd Windows script, Switch_E2B.exe v1.09 now detects the position of the two partition image files (e.g. FRED.imgptn and FRED) on an NTFS E2B drive and if they are in the wrong order for UEFI-booting, it will offer to attempt to re-order them for you.

It does this by copying the files up to 30 times and so it may take long time to do this, depending on the size of the files!

Since the file without the extension needs to be last one, this is the file that needs to be moved\copied. If this is a large file, it might take a while!

The re-ordering of the two files does not always work. If not, you can always try it again as it may work if you run it for a second time. Also, it may fragment the file (in which case you will need to run WinContig again and then try Switch_E2B again!

Note that this version shows you if a second partition image file is present that has no file extension.

It is available on the Alternate Download areas if you want to test it!

Let me know how you get on!

Note: SWITCH_E2B was only intended for use on NTFS E2B USB drives. The 'Restore E2B partitions' button should work on any drive, but switching to any .imgPTN file will only work on NTFS-formatted E2B USB drives - exFAT and FAT32 E2B drives will report an error.

Since the .imgPTN file needs to be first when using two partition image files and UEFI-booting on many systems, if SWITCH_E2B cannot move them, you could try just copying on the .imgPTN file, then defragging the whole partition (perhaps using Defraggler and WinContig?) and when all files are at the start of the volume, then copy over the 2nd file that does not have a file extension.

Netac U335 write-protected USB 3.0 flash drive for E2B

Today I got my new 32GB Netac U335 USB 3.0 Flash drive with a write-protect switch.

The write-protect slide switch is ringed in red.

The drive is not the fastest USB 3.0 drive I have ever seen (33MB/s read, 14MB/s write on a USB 3.0 port), but if you need a reasonably cheap USB drive with a write-protect switch then this would fit the bill.

Editing the MPI Tool Pack CSM menu (+ German version from Frettt)

The MPI Tool Pack only contains an English menu.lst file.

However, it does allow you to easily modify the files in the MPI Tool Pack to add your own menu.lst, background file and other files by using the CUSTOM folder.

When you run MPI, it starts by:

1. Creates a file-backed RAM DISK
2. Extracts the contents of the source (e.g. an ISO) to the RAMDISK
3. Copies the contents of the csm folder to the  root of the RAMDISK
4. Copies the contents of the CUSTOM folder to the root of the RAMDISK
5. Processes the files on the RAMDISK to convert them for use with E2B, including modifying the menu.lst file, etc.

Problems UEFI-booting .imgPTN files - continued...

I have experimented some more with my Asus Z87 UEFI system and .imgPTN files, and it seems that the firmware will not provide the user with the UEFI boot option to UEFI-boot from an MBR-partitioned USB drive, if the partitions on that drive are out of order.

The Partition Table in the MBR (first sector) has 4 'slots' for 4 partition entries.

Each Partition Table entry has the following fields:

• Drive number and Active/boot flag
• Partition Type number (e.g. 0C = FAT32)
• Start address of partition
• Number of sectors in the partition

(there are also some parameters for old Cylinder/head/sector addressing).

Problems UEFI-booting .imgPTN files!!!

Since about E2B v1.73, if the second partition is a small hidden type 21h partition that is placed there by RMPartUSB when you use RMPrepUSB or the MAKE_E2B_USB_DRIVE.cmd script, this partition is not removed when you switch to a .imgPTN file - this is only done if the extension is exactly ".imgPTN" or ".imgPTNAUTO".

This was done because some Legacy BIOSes would recognise  the USB drive as a floppy disk and thus fail to boot grub4dos and boot to the CSM menu unless a 2nd partition was present (e.g. some EeePCs).

Windows File Download problems - virus detected!

Windows 8/10 may not allow you to download files that it thinks are infected.

To be prompted to download it anyway, you need to change the Internet Properties setting:

You cannot download any file if the "File download" option is disabled in the Internet security settings. Follow these steps to check the Internet security settings:

E2B v1.76 RC1 available

• SWITCH_E2B v1.0.6 with FlashBoot and WinToGo+.imgPTN support.
• .isoBF fixed (did not work in 1.75!). 
• Zorin 9 persistent sample .mnu files added. 
• Fix for Zorin 9 in isoboot.g4b. 
• New AuroraBin default wallpaper. 
• Improve LZMA Encode/Decode scripts. 
• Fix bug - if user deleted some of the Windows sub-folders  (e.g. \_ISO\WINDOWS\XP) then the other Windows sub-folders were not enumerated. 
• Fix 'Trouble!' message if installing XP and >1 internal drive in system. 
• New grub4dos 0.4.6a version \grldr. 
• Add warning if Write-protected E2B USB drive found. 
• Improve MAKE_E2B_USB_DRIVE to detect Removable USB drives and set NOHELPER=1 in MyE2B.cfg for faster boot if using a Removable E2B drive.

Persistent .mnu file for Elementary OS

Elementary OS is a free download (you just enter 0 for Custom amount to pay - took me a while to figure that out!). If you actually like and use it though, please make a donation as requested.

Elementary OS with changed background (using persistence .mnu file)

Write-Protect your E2B USB drive

There has been a discussion on reboot.pro recently about how to write-protect a USB drive.

It is not advisable to hardware write-protect an E2B USB drive because E2B needs write-access to the MBR (to modify it) as well as needing to modify other files (e.g. \autounattend.xml, etc.). Some WinPE's and linux's (via ISOBOOT) may be able to boot from a write-protected E2B drive though. I intend to investigate this further at a later date, to see just what is possible if the whole E2B USB drive is hardware write-protected.

So the use of the write-protect switch on the Netac USB 3.0 U335 flash drive, for instance, is not a recommended option when booting from an E2B drive (although once it has booted to an OS from the flash drive, you could remove the USB drive - flip on the WP switch - and then re-insert it again and hope that it did not have enough time to get infected!).

Animated Britney Spears bitmaps for E2B

This example shows how to display a sequence of 26 bitmaps on E2B start-up.

Display an animated picture in grub4dos

We can display bitmaps fairly quickly in grub4dos if we load them into memory first. This could allow us to display an animation sequence on first boot of E2B (move over Walt Disney!).

The lines below can be added into a \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg file to show 3 bitmaps in a loop until a key is pressed by the user. It is assumed that the bitmaps have a black background and are each exactly 800x600 in dimension.

Automatically use a different menu wallpaper for E2B

Change background based on the day of the week

Add the lines below to your \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg file (the first line should always be !BAT). Ensure that you have seven different .bmp.gz files in the \_ISO folder named Aurora0.bmp.gz to Aurora6.bmp.gz.

E2B v1.76BetaF with GFX Boot menu maker script now available

I have added some files to E2B that will allow you to easily make and alter your own GFX Boot menus. It does not use a GUI, but is very easy to use.

For more details see the E2B GFX Boot page.