grub4dos and ubcd411.iso problem, Disk access looping External links Options

[ktp]

@jaclaz
I do not experiment with your mentioned way since I had no problem to boot using cdob's method. I can navigate through UBCD menu etc... The only problem (known problem?) is the hang at start after loading memdisk to boot the floppy image. Using grub4dos floppy image emulation is a bypass that works.

[ilko]

Another solution- build UBCD411.ISO with grub4dos as loader. Amend menus to grub4dos ones- in the attached archive is menu.lst for root and folder MENUS, containing all 'converted' menus. Replace MENUS folder, put grldr, grub.exe, memdisk and the downloaded menu.lst in root, delete syslinux, isolinux folders and boot.catalog, and rebuild the ISO:

CODE

mkisofs -R -b grldr -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -allow-lowercase -o ubcd411.iso d:\ubcd411

This new ISO can be placed on USB stick and chainloaded by ISO emulation.

CODE

title UBCD 4.11
find --set-root  /ubcd411.iso
map /ubcd411.iso (hd32)
map --hook
root (hd32)
chainloader (hd32)

I've tested most(not all though) of the tools and they worked.
The only one caused troubled is 'Offline NT Password & Registry Editor', which uses 2 initrd images.
There is a workaround to merge those images:
http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?sho...aded&start=

Or if newer grub4dos releases support multiple initrd, the one I tested-2008-5-14 failed with:

CODE

title Offline NT Password & Registry Editor 070409
  kernel /boot/offline rw vga=1 init=/linuxrc
  initrd /boot/offline.cgz,/boot/scsi.cgz

CODE

title Offline NT Password & Registry Editor 070409
kernel /boot/offline rw vga=1 init=/linuxrc
initrd /boot/offline.cgz /boot/scsi.cgz

CODE

title Offline NT Password & Registry Editor 070409
kernel /boot/offline rw vga=1 init=/linuxrc
initrd /boot/offline.cgz
initrd /boot/scsi.cgz

Does grub4dos support multiple initrd ? Are multiple initrd actually often used? May be contacting the author of Offline NT Password & Registry Editor to provide a single initrd image is a good idea.

To convert the menus quickly I kept memdisk from syslinux for emulating floppy drives, it should be placed in root, or change location in all menus.

Attached File(s)

 menus.7z ( 4.19K ) Number of downloads: 493

 

[ktp]

@ilko

Thank you for your input. Unfortunately I still got the same problem as mentioned in my earlier post:
"The only problem (known problem?) is the hang at start after loading memdisk to boot the floppy image". Otherwise the converted menus (syslinux to grub4dos) are OK.

Did you test all the tools by running them, and not only browsing through the menus ?

[ilko]

Did you test all the tools by running them, and not only browsing through the menus ?

Run most of them, and keep running them. There are hundreds, if not thousands

[ktp]

@ilko

OK so it appears that on my system memdisk loading DOS diskette image got problem.
Maybe other users can share their experience.

[ilko]

Don't know how to help with this

Another idea, how not to love grub4dos

No need to use grldr as loader for the ISO, just insert the grub4dos menus in the ISO, then

CODE

title UBCD 4.11
find --set-root  /ubcd411.iso
map /ubcd411.iso (hd32)
map --hook
root (hd32)
configfile /menus/main.cfg

Quickly loaded a few tools, too late night to test further, this may have disadvantages.

[ktp]

I looked at Ilko's hdd1.cfg as sample, and see that there is a solution for me. Since my problem is with memdisk as kernel, I can use the grub4dos floppy emulation that always works for me. So the proposed change is :

Ilko's original hdd1.cfg

CODE

color black/cyan yellow/cyan
  title ..
  configfile /menus/hdd.cfg
# maxblast
  title MaxBlast V5.0 (Maxtor)
   kernel /boot/maxblast /s quiet mbrcrcs=on vga=vesa load_ramdisk=1 prompt_ramdisk=0 ramdisk_size=30000
   initrd /boot/maxblast.dat
# diskmgr
  title Disk Manager V9.56a (Seagate)
  kernel /memdisk
  initrd /images/diskmgr.igz
# discwiz
  title DiscWizard 2003 V10.45.06 (Seagate)
  kernel /memdisk
  initrd /images/discwiz.igz
# ssdm
  title Disk Manager V10 (Samsung)
  kernel /memdisk
  initrd /images/ssdm.igz

hdd1.cfg modified, use grub4dos floppy emulation, no memdisk required:

CODE

color black/cyan yellow/cyan
  title ..
  configfile /menus/hdd.cfg
# maxblast
  title MaxBlast V5.0 (Maxtor)
   kernel /boot/maxblast /s quiet mbrcrcs=on vga=vesa load_ramdisk=1 prompt_ramdisk=0 ramdisk_size=30000
   initrd /boot/maxblast.dat
# diskmgr
  title Disk Manager V9.56a (Seagate)
  find --set-root /images/diskmgr.igz
  map --mem /images/diskmgr.igz (fd0)
  map --hook
  chainloader (fd0)+1
  rootnoverify (fd0)
# discwiz
  title DiscWizard 2003 V10.45.06 (Seagate)
  find --set-root /images/discwiz.igz
  map --mem /images/discwiz.igz (fd0)
  map --hook
  chainloader (fd0)+1
  rootnoverify (fd0)
# ssdm
  title Disk Manager V10 (Samsung)
  find --set-root /images/ssdm.igz
  map --mem /images/ssdm.igz (fd0)
  map --hook
  chainloader (fd0)+1
  rootnoverify (fd0)

I have to test this, but it should work (99,9%), to be reported later. I have now to program a tool to automatically convert .cfg files with "kernel /memdisk" syntax to floppy emulation one, otherwise there are a lot of manual changes to be done to those numerous cfg files!

Edit:
Oops finally I start manual change procedure instead of a specified program, but then I run into a difficult case to convert.
How can I have a parameter for kernel in case of floppy emulation ? :-(

CODE

# ranish
  title Ranish Partition Manager V2.40
  kernel /memdisk  ubcdcmd=ranish
  initrd /images/dosubcd.igz

I guess using floppy emulation without the parameter should work, but then probably there is no way to return back to the menu after running the utility.

[ilko]

I also wondered what this kernel parameter does. Going to ask in ubcd forum.
http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1399

[ktp]

Does grub4dos support multiple initrd ? Are multiple initrd actually often used? May be contacting the author of Offline NT Password & Registry Editor to provide a single initrd image is a good idea.

Not yet apparently, but tinybit mentioned a bypass by unpack/repack the files into a single ramdisk file:
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=5433

[was_jaclaz]

Not yet apparently, but tinybit mentioned a bypass by unpack/repack the files into a single ramdisk file:
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=5433

Just for the record, I solved the problem of repacking the Offline Nt Password under Windows some time ago:
http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=19643
and Drake Sorcerer updated/bettered it.

jaclaz