different ubcd iso content according to the extraction tool

[ady]

When extracting UBCD iso with 7-zip, I see a folder with the name:

[BOOT]

(including the brackets) and inside it, a file with the name:

Bootable_NoEmulation.img .

Now, extracting with other tools ( IZArc for example ), the folder has the name:

boot.images

(no brackets here) and inside it, the file is named:

no_emul.00 .

(different name and extension than the first one)

Both files are actually the same (checked with checksums).


The rest of the content is exactly the same, no matter which tool I use to extract it.

So, if I want to customize UBCD and remaster it using the ubcd2iso script under Windows, which of those folders and files are the correct / best option ?

Under this context, when I wrote "the correct / best option", I mean that maybe one method will lead to a more compatible UBCD than the other, being that I am working under Windows, not Linux. I have no idea, so you tell me .

TIA.

[Icecube]

Delete the [BOOT] (should be done by the ubcd2iso script) or boot.images directory.

Those directories don't actually exist in the ISO. If you burn the ISO, you won't see those directories.
The [BOOT]/Bootable_NoEmulation.img and boot.images/no_emul.00 file are the first 2048 bytes of /boot/isolinux/isolinux.bin. The extractor programs just show this file in a special directory, so you can easily extract the bootsector (or floppy or hard disk image) of the ISO.

The ubcd2iso script will regenerate this hidden boot sector.

[ady]

Thank you for your answer.

I opened the original UBCD I downloaded, using Isobuster. I don't see any "[BOOT]" nor "boot.images" folders, but I see a "Bootable Disc" section on the left panel (part of the "tree" of file systems), and this "Bootable Disc" section contains 2 "files". One "file" named "BootImage.img" and the other named "BootCatalog.cat" . I think winimage shows something similar, but right now I don't remember exactly how it is shown there.

I guess all this "folders" and "files" (even though Isobuster shows 2 files, not 1) are all "equivalent" to the previously described, right?

What would happened if I don't delete those folder/files and run the script anyway? I understand that the script should re-create the boot sector, but if I don't delete those files, the bootsector would be re-created correctly? Or the same folder/files that were not deleted will still "be" the bootsector of the remastered UBCD? Is there any difference if I delete them or if I don't?

TIA.

[Icecube]

Other programs, can show the bootable part of an iso in another directory, or they have a menu option that let you extract the bootable part.

Nothing bad will happen if you don't delete this directories (boot sector will be created correctly). The only "problem" you get when you don't delete this directories, is that your newly created iso will contain those folders (they will actually exist now), but they aren't useful (the real bootsector will be different in this new iso, compared with the version stored in those folders). Deleting those directories, is just a cosmetic thing.

[ady]

Icecube, thank you for your answer.

I tested it. Here is how:

1._ I expanded the original downloaded iso (UBCD 5.03) using 7-zip.
1.a._ The "[BOOT]" folder is present under the target directory (where I expanded the UBCD iso).
2._ I customized the contents of the expanded UBCD.
2.a._ I did not delete the "[BOOT]" folder, nor its contents.
3._ I ran the ubcd2iso script.
4._ I kept the original iso, but deleted the folder where I previously expanded it. I also kept the customized iso.
5._ I expanded the customized iso with 7-zip.
5.a._ Again, one "[BOOT]" folder is present.
6._ I made changes to the new expanded UBCD, but, again, I did not delete the "[BOOT]" folder, nor its contents.
7._ I ran again the ubcd2iso script.

Now I have the original iso, and 2 different customized versions. Opening any of the iso images using 7-zip, I see one (and only 1) "[BOOT]" folder inside each iso image. Opening the iso images with Isobuster, I see one "Bootable Disc" section on the left panel (as I saw it in the original UBCD 5.03 iso image), but there is no "[BOOT]" folder (nor the equivalent "boot.images" folder).

So, it seems the ubcd2iso script does not integrate the "[BOOT]" folder into the customized iso. I write "seems", because I didn't analyze the script to actually "know" it doesn't integrate the "[BOOT]" folder into the iso image. At least, the win32 version doesn't.

I did not test what would happened if I had used other tool to expand the iso image instead of 7-zip, which means I don't know if the ubcd2iso script doesn't integrate the "boot.images" folder (equivalent to the "[BOOT]" folder when using other programs to expand the iso image).

So, at least when expanding the iso image with 7-zip, and using the win32 version of the ubcd2iso script, I can say the "[BOOT]" folder is not included into the remastered iso. That's good news.

Maybe the "[BOOT]" folder would have been copied into the iso image, if I had used other tools to compose the iso image instead of using the ubcd2iso script.

[Icecube]

The {BOOT} directiory gets deleted by the ubcd2iso script.

In the release notes of UBCD v50rc2:

- Added one-liner in ubcd2iso.cmd and ubcd2usb.cmd to remove [BOOT] subdirectory created when UBCD ISO image is extracted using 7-Zip.

viewtopic.php?t=2337

[ady]

According to my test, and according to:

The {BOOT} directiory gets deleted by the ubcd2iso script.

which came from the changelog, then:

...The only "problem" you get when you don't delete this directories, is that your newly created iso will contain those folders (they will actually exist now), ...

wouldn't be accurate, right? Wrong Let me explain.

The changelog mentions the "[BOOT]" (with square brackets) directory, which is made by 7-zip (and others, like uniextract) while expanding the iso image, being deleted by the ubcd2iso script. According to my test, this is correct.

But , when using other tools to expand the iso image (instead of 7-zip), like IZArc for example, the "boot sector" folder is not named "[BOOT]", but "boot.images".

I made a similar test as the one I described before, and the "boot.images" folder is not being deleted by the ubcd2iso script before building the iso image.

I don't know if there are other "names" to the "boot sector" folder when using other tools to expand the iso, or these 2 are the most common (or maybe the only) ones.

Is it possible to add this variation (boot.images) to the script? Or there are many other variations?

I'm not saying the script should support unlimited variations of the "boot sector" folder name. I'm saying that if those 2 are the most popular and common variations, then maybe it would be wise to add this second possible name ("boot.images") to the script, so it acts the same for any of those 2 variations.

Any thoughts?

[Icecube]

7-zip is the recommended tool for extracting the UBCD ISO. Some other archive managers do strange things with some filenames (at least in the past).

If lZArc works fine, Victor may add support for deleting the "boot.images" directory.

[ady]

7-zip is the recommended tool...

It may be so, but not always a user wants to install a new app if he is already working with an equivalent one. The same happens with the tools included in UBCD: there are many apps that can do almost the same. IMO, it is better for the user to choose by himself.

... Some other archive managers do strange things with some filenames (at least in the past).

If lZArc works fine, Victor may add support for deleting the "boot.images" directory.

Maybe you can be more specific, or point me to some place where I can read about those "strange things with filenames"; so I could tell you if IZArc "works fine" in that context.

Generally speaking, I think IZArc works fine, but without an example of what you mean with "strange things with filenames" I can't test it specifically in this context.

Now, besides IZArc, I still don't know if this "boot.images" folder is a common name for the cd "boot sector", as "[BOOT]" is, or is it just one of many other possible names.

My suggestion to add "boot.images" to the script has the intention to give support to more tools, other than 7-zip. If adding "boot.images" to the script is going to support just one tool (IZArc in this case), then I guess Victor has better things to do.

[Icecube]

Here you can read a problem that happens with at least WinRAR (when extracting the Parted Magic iso):
http://forums.partedmagic.com/viewtopic ... 77cd3b1b24

[Victor Chew]

I installed IZArc V4.1.2, but couldn't get it to extract the UBCD ISO.

When I opened the UBCD ISO in IZArc, I don't see anything at all. Whereas when I opened it in 7-Zip, I could see all the files.

@ady: Any advice on how to get IZArc to extract the UBCD ISO?

[ady]

@Icecube,

Some minutes ago I wrote in this topic a very detailed report of new tests while being logged in, and suddenly I see the topic again, as if I didn't write anything.

So, If you need more specifics, I'll write the report again. In the meantime, the final conclusion after testing the extraction using 7-zip, uniextract, Peazip and IZArc, is that there is no difference, no "strange" behaviors, except for the boot record ("[BOOT]" or "boot.images" folders and files inside them).

@Victor,

I installed IZArc V4.1.2, but couldn't get it to extract the UBCD ISO.

When I opened the UBCD ISO in IZArc, I don't see anything at all. Whereas when I opened it in 7-Zip, I could see all the files.

@ady: Any advice on how to get IZArc to extract the UBCD ISO?

I'm using IZArc2go, the portable version, but I guess is the same. Open IZArc -> "File" -> "Open Archive". At the "Open Archive" dialog, change the file type (bottom-right corner), instead of "All Archives", select "All images". Now select the path to the iso image and select the iso you want to open.

You should see the content at the right panel, and the folders' tree of the opened iso at the left panel. (IZArc hasn't the "file manager" functions of 7-zip, so the left panel only has the folders' tree inside the archive/image you opened).

If, instead of using the "File" - "Open Archive" method, you want to use Drag&Drop, then first open IZArc, and when you drag the iso image into IZArc's UI, drop it over the "Open" icon of the toolbar (not over the left panel).

@Icecube and Victor, let me know if you need more specifics or additional info.

BTW, all 4 programs (7-zip, uniextract, Peazip, and IZArc) are either freeware or open source, and have portable versions.

TIA.

[Victor Chew]

@ady: Thanks! I will update ubcd2iso to remove "boot.images" during image creation.

[ady]

@Victor, you are welcome. Actually, I thank you and Icecube for the answers, the help and for UBCD.

Since I still don't know if this "boot.images" folder is a common name for the cd "boot sector", or is a particular name used only by IZArc (I'd really like to know), I searched for some kind of tutorial, explanation, forums' posts...

I didn't find much, but what I saw was more related to Linux distros than to Windows.

This may suggest that would be wise to add this "boot.images" filter to the other scripts in UBCD:

- ubcd2iso for linux
- ubcd2usb for win32
- ubcd2usb for linux

Obviously I have no idea if this issue is really relevant to those scripts too, or just for the ubcd2iso for win32 script. I just mention those scripts in case it is relevant.

---

@Icecube, an off-topic comment. While I was testing different (de)compressors, I saw 7-zip 9.16 beta now opens the memscope.exe sfx build with winimage 8.00.

But if you extract the floppy image inside it, and then try to open it with 7-zip, it still can't open the floppy image file.

So, either 7-zip didn't correctly solved the problem (it solved it only partially), or there is a problem with the image file itself.

Interestingly, Peazip can extract the content, first from the exe, and then the content of the floppy image itself.

TIA.

[Icecube]

WinImage embeds a non-valid zip archive in its SFX executable.
For more info about the problem with this broken zip format, see: http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=de ... tid=364481

The developer of 7-zip doesn't want to support files that don't follow the ZIP specification.

[ady]

Icecube, I mentioned the problem because I know you add a request to "repair" the problem with 7-zip.

I have to confess I made a mistake before, when I mentioned Peazip having the possibility to open the floppy image correctly:

Interestingly, Peazip can extract the content, first from the exe, and then the content of the floppy image itself.

When I wrote that, I remembered it was Peazip. I remembered it wrongly. It is not Peazip, but IZArc, that opens the file correctly and extracts the whole 1474560 floppy image file.

TIA.

[StopSpazzing]

I used to use Peazip...I don't believe I had a problem with it, just didnt like the program layout and functionality wasn't there.

I have been using winrar x64 3.92 for a long time because I have been looking for right click extract to, extract here and other right click options and have never had an issue, which leads me to believe that other person on parted magic forums has a really old version of it. I just downloaded 7zip 9.16 beta for 64bit windows and its amazing. Has those features now and I don't think I will be going back!