jaclaz

Good to know. That's "typical" of desktops (front ports NOT working ports at the back usually working) but never heard about a laptop behaving like that. jaclaz

@computerguru I would like to have an expanded explanation of these parts: 8 bytes entry will be written to C:\ drive system volume information windows loader will be w7ldr 8 Bytes boot entry will be written on drive D:\ It tries to boot from the C:\ and D:\ drive at the same time chkdsk thinks it may be a file system error but fails to boot jaclaz

If the drive is detected by BIOS, AND is detected by Windows (seen as unallocated space in Disk Management), the drive is functional, as long as this thread is concerned. You will need to use TESTDISK and/or similar partition recovery software to (if possible) re-map the partition(s) you had on the disk, otherwise you will need file based recovery tools. If you need help, start a new thread, here are a couple ones from which you may get the basics: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=142083 http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=141687 jaclaz

Well, no. It isn't a derivative of FreeDOS and it is not Open Source. Home page: http://dos.nm.ru/ There are contrasting views on it's origins: http://www.drdosprojects.de/forum/drp_forum/posts/1005.html http://www.drdosprojects.de/forum/drp_forum/posts/1008.html jaclaz

Shouldn't it be posted under "News"? http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=139017 jaclaz

It's not your fault. Stupid board software updated made the links not working: translates to: or in this case it's second post in the thread, i.e. at offset= 1 then: Here: or http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=138604&st=1

If I were you I would sue the site administrator of the place from which you downloaded it for inducing you to think that any app would work in that build. Would requesting help here be exactly one of the things that are against the Board Rules ? : http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/18408-forum-rules-updated-must-read/ Judge yourself. jaclaz

Maybe a VLK license? jaclaz

Of course not. After you download it, you will have to stop at the gate and pay the toll. Sure, it is Freeware. @richland007 The invite is still valid: jaclaz

What you report seems like a "quirk" of the BIOS, but it seems to me unlikely that different PC's behave the same. You asked for "any ideas". My first idea is to check, double check and triple check the id's of the floppies you have BOTH in TXTSETUP.SIF: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/916196/en-us and in txtsetup.oem. My second idea is to leave the floppy alone (since it doesn't work) and use instead an image loaded with grub4dos. In the meantime Firadisk driver was developed that guarantees the "hooking" of the floppy image under "any condition". You can derive it's usage to start experimenting from this seemingly unrelated thread: Another possibility is to actually boot from the floppy (thus hooking it through the BIOS services) creating a NT boot floppy (and adding to it the Mass Storage or whatever drivers): http://www.xxcopy.com/xxcopy33.htm adding to it a grub4dos grldr to chainload the SETUPLDR.BIN or directly using a grub4dos floppy. jaclaz

Check here : http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=82711 jaclaz

Sure , they are perfectly UNneeded, they are simply a (better be safe than sorry ) protection against surges or wrong connection/return currents, and CUT the TTL voltage to 2.7V. Compare with this: http://elisegt.interfree.it/html/nokia.html Since the specs for TTL are for 3.3V BUT up to 5 V can be given, the 3V zeners will anyway protect the interface and device from accidents without causing any problem: http://www.interfacebus.com/voltage_threshold.html Most of the Commercial interfaces and of the Max232 schemes around don't have them. jaclaz

Which schematics? Which diodes? If you mean the poorman's way depicted here (among tens of others): http://picprojects.org.uk/projects/simpleSIO/ssio.htm http://www.uchobby.com/index.php/2007/06/11/ttl-to-rs232-adaptor-explained/ http://techref.massmind.org/techref/io/serial/ttl2rs232.htm There is ONE diode and it is a 1N4148 or 1N4001, the most "generic" diodes around, that you can replace with almost anything http://www.epanorama.net/circuits/component_replacements.html Personally: I wouldn't use a 1N4001 (i.e. any rectifying diode as it may be too slow) if I were you I would buy a pre-made interface or kit (if you have to ask about diodes it means you cannot build one by yourself) you already have a faulty HD, there is not much sense to risk to completely ruining it due to a half-***ed interface jaclaz

Yes and no. What you can try using is PLoP: http://www.plop.at/ http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager.html It should work, but I don't think it will work in a sequence like the one you proposed (pre-booting from USB Flash, then switch to CD/DVD). I presume you will have to copy it to the internal hard disk. Since it is chainloadable from both DOS and NT/2K/XP/2003's NTLDR/BOOT.INI (and from /Vista/2008/7), you shouldn't have a problem in using it even without actually installing it. jaclaz

If you have it on desktop, it is likely to return something like: which BTW has an additional problem, i.e. contains a space, not a problem in itself but may become one further in the script. Please also understand that BESIDES THE FACT THAT THERE IS NO NEED WHATSOEVER to use a FOR /F loop to get %~dp0, as already said, the result of Set drive=%~dp0 which is the recommended way, as well as the overcomplex one you chose, will be a path with a trailing backslash, which, consequently, will result in something like: drive=C:\whatever\ wpipath=C:\whatever\\wpi which is invalid. Of course if the batch is in a folder called wpi on desktop, the result of Set drive=%~dp0 will be: drive=C:\whatever\wpi and wpipath=C:\whatever\wpi\\wpi jaclaz

Let's try playing the game the other way round. You originally asked about this: for /f "delims=: tokens=1" %%i in ("%~dp0") do set drive=%%i: Try putting it, slightly modified in a batch like this and sabe the batch as C:\Batches\forf.cmd: @ECHO OFF for /f "tokens=1,2,3 delims=:\" %%i in ("%~dp0") do ( ECHO this is "i" i.e. token #1 "%%i" ECHO this is "j" i.e. token #2 "%%j" ECHO this is "k" i.e. token #3 "%%k" ECHO this is parameter 0, i.e. the command line that started the batch "%0" ECHO this is parameter ~d0, i.e. the Drive of command line that started the batch "%~d0" ECHO this is parameter ~dp0, i.e. the Drive and Path of command line that started the batch "%~dp0" set drive=%%i: ) SET drive and run it: C:\batches>forf this is "i" i.e. token #1 "C" this is "j" i.e. token #2 "batches" this is "k" i.e. token #3 "" this is parameter 0, i.e. the command line that started the batch "forf" this is parameter ~d0, i.e. the Drive of command line that started the batch "C: " this is parameter ~dp0, i.e. the Drive and Path of command line that started the batch "C:\batches\" drive=C: C:\batches> Now, you should have understood, and you can change the original snippet to: for /f %%i in ("%~d0") do set drive=%%i which is a simplified version, or go all the way and use: SET drive=%~d0 which is the normal way to find out the drive from which a batch is started. In other words, the original problem posted needs not the use of FOR or of FOR /F. jaclaz

You know how Windows 7 is promoted: http://www.beingmanan.com/wp/2010/03/microsoft-launches-campaign-for-windows-7-professional-you-spoke-we-listened/ You do understand how with this clever idea, it is NOT MS's fault as usual , it's the dumb*** that spoke that should be crucified: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079470/quotes jaclaz

The first error - long before the dd one - is related to missing files: 1) Does C:\INST\XP_RAM\I386\txtsetup.sif exist? 2) Try copying bootsect.bin to C:\INST\ also. jaclaz P.S. Sorry cdob, cross-posting, though the bootsect.bin appears like a problem with the path of it in mkisosf options, it seems to me like it is needed in two places: pushd "%SourceDir%" if not exist %boot_sector_file% ( echo.&echo error: boot sector file not found &call :Help &pause &goto :eof) this checks for it in C:\INST\XP_RAM\ while mkisofs seems like looking for it in C:\INST\

You manually get the relevant parts, of course. Problem is which are them. Have you checked the actual reference for the USMT?: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc722032(WS.10).aspx I presume you can "break down" the migration in "smaller chunks" and find out which are the items that will choke the wizard. jaclaz

Does this method works allright if you don't sort anything? jaclaz

Probably nothing. Simply the stoopid BIOS of your stoopid thinclient cannot boot from USB if not a number of settings are made to the stick. This has unfortunately nothing to do with the "main" app, it's an "earlier" problem that - if it can be solved - will take us WAY OFF-TOPIC. I have a better idea, post your address, one of us will call at your home and make that stick bootable for you. Comeon this is a public technical forum, if you are game for it, let's try troubleshooting the issue and hopefully solve it, but private one-to-one help? Please start a new topic here: http://www.msfn.org/board/forum/157-install-windows-from-usb/ and we will try and help you. jaclaz

Probably it's a misunderstanding between "offset 50" and 50th. (which of course is 51th ordinal if offset 0 is called 1st byte). The "10 bytes" at offset 26x are the re-mapping of the .exe to point to the Virus executable code, obviously they are different, in the exact same manner as the original .exe's were different in size. http://www.avira.com/en/threats/section/fulldetails/id_vir/2661/w32_stanit.html The resizing of files, like the install_flash_player_9.exe of your example, is atypical, but it may due to the particular structure of self-extracting/installer files (i.e. they may have a .exe "stub" with appended to it the actual compressed archive of data and the virus may only consider the executable filesize). jaclaz

Good question , unfortunately no answer for it , but : jaclaz

Try reading Stanit instad of Tenga.A : http://www.avira.com/en/threats/section/fulldetails/id_vir/2661/w32_stanit.html @Multibooter Sure, I thought that the probelm was ONLY when you run XP. I am pretty sure there are similar tools fro W9x/Me. jaclaz

Then, your build is most probably missing the appropriate SATA drivers. Check what the PC that doesn't boot and the PC that does boot have different, like: Processor Hard disk bus (like ATA/IDE or SATA or SATA set in BIOS as IDE compatibility or as AHCI) Chipset Hopefully the linked to set of programs should make the USB install more or completely "universal". jaclaz