truecrypt bootloader question, how does it work? External links Options

[Zoso]

since direct answers are so hard to come by lately Ive been reading everywhere alot about USB booting..

found this post by Dietmar himself: http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=14292

"Many Bioses are searching ONLY in the lowest memory of the USB Stick after them.

And if you delete them, they are copied late too high!!!
The bootprocess will stop then very early with a blinking Cursor"

time for me to get winhex and get my hands dirty..

Im just not ready to start all over from scratch yet.

[was_jaclaz]

Well, I would consider to do some more "accurate" searches.

No matter what Dietmar thought and said almost 4 years ago, the symptoms is typical of a badly partitioned USB stick, and even more typical of a stick formatted through the HP USB formatting utility.

In the meantime several different programs have been written and new findings made.

Here is a list of more "current utilities":
http://www.msfn.org/board/4gb-iso-file-siz...93-page-17.html

BEFORE trying those, go through this thread:
http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=21955

Where you may find some answers to your questions.



jaclaz

[Zoso]

Thanks Jaclaz, I was hoping for your input!

well I dloaded winhex and its more complicated than Dietmar made it seem, that didnt stop me but the edit function is only available in the full version so that did stop me (I guess thats a good thing)

is there available a good hexeditor that is free or shareware? I have DiskInvestigator on Ubcd4win but I dont think it allows editing. I have changed my plan from Dietmars post 4 years ago but I would like to learn more about boot sectors and MBR etc and I would also like to see disk contents as raw and learn more.

Ive read some of your brief mentions of dissatisfation with the HPtool and now it is nice to have your direct input on a better way. I will follow and read the links you have provided. mabey MSFN,org is back up now, I was not able to view it earlier today.

anyway, what do you think about booting wireless USBHDD Hahha! how soon before that is reality?


thanks

[was_jaclaz]

Yes, msfn seems a bit erratic right now...

Here are the links, anyway:
Fuwi's Bootable USB-Drive Utility
http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=21702

RMPREPUSB.EXE:
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=7739

Make_USB.EXE:
http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=121446
http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...21446&st=20

FBINST:
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=7932

well I dloaded winhex and its more complicated than Dietmar made it seem, that didnt stop me but the edit function is only available in the full version so that did stop me (I guess thats a good thing)

Usually it's the carpenter, not the saw, that makes the plank cut at the right length...

is there available a good hexeditor that is free or shareware?

Here:
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?...=8296&st=12
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=8734

jaclaz

[Zoso]

I started from scratch (or so I thought) with XPPsp2, formatted NTFS single partition again except this time with RMPrepUSB, it seemed like the best choice at the time.

Full fresh XP and I did not add anything after the XP set-up except truecrypt then USBoot. boots USB fine as expected then I started truecrypt and failed pre boot authentication (PBA) again with only blinking cursor after password entered!

decided to try DriveCrypt Plus Pack (DCPP) on the same set-up and I get exactly the same result except after entering password it said "Loading OS" but still hangs with a blinking cursor!

both TC and DCPP work on this notbook from local HDD and they both work on USB in my desktop but the same USBs both Flash and HDD types that boot fine in the desktop with system encryption wont in the notebook.


but heres where Im at now. after DCPP I reformatted again NTFS single partiton to try another aproach by installing TC boot authentication before copying system with USBoot thinking I can resume encryption if it works. the problem I have now is that when I booted, the DCPP PBA password screen is still there ??? even after installing TC. of course it hangs with blinking cursor but its not supposed to be DCPP.

what I learned is that formatting does not take care of the MBR. now I need to learn how to prepair a notebook that has no floppy for formatting (BTW this is my first notebook/desktop replacement)

in the past I have allways used a w98 floppy with debug, fdisk, and format commands to start from scratch, my routine was this:

-DEBUG
-F200 L1000 0
-A CS:100
-MOV AX,301
-MOV BX,200
-MOV CX,1
-MOV DX,80
-INT 13
-INT 20
-G
Cntl+Alt+Del

then FDISK then FORMAT

I dont actually know what the DEBUG routine does exactly only that it allways worked on every ATA HDD Ive ever used it on to clear the drive for starting over. it was passed onto me by an online friend many moons ago.


I would like to learn the best routine to get the same or better results with SATA and USB drives in my notebook that has no floppy. is the above DEBUG routine actually safe for all HDD? and if so is it safe to put it on a CD and run it and the same for Fdisk and format w98 style?


I really only use XP, this notebook came with Vista but I was able to obtain all the drivers to down grade. I prefer XP because it doesnt take 16GB of space like the Vista OEM and because I am very familiar with XP.

more of topic (but I could really use the help) this notebook is 64bit, my XP is 32 so is 64bit XP possible as upgrade or is 64bit XP a stand alone version?

back on topic (sorta) what is the best way to remove the DCPP loader that is stuck on my USB HDD? Ive never used the w98 DEBUG>FDISK>FORMAT routine on any USB drive, is that safe todo or should I look into MBR tools? any and all suggestions are greatly apreciated!

Im starting to think my USB MBRs are the issue with TC PBA now but there is still so many variables with the new hardware here..

Ive got BIOS options Ive never seen/used before like "pre-boot execution environment" and the boot options are USB HDD, CD/DVD, Drive0 HDD (why Drive0, is that an issue?) Floppy (there is no Floppy on this machine!) Network, and heres one I really dont get: USB Memory. in the boot options list.. what is that for?

I have no reasonable documentation for this system, Ive been looking but the OEM is holding out for some reason. in the Bios security screen Ive got option: Flash write enabled or disable. (dont know what that is yet either)

Advanced screen has IEEE1394 controller enable/disable

CPU features Speed Step Technolgy enable/dissable (have no idea)
X-Bit functionality enable/disable (ditto)

did I mention AHCI? that too..

anyway, Ive got alot of catching up and learning todo.. sorry if most of this is out of place but I really admire the collective wisdom of this board here and Im sure these isues and problems Im having would be nothing for some of the members here so Im just tossing it out there..

thanks

[was_jaclaz]

what I learned is that formatting does not take care of the MBR. now I need to learn how to prepair a notebook that has no floppy for formatting (BTW this is my first notebook/desktop replacement)

in the past I have allways used a w98 floppy with debug, fdisk, and format commands to start from scratch, my routine was this:

-DEBUG
-F200 L1000 0
-A CS:100
-MOV AX,301
-MOV BX,200
-MOV CX,1
-MOV DX,80
-INT 13
-INT 20
-G
Cntl+Alt+Del

then FDISK then FORMAT

I dont actually know what the DEBUG routine does exactly only that it allways worked on every ATA HDD Ive ever used it on to clear the drive for starting over. it was passed onto me by an online friend many moons ago.


I would like to learn the best routine to get the same or better results with SATA and USB drives in my notebook that has no floppy. is the above DEBUG routine actually safe for all HDD? and if so is it safe to put it on a CD and run it and the same for Fdisk and format w98 style?

Definititely formatting DOES NOT deal with the MBR.
What you may be still missing is that in some cases also FDISK/partitioning may lead to different results.

The BEST choice is to ALWAYS start "from clean", as a number of utilities (and in some cases the OS itself) may "pick up" some OLD values (from the DATA contained in a previous MBR and/or bootsector) creating a resulting "problematic" MBR or partition.

My advice:
1. Zero out first, say 100 sectors:
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?...=4015&st=21
2. Start again, basing of reports of "successful" Truecrypt stories:
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=8096

Search on the board for posts/threads by members ktp and online, they both have experimented several ways "connected" to Truecrypt.



jaclaz

[bilou_gateux]

I have no reasonable documentation for this system, Ive been looking but the OEM is holding out for some reason. in the Bios security screen Ive got option: Flash write enabled or disable. (dont know what that is yet either)

Any write access to the BIOS Flash device (BIOS Update or BIOS Module Modification)with manufacturer or other BIOS Flash tools will fail on a module where the BIOS UpdateProtection is enabled.

[Zoso]

thank you bilou_gateux for the very helpful reply. this will come in handy if I try to use the OEM restore/vista CD again. the first time I used it, I found it had changed my bios settings AND repartitioned my drive which was an unpleasant suprise to me. I will dissable this option until it is needed. thanks!


back to my original problem with the TC loader hanging with blinking cursor. I will try next Jaclaz's latest suggestion and zero out the first 100 sectors.

after that I would like to try each suggestion posted here in order, the problem with that is I dont understand what ...Tim... suggests can anyone else tell me what he means by "reinitialize"?

after I figure that out and try it, if it doesnt work I will try the next suggestion from ktp and proceed from there. hopefully I will dicover and resolve the issue at some point.

Jaclaz, I ran accross a post you made about the differences in the HPtool MBR and the XP MBR but I cant find it now but anyway, it seemed to have some clues. I'll keep looking.

thanks

[was_jaclaz]

Jaclaz, I ran accross a post you made about the differences in the HPtool MBR and the XP MBR but I cant find it now but anyway, it seemed to have some clues. I'll keep looking.

This one, I presume :
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?...=2246&st=15

the fix is however already included in a couple of the given utilities and in MBRBATCH/MKIMG:
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/?showtopic=3191
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=5000
this, particularly, may be of interest to you:
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?...c=5000&st=1
(if you use my indirect method you have NO reasons to wipe the stick before)

jaclaz

[Zoso]

yes, thats the one! I dont know how you remember so much.

also, I have read your mentions of using acronis and other disk editors, I have used acronis to delete OEM partitions and resize, create new etc.

what is a better way to do this on my new notebook OEM HDD? I want to start from scratch (Zeros) and then make three partitions.

OK, dsfok zeroed it out fine then the drive dissappeared from explorer but the USB tray icon still indicated and USBdeviceview program indicated it was still there so I went to disc management and finally discovered what ....Tim.... was talking about reinitializing!

now Ive zeroed it and Im reloading win7 so that I can "reinitialize" the USB key there in hopes that will help or resolve this. I will report back with success or failure if failure then I will try ktp's suggested method next.