Bart PE + boot Menu on ThumbDrive Options

[SportinSS]

Hello there!

I know bart PE has an option to create a bootable USB thumb drive. But this is what i need.

I have a menu that starts when i boot from my CD and i would like to have that same boot menu or something like it on the thumb drive.

Here is what i am trying to do. I need Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition, BartPE and a few other little programs to be on a thumb drive. So when i tell my servers to boot from the USB device i get a menu asking me what software i want to load.

I am glad Bart was able to get Barts PE to boot on a Thumb drive, but is there a way to make BartPE load from the thumb drive and not from an ISO that loads into ram from the thumbdrive?

I have found lots of ways to make Dos boot on the thumb drive. But i don't know how to make Dos load an IMG file or BIN/ISO file for Windows server 2003 and bart.

Any help would be great. Thank you all so much!

[pavel]

1st: My Q: Have you installed and working W2k3 Server on usb pendrive (stick)? If yes, how can it be done?
2nd: Multiboot, hm. Maybe you can use ntldr (the true ntldr, not renamed setupldr.bin) and boot.ini as menu. Or maybe you can use GRUB - but not sure how-to.

Pavel

edit: You can use some info here http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=17303

[SportinSS]

Hello there!

I'm sure i can install Windows Server 2003 Standard on a USB Thumbdrive.

I have a utility that will make a USB flash drive or USB hard drive a real Hard disk drive to Windows. So when i start to install windows on the a computer it will see the USB drive.

I have installed Windows XP Pro on a usb drive, but I need a little more then just that. It takes a LONG time to start up.

I guess i can install Windows XP on the thumb drive, setup the ntldr to boot to Windows XP pro, Hirens boot CD orthe windows Server 2003 Standard startup.

How can i make the changes? Do I need to install WIndows Server 2003 on the thumb drive? or Windows XP?

Thanks,

SportinSS

[SportinSS]

This is how i made the USB drive a hard drive.

http://www.msfn.org/board/lofiversion/index.php/t69211.html

And here is a link to download the HP USB boot tool. The newer version does not work at good.

http://rapidshare.de/files/9094880/HPUSBFW.rar.html

[Ed_P]

here is a link to download the HP USB boot tool. The newer version does not work at good.

http://rapidshare.de/files/9094880/HPUSBFW.rar.html

HPUSBFW.EXE is a folder of DOS boot files. Is that right?

[SportinSS]

Well it can be for DOS. You can tell the program to just format the drive so you can use it anyway you want. that's what i did when i installed Windows XP on the drive.

[Ed_P]

Well it can be for DOS. You can tell the program to just format the drive so you can use it anyway you want. that's what i did when i installed Windows XP on the drive.

Wasn't there suppose to be an HPUSBFW.EXE file to be executed? There's not one in the rapidshare file I downloaded.

[SportinSS]

Are you sure? I would try downloading the file again. I just downloaded from two difference locations and they both worked fine. I was able to open the compressed file and see the folder, then the EXE file.

[SportinSS]

Well i think i lied to everyone here! =)

I tried to install Windows Server 2003 on the thumbdrive and i could not even format the disk. Windows would give an error.

Windows XP would let me reformat and copy the files from the windows XP setup, but after a reboot to start the install I get a blue screen, 0x0000007B.

[jaclaz]

Well i think i lied to everyone here! =)

I tried to install Windows Server 2003 on the thumbdrive and i could not even format the disk. Windows would give an error.

Windows XP would let me reformat and copy the files from the windows XP setup, but after a reboot to start the install I get a blue screen, 0x0000007B.

Yep, I thought as much.

Maybe you should issue a "redo from start" command , and try Dietmar's methods:
http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=14181&hl=

yes, looooong thread!

Once you have succeeded in booting XP or 2003 from USB stick, we'll talk about integrating to it DOS and/or BartPE through GRUB4DOS.

jaclaz

[SportinSS]

OK, is there ANYWAY to get Windows XP/BartPE, Windows Server 2003 Standard Setup files (like you are booting from a CD) and a few other little files (IMG boot floppy files)

Is there ANYWAY at ALL to make this happen?

I can do it with a DVD and even on a CD (without windows setup files) but i need this to be on a USB thumbdrive/Hard drive.

[jaclaz]

Yep, read my posts here:
http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=16980

get GRUB4DOS here:
http://sarovar.org/projects/grub4dos/

read the docs, then fill in the gaps (if any), and please report success or problems found.

jaclaz

[SportinSS]

I guess i am just dumb, i do not understand any of it! lol

I have BartPE as an ISO on the Thumbdrive. To make the ISO smaller i put all the program files on the Thumbdrive itself so Bart would load into ram faster.

I also have the windows server 2003 standard install files on there, Just as you would see on the CD.

I need to have a boot menu so when i tell the BIOS to look at the thumbdrive it asks me if i want to boot into BartPE or boot into the Windwos Server 2003 Install.

Can i do this? if so, can someone tell me how?

Thanks!

[jaclaz]

Can i do this? if so, can someone tell me how?

As said there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

Let's start one thing at the time.

Please confirm that your USB stick with just BartPE on it works the way you intend it to.

If the answer is yes, please post the following information:
1) a directory listing of files and directories you have in the ROOT folder of the stick
issue a command like
DIR F: > F:\usbdir.txt

Where F: is the letter assigned to the USB stick when inserted in a working XP or 2K computer.
open the file usbdir.txt and copy and paste it in the post

2) How your stick is formatted, i.e. FAT16,32, NTFS, and the size of partition/stick

With the above info I can give you instructions on how to boot with GRUB4DOS the same environment, later we will try and add a DOS based OS, say DOS 7.1 from Windows 98 2nd edition, later still will try and add an OS install, say Server 2003 (not a bootable system, just the files needed for install.


jaclaz

[SportinSS]

Hello there.

BartPE is kind of working the way i want it to. It will just take a little time to get the batch file to start so i can make the variable %usb% in BartPE so the start menu programs know where to start from.


The files on the usb drive are

Folder: Programs
File: bartpe.iso
File: ntdetect.com
File: ntldr
File: winnt.sif

I also would like a folder called

Folder: SVOL

For Windows Server 2003 Standard Install Files. I need to be able to boot into the Windows Server 2003 Setup so i can do a repair on Windows or use the recovery consol just in case the server has a problem.


AND, if there is room.

I have a few IMG files (Acronis programs, Disk Director and True Image Enterprise) i will like to be able to boot to also, just in case.

[jaclaz]

So, you are using setpldr.bin from Server 2003 renamed as ntldr to boot off a .iso file copied to RAM via ramdisk.sys?

Try doing the following:
1) Rename the ntldr you have in your root to peldr
2) Add to the root of the stick a "normal" ntldr (i.e. copy it from your hard disk)
3) Add to the root of the stick GRLDR (from the grub4dos package)
4) Add to the root of the stick a text file named boot.ini with this content:

[Boot Loader]Timeout=10
Default=C:\GRLDR

C:\GRLDR="Start GRUB"

5) Add to the root of the stick a text file named menu.lst with this content:

timeout 10
default 0

title Boot Hard Disk MBR on First HD (hd0,0)
chainloader (hd0,0)+1
rootnoverify (hd0)

title BARTPE
chainloader /peldr

Try booting from the stick and report what happens.

Please remember that GRUB filenames are CaSe SeNsItIvE.


jaclaz

[SportinSS]

OK!! Now we are getting somewhere! Thank you SO much for your help!
OK.

It brings up a Menu and says

PLease select the operating system to start

Windows (default)
Windows (default)

Use the up and down arrow keys to move the highlight to your choice.

And so on and so on.

The highlighted item is the second one on the list

If i select the first item i get <Windows root>\system32\hal.dll.
Please re-install a copy of the above file.

If i just let it go with the second item i get

GNU GRAB version 0.97

Boot Hard Disk Drive MBR on First HD (hd0,0)
BARTPE
Windows Server 2003 Setup <-- I added this item.

and a few things at the bottom about the arrows.

It will let me boot into BartPE just fine!

But i can't boot in to Windows Server 2003 Setup.

This is what I added to menu.lst

title Windows Server 2003 Setup
chainloader /boot.bin

When i try to boot with that I get an Error.

Error 14: Invalid or unsupported executable format

[jaclaz]

Well,
1) maybe you failed to replace your boot.ini file with this:

[Boot Loader]Timeout=10
Default=C:\GRLDR

[Operating Systems]
C:\GRLDR="Start GRUB"

(sorry , I forgot the [Operating Systems] line in my previous post)
if you do so you will not have ANY

Windows (default)

line when booting, but rather a single entry:

Start GRUB (default)

most probably you added some lines to a boot.ini that already has an entry for a standard Windows booting, please read here about boot.ini syntax:
http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=25365
http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=33030

2) Supposing that your windows Server 2003 setup is in /i386, and its original setupldr.bin is in the same directory, INSTEAD of the entry you made in menu.lst:

title Windows Server 2003 Setup
chainloader /boot.bin

put this one:

title Windows Server 2003 Setup
chainloader /i386/setupldr.bin

Pay attention to CaSe of file/directory names.
Also, remember that when experimenting, you can edit the menu.lst at boot time.

jaclaz

[SportinSS]

OK, first thing. I added the line to my Menu.lst file ( for windows server 2003 setup ) and it does the same thing that booting to Bart PE does. It says Loading Ramdisk image...

And goes into BartPE.

I'm testing everything else now.

Thank you again for all of your help! It has been great!

EDIT: It does NOT how Windows (default) at all now. Just goes str8 to the menu. GREAT!! =) Now i just need WIndows Server 2003 Setup.

[SportinSS]

Here is my Menu.list

timeout 10
default 0

title Boot Hard Disk MBR on First HD (hd0,0)
chainloader (hd0,0)+1
rootnoverify (hd0)

title BARTPE
chainloader /peldr

title Windows Server 2003 Setup
chainloader /i386/setupldr.bin


Here is my boot.ini

[Boot Loader]
Timeout=10
Default=C:\GRLDR

[Operating Systems]
C:\GRLDR="Start GRUB"



And here is my winnt.sif


[SetupData]
BootDevice = "ramdisk(0)"
BootPath = "\I386\SYSTEM32\"
OsLoadOptions = "/noguiboot /fastdetect /minint /rdexportascd /rdpath=bartpe.iso"