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Windows XP Setup CD integration

Posted: Sat May 29, 2010 6:18 am
by nodiscc
Hello all,

I managed to create a custom XP SP3 setup CD with nLite, that i would like to integrate to my UBCD. The ISO is 540mb, what is the best way to load the Windows INstaller from UBCD, without loading all the 540mb in memory?

I tried this: http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/customize.html and it loads the ISO file for hours.... any way to make it as quick as just lauching the setup cd alone ?(I tested it alone and it works well - unattended install in less than 10 mins)

Thank you in advance :wink:

Posted: Sat May 29, 2010 11:31 am
by Icecube
Extract the UBCD iso with 7-zip (other archivers may not work correctly) to C:\ubcd-extracted
Extract your custom XP SP3 setup CD to C:\ubcd-extracted too.
Edit C:\ubcd-extraccted\ubcd\custom\custom.cfg and add:

Code: Select all

LABEL winxp3
MENU LABEL Custom XP SP3 setup
TEXT HELP
 custom XP SP3 setup CD with nLite
ENDTEXT
COM32 /boot/syslinux/chain.c32
APPEND ntldr=/i386/SETUPLDR.BIN
Remaster the ISO:
http://wiki.ultimatebootcd.com/index.ph ... ng_the_ISO

Test the ISO in a virtual machine like VirtualBox and see if the Windows SP3 setup boots.

Posted: Sun May 30, 2010 6:36 am
by nodiscc
THaannnks so much, it worked well..

- I had to replace the ubcd2iso.cmd by the one that can be found here: http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/misc/ubcd2iso.cmd (otherwise i got mkisofs: missing pathspec error)
- The correct command to type (from windows cmd) was: ubcd2iso "%Homepath%\My Documents\ubcd-extract\" "%Homepath%\My Documents\customubcd.iso" (iso filename must be specified, unlike stated in the tutorial)

anyway it worked from the ISO in vmware and also from a burned disc from BIOS.
maybe the tutorials should be corrected, and this topic should be added to it.

Thanks for your help, now i'll try to boot it from usb, and then integrate a Debian lenny setup CD.

See you

Posted: Sun May 30, 2010 8:47 am
by nodiscc
OK now I have a problem starting it from USB key...

UBCD main menu shows up, then >User defined>Custom XP Installer.

when i press Enter, it prompts "loading boot sector", "booting", and then reboots the computer, making it go back to UBCD main menu.

I tried building the USB key with RMPrepUSB, ubcd2usb, Universal-USB-Installer and Unetbootin (from ISO made with ubcd2iso). Same results.. I'll try to find out but any help would be welcome.

Thanks;

Posted: Sun May 30, 2010 10:56 am
by nodiscc
This seems to be the same problem: http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.p ... topic=5316 but I dont think the solution is related.

PEtoUSB fails too (no os found).

Posted: Sun May 30, 2010 11:11 am
by Icecube
To boot Windows from USB, you need to do additional things.
I never tried it myself. But you can try USB_MultiBoot.cmd to make the necessary changes (skip the formatting stuff):
http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/111406- ... age__st__6

Posted: Sun May 30, 2010 7:35 pm
by StopSpazzing
nodiscc wrote:..
- I had to replace the ubcd2iso.cmd by the one that can be found here: http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/misc/ubcd2iso.cmd (otherwise i got mkisofs: missing pathspec error)..
Yes, that is because there was an issue with 5.0-Final that is resolved in 5.0.1. Just tested it. The "ubcd2iso.cmd" that you copied from is based of the 5.0.1 version, hence why the problem is fixed. Correct me if I am wrong Icecube/Victor.

nodiscc wrote:...
- The correct command to type (from windows cmd) was: ubcd2iso "%Homepath%\My Documents\ubcd-extract" "%Homepath%\My Documents\customubcd.iso" (iso filename must be specified, unlike stated in the tutorial)...
Sorry about that.

Thank you for correction. Fixed.

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 2:37 am
by nodiscc
I finally got it to work;

-downloaded grub4dos http://download.gna.org/grub4dos/grub4d ... -06-20.zip and extracted the files from grub4dos-0.4.4/ to the root of the USB key.

-downloaded grubinst http://download.gna.org/grubutil/grubin ... -01-01.zip, launched grubinst_gui.exe:
disk=hdx (USB disk)
part list=whole disk (MBR)


-copied all the ISOs i needed in /iso folder on the USB key.

- edited menu.lst on the key (with notepad++ because it's not in CR/LF):

Code: Select all

title WXP SP3 SETUP
find --set-root /iso/wxp-sp3.iso
map /iso/wxp-sp3.iso (hd32)
map --hook
root (hd32)
chainloader (hd32)

title Debian 5.04 Lenny i386 SETUP
find --set-root /iso/debian-504-i386.iso
map /iso/debian-504-i386.iso (hd32)
map --hook
root (hd32)
chainloader (hd32)

title Ultimate Boot CD LIVE
find --set-root /iso/ubcd50.iso
map /iso/ubcd50.iso (hd32)
map --hook
root (hd32)
chainloader (hd32)

title BackTrack 4 Final LIVE
find --set-root /iso/bt4-final.iso
map /iso/bt4-final.iso (hd32)
map --hook
root (hd32)
chainloader (hd32)
Now grub4dos launches all the systems I need. Thanks for your help!

edit: maybe we should place that in the wiki/forums tutorials sections, even if it's related to grub4dos and not directly to UBCD.... just tell me

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 6:20 am
by Icecube
Are you sure that all ISO's boot completely, this way (and not only start booting)? Or do you still have the extracted ISO's on your drive too.

Re: Windows XP Setup CD integration

Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 3:07 am
by nodiscc
erh... indeed the ISOs just start booting, and then crash. Is there a way to do something similar, but that works?...

Thanks

Re: Windows XP Setup CD integration

Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 4:15 am
by naebeth
I know no-one has made a post in the last few days, but in case you haven't got it working I thought I'd chip in.
nodiscc wrote:Is there a way to do something similar, but that works?...
I've never seen a Linux-based ISO work from being chainloaded, that tends to be a Windows/DOS thing. Instead, find where the kernel and initrd files are (usually linux or vmlinuz for the kernel, and initrd.gz for initrd) and place them after the root (hd32) line:

Code: Select all

title 1) Slax\n Slax Core 6.1.2
map /ubcd/custom/slax_ubcd.iso (0xff) || map --mem /ubcd/custom/slax_ubcd.iso (0xff)
map --hook
root (0xff)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz from=/ubcd/custom/slax_ubcd.iso ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw autoexec=xconf;telinit~4 
initrd /boot/initrd.gz
However, a huge amount of Linux distros won't boot just with kernel and initrd locations, you have to pass boot parameters to them on kernel line. Different versions of Linux (ie Debian, Ubuntu, Knoppix) require different boot parameters, and stripped versions, such as the Debian version of GPartEd, sometimes require and support different parameters to the full versions. Slax has a little feature I like very much, that is the from= parameter, that lets you pass the location of the ISO to the emulated ISO, as once loaded the "live" system cannot use the Grub4Dos mapping and so cannot locate additional files needed to boot properly. Not all Linux use this though, and some might use a different command for it (ie, boot_from=).

If you search through this forum, the one at Boot-Land and at 911CD you should be able to find people who have already got working code posted for the systems you're using, should you struggle to get it working yourself.

Re: Windows XP Setup CD integration

Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 5:15 am
by nodiscc
Hi all

not resurrecting the thread, I just wanted to let you know I had put that aside for now. As you said, there are really many many methods to boot ISOs, which are not the same following the particular Linux distribution youre using.

I'm now working on a Debian Live system http://live.debian.net/
seems really promising. Full of custom options, provides a "live" boot as well as an installer. Have a look if you have time.

Thanks for your replies.