Forum: EasyBoot
Topic: Multiboot challenges
started by: Kowala
Posted by Kowala on Jan. 29 2007,10:02
Hello friends,

I have spent the last 6 months learning about the boot disk world.  Creating a custom BARTS was a big learning experience.  I was thrilled when I found EasyBoot.  Suddenly I was able to make that single multiboot disk with ease...or so I thought.  I have my BART distribution working fine.  I have two final challenges that I cant seem to figure out.

I cant seem to get my Universal TCP/IP Network Boot Disk for M$ Networks (bootable floppy) to launch.  I also have failed at getting my commercial software "Partition Commander 10 (bootable cd) to launch.  I have tried all of the Pinned article suggestions and followed them to the letter.

I am going on 2 weeks of testing now and seem to be making no headway on these two issues.  I would appreciate ANY suggestions.

Respectfully,

Kowala
Posted by xoben on Jan. 29 2007,23:22
QUOTE
I cant seem to get my Universal TCP/IP Network Boot Disk for M$ Networks (bootable floppy) to launch.

For bootable floppies:
1) Image your floppy to .img file
  EasyBoot->'Tools'->'Make floppy image'
2) Put the .img file to c:\easyboot\disk1\ezboot folder
3) Mostly, you can use 'run xxx.img' to load it
   You can also try 'bcdw /ezboot/xxx.img'
   or use memdisk as < http://forum.ezbsystems.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=1;t=349 >

QUOTE
I also have failed at getting my commercial software "Partition Commander 10 (bootable cd) to launch.

For bootable CDs,
1) Image your CD to ISO file
  UltraISO->'Tools'->'Make CD/DVD image'
2) Put the .iso file to c:\easyboot\disk1\ezboot folder
3) Firstly, you can try 'bcdw /ezboot/xxx.iso' to load it
4) If it does not work, please refer to
< http://forum.ezbsystems.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=1;t=316 >

PS: It is recommanded to use VMWare for testing the bootable ISO created by EasyBoot.

Posted by Kowala on Jan. 31 2007,23:59
Hello friends,

Thank you so much for your rapid response Xoben!  Apologies on the delayed response.  I volunteer at our local school district IT department full time.  Thus this project often gets my late night attention.

I used your suggested solution for my Universal TCP/IP Network Boot Disk for M$ Networks.  It seems my original boot disk became corrupted thus my images were rendered unbootable.  Once the boot disk was functional your steps worked to perfection.

I still have been unable to get my bootable commercial product Partition Commander 10 to boot.  I have done the following:

1) Image your CD to ISO file
 UltraISO->'Tools'->'Make CD/DVD image'
2) Put the .iso file to c:\easyboot\disk1\ezboot folder
3) Firstly, you can try 'bcdw /ezboot/xxx.iso' to load it
4) If it does not work, please refer to
< http://forum.ezbsystems.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=1;t=316 >

I also tried this:

1) Open the ISO image by UltraISO
   - Press F4 to extract all files and folders to c:\easyboot\disk1
   - Choose 'Bootable'->'Save boot file' to extract boot image from the ISO, save it as 'c:\easyboot\disk1\ezboot\xxx.bif'
2) Use 'run xxx.bif' as command to load it.

Note 1: For ISOLINUX-based systems (including Acronis products), please use 'bootinfotable;run xxx.bif' to avoid checksum errors.
Note 2: If the boot file (.BIF) is large than 2.88MB, please refer to THIS TOPIC.

If I can share any more information please let me know.

Thank you for your continued patience.

Kowala
Posted by Kowala on Feb. 01 2007,17:37
Hello friends,

I am not sure if its useful but here the file layout of the Partition Commander 10 CD I am trying to launch:

Folders
BOOT
DEV
DOS

Files
BM.BIN
BM_HIDE
BM_MBR
BM_STAT
BOOT.CATALOG
BZIMAGE.24
CD.CFG
CD_PLG.BMP
CD_PLG.CFG
CD_PLG.EXE
CHECKMBR.EXE
DOS.ENG
DOS.IMG
INITRD.GZ
LILO.ENG
MEMDISK
SCBOOT.DAT

Thanks again,

Kowala
Posted by xoben on Feb. 01 2007,20:21
QUOTE
I still have been unable to get my bootable commercial product Partition Commander 10 to boot

Any error message displayed?
Posted by Kowala on Feb. 01 2007,21:28
Just a flashing _ and a black screen.
Posted by xoben on Feb. 02 2007,09:18
OK. Please test the ISO image of "Partition Commander 10 CD" by VMWare, and see if it can boot properly.
Posted by Kowala on Feb. 02 2007,10:58
It boots correctly.
Posted by xoben on Feb. 02 2007,20:25
Please create a new ISO this way:
1) Open the ISO image by UltraISO
  - Press F4 to extract all files and folders to c:\easyboot\disk1
  - Choose 'Bootable'->'Save boot file' to extract boot image from the ISO, save it as 'c:\easyboot\disk1\ezboot\pc10.bif'
2) Start EasyBoot, click on 'Make ISO', change 'Boot image' to "C:\EasyBoot\disk1\ezboot\pc10.bif", and click 'Make' to get a new bootable ISO
3) Test the newly created ISO by VMWare.

BTW, the size of pc10.bif is 2-10KB or 1.44MB?
Posted by Kowala on Feb. 03 2007,01:01
I followed your precise instructions.  When I boot the .iso I get a flashing _ on a black screen.  The size of the pc10.bif is 2kb.

Thank you again for your ideas.

Kowala
Posted by xoben on Feb. 03 2007,09:03
Please try another way:
1) Start UltraISO
2) Choose 'File'->'New'->'Unix/Linux CD image'
3) Choose 'Actions'->'Add Directory' to add 'c:\easyboot\disk1' to this image
4) Choose 'Bootable'->'Load boot file' to set pc10.bif as boot image
5) Save to an ISO and test it with VMWare
Posted by Kowala on Feb. 03 2007,17:53
Heya Xoben,

I followed your instructions.  When I boot the .iso or cd I get a flashing _ on a black screen.

Thank you again for your suggestions.

Kowala
Posted by xoben on Feb. 03 2007,21:05
Now, please open the ISO by UltraISO, do not change anything, just choose 'File'->'Save As' to get a new ISO image and test it with VMWare.

BTW, please send the first 1MB (a samll utility from < http://dw.ezbsys.net/filecut.exe > may help you for preparing a .1MB file from the ISO) to service@ezbsystems.com for detailed checking.
Posted by Kowala on Feb. 04 2007,02:22
Xoben,

The newly saved .iso is unbootable.  I see a flashing _ on a black screen.  I used the utility to make .1MB file and emailed it to you for further review.

Thank you for your time,

Kowala
Posted by xoben on Feb. 09 2007,04:19
Thanks Kowala for providing sample ISO image.

We have checked the boot file of Partition Commander 10, it has codes for checking boot record of a bootable CD, and did not work if that record was replaced by third-party's (such as EasyBoot).

So, it is not possible to integrate this kind of bootable CD's into boot menu of EasyBoot.
Posted by Kowala on Feb. 09 2007,22:11
Xoben,

Ouch that is bad news.  Thank you though for your time spent on this project.  You at least saved my sanity...as I had tested many methods to integrate this into my boot CD.

Kowala
Posted by mionica on Jan. 15 2008,17:06
I would differ.

Don't know what that Partition Commander is, but, judging from the files in its root folder, it looks a lot like Paragon software. I'd go as far as to say it is.

Kowala, see if the method posted for the Paragon products (Hard Disk Manager, Partition Manager, Drive Backup, Mount Everything, ...) can be applied to your case. It may work - Paragon is simply using a dirty LILO hack.

Oh btw, you'll lose the fancy menu - but you can boot the sucker in both normal and safe mode (if such options exist in the menu).

Posted by netzack on Mar. 27 2008,15:07
is it possible to put some windows xp home sp2 version on one CD/DVD ?
many thanks in advance
Posted by leo_441 on May 15 2008,02:50
Hi Friends can any one teach me how to create the bootdisk using easyboot. i tryed to do it but is  not working. actully i want a boot disk with windows xp/2000/2003 server and ghost in a single dvd. can any one suggest me how to do it.
Posted by nts247 on Nov. 03 2008,06:31
Hi guys

I started with my multi boot DVD a couple of days ago and I don't know what to do with my $OEm$ folder. Also where exactly do I put my winnt.sif file. Also i get a ntldr error when I test the normal multi loads. Please if anybody can help me.
Posted by nts247 on Nov. 04 2008,03:06

(leo_441 @ May 15 2008,07:50)
QUOTE
Hi Friends can any one teach me how to create the bootdisk using easyboot. i tryed to do it but is  not working. actully i want a boot disk with windows xp/2000/2003 server and ghost in a single dvd. can any one suggest me how to do it.

Open Ezboot.exe click on help\contents\User guide\Practical guide. Follow the instructions. You shouldn't have a problem. :D
Posted by nts247 on Nov. 04 2008,03:22

(nts247 @ Nov. 04 2008,08:06)
QUOTE

(leo_441 @ May 15 2008,07:50)
QUOTE
Hi Friends can any one teach me how to create the bootdisk using easyboot. i tryed to do it but is  not working. actully i want a boot disk with windows xp/2000/2003 server and ghost in a single dvd. can any one suggest me how to do it.

Open Ezboot.exe click on help\contents\User guide\Practical guide. Follow the instructions. You shouldn't have a problem. :D

With Ghost it's easy. put your ghost.exe on the root of your dvd. in exboot menu add run setup98.img with your xp/2000 and other stuff.

boot machine with your new dvd and choose win98. boot with cdrom support. change diretory to where your cdrom is. type in ghost.exe BoB's your Uncle. But this might not work if you have SATA drives in your machine.

Oh I have a string for you if you are interested. When you ghost a new hard drive from image you'll need to restart at the end. So if you don't want to still do that instead of typing ghost.exe you type ghost -fx -rb.