Adding .iso - files like acronis-partition-manager etc.

Message

df8oe · #1 Post by **df8oe** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 9:10 am

Hi,
I want to add some special software which comes with a small iso-image (like Acronis Partiton Manager, about 4.4 MB). These iso-files do not contain any files, if I mount them with mount -o loop /dev/cdrom /mnt, but they are bootable at all. How can I add such files to ubcd ??

Many thanks for doing great work!

df8oe

bldrdash · #2 Post by **bldrdash** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 9:46 am

Acronis has a special way of creating their bootable
CDs. Acronis products can be added to the UBCD, but
I do not know of any way in Linux to extract the
necessary information.

If you can get your hands on a Windows system, install
WinISO or UltraISO. Make an image (iso) of the Acronis
product. Then, open the iso and save the Boot File
(a special feature of UltraISO and WinISO). The resulting
file will be a .wbt (WinISO) or .bif (UltraISO).

From there, all you need to do is modify/add one of
the .scn files to boot the image. The boot command is:
bcdw /pathtofile/acronis.bif

Both WinISO and UltraISO were specifically designed to
extract Acronis boot information. A mount -o loop will
not work.

Note that this procedure will change with the next release of
UBCD since bcdw has changed the way it accesses Acronis boot
information. No date set on UBCD 3.3 but it will be a few weeks
or more.

-- Charles

df8oe · #3 Post by **df8oe** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 11:14 am

Many thanks for your help! I'll have a try on this procedure tomorrow (because I don't have access to a windows-system now...)

Best regards
df8oe

df8oe · #4 Post by **df8oe** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 6:42 am

Works fine

Now there are two other problems:
1) Is it possible that some images in the ubcd-iso are corrupted (and not bootable at all)?
2) I have a PC-test-program "toolstar". It is floppy-based, but it does not start a DOS, it is booting it's own code. When I try to boot this image, I got an error durcing booting. I cannot scroll the screen up so I am not able to see the whole errormessage, but it tells me "Unbehandelte Exception oder Interrupt" with three possibilities: reset, poweroff, dump. Toolstar must have write-access to the drive it is booting from. May be this is a problem? Does anyone know this program and a solution to get it on UBCD?

Best regards
df8oe

bldrdash · #5 Post by **bldrdash** » Tue Mar 29, 2005 6:54 am

> 1) Is it possible that some images in the ubcd-iso are
> corrupted (and not bootable at all)?

I'm not sure what you mean. Sure, it's possible. If you
check the md5 of the download and it matches it is unlikely
however. What images do you specifically think are corrupt?

> 2) I have a PC-test-program "toolstar". It is floppy-based,

I'm not familiar with this program but if it uses it's own
OS, and it MUST have write access to the drive it boots
from I think you're out of luck. You can always try booting
it with: diskemu \pathtoimage\toolstar.img
however.

df8oe · #6 Post by **df8oe** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 5:05 am

Feedback:

Option "diskemu" with "toolstar" works fine. There is an errormessage "remove write-protect...", but it is working!

Now I have one last problem I could not solve by myself:

What about adding windows-based CDs having a folder i386?? There is a bootloader setupldr.bin, but that is not a floppy-image at all. Can I add these CDs to BCD, too??

Best regards
df8oe

bldrdash · #7 Post by **bldrdash** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 1:14 pm

> What about adding windows-based CDs having a folder i386??
> There is a bootloader setupldr.bin, but that is not a
> floppy-image at all. Can I add these CDs to BCD, too??

Masochist, eh? If it's a PE environment like Bart's PE,
UBCD4WIN or Ghost 9, then yes.

By popular demand I've created some instructions on how
to add a Windows bootable CD based on PE. I've asked
Victor to post this @ www.ultimatebootcd.com. I'm sure
it will be available when he gets time to do it.

Instructions for adding a kitchen sink are not provided.

-- Charles

df8oe · #8 Post by **df8oe** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 11:20 pm

of course...

Many thanks for your help! Again: UBCD is great work, and I enjoy it very much.

Best regards - I will have a look in the next weeks for the howto posted by victor...

Best regards
Andreas

bldrdash · #9 Post by **bldrdash** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 8:15 am

Looks like it's been posted to:
http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/winboot.html

He'll be adding it to:
http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/tutorials.html

soon.

-- Charles

df8oe · #10 Post by **df8oe** » Sun Apr 03, 2005 12:18 am

Many thanks, working 100%

!!

May be it is useful to have a page here where a whitelist and a blacklist of bootimages can be found? For example interactive, so that users can add new entries by themselves (a small wiki or a phpmyfaq). I want to add "toolstar" and the boot-command for it. So there could be a list, searchable for users and very helpful...

Have a nice day

df8oe

#11 Post by **Victor Chew** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 2:30 am

How about starting a forum topic and getting everyone to post their boot
images/commands there?

Limerick · #12 Post by **Limerick** » Wed May 04, 2005 11:33 am

bldrdash wrote: Note that this procedure will change with the next release of
UBCD since bcdw has changed the way it accesses Acronis boot
information. No date set on UBCD 3.3 but it will be a few weeks
or more.

-- Charles

Hello Charles,

I don't really understand what does change with version 3.3

Is the procedure you previously described still good ?

And if not, what to be changed ?

Is it possible to insert both Acronis True Image and Disk Director Suite ?

Thanks for your help,

bldrdash · #13 Post by **bldrdash** » Wed May 04, 2005 12:34 pm

> Hello Charles,
>
> I don't really understand what does change with version 3.3
> [Question]
> Is the procedure you described previously still good ?
>
> And if not, what to be changed ?

The procedure mentioned here:
viewtopic.php?t=112

works for UBCD 3.3. The change from previos version is
that you don't create a .wbt or .bif file and the bcdw
command line has changed.

>
> Is it possible to insert both Acronis True Image and Disk
> Director Suite ?

Yes, that's what I do. Here's an excerpt from my modified
menu for Acronis products:

if ($lastKey == key[a]); then bcdw Boot /cba/trueimg.iso
if ($lastKey == key[d]); then bcdw Boot /cba/diskdir.iso

Ultimate Boot CD