Andrews

Hello jaclaz, Thanks to your instructions I can finally use the USB flash drive as basic volume. I used the method with the REG file on your link to the 911cd.net site. Now, I can finally proceed with the other things I said I wanted to do. After all, it was not as you said: “I am not at all "current" with Windows 7”. You may not know as much as about other subjects, but you do know more than enough. I had already made other deceptive trials before, but I don’t think it will be useful to post them here even if for the record. I think the other older methods do not work with Win7 as you supposed. I had already passed on that page when looking for the xpfildrvr1224_320.zip download, but I dropped it because the two links for that file are broken and I didn’t go back. It is a well written, well detailed and easy to follow tutorial by someone who knows what he is talking about. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Just to answer some parts of your last post. I had done just as you said after the emoticon, but without success. I don’t know whether cfadisk.sys or dummydisk.sys were installed or not, but I do know that they were there and Windows created some files for backing the up as I described on my last post with names like cfadisk.inf_x86_neutral_86e982a1aa90238f and cfadisk.PNF. However, dummydisk did not create that files. Soviet_direct_hooking_src.zip does not contain any INF file. What I know for sure, is that the drivers that we can see on Device Manager / Properties / Driver tab of the USB device are the same as for the other drives, before and after installing the hack. Maybe it is right. I tried something else. As dummydisk does not have an INF file, and dummydisk.sys and cfadisk.sys are of different sizes, I changed the name of cfadisk.inf to dummydisk.sys to install it the same way and put it together with the dummydisk files. The result did not change from the previous experiences with the cfadisk files. I must point out that I was trying to hit something in the dark! I used the ChipGenius app, but it doesn’t give much information aside from serial number, device type and PnP Device ID: VID = 0951 PID = 1624, but now there is no longer need to post it. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I have made so many searches and read so many things that I don’t know how I was starting getting confused. After all, this is very silly because Windows could well have included this possibility in the system. All they have been doing for sometime are gimmicks to attract dumbs. See this thread example, which it is not the only one: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itproperf/thread/17a83954-8c3c-4d45-9dd6-03f6cdd1604c/?prof=required Started on 29th January, 2009, and still active. OK, many thanks again for the very useful and kindly offered assistance.

Yes, you are perfectly right and I am consciously trying to do it just because after so many and many hours searching I couldn’t find a more recent way to do it. How is that? I have not been able to create a second partition with diskpart, it refuses. This is the error I received when I try: "No usable free extent could be found. It may be that there is insufficient free space to create a partition at the specified size and offset. Specify different size and offset values or don't specify either to create the maximum sized partition. It may be that the disk is partitioned using the MBR disk partitioning format and the disk contains either 4 primary partitions, (no more partitions may be created), or 3 primary partitions and one extended partition, (only logical drives may be created)." I too, strongly believe what you say and to be the best and more appropriate way would be as you put it and I wanted, but to FlipRemovableBit with BootIt v1.07 is not possible for me because, as I mentioned, the USB drive does not even show up on the app window and it sees negative capacities for the hard disks. (Is there a reason for these two errors that could be corrected?) So, how would you recommend me to do it forgetting the old methods for a newer OS, please? You do know a lot, maybe you could help me here. I hate to make you uselessly waste more time with this. There must be a solution as for the older OSs that I can't find. Actually, I had already found this Chinese link. I did download that executable file, but all it does is to open a completely blank and not workable command line window. I also downloaded other versions from the same page and got the same result, I don’t know why. Furthermore, sorry, I could understand almost nothing with Google translate, but just technical terms like partition, boot manager, MBR, MS-DOS, hard disk, and others the like. As I already have difficulty reading non proper English (not my mother tongue), for me it looks like a heap of senseless words from which that I can’t even get the meaning. Please, see the latest results described below. I was going to update my last post, but now that I found yours it goes here. All I want to do is to make a partitioned USB flash with two or three bootable partitions plus another one not needing to be bootable. Almost the same as on the tutorial of the staring post of this thread, but I can't make work with Windows 7. It seems to be very easy when I read the old posts, the only problem being as you put it at the beginning of your post: “trying to adapt an oldish solution to a newish, DIFFERENT OS”. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Here are the mentioned results no longer useful, which only interest is telling anyone else not to repeat the mistake: Confirmed that the second partition on the flash drive is no longer available after rebooting. On Device Manager the under Disk drives, the Local Disk USB driver is still there with the Quick removal and Better performance options, but now the first partition is listed under Portable Devices without the Quick removal and Better performance options. On Computer Management the stick looks as before, but the second partition only displays the size. When right clicking both have the options Extend Volume and Shrink Volume blanked. On the second, if we choose Change Drive Letter and Paths..., we get a long text error starting by The operation failed to complete because the Disk Management console is not up-to-date. Refresh... Close the Disk Management console... or restart the computer. But refreshing or closing and reopening don’t change anything. Neither does rebooting. Exactly the same is observed when the computer is rebooted both when the second partition is recognized, and after having dismounted with StopRemoveDummyDisk.cmd. I know this is silly, but a bad solution was perhaps to have two batch files, one to apply StopRemoveDummyDisk.cmd at shutting down clearing the hack, and a second one to submit InstallStartDummyDisk.cmd at start up. Of course, this would work, but was obviously not a solution, not even recommendable, and would delay both shut down and start up times. The result is very disappointing because without this issue fixed nothing else can be done.

I followed the Stage 1 of the tutorial on the first post of this thread, step by step, completed with the links you provided and using first the Hitachi files, but it didn’t work. I used Paragon for partitioning because Windows never recognises more than the first partition and wants to format anything else with the total size of the stick, but not even starting to do it and giving an error if tried, not being able to do it. I have Windows 7 and I wonder if someone has already tried partitioning with this OS, because everything I read until now is with XP only. Then, I tried with Anton Basov’s files, which you also mentioned, Same negative result. Then, I attempted with BootIt v1.07, but strangely the USB drive does not even show up on the app window and sees negative capacities for the hard disks! Why!? Then, I used WinSetupFromUSB-1-0-beta6, as mentioned on another thread of these forums. It could partition and format, but the result was again the same as at the first trial. I think the problem is strictly on making Windows recognise the USB flash as a fixed drive. On Device Manager the stick is listed with the hard disks and labelled as Local Disk USB driver, but that means nothing; it is just parroting what it is instructed to display on the corresponding .inf file entry. I can also find the .sys, .inf, and .pnf files on the usual places, the ...\System32 directory and subdirectories. Still, it doesn’t work. To finish, I did as recommended on another thread on this forum, using InstallStartDummyDisk.cmd, and added a new partition with Paragon, because at that point Windows Disk Manager wanted to make a logical or dynamic partition and I wanted a primary one. It worked , but when I reboot or remove and reintroduce the USB flash it is very seldom recognised, and the icon on explorer is not like a fixed drive. However, Windows does not propose formatting of any driver, only scanning and correcting errors, and when accepted it finds nothing wrong. It seems to be a mixed behaviour. I tried InstallStartDummyDisk.cmd, but then it was not accepted saying that “The specified service already exists”: So I removed the service with StopRemoveDummyDisk.cmd and rebooted as recommended. Applied InstallStartDummyDisk.cmd once more and it became OK, and the drives icons on explorer were again those for the fixed sort. Both have also the Recycle.Bin. I checked also for the System Volume Information at System Properties /System Restore. They are there when the system takes them as fixed. Strange, only the second partition is not in alphabetical order. I think it is not completely OK because on Device Manager there is only one Local Disk USB driver, and the properties include the options for Quick removal and Better performance not offered for fixed drives. I don’t know yet what will happen when I reboot or remove and put it back. I don’t want to delay this description for too long and I can’t try it now. I’ll do all that later, but I don’t think it will be much different from what happened before. I wonder, what will be wrong in all of this. What am I missing?

Thank you so much jaclaz. You don’t only know a lot from what I can see, but you also care to supply precise, useful and detailed information. I haven’t tried it yet for lack of time, but when I do it I’ll post the result.

Thank you jaclaz. Here they are: The driver http://www.xpefiles.com/viewtopic.php?t=92 spfdisk http://spfdisk.sourceforge.net/Spf2K3rE.exe The length of this thread and containing so many additions, some of them useful, makes it of difficult reading, and regarding its utility it would be nice to have something fresher and more compact. I am too dumb to do it. Edit I've found the new version of Spf2K3rE.exe, the spfdisk container; it has not exactly the same name now (Spf2K3vC.exe). For the driver, much more important, I can't even guess its name. On my searches I found that the initial post on this thread has been stolen ans republished without any reference on this forum page: http://www.ittaleem.com/showthread.php?t=50251

Hello Markymoo, I know a long time passed since you wrote your tutorial, and that is why I post this because your tutorial is good no matter the bites by other people. What is bad, indeed, is that some of the most important links you provided just go to a 404 page nowadays. Also, OSs have changed since and uses evolved. I wonder if you are planing to rewrite this tutorial.

Hello MagicAndre, I got winsdk_web.exe from your link and I tried to install it. The installation failed. To be sure, I made searches for the paths, directories and files included on your links, but nothing was there, of course. I tried to install three times. Then I downloaded the GRMSDKX ISO version, tried again, same result. As I wanted to clean up anything that might have stayed between these failed installation, I tried to do it with the Windows Install Clean Up tool, but the tool found nothing to clean. I transcribe the final part of the log file below. I have windows 7, and an ASUS motherboard with the AMD 64 II X3 440 CPU and AMD chipset. All updated. Could you, please, tell me what else I’ll have to do to make it install, so that I could perform your tests? At the end of the failed installation I received this message: A problem occurred while installing selected Windows SDK components. Setup could not find the file WinSDK\WinSDK_x86.msi at any of the specified source locations C:\Users\......\Desktop\GRMSDKX_EN_DVD\Setup [This file is found nowhere in the computer] This is the end of the log: 23:37:12 07 May 2010: [sDKSetup:Info] Config_Products_DetermineFeatureState: Feature: WinSDKInterop_x86Libs; Installed: Absent; Request: Local; 23:37:12 07 May 2010: [sDKSetup:Info] Config_Products_DetermineFeatureState_End: Feature: WinSDKInterop_x86Libs 23:37:12 07 May 2010: [sDKSetup:Info] Config_Products_DetermineFeatureState_Begin: Feature: WinSDKInterop_IA64Libs 23:37:12 07 May 2010: [sDKSetup:Info] Config_Products_DetermineFeatureState: Feature: WinSDKInterop_IA64Libs; Installed: Absent; Request: Local; 23:37:12 07 May 2010: [sDKSetup:Info] Config_Products_DetermineFeatureState_End: Feature: WinSDKInterop_IA64Libs 23:37:13 07 May 2010: [sDKSetup:Info] Config_Products_Detect: Windows SDK Setup (detected) 23:37:28 07 May 2010: [sDKSetup:Info] Config_OS_Install: Operating system configuration (installed) 23:37:28 07 May 2010: [sDKSetup:Info] Config_MSI_Install: Windows Installer Setup (installed)

Hello Everybody, I am an ignorant trying to learn something and sometimes needing help. I am glad for having discovered this source of knowledge.