I'm using 29v1. when I select no key, it just kicks me back to the menu. And yes, I'm using the ei.cfg file. EDIT : I've just double checked, and the option to not input a key has totally been removed from this newest version. Gonna go back a few versions to one that I know works until this can be fixed.
Hi, option to use a key is still there for Win8/SVR2012 - just choose option 0 to use Easy2Boot XML file and then you will be prompted for a key. There are now three ways to enter keys 1. Enter a key by typing it in 2. Make a .key file in the ISO folder (e.g. \_ISO\Windows\Win8\Win8_Pro_VL.key) - there are several example file already there. These file will be listed for you in the menu. 3. Enter all your keys in \_ISO\Windows\Win8\Pick_from_a_list.key. The use can then choose any key in the list by selecting the 'Pick_from_a_list.key' file The new way is much more flexible. Please download BETA29v2 and try again - you must have missed something?
Exactly, it prompts me for a key. I don't want it to. I want the installer to ask me for a key. I don't want the installation automated in any way after the blue box has appeared. Tbh, I've gone back to version 26 as that is the newest one that I can make work the way I want. Still a great program, but I am very picky about doing things like formatting and selecting versions myself.
But if you choose option 0, you can type in your own key? If you really want it to prompt you for a SKU first, just make an .xml file which has no key defined. I have added this xml file now, so it is easy! Please download and try BETA29 again - you will see a 'NO KEY (choose a version to install).xml' option. The released version will be based on BETA29 - older versions will not be supported.
Thank you for that. I simply lack the programming knowledge to be able to do it myself. You have a lot of patience to deal with picky people like me. /salute EDIT : Just done a little more testing, and it seems that no matter where I put the Windows Defender Offline iso, or if I name is .isofira, .isomem, .isowinv, .isowinvH, it will boot but not detect the definitions file mpam-fe.exe. I can get around this by putting mpam-fe.exe in the root of the usb stick. It might be worth mentioning that in the list of tested iso's. 2nd Edit : I should just mention, this is actually a good thing, as it means I can update the definitions without having to download the whole 200+Mb iso file each time.
@Steve, Following on from the post I made on the dev blog, I've done a bit more testing and come to the following conclusions... The freeze I got when it asked to press S to add drivers, it appears this was caused by me spamming the F6 key when it said press F6 to add drivers. If I just tap F6 once, it works correctly. The other problem I had when installing XP using a windows 8 iso seems to have been a one off. I originally used a win7 iso, but I saw you said to use win8 if possible, so I did and it worked correctly. During my testing I've come across an easier way to sort the mass storage drivers in the 2 part install. If you visit driverpacks.net there are instructions on how to slipstream all mass storage drivers into an XP iso. It only adds something small like 5-10Mb to the iso, but it also means you don't have to worry about installing in IDE mode only, or finding the right driver. You can slipstream this and it will install on anything. Takes literally 5 mins to slipstream an iso, if that.
The September issue of Maximum PC magazine just came out and included a how-to article for creation of the ultimate thumb drive toolkit. No mention was made of RMPrepUSB and Easy2Boot which provide a much more advanced solution than those presented in the magazine. One flash drive created by RMPrepUSB and E2B can contain many more programs and tools than the multiple drives needed by the Maximum PC how-to. Why use five flash drives when one will do all?
Thank you steve2926 for this fantastic solution and for the very detailed how-to's! I am currently moving over my ISOs to a USB-drive to test this out - don't know yet if it will work, but I'm confident it will.
My flash drive (a 32GB Sandisk Cruzer Switch) shows to Windows as a Hard Drive rather than a removable drive. I think this is preventing me from installing Windows ISOs from the drive but there doesn't seem to be a way to change it Oh well, this could have been interesting! Looking into it more, it seems that this is being done as Microsoft require it for Windows To Go, and flash drive makers want to use the Windows 8 logo. This means it's very hard to find drives that actually work for Easy2Boot now. Any way to fix this?
When you are preparing a flash drive with RMPrepUSB select the option to boot as HDD. Select the same flash drive format from the boot menu of your computer's BIOS when you set the flash drive to the first boot device.
The drive type is listed by RMPrepUSB. For Windows installs (except 2-stage XP install) to work, you must have a removable drive. The fix is easy, just add a 2nd helper USB flash drive and follow the instructions to copy the 3 files over to it (i.e. as if you were using a USB HDD+USB Flash drive).
I know having a "Helper USB" stick is a way around it but if I'm going to carry 2 around I may as well just buy one that works in the first place (if I can find one!!!). Apparently for Windows 8 Logo certification flash drives must show as fixed disks, so this problem will get worse as every vendor will want their disk certified. It won't be long before it's impossible to find a non-fixed flash drive, so this might be something to work on another solution for.
Thank you so much for your effort in making this nice tools. It works nicely. I use the HDD+FDD duo configuration since I don't have yet the luxury of having the Zalman enclosure . The instruction on the author's website might seem overwhelming at first, but I read it carefully and just skip the part that don’t relate in my case (such as I don’t have any plan to install any WinXP). It turns out the instruction is pretty easy and straight forward. The only thing that don’t work in my system (Win64Ent) is RMPrepUSB. The last version having trouble in formatting (it stopped at around 40% with write error message). I tried to downgrade and luckily I found the RMPrepUSB ver 2.1.620 which works on my system. The version that works in my system is Easy2Boot ver 1.06 with RMPrepUSB ver 2.1.620.