Lexar BootIt Database, USB Flash Drive as Fixed Disk Options

[online]

Hi, all!

As known Lexar BootIt utility is able to flip removable media bit in order to physically transform UFDs as Fixed Disks.

About a full XP install (and not only) on USB Flash Drives this fact implies a lot of advantages, then I thought to collect these possible informations in a single thread (hopefully useful before an UFD purchase ).

Then if you like that, please post here your UFDs brand and model working (or not working) with Lexar BootIt tool.



I began:


[ 8 GB #1 ] PEAK Xtreme2 200X > Working - SMI - SM321/SM324 - VID = 090C PID = 1000

[ 8 GB #2 ] PEAK Xtreme2 200X > Working - SMI - SM321/SM324 - VID = 090C PID = 1000

[ 32 GB ] PEAK Xtreme2 200X > NOT working - USBest - UT165 - VID = 1307 PID = 0165

[ 512 MB ] Philips USB Flash Drive > Working - N/A - N/A - VID = 0471 PID = 082B

[ 2 GB #1 ] Transcend JetFlash TS2GJF V10 > NOT working - Alcor - AU6980 - VID = 058F PID = 6387

[ 2 GB #2 ] Transcend JetFlash TS2GJF V30 > Working - Alcor - AU6980 - VID = 058F PID = 6387









Edit: added jaclaz's hint about devices further infos.

This post has been edited by online: Jul 30 2008, 12:51 PM

[jaclaz]

I propose you a "reversed" game.

Download this tool:
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/?showtopic=4661

Homepage:
http://www.mydigit.cn/chipgenius.htm
Direct DL download:
http://www.mydigit.cn/mytool/chipgenius.rar

And run it against your sticks, it should (hopefully) identify the actual chip on them.

My (reasonable ) guess is that the "Lexar" tool is a re-branded "Manufacturer Tool" of some kind, that only works for a given chip (or family of chips).

jaclaz

[online]

I propose you a "reversed" game.

Yes, I remember: indeed, sorry if I did never contribute, but the time is short and the things to do are many...


Btw: I think that my thread could be even more useful! (With nothing steal the validity of your, of course!) In fact when I buy an UFD I cannot know the controller vendor ID, but its model name, yes! And most of all if I see here that BooyIt works with it I buy it with no doubts: for an example, when I purchased my PEAK Xtreme2 200X 32 GB (!), knowing that the "sister" of it (PEAK Xtreme2 200X 8 GB) was working I hoped and "hoped" that also it worked... instead: please, read from my UFDs list above...

This post has been edited by online: Jul 28 2008, 12:38 PM

[online]

@jaclaz
Please, where is your thread where you collect UFD infos (I have just taken them from my UFDs)? I thought it was that you had pointed...

[jaclaz]

I propose you a "reversed" game.

Yes, I remember: indeed, sorry if I did never contribute, but the time is short and the things to do are many...

Maybe you are making confusion with this OLD thread:
http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=15776

Where I was suggesting the use of checkudisk, the one I referenced in my previous post is chipgenius, ANOTHER app.

What I meant was that AFAIK, Chipgenius is the only tool capable of telling the ACTUAL manufacturer (and possibly chip model), I was proposing to ADD the info coming from it to your thread, in order to make it more complete, something like:

PEAK Xtreme2 200X 8 GB > Working - Manufacturer XXX - Chip Model 111 - Vid/Pid aaaa/bbbb

PEAK Xtreme2 200X 32 GB > NOT working - Manufacturer YYY - Chip Model 222 - Vid/Pid cccc/dddd

etc. ....

jaclaz

[online]

Maybe you are making confusion with this OLD thread

Yes, I know: in fact I've already reply before your last reply!


More seriuosly, I've just noticed an interesting thing: two UFDs Transcend appear practically identical (not in their aspect, however), but BootIt with one works and with another not (just re-tested more times)...

[online]

I post here at bottom my UFDs specs due to better (maybe) readibility of working/not working entries above.

CODE

[ 512 MB ]

Device Name: ++USB Mass Storage Device(Philips USB Flash Drive USB Device)

PnP Device ID: VID = 0471 PID = 082B
Serial Number: AA04012700008405
Revision: 1100

Device Type: Standard USB device - USB2.0 High-Speed

Chip Vendor: (No match record)
Chip Part-Number: (No match record)

Product Vendor: Philips
Product Model: USB Flash Drive

Tools on Web: (N/A)



[ 8 GB #1 ]

Device Name: ++USB Mass Storage Device(PEAK II Flash Drive USB Device)

PnP Device ID: VID = 090C PID = 1000
Serial Number: A000000000000067
Revision: 1100

Device Type: Standard USB device - USB2.0 High-Speed

Chip Vendor: SMI
Chip Part-Number: SM321/SM324

Product Vendor: (N/A)
Product Model: (N/A)

Tools on Web: http://bbs.mydigit.cn/read.php?tid=4345



[ 8 GB #2 ]

Device Name: ++USB Mass Storage Device(PEAK II Flash Drive USB Device)

PnP Device ID: VID = 090C PID = 1000
Serial Number: AA10000000000031
Revision: 1100

Device Type: Standard USB device - USB2.0 High-Speed

Chip Vendor: SMI
Chip Part-Number: SM321/SM324

Product Vendor: (N/A)
Product Model: (N/A)

Tools on Web: http://bbs.mydigit.cn/read.php?tid=4345



[ 2 GB ]

Device Name: ++USB Mass Storage Device(JetFlash TS2GJFV10 USB Device)

PnP Device ID: VID = 058F PID = 6387
Serial Number: GSH31DY3
Revision: 8.07

Device Type: Standard USB device - USB2.0 High-Speed

Chip Vendor: Alcor
Chip Part-Number: AU6980

Product Vendor: (N/A)
Product Model: USB2.0 FlashDisk

Tools on Web: http://bbs.mydigit.cn/read.php?tid=4345



[ 2 GB ]

Device Name: ++USB Mass Storage Device(JetFlash TS2GJFV30 USB Device)

PnP Device ID: VID = 058F PID = 6387
Serial Number: Q94GS6N2
Revision: 8.07

Device Type: Standard USB device - USB2.0 High-Speed

Chip Vendor: Alcor
Chip Part-Number: AU6980

Product Vendor: (N/A)
Product Model: USB2.0 FlashDisk

Tools on Web: http://bbs.mydigit.cn/read.php?tid=4345



[ 32 GB ]

Device Name: ++USB Mass Storage Device(PEAK II Flash Drive USB Device)

PnP Device ID: VID = 1307 PID = 0165
Serial Number: F6C237358AF16D
Revision: 0.00

Device Type: Standard USB device - USB2.0 High-Speed

Chip Vendor: USBest
Chip Part-Number: UT165

Product Vendor: (N/A)
Product Model: (N/A)

Tools on Web: http://bbs.mydigit.cn/read.php?tid=27876

[online]

@jaclaz
You're great!
In "Tools on Web" entries I've just discovered (am I the last? ) that seems to exist many tools for every chip vendor ... but also seems that a registration on site is needed (am I right?)... sure, chinese language is prohibitive to read, at least fo me... but however the thing would be extremely interesting... I stay tuned, and waiting for a further and more than welcome hint!

[jaclaz]

With this format it is difficult to read the info.

I seem to gather that the Lexar Utility works with BOTH the SMI and ALCOR chips.

Can you edit your post above from:

[ 8 GB #1 ]

to:

[ 8 GB #1 ] PEAK Xtreme2 200X 8 GB > Working

In order to make them more readable?
Also, lines:

Serial number:
Device Type:
Product Vendor:
Product Model:
Tools on Web:

could be removed for better readability, as they contain no useful info.

jaclaz

[jaclaz]

@jaclaz
You're great!
In "Tools on Web" entries I've just discovered (am I the last? ) that seems to exist many tools for every chip vendor ... but also seems that a registration on site is needed (am I right?)... sure, chinese language is prohibitive to read, at least fo me... but however the thing would be extremely interesting... I stay tuned, and waiting for a further and more than welcome hint!

Actually, registering to the site is not that difficult (using google translate), the problem is that most (if not all) the utilities have Chinese interface (and in some cases also instructions/help in Chinese).

As I see it the problem is not really that of registering and getting the app, but rather to "have the guts" to test the utilities half (or totally ) blinded.

Remember these are potentially destructive tools, and often they install "specific" drivers to allow access to the stick firmware, DO NOT EVEN THINK of installing them on a "production system", remember

墨菲的法律

(should be Murphy's Law in Chinese, according to google translate, our Chinese members will surely pardon me for my misuse of their tongue/alphabet)

jaclaz

[online]

Can you edit your post above

Done!

I seem to gather that the Lexar Utility works with BOTH the SMI and ALCOR chips.

Yes, and that is not the only strange issue... really it seems that on two devices "internally" identical (Transcend 2GB: with the same chip vendor and model) Lexar tool wotks only on one of two (please, see attachments)...









Edit: repaired attachment broken-links

This post has been edited by online: Aug 20 2008, 07:00 AM

[jaclaz]

If I am allowed the pun, the Lexar utility is in my view a "HIGH level low level" utility , i.e. something with lower level access to the device when compared to ordinary "high level" tools (Disk Manager, HP utility, PetoUSB, Filter Drivers), but still at a higher level than the actual "Manufacturer Tool" (lowest possible level).

If this is the case, it is possible that a different setting "burned" in firmware by the actual Manufacturer Tool prevents the Lexar Utility to work.

However, I have seen also some cases where a kind of "sticky" settings weere due to Registry entries/drivers/whatever, to make sure you should try the "unflippable" stick and Lexar utility on a computer to which that stick was never connected.

jaclaz

[shplad]

There are a few different handy portable utilities out there like "USBDeview" that (might?) make it
a little easier to remove some of those reg settings.

In USBDeview, for example, there is an option called "uninstall selected devices" that seems to do what is described.

Don't know just how many of the registry settings it will clear, but I thought I'd put the idea out there.

Oh, and while I'm throwing in my 2 cents worth, the pictures/screenshots in ONLINE's last post are not showing
up for me. I get an error message that the file may be missing


shplad

This post has been edited by Ed_P: Aug 20 2008, 10:37 AM

Reason for edit: Removed needless quote.

[online]

In USBDeview, for example, there is an option called "uninstall selected devices" that seems to do what is described.

Yes, that is a nice tool of which already said in the past http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?sho...st&p=133693 and that probably would work just as jaclaz suggested: I've re-tried after an uninstall, but unfortunely Lexar utility continues to not work for that device.

the pictures/screenshots in ONLINE's last post are not showing up for me. I get an error message that the file may be missing

Repaired.

[online]

to make sure you should try the "unflippable" stick and Lexar utility on a computer to which that stick was never connected.

I've just done it, under a clean XP install and then nothing changes: Lexar tool doesn't work and that device remains as Removable.
Furthermore I had to do another test in order to restore the previous "Removable Media Bit" on that device (with the same controller) on which BootIt worked, and it just works again: the device is back to what was the first (that's as removable).
But now Lexar tool doesn't work more (also under a clean XP install), and the device remains as a removable device.

Frankly I do not like more the use of that utility, because I seem that it is a bit unreliable (at least in flipping/un-flipping/re-flipping tests on that device), most of all in order to reproduce a certain event.
Probably I'm wrong, but at least now that is just what I thing about it and probably its use should be considered as an extrema ratio...

Btw: in any case, it has never damaged any my removable device.

This post has been edited by online: Aug 20 2008, 08:47 AM

[jaclaz]

Yep, as said, one should use the appropriate Manifacturer Tool.

Just for the record, here is a (Russian, but still better than Chinese ) site where some utilities are gathered and listed:
http://www.flashboot.ru/index.php?name=iflash
http://www.flashboot.ru/index.php?name=Files

jaclaz