E2B Users Forum

Any file placed in \_ISO\MAINMENU folder will show up as long as it does not end in . or .txt or .mnu or .cmd.
If a .iso file does not show up in the menu then it must have a file extension of . or .txt or .mnu or .cmd.

E2B makes life so much easier. I now have a 128 GB USB 3 UFD that can install every OS that I have access to install, from XP --> Win 8, plus many other files, like Office .ISOs, and every AV rescue disc I could find using 3 different repositories for them, all on a single UFD (with a duplicate for a backup, just in case ;p).
RMPrepUSB is an awesome tool in and of itself, but E2B takes all of the hassle out of, well, everything!
Kudos!

I just had a thought, could Easy2boot be modified to work with a PXE boot server? This would be very powerful tool for a large environment with many computers like a school.

No - it needs real media with a writeable partition table.
Have you looked at SERVA? It is relatively easy to set up and you do not need to touch the DHCP server at all (so you won't upset the school servers or admin!).
http://www.rmprepusb.com/tutorials/serva

I didn't know PXE is not writable. I guess I just assumed that is was. Darn
But I will give Serva a try, it sounds like a cool program. But not as cool at Easy2Boot :)

hello there,
i installed easy2boot on my usb flash, and i was booting nicely to the grub menu but when i did open the windows install there was an unknown problem which i tried to search my self with no luck. when the blue cmd screen opened it stopped the progress by saying "mounting the windowsinstall.iso using imDisk,iso was unexpected at this time"
image:
http://i.imgur.com/LqySaM4.png?1
so i tried an older versions of e2b (1.54,1.53,1.50,1.41) and the only one that worked for me was 1.04.
i want to be updated with this wonderful utility so i need your help here buddy

Please avoid iso filenames that have ( ) or & in them.
Just use A-Z0-9_-

work like a charm, thanks steve keep up the good work!

Try v1.56Beta - may be able to use () and & in filenames now.

Hi all. Only 3 days into all this amazing E2B thing, so please sorry if this does not make sense at all. I've been reading the articles about using E2B with a 2 partition removable drive, the limitations regarding Windows installation ISOs (must be on the E2B partition) and the useful E2B_PTN_SWAP.mnu option. But what if I use an imgPTN of the Win7 ISO (or a imgPTN of corresponding Rufus USB drive) instead of the Win7 ISO itself, so
PTN1: FAT32, E2B files + less than 4GB payloads + PTN2_Menu.mnu
PTN2: NTFS, imgPTN Win7 installation + other greater than 4 GB payloads (imgPTN where required).

Could it work to install Win7?

Thanks in advance.

Yes, it should work.

Great, I will test it then. Thank you so much.

Hello,
I'm using Easy2Boot on my 64Gb USB stick. When I want to start a Windows 2012R2 Update 1 iso file I get an error :
Error 60: File for drive emulation must be in one contiguous disk area.
I have started RMPrepUSB and started Ctrl-F2 but no fragmented files were found. When I start a Windows 8.1 Update 1 iso file the iso file is loaded. Does Easy2Boot support Windows 2012 R2 Update 1 iso files ?

If you are seeing a 'not contiguous' error then we need to solve that first.
What folder is the ISO in? Did you check the MD5 of the ISO on the flash drive is correct (use RMPrepUSB - Ctrl+C.)
When do you see this Error 60 message exactly?

Hello,
The file is located :
u:\_ISO\WINDOWS\SVR2012\en_windows_server_2012_r2_vl_with_update_x64_dvd_4065221.iso
The error comes after selecting a key.
SHA1 of the file is d4b28f350981a7c3306dd409b172aea10d8599ac
The source is MS MSDN :
File Name: en_windows_server_2012_r2_vl_with_update_x64_dvd_4065221.iso
Languages: English
SHA1: D4B28F350981A7C3306DD409B172AEA10D8599AC

So file is not corrupt?
Can you open it with 7zip from the USB drive? NTFS formatted?
Can you do following
in E2B menu type p then enter password easy2boot
then type c for console
then type
blocklist /_ISO/WINDOWS/SVR2012/en (then press TAB for auto completion)
does it list one cluster or more?

I can open the file with 7zip no problem. The drive is NTFS formatted.
If i do the command I get :
(hd0,0) 16079296+4753344,65691248+4129952

It IS fragmented then!! It shows 2 parts...
first block starts at sector LBA 16079296 and is 4753344 sectors in length, second block starts at sector 65691248 and is 4129952 sectors in length.

Hello Steve,
The problem is solved. I have copied the ISO files to my pc and back and now it works.
John

Hi, if you haven't already, I'd recommend updating RMPrepUSB to the latest version (v2.1.724a) listed here: http://www.rmprepusb.com/documents/rmprepusb-beta-versions
And then try to Ctrl F2 the drive again. I had a similar issue and this worked for me.

Latest RMPrepUSB has a newer version of WinContig. Must be a problem with the older version of WinContig?

Hello,
one quick question, where can I find older versions of Easy2Boot?
Thx

Older versions are usually removed. The latest version should be compatible with any older version. Just overwrite your current version.

I thought so. I already have the latest version on one of my sticks. I'm trying to find the older version to use for testing on my other stick. Is it possible for you to upload 1.11 version?
Thx

It will be in the Archive folder on the MS Drive - Archive folder in a few minutes...
Why do you want an old version? Is there a problem with the newer versions?

Got it, thx. :)
I have 1.11 + DPMS on one of my old sticks and to be honest, it boots faster with payloads than empty 1.53. I just wanted to compare these 2 sticks and see why.
Btw, keep up the good work ;)
Thx again

You can compare raw speed using RMPrepUSB - Speed Test.
Grub4dos is twice as fast accessing FAT32 than NTFS - maybe one is FAT32 and the slow one is NTFS?

Hello Steve,
After a lot of difficulties to make a reliable bootable USB pen with Win XP and a lot of AIO solutions, i found Easy2Boot.
This is the one and unique solution which led to a complete installation of the OS.
The support of AHCI controler is great. The necessity is to plug the destination drive on the ASMEDIA 3rd party controler (dev id : 1b21 0612). My board is an Asus Maximus VII Gene.
I have this small request ; is it possible to implement the native intel Z97 controler to plug my hard drive on it ? Dev id is 8086 8c82
To conclude i would like to thank you, this site is a mine of knowledge.

Hi
The driverpack included in E2B is rather old and does not have the latest chipset drivers.
See the page https://easy2boot.com/make-an-easy2boot-usb-drive/adding-latest-dpms/
for instructions on how to update the drivers.
I have checked the 1405176 driver pack and it does have the 8086 8c82 driver in the INI file..
[I-9]
ms_count=2
; 11.2.0.1006
ms_1_deviceName="Intel ICH7M/R-DH/8R/9M/10, 5/6/7/8/9series - RST 11.2"
ms_1_tag="iastor9"
ms_1_sysFile="iastor.sys"
ms_1_hwids="PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1C02&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1C03&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1E02&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1E03&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2923&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A03&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A23&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C1&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2929&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3A22&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3B22&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3B23&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3B29&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3B2F&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C3&CC_0104,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C6&CC_0104,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2822&CC_0104,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_282A&CC_0104,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0816&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2323&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8C82&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8C83&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8C02&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8C03&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8D02&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_1F22&CC_0106,PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_9C02&CC_0106"
ms_1_isBusExtender=false
ms_1_exc_skipIfOS="w2k,w2k3"

so try that.

Thank you for the fast reply and for the check.
To clarify, do i have to rerun the command "make all files on drive contiguous" after the drivers update ?
On a side note, i will give a donation the next week ; it's really the least i can do.
This experience was a model of usefulness :)

Only payload files (ISOs, etc.) need to be contiguous, so there should be no need to run WinContig again.

I have a 32bit based tablet with a UEFI Boot loader, its a HP so its a bugger to edit the bios functions.
There is a lot of reference in the E2B site stating "you need the BOOTIA32.efi if your running a 32bit system", but I cannot find that file ANYWARE, both in the download and/or on the site as a seperate download.
I "did" copy the CLOVERIA32.EFI file to my USB stick and re-named it, and it booted into clover, which was good... however Cover had no menu options.
Can anyone point me to the E2B BOOTIA32.efi please?

\EFI\BOOT\bootia32.efi is the first file executed by a 32-bit UEFI system. What it contains depends on where it has come from.
For instance, in Windows, the bootia32.efi and bootx64.efi files will be equivalent to bootmgr and try to boot Windows. On a UEFI linux OS, these files will probably contain grub2.
There is a \EFI\boot\bootx64.efi file in E2B, but this is a 64-bit UEFI memory test (nothing to do with E2B functions).
If you booted Clover, it will be looking for 32-bit \EFI\*.efi files - what OS are you trying to boot? What are you trying to achieve?

P.S. Clover is no good for the HP - Clover is useful for booting in MBR mode and then running EFI payloads. Your HP only boots in UEFI mode - so you just need a bootia32.efi file on a FAT32 partition which is what a .imgPTN file will make for you (IF the source supports 32-bit UEFI booting).

Basically, I want to create a Utility disk for our Tablets, you know, usual stuff, like imaging software, diagnostics, etc. E2B looks like a great solution to multiboot into various ISOs.
Unfortunately, all our tablets are 32bit processors :( so bootx64 will not boot. The tablet even pops up a message saying "No 64bit processor found" if I try to boot with bootx64.
on this page -> https://easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/adding-uefi-images/ Cant find the "bootia32.efi" that it talks about anywhere in the E2B download. :(

Oh hang on, I just read your comment again regarding bootx64.efi.
So its just a memory check? Ok this is an issue :( as these darn Tablets have no other boot options other than UEFI/EFI.
So I cant use easy2boot then. Back to the drawing board for me.!

Yes, you can use Easy2Boot to UEFI boot from either 32-bit or 64-bit systems.
Whatever files you want to boot to, MUST support 32-bit UEFI booting however (if you have 32-bit UEFI) - e.g. Some Fedora Live ISOs, Clonezilla Live 2.2.2, Win7 32-bit (with some fiddling).
What are you trying to boot to? Want is it you want to do?

how can I use easy2boot on my UEFI 32bit system then?
because the "Make_E2B_USB_Drive" will only make a 64bit UEFI boot.

Using .imgPTN files, you can boot from 32-bit and 64-bit UEFI systems.
Say you want to boot CloneZilla Live 2.2.2 ISO via 32-bit UEFI.
1. Drag-and-drop the ISO file onto the MPI_FAT32 shortcut (see MakePartImage on this site) - this makes a .imgPTN file.
2. Copy the clonezilla.imgptn file to \_ISO\MAINMENU on your E2B USB drive
3. Boot in MBR mode (e.g. use RMPrepUSB -QEMU button) and select the Clonezilla.imgPTN file - this will switch partitions and load the CSM Menu
4. Quit QEMU - connect the E2B USB drive to your HP system and use the BIOS to UEFI boot from it.

That doesn't work, because these Tablets will ONLY boot from UEFI if they can see the BOOTIA32.EFI file :(

Yes it does work! Clonezilla 2.2.2 has a bootia32.efi file and a bootx64.efi file and can boot from both a 32-bit and 64-bit UEFI system.
Same for the others I mentioned.

Whatever you are trying to boot to - e.g. Ghost, Clonezilla, pmagic, , Windows, memtest86, etc. MUST have a \EFI\BOOT\bootia32.efi file in it. If it does not have that file then it does not support 32-bit UEFI booting.
The Passmark memtest86 memory test has such a file. You can add that to E2B and it should boot on your HPs (if the E2B is FAT32). For the other OS's. make FAT32 .imgPTNfiles - but each source files MUST contain their own bootia32.efi file.
P.S. Clover is no good for the HP - Clover is useful for booting in MBR mode and then running EFI payloads. Your HP only boots in UEFI mode - so you just need a bootia32.efi file on a FAT32 partition which is what a .imgPTN file will make for you (IF the source supports 32-bit UEFI booting).
To switch to the .imgPTN partition, boot the E2B drive in MBR mode using QEMU, VirtualBox, VMWare, MobaLiveCD.exe or a real MBR BIOS system first.

I recently downloaded easy2boot and found it to be very useful and just what I wanted, to multi-boot iso files and not burn them first. I used it on a 64GB pny usb 3.0 and put O&Odiskimage on it and it booted fine. I created a bootable usb drive that boots to windows 7 dos and from there I run ghost, ccleaner, etc...,
works great for posible restoring of my computer. At the dos prompt I can do a dir command and see all the files and start them. I then made a bootable iso from this usb and put it on the easy2boot usb stick. It boots but I do not see the files from the iso but the files from easy2boot.

If you have a bootable USB drive that is working and it is a single partition, then it is best to use MakePartImage to make a .imgPTN file.
Just drag-and-drop the USB drive icon from Windows Explorer onto the MPI_FAT32 Desktop shortcut to make the .imgPTN file.
This will make an image from the USB drive.
Then just copy the .imgPTN file to your E2B USB drive.

What does MakePartImage exactly do with an ISO file? And what .imgPTN will actually be comprised of when created from an ISO?

Do you have a Tutorial explaining why there is a need to convert an ISO to .imgPTN? For example, I've a UEFI laptop without Legacy mode, and wanted to boot UEFI-Linux-based Acronis True Image 2014 Recovery ISO from a USB or HDD. Can you suggest, how I can boot such ISO directly on a Windows 8.1 PC without any conversion? Or may be the solution is posted on some forum?

Please see https://easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/makepartimage/ for explanations and details.
If you don't have legacy mode on the target system, you need to boot the E2B drive somehow in legacy mode first and select the .imgPTN file. Then unplug it and connect it to your UEFI system.

There are a number of ways you can boot E2B in Legacy mode and select the required .imgPTN file:
1. Use a legacy BIOS system (e.g. spare notebook)
2. Use RMPrepUSB - QEMU button to boot under QEMU
3. Use VirtualBox+VMUB to boot from the E2B drive under VBox
4. Keep a copy of MobaLiveCD.exe on the E2B USB drive and run it to boot from the E2B USB drive under Windows (it uses QEMU).

Thanks Steve,
I know its kinda offtopic, but given a broad range of topics covered on this site historically, and your personal experience, would you be so kind to depart from Easy2Boot concept just for a brief moment, and point to a thread on any forum that provides a solution on directly booting UEFI-base WinPE or Linux Acronis ISO on a UEFI -system without Legacy Boot. The main reason is, I'd like to be able to boot the ISO from my internal HDD rather than from external Flash, ideally without any unpacking of image, possibly by means of Grub2 installs as an extra to Windows Bootmgr. Thanks... :)

Hi,
Thank for making and supporting such a great program.
I am trying to load various Windows Aio (all in 1) .isos , Two examples of these are:
Windows 7 SP1 AIO 24in1 x64 en-US Jul2014 - murphy78
Windows 8.1 AIO 24in1 with Update x64 en-US Jul2014 - Murphy78
I am using a std 32gb Sandisk flash drive (not a fixed disk).
All appears to work (the AIO's appear in the E2B menu , but when I run the iso after creating , they will not install Windows and I get the "Driver missing screen/error" mentioned in the FAQ. I do have the Autounattended.xml file in the root of the flashdrive that is mentioned in the FAQ. But whatever I try and do I cannot seem to get either of these AIO isos not to not have this error. Both work fine when writing on their own to a flash drive.
I presume these is something "special" about the Murphy78 Aio Windows installs.
Has anyone actually managed to get these FULLY working with Easy2boot?
Thanks in advance as it would be so nice to have these fully working on one single USB bootable flash drive.

Friz

Hi again,
Very sorry , I just rechecked as I had been using a couple of Different Flash Drives , the one I was using in the above was in fact a "fixed". I switched to another brand of 32gb, which is now detected as a Removable one, and all Works fine.
Sorry to waste everyone's time reading this..
Great utility

Ok
The other alternative is to make a .imgPTN image file from each ISO using MakePartImage. Then you can use either type of USB drive and you can also install in UEFI mode if the ISO supports it (look for a \EFI folder).

I wanted to install Vector to a blank hdd. It wrote partition changes and said it needed to reboot. It must also write something to the e2b device as it will not boot now. It is easy to rebuild e2b so I will do that. This is just a warning to others that may wish to do the same thing.

Thanks for the warning.
Try just re-installing grub4dos to the MBR of the USB HDD using RMPrepUSB first - it may just need the boot sector fixing.

When I try to install win 7 HP from a USB flash drive the installation starts and proceeds to the choose language section, after this the following error message appears:
'CD/DVD device driver is missing'
the installation does not proceed.
Any help appreciated.

If you search this site (e.g. FAQ) you may find the solution.
If not, I will need more details - use the Contact Me form.

Fantastic support has enabled me to resolve this problem, thanks!!!!

From the FAQ I discovered you cannot install Win 7 or earlier from a USB 3 PORT. Only use USB 2. This was the only thing that was holding me back.
Thanks Steve.

When I select my flash . message show "large disk selected. My Flash is 64GB. My drive show as a hard drive. Can You Software work in my flash?

Yes, it should work.
That is just a warning - it should say 'press OK to continue or Cancel to abort' - it is to prevent you from accidentally erasing the contents of a USB backup drive which you may have connected and forgot about!

Hello,

Is there a way to change the menu WINDOWS INSTALL Menu to Windows Install Menu.
Can I rename UTILITIES to TOOLS?

John

You can change the Sub-Menu headings and most of the default E2B messages and menu entries by editing the STRINGS.txt file.
See https://easy2boot.com/configuring-e2b/changing-the-e2b-preset-text/ for details.

Hello,

Thanks worked like a charm. Now looking how to get the menu entries in in the right order and with blank lines. I now have a xboot USB disk and want to migrate to easy2boot.

Just like this example :

### MENU START
LABEL -
MENU LABEL Image for Linux 2.88
LINUX /boot/syslinux/memdisk
INITRD /images/ifl.iso
APPEND iso
TEXT HELP
Image for Linux 2.88
ENDTEXT
### MENU END


### MENU START
LABEL -
MENU LABEL
### MENU END

### MENU START
LABEL -
MENU LABEL Parted Magic 28-04-2014
LINUX /boot/syslinux/memdisk
INITRD /images/pmagic_2014_04_28.iso
APPEND iso
TEXT HELP
Parted Magic 28-04-2014
ENDTEXT
### MENU END

### MENU START
LABEL -
MENU LABEL
### MENU END

### MENU START
LABEL -
MENU LABEL Memtest 86+ 5.01
KERNEL /images/memtest/mt86plus
TEXT HELP
Memtest 86+ 5.01
ENDTEXT
### MENU END


But want to use the iso loader from easy2boot because its much faster.

Menu entry order is in alphabetical order.
Each submenu has a ZZSubMenuxxxx.mnu file in the \_ISO\MAINMENU folder - simply rename these ZZSubMenuxxxx.mnu files to have them appear in the main menu in any order you like - e.g.
$$ASubMenuDos.mnu
$$BSubMenuUtilities.mnu
etc,

The same with ISOs and other files, simply rename them to change their order, e.g. change pmagic_2014_04_28.iso to $pmagic_2014_04_28.iso and it will be listed after the $$ submenus but before any other ISO file.

The menu entry text can be changed by using a ,txt file of the same name as the ISO file.

This is all explained in the website and in the YouTube videos - did you not read and watch?

Look in the docs\Sample mnu files folder for a blank menu entry .mnu file. Change the name so it appears in the order you want.

Hello,
I wanted to use the E2B to make a multiboot USB (Vista, 7, 8 ISOs), removable. It boots up, everything OK, I select the OS, then is starts the Grub4DOS, that I cant use. There is no tutor here on how to use it and frankly I only want to install the OS, nothing else. How can I turn off Grub4Dos? Is it possible that I click on the OS, and it starts to install?
Thank you for your help

Did you watch the YouTube videos on the Home page?
You select the ISO from the E2B menu, select an xml file and/or product key and then it boots to Windows Setup (you should see a blue console Window first).
You need to explain clearly what happens in your case.

Yes I watched and followed the instructions. My problem is as soon as I click the iso name to install, the grub4dos fires up and gives me a command line. If I type HELP it gives me the commands, but I have no clue how to use them. Is it a settings problem or something else? Can you help me?

Well, in the video it doesn't do that, so there is obviously something wrong with the contents of your E2B drive. Maybe the ISO is not a bootable ISO or you have not prepared the USB drive correctly.
1000s of people have no problem - so something about your situation must be different from all the other people!
So you must describe accurately how you prepared the USB drive, what ISO you use, what USB drive and target system you have, whether you have tried booting using QEMU or Virtual Box and what other steps you have taken to try to solve the problem - for example, as described in the Testing E2B and FAQ & Troubleshooting pages on this site.

I started to us e2b, because it seemed so easy. I used these instructions to make my USB. I dont know where could I even make a mistake, it is so simple. And if it isn't, why there is no proper instruction. I am really angry, I wanted it so much to work and now it seems, that I stuck again with the bl..dy dvd writing.

"To make a new Easy2Boot USB Flash drive (Windows OS):

1. Download and install RMPrepUSB (www.rmprepusb.com)
2. Insert your USB Flash drive into your computer's USB port
3. Right-click on the Make_E2B_USB_Drive.cmd file and choose 'Run as Administrator...'
4. Follow the instructions to format your USB Flash drive and add the Easy2Boot files.

To add your ISO files, simply copy them to the correct folder on your Easy2Boot USB drive.

e.g. Copy linux ISOs to \_ISO\LINUX
Copy Windows 7 Install ISOs to \_ISO\WINDOWS\WIN7"

If this isn't everything, why it is not stated. Please advice me another utility that makes a USB, that I can add multiple OSs, and I can decide upon booting which OS I want to install. It sounds soo easy and I don't want anything else from it. On the e2b website it states that it works easily (make the usb and copy the bootable isos) and it seemingly not. Thank you for your help.

As I said, E2B it works for many 1000's of people, so something about your equipment or method must be different. If you are not prepared to take my advice and test using QEMU or VBox or give any details, then please feel free to try another solution such as WinSetupFromUSB or YUMI or XBOOT.

I started creating the Easy2boot USB stick and it's taken around 20-30 minutes, so far it's still saying "Copying over Easy2boot files to G: please wait..."

It's very slow to refresh in Windows Explorer, so I'm guessing it's legitimately doing something - but how long do I need to wait for it to finish?

The script using xcopy. The E2B+DPMS download extracts to over 500MB. So it will take as long as it takes to copy 500MBish of files.
For me it's about 10-20 seconds but I have fast USB devices and USB 3.0 ports, for others it may take longer - a very slow device might take 2-3 minutes.

I need to turn off the unattended install for all install. I Install a lot of different OS and I need to enter the information every time.

XP installs can be automated using a winnt.sif file. Vista and later OS's can be automated using an unattend.xml file or autounattend.xml file. Look for these files inside your ISOs.
Standard Microsoft ISOs don't auto-install, so you must have a modified ISO of some sort. I suggest you use standard MS ISOs.

To automate Win installs in E2B you need to add files, see the relevant page
https://easy2boot.com/add-payload-files/windows-install-isos/unattended-installs/

Is there some known issue with E2B running extremely slow on certain computers/setups?

When I first tried out E2B, I thought, WOW! This is great! This blows YUMI out of the water! Everything loaded fast, all ISOs I tried worked, even some that would never work with others. And all with drag and drop ease. This was on a Lenovo R60 Core Solo laptop with 1GB.

But then I tried the same USB stick on a couple of desktops, and it was painfully slow. These aren't super powerful desktops by any means, just as old as the R60. The Athlon 64X2 and Core 2 Duo systems, each with 2GB RAM and both benchmark higher than the R60 on CPU, memory and HD. All USB 2.0.

On the R60 it got to the main menu in under 10 seconds. But on these two desktops, it took SEVERAL MINUTES! Very slow in all stages of loading and seems like each "adding" line for MNU or ISO that zipped by on the R60 takes a second each on the desktops.

Hi
First make sure you have USB 2.0 enabled in the BIOS Setup menu - sometime called 'Hi-speed'.
Some BIOSes have very slow USB drivers. You can try to use the grub4dos driver instead.

Boot to E2B
Select the grub4dos 0.4.6 driver menu entry
Select the load USB 2.0 driver menu entry
Now press F8 - is it now a lot faster? If so then your BIOS has slow USB drivers.

You can enable 0.4.6+USB driver support by changing the MyE2B.cfg file. However, the 0.4.6 USB driver is not 100% reliable and you may have problems with some systems (or it may work for your systems).

P.S. The other thing you may prefer is to enable FASTLOAD. See the \_ISO folder for instructions and this site.

The USB ports are definitely running at USB 2.0, been using for years and they are performing at high speed. The BIOS has enable/disable USB2.0 port, or change to low speed. They have always been USB2.0 enabled and high speed.

Tried the grub4dos and USB driver option, that did not work, no USB device found it said.

Tried the FASTLOAD, and that cut down some of the load time but not the root cause.

Just to clarify, everything works, but the E2B menu/loading is just very slow on some systems. I'm just curious why the E2B likes the R60 laptop but doesn't work well with the supposedly more powerful desktop systems.

For a speed example: if I time it after POST completes, it takes 10 seconds for the main menu to appear on the R60. On the desktop systems, that takes 90 seconds. With FASTLOAD that time is cut down to 60 seconds, so still a big noticeable difference.(compared to 10 seconds)

Once an image/ISO is selected though, everything appears normal. For example, it takes about 60-70 seconds to load GParted Live or Slacko Puppy Linux ISOs to the desktop gui once selected. This is about the same time as booting those images from a YUMI USB. Only the E2B menu loading portion is slow.

Very strange.

It's not a question of CPU power, it's to do with I/O access of the USB drive. Did you format it using RMPrepUSB?

Yes, didn't do anything unusual. Just used the provided Make_E2B_USB_Drive.cmd and the installed RMPrepUSB/RMPartUSB to format and create the E2B drive.
I tried several different USB drives, but the result is the same.

Without even adding any payload files, just a freshly created E2B drive, the loading of E2B menu is very slow on many older computers.

Speed results for loading E2B main menu following POST:
Laptop Lenovo R60, Core Solo, 1GB, Intel 945GM chipset - 10 seconds
Desktop Core 2 Duo, 2GB, Intel 945GC chipset - 85 seconds
Note these two above chipsets and USB controller are very similar, and the desktop is superior in all aspects, CPU, RAM, HDD, yet it is very slow to load main menu compared to the R60.
Other PCs I tried were even slower:
Desktop Athlon 64X2, 2GB, NVidia nForce 550 - 90 seconds
Desktop Pentium 4, 512MB, Intel 845G - 130 seconds

Does E2B really have that big of an overhead, or maybe something is wrong? How much data is being read during the main menu loading and what how many I/O operations? I can't believe it would be maxing out the entire 480Mbps and USB controller the whole time.

If it boots in 10 seconds on some systems, then it is obviously something to do with the other systems rather than any 'maxing out'.
Have you tried booting from a rear USB port and from different ports? Maybe try with no other USB peripherals connected.
E2B is just grub4dos scripts. It just uses grub4dos (which uses the BIOS) to access files on the USB drive. No one else has complained about this issue (at least not as severe as this).
Do the PCs have a manufacturer, make, model? Do they have similar BIOSes?
Can you email me rather than use this forum as it is rather cumbersome for quick comms?
cheers
Steve

Really? Nobody has experienced the slow E2B loading before, I am the only one? Well, Ok then. I guess I'm just special. ;)
The list is growing of slow systems. The only one that loads fast is the R60. Slow systems like noted above, range from desktop generic no-brand Athlon 64X2 w/AMI BIOS MSI K9N Neo board, Shuttle SD30G2 Core2Duo w/Phoenix-Award BIOS, Shuttle SK21G Athlon 64, Dell GX260 Pentium 4, Lenovo R51.
Rather than assume that all these systems have some USB I/O limitation or problem, I would think there is something your program does not like about certain systems? No?
I can send you a problem report on your contact form, but its a lot of different systems. Just surprised that nobody else has experienced this slow loading before? Anyone? ...

It does seem strange that some of the systems you have are 2004/5 systems. I know that older systems have very slow USB access via their BIOSes, but the new systems should be OK.
Please use the Contact Me form and just give detailed timings of what messages appear when (I don't need exact timings). Then I can email you with some test instructions to try to get to the bottom of this,

Just want to chime in and say I'm experiencing this too. In fact that's how I ended up here, by Googling for a solution. My E2B stick boots really quick on my old HP DV6 laptop, but I just tried it on my desktop (AMD Athlon II 965 Black Edition) and it is painfully slow. I've tried all 8 USB ports, even the 3.0's, and it's all the same. You're not the only one Jon. There's at least 2 of us ;)

Can you contact me using the Contact Me form please?
If the BIOS is accessing the drive really slowly then there is little I can do, but if there is something in E2B/grub4dos that is causing it to be slow then I would like to find out what it is.

and now we are 3 :-(

Well can one of you 3 use the Contact Me form so we can try some experiments to find out what this problem is and fix it please?

The UTILITIES menu in E2B now has a menu option to test file access speed. 100 loops (1 loop = 1 directory access = dir xx.txt) should take around 1-5 seconds for a typical system. If it is a lot longer than this then you have a very slow USB 'driver' in your BIOS.
Grub4dos is twice as slow at accessing NTFS partitions, so using FAT32 for the E2B drive will help reduce the boot up time.
Because E2B looks at a lot of files and folders during startup, very slow USB drivers can cause delays.
Delete as many files as possible that are not needed from the \_ISO\MAINMENU folder (e.g. help/readme files). See the FAQ page for more help.

timing out the prompt
can do away with and comment out #set /p ask=%STR%
and if "%ask%"=="" matches set ask= and it move on,
but is there anyway to add a timeout to that user interaction how after say 30 seconds goes a head and changes to the new partition
tried to experiment with choice and sendkey but to no avail,
a point in the correct direction would be much obliged

I assume you are referring to the .imgPTN code in QRUN.g4b
echo
set ask=
call getstr.g4b $$STRbpt4
set /p ask=%STR%
#OK to replace the E2B partitions ([Y]/N) :
if /i "%ask%"=="Y" goto :NUKE
if "%ask%"=="" goto :NUKE

just change the line to

set /p:30 ask=%STR%

This and other info is available in my grub4dos tutorial
http://www.rmprepusb.com/tutorials/grub4dos#TOC-Using-variables-in-grub4dos-menus

awesome thanks a bunch totally missed that page at rmprepusb

Hello,

there's an issue with RMPrepUSB. This one doesn't support USB Drive which has a GPT partition table (instead of MBR). If you try to install grub4dos on, RMPrepUSB will return this message of error : "Grubinst failed - Check partition table has no 'Type 0' partitions and check drive is correctly formatted."
So, I would like to know if there's a way to fix that ? The FAQ don't mention anything about that (or I didn't find it ?). Maybe you don't know how to proceed. In this case, you should look at UEFI MULTI (http://reboot.pro/files/file/279-uefi-multi-make-multi-boot-usb-drive/). He doesn't have this issue. I try to use this software (UEFI MULTI) with Easy2Boot. It wasn't a success. I couldn't find a way for "add E2B to your own grub4dos USB drive". So, could you me give a guide ? If it's possible ?

RMPrepUSB uses grubinst to install grub4dos and this only works on FAT/NTFS drives.
UEFI MULTI uses a different technique from E2B. It uses a GPT format and uses bootmgr to boot to grub4dos. You should be able to make the UEFI MULTI drive and then add the E2B files to it after you have it booting to grub4dos. UEFI MULTI supports booting to grub4dos so just use that to make a grub4dos-booting drive first - then add the E2B files.
Easy2Boot can MBR or UEFI boot Windows or Linux or other images. E2B is simple to set up for UEFI booting and easy to change. UEFI MULTI cannot UEFI-boot linux AFAIK and is quite tricky to use.
Was there some reason why you need to use UEFI MULTI?

Thanks for these clarifications. Yes, you're right, I can make a UEFI MULTI drive. But after, I'm lost... So far, I couldn't figure out a solution. I can boot on the drive but how load E2B ? How to proceed ?
I follow your guide (https://easy2boot.com/make-an-easy2boot-usb-drive/add-e2b-to-your-own-grub4dos-usb-drive/), it doesn't work. Maybe I'm doing something wrong with UEFI MULTI ? I don't know... You're right, UEFI MULTI is quite tricky to use than E2B.
In fact, I use this one because E2B require to convert the .iso to .imgPTN (or else) as I'm able to understand. Well, I prefer to use directly the iso. This way, I can install Windows (UEFI mode) directly without need any conversion.

Western Digital offers a DOS version of Data Lifeguard Tools in exe form. Where do I place this exe so that when I load up the FreeDOS floppy image I can access and run it?

You need to make a DOS floppy disk image and then add the program into the image.
1. Use RMPrepUSB - File - Create 1.44MB DOS Floppy
2. Copy the image to your E2B USB drive - \_ISO\MAINMENU folder
3. Load the .IMA file using WinImage
4. Create a file called AutoExec.bat containing the text
DOSDLG.exe
5. Drag and drop the AutoExec.bat file and the DOSDLG.exe file into the WinImage window pane to add them to the image
6. Save and exit WinImage

If you want to use FreeDos rather than MS-DOS, create the floppy image, then delete all files. Then add in the files from inside the FREEDOS_USB_BOOT folder of RMPrepUSB (press F3 to easily get to the folder). Change the kernel.sys filename to IO.SYS. Use FDAUTO.bat instead of AutoExec.bat.

Thank you for this detailed response! :)
I'll give this a try very soon.

what would be the best way to change the layout of this text it interferes with a image on the menu,The highlighted entry will be booted automatically in %d seconds
i was thinking something like
if "%HELPTEXT%"=="The highlighted entry will be booted automatically in %d seconds." set HELPTEXT=The highlighted entry will be booted\n automatically in %d seconds
to try and add a newline to be if off the picture
will that work and if so what file should it be put in and if not how would one go about moving that text from the auto selected entry

This text is part of grub4dos. It's position is the 5th line down from the menu help text start position (tophelp set in MyE2B.cfg file).
e.g. if the .mnu file was
title TEST \n1\n2\n3\n4\n5\n6
pause
boot

The help text below the menu would be
1
2
3
4
The highlighted entry will be booted automatically in x seconds


So you always need to ensure that there a 5 clear lines directly below your menu.

"So you always need to ensure that there a 5 clear lines directly below your menu."
:) that seems like to eazy of a answer
we will dig around a bit more on how to change that string of grub 4 dos texts
obliged for your response though

You can suppress the message by adding a line to the patchme patch file to patch grldr. Then you won't get the countdown message at all...

The C code from the grub4dos source code is :
int i;
char tmp_buf[128];
char ch = ' ';

grub_sprintf (tmp_buf, " The highlighted entry will be booted automatically in %d seconds.", grub_timeout);
gotoxy (MENU_BOX_X - 2, MENU_BOX_H + 7);
for (i = 0; i {
if (ch)
ch = tmp_buf[i];
grub_putchar (ch ? ch : ' ');
}

cat --locate=" The highlighted" --number=1 --replace=\0\0 ()/grldr > nul
thanks so much for the point in the correct direction

and just for somebody future reference as for our first post
cat --locate=" The highlighted" --number=1 --replace="Booting Highlighted Entry %d seconds\0" ()/grldr > nul
to change the text and not remove it completely,
the \n didnt seem to work in it must only allow one line there

I have separate ISOs for x86 Windows 7 and x64 Windows 7 (and Windows 8). Do I put both the x86 ISO and the x64 ISO in the same Windows 7 folder (and the same for Windows 8) ?

Yes