[Tutorial] How to Test USB Key/Stick/Flash Drive/UFD Bootability, ...using Qemu on Windows (or Linux) to see if it boots. External links Options

[DSpider]

How to Test USB Key/Stick/Flash Drive/UFD Bootability
(Or whatever you want to call it... Some people call them USB Keychains.)


Quick Note: UFD stands for "USB Flash Drive".





On to the tutorial ! First step would be to actually download Qemu. If you Google it you'll see this address at the very top. Click the Download link. You'll see somewhere "QEMU on Windows provides precompiled QEMU versions for Windows." which will most likely send you to: http://www.h7.dion.ne.jp/~qemu-win/

Here's a mirror to the latest version (available right now) for Windows:
qemu-0.9.1-windows.zip [12.5 MB]

It was labeled as QEMU on Windows Ver 0.9.1 (2/4/2008)


1. Extract the archive to C: (for example) and rename the folder as "qemu" or "qEmu", "QeMu", "qemU" or whatever. "Qemu" would be best.

2. You can either create a batch file by right clicking inside the "Qemu" folder, choosing New -> Text Document and changing it's extension by renaming it to "usb.bat" or "test.bat" (or whatever) and adding these two lines:

CODE

@echo off
qemu.exe -L "C:\qemu" -M pc -localtime -boot c -hda \\\\.\\physicaldrive1

For simplicity purposes I've also uploaded the batch file.



Question: What if it doesn't work and my UFD isn't recognized as "physicaldrive1" ?
Answer: That's how my PC recognizes mine. Yours may differ. You ccould get this (or a similar tool) and verify.



See ?


PS: I believe the Linux version of this tutorial isn't very difficult either. If someone could please post the batch and/or method I would very much appreciate it. Thanks.

[was_jaclaz]

Just for the record latest (unofficial) Win32 build is here:
http://www.bttr-software.de/qemu/

currently 0.10.1

You will need also the DLL's:

• original SDL version 1.2.13
• original FMOD version 3.75
• original zlib version 1.2.3

jaclaz

[TigerWhite]

Just for the record latest (unofficial) Win32 build is here:
http://www.bttr-software.de/qemu/

currently 0.10.1

The current rev is 0.10.5.
But the commandline given by the OP is not working with this rev.

I tested a UFD containing bootsdi.img using the command in qemu 0.9.1 and it booted OK.
However, when I tried the same command in qemu 0.10.5 it did not succeed. The qemu window appears for a fraction of a second and closes. I could not find out the error.

After searching qemu forums I tried a slightly altered commandline

CODE

@echo off
qemu.exe -L "C:\qemu" -M pc -localtime -boot c -hda \\.\physicaldrive1

and the UFD booted successfully. The difference is only in the number of backslashes.
The altered commandline does not work in 0.9.1.

Strange.

[was_jaclaz]

Strange.

Yep , though what you used appears to be the "right" way, I mean I always used "single double" slashes, maybe it was a quirk of the parsing engine of the older version that needed the doubling.

jaclaz

[Neel]

its giving me the following error

disk error
press any key to restart

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[was_jaclaz]

its giving me the following error

WHAT is giving you the error?

The error you are having is coming from the actual device (USB stick I presume).

• What is it?
• How did you partition/format it?
• With what tools?
• Under which OS?
• How big is it in size?
• etc., etc.

Compare with point #d. of "common sense advice" attached to Rules :
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?act=boardrules




jaclaz

[Neel]

WHAT is giving you the error?

The error you are having is coming from the actual device (USB stick I presume).

• What is it?
• How did you partition/format it?
• With what tools?
• Under which OS?
• How big is it in size?
• etc., etc.

Compare with point #d. of "common sense advice" attached to Rules :
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?act=boardrules




jaclaz

sorry my bad

yes it is a USB stick, i am using grub4dos, i used "HP Disk Storage Format tool v2.0.0" to format it and i am using winxp with sp2 x64. my USB capacity is 1GB. its working fine when i am trying to boot my system using it. the following is the content of my disk

and the content of menu.lst

CODE

color white/blue black/white white/blue white/blue
timeout 30
default 0

title 1. USB XP
find --set-root /xpldr
chainloader /xpldr

title 2. Kaspersky Rescue-CD
kernel /KAV2009_JUL_13/isolinux/rescue subdir=/KAV2009_JUL_13 setkmap=us scandelay=5 root=/dev/ram0 init=/linuxrc looptype=squashfs loop=/KAV2009_JUL_13/image.squashfs cdroot
initrd  /KAV2009_JUL_13/isolinux/rescue.igz

title 3. Avira System Rescue
find --set-root /AVISO/avira26July2009.iso
map /AVISO/avira26July2009.iso (0xff) || map --mem /AVISO/avira26July2009.iso (0xff)
map --hook
chainloader (0xff)
savedefault --wait=2

title 4. Boot CDROM
cdrom --init
map --hook
chainloader (cd0)
rootnoverify (cd0)

title 5. Boot from hard disk
map (hd0) (hd1)
map (hd1) (hd0)
map --hook
chainloader (hd0)+1
boot

title 6. commandline
savedefault --wait=2
commandline

title 7. Reboot
reboot

title 8. Halt/Shutdown
halt

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[was_jaclaz]

I'll try again.

i used "HP Disk Storage Format tool v2.0.0"

is the "wrong" answer (AFAIK there are only two version around, 2.0.6 or 2.1.8) too this question:

• With what tools?

The answer to this other one:

• How did you partition/format it?

Could be:

• NTFS
• FAT16 CHS mapped (06)
• FAT16 LBA mapped (0C)
• FAT32 CHS mapped (0B)
• FAT32 LBA mapped (0C)

The HP tool produces usually (read always) not-balanced CHS/LBA data, that can cause that a stick is bootable on a given BIOS, but it is not on another one.

If data is balanced, the usual test is to change the partition type from CHS to LBA or viceversa.

FAT32, additionally has a known problem with it's bootsector (in the version from 2K/XP/2003, the one invoking NTLDR)

Please, try using fuwi's utility:
http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?sho...c=21702&hl=
(which does make use of the HP formatting utility, but corrects some of its "quirks").

Other appropriate apps are listed here:
http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...87993&st=17

or post your MBR compressed into a .zip or .7z archive and i'll have a look at it (first sector of PhysicalDrive, use HDhacker to save it):
http://www.dimio.altervista.org/eng/

jaclaz

[Neel]

2.0.6 sorry i mistyped

ok let me go through the links u provided

[Neel]

thanks jaclaz i was finally able to boot using qemu didn't understood what the problem was so i tried recreating and it seem to be working now thanks, also more dumb questions might be coming up now as i am able to boot using qemu plz bare with me, and i hope from next time onwards i will be able specifics.