jaclaz

Wingrub is a VERY old thing, intended as an installer for grub4dos. You should be looking at grub4dos directly, start from the stickies: http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showforum=66 And the guide: http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/Grub4dos.htm Expecially: http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/files/install_windows.htm#windows1 http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/files/boot.htm#cd Basically you need to: add grldr to root of the HD add an entry to BOOT.INI (making it default): c:\grldr="grub4dos" add a menu.lst with an entry like: title Boot from CD root (cd) chainloader (cd) undo the changes before next boot jaclaz

Hmmm, the report from the utility seems clear enough that must be one of those "strange" BIOS. Post the info about the model and BIOS string, let's see if we can find an update. jaclaz

No, what you report makes no sense. (to me at least ) (hd0,3) CANNOT be in grub4dos an Logical Volume inside Extended, maybe during some of your experiments you somehow managed to have a Primary partition entry in (hd0,3). Please, run from grub4dos command prompt: geometry (hd0) and geometry (hd1) and post the results. jaclaz

Can't you try a Shift+F10 and running again msconfig? http://support.microsoft.com/kb/242380/en-us jaclaz

Well, you are missing the basic idea of using grub4dos command line: http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/files/basics.htm http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/files/cli.htm Boot to grub4dos, press "c" to get to command line. READ the above links, learn to use commands like geometry, and root, and [TAB] autocompletion. You have to understand that a grub4dos menu.lst is nothing but a batch file. Now you wouldn't write a batch file if not after having learned the syntax of commands and checked manually on command line that it works, wouldn't you? In grub4dos (hdn,0), (hdn,1) (hdn,2) and (hdn,3) represent the actual 4 entries available in the MBR in the order they are written in the partition table. Consequently, if one of the entries points to an Extended partition, the Logical Volume(s) in the Extended partition will be numbered (hdn,4) onwards, following the chainloading of EPBR(s) inside the extended partition. A good way to avoid the mess is to use either "tag-files" or UUID's to find which is which dynamycally (as opposed to hardcode something like (hd0,4)). i.e.: find --set-root /my4thpartion.tag hide () will hide the whatever partition that has in root a file named "my4thpartion.tag" jaclaz

The issue has nothing to do with WinSetupFromUSB or with the windows install. It is something in the early boot phase. WHAT tool did you use to partition/format the stick? With WHICH options? How big is the USB stick? How big are the partitions? Which filesystem(s) are used? Best thing would be to get HDhacker: http://dimio.altervista.org/eng/ get BOTH the MBR (first sector of \\.\PhysicalDrive) and the bootsectors of the partitions (\\:\LogicalDrive) , compress them together in a .zip and attach the .zip to your next post. jaclaz

Sure, though still I am not so sure about the cause of your problem. http://www.win.tue.nl/~aeb/partitions/partition_types-1.html Simply get beeblebrox or PTEDIT/PTEDIT32 and check the actual entry in the MBR. About hooking the mapping is just to avoid misunderstandings in the grub4dos menu.lst. A mapping is IMMEDIATELY effective outside grub4dos ONLY. Once hooked it is effective also internally. In other words without the hooking disk numbers in grub4dos and in (later) booted DOS may be different, with the hooking they are the same. jaclaz

Nice project but if I understand it correctly you are (through your Forum) re-distributing a pre-made .iso, which is a no-no . This "Windows 98 Live Cd Project", like a few others, which include the http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=12326 and Winimize: http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showforum=53 aim on the contrary to let people build their own Win9x starting from the files they already have. Why don't you make available INSTEAD of the prebuilt .iso the methods, manual or automated, that you used to build the .iso? jaclaz

Cannot say if related, but you should hook the mapping: And I don't see a reason to do all the hiding/unhiding, with all partition unhidden this should work allright: It is possible, though cannot say HOW it happened, that the Extended partition got an ID of 05 instead of 0F and this may affect Win9x but not Me jaclaz

Yep, these are what I was looking for: The drive is reported by BIOS as having the geometry: 17475/15/63, which as said equates to: 17475x15x63x512=8,455,104,000 that once you take a whole cylider out for MBR +hidden sectors: 17474x15x63x512=8,454,620,160 8,454,620,160/1,024/1,024= ÷8062 Now the point is how the drive is detected by BIOS. Oldish BIOSes had a number of pre-determined HD sizes, then some had an "auto-detect" choice and some had an option to enter geometry of the drive manually. Check also the actual disk drive, some had a jumper to limit the shown size to 8 Gb. Post EXACT model number and whatever info you find of stickies on it AND the BIOS strings: http://www.wimsbios.com/faq.jsp you never know what can be still found around. And you really should take the (I know it's a PITA, but it's also a MUST) challenge of replacing the CMOS battery. jaclaz

You are being hit by the second "main" HD size barrier (LBA/Int13h): http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/bios/size.htm http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/bios/sizeGB8-c.html The BIOS is showing some "wrong" DATA, how did you chose the drive in it? 17475x15x63x512=8,455,104,000 But from what you wrote it seems more like a partitioning problem, maybe you used a CHS partition type (read as replied "no" to FDISK asking "Enable large disk support" ? ) Boot to plain DOS and post what FDISK says. jaclaz

This is probably what is called "let me have a second opinion" or, more probably "let me continue on the way I chose since it is the right one, no matter what you say". Just for the record and to keep things as together as possible: http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=11723 jaclaz

No, that's all.

Just in case: http://www.kixtart.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=82009 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/102987/en-us http://support.microsoft.com/kb/152078/en-us http://support.microsoft.com/kb/180546/en-us jaclaz

Read here: jaclaz

Not at all skeptic, rather maybe some info is missing, let's see if this helps : Isn't it peculiar that you post the app with only a reference to "UserPreferencesMask" which is, in your own words "a cryptic registry entry"? VERY nice work! jaclaz

I would have thought that a school project (which school?) would have been something more than putting together available apps (and EXPECIALLY COMMERCIAL ones like Ghost Walker). SID entries in the Registry are documented: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_Identifier ...and sure you cannot load it with "GRUB", maybe you can load it with "grub4dos" by mapping a floppy image containing it and DOS. jaclaz

I don't think things will change much, however READ here: http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/Damaged_Hard_Disk jaclaz

Word "XP" tags as Microsoft Word 10. Looking at a bunch of word files I can find: Microsoft Word 8.0 Microsoft Word 9.0 Microsoft Word 10.0 and "corresponding": Word.Document.8 Word 2007 is one of the apps I won't touch with the same stick I use to NOT touch Vista : http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=125258&st=12 jaclaz

Not really. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Word (Word 2007 can save as .doc allright) Each .doc file has the Version on which it was created/last saved embedded: http://word.tips.net/Pages/T000601_Determining_Word_Versions_of_Documents.html jaclaz

We are not one single inch nearer to have that stoopid CF card booting. BTW BOTH the bootsectors you posted are DOS bootsectors (invoking IO.SYS). WHAT OS are you trying to boot? However I am now back home, so: Please do the following (and EXACTLY the following): 1) Use RMPREPUSB (and NOTHING else), choose the right target 2) Leave #1 and #2 to MAX and RMPARTUSB 3) in 3 BOOT OPTIONS choose the OS you wish to boot 4) in 4 choose to partition FAT 16 AND "Boot as HD (C: 2 PTNs) 5) DO NOT tick 6) Prepare Drive 7) Install grub4dos Try booting from the thingie. If you have still a flashing cursor use HDhacker: http://dimio.altervista.org/eng/ to get a copy of BOTH the MBR and bootsector of first partition (respectively first sector of \\.\PhysicalDrive and first sector of \\.\LogicalDrive) zip them together and post them, I'll try and see if I can understand what the problem is. jaclaz

Look, GNU ddrescue AND dd_rescue are typical LINUX apps. I already pointed you to a good, known to be working GUI windows tool, TWICE: http://www.msfn.org/board/recovery-wanted-sector-t143141.html A win32 version of ddrescue is available here: http://gd.tuwien.ac.at/gnu/gnu-win32/release/ddrescue/ Use 7-zip to open the bz compressed tar archive. READ about CygWin: http://www.cygwin.com/ Take your time on it. jaclaz

No you did not (or you completely failed to grasp the message). I will try to write it slowly, y.o.u.r . d.r.i.v.e . i.s: THERE IS NO WAY you will have it fully operational again, your only hope is to try and recover whatever data you can in the short lap of time it remains connected, than try again with another bit. The amount of data you can recover can range from 0% (zero percent) to 100% (one hundred percent), depending on an incredible number of different factors that may affect the drive, or the recovery procedure. Never assume you will be getting 100%. Data recovery is a win/lose game, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, you should get used to it. Hard disk repair (for anything EXCEPT TEMPORARY REPAIR in order to attempt recovery of data) is a no-win game, no matter how well you play (and right now you don't appear like a good player ) you will lose . jaclaz

Sure, the ones that look almost, but not quite, completely unlike the soldering gun you showed: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldering_gun which can easily have a current/voltage leak through the transformer, besides being usually in the 80/100W range, which means that it will likely melt the whole stoopid little thingie! More something like : http://www.hakko.com/english/products/hakko_dash.html Ever guessed why something like these: http://www.kimcodistributing.com/store/item.asp?DEPARTMENT_ID=462&ITEM_ID=417 http://www.hakko.com/english/products/hakko_fg101.html exist? jaclaz

jaclaz