zamarac

Useful batch! It works well for ATIH Linux based ISOs. Still "half-assed", since with ATIH WinPE based ISOs (and possibly with Linux based, where EFI.img is very small) it doesn't show size in sectors or bytes in a way that would allow ImDisk to mount the EFI.img. Instead the entire 500MB ISO or IMG must be mounted by ImDisk to view EFI.img content, and its unclear, how to extract the EFI.img. B) You might consider downloading ATIH2015_WinE5.iso for the batch refinement - just follow safe download instructions. The file itself is CLEAN as reported. Another issue is, while UltraISO is able to extract (ElTorito BIOS) Boot.bif from a mounted ATIH2014_Linux.iso (but not EFI.img), and then Save As it to Boot.img or extract content to a folder, it can't extract BIOS.bif from a mounted ATIH2015_Linux.iso. Also ImDisk can't mount saved 2014 Boot.img - probably due to unknown offset. ISOBuster doesn't seem to show its BIOS.img content either. Not sure if it even exists, since mentioned Linux and WinPE ATIH 2015 ISOs were presumingly generated from UEFI Windows 8.1, but it should as they are made (according to Acronis KB) to be universally bootable on BIOS & UEFI systems. Is it possible to improve your batch in a way, so it can point to the BIOS.img as well? The bigger question remains an unsolved mystery: How to boot the latest ATIH_WinPE.iso with Grub2?

OK, it looks like UltraISO extracted boot image from a mounted Linux ISO is also BIOS-only? Any way to extract UEFI boot image? Do you know why namely dat8.dat and dat9.dat were listed in your Grub.cfg? Is there a way for an ordinary user to figure out, what dat*.dat files to list in grub.cfg?

OK, I do understand, you want to suggest another approach for deriving ATIH_Linux.ISO's grub.cfg menu values based on using a free tool rather then a free trial tool. I can try that... Btw, someone uploaded the ATIH2014_E_Linux.iso for testing during 30-day free trial period, so you can try booting it in UEFI mode too, deriving at proper Boot Menu section, and checking if it contains visible anywhere dat8.dat and dat9.dat files. How about my other questions, like this and that ones? I was actually asking about menu STRUCTURE rather than VALUES, and... some more.

As re-tested, the same approach suggested by cdob works well for ATIH2015_Linux.ISO booting by Grub2 in UEFI mode. I found links on the web for ATIH2014_Linux.ISO, ATIH2015_Linux.ISO, ATIH2015_WinPE5.iso made as advertised from 30-day trial installs someone uploaded for testing. Similar trial ISOs might be available from Acronis site directly. The ISOs may have some limitations, but still useful for boot testing and analysis only. I still wonder how to derive similar Grub2 menu for ATIH2014_WinPE5.ISO booting in UEFI mode? To download the ISOs, deselect "Use Download Manager" down the linked webpage, then click on the file NAME, close any pages if open (no need to click any links inside).

jaclaz Here's the content of Boot.bif bootable image as extracted from a mounted ATIH2014_Linux.ISO by UltraISO, then opened in UltraISO and extracted as folder: 08/30/2014 10:13 AM <DIR> .08/30/2014 10:13 AM <DIR> ..08/23/2014 01:30 PM 32,006 BOOTMENU.EXE08/23/2014 01:30 PM 1,103 BOOTMENU.XML08/23/2014 01:30 PM 284 BOOTWIZ.CFG08/23/2014 01:30 PM 24,576 BOOTWIZ.SYS08/23/2014 01:30 PM 14,563 C1.PNG08/23/2014 01:30 PM 15,690 C2.PNG08/23/2014 01:30 PM 4,917,695 CPP.SO08/23/2014 01:30 PM 65,502,154 DAT2.DAT08/23/2014 01:30 PM 2,304,384 DAT3.DAT08/23/2014 01:30 PM 65,501,965 DAT4.DAT08/23/2014 01:30 PM 2,304,384 DAT5.DAT08/23/2014 01:30 PM 2,803,392 FOX.SO08/23/2014 01:30 PM 1,458,385 GRAPHAPI.SO08/23/2014 01:30 PM 1,989,936 ICU38.SO08/23/2014 01:30 PM 1,740,048 ICUDT38.SO08/23/2014 01:30 PM 397,108 LIBC.SO08/23/2014 01:30 PM 355,246 LIBGCC_S.SO08/23/2014 01:30 PM 12,665 MENULOGO.PNG08/23/2014 01:30 PM 4,850 MOUSE.COM08/23/2014 01:30 PM 102,928 OSFILES.SO08/23/2014 01:30 PM 175,956 RESOURCE.SO08/23/2014 01:30 PM 67,819 SPL1.EXE08/23/2014 01:30 PM 67,819 SPL3.EXE08/23/2014 01:30 PM 108,580 THREADS.SO08/23/2014 01:30 PM 2,111,429 TI_BOOT.SO25 File(s) 152,014,965 bytes2 Dir(s) 19,857,887,232 bytes freeIt doesn't seem to contain dat8.dat and dat9.dat files, which makes me wonder, where these files are? And once its determined, the next question would be: HOW one can derive grub.cfg section that would suddenly boot this particular ISO in Grub2?

cdob Now I retested ATIH2014_R6688_Linux.ISO, and it does boot via Grub2 in UEFI mode and work PERFECT using your adjusted menu: menuentry "Acronis True Image Home 2014 ISO ElTorito" {set quiet=1set gfxpayload=1024x768x32,1024x768set mbrcrcs=onset isofile="/ISO/ATIH2014.iso"search --set -f $isofileloopback loop $isofileecho mount the El Torito floppy imageloopback ElTorito (loop)582684+304124#ls (ElTorito)/efi/boot/linux (ElTorito)/efi/boot/dat9.dat quietinitrd (ElTorito)/efi/boot/dat8.datboot}Its possible that actual LBA numbers may vary depending on Acronis release and what PC the ISO was generated on, since it might include some info related to that PC: drivers etc. jaclaz A few minutes pls. I did the files extraction manually, since I wanted to come up with an idea, how to derive similar grub.cfg menu section for the next Acronis ISO release.

Sorry, I missed that, now need to re-test. The error I got using your grub.cfg menu was "no dat.8.dat", but initially I tested ATIH2015_Linux.ISO. Do you know what was the release version of ATIH2014 you were using? How did you arive to that menu sequence? What's the filesystem of Acronis.img and BootImage.img files from Bootable Disk floppy extracted by ISOBuster? Also, what program can open this particular BootCatalog.cat from the Floppy? How to open ATIH2014_WinPE.bif bootsector extracted from the ISO mounted by UltraISO? Hopefully, the secret of booting this ISO is in content of these files.

On a BIOS PC, most folks use Grub4DOS to boot ISO images. But how to boot them on UEFI PC, especially without Legacy CSM Mode, since Grub4DOS doesn't support UEFI? Taking a popular Acronis True Image Home (ATIH2014) ISO as an example (either Linux or WinPE 5.0 based, or better BOTH), can someone explain, how to boot an ISO on UEFI Windows 8.1 PC? I found one example of booting seemingly WinPE-based UEFI ATIH2014 (release unknown) by Grub2. That didn't work for me - couldn't find dat8.dat and dat9.dat files in Boot.bif image extracted by UltraISO from the mounted ATIH2014 ISO boot sector. I couldn't also mount any *.img files from Floppy Image written on the ISO's CD track due to unknown *.img filesystem. Its unclear, why boot images extracted by ISOBuster were different from those extracted by UltraISO from the same ISO? As well, how an average user can derive similar grub.cfg menu section - based on what miracle vision? Any background explanation or more generalized logical approach would be handy... Also, how GOP-only HW support plays into this?

Not exactly. But it was being edited many times since first posted. Actually, its Work-in-Progress, and crashnburn4u testing and others' critical reports will hopefully help perfect it and work for everyone. Feedback welcome! That's what inevitably happens when high public demand Tuts updates and attracting sharp interest content rich dynamic or controversial discussions are gradually replaced with so familiar from this thread "(non)specific nonsense".

I offered a complete solution for the topic starter and others who will attempt to solve the Migration task on UEFI or BIOS PC. And what did you offer in this and many other threads apart from flaming and generic nonsense? Pls point to any programs or Tuts of yours for the last 10+ years?

Forum threads serve 2 purposes: 1) answer immediate topic starter questions; 2) guide thousands of people over the years - reading stats prove that. While the "discovery process" is an interesting concept, it may be counterproductive for "textbook" discoveries. For example, after using Win8.1 for some time, Win7 USB boot limitations become irrelevant, especially since they were addressed years ago by... cdob, and there may be other unrelated limitations, all described in old popular Tutorials. Discoveries are rather reserved to what's still publicly unknown. "One small step at a time" means in "old" cases "from one known solution to another in a single Tutorial". More interesting is, why Win7 USB boot solution "may fail", since the "limitations" concept was not entertained when the solution was 1st introduced. Or it was already - where?

Won't that be enough? If NOT, is there a more generic approach described anywhere? May be using USB_W7_Fix from wimb's IMG_XP will do? Can similar approach be used to boot a UEFI ISO (WinPE or Linux based) in UEFI mode? Any more details & background?

Sorry, I didn't catch what was that about - Blue Ribbon? Thanks for the link.

If your laptop meets minimal Win7 system requirements AND can boot from USB HDD (choose disk in UEFI BIOS) - of course you can experiment with HDD on cheap, using VHDs for convenience. It should, since UEFI support indicates newer laptop model. Or burn a DVD from Install ISO if you have a burner. Don't set chaotic multiple goals though, structure your tasks in stages, try to understand what exactly you do and why... UEFI Firmware & Specifications & UEFI Boot Manager Boot Options in EFI NVRAM DISM Image Management Command-Line Options DiskPart Commands Reference BCDBoot Command-LIne Options BCDEdit Options Reference Install from ISO / Migrate Windows to VHD(X) and Boot it from HDD / USB on Bare Metal UEFI / BIOS PC Prepare VHD(X) - boot Windows 7SP1U/Pro or 8.1Pro from PC internal disk's C:\ volume, and hook up USB HDD or Flash drive formatted as HDD to the PC - in Disk Manager initialize USB HDD as GPT or MBR (for BIOS ONLY PC), create & format NTFS partition on it & label & mount to G:\ - create fixed VHD(X) 20Gb on USB HDD, initialize as GPT - create, format and label 300MB Fat32 EFI System, 128MB MSR (both optional), and large NTFS Windows 7/8 partitions on the VHD(X) - open Admin Command Prompt - if exists, mount EFI System partition on internal PC's HDD to S:\ with Diskpart diskpart list volume select volume N assign letter=S (or remove) exit - mount EFI volume on VHD(X) to V:\ (optional), and NTFS to W:\ , make System volume Active (for MBR-disk) Install new OS to VHD(X) - mount Win 7/8 Installation ISO to E:\ with ImDisk or Win Explorer - check available OS versions on the ISO using DISM GUI or DISM Dism /Get-WimInfo /wimFile:"E:\sources\install.wim" - mount the WIM to O:\ (optional to add drivers): Dism /Mount-Image /ImageFile:E:\sources\install.wim /index:1 /MountDir:O:\WIM (/ReadOnly) - dismount the WIM after adding drivers Dism /Unmount-Image /MountDir:O:\WIM /commit (or /discard) - apply WIM image to VHD(X) Dism /apply-image /imagefile:E:\sources\install.wim /index:1 /ApplyDir:W:\ - dismount Windows Install ISO in Windows Explorer OR: Migrate existing OS with Apps to VHD(X) - Boot 64-bit WinPE 5.x or Win8.1 Install DVD (Repair-Troubleshoot-Advanced-CommandPrompt) in UEFI mode to X:\ - create a new folder on USB HDD for OS Migration image mkdir G:\Migration - Capture existing EFI, if present, and Windows volumes with installed Apps for Migration using DISM Dism /Capture-Image /ImageFile:G:\Migration\efisys.wim /CaptureDir:S:\ /Name:"ESP" (optional) Dism /Capture-Image /ImageFile:G:\Migration\WinImg.wim /CaptureDir:C:\ /Name:"Windows" - mount the WinImg.wim to O:\ (optional to add drivers), then dismount once added - Apply image(s) of captured for Migration OS with Apps to VHD(X) Dism /apply-image /imagefile:G:\Migration\efisys.wim /index:1 /ApplyDir:V:\ (optional) Dism /apply-image /imagefile:G:\Migration\WinImg.wim /index:1 /ApplyDir:W:\ Make VHD(X) Bootable from OS on internal HDD - add USBBootWatcher to enable Win7/8 native USB boot registry settings UsbBootWatcher /prepare W:\Windows\System32 - add boot environment to VHD(X) for UEFI, BIOS or both PC types cd W:\Windows bootsect /nt60 V: /force /mbr (works only for MBR-type disk) bcdboot W:\Windows /s V: /f UEFI (BIOS, or ALL) (optional) - add VHD(X) to the PC's boot menu cd C:\Windows bcdboot W:\Windows /d /addlast - dismount VHD(X) volumes, detach VHD(X) and Shift-Restart your PC from it - in case of boot error delete VHD(X) from Boot Menu after restart to OS on HDD, then mount and add again bcdedit /enum bcdedit /delete {GUID} OR: Boot VHD(X) on Bare Metal PC from empty USB HDD - Boot 64-bit WinPE 5.x or Win8.1 Install DVD in UEFI mode to X:\, if no OS installed on a new PC's internal HDD - open Command Prompt as Admin - clean USB HDD, convert to GPT, create, format and label 300MB Fat32 EFI System, 128MB MSR, and NTFS partitions with Diskpart script - mount EFI volume on USB HDD to F:\ and NTFS to G:\, make System volume Active (for MBR-disk) - create VHD(X) with Windows 7/8 applied as above, or copy it to USB HDD from network net use N: \\server\share\folder /persistent:no copy N:\VHD\Win8.vhd G:\Win8.vhd - attach the VHD(X), mount EFI volume on VHD(X) (if present, optional) to V:\ and NTFS Windows to W:\ with Diskpart diskpart select vdisk file=Win8.vhd attach vdisk list volume select volume N assign letter=W exit - add boot environment to USB HDD W: cd W:\Windows bootsect /nt60 F: /force /mbr (works only for MBR-type disk) bcdboot W:\Windows /s F: /f ALL (or BIOS, UEFI) - add VHD(X) to USB HDD boot menu bcdboot W:\Windows - reboot the PC to boot VHD(X) from USB HDD Notes - in case of Win7 as PC's main OS, use VHD instead of VHD(X). Install WADK (Deployment Tools & WinPE5.x) or run GetWaikTools to obtain latest Win8.1 BCD tools, ImageX (or use DISM), add ImDisk for ISO mount. Obtain WinPE on the web or prepare with WADK - in UEFI mode, installed Windows version must match the PC architecture. Other limitations may apply depending on OS & FW version - updating UEFI NVRAM Boot Options is auto done at OS install, from Windows via BCD commands, or from UEFI Shell via efibootmgr - one can Migrate OS with Backup & Restore to HDD or VHD(X) with Windows Backup or package like Acronis instead of DISM - if transferring OS to a PC with different hardware, one needs to Generalize VHD(X) on old PC before Specializing on the new one OR: run Sysprep on the VHD(X) booted on old PC, then reboot it on the new one %WINDIR%\system32\sysprep\sysprep.exe /generalize /oobe /shutdown - one may need to delete HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices key on attached VHD(X) after migrating OS to it from HDD - when connecting the USB HDD to another PC, add VHD(X) again to its Boot Menu to boot from it. To view mounted EFI partition content, kill explorer.exe task in Task Manager, then restart it from Admin Command Prompt - single OS install requires only Data (Windows) partition imaging, while multiboot install may also need EFI (System) volume imaging - if using BIOS ONLY PC, don't create & migrate EFI & MSR partitions. Format HDD & VHD(X) as MBR type, add Boot files to NTFS volume - UEFI & MSR partitions on VHD(X) are optional to allow adding multiple Windows to VHD(X) & boot in UEFI mode, when Secure Boot is Off. One may install Grub2, rEFInd or similar Boot Manager on UEFI, or Grub4DOS on BIOS PC to boot other OSs from disks & images - one can test the entire process in VMWare by creating a Win8 64-bit VM Host, then add firmware = "EFI" to the VM's *.vmx file. Install Win8.1 64-bit Guest to a hooked VHD from Win Install ISO in UEFI mode, then migrate the OS to another VHD on USB HDD hooked to the VM - if problems booting from VHD(X) in UEFI mode, boot to WinPE, mount EFI & Windows volumes, then delete pagefile.sys, hiberfil.sys, swapfile.sys from involved Windows volumes, and EFI folders from EFI volumes, re-add VHD to Boot Menu. Reset UEFI NVRAM settings, then select bootx64.efi file on boot disk in UEFI Bootloader Menu. Once booted to Windows 8.1, disable Fast Startup in Power Options. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Is that were "Outside of Asylum" is? I couldn't ask a question there. Some folks posted in June 2014 that "the registration gate" on reboot.pro is closed, and apparently it still is. The site was for sale last year, traffic dropped dramatically before that, so may be they decided to close the gate forever, no new members allowed?

crashnburn4u The suggestion made to you to separate multiple tasks and learn step-by-step is the best. I haven't read the entire thread, but the above question appears to be your main one. You might be missing some insight that UEFI OEM FW Boot Manager (UBM) is not equivalent to Windows Boot Manager - it shouldn't mount VHD or boot Windows itself, its done through a chain via Mobo NVRAM Boot Menu auto updated at each OS install. When UBM transfers control to Windows Bootmgr.efi (WBM) located on EFI HDD partition - then it mounts VHD if needed and calls Windows Boot Loader to boot OS, whether from HDD or VHD. What it means in practice: your HDD is expected to have Fat32 EFI System partition, which contains all files required to chainload WBM and then boot OS from "anywhere". Once you accomplished that, move on: format your VHD as GPT with partition structure too, and add Windows to it with DISM or restore from backup. Then use bcdboot to add required boot files to it, and also add the VHD to main Windows Boot Menu. You might also need to do other adjustments to convert Windows install from BIOS to EFI and boot from USB drive. And your question about "multiple systems installed on VHD - I guess that's what you mean under "multiple partitions" - YES, its possible via VHD own Boot Menu, but 1st you need to learn booting at least ONE OS from it before adding more. While Secure Boot when active may impose limitations on OS multiboot. Look through some MS docs, in particular: Converting Windows BIOS installation to UEFI Configure UEFI/GPT-Based Hard Drive Partitions by Using Windows PE and DiskPart Boot to VHD (Native Boot): Add a Virtual Hard Disk to the Boot Menu Securing the Windows 8 Boot Process So your main question can be rephrased: "Can my PC UEFI FW mount a VHD before it starts looking for EFI partition"? If YES, will it be the 1st UEFI partition it finds? If NOT, would EFI partition still be required on that VHD? What's NVRAM Boot Menu role in this? P.S. Sorry for some offtop. As often happens in this estranged world, I'm also lost on some issues just like the topic starter. For example, still trying to find any solution (not questions) on booting a typical PC service UEFI ISO (WinPE or Linux based, example - Acronis) directly (no USB Flash conversion) on UEFI laptop without Legacy mode support, or at least explanation WHY its not possible??? This forum or inet Search gives positively NO conclusive hints. But... given the presence of well known gurus, is anyone able to point to such solution, say Grub2 based or such?

Sorry. Since you refuse to answer methodology questions, I don't feel comfortable sharing files, as I want to learn optimizing the system myself.

I did run your commands, they don't work for full shutdown with power off & cold boot, and that process is very different from hot PC Restart. Please read my above post again, and try to directly answer its simple questions. It looks like you're avoiding answering basic methodology question. Why you didn't mention Windows Performance Analyzer (WPA) - a GUI-based component installed with Windows Performance Toolkit (WPT), more comprehensive and convenient for an ordinary user than an xml file for figuring out boot & shutdown & standby & any app performance issues? Older Xperfview is also installed with same WPT and can directly open .etl files, no conversion to .xml required. You neither mentioned more flexible Windows Performance Recorder also installed with WPT allowing to record broader choice of traces compare to commands you posted. Also another Perfview tool can help visualize and analyse performance issues. If you still use Windows Vista, and don't have any experience with Windows 8, not sure why you mislead users offering help in several threads related to modern OS performance?

MagicAndre1981 A few questions... The shutdown test you suggest is NOT really a Shutdown test, but rather a Restart test. There is a notable difference, real shutdown with power off is often significantly longer than system restart, and boot process is handled differently as well after that. Can you suggest a clean test to analyse full system shutdown, and also a boot after full shutdown? Another thing is some activities at shutdown or boot hiding behind generic processes. For example, I can see that svchost.exe is taking quite some time to close at shutdown. But such generic process usually runs multiple system activities, and its not detailed in the trace, what activity within the process actually took that long to complete. For what I know, any malware can hide in svchost.exe process among other activities run by it. Are their tools that offer a greater level of detail of what actually goes on with such generic process during shutdown? Yet another thing is, suppose a process like svchost.exe is identified that slows the system down. But what can I do about it? For example, dataserv.exe process extends shutdown and boot times almost twice in my system. The process maintains a USB link btw PC and APC Power Supply. So what can I do about it - switch it off, basically get reed of APC - its impossible... I can probably set a delayed start for it, but... how to set to close it ahead of actual shutdown, and would it even make sense given its nature?

Sorry for my ignorance, which one of the above batches can list unmounted in Win7 volume numbers on a selected attached disk? If none, can someone offer modification here?

The reason I asked, Win7 Bootmgr allows to transfer control to ntldr and boot WinXP, also to boot WinPE from VHD. So it might be possible to transfer control from host Bootmgr to VHD Bootmgr too, if knowing the right BCD settings.

How to transfer control from Win7 Host Bootmgr to Bootmgr inside a Win7 VHD instead of booting the VHD from the host? How the VHD BCD Store settings should be modified to do that?

When installing drivers with DISM, is there any way to indicate which driver is boot critical and must be added to CriticalDeviceDatabase, and which is not, and shouldn't be added to it?

Thanks a lot! But now I'm more confused. Last time I checked, Select was set to 1. I fixed CS001 to pciide Start=0, and OS didn't boot. According to your posts, when OS was exited, CCS was saved at CS001, meaning pciide Start=3. But when it failed to boot in IDE mode, and I booted in SATA and looked again, CS001 was still with pciide Start=0, and CCS was with Start=3. How is that possible?

Test the drive with Victoria for DOS. It will show right away the power issue and if its locked. You can also unlock it that way by following Help.

Thanks - it worked! Initially I switched all IDE related services and drivers to Start=0 in ControlSet001 assuming PC will use it at boot, but it didn't. Then I followed with CurrentControlSet, and it did. Is my assumption correct that CurrentControlSet is remembered at reboot as ControlSet001 or as LastKnownGoodConfig? So next boot the OS uses ControlSet001 or LastKnownGoodConfig? I ask because when OS is offline, there is no CurrentControlSet in its Registry, so its deleted at shut down?