[jaclaz]

Xeijin, on Feb 24 2009, 01:25 PM, said:

Just out of interest, what does the WIN51 file do? I had a look at it with Notepad and it only seems to contain the word "Windows"!

It's a common "tag" file, see here AND given links:
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?...c=3392&st=7

jaclaz

[Sergo]

Does this project officially support Win PRO x64?
For some reason ProgramFiles directories variables in winnt.sif were not preserved.

[ilko_t]

I am afraid not yet. That part is parsed during Text mode and since we remove the whole unattended section it does not get applied.
I can think of 2 possible workarounds- put programfiles directive in [data] section in ~bt\winnt.sif and hope it gets parsed.
The other would be messing with setup.hiv etc. to change ProgramFiles path in advance. I have looked at that option before but don't recall much.

[sleepeeg3]

I wanted to thank you all for this great program! I attempted to use wimb's tool, but gave up after the first hal32.dll error to look for another program, after having already searched forever and being tired of looking at all the other alternatives.

This works great to install WinXP SP1, but the biggest request I have is to allow an easy method for multiple installs. Why is it only a one off installation? QED brought this up earlier. As well as this works, this problem requires you to spend all the time in preparation, keep the original files somewhere on a hard disk or CD indefinitely in order to make another one off installation. It seems like there should be a better way than deleting files and having to rerun the installation or copy the file and waste write cycles. In that case I might as well burn the nLite installation to a CD. I wonder how many people find this out after they go to reinstall? It would be great to have your perfect nLited installation on a keychain that you could install at any time!

Anyway thanks for the program and I hope you consider changing this.

This post has been edited by sleepeeg3: 23 March 2009 - 09:02 PM

[jaclaz]

sleepeeg3, on Mar 24 2009, 03:59 AM, said:

I wanted to thank you all for this great program! I attempted to use wimb's tool, but gave up after the first hal32.dll error to look for another program, after having already searched forever and being tired of looking at all the other alternatives.

Maybe you gave it up too early.

I would be curious to know about "all the other alternatives", though.

jaclaz

[ilko_t]

sleepeeg3, on Mar 23 2009, 06:59 PM, said:

I wanted to thank you all for this great program! I attempted to use wimb's tool, but gave up after the first hal32.dll error to look for another program, after having already searched forever and being tired of looking at all the other alternatives.

This works great to install WinXP SP1, but the biggest request I have is to allow an easy method for multiple installs. Why is it only a one off installation? QED brought this up earlier. As well as this works, this problem requires you to spend all the time in preparation, keep the original files somewhere on a hard disk or CD indefinitely in order to make another one off installation. It seems like there should be a better way than deleting files and having to rerun the installation or copy the file and waste write cycles. In that case I might as well burn the nLite installation to a CD. I wonder how many people find this out after they go to reinstall? It would be great to have your perfect nLited installation on a keychain that you could install at any time!

Anyway thanks for the program and I hope you consider changing this.

The problem is that we make the USB stick write-protected during Text mode by using a registry key inserted by migrate.inf. Unfortunately this key works for XP SP2 and SP3 only. There have been number of attempts to overcome the problem, using the very same approach but without any luck.
WinSetupFromUSB produces a warning that some files will be deleted if source is not XP SP2 or 3, that's the best I can do for now. In ReadMe.txt and How-To.txt the problem is described as well.

If install often, using various sources you should consider using PE (WinBuilder/BartPE/WinPE...) and setup launched by winnt32.exe, or wimb's implementation of this method.

As for the hal.dll error- USB_multiboot and WinSetupFromUSB use the same algorithm when creating the boot files. Maybe something else went wrong.
Check the FAQs topic for details.

This post has been edited by ilko_t: 24 March 2009 - 09:08 AM

[sibuno]

Hello, I am French and I do not speak English well
Thank you for WinSetupFromUSB
Can we include a second os Linux? Ophcrack for example?

Thank you in advance

[ilko_t]

Hi,

Many Linux distros can be added via "add Syslinux bootsector/distro" option and selecting the folder with the extracted ISO/IMG in order to copy it to the USB stick.
This way grub4dos bootloader will load a bootsector loading syslinux, which is included with nearly all Linux distros and menu is already present.
Limitations are:
-NTFS is not supported, cannot make syslinux bootsector on NTFS plus many distros may complain if NTFS support is not included in the startup scripts
-the distro should have a directory named syslinux in its root, otherwise you manually have to place it there and/or amend syslinux.cfg options

It's easier to use grub4dos functionality and skip the syslinux part.

For ophcrack in particular, extract ophcrack directory from the liveCD ISO to the root USB disk.
From directory boot extract only initrd.gz and vmlinuz and place them in USB_root\ophcrack\.

Add these lines to the existing USB_root\menu.lst :

title Ophcrack Graphic mode
kernel /ophcrack/vmlinuz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw autoexec=xconf;startx changes=/slax/
initrd /ophcrack/initrd.gz 

title Ophcrack Graphic VESA mode
kernel /ophcrack/vmlinuz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw autoexec=startx changes=/slax/
initrd /ophcrack/initrd.gz 

title Ophcrack Text mode
kernel /ophcrack/vmlinuz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw changes=/slax/
initrd /ophcrack/initrd.gz

Tested on USB stick with NTFS formatted partition and worked fine on real hardware, even revealed my weak windows passwords in seconds.

How did we make those entries? In ophcrack CD there is \boot\syslinux\syslinux.cfg with 1 line only-

INCLUDE /boot/ophcrack.cfg

So we look into /boot/ophcrack.cfg :
Quoting the important part only:

Quote

LABEL xconf
MENU LABEL Ophcrack Graphic mode
KERNEL /boot/vmlinuz
APPEND initrd=/boot/initrd.gz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw autoexec=xconf;startx changes=/slax/
TEXT HELP
More about currently selected:

Run Ophcrack the best way we can.
Try to autoconfigure graphics
card and use the maximum
allowed resolution
ENDTEXT


LABEL startx
MENU LABEL Ophcrack Graphic VESA mode
KERNEL /boot/vmlinuz
APPEND initrd=/boot/initrd.gz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw autoexec=startx changes=/slax/
TEXT HELP
More about currently selected:

Run ophcrack with X, but skip
gfx-card config. Force 1024x768
using standard VESA driver
ENDTEXT

LABEL ophcrack
MENU LABEL Ophcrack Text mode
KERNEL /boot/vmlinuz
APPEND initrd=/boot/initrd.gz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw changes=/slax/
TEXT HELP
More about currently selected:

Run ophcrack in textmode and start
command prompt only
ENDTEXT

This is syslinux/isolinux syntax, we have to make it grub4dos.
LABEL ophcrack ---> not needed
MENU LABEL Ophcrack Graphic mode ---> title Ophcrack Graphic mode
KERNEL /boot/vmlinuz -->kernel /ophcrack/vmlinuz (file was moved, capital letters matter) Here will add kernel parameters later
APPEND initrd=/boot/initrd.gz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw autoexec=xconf;startx changes=/slax/ --> initrd /ophcrack/initrd.gz
The rest in the line APPEND, after initrd=... goes as kernel parameter back to the line kernel /.... so our grub4dos line kernel .... becomes

kernel /ophcrack/vmlinuz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw autoexec=xconf;startx changes=/slax/

Help text will ignore for now. Latest grub4dos versions do support help text:

Quote

title This is the title\nThis is the help text.\nAnd this is the 2nd line of the help text.

Does this now makes sense? This way you can include pretty much any Linux distro in your USB disk with very little tweaking.
To do that automatically by WinSetupFromUSB would require a lot of coding and will not be universal, plus there so many Linux distros, which are updated and changed constantly.

This post has been edited by ilko_t: 27 March 2009 - 08:25 AM

[sibuno]

An ENORMOUS thank you

good I almost everything, one more question:
I understand to Ophcrack but how to save 2 versions of Ophcrack? Ophcrack vista and xp?
how to make a difference as the registers have the same name?



sorry for my English

This post has been edited by sibuno: 27 March 2009 - 08:47 AM

[sibuno]

Check I made a success, because there was conflict, in the starting up of ophcrack he(it) fetched tables in the ophcrack file, and I I created an ophcrack file for xp and ophcrack2 for vista, I just have to add tables in a répetroire of ophcrack, as the software is the same for 2 versions there are only the tables which change, I tried everything works well, I still thank you for your precious help.

[ilko_t]

You are welcome, thanks for sharing this

[sibuno]

Hello grace to you I managed to make my key, I put UBCD4Win 3.12, gparted, a version xp, ophcrack xp and vista, I thank you for your precious help I put everything on a key ocz, it is brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!

[qmacker]

THIS PROGRAM IS AWESOME!

Is there any way we can have a medal ceremony for the creators of this wonderful piece of software? I've been looking and looking and looking, for a straightforward program that will do exactly what WinSetupFromUSB does.

Great, great job, guys. This is the bomb. Thank you.

[tucatucz]

Hi, i'm using a Kingstone Data Traveler, 4gb.

I'm trying to use the HP Formating Tool. I assume that the "create a dos startup disk" must be checked. But when i select my C drive in the "using DOS system files located at:" field, the program says that there are no valid dos system files at the specified location.

So my question is: 1. Where's these files, or "valid dos system files"? 2. must i format the Pen Drive as FAT32, or as NTFS?

I'm pretty noob for these stuffs. So, if you can (i know that u can, you guys are awsome), gimme a detailed explanation of this step.

*I tried all the process before. I did all the steps, but i did not formated with the Hp Tool (made the WinXp explorer formating), and, of course, did not created the start up thing in my Pen drive.

I have an Acer Aspire One, that's becouse i need it so much, i have no CD ROM drive to install my system, and my present windows is absolutely Bugged.

Thank you for all!

[ilko_t]

tucatucz, on Apr 3 2009, 06:57 AM, said:

I assume that the "create a dos startup disk" must be checked.

Nope, it must NOT be checked.

[wimb]

tucatucz, on Apr 3 2009, 03:57 PM, said:

I'm trying to use the HP Formating Tool. I assume that the "create a dos startup disk" must be checked.

Just Format your USB-stick with HP Format Tool and use NTFS FileSystem.
So do NOT select to Create a DOS startup disk.

[ilko_t]

Vers. 0.2.0 released, please look at the first post for list of changes and download links.

[sibuno]

Hello everybodyI have just taken the last version, but when I want to put partedmagic he puts me an error: grubinst.exe could not make a backup of mbr.....

partedmagic 3.7

With the former(ancient) version I manage to put gparted..... a bug?

[ilko_t]

Can you please post your WinSetupFromUSB.log file as attachment?

[Siginet]

Wow. Perfect timing for me ilko_t.

I was just about to make a new usb stick and to my suprise we have a new version of the gui.

I'll let you know if I have any issues.

BTW... you think maybe we can somehow code my setupsourcechanger into it somehow?

Basically if we can do it... my idea is when someone wants to integrate multiple oses into their usb they can easily add them. It would check only for file differences and place them into the same BT/LS folders. We could have a CONVERT folder in I386 with the files which are different. Then the user could easily change oses in BartPE. Or if we could get a simple script made in GPart to do the work that would be even better. We could have all of the OSes listed in the lst file... and when an os is selected it copies any needed files for that os from the convert directory for that os. I really think it could be done. We just need to come up with a good structure to use it.