Create a multi boot rescue USB flash drive

[+Warwagon MVC]

Im only guessing, but i would say it needs write protection off. This is because when the OS and other software talks to the hardware, it needs to read+write.

GIve it a go though. Would be interesting to know if it does work or not.

ya I will, my guess it will work. Because by nature they are designed to boot from a cd which it can't write to.

[Panacik]

ya I will, my guess it will work. Because by nature they are designed to boot from a cd which it can't write to.

Thats true actually... good point.

Im also guessing it depends (if your using a normal OS on the drive), if you tell it to load to mem first or not.

[+Warwagon MVC]

Great Guide. I just followed it. Though I have 2 suggestions

There is a newer grub bootloader installer than the one you link to in your guide

http://themudcrab.com/downloads/grubinst-1...-2008-01-01.zip

This one actually takes all the guessing out which which [hdx] drive you want to use. Plus the one you linked to for some reason would only show me 1 -4 when what I needed was 8.

Also the link on how to actually create your WIndowsPE iso is down. So I just followed the instructions on this website.

http://msforums.ph/blogs/jayr/archive/2007...pe-boot-cd.aspx

Great job on the guide. I was just thinking I would really like to create a boot menu on my usb drive, and this guide was perfects.

[Panacik]

Great Guide. I just followed it. Though I have 2 suggestions

There is a newer grub bootloader installer than the one you link to in your guide

http://themudcrab.com/downloads/grubinst-1...-2008-01-01.zip

This one actually takes all the guessing out which which [hdx] drive you want to use. Plus the one you linked to for some reason would only show me 1 -4 when what I needed was 8.

Are there any other benifits to the new one? I mean, does it have an newer features?

Maybe i could use it more successfully in booting .ISO images?

[+Warwagon MVC]

Are there any other benifits to the new one? I mean, does it have an newer features?

Maybe i could use it more successfully in booting .ISO images?

It has more clicky things.

[Panacik]

It has more clicky things.

Lol, fair enough.

I might take a look when i get home tomorrow.

[+Warwagon MVC]

The nice feature of the new version is that it shows the size of the disk next to every name (example [hd8] )

[jazo]

This is great - thanks for the helpful tutorial! I installed everything without a hitch on an 8G usb. I've already put the System Rescue CD to good use.

Anyway, I also noticed in the comments that it should be possible to include full linux distros. I tried installing the USB versions of PUD <http://www.pendrivelinux.com/pud-linux-flash-drive-install-windows/#more-1171> and BackTrack <http://www.remote-exploit.org/backtrack.html> but PUD stalls during boot, and BT won't load at all. They are stored in /PUD and /BackTrack respectively. I'm also interested in adding an ubuntu distro. I'd appreciate any advice.

menu.lst

title PUD

kernel /PUD/boot/vmlinuz initrd=/PUD/boot/initrd.gz root=/dev/ram rw boot=casper showmounts wm=en init=/sbin/initng

initrd /PUD/boot/initrd.gz

title BackTrack

KERNEL /BackTrack/boot/vmlinuz vga=0x317 initrd=/BackTrack/boot/initrd.gz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw autoexec=xconf;kdm

initrd /BackTrack/boot/initrd.gz

A note about BackTrack: I haven't actually installed it yet - I'm not sure if installing the USB version on my flashdrive will override grub (due to the many warnings about NOT installing it in C: first and moving it, otherwise Windows will not boot). Should I install it anyway?

Many thanks,

James

[Panacik]

This is great - thanks for the helpful tutorial! I installed everything without a hitch on an 8G usb. I've already put the System Rescue CD to good use.

Anyway, I also noticed in the comments that it should be possible to include full linux distros. I tried installing the USB versions of PUD <http://www.pendrivelinux.com/pud-linux-flash-drive-install-windows/#more-1171> and BackTrack <http://www.remote-exploit.org/backtrack.html> but PUD stalls during boot, and BT won't load at all. They are stored in /PUD and /BackTrack respectively. I'm also interested in adding an ubuntu distro. I'd appreciate any advice.

menu.lst

title PUD

kernel /PUD/boot/vmlinuz initrd=/PUD/boot/initrd.gz root=/dev/ram rw boot=casper showmounts wm=en init=/sbin/initng

initrd /PUD/boot/initrd.gz

title BackTrack

KERNEL /BackTrack/boot/vmlinuz vga=0x317 initrd=/BackTrack/boot/initrd.gz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw autoexec=xconf;kdm

initrd /BackTrack/boot/initrd.gz

A note about BackTrack: I haven't actually installed it yet - I'm not sure if installing the USB version on my flashdrive will override grub (due to the many warnings about NOT installing it in C: first and moving it, otherwise Windows will not boot). Should I install it anyway?

Many thanks,

James

I believe it wont load because you have them in subfolders.

GRUB4DOS i believe does not automatically know this and relies on the BOOT folders being at the root and other files being in their original places. So you need to do it like this:

menu.lst

title PUD

kernel /PUD/boot/vmlinuz initrd=/PUD/boot/initrd.gz root=/dev/ram rw boot=casper showmounts wm=en init=/sbin/initng

initrd /PUD/boot/initrd.gz

title BackTrack

KERNEL /BackTrack/boot/vmlinuz1 vga=0x317 initrd=/BackTrack/boot/initrd1.gz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw autoexec=xconf;kdm

initrd /BackTrack/boot/initrd1.gz

Note that you should rename one of the vmlinuz files and one of the initrd.gz files, so you dont end up using the ones from the other distro. This would result in you loading the incorrect OS.

[jazo]

Thanks Rich!

I'll give it a go tonight and post back here.

Cheers,

-J

I believe it wont load because you have them in subfolders.

GRUB4DOS i believe does not automatically know this and relies on the BOOT folders being at the root and other files being in their original places. So you need to do it like this:

menu.lst

title PUD

kernel /PUD/boot/vmlinuz initrd=/PUD/boot/initrd.gz root=/dev/ram rw boot=casper showmounts wm=en init=/sbin/initng

initrd /PUD/boot/initrd.gz

title BackTrack

KERNEL /BackTrack/boot/vmlinuz1 vga=0x317 initrd=/BackTrack/boot/initrd1.gz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw autoexec=xconf;kdm

initrd /BackTrack/boot/initrd1.gz

Note that you should rename one of the vmlinuz files and one of the initrd.gz files, so you dont end up using the ones from the other distro. This would result in you loading the incorrect OS.

[Panacik]

Thanks Rich!

I'll give it a go tonight and post back here.

Cheers,

-J

Cool. Let us know how it goes mate (Y)

[jazo]

Thanks for the suggestions - PUD booted perfectly! I'll report again later with BT and any other developments.

Cheers

Cool. Let us know how it goes mate (Y)

[Panacik]

Thanks for the suggestions - PUD booted perfectly! I'll report again later with BT and any other developments.

Cheers

Excellent, glad it seems to have worked (Y)

[gregrocker]

Is it possible to load onto my Kingston Data Traveler 100 8 gig USB flash: Windows 7, XP, Works, Memtest86, data lifeguard bootable HD repair, and a couple dozen apps and files all in folders, then when I want to boot from the 7, XP, data lifeguard, Works or Memtest86, move them onto the root of the drive and restart to boot?

I am currently booting Win7 install files off of this drive after having cleaned, partitioned, formatted fat32, marked primary and active. I did not have to install bootsect files to the drive in any special way. This gives me the idea I might be able to boot the other bootables by moving Win7 back into a folder and moving the desired bootable out of its folder onto the root.

Are there any other steps I need to consider? I am a clean reinstall hobbyist and these are the only tools I really need when I visit friends and family. I'd like to keep it all on my thumb drive and make it as simple as possible, if that is possible.

Thanks.

[Panacik]

Is it possible to load onto my Kingston Data Traveler 100 8 gig USB flash: Windows 7, XP, Works, Memtest86, data lifeguard bootable HD repair, and a couple dozen apps and files all in folders, then when I want to boot from the 7, XP, data lifeguard, Works or Memtest86, move them onto the root of the drive and restart to boot?

I am currently booting Win7 install files off of this drive after having cleaned, partitioned, formatted fat32, marked primary and active. I did not have to install bootsect files to the drive in any special way. This gives me the idea I might be able to boot the other bootables by moving Win7 back into a folder and moving the desired bootable out of its folder onto the root.

Are there any other steps I need to consider? I am a clean reinstall hobbyist and these are the only tools I really need when I visit friends and family. I'd like to keep it all on my thumb drive and make it as simple as possible, if that is possible.

Thanks.

Short answer i no, you cant put them in folders, because most boot files look to the root for the files they require.

Saying that, you CAN partition it how you want, have a primary menu.lst file, which calls other menu.lst files on other partitions OR botts directly from those partitions.

That being said however, you still won't be able to have them in folders.

You could try making bootable ISO images and see if you can have GRUB4DOS boot directly from the ISO. I got halfway successfull with that, but couldnt get a fully bootable image working full way...

[gregrocker]

Short answer i no, you cant put them in folders, because most boot files look to the root for the files they require.

Saying that, you CAN partition it how you want, have a primary menu.lst file, which calls other menu.lst files on other partitions OR botts directly from those partitions.

That being said however, you still won't be able to have them in folders.

You could try making bootable ISO images and see if you can have GRUB4DOS boot directly from the ISO. I got halfway successfull with that, but couldnt get a fully bootable image working full way...

The only reason I suggested folders is that only the ISO files I want to boot from would be out of the folder at the time I wanted to run them and on the root so they would be recognized for booting. I have my Windows 7 in a folder on my USB and when I want to boot from it I take the files out onto the root for that purpose, then put them back into the folder after I have done the install.

This gave me the idea that I could place other bootable ISO files into their own folders and take them out onto the root when I wanted to boot from them.

Since I never had to run the bootsect command while formatting the USB flash drive (just made it primary and active in FAT32), then it seems like something else is telling the files on the root to boot up. Do you know what that is? And do you know whether it would work for any other bootable ISO's files placed onto that USB flash drive's root?

As for using the ISO image itself, are you saying that GRUB4DOS is some kind of boot manager to point to which ISO I'd want to boot from my flash drive? How does that work exactly? Just askin. Thanks.

[Panacik]

The only reason I suggested folders is that only the ISO files I want to boot from would be out of the folder at the time I wanted to run them and on the root so they would be recognized for booting. I have my Windows 7 in a folder on my USB and when I want to boot from it I take the files out onto the root for that purpose, then put them back into the folder after I have done the install.

This gave me the idea that I could place other bootable ISO files into their own folders and take them out onto the root when I wanted to boot from them.

Since I never had to run the bootsect command while formatting the USB flash drive (just made it primary and active in FAT32), then it seems like something else is telling the files on the root to boot up. Do you know what that is? And do you know whether it would work for any other bootable ISO's files placed onto that USB flash drive's root?

As for using the ISO image itself, are you saying that GRUB4DOS is some kind of boot manager to point to which ISO I'd want to boot from my flash drive? How does that work exactly? Just askin. Thanks.

Im a little confused as to what you are doing here? Are you currently using Grub4Dos?

How are you moving the files to root, when you want to use them?

Grub4Dos IS a boot manager yes? What did you think it was? It has the ability to hook to an ISO image and use that image as a partition in its own right, thus making it the bootable partition, however its flaky...

[gregrocker]

Im a little confused as to what you are doing here? Are you currently using Grub4Dos?

How are you moving the files to root, when you want to use them?

Grub4Dos IS a boot manager yes? What did you think it was? It has the ability to hook to an ISO image and use that image as a partition in its own right, thus making it the bootable partition, however its flaky...

No I'm not using GRUB yet, just found this forum thread when searching for how to make multiple image files bootable from the same USB flash drive. I have Windows 7 on my Kingston Data Traveler 8gb right now along with a number of apps/files. I keep Win7 in a folder and then when I need to boot from it, I open the folder and drag all of the files to the flash's root (leaving the folder temporaily empty). So far it works every time that way.

I had read on another thread that it is possible to put multiple other bootable installers and apps like XP or memtest86 on the same flash drive by keeping them in separate folders until they are needed to boot, then moving them from their folder to the root of the flash drive. So far, I can only get this to work with Win7, but I would like to have the same flash drive bootable also for XP, dban, memtest86, partition pro.

If there is a way to do this simply by moving them out of a folder onto the root, then I would like to determine that for certain. Otherwise, I would like to learn how to use GRUB4DOS to accomplish this same thing, booting multiple different choices from the same flash drive. I was hoping it wouldn't get too complicated to do something so simple and lightweight as carrying all of my installers, bootable apps, apps and files on a drive smaller than my thumb, but I'm willing to learn what it takes to do it, and I really appreciate any help you can give.

[Panacik]

No I'm not using GRUB yet, just found this forum thread when searching for how to make multiple image files bootable from the same USB flash drive. I have Windows 7 on my Kingston Data Traveler 8gb right now along with a number of apps/files. I keep Win7 in a folder and then when I need to boot from it, I open the folder and drag all of the files to the flash's root (leaving the folder temporaily empty). So far it works every time that way.

I had read on another thread that it is possible to put multiple other bootable installers and apps like XP or memtest86 on the same flash drive by keeping them in separate folders until they are needed to boot, then moving them from their folder to the root of the flash drive. So far, I can only get this to work with Win7, but I would like to have the same flash drive bootable also for XP, dban, memtest86, partition pro.

If there is a way to do this simply by moving them out of a folder onto the root, then I would like to determine that for certain. Otherwise, I would like to learn how to use GRUB4DOS to accomplish this same thing, booting multiple different choices from the same flash drive. I was hoping it wouldn't get too complicated to do something so simple and lightweight as carrying all of my installers, bootable apps, apps and files on a drive smaller than my thumb, but I'm willing to learn what it takes to do it, and I really appreciate any help you can give.

As far as im aware, you cant do it with Grub4dos. The logic just doesnt work that way.

[gregrocker]

OK I installed grub4dos on my USB flash and now need to link Win7, GWscan and Memtest to some kind of boot menu so I can boot them up. Is there an application that does this?

[Panacik]

OK I installed grub4dos on my USB flash and now need to link Win7, GWscan and Memtest to some kind of boot menu so I can boot them up. Is there an application that does this?

Have you actually read the first page of this thread?

[gregrocker]

I read the entire thread twice and find it to be an exceedingly complex method to do something which I believe might be done simply by putting the files into folders on a active primary flash and then taking them out onto the root in order to boot from them. Your responses tell me that you might be so rigid in your arcane methodology that you are unwilling even to discuss possible simpler solutions.

I found a tutorial on MS Technet by David Chung http://edge.technet.com/Media/Installing-W...ng-a-USB-Stick/ which allows me to simply format NTFS active primary flash and then copy files for Win7 installer onto it and it is immediately able to boot. I can put other files onto the flash loose or in folders. When I am not needing the Win7 installer I simply put its files back into their folder and then it is not bootable. When the files are spilled out into the root it is immediately bootable every time.

David explains how it is bootable without having bootsect code inserted: "...you don't have to. Unless your USB Disk is used as a "permanent" disk in your drive configurations and you need to update your master boot code to switch between bootmgr and NTLDR. So not in this case since i'm using the BIOS to boot the installation off the USB Stick. The BootMgr on the USB Disk will suffice. Only MUSTDO is to make the partition active, else the BIOS won't pick it up and you get a "No Boot Device Error" in some cases, or your PC boots back your startup partition's OS."

Another commenter there suggests it is possible to have multiple bootable applications on the same flash drive in folders, then when you want to boot from one of them you simply spill the folder's contents into the root of the drive, something I have not been able to replicate other than with the Win7 files. So I go looking for how to multi-boot a flashdrive in this way and it leads me to this tutorial which seems to be outdated within its year's existence. I appreciate your responding to me but am flummoxed by seeming stonewall unwillingness to embrace anything simpler and possibly more current with the fast-evolving technology of flash drive booting.

So my question still is: If one bootable app will boot in this way when files are placed on the root, then why cannot others on the same flash which are kept in folders and taken out onto the root when needed to boot?

Edited April 8, 2009 by gregrocker

[Panacik]

I read the entire thread twice and find it to be an exceedingly complex method to do something which I believe might be done simply by putting the files into folders on a active primary flash and then taking them out onto the root in order to boot from them. Your responses tell me that you might be so rigid in your arcane methodology that you are unwilling even to discuss possible simpler solutions.

I found a tutorial on MS Technet by David Chung http://edge.technet.com/Media/Installing-W...ng-a-USB-Stick/ which allows me to simply format NTFS active primary flash and then copy files for Win7 installer onto it and it is immediately able to boot. I can put other files onto the flash loose or in folders. When I am not needing the Win7 installer I simply put its files back into their folder and then it is not bootable. When the files are spilled out into the root it is immediately bootable every time.

David explains how it is bootable without having bootsect code inserted: "...you don't have to. Unless your USB Disk is used as a "permanent" disk in your drive configurations and you need to update your master boot code to switch between bootmgr and NTLDR. So not in this case since i'm using the BIOS to boot the installation off the USB Stick. The BootMgr on the USB Disk will suffice. Only MUSTDO is to make the partition active, else the BIOS won't pick it up and you get a "No Boot Device Error" in some cases, or your PC boots back your startup partition's OS."

Another commenter there suggests it is possible to have multiple bootable applications on the same flash drive in folders, then when you want to boot from one of them you simply spill the folder's contents into the root of the drive, something I have not been able to replicate other than with the Win7 files. So I go looking for how to multi-boot a flashdrive in this way and it leads me to this tutorial which seems to be outdated within its year's existence. I appreciate your responding to me but am flummoxed by seeming stonewall unwillingness to embrace anything simpler and possibly more current with the fast-evolving technology of flash drive booting.

So my question still is: If one bootable app will boot in this way when files are placed on the root, then why cannot others on the same flash which are kept in folders and taken out onto the root when needed to boot?

Its not complex? MANY people got this working through this thread created by Si.

If your confused, then fair enough, but i seriously think you have no idea what it is you are aiming for and have no idea how boot techniology works.

I know this all sounds harsh, but from what you have said so far, this is how it comes across and i see this going on and on, because you wont be able to grasp the concept of bootable flash media.

[Panacik]

Ok, i just watched that video you linked to and found that it actually shows you how to place the Windows 7 Install files on to a partition on the disk. Now it might be possible for you to use this method to create multipul partitions and place the OS of choice on each partition, but then you will need to edit the boot file on the primary partition, so it gives you a menu asking which partition you wish to boot from, then give the correct perameters for each partition.

However, you could just use Grub4Dos, which is far more simplistic IMO to configure, as it just relies on you editing a file called menu.lst to point to the correct partition and files etc.

Note though that this still wont alow you to place the files in seperate folders. In fact the video you posted does not even show you putting files in a folder on a partition either, so im unsure where you are getting this information about folders from?

[Pootis Spencer]

Can I add Ubuntu to this or what is the best Linux to add to it and how? Thanks.

BTW: I followed the first page of this thread and it worked first time!

P.S How can I add a title to the menu.lst file so it will show my company name when it boot to the options menu?

EDIT: Forgot to add...I would like to add Spinrite too.

Edited April 10, 2009 by Moe Szyslak