Hello.

I have Windows Server 2003 installed onto a USB stick. Unfortunately, I did all the installation with my SATA HDD still attached. After I removed that HDD, I found that the USB stick no longer boots, giving a BSOD with error 0x0000007B. Then, as an experiment, I plugged in a different HDD (an IDE one), and was surprised that USB stick boots fine again.

So, to summarize, if no HDDs are attached to the system, an USB stick does not boot with STOP 0x0000007B error. But if any HDD is present, USB stick boots OK.

Can someone please tell, how can I fix this problem? I am pretty sure only a trivial tweak is needed somewhere in the registry.

How did you install it?

I seem to remember that Dietmar had a similar problem originally, cannot remember if it was solved:
http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=14181

Did you "flip the removable bit" or are you usng the cfadisk/dummydisk.sys to make it "fixed" ?

(if it's still "removable" that might be the problem)

Did you delete the hard disk from Device Manager before switching off/removing the HD / rebooting?

jaclaz

I installed the OS straight onto the stick (i.e. not on HDD first and then moving the install).

As far as I remember, I then booted into another copy of Windows, loaded the registry Hive of the newly-installed one, and switched load order of several USB drivers to be right at the beginning of the boot process.

I do not use cfadisk or dummydisk.sys. I think I didn't flip the "removable" bit manually (as in hexediting the MBR or partition table), but I am sure some tool used during this process did just that. Because on my first (failed) attempt to make it work, it did not boot at all. And on that attempt, the Flash stick was shown among "Removable devices" in BIOS boot menu. Then I tried something a bit different (don't quite remember what), and the stick moved to the "Hard Disks" section of that menu. From then, Windows installed and booted fine from it. I believe it is seen as a non-removable device in Windows too, now.

I did not delete the hard disk before removing it. Hmm, probably that's an idea to try... But on the other hand, Windows does not fail because of absence of some specific hard disk. It just wants "any" hard disk to be present. So this leads me to believe it might be a device-order issue, or an issue with some device class (IDE/SATA storage volume) being checked during boot as "at least one such or such device must exist".

OK, now I booted from USB flash stick with having the HDD plugged in, went to Windows Disk Manager, and noticed that the HDD is "Disk0", and USB flash is "Disk1". I then deleted the HDD from Device Manager. Disk0 disappeared from Disk Manager, but Flash stick remained as Disk1. Turned off the computer, unplugged HDD, powered on - and there's no change to the situation, it's still STOP 7B.

I believe the device order given by the BIOS to NTLDR is different from what Windows detects later.

boot.ini has:


Also, I have tried with Dietmar's modified NTDETECT.COM, but it does not help.

Yes, Dietmar had this problem too:
http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?sho...ost&p=90588
and this seems to be the solution:
http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?sho...ost&p=90764

Will try now.

edit: Done all the additional steps, but it still does not work. Guess the only solution is to do the whole install again, from scratch, this time w/o a HDD connected.

For the record, you do not "flip the removable bit" by using a "normal" program, you need the specific utility from the stick (read controller inside stick) manufacturer, see this for a few utilities that have been found:
http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=15776


If I were you , if you are not able to "flip the bit", (and the solution by Dietmar does not work) I would try using either cfadisk.sys or dummydisk.sys, it could be that that makes the difference.

Also, I think that you need to remove not only the HD from device manager, but the entire "bus" driver or controller

jaclaz

Thanks for the reply.

I have tried removing the hard disk together with all IDE controllers in Device Manager, this did not help.

The flash stick is indeed shown as removable. There is a "remove device" icon in system tray (where it is present), and in the properties, there are choices to "Optimize for quick removal" or "for performance". Also, no option to "Use write cache on this disk" and "optimize write performance" (those do exist in Properties of 'real' HDD).

I tried cfadisk.sys. It installed fine, and after a reboot the USB stick is shown in devices as having "Vendor: Hitachi" and cfadisk.sys as one of its driver files. But it is still a removable device, same as before.

I am looking for instructions about dummydisk.sys right now.

After installing dummydisk, the system does not boot with BSOD "IO1_INITIALIZATION_FAILED" (STOP 0x00000069).

Hmmm, strange, I remember testing BOTH drivers on XP SP1 and SP2 and they were absolutely working equally well.

Maybe Server2003 has some "subtle" change in the way it manages devices?

Try posting some info (as per referenced thread) on your stick, I may be able to find the proper "Production Tool" or utility for it.

You may also try to contact Anton Bassov (the Author of dummydisk.sys), though I don't know him, he seems to be a very friendly guy, ilko a.k.a. ilko_t asked him for help here:
http://www.msfn.org/board/boot-install-USB...html&st=327
http://www.msfn.org/board/boot-install-USB...html&st=417
and he provided quickly very useful help in creating a "reversed effect" dummydisk.sys driver, rdummy.sys.

jaclaz

I am receiving the same error.

Can someone please PM me the modified ntdetect.com

You can also patch NTDETECT.COM with "WinUSB_Full Patcher".

http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?sho...181&st=1986

Direct download.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AEC0GAMM


Greetz

I have exactly the same problem

If i boot directly (native) Part-XPE with dietmar's ntdetect
and no HD,FD,CD is connectet -> BSOD 0x7B
If i attach my FDD the system boots fine
or if i use a SDI image to boot from ramdisk; no problem at all, even if no device is connected.

I've tried
.) http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?sho...st&p=142544 (adjust to fit my stick)
.) http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?sho...ost&p=90764 (adjust to fit my stick)

The disk itself show up as a fixed disk now if i attach my FDD
but without a device attached a got 0x7b BSOD right after/during the splash screen

Do you use a USB flash stick?
Do you use one, two or more partitions at USB flash stick?
Do you like BartPE at second partition?
Did you tried Dietmar's edited ntdetect.com?
Which hardware do you use? Do you use a notebook? Which notebook do you use?
Do you use a Dell?

What about chainboot the same USB drive?
http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=21939

Hmm, thats strange
It does run now without a BSOD

What i have done was
.)add NTFS bootsector on the stick
.)format the stick
.)copy XPE files and bootfiles
.)boot motherboard
.)and the result was a BSOD 0x7B

.)now with the attaches FDD, XPE boots fine

.)than, and thats "strange" i've removed the FDD and XPE boots fine

Windows must have written something on the stick
before FBWF came up

solved

.) http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?sho...mp;#entry142544 (adjust to fit my stick)

Sounds good.
Can you please tell a newbie what steps did you take to include that inf file?
Seems to me that it is a plugin to BartPE but from what I understand plugins only appear in the BartPE's menu.....they are not drivers.
For this problem dont we need some driver?

Any help is highly appreciated.
Thanks!

Rajiv,
please AVOID double posting the same thing....:
http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?sho...21113&st=21
rest assured that people will try and help you.

If you post twice, you'll just double the work of people trying to help you and probably piss them off...

jaclaz

NP, Understood.

For Archival purposes:
The reply has been posted here:
http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?sho...st&p=151096

But the solution to my problem is here:
http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?sho...st&p=151098

Thanks !