'-boot-info-table' support in ImgBurn 2.5.0.0?

[Frankenstien]

I'm playing around with 'HAWKPE-42-CD.ISO' ... once burned (I used ImgBurn 2.5.0.0), you have a boot/utility CD that is a lot like BartPE ... my burned CD seems to work fine ...

 

I have run into a snag however: while following The Hawk's instructions for making a bootable USB thumb drive, there is a step where the contents of the burned CD (above) need to be copied to the HAWKPE directory at the root of C:\. The Copy process fails with an error on a file called 'cookies.txt' from:

<CD root>PROGRAMS\FirefoxPA\Data\profile

I'm thinking the problem is because the files on the CD are Read Only or something along those lines.

 

After reviewing the 'REMASTERING' and 'HAWKPE-USB' sections of 'README-HAWKEPE.txt' (attached, in case someone's interested in looking at it), I find that The Hawk likes a burning utility called 'mkisofs' but not Nero because it doesn't support '-boot-info-table'. I don't understand the described process of getting the contents of the ISO into the "hdrive" (home drive?) directory 'HAWKPE'.

 

Can someone comment on '-boot-info-table' support in ImgBurn and also point out the error of my ways with respect to my attempt to Copy the contents of the burned CD to my 'C:\HAWKPE' directory?

 

Thanks, FFF

README-HAWKPE.txt

[spinningwheel]

Did the disc burn verify by ImgBurn as being correct?

 

You didn't post a logfile so I can't tell from here....

 

If it did verify and there are no problems with the burn, why did you post this in the ImgBurn support area and not in our chat area since it obviously does not deal with ImgBurn support but rather what you want to do with Hawk's programming.

[Frankenstien]

Hey spinningwheel ... thanks for helping out ...

 

Yes the burned disc Verified OK.

 

I understand your reason for aspects of this thread possibly belonging in Chat ... however, I was just trying to find out if ImgBurn has '-boot-info-table' support and then possibly kill two birds with one stone. I still don't know where we stand with respect to '-boot-info-table' support in ImgBurn 2.5.0.0 .

 

Thanks, FFF

[LIGHTNING UK!]

If you set the appropriate boot image file, yes it patches the boot info table.

 

The boot image file must be set to the same 'isolinux.bin' file as is found in the 'isolinux' folder (also present in the image / 'source' box).

 

If the disc verified ok, you shouldn't have any problems with copying the files off the CD again - SO LONG AS YOU USE THAT SAME DRIVE.

 

p.s. now this thread is here and we're discussing it, stick to just the 1. I've removed your other one from 'chat'.

[Frankenstien]

Hey LIGHTNING UK! ... thanks for helping out ...

 

OK, so this thread is it then ... I did use the same physical DVD RW Drive to Copy the CD's files from as I did to burn the CD in the 1st place ... I'm curious ... what difference would the physical drive used to read from the burned CD make?

 

As to this particular file copy error, I'm still not sure why it's failing. Is it the nature of the file: 'cookies.txt', its' attributes, the total path length or ?

 

Or, is there a way to convert the ISO directly to a set of files in a given local HDD directory using ImgBurn or ?

 

Thanks, FFF

[LIGHTNING UK!]

Every drive is different in terms of what it can write and what it can read.

 

If the disc passed verification it means every sectors on it was readable on that drive at that moment in time.

 

As every sector was physically readable, there should be no reason for a normal explorer style drag+drop copy to fail.

 

Maybe if you tried copying the files again and made note of the exact error we'd be able to tell you more. You could also use a 3rd party tool for the copying - something like IsoBuster.

 

If you have an ISO you want the files out of, most compression programs now support ISO files - WinRAR, 7-Zip etc. You could also mount the ISO in something like Virtual CloneDrive and then just access the files via the virtual drive in Explorer.

[Frankenstien]

Hey LIGHTNING UK! ... as always, thanks for the education ... optical drives are not strictly black & white in terms of digital accuracy is what I'm coming to realize more and more (is anything?) ... and, I didn't realize you could extract an ISO with WinRAR or 7-Zip ... great tip! I'll give that a try right now, and, barring any other unforseen difficulties, will carry on with my HawkPE-42-USB creation task. Thanks again eh?

FFF

[Frankenstien]

Hmmm ... should I be surprised if the extracted ISO file/folder set count matches the CD's contents but is 584 bytes smaller in total? See attachment for comparative Properties dialogs. A little puzzling ... but just a little. FFF

[LIGHTNING UK!]

The combined total of the file sizes should be indentical.

[Frankenstien]

That's what I would have thought ... I used WinRAR 3.42 ... hmmm ...

[LIGHTNING UK!]

Mounting the image in a virtual drive is the best way of doing it.

[Frankenstien]

Now that is interesting ... the very file that caused the original Copy failure, 'cookies.txt', is the file that has gotten 584 bytes smaller in the extraction (nested in 'C:\HAWKPE\PROGRAMS\FirefoxPA\Data\profile'), and, has a Modified date of today (Today, November 17, 2009, 08:00:55) vs. the burned CD version of the file (nested in 'E:\PROGRAMS\FirefoxPA\Data\profile'), which has a Modified date of Saturday, September 20, 2008, 19:40:00.

 

Also, while examining the Properties of the extracted file, I got an AVG 8.5 Free warning dialog about a Webtrends tracking cookie. This cookie has evidently been a thorn in my side for a couple of days now, as evidenced by the AVG Resident Shield log:

 

"Found Tracking cookie.Webtrends";"E:\PROGRAMS\FirefoxPA\Data\profile\cookies.txt";"Potentially dangerous object";"17-Nov-09, 9:27:34 AM";"file";"C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe"

"Found Tracking cookie.Webtrends";"C:\HAWKPE\PROGRAMS\FirefoxPA\Data\profile\cookies.txt";"Healed";"17-Nov-09, 8:00:13 AM";"file";"C:\Program Files\WinRAR\WinRAR.exe"

"Found Tracking cookie.Webtrends";"E:\PROGRAMS\FirefoxPA\Data\profile\cookies.txt";"Potentially dangerous object";"16-Nov-09, 11:31:20 AM";"file";"C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe"

"Found Tracking cookie.Webtrends";"E:\PROGRAMS\FirefoxPA\Data\profile\cookies.txt";"Potentially dangerous object";"14-Nov-09, 3:29:34 PM";"file";"C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe"

 

I think I can safely ignore the file size difference now that I know what it is, however, if anyone can shed any light on what I'm seeing (the ISO burn version of 'cookies.txt' will not upload ("Error No file was selected for upload"), the WinRAR 3.42 extracted version of it is attached), I'd sure appreciate it. FFF

cookies.txt

[LIGHTNING UK!]

Ok so it's just your AV software cutting in and blocking access to the file.

 

It can fix the file once it's on your hdd but obviously that's not possible on read only media like a CD/DVD!

[rasheed]

If you set the appropriate boot image file, yes it patches the boot info table.

 

The boot image file must be set to the same 'isolinux.bin' file as is found in the 'isolinux' folder (also present in the image / 'source' box).

 

LUK, I was experimenting today with my boot disc, and was trying to find out why boot info table wasn't patched in on my discs, well, the reason is that I put the files in boot/isolinux, instead of just /isolinux.

So, ImgBurn correctly patches the boot info table only if the loader resides in /isolinux. Putting files in /boot/isolinux caused ImgBurn not to patch the table in (0xDEADBEEF). Is this by design, should it be marked as a bug, and will it change in the future? I'm aware that this feature is not high-priority, but isolinux documentation states that config file can reside in either /boot/isolinux, /isolinux or /, in that order. Would it be possible to patch isolinux.bin pointed to by a path in "Boot Image" text box in "Bootable Disc" options, regardless of its location in the source filesystem (this would allow moving isolinux.bin out of the source filesystem altogether), or, perhaps, just patch the boot loader in imagefile / on disc, leaving the copy in the source filesystem untouched?

 

Thanks in advance.

[LIGHTNING UK!]

I don't generally mess with anything linux and ImgBurn is hardcoded to only patch the file if it's where I mentioned earlier (i.e. the OS path to the image's '\isolinux\isolinux.bin' file must be identical to the boot image file's OS path) - This is by design.

 

I can of course add additional checks for those other locations.

 

I don't know if taking a copy of the isolinux.bin file, patching it and inserting it as the boot image whilst leaving the one in the file system alone would work properly.

[rasheed]

I don't generally mess with anything linux and ImgBurn is hardcoded to only patch the file if it's where I mentioned earlier (i.e. the OS path to the image's '\isolinux\isolinux.bin' file must be identical to the boot image file's OS path) - This is by design.

 

I can of course add additional checks for those other locations.

 

I don't know if taking a copy of the isolinux.bin file, patching it and inserting it as the boot image whilst leaving the one in the file system alone would work properly.

Thanks for clarification. isolinux actually doesn't load itself from the filesystem on the cd, so it can be safely moved out of it (just tried it, and it boots ok). AFAIK, isolinux loads itself from the CD using BIOS functions, even if you set "Sectors to load" to 28 (28*512 = 14336, the size of the loader as of version 3.83).

This is a comment from isolinux.asm, line 399

 

; Some BIOSes apparently have limitations on the size
; that may be loaded (despite the El Torito spec being very
; clear on the fact that it must all be loaded.)  Therefore,
; we load it ourselves, and *bleep* the BIOS.

 

Regarding the boot info table, isolinux can work without one patched in, it just assumes "single session disc and one boot entry" (comment, isolinux.asm, line 361). AFAIK, this "boot info table" is actually not standard stuff, I haven't seen it mentioned in the El-Torito specification.

 

Taking all into consideration, leaving everything as-is in ImgBurn is the safest option.

 

Thanks.

[Frankenstien]

Hmmm ... very interesting fellows ... it's always nice to know there's lots to learn ...

 

LIGHTNING UK! ... I went down the Virtual CloneDrive5432 path and ran into some BSOD difficulties ... all better now, however, I will have to go to SlySoft and try to figure out what went wrong ... FFF

Edited November 18, 2009 by Frankenstien

[Cynthia]

5.4.3.5 is the latest beta. Perhaps that one is more stable.

 

http://forum.slysoft.com/showthread.php?t=32969

[Frankenstien]

Hey Cynthia ... thanks for the link ... I saw that earlier and d/l'd it ... maybe I'll try it in the a.m. ... FFF

 

FFF edit - I just read your bio there Cynthia ... a bored housewife from Sweden ... I gotta tell ya' ...that seems kinda' interesting to a guy over here in Vancouver who's never been to Sweden but has always wanted to check it out ...

Edited November 18, 2009 by Frankenstien

[spinningwheel]

Who said we don't read these posts???

 

Hmmmmm....

 

FFF edit - I just read your bio there Cynthia ... a bored housewife from Sweden ... I gotta tell ya' ...that seems kinda' interesting to a guy over here in Vancouver who's never been to Sweden but has always wanted to check it out ...

 

You can try a better line than that.

[Frankenstien]

Virtual CloneDrive5435beta install causes BSOD

 

OK ... I tried installing Virtual CloneDrive5435beta and got a similar BSOD result:

 

PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

STOP: 0x00000050 (0xF8C63000, 0x00000001, 0x804D9E2E, 0x00000000)

 

Did a Safe Mode uninstall of VCD5435b and all is well again.

 

Don't know what else to try ... FFF

[ianymaty]

PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

 

This error generaly reffers to memory. Check your memory with Memtest86.

 

 

By any chance, are you using Windows 2000?

 

 

STOP: 0x00000050 (parameter, parameter, parameter, parameter) PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

 

Explanation:

 

This is a Windows 2000 Executive character-mode STOP message. It indicates a page fault in the address space reserved for nonpaged data.

 

User Action:

 

If this is the first time you have booted after installing new hardware, remove the hardware and boot again. Check the Microsoft Hardware Compatibility List to verify that the hardware and its drivers are compatible with Windows 2000. For information about the hardware, contact the supplier. If you are installing Windows 2000 for the first time, check the Windows 2000 system requirements, including the amount of RAM and disk space required to load the operating system. Also, check the Hardware Compatibility List to verify that the system can run Windows 2000. If Windows 2000 is loaded and no new hardware has been installed, reboot with recovery options set to create a dump file. If the message continues to appear, select the Last Known Good option when you reboot. If there is no Last Known Good configuration, try using the Emergency Repair Disk. If you do not have an Emergency Repair Disk, contact your technical support group.

[Frankenstien]

ianymaty ... thanks for the STOP info you posted ... BTW, I'm running XP Pro ... just updated to SP3 today to see if that may be the issue ... haven't tried re-installing VCD5435b again just yet ... will take Memtest86 suggestion under advisement ... can't understand why a memory error would only crop up when VCD is being loaded ... FFF

[ianymaty]

When you install, VCD try to install a virtual SCSI/RAID controller driver. Obviously that is giving you the problem. Could be a conflict between what you have installed on motherboard controller and the virtual controller. Try to update the motherboard BIOS, Chipset, and the update to SP3 is the way to go...

 

...see, if you posted a log, we can told you earlier to update SP3...

[rasheed]

Frankenstien,

 

try WinCDEmu, maybe it won't cause BSODs, also, try disabling anti-virus software, sometimes it causes conflicts.