Boot all your ISO's from one USB drive! 13. 16.
13. 16.13 Adding 'Install Windows xxx from ISO' menu entries to
Contents
1. 1 Introduction
1. 1.1 Three ways to add 'payload files' to E2B
2. 2 E2B Version History
3. 3 Thanks for your help, feedback and support!
1. 3.1 Easy2Boot Introductory video
4. 4 How to make a new Easy2Boot USB drive
1. 4.1 Quick Instructions (video)
2. 4.2 Quick Instructions (text)
3. 4.3 Really Detailed Instructions
4. 4.4 3. Download E2B
5. 5 Getting Started - How to add payload (.ISO) files to
Easy2Boot
1. 5.1 TWO GOLDEN RULES FOR E2B PAYLOAD FILES
2. 5.2 FAQs
3. 5.3 Error 60: File not contiguous
4. 5.4 E2B Upgrade Packages
5. 5.5 List of tested ISO files that just work!
6. 6 Easy2Boot - Detailed Description and Help
1. 6.1 Using the Easy2Boot menu
2. 6.2 Adding your bootable payload files
3. 6.3 Where to add your (.iso, .ima, etc.) files
7. 7 TroubleShooting (and Error Messages)!
1. 7.1 Common problems with payload files
8. 8 The Easy2Boot folders and menu system
1. 8.1 Main Menu Appearance
2. 8.2 Easy2Boot Folder Structure
3. 8.3 Included payload files
4. 8.4 Windows Install ISO files
9. 9 E2B File Extensions used for Payload Files
1. 9.1 Suggested File Extensions to use for different ISOs
10. 10 Testing E2B v1
1. 10.1 Themes included in the latest E2B download
11. 11 Installing Windows from an E2B Hard Disk (instead of an
E2B Flash drive)
12. 12 Installing Windows XP using the two-step FiraDisk
(Setup/F6) method
13. 13 Install Windows XP using the WinPE method (winnt32.exe)
1. 13.1 How to make a WinPE ISO
2. 13.2 Using the 'Install XP using WinPE' menu option
3. 13.3 Booting to WinPE
14. 14 Advanced (unattended) Windows Installs
1. 14.1 Unattend.txt files for XP installs
2. 14.2 Unattend.xml files for Vista\Win7\SVR2K8R2 installs
3. 14.3 Unattend.xml files for Win8\SVR2012 installs
4. 14.4 Modifying User Unattend.xml files to work with
Easy2Boot
15. 15 Add WindowsToGo to your USB drive
16. 16 Setting your own preferences (MyE2B.cfg)
1. 16.1 Changing the background/wallpaper image
2. 16.2 Removing the background image or using text mode
3. 16.3 Change the Keyboard Layout
4. 16.4 Specifying the Main menu order and/or the menu items
5. 16.5 Change the menu headings
6. 16.6 Change text colours and border colours
7. 16.7 Change the menu box size and position
8. 16.8 Remove grub4dos and E2B startup messages
9. 16.9 Changing the Language
10. 16.10 Menu password protection
11. 16.11 Beep
12. 16.12 Add a new folder entry to the Main Menu
the Main menu
14. 16.14 Removing the DOS, BACKUP and UTILITIES Main
menu entries
15. 16.15 Change the way that payload files are listed in the
menus
16. 16.16 Hotkey support
17. 16.17 Prevent the menu items from being automatically
numbered
18. 16.18 Remove or change the 'Boot to first HDD [F7]' menu
entry
19. 16.19 Remove or change the 'Reload Main Menu [F8]' menu
entry
20. 16.20 Remove the 'Reboot [F9]' menu entry and function
21. 16.21 Remove the 'Power Off [F10]' menu entry and function
22. 16.22 Add blank lines as separators to a menu
23. 16.23 Remove the 'Set default menu entry and timeout' Main
menu entry
24. 16.24 Only show the Windows Install menu
17. 17 Speed up loading of the Main Menu
1. 17.1 Suppress text messages on startup
2. 17.2 Counting Windows ISO Files
3. 17.3 Don't load the font file on start-up
4. 17.4 Don't use a graphics bitmap
5. 17.5 Delete the xml files from the root
18. 18 How to make an Easy2Boot .mnu file
1. 18.1 Example: Adding the Windows 7 menu entry to the
MAIN Menu
19. 19 Adding WinPE (WinBuilder) v2/3/4 ISOs
20. 20 Using a Zalman USB Hard Disk caddy
21. 21 GFXMenu Support
22. 22 Easy2Boot - How it works
1. 22.1 .MNU Files
2. 22.2 Windows Install ISOs
3. 22.3 .ISO/.IMA/etc. Booting
23. 23 Adding E2B to your own multi-boot USB drive
24. 24 Convert your E2B USB drive into a bootable CD or DVD
25. 25 Testing E2B using an emulator or Virtual Machine
26. 26 Using E2B on an ext2/ext3 USB drive
27. 27 Including payload files from other drives or partitions
1. 27.1 More than two partitions
28. 28 Make a 'secret' E2B partition on a USB Flash drive
29. 29 PassPass - Bypass the Windows User Account Password
30. 30 Downloads
Translate this Tutorial >>>
NEW! v1.15e - see bottom of page.
How to make an E2B USB drive, click here. Then just copy over
all your ISO files and boot!
List of tested ISOs here.
Example themes, see here.
Easy2Boot Forum is here.
Please subscribe to my blog for changes, bug fixes and news.
Any Problems? - Contact Me
Various Downloads are at the bottom of this page.
New YouTube video
I have put a lot of hours of hard work into Easy2Boot and it
is totally free!
<- If you use E2B, please consider making a donation, it would
be much appreciated
When a new Upgrade Package becomes available, anyone
who has made a donation will get it before everyone else!
Comments from users on forums/blogs,etc:
nyquist - 'Easy2boot is awesome. Thanks for sharing this software
with us.'
Rootman - 'This is one of the coolest things I've run across in a
long time. You guys have GOT to check this out.'
maanu - please accept my congratulations on coding this beautiful
tool.. my 1st experience was GREAT. it worked flawlessly on very
1st try (win8 64-bit install)
Jkplayschess - This is a fantastic tool! I rarely get excited about
things, but I'm following the development of this closely!
sebus - The solution works VERY well indeed. Tested on W7 x64
so far
Weedy - I gotta say I'm annoyed that this tool seems to work
exactly as advertised! This tool is a fantastic piece of software.
Sebastian - finally I found something amazing awesome that
exceeded all my expectations: Easy2Boot - thank you! (private
email)
allcoms - unetbootin only allows you to boot one ISO per USB
drive - easy2boot lets you boot as many ISOs as you can store on
your drive and adding new ISOs is as simple as copying them into
the correct folder so its platform neutral in that respect, not
requiring you to run an updater as you do with say YUMI, which is
Windows only. I have tried other Linux-friendly apps (multisystem
etc) that have claimed to do this but none of them worked properly.
Every ISO I have tested with E2B has worked 100% and I have
tried at least a dozen distros, diagnostic and recovery ISOs with it
now.
Introduction
XBOOT (sadly no longer supported), Sardu,
YUMI/PendriveLinux and other utilities are very good at what they
do, but often you find that they don't work with a few of your ISOs,
or they don't work with the latest version of a particular ISO and
you have to wait for them to be updated. You can also find it
difficult to manually add the ones that don't work and it is often not
easy to know how to modify the menus. You also have to re-run
the utility each time you make a change, or you have to download
a new version of the utility and completely re-make the USB stick
again, just to add or remove one ISO.
Easy2Boot Version 1 is just a collection of files that you can
add to a grub4dos bootable USB Drive - it is NOT an application.
Once you have made the grub4dos bootable USB drive and copied
over the Easy2Boot files, just copy over any bootable payload files
(linux LiveCD ISOs, Windows Install ISOs, memory test .bin files,
floppy and hard disk images, etc.). Easy2Boot automatically looks
at all the files on the drive and dynamically creates a new menu
each time you boot from the USB drive. Each file will be booted
according to it's file extension (unlike most MultiBoot Utilities, E2B
does not look at the file name and does not need to recognise
what type or version of linux is inside the ISO file).
PLEASE NOTE: With Easy2Boot I talk about 'payload
files' because E2B can boot other files besides .iso files. Payload
files are bootable files that E2B recognises and can boot from. So
in many cases, a 'payload file' is an ISO file. However, a 'payload
file' can also be a .BIN file (e.g. memtest86.bin) or a .IMA file (e.g.
a DOS floppy disk 1.44MB image file), or a .IMG file (a bootable
disk image) or a .VHD file (a virtual hard disk image), etc. etc.
Your E2B USB drive can be formatted either
as FAT32 or NTFS. ExFat will also work for most payloads except
XP or Vista RTM and some WinPE ISOs, for this reason exFat is
not recommended (also you may find that some systems won't
boot). UEFI booting is not supported by the E2B menu system but
you can add an EFI bootloader to the E2B USB drive manually if
you wish.
Once you have made a bootable Easy2Boot USB drive, you
can simply copy all your payload files (.iso, .img, .ima, etc.) to
one of the payload folders on your USB drive (e.g.
\_ISO\MAINMENU folder). No menu editing required, no cheat
code knowledge required for .ISO booting - just copy and boot!
Your USB boot drive does not need to know what the ISO file
version is and will work with almost all linux liveCD ISOs that you
copy over - even new ones that come out in 6 months or 3 years
time should just work (you don't need to keep updating E2B on
your USB drive every few months for the next release of a new
linux ISO)!
E2B on a USB Flash drive works with Windows Install ISOs
too! Note that if you are using a bootable USB Hard Disk instead
of a USB Flash drive, then the Windows Vista/7/8 install ISOs will
not work unless you also use a USB flash drive at the same time
(see here for more details).
Three ways to add 'payload files' to E2B
1. Just copy the payload file to a main folder at the \_ISO\xxxx
level (e.g. \_ISO\MAINMENU) - works for most linux ISO files and
.ima, img, .vhd, etc. Windows Instal ISOs must be copied to the
correct \_ISO\WINDOWS\yyyy folder.
2. You may need to change the file extension to a 'special' file
extension that is recognised by E2B (for example, if you have a
WinBuilder WinPE ISO then change file extension to .isoPE01, or if
it is a Hirens ISO then change the file extension to .isowinvH).
3. E2B may have some trouble booting a few 'special' linux ISOs or
other non-linux special ISO files (such as Ophcrack or KonBoot) -
these may require a special .mnu file to be added. a .mnu file is
simply a complete grub4dos menu specific to a particular payload
file.
E2B also allows you to have multiple linux ISOs which
can all boot with persistence all using the same (single) partition
on the E2B drive. You can even boot from the same linux ISO with
2 or more different persistent file-systems from a USB FAT32 (or
even an NTFS) Hard disk!
You can add the Easy2Boot files to your existing grub4dos
bootable USB drive or make a fresh install using RMPrepUSB
(recommended). If using an existing grub4dos bootable USB drive, fix for .iso not booting in HP's, extra variables - see
it should have a maximum of two primary partitions, or just one Sample_MyE2B.cfg for details.
primary and one or more logical partitions. E2B is configurable, v1.13 2013-10-18 bugfixes for v1.12!
you can change the background image, move the menu, change v1.14 2013-10-21 More variables for advanced menu changes,
the colours, use your own GFXMenu wallpaper, change the menu beep when main menu is loaded - see Sample_MyE2B.cfg for
text and headings (non-ANSI characters are supported), add your details. If only one XP ISO present then it is autoloaded. Same if
own sub-menus, add menu hotkeys and lots more! only one xml file for Vista.Win7 installs.
v1.15e 2103-10-26 Mainly bugfixes to v1.14 and earlier versions
If your smartphone has an SD card and supports USB Mass of v1.15!
Storage mode, then you can use your smartphone as a bootable
USB device by installing E2B. With many phones you do not need Thanks for your help, feedback and support!
to 'root' your phone. This means you can boot a PC or notebook Thanks to the following people for their help through all 30 Beta's!
from your phone and run linux or WinPE or even install Windows 7 Fabrizio and
onto a PC from your phone (if your smartphone does not support Antonio, Halikus, llbranco, Weedy, Rootman, Administrator, W
this, then root it and install DriveDroid from Google Play and then eidass, Corey, Dave
install E2B as described below)! N, Tomas, Whiznot, alacran, nyquist, moot, Nexes Senex,
Krishna (and anyone else I have missed)!
Click here for a list of tested ISOs that work with Easy2Boot! The If you think I have not yet fixed any issues (due to an oversight)
blog for Easy2Boot V1 is here. please email me!
Easy2Boot Introductory video
Play the video below for a demonstration of how to make an
E2B Version History Easy2Boot USB drive and add lots of linux ISOs, Windows Install
Check the \_ISO\Sample_MyE2B.cfg file for any new options and ISOs, floppy images, OphCrack and even boot direct from many
tweaks. linux ISO files with persistence! - no menu editing or complicated
linux cheat codes to find!
v1.00 2013-06-18 First Release
v1.01 2013-07-05 Few bug fixes Video. 1 - Introduction to Easy2Boot
v1.02 E2B v1.01 + DPMS2 Update Pack v 1.02 (2013-07-06)
v1.03 2013-07-11 Requires new grldr, improved alphanumeric sort
(not case sensitive), bug fixes, DPMS2 + auto-selection for XP ISO Video. 2 - Installing Windows XP using E2B
install, empty folders not listed in menu
v1.04 2013-07-15 DPMS2 small bugfixes/improvements. Small
changes in XP Install Step 2
v1.05 2013-08-03 Ability to suppress the file enumeration
messages when creating menus on startup. Jolene sample menu
added!
v1.06 2013-08-05 .mnu and payload files are now enumerated
together instead of separately in two stages, so the menu order is
determined by the alphanumeric filenames of the .mnu and
payload files.
v1.07 2013-08-24 Recognises .isoPE file extension and mounts
the .isoPE file as a drive letter (virtual CD/DVD) when wpeinit runs.
BugFix in automn.g4b (some sample .mnu files did not work since
v1.00!). New grldr. Full alphabetical sorting (same order as in
Windows Explorer). ISOASK variable supported. POSTCMD
variable for WinPE ISOs.
v1.08 2013-09-04 bitdefender mnu file added to docs folder,
Windows 8.1 temporary Product Keys added, master pwd opttion
in MyE2B.cfg
v1.09 2013-09-14 Some sample .mnu files revised and added,
.vhdmem, imz, imggz extensions supported, set DEFMENU=0
supported for no 'set default' menu item, .txt files now checked for
'title' keyword and user warned if missing. Fig. 1 Easy2Boot screenshot (items 1-4 is due to added ISOs, item
v1.10 2013-09-15 Bugfix for DEFMENU=0 (thanks Sergei for 17 is present because FASTLOAD has been enabled).
spotting this!), added NOUNIFONT=1 (does not load unifont font The menu hotkeys are shown in [square brackets].
file for faster booting)
v1.10a 2013-09-25 Sample .mnu files revised (note: The
E2B+MassStorageDrivers download is still v 1.10 - if you want the How to make a new Easy2Boot USB drive
latest .mnu files, download v1.10a and overwrite it). Quick Instructions (video)
v1.11 2013-09-28 Bugfix - the Unattend.xml and AutoUnattend.xml 1. Watch the video
files are now wiped on startup. NOF9R and NOF10H variables Quick Instructions (text)
available to suppress F9 and F10 in menu. 1. Download and install the latest version RMPrepUSB
v1.12 2013-10-17 grub4dos 0.46a used if it boots as (fd0), 100K 2. Download Easy2Boot (either the basic download or E2B+XP
spaces.txt removed, global hotkeys, warning if file not contiguous, MassStorage drivers)
2. Insert USB Flash drive
3. Run RMPrepUSB and tick the 'No User Prompts' checkbox
and select:
1. Partition Size - MAX
2. Volume Name - Easy2Boot (or whatever name you like!)
3. Bootloader Options - WinPE v2
4. Filesystem and Overrides - FAT32 + Boot as HDD (or NTFS -
FAT32 will work better but you can't have files >4GB with FAT32!)
5. Copy OS Files - Extract='NO' - set to the path of the Easy2Boot
.zip file you downloaded in step 2
6. Click 6 Prepare drive (this will erase all contents)
4. Click on Install grub4dos button - answer 'No'=PBR.
5. (only if it fails to boot) Repeat step 4 but answer 'Yes'=MBR
6. Copy your linux ISO files to \_ISO\MAINMENU folder or
\_ISO\LINUX folder.
Copy Windows Install ISOs to correct folder under
\_ISO\WINDOWS\xxxxxx.
Copy any other bootable files to \_ISO\MAINMENU folder.
7. Press CTRL+F2 in RMPrepUSB to make all file contiguous (or
you may get Error 60).
You can now boot and test the USB drive on a real system (or
press F11 in RMPrepUSB to boot it using the QEMU emulator.)
8. If any files don't boot properly:
If they are ISO files, rename the extension to .isoask and try the
various options offered when you run them.
If they are not ISO files or you are still having problems, look in
the \_ISO\docs folder for a special .mnu file and read the
instructions inside or search for it on this page.
Really Detailed Instructions
PLEASE NOTE: If you going to use an existing USB
drive without re-formatting it, please run Windows
Disk DEFRAG on it first, followed by WinContig to defragment all
files (use RMPrepUSB - Ctrl+F2) BEFORE you start to copy your
large ISO files to it. If you do not do this, you may find that some of
the files on the drive are not contiguous and you will get 'Error 60:
file not contiguous' if you try to boot from them! Defragging and
running WinContig can take a long time on a nearly full drive. I
would recommend that you copy all your files to a folder on your
internal hard disk, follow the partition+format procedure below to
prepare a USB drive for Easy2Boot, and then copy all your files
back again - it will be MUCH quicker if there is not much free
space on your USB drive!
If you want to put E2B on your mobile phone's SD card then
check that the SD card is formatted as FAT32 (use the
RMPrepUSb DriveInfo button) and then use RMPrepUSB to install
grub4dos to the SD card (when in USB Mass Storage mode). Then
simply unzip and copy over the E2B files. Now add your payload
files and you then will have a mobile phone that will allow you to
boot a PC from it and run any linux LiveCD or WinPE or Hirens,
etc. etc.
To make a new bootable E2B USB drive:
The steps below in outline are:
1. Partition+Format a USB drive (at least for initial testing, I
recommend using a USB Flash drive rather than a USB hard disk)
2. Install grub4dos
3. Download and extract the E2B files to the USB drive
4. (optional) Add Mass Storage drivers from DriverPacks.net (if XP
install ISOs are added)
Note: If you are a linux user, format a USB Flash drive and then
install grub4dos using bootlace for steps 1 and 2 (use the version
of grldr included in the download).
'danboid' suggests using defragfs to make the ISO files contiguous
under linux. See Tutorial 114 for full details on how to prepare an
E2B USB drive under linux.
For Windows users, you are recommended to download and install
the latest RMPrepUSB (or use the portable version if you prefer).
Use RMPrepUSB v 2.1.710 or later.
1. Make the following selections (numbered 1 to 6) in RMPrepUSB
1. Partition Size - MAX (or whatever size you want for the partition,
e.g. 2000 for 2GB)
2. Volume Name - Easy2Boot (or whatever name you like!)
3. Bootloader Options - WinPE v2
4. Filesystem and Overrides - FAT32 + Boot as HDD, or
use NTFS +Boot as HDD if you have files larger than 4GB
exFAT+Boot as HDD can be used instead if you want to format
as exFAT (but is not recommended)
5. Copy OS Files - (leave unticked) - or tick it and set this to the
path of the E2B zip file and skip step 3
6. Click 6 Prepare drive (this will erase all contents)
FAT32 is recommended for USB Flash drives, however if you
know that you have ISO files that are over 4GB, then you must
use NTFS. exFAT is not recommended because some XP-based
ISOs and Windows XP/Vista SP0 Install ISOs will not work and
you may find some systems won't boot.
Fig. 2 RMPrepUSB partition&format options
Note: If you have a small USB flash drive, I would recommend you
use FAT32 as it is easier to defrag the files on it using WinContig
(Press Ctrl+F2 in RMPrepUSB) and it can be accessed by most
OS's. However, if you have a large USB flash drive or a USB HDD,
then use NTFS. NTFS will also give faster file I/O performance in
most cases.
Tip: Use FAT32 if you want to boot Hirens or DLC1 as it may not
be able to access the folders on the USB drive once it boots
(unless you use the .isomem file extension for the iso file).
If you have a USB Hard disk, you can create multiple partitions
(e.g. using EaSeus Home Partition Manager or Windows Disk
Manager), but do not create more than 1 Primary+1 Extended OR
2 Primary partitions. E2B needs the 3rd and 4th MBR partition
table entries free (the 3rd ptn is used by some linux+persistence
.mnu files that are available in the \_ISO\docs\Sample mnu files
folder).
Note: If you are using a USB Hard Drive and you want
to install Windows from an ISO - You need to also follow the
instructions here to make an additional 'Helper' Flashdrive.
Make sure that your USB Flash drive is listed by RMPrepUSB as
a (Removable) and not as (Fixed Disk). If you have a new USB
Flash drive (e.g. certfied for WinToGo) that is listed by
RMPrepUSB as (Fixed Disk) then your USB Flash drive will appear
to Windows as if it was a hard disk and not a removable flash
drive. In this case, if you want to use E2B to install Windows
Vista/7/8 ISOs you will need to add another auxiliary USB flash
'helper' drive when you boot from a Windows install ISO -
otherwise you won't get the blue FiraDisk console window. Follow
the instructions here.
2. Untick 'No User Prompts' and click the Install
grub4dos button (see '2' =>' in Fig. 2 above) and install grub4dos
to the PBR (answer 'No') and copy over the grldr file
(optional). You must use the version of grldr that comes with E2B
and so this grldr will be overwritten in step 3 below anyway.
Note: If you find that it does not boot to grub4dos on some
systems, repeat the grub4dos install but this time install grub4dos
again to the MBR (answer 'Yes' instead of 'No') - this may
improve compatibility with different BIOSes of different systems
(solves 'flashing-cursor' on boot that is seen on some systems) or
it has been reported that on some systems it prevents booting!
Note that installing to the PBR on exFAT filesystems is not
supported, so as you can only use MBR, you may get a 'flashing
cursor' bad boot on some systems if you use exFAT.
3. Download E2B
Now extract the files from either:
Easy2Boot download [6MB]
OR
E2B+Windows XP Mass Storage Drivers [30MB] if you want E2B +
XP Mass Storage drivers already added - see Tutorial 72b for
more details).
Note. The features described in this Tutorial relate to the latest
version of E2B. The download links above may not always be the
very latest version. Check the bottom of this page for the latest
vesion and the blog for recent change details.
Extract the files the root (top level) of the USB Flash drive using
7Zip. Always use the latest (most recent) version of grldr if
prompted to overwrite the grldr file. Your USB drive should now
contain a \_ISO folder in the root plus many sub-folders and a few
odd files in the root.
4. (optional) - If you want to install XP from an XP Install ISO to
AHCI/SATA/RAID/SCSI systems and you did not download the
E2B+Windows XP Mass Storage Drivers [30MB] download in step
3, you can add the Mass Storage drives at any time later on -
see Tutorial 72b for details.
5. You can now test that it boots and you can see the E2B menu
by pressing F11 in the latest version of RMPrepUSB (answer 0 for
the hard disk size and up to 1000 MB for the memory size if
prompted). Some things may work (e.g. memtest), but to test ISOs
you will need to test on a real system as they may not work under
QEMU (and will be slow too)! Oracle Virtual Box can be used to
successfully boot most ISOs from E2B (see Tutorial 4 for details).
The latest versions of RMPrepUSB (v2.1.708 or later) have full
read/write support for USB drives under QEMU and will boot ISOs
much more successfully than the older versions of RMPrepUSB or
QEMU Manager.
Note: If you find that some systems do not boot and display a
'BOOTMGR is missing' message, repeat Step 2 but install to the
PBR as well as the MBR (thanks to llbranco for this tip!).
If you are using a 2013 or later computer to boot from the USB
E2B drive (for example, a computer that was originally pre-installed
with Windows 8), you may need to change the BIOS Setup Menu
boot option to set it to BIOS Legacy or CSM boot mode -
otherwise it may not list the E2B USB drive as a bootable drive in
the BIOS drive list.
Getting Started - How to add payload (.ISO) files to Easy2Boot
It's as easy as: 1 - Copy file to E2B drive 2 - run
WinContig 3 - Boot
1. Copy:
If you just want to get going - simply copy a payload file (e.g. a
linux Live CD ISO) to the \_ISO\MAINMENU folder
or if it is a Windows Install ISO...
copy all Windows Install ISO files to the relevant folders under
\_ISO\WINDOWS (e.g. if it is a Windows 7 Install ISO, copy the
ISO to the \_ISO\WINDOWS\WIN7 folder).
2. Run WinContig:
IMPORTANT: After adding any of your own payload files (e.g. ISO
files) - remember to run WinContig (Ctrl+F2 in RMPrepUSB) to
make all files contiguous and avoid the dreadedError 60: File not
contiguous error!
For linux users, 'danboid' suggests using defragfs to make the ISO
files contiguous.
Be aware that a 'Disk Defrag' is NOT the same as making all files
contiguous - in fact some disk defrag utilities will make previously
contiguous files non-contiguous. Do NOT run disk defrag on the
Easy2Boot USB drive once all files are contiguous or you may start
to get Error 60 again.
3. Boot:
Now boot from your USB drive! That's it!
Tip: Any payload (e.g. .ISO) files that you add will just be listed by
their filename in the menu. You can easily change the menu entry
for each ISO by adding a small .txt file of the same file name but
with a .txt extension - see here for details.
TWO GOLDEN RULES FOR E2B PAYLOAD FILES
 E2B will only detect payload files that are in folders
at the \_ISO\XXXXX level
 E2B will automatically detect .mnu files that are
in folders at the \_ISO\XXXXX level AND any sub-
folders underneath that level.
This means if you have an .ISO file plus it's .mnu file, do NOT put
them both at the 2nd \_ISO\xxxx level because both the ISO
and the .mnu file will be added to the menu!
Instead, place both files at the 3rd \_ISO\xxxx\yyyy level - then the
ISO file will not be listed in the menu, but the .mnu file will be
added to the menu.
Note: This rule does not apply to the \_ISO\WINDOWS and
\_ISO\AUTO folders which are 'special'.
Please note: If testing using a VM - Windows Vista/7/8 installs from
an ISO will not work when using an emulator such as QEMU or a
Virtual Machine. You will get a 'CD/DVD driver required' message -
see here for details on how to install Windows Vista/7/8 to a virtual
harddisk from E2B when using a VM.
Note: To speed up the loading of the Main menu, enable
caching using FASTLOAD.
To change the E2B menu, look in the
\_ISO\Sample_MyE2B.cfg for details of the configuration
options available (these are always updated with each new
version).
If you have any problems or need more information, then keep
reading...
FAQs
I have used a .mnu file for persistence with a linux ISO, but I
don't get persistence.
You MUST run WinContig after preparing the USB drive and
making the ext2 file - all files including the ext2 file need to be
contiguous.
Check that you have created the ext2 file according to the
instructions in the .mnu file (you can now use the latest
RMPrepUSB version 2.1.711+ which allows you to set the filename
and volume name separately).
I have updated to version 1.06 and now I get duplicate Main
menu entries!
Delete the old \_ISO\MAINMENU\SubMenuxxx.mnu files and the
mainmenu.mnu file.
How do I add an XP Install ISO?
Copy the ISO file to \_ISO\Windows\XP folder. To install XP you
can either use the Step1/2 menu entries or use the WinPE install
method (requires another WinPE ISO to be added).
How can I install XP to an AHCI/SCSI/RAID PC using a
standard XP Install ISO?
You need to copy the Mass Storage driver pack files to the E2B
USB drive (the XP Install ISO files can remain unaltered)-
see here for details.
How do I add a Windows 7 Install ISO?
Copy the ISO to \_ISO\Windows\Win7 folder
How do I add a Windows 8 ISO?
Copy the ISO to \_ISO\Windows\Win8 folder
I made a USB Hard disk with Easy2Boot, but when I try to
install Windows 7/8, it asks for a CD drive driver
E2B requires a USB 'removable' flash drive for Vista/7/8 installs.
You will need to also make and connect a small 'Helper' USB
Flash drive if you want to use a USB Hard disk for E2B.
How do I add a Hirens Boot CD ISO and get it all working?
Most Hirens menu items will work just by renaming the .iso file
to .isowinvh but most of the DOS Utilities require the \HBCD\Dos
folder on the E2B drive. Kon-Boot won't work if booting from an
ISO because hd0 will be the USB drive and not the internal HDD -
use the HirensISO.mnu file in the \_ISO\docs folder for better ISO
booting. To get the HBCD Menu program in MiniXP working,
browse to the Hirens ISO on the e2B USB drive - right-click
and Mount as ImDisk Virtual Disk. Then run \HBCDMenu.cmd
from the mounted ISO.
If you only have one Hirens iso and if you want all functions to
work it is best to extract the files from the Hirens ISO and use
a FAT32 formatted USB drive:
Extract the contents of the Hirens iso to the root of the E2B drive
using 7Zip. Copy the \_ISO\docs\Sample mnu
files\HirensBootCD_Extracted.mnu to \_ISO\MAINMENU (or any
E2B folder below \_ISO). If booting from an NTFS E2B USB drive,
some DOS utilities will not work - to fix this, boot to Hirens miniXP -
find and run the \HBCD\Dos\dosimg.cmdfile - follow the
instructions to make a new Dos .img file.
How do I add
YLMF/Ubuntu/Fedora/StartOS/Porteus/pclinuxos/Backtrack5/k
ali-linux/Tails ISOs and have persistence?
See the relevant .mnu file in the \_ISO\docs\Sample mnu files
folder
How do I add the ERD2005 ISO?
Copy the ISO file to \_ISO\UTILITIES\Windows folder and also the
ERD2005.mnu file. Read the ERD2005.mnu file in the
\_ISO\docs\Sample mnu files folder for more details. You can also
try using the .isope01 extension.
How do I change the menu position, colours, headings and
background, etc.?
To use your own image, copy to the \_ISO folder your own
mybackground.bmp or mybackground.bmp.gz file (you can
compress a .bmp to a .bmp.gz using 7Zip and by selecting gzip as
the compression type – this greatly reduces the file size).
OR - Rename the \_ISO\Sample_MyE2B.cfg file to MyE2B.cfg.
Change the MyWBMP entry or the MyWBMPGZ entry to the
location of your background file. See here for more details. The
MyE2B.cfg file also allows you to change the default text colours
and menu position.
When I boot my E2B USB drive on some systems I get an
error - but on others it is OK - why?
This is usually due to a 'bad' BIOS. First check if there is a more
recent BIOS for that system on the manufacturers web site. Next,
check the BIOS settings to make sure it is booting the USB drive
as a Hard/Fixed Disk. Also check that your BIOS Setup menu is
set for Legacy/CMS mode and not UEFI mode. If the 'check last
sector' test is causing a problem, you can just delete the
\_ISO\E2B\grub\checkaccess.g4b file (but be aware that the BIOS
is still bad and so you may get other problems!).
Can I use Plop with E2B?
In a word No! In more words - Plop is a read-only USB driver that
does not support writes to a USB device. As most functions of E2B
(e.g. boot from ISO) involve writing to the E2B boot drive or E2B
helper Flash drive, writes need to be supported for E2B to work it's
magic. Therefore if you install Plop and then try to run E2B, you
will probably see a 'write error' message.
How can I change the order of the menu entries listed in each
E2B menu?
All items (files and folders) are sorted alphanumerically. Just
rename any payload and .mnu files. Use Windows Explorer to sort
the files by name (click on the top of the Name column in Explorer)
and that will be the order that the files will be listed in, in the E2B
menu.
Can I use E2B on my Zalman VE200/300/400 DVD emulator
drive?
Yes. Install grub4dos using RMPrepUSB and add the E2B files.
See this section for details of how to avoid having to rename iso
file extensions. When booting E2B, the Zalman will be seen as a
Fixed Disk and so you will need a USB 'Helper' flash drive for
some functions (e.g. Windows 7/8 Install isos).
There are lots of possible extensions that E2B supports for
.iso files - how can I find out which one is best for my
iso? First search this page for the name of your particular version.
If you are still having problems, name your .iso file as .isoask - you
will then be prompted by E2B and asked how you want to run the
.iso file. Once you find an extension that works, rename the file
from .isoask to whatever entry worked best.
How do I get my WinPE ISO (e.g. WinBuilder) to see the ISO as
drive letter Y: ? - rename the ISO file to .isoPE (or .isoPE01 if you
want the USb drive swapped over with the hard disk). Use a USB
Flash drive for E2B - OR - if using an E2B hard disk, add a 'Helper'
flash drive before booting the PE ISO from the E2B menu. See
the section below on WinPE ISOs.
E2B seems to pause for several minutes on boot when
checking the 'last sector' or when looking for
WINHELPER.USB - Re-partition the USB drive using RMPrepUSB
v2.1.710 or later.
E2B won't boot .iso files on 'some' (e.g. HP) systems but
works fine on all the others - Try v1.12
E2B USB Flash drive won't boot on some systems even using
v1.12 - try installing a Standard MBR using the RMPrepUSB -
BootLoaders tab and installing grub4dos only to the PBR. If that
doesn't work, try preparing a USB flash drive using flashboot -
see Tutorial 113
Error 60: File not contiguous
Most ISO files will need to be contiguous. In most filesystems, files
are stored in 'clusters'. So a single file can occupy for instance,
clusters 234, 235 and 236 on a disk or it could occupy clusters 99,
278 and 1081 on the disk. In the first case (234-236) we have a
contiguous file because all the clusters are sequential. In the
second case (99,278,1081) the file is not contiguous as it is spread
across the disk in 'chunks' with gaps inbetween. To make all files
on your USB drive contiguous, run RMPrepUSB and select the
USB drive in the drive list, then press Ctrl+F2 to run WinContig.
Alternatively download and run WinContig.
Sometimes WinContig may be unable to make all the files
contiguous. This is usually because there is not enough free space
on the volume.
In this case, you can either delete some large, unwanted files and
run WinContig again OR it is often quicker to:
1. Copy all files from you USB drive to an empty folder on your
hard drive
2. Re-partition your USB drive and re-install grub4dos
3. Copy all the files back again (use Explorer but do not use
multiple copy sessions at the same time)
In some cases, if using NTFS, you may find that you cannot get a
large ISO file to be contiguous on a smallish drive, even if you
copy over the files to a freshly formatted NTFS USB Flash drive. In
this case please read my blog here about this issue and how to fix
it.
E2B Upgrade Packages
I have spent months and many hours of hard work developing and
testing E2B.
Some users have generously made a PayPal contribution for E2B
and so in order to reward them for their generosity, I will email
them a link to any new E2B Upgrade Package before it becomes
generally available.
At the moment there are no Upgrade Packs available however -
all previous Upgrade Packs are currently included in E2B v1.04
and later versions.
Packages are cumulative, you only need to add the latest one to
your base E2B USB drive.
I will email anyone who has kindly made a donation, with details of
the latest version of the E2B Upgrade Package when one
becomes available.
Try FlashBoot for 99% Bootability!
RMPrepUSB can make a USB drive bootable, but some older
BIOSes may have problems. I recommend FlashBoot if you
need to create a USB drive that will boot on 99% of systems.
Please click here to test a trial version and see if it works for
you.
Click here for a Tutorial on how to use FlashBoot with
Easy2Boot.
List of tested ISO files that just work!
Tested ISO files that work with E2B are listed below - just copy the
ISO files to the \_ISO\MainMenu folder - entries in bold type have
been tested by me personally (note: you may need to change the
file extension of a few ISOs - see here for more details). Unless a
.mnu file is required, any release or version of a named ISO should
work (i.e. if Kasperksy 10.0.31.4 is listed below, then any version
of Kaspersky should work). If a .mnu file is required, you may need
to edit the iso filename in the .mnu file to match your iso filename.
tip: The ISO file names are displayed 'as-is' in the E2B menu but
you can rename any ISO file to whatever name you like (or make
an additional .txt file with a new menu title for each ISO).
1. Windows XP Home/Pro, Windows Vista, Windows 7,
Windows 8, Server 2012, Server 2K8R2
2. raring-dvd-i386.iso Edubuntu 13.04 Alpha 1 Test Build
3. systemrescuecd-x86-3.1.2.iso SystemRescueCD
4. xbmcbuntu xbmcbuntu-12.00-RC1.Intel-NVIDIA.iso
(see end of this page for .mnu file for persistence)
5. AVG Rescue CD 120.120823 AVG Rescue Toolkit
CD ISO here
6. Kaspersky Rescue CD 10.0.31.4 Kaspersky Rescue
Disk ISO here (also .mnu file available so can have
updates stored on USB drive)
7. Bitdefender Rescue CD 2.0.0 Bitdefender ISO here
(.mnu available for persistency - keeps downloaded
updates in memory - see Tutorial 10 for details)
8. Dr Web AV CD
9. Rising AV CD
10. VBA Rescue CD
11. EScan Toolkit
12. Anvi Rescue Disk
13. Panda Safe CD 4.4.3.0 Panda Security ISO here
14. GParted Live CD 0.14.0-1 Gnome Partition Editor ISO
here
15. PartedMagic 2012_11_30, 2012_11_30.iso
2013_05_01.iso Parted Magic ISO here
16. Partition Wizard Bootable CD 7.6.1 Partition
Wizard ISO here
17. EaseUS Todo Backup Free 5.0 EaseUS Todo Backup
Free ISO here
18. EaseUS Disk Copy Free 2.3.1 EaseUS Disk Copy 53. pclinuxos-kde-fullmonty-2012.09.iso Full Monty
Features ISO here pclinux KDE4 3.9GB (works from FAT32 or NTFS
19. EaseUS ToDo Emergency Disk USB drive)
20. Partition Wizard Home Edition pwhe78.iso 54. lglive-0.9.7-i686-hybrid-lite.iso live linux gamers iso
21. PandaSafeCD.iso 55. Zorin zorin-os-6.2-core-32.iso
22. Darik's Boot And Nuke 2.2.7 Darik's Boot and Nuke 56. openSUSE-12.3-GNOME-Live-i686.iso
(DBAN) ISO here 57. Fedora-18-i686-Live-LXDE.iso (to boot from Fedora 18
23. Ophcrack XP Live CD 3.4.0 Ophcrack sourceforge ISO LXDE ISO with persistence, download the
here Extra instructions here Fedora_Persistent.mnu file at the bottom of this page)
24. Ophcrack Vista/7 Live CD 3.4.0 Ophcrack 58. Lightweight Portabile Security ISO LPS-
sourceforge ISO here Extra instructions here 1.4.0_public.iso
25. KonBoot 2.1/1.1 Piotrbania Kon-Boot [Free] ISO 59. MiniTool Partition Wizard Free boot CD (pwhe7.iso)
here (requires .mnu file FD0-konboot-v1.1-2in1.mnu from 60. BitDefender Rescue CD
docs folder) 61. Boot It bare Metal - BootIt.iso
26. Offline NT Password & Registry 62. Linux Secure Remix Boot (linux-secure-12.10.10-
Editor 110511 Pogostick Offline NT Password & 32bit)
Registry Editor ISO here 63. Boot-Repair boot-repair-disk.iso
27. Ultimate Boot CD 5.1.1, 5.2.3 Ultimate Boot CD ISO 64. Kali kali-linux-1.0.2-i386.iso (with persistence if use
here [Mirror] .mnu file)
28. Ubuntu 12.10, 13.04 Ubuntu & Canonical ISO here - use 65. TinyCore-current.iso
.mnu file to run with persistence 66. Core-current.iso
29. HDT 0.5.2 HDT ISO here 67. CorePlus-current.iso
30. Memtest86+ or latest passmark 68. grml64-small_2012.05.iso grml-full_2013.02.iso
version (recommended) 69. inx-1.1.iso
31. WebConverger 16.0 Boots to a web browser 70. ttylinux-x86_64-16.0.iso
32. LPS DoD 71. dls-4.11.rc1.iso
33. Microsoft Windows Memory Diagnostic windiag.iso 72. Windows Defender Offline ISO (download the latest
(made by mtinst.exe) mpam-fe.exe update and place in the root of the USB
34. PING 3.02 - pdf manual - details on advanced menu for drive)
backup here 73. HP Vision Diagnostic ISO (must copy all folders except
35. HDDGuru MHDD Magic Boot Disk (DOS based but \BOOT and \SOURCES to the root of the E2B USB
works for non-SATA drives) drive) and boot from ISO
36. BootMed 74. Symantec Encryption Desktop
37. Puppy Linux Precise ISO precise-5.4.3.iso Lucid Puppy 10.3Win32_WDE_Recovery.iso (rename .isowinv)
Linux 5.1 (for Save/persistence on USB Flash Drive you 75. Windows 7 Recovery CD
need the Puppy_Precise_USB_Flash_Persistence.mnu 76. easypeazy 1.6 (for netbooks) site
file, forUSB HDD you need 77. RIPLinux 13.7 ISO
Puppy_Precise_USB_HDD_Persistence .mnu) 78. Gentoo install-x86-minimal-20130423.iso
38. Knoppix V7.05 KNOPPIX_V7.0.5CD-2012-12-21-EN.iso 79. Falcon F4's UBCD - F4UBCD-4.6.iso (MiniXP will work
39. SeaTools Seagate HDD DOS if just use extension .isowinvH - but to get all working use
ISO SeaToolsDOS223ALL.ISO (Press I for Ignore if the F4UBCD.mnu in the latest E2B download and follow
using an emulator) the instructions)
40. WD Drive Fitness Test dft32_v416_b00.iso 80. Avira AntiVir Rescue System - rescue_system-
41. Acronis True Image 2013 (useful how to use common-en.iso and Restore CD SATA.iso
Acronis here) 81. Joli OS ISO - web browser OS
42. Tails (if booting from USB HDD or requiring persistence, 82. LSoft ActiveBootDisk.iso Active@ Boot Disk - Must
you need to use the tails_HDD.mnu file - persistence make the ISO using the utility. Use .iso or .isomem
only works on USB sticks (broken in 0.20 though!). extension. Extract the BOOTDISK.KEY, _bootDisk.ini
(http://tails.boum.org/) and bootcat.ini files from the ISO and put them in the
43. BackTrack 5 root of the E2B USB drive or will get Serial Key prompt
44. Mepis 11.0.12 SimplyMEPIS-1.5G_11.0.12_32.iso (note: the bootcat.ini file may not be required as it seems
(SimplyMEPIS-1.5G_11.9.86_32.iso MEPIS 12 to work without it).
BETA requires a .mnu file) 83. Mandriva mandriva-linux-PWP-2011-i586.iso - use as
45. ArchLinux 2012.12.01 .iso - I got the 'No CDROM device found' message - but
46. Rescatux 0.30.2 ISO here if you continue you can load the ISO....OK, Which driver
47. MultiSystem 12.04 ms_lts_precise_r6.iso should I try to gain MEDIA access? ---> Cancel, Please
48. Ylmf OS - Start OS (press F2 for English when main choose installation method. ---> Hard disk, Please select
menu displays) the disk containing the copy of the Mandriva linux
49. Linux Mint 14 Nadia linuxmint-14.1-cinnamon-dvd- Distribution --->sdb, Please select partition ---
32bit.iso > sdb4, Please enter directory ---> / . Alternatively use
50. g4l the mandriva-linux-PWP-2011-i586.mnu file in
51. finnix \_ISO\docs folder.
52. android_x86 android-x86-4.3-20130725.iso 84. Windows For Legacy PCs (winflp)
85. PicoXP
 86. Windows 7 PE
87. SMS (http://sms.it-ccs.com/)
88. Hirens 8~15.2 use .isowinvh or .isomem file extension
89. UBCD 5.2.2 (http://www.ultimateb...m/download.html)
90. Phanton Clone 1.5.0 (http://www.phantomclone.com/)
91. Gold Memory (http://www.goldmemory.cz/)
92. iBoot (http://tonymacx86.bl...ac-os-x-on.html)
93. PING 3.02 (http://ping.windowsdream.com/)
94. System rescue CD 3.4.2
(http://www.sysresccd...scueCd_Homepage)
95. Spotmau Boot Suit 2011
(http://www.spotmau.c.../bootsuite.html)
96. 4mlinux http://4mlinux.com/news.html
97. brlix http://www.brlix.com/
98. hdat2 http://www.hdat2.com/
99. Slitaz
100. Debian 7 (NetInstall, Small/Tiny, Live) KDE, Gnome,
LXDE, XFCE, Standard, Rescue) - debian-7.1.0-i386-
netinst.iso - when prompted for CD-ROM, select 'none'
and enter in path of \dev\sda4
101. RIPLinux 13.7 (tiny x86 and x64)
102. POS2009 (rename .iso to .isowinv and extract \i386 and
\win*.* to root of USB drive - see \_ISO\docs\sample mnu
files for details)
103. PassPass - grub4dos batch file which can patch a
Windows Dll so that any user password will be accepted
(by Holmes.Sherlock and co. at reboot.pro) - see here for
payload and .mnu file.
104. F-Secure Rescue CD (works on real system).
105. LUbuntu 13.04 (for persistence use the lubuntu-13.04-
desktop-i386.mnu file and follow the instructions inside it)
106. KDENLive debian-live-dvd-20090704.x32.iso
http://www.poure.com/kdenlive/debian-live-dvd-
20090704.x32.iso
107. Strelec
108. GeexBox GeexBox-3.0-i386.iso - required rootfs file to
be extracted from the ISO and placed in root of the USB
drive. .mnu available for persistence (experimental!)
109. bg-rescue
3.0 http://www.giannone.ch/rescue/current/#Downloads
110. JonDonym https://anonymous-proxy-
servers.net/en/jondo-live-cd.html
111. Mageia 3 http://www.mageia.org/en/3/
112. Slax (use a .mnu file provided and extracted ISO
contents if you require persistence - FAT32 only)
113. AX64 Time Machine Recovery Media ISO file
114. VMWare ESXi 5.1 ISO
115. CentOS ISOs - use the .isoforce file extension
116. GeekSquad GS MRI 5.7.2.iso - for MRI PE: use 7Zip to
extract 8 folders: \Compression
utilities, \Diagnostics, \Disk
Management, \Malware, \Web Browsers, \Windows
tools , \MRI , \sources and the \mri.exe file to root of
E2B drive. Use Daemon Tools Pro or similar utility to
delete the first 7 folders from the 1.2GB ISO and re-save
the ISO to reduce it to 184MB.
The ISO files listed below do not 'just work' and may require a
.mnu file and/or extraction from the ISO files.
 Haiku - DOES NOT WORK!
 Trinity Rescue Disk DOES NOT WORK unlesss
type sdb4 (if USB drive is 2nd drive) (tip from saddlejib
on reboot.pro - to list drives type blkid in linux bash
prompt and then type reboot) - see tutorial #58 to see
how to get it to work automatically by making a FAT16
image.
 ReactOS LiveCD - must extract all files from the ISO and
use the .mnu file in docs folder
 igel ISO DOES NOT WORK - see tutorial 38 for
workaround.
 Arcanix
 AOSS
 OpenElec Installer - see my blog here for how to run this
from E2B.
 OpenELEC LIVE - run XMBC direct from the Easy2Boot
menu even on an NTFS USB drive - see here for
instructions.
Easy2Boot - Detailed Description and Help
Please Note: This will be for the latest version - check the
Downloads at the bottom of this page for the latest version!
Using the Easy2Boot menu
Once you have booted from your USB Easy2Boot drive on a REAL
SYSTEM, just use the UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT cursor keys to
select a menu item and press ENTER or 'b' to run it. You can use
the first menu item (0) to set any of the Main menu items as the
default one which will be selected and highlighted when Easy2Boot
first boots or reloads the Main menu. You can also set a
countdown time-out to auto-run that menu entry. An invalid menu
number will cause menu entry 0 to be selected.
Note: If you add more files to your Easy2Boot drive or delete files,
then the menu numbering may change - this will cause the default
menu item to also change. In this case you will need to use menu
0 again to set the default menu item again. If you
have FASTLOAD caching enabled, then menu option 0 will also
refresh the FASTLOAD cache.
Also note: Changing the default menu and enabling FASTLOAD
may not work in an ordinary Virtual Machine environment which
does not allow disk writes to an external USB drive - use a real
system for testing! New: try DavidB's Virtual Machine USB
Boot from reboot.pro which allows full rd/wr access when booting
from USB using Virtual Box!
Please keep reading to learn how to add your own files and
change Easy2Boot to suit you!
Adding your bootable payload files \_ISO\AUTO will be listed in the DIRECT BOOT menu. i.e. You
Once you have made your bootable Easy2Boot USB flash drive, can place 50 of your ISOs under 10 sub-folders of your own
you can simply copy over more bootable ISO or other bootable choosing and they will all be listed in the DIRECT BOOT menu.
files to the correct folder.
 To start, just copy over your new payload file (e.g. a The \_ISO\WINDOWS folder is used only for Windows Install ISO
linux xxxxx.iso) into the \_ISO\MainMenu folder and it files. For instance, you must place your XP Windows Install ISOs
will be listed in the first (Main) menu when you boot from in the \_ISO\WINODWS\XP folder and can be any name you like. If
the USB drive. Try it now and boot from it - see if it you put a Windows 7 Install ISO in \_ISO\MAINMENU, for
works! instance, it won't work properly!
 If you have a Windows Install ISO, they are a 'special
case' and these must go in the correct
\_ISO\Windows\xxxxx\ sub-folder The Main Menu folder
 If anything does not work correctly, check \_ISO\MAINMENU <--- Payload files (except Windows
the Troubleshooting section below. Install ISOs) that you want listed in the Main Menu go here (and
 For all files except Windows installs - once it is working, you can also add .mnu files to sub-folders below here)
you can move the file (and it's .txt file if you made one) to
one of the other \_ISO\XXX menu folders if you wish Sub-menu folders: (these folders are listed as menu entries in the
(under any sub-folder that is appropriate - see below) so Main menu, if populated)
that it is listed in a sub-menu. If you cannot get it to work \_ISO\ANTIVIRUS <--- for any AV payload and .mnu
even by changing it's file extension, see if there is files
a .mnu menu file for it in the docs folder and read the \_ISO\BACKUP <--- for any BACKUP payload and
text in the .mnu file and the section below on how to use .mnu files
it. Once you have a .mnu file working (read the text \_ISO\DOS <--- for any DOS payload and .mnu
inside it!) in \_ISO\MainMenu\xxxx, you can move it to files
one of the other \_ISO\xxxx\yyyy folders if you want it \_ISO\LINUX <--- for any LINUX payload and .mnu
listed in a different sub-menu instead of the Main menu. files
 If you still can't get it to work - look in \_ISO\UTILITIES <--- for any UTILITIES payload and
the reboot.pro forum or email me! .mnu files
Always run WinContig to ensure all files are contiguous (quickly \_ISO\WINPE <--- for any WINPE payload and .mnu
done in RMPrepUSB, just press the keys Ctrl+F2). files
Where to add your (.iso, .ima, etc.) files
Easy2Boot folders Special payload-only sub-menu:
Note: If a folder is empty (contains no sub-folder or file), the menu \_ISO\AUTO <--- for payload files only (you can use
entry won't appear in the E2B menu. sub-folders of any name) - all .mnu files are ignored.
 E2B will automatically detect payload files that are in
folders at the \_ISO\XXXXX level Windows Install ISO folders: (if any .ISO files are present a
 E2B will automatically detect .mnu files that are Windows entry will be listed in the Main menu)
in folders at the \_ISO\XXXXX level AND in any sub- \_ISO\WINDOWS\SVR2012 <-- Server 2012 Install ISOs
folders under that level. go here
As a general rule: \_ISO\WINDOWS\SVR2K8R2 <-- Server 2008 R2 Install
Payload files should be copied to one of the main folders (at the ISOs go here
\_ISO\xxx level). \_ISO\WINDOWS\VISTA <-- Wndows Vista Install ISOs
If your payload file requires a .mnu file, then copy both the payload go here
file and .mnu file to a folder UNDER one of these folders - e.g. \_ISO\WINDOWS\WIN7 <-- Winodws 7 Install ISOs go
\_ISO\LINUX\Linux (i.e. the files should both go at level 3 - here
\_ISO\xxxx\yyyy\fred.mnu and fred.iso). \_ISO\WINDOWS\WIN8 <-- Windows 8 Install ISOs go
here
The MAINMENU, ANTIVIRUS, BACKUP, DOS, LINUX, UTILITIES \_ISO\WINDOWS\XP <-- XP Install ISOs go here
and WINPE folders all have the same function - they just exist so
that you can organise your payload files nicely into sub-menus. e.g. If you have a linux ISO file such as ubuntu-13.04-desktop-
You can copy any payload file to any of these folders and they will amd64.iso and you want it to boot as a LiveCD - just copy it to the
still work - for instance you can copy a Ubuntu linux .iso file to \_ISO\MAINMENU folder - that's it!
\_ISO\DOS and it will still boot just fine from the DOS menu.
However, .mnu files usually need to go in a specific sub-folder - for If however, you want to run this ISO with persistence, you need to
instance you can place a .mnu file that is designed to go in also add a special .mnu file (available from the \_ISO\docs\Sample
\_ISO\xxxx\Linux in any of these 7 folders as long as the sub- mnu files folder). Simply copy the ISO file and the .mnu file which
folder is named Linux (e.g. \_ISO\DOS\Linux or you want to be listed in the Main menu, into the correct sub-
\_ISO\LINUX\Linux or \_ISO\MAINMENU\Linux, etc.). The folder under \_ISO\MAINMENU - for instance if you have ubuntu-
variable MFOLDER will be automatically set to the second folder 13.04-desktop-amd64.iso and it's .mnu
level \_ISO\xxxxx. file Ubuntu13.04_x64_Persistent.mnu, then copy both files
into \_ISO\MAINMENU\Linux (always read the .mnu file for
The \_ISO\AUTO folder is only for payload files and so it is special instructions).
in that all .mnu files will be ignored if placed in or under this folder.
However all payload files in this folder and any sub-folder under
The \_ISO\AUTO folder, if populated by payload files, will be listed
in the Main menu as DIRECT BOOT Menu. Any payload files (e.g.
ISO files) and .txt files placed under this folder (or it's sub-folders)
will be listed in the DIRECT BOOT menu. You can make your own
sub-folders if you wish. .mnu files are ignored. This allows you to
organise a large number of .iso files in different sub-folders but
they will all be listed in the DIRECT BOOT menu.
The various options are described in more detail below:
1 - Windows Install ISOs
Add any number of OEM/System Builder Windows install
ISO files to the correct folders under \_ISO\Windows\sub-
folder and name them as you wish.
Multi-language Win7 ISO files can be downloaded from Digital
River (see Useful Links on this site).
You can rename the ISOs and use spaces in the ISO filenames to
make them look better in the menu if you wish (or add a .txt file -
see below).
NOTE: Always run WinContig to ensure all files are contiguous
after copying them over (Ctrl+F2 in RMPrepUSB).
Additional Files
Add a .txt file to change the text in the menu
For Vista.SVR2K8R2,7,8 and SVR2012 ISOs (not XP ISOs), you
can also add a .txt file of the same filename and add an alternate
title (rather than have the filename listed in the menu).
If you also add a .txt file of the same filename containing a single
line of text such as: title
some_text_here\nsome_help_text_here, then that text will be
used as the menu title instead of the name of the file itself (note
that the line must start with the lower-case word 'title').
See here for more details.
Note: .iso files of 0 length are not listed (but may add to the total
file count displayed in the menu!).
Add a .key file to hold Product Keys
For Win8/SVR2012, the product key can be typed in manually by
the user, after selecting an ISO in the Easy2Booty menu. To use
your own pre-defined set of Product Keys, make lots of .key files
(copy the format from the other files) - OR if you have lots more
product keys you can add all the keys to the CHOOSE FROM A
LIST.key file. You can delete any .key files you don't
want. Another alternative is to make a .xml file with your Product
Key already in it and not use .key files at all.
Example Win8 Preview Pro.key file
Win8_PreviewPro.key
================
!BAT
set KEY=TK8TP-9JN6P-7X7WW-RFFTV-B7QPF
Example CHOOSE FROM A LIST.key file
CHOOSE FROM A LIST.key
=====================
!BAT
echo
echo WINDOWS 8 PRODUCT KEYS
echo -e ======================
echo Build 6.2.9200
echo 1=XKY4K-2NRWR-8F6P2-448RF-CRYQH Pro
echo 2=FB4WR-32NVD-4RW79-XQFWH-CYQG3 Core
echo
set /p ask=Choose a key :
if "%ask%"=="1" set KEY=XKY4K-2NRWR-8F6P2-448RF-CRYQH
if "%ask%"=="2" set KEY=FB4WR-32NVD-4RW79-XQFWH-
CYQG3
Add an .xml file to automate an install
You can also have your own unattend.xml files in the same
folder. This can contain all your settings and a product key - you
can just choose any xml file and run the ISO. If you delete all .xml
files from the Vista/7/8/SVR2012 folders, then the default
unattend.xml will be automatically used and the user will not be
prompted to select an xml file.
Note: For Windows XP Intall ISOs, when using the helper WinPE
method, you can also define an unattend.txt file to automate the
XP install (there is an example file in \_ISO\Windows\XP for an
Asus EeePC install).
You can download Windows 7 Install ISO files from the link on
the Useful External Links page.
IMPORTANT: For more details on how to install Windows XP
using the 2-step FiraDisk method see the instructions in Tutorial
#30 (hint: if you get BSOD in Step 1, try without pressing F6). You
should also add the DriverPack Mass Storage drivers -
details here.
For details on how to install XP using a WinPE ISO see below.
This is a different, single-boot method of installing XP direct from
an ISO file using a WinPE ISO 'helper' file (WinPE v2 or v3 or v4 or
a Vista Install DVD or Win7 or Win8 Install DVD). If your XP ISO
has been modified with driver packs or nLite or if your ISO has
$oem$ folders then it may not install correctly using the STEP1/2
method, so use the WinPE Install menu instead.
For more details on how to install Windows Vista and later
OS's see Tutorial #43.
Windows 8/Server 2012 Product Keys
After you have selected a Win8/SVR2012 ISO, E2B will prompt
you to select any unattend.xml file that is present in the
\_ISO\Windows\Win8 folder from a list or CHOOSE A PRODUCT
KEY or from any *.xml file or NO KEY.
You can define your own Unattend.xml files which should contain
the correct product key and can contain your own settings too.
These must contain a special entry for LOADISO.CMD (see
below). Any extra .xml files will also be automatically listed. If you
delete all .xml files from the Vista/7/8/SVR2012 folders, then the
default unattend.xml will be automatically used and the user will
not be prompted to select an xml file.
CHOOSE A PRODUCT KEY - Alternatively, you can use the
Easy2Boot default Unattend.xml file and then pick a key from a list
of user predefined product keys using the Select a Product Key file
menu. Product keys can either be contained in separate .key
files and/or in one single 'CHOOSE FROM A LIST.key' file (see
above for an example of the contents). You can tailor
the CHOOSE FROM A LIST.key file to show only the product key
entries that you want to allow (you can edit it using NotePad - see
above for details).
The pre-defined .key files can be deleted or altered or added to.
These can be selected by using the E2B menu (items 2-6 in the
example above).
If you select the CHOOSE FROM A LIST.key menu option (1)
then you will be presented with a pre-defined list of different keys:
NO KEY - No product key will be set in the unattend.xml file - the
user will be able to pick any version of Windows 8 to install that is
contained in the ISO file and can enter the Product Key manually
during installation.
Note: The keys pre-defined in E2B are sample keys for installation
only and will not activate. If you organisation has volume licence
keys, you should edit the CHOOSE FROM A LIST.key file to use
your own legal Product Keys.
Where there is only one choice of XML or .key or ISO file, E2B will
automatically pick that file. If you delete the example files and
leave just one file, then that single file will be selected
automatically. If there is only one Windows XP ISO, then that file
will be automatically selected.
2 - Payload files that you want to be listed in the Main Menu
There are two ways to cause a file to be listed in a menu. You can
either just copy a bootable payload file (e.g. .iso) into a folder that
is at level 2 depth, e.g. \_ISO\xxxx or copy a .mnu file + payload
file to a folder that is at level 3 depth, e.g. \_ISO\xxxxx\yyyyy.
 Any payload file in the \_ISO\MAINMENU folder will
automatically be listed in the menu.
- OR -
 Any .mnu file placed in the \_ISO\MAINMENU folder OR
in a sub-folder below the \_ISO\MAINMENU folder will
also be listed in the Main menu.
Payload files placed in a folder below \_ISO\MAINMENU
will not be listed in the menu.
Copy your favourite bootable payload/'LiveCD' files (e.g. .ISO,
.img., ima, etc.) to the \_ISO\MAINMENU folder, these will be
individually listed in the first main menu when the USB drive is
booted.
If you also make and add a .txt file of the same filename
containing the single line of text
title some_text_here\nsome_help_text_here, then that entry will
be used as the menu title instead of the name of the file (must start
with the lower-case word 'title'). See here for more details.
Note: Any payload file placed in a sub-
folder below the \_ISO\MAINMENU or any of the
menu \_ISO\xxxxx folders will not be listed in the Main menu (it
will require a .mnu file). For this reason, if you have a .mnu file, the
payload file for it (e.g. ISO file) must be placed in a sub-
folder below \_ISO\xxxxx.
Example
For instance, if we want to boot Ubuntu directly from an ISO
file with persistence, we need a .mnu file (you can find one in
\_ISO\docs\Sample mnu files) and we need the Ubuntu ISO file. If
we want the menu entry to be listed in the Main menu we would
place the files here:
\_ISO\MAINMENU\Linux\Ubuntu.iso
\_ISO\MAINMENU\Linux\Ubuntu.mnu
If however, we wanted the menu entry to be listed in the Linux
sub-menu, we need to place the files here:
\_ISO\LINUX\Linux\Ubuntu.iso
\_ISO\LINUX\Linux\Ubuntu.mnu
NOTE: Always run WinContig to ensure all files are contiguous
after copying them over (Ctrl+F2 in RMPrepUSB).
Changing the payload file extension
Note that the file extension determines how the file will be
executed by grub4dos and E2B. For instance, if you have an .iso
file and it does not boot correctly, rename the file extension and try
a different extension - for example
.iso - works for most linux live ISOs and some others
.isowinvH - use for Hirens ISOs (does not swap hd0/hd1) - Hirens
will also boot using .isomem (but this requires more system
memory). Some DOS utilities and KonBoot may not work without
using a special .mnu file.
Some other file extensions you could try if the normal extension
does not work are:
.isomem - loads the iso file into memory before booting from it
.isofira - loads a firadisk floppy image and direct maps the ISO -
use for XP/PE/BartPE based ISOs on IDE systems (may BSOD on
AHCI systems)
.isomemfira - loads the ISO into memory and loads a firadisk
floppy disk image - use for BartPE/WinPE based ISOs
.isomemwinv - loads WinVblock floppy disk image as well as the
ISO and loads setupldr.bin- swaps hd0&hd1 - use for WinPE XP
BartPE based ISOs like ERDCommander
.isoe0 - use if you have a Windows ISO that gives you a blank
screen when Windows loads (buggy BIOS!) - e.g. some Dell PCs -
see here for details.
.isope - use for WinBuilder WinPE v2/3/4 ISOs
.isope01 - use for WinPE ISOs that expect HD0 to be the internal
hard disk (e.g. WinPE recovery ISOs)
Tip: If you are not sure what ISO extension will work, or want to try
a variety of methods to boot an ISO, rename the ISO file
to .isoask - you will be offered a choice of boot options before it is
booted - see the screenshot below. Once you have determined
which extension works best, rename the ISO to that extension.
Fig. 3 You will see this menu if you re-name an ISO file with the
.isoask file extension.
3 - Payload files that you want to be listed in a sub-menu
Add any bootable files that you want to be listed in a sub-
menu and not the Main menu, to the \_ISO\XXXX folder (I have
already made pre-defined ANTIVIRUS, BACKUP, DOS, LINUX,
UTILITIES and WINPE folders). The payload files will be listed
when you choose the corresponding menu entry in the main menu.
For example, if you copy a linux LiveCD ISO file to the \_ISO\Linux
folder, then the ISO file will be listed in the Linux submenu when
you select the Linux option from the Main menu (or press Ctrl+L).
Note: if you also add a file of the same filename but with
a .txt extension and containing a single line of text such as: title
some_text_here\n some_help_text_here , then that entry will be
used as the menu title instead of the name of the file (note that the
line must start with the lower-case word 'title'). The file can be
saved in UTF-8 format and can contain special characters and you
can also define a hotkey that will run this menu item too (see
below for details on how to specify a hotkey). See here for more
details.
If required, you can also change the file extension of the payload
file too (see above).
NOTE: Always run WinContig to ensure all files are contiguous
after copying them over (Ctrl+F2 in RMPrepUSB).
For those payload files which do not work using the above direct
boot method (even with a renamed file extension) or have special
requirements such as they use a persistent filesystem to store
changes, etc. you will need to use a special grub4dos menu file for
each of these payload files. For Easy2Boot these extra files have
the .mnu file extension and they contain a grub4dos menu that has
been specially written for a particular ISO or payload file. For
example, for a linux ISO that requires a .mnu file, you need to add
the payload file (e.g. ISO file) and it's matching .mnu file to
the \_ISO\LINUX\Linux folder (note that the correct sub-folder
may need to be created to match the one specified in the .mnu file,
so you may need to make a new 'Linux' folder - also note that this
is case sensitive so use Linux and not LINUX for the new folder
name). The .mnu files can be downloaded from the Easy2Boot
tutorial web page or copied from the \_ISO\docs\sample mnu
files folder contained in the download. Once added, the .mnu file
entries will be listed in the sub-menu once it has been selected
from the Main menu.
Instructions on how to use a .mnu file are included as text
comments inside each .mnu file - please read the instructions for
details. You may also need to edit the .mnu file if you are using a
slightly different version of the ISO so that the ISO filenames are
correct.
NOTE: (did I mention this before?) Always run WinContig to
ensure all files are contiguous after copying them over (Ctrl+F2 in
RMPrepUSB).
TroubleShooting (and Error Messages)!
 Checking last sector is accessible (pauses for several
minutes) - this is a manifestation of a bug with grub4dos
(currently under investigation) and some BIOSes and
 usually happens only with NTFS disks. It is usually
caused by one 'odd' file on the drive. Try re-making the
USB drive with RMPrepUSB v2.1.710 or later and the
problem will probably disappear. This issue often occurs
with the 'looking for /WINHELPER.USB pause error
below.
 Looking for /WINHELPER.USB... (then stops) - If the
loading of the main menu stops here, check the
\AutoUnattend.xml and \Unattend.xml on the Easy2Boot
drive and the Auxilliary 'Helper' USB Flash drive (if used)
are OK. This seems to happen when the files have been
freshly copied and often does not happen a second time.
The cause is unknown. If you see this error please count
the number of dots after the word 'USB' - the number of
dots will help me to diagnose the problem (or you can
look in menu.lst yourself to see what commands were
used after each dot was printed). Repartition using
RMPrepUSB v2.1.710 or later,
 XP hangs when white text-mode loading bar
completes - This may be due to the formatting + 'queer'
BIOS or the size of the USB stick being reported
incorrectly - re-partition using RMPrepUSB v2.1.710 to
see if the problem goes away.
 Not all my .xml or .key files are listed in the menu -
some are missing! There is a limit to the number of files
that can be detected due to memory limitations. Delete
all the .key, .txt and .xml files that you don't need in the
\_ISO\Windows folders. If you have lots of .key files, put
all your keys in the CHOOSE FROM A LIST.key file and
delete the other .key files.
 Error 60 - File not contiguous - Most ISO files need to
be contiguous - Use RMPrepUSB Ctrl+F2 to defrag files
on the whole drive using WinContig. If you have an
NTFS drive - also see here. You can try renaming the iso
as .isomem but it may not be successful! if you have a
small (<32GB) drive, FAT32 is often better for defragging
files (but you cannot have files >4GB on FAT32). You
can rename the file extension to .isomem - but it may not
work unless it is a .iso and contiguous.
If you still have problems, try Auslogics disk defrag to
view the cluster usage on the disk and defrag it.
 Error 15: File not found - If you see this when you
select a menu item and press Enter, you probably are
using FASTLOAD and have changed the drive contents
without refreshing the menu cache file. Choose the last
menu item in the Main menu 'REFRESH THIS
FASTLOAD CACHE MENU' to re-enumerate the files on
the Easy2Boot drive to make an up-to-date copy of the
menu. If you have not enabled FASTLOAD, then check
that the filenames and paths specified in the .mnu file
you are using are all correct.
 Error 16: Inconsistent filesystem structure - this is
usually a symptom that grub4dos cannot write to the
USB drive - this may be because you are trying to run
grub4dos under a VM or via Plop! which is a read-only
USB driver. Use a real system and make sure the USB
drive is not write-protected.
 Bad or Invalid E:\Unattend.xml or similar -
or 'Windows Setup encountered an internal error
while loading or searching for an unattend answer
file' - check that the blank \AutoUnattend.xml and
\Unattend.xml are at least as large as your original .xml
file - if not you will need to make them larger!
 Wiping /AutoUnattend.xml and /Unattend.xml files... -
If the E2B boot process seems to pause here for a long
time or hang, check your USB drive (and USB Flash
auxilliary drive if also connected) for filesystem integrity
errors. If necessary repartition the drive and ensure that
the two xml files in the root of the drive are copied onto
the USB drive first, before the large payload files.
 Always test booting on a real system if it fails to boot
under QEMU or a VM! QEMU is most likely to fail,
Oracle VM Manager Virtual Box is least likely to fail
(depending on settings) - a boot on real system is the
acid test! If testing under an emulator - use Virtual Box
with DavidB's 'Virtual Machine USB Boot' application
which allows full rd/wr access by the VM.
 You demo'd an XP based ISO booting in Oracle
Virtual Box but I can't get it to work! - Try turning the
Settings - System - Acceleration features OFF (or ON if
they are already off!) and set OS to XP. Enabling VT will
give faster performance.
 Blue Screen of Death - Error 0x0000007B - if you are
trying to boot an XP based ISO (e.g. BartPE,
ERDCommander, etc.) try renaming the iso file
to .isowinvH. If that doesn't work then try .isofira or
.isowinv or .isomemfira or .isomemwinv. Look for a .mnu
file for your iso in the docs folder.
 Linux not fully booting - First - test on a real system!
Try pressing the ESC key to see the text messages - this
may give a clue as to the problem! Ctrl+S may stop the
text from scrolling and Ctrl-Q may resume scrolling.
 Some linux ISOs just won't boot! - check the (small)
list of known 'bad' ones here. Search for a tutorial on this
site for a workaround.
 Not all ISOs, etc, work under Oracle Virtual Box -
check the Settings - System - Acceleration setting and
try enabling or disabling VT/AMD-V (XP may need VT
disabled). Also check 64-bit is enabled or disabled
(depending on OS) in the General - Basic OS settings.
 WARNING: PTN TABLE 3 IS ALREADY IN USE! - You
are using a .mnu file that requires the 3rd and 4th
partition entries in the USB boot drive to be unused.
Easy2Boot overwrites these two entries and so will
refuse to run as it would destroy your 3rd partition. If you
don't need the 3rd Primary partition then use a partition
manager to delete it (or re-partition the drive to have just
one Primary partition and any number of Logical
partitions). Otherwise you cannot use the Easy2Boot
.mnu file.
 WARNING: PTN TABLE 4 IS ALREADY IN USE! -
Easy2Boot needs the last (4th) primary partition entry to
be empty in order to boot linux ISOs. Delete the 4th
Primary partition or re-partition the USB drive so that you
have one Primary partition and any number of Logical
partitions.
 Enter the product key to activate Windows (Windows
8) - The product key was incorrect. Check that it matches
the ISO you are using for installation.
 'A required CD/DVD drive device driver is missing.'
If you got the Blue console windows and the Repair question but
still have this problem, it can be due to a corrupted ISO (even
though it looks OK and the \Sources\Install.wim can be seen and it
was mounted by ImDisk/FiraDisk OK!) - check the MD5 hash value
of the file on the USB drive against it's correct value. If you are
trying to install Windows Vista or later OS's from an ISO, make
sure that you use the first partition on a USB flash drive to hold the
Easy2Boot files and ISOs. For Vista and later OS's you should
always see a blue console window appear (see Windows video)
before the Setup GUI starts. Windows Vista and later OS's will
detect an AutoUnattend.xml file on the first partition of a removable
drive (e.g. Flash drive but not on a hard disk). The
AutoUnattend.xml file will cause a Blue Console window
(LoadISO.cmd file) to run which will load the Windows install ISO
file as a RAM drive - Windows Setup will then be able to find the
\Sources\Install.wim file from inside the RAM drive and so will not
think that a driver is required so that it can access the 'DVD'.
 'Cannot install required files' - During the
'Copy/Expanding Windows Files' stage of
Vista/7/8/etc. somewhere between 1% and 99% (usually
at same xx% place every time) the installation cancels
itself. The iso file may be corrupt - check the MD5
checksum of the iso file is correct (Google it). Error-
check the drive, delete the iso file and re-copy it to the
USB drive. Ensure it is contiguous using WinContig
(RMPrepUSB - Ctrl+F2) before booting with Easy2Boot.
 The sub-menus (such as Backup, Dos, Utilities, etc)
do not appear in my GFXMenu - If you have added a
GFXMenu, you need to copy the GFXSubMenu files
from \_ISO\docs\GFXSubMenu Files to
\_ISO\MAINMENU. You can delete the
ZZSubMenuxxx.mnu files that are already in the
MAINMENU folder as these are only used for non-
GFXMenu configurations.
 Why isn't E2B installing XP to my AHCI system (I
don't get a DPMS2 menu)? - You need to add the
DriverPacks Mass Storage driver files - see here for
details.
Common problems with payload files
 Unable to find a medium containing a live
filesystem - Make sure the linux ISO is contiguous and
use an extension of .iso not .isomem
 Cannot find squashfs - - Make sure the linux ISO is
contiguous and use an extension of .iso not .isomem
 Some ISOs run almost instantly and others display a
[32M/384M] style counter and take ages to run -
Because the file is not contiguous, E2B is forced to load
the whole ISO into memory - just run RMPrepUSB -
Ctrl+F2 to run WinContig on the drive and make all files
contiguous. If you have named the ISO file extension as
.isomem then it will always load into memory and be
slow to load!
 Hirens/DLC boots to Mini Win7 but does not show all
Desktop icons or work fully - use .isowinvH or
.isomem file extension - some ISOs like Hirens Boot CD
and DLC need to be extracted (in most cases the \HBCD
or \DLC folder is needed in the root of the USB drive) -
check this site for instructions - just make your own .mnu
file with the correct grub4dos menu code - or - ask
someone to make you a .mnu file! Alternatively, once in
the Win7 Desktop, find the ISO file, right-click on it and
select ImDisk from the options, choose 'CD-ROM' as the
type and then mount the ISO. Now you can run
\HBCD.cmd from the mounted ISO file.
 DLC Hirens.isowinvH works for Mini XP, but Mini 7
does not display all Desktop icons - use .isomem OR
extract the \DLC1 folder from the iso and place in root of
USB drive at \DLC1. Copy the \HBCD or \DLC or \DLC1
folder from the ISO file to the root of the USB drive.
 Hirens Mini Win 7 reports a 'Julia.iso' error with
12.Hiren.s.Boot.CD.15.2.isowinv - the extension
should be .isowinvH not .isowinv. Also try the .isomem
extension.
 Hirens Win7 HBCDMenu icon does not work (not
populated) - Use .isomem file extension OR .isowinvH.
If that still does not work, use 7Zip to unpack the Hirens
ISO to the root if the E2B drive.
 Ophcrack - no tables found - you have to extract the
\tables folder from the ISO (or download them) - the
\tables folder must be in the root of the USB drive.
 ERD50/MSDaRT 5 for XP ISO crashes - rename the file
extension to .isowinv
 BartPE XP ISO crashes - rename the file extension
to .isomemwinv
 ERDCommander 2005 ISO crashes - rename the file
extension to .isowinv
 Hirens 15.1 ISO - XP does not show all Desktop
icons and Program Launcher is empty - rename the
.iso file to .isomem or .isowinvH
 Hirens Linux menu entries do not fully load linux -
Ensure all files are contiguous (RMPrepUSB - Ctrl+F2).
 Embedded XP Install ISO can't find source CD on
2nd boot - if you re-name the iso as an XP ISO and
move it, it may work (e.g. place in
\_ISO\Windows\XP\XPHOMESP2.ISO) - if not, extract
the whole iso contents to the root of the USB drive and
rename the ISO to xxxxx.isowinv and place it in
\_ISO\MainMenu folder. Only the files in the root and the
\i386 folder may be required, but test with all extracted
files as a first attempt. See POS2009_ReadMe.txt in the
docs folder for an example of an embedded XP install
ISO. You can also try the XP Install using the WinPE
method here.
 Kaspersky ISO boots but cannot get past accepting
the licence page - try typing ALT+TAB and then press A
- or press 1 (don't use the number pad as it may not
work).
 Kaspersky ISO runs and downloads the updates, but
the next time I use it on another system, I have to
download the updates all over again - Create an
empty folder on the root of the Easy2Boot USB drive
called \Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10.0 - before you next
boot to KAV-rescue on a system, ensure that
the Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10.0 folder on that system's
internal hard disk is NOT present (otherwise updates will
go onto the internal hard disk).
 Windows cannot read the <ProductKey> setting from
the unattend answer file (Win8) - You need to specify a
5x5 Product Key. This is normally prompted for by
Easy2Boot. Check the AutoUnattend.xml file on the USB
Flash drive and compare it with the xml file and product
key that was selected. Make sure the xml syntax is
correct and balanced (<xxx> and </xxx>).
 Windows cannot find the Microsoft Software License
Terms (Win8) - Product key used was of the wrong type.
 No images are available - Win8 Product key used was
for a different SKU (e.g. Enterprise Product Key used
with a non-Enterprise ISO) and the Install.wim did not
contain that version. Use the correct Product Key.
 Blank screen after Windows loads - if the Windows
ISO boots and you see the MS logo but then the screen
goes blank (but hard disk activity continues as shown by
 the HDD LED) AND it only happens on one particular Flash drive is required for Windows installs if using a
model of system (or one version of BIOS), then this USB HDD - it must NOT contain the Easy2Boot folders).
indicates a buggy BIOS. Check to see if there is a BIOS To get Windows installs working by booting from an Easy2Boot
update available from the Manufacturer. Alternatively, USB HDD - see below.
rename the .ISO file to .ISOE0 (E followed by the
number ZERO). If you don’t see the E2B main menu when your USB drive boots –
 linux Tails ISO does not fully boot - If you are using a please ensure that your \menu.lst file has the 'configfile
USB hard disk for E2B, you need to use the special .mnu /_ISO/E2B/grub/menu.lst' command in it.
file that is in the \_ISO\E2B\docs folder (read it for Main Menu Appearance
instructions). The first (main) menu may be displayed as shown below
 Windows 8 - The product key entered does not match (depending on what payload files you have added, the menu will
any of the Windows images available for installation. vary):
Enter a different product key.You probably have an
OEM system which came with a Windows 8 Product Key 0 Set default menu entry and timeout - use can set Main
embedded in the BIOS. The Product Key in the BIOS menu entry default selection and automatic timeout (unless set
does not match the version of Win8 you are trying to DEFMENU=0 is in MyE2B.cfg - v1.09+)
install (e.g. OEM vs Retail). Either use the original OEM 1 xxxxxxx.iso - any user's iso
Win8 ISO or specify the Windows 8 Product Key that you file in the \_ISO\mainmenu folder is automatically listed in the main
want to use in a E2B file (see Windows 8 section for menu
instructions). 2 yyyyyyyy.ima - any user's ima,
The Easy2Boot folders and menu system img, iso, etc. file in the \mainmenu folder is automatically listed in
E2B menus are dynamic and are started off by the main menu
the \_ISO\E2B\grub\menu.lst file which looks at the contents of 3 BACKUP Menu [Ctrl+B] - \_ISO\BACKUP
the \_ISO\MAINMENU\ folder and sub-folders for *.mnu files folder are listed by this menu - from
and for any other payload files in the \_ISO\MAINMENU folder. \mainmenu\ZZSubMenuBackup.mnu file
4 DOS Menu [Ctrl+D] - \_ISO\DOS
The main action of Easy2Boot is to pick a folder (defined by the folder are listed by this menu - from
variable %MFOLDER%) and then for that folder, it will do the \mainmenu\ZZSubMenuDos.mnu file
following (starting with the \_ISO\MAINMENU folder): 5 UTILITIES Menu [Ctrl+U] -
\_ISO\UTILITIES folder are listed by this menu - from
1. Alphabetically sort all files and folders in MFOLDER \MAINMENU\ZZSubMenuUtilities.mnu file
2. If any file in MFOLDER is NOT a .mnu file, a .cmd file, a .txt file 6 DIRECT BOOT [D] (\ISO\AUTO) - payload files
or a file with no extension - list the file in the menu as an 'autorun' only in or under \_ISO\AUTO - from
entry _ISO\MAINMENU\ZZSubMenuAuto.mnu
3. If any file in MFOLDER or any sub-folder of MFOLDER is 7 INSTALL WINDOWS [W] (3 present) - comes from
a .mnu file, add the contents of the .mnu file to the menu _ISO\MAINMENU\ZZWindowsInstall.mnu
8 Boot to first HDD [F7] - this comes from
Then .mnu files in the \_ISO\MAINMENU folder run this process the _ISO\MAINMENU\ZZF7BootHdd.mnu file
again for other folders, e.g. 9 Reload Main Menu [F8] - this comes from
\_ISO\MAINMENU\ZZSubMenuAntiVirus.mnu sets MFOLDER to the _ISO\MAINMENU\ZZF8ReloadMenu.mnu file
\_ISO\ANTIVIRUS and then enumerates the files in and under that 10 Reboot [F9] - added by E2B
folder (as in steps 1-3 above) to make a sub-menu entry in the automatically to end of menu
Main E2B menu. 11 Power off [F10] - switches off the
system - added by E2B automatically
You can place .mnu files in a sub-folder under the Note: if no Windows ISOs are detected under \_ISO\Windows
\_ISO\MAINMENU folder and the .mnu file entries will be added to then the 'Install Windows' menu entry will not be listed. If any of the
the main menu. If you wish, you can copy or rename a .mnu files to sub-menu folders are empty, then the sub-menu entry will not be
something else (keep the .mnu extension) and then make listed in the main menu.
changes to the new file (be aware that any subsequent new update Easy2Boot Folder Structure
will write a new .mnu which you will need to delete again).  \_ISO\ANTIVIRUS - place ISO and other payload files
and .mnu files in here. Create sub-folders if you need
Please note: E2B V1 is mainly intended to be used on a flash them.
drive because most Windows installs from ISO files won't work  \_ISO\DOS - place ISO and other payload files
from a USB hard disk (unless a small auxiliary USB Flash drive is and .mnu files in here. Create sub-folders if you need
also used) - also Easy2Boot should be used on real hardware (for them.
many situations - E2B will not work correctly in a VM).  \_ISO\BACKUP - place ISO and other payload files
and .mnu files in here. Create sub-folders if you need
Again: Linux ISOs and the Windows Vista/7/8/2012 them.
installs WON'T ALWAYS WORK CORRECTLY under an  \_ISO\LINUX - place ISO and other payload files
EMULATOR/VM. and .mnu files in here. Create sub-folders if you need
 Always use a Real System not a Virtual Machine for them.
testing  \_ISO\UTILITIES - place ISO and other payload files
 Use an Easy2Boot USB Flash drive OR an Easy2Boot and .mnu files in here. Create sub-folders if you need
USB Hard Disk+auxiliary USB Flash drive (auxilliary USB them.
  \_ISO\WINPE - place ISO and other payload files MAIN.hdr - header used by grub\menu.lst as precursor for
and .mnu files in here. Create sub-folders if you need the dynamic main menu
them. memdisk - executable to load a ramdrive
The above folders are Sub-menu folders. The folder will MENU.LST - this starts the whole thing off!!! – called by
only be listed in the Main menu if there are files or \menu.lst
folders in them menusetting.gz - grub4dos executable for menu position and
 \_ISO\MAINMENU - place iso/payload files here - .mnu border
+ their payload files normally go in sub-folders below the MenuWinInstall.lst - this is the main Windows menu
mainmenu folder – these will be listed in the Main menu_defaults.txt - this holds the default menu number and
menu. timeout values set by the user
 \_ISO\WINDOWS - place your Windows install ISOs in PCIID.ima.gz - used by XP install – do not remove
the sub-folders under here PickaFile.g4b - batch file used to ask user to pick a file from a
 \_ISO\AUTO - place only iso/payload files here or numbered list
in sub-folders. .mnu files are ignored. .txt files for menu QRUN.g4b - this determines what action is taken based
titles can be used. on the file extension.
 \_ISO\docs - help documents and .mnu menus ReadMe.txt - guess!
– check them out! RunVista.g4b - batch file used for Vista, Win7 and
 \_ISO\E2B\firadisk - used for all Windows installs and SVR2K8R2 installs
booting XP-based ISOs – do not touch! RunWin8.g4b - batch file used for Win8 and SVR2012
 \_ISO\E2B\grub - contains the menus and batch installs
files used by Easy2Boot - do not touch! SVR2012.hdr - header code for the SVR2012 menu
SVR2K8R2.hdr - header code for the SVR2K8R2 menu
 \_ISO\E2B\grub\dpms - contains files used for
unifont.hex.gz - unifont font file (required for non-ANSI
automatic F6 floppy generation for XP 32-bit installs -
character sets/languages)
you need to add the Mass Storage drivers as well.
VarsLeft.g4b - counts the number of variables left in the
Files in root of the Easy2Boot USB drive
environment (for debugging)
 \autounattend.xml - used by Vista\7\8\2012 installs - the
Vista.hdr - header code for the Vista menu
file is overwritten during installation – do not touch -
VistaMn.g4b - batch file used to install Vista, Wk8/7 user
should be 100K!
input
 \unattend.xml - used by XP WinPE installs - the file is Win7.hdr - header code for the Win7 menu
overwritten during installation – do not touch - should be Win8.hdr - header code for the Win8 menu
100K! Win8Mn.g4b - batch file used for the Win8/2012 user input
 \grldr - grub4dos 2nd stage boot code – do not remove! winvblock.ima.gz - used by XP install – do not remove
Can be replaced by a later version but NOT a pre-2013 winvblock.img.gz - FDD image used by QRUN - do not remove
version. XPStep1/Step2/Step2LowRam.g4b - used by XP menu system
 \menu.lst – if you already have an existing \menu.lst file, XPWINNT.g4b - used by the 'XP install from WinPE' menu
you will need to add a new menu item to your own to select which ISO you want, etc.
\menu.lst file to run Easy2Boot (e.g. Included payload files
configfile \_ISO\E2B\grub\menu.lst). Some payload files are included in the download - you can just
 \FASTLOAD.YES - only present if you copy this file to delete these to save space if you don't want or need them:
the root. It causes the Main menu to be cached for faster  \_ISO\DOS\Dos\Freedos288.IMA.gz and .mnu (100KB)
re-booting and loading of a cached version of the Main - this will boot to a virtual freedos floppy disk image
menu. Useful if you have lots of payload files and the  \_ISO\UTILITIES\plpbt.iso and .txt - Plop is a low-level
Main menu takes a long time to load! Delete to disable USB driver which can be used in case of a buggy BIOS -
menu caching. can't use it to reload E2B though!
Files in the grub folder (normally at \_ISO\E2B\grub)  \_ISO\UTILITIES_MEMTEST\MEMTEST.IMG.gz
AUTOMN.g4b - grub4dos batch file, used by easy2boot.lst and .mnu (64KB) - runs memtest86+
and menu.lst and ZZSubMenuxxx.mnu files Note that if a file/folder is present (of any sort) in the ANTIVIRUS,
Background.bmp.gz - aurora 800x600 bmp wallpaper BACKUP, DOS, LINUX,UTILITIES or WINPE folders, then that
compressed to .gz sub-Menu will be listed in the Main Menu
backup.lst - used for debug – don’t delete! Windows Install ISO files
CountFiles.g4b - helper batch file which counts files All .ISO files larger than 0 bytes in a folder will be listed - note that
E2B.cfg - default config file (used before these ISO files should not be modified to auto-install or they may
\_ISO\MyE2B.cfg is called) or may not work!
E2B_GRUB.txt - marker file used to find the grub folder - do
not delete! The ISO files can be any name and should be placed in the
FASTLOAD.MNU - the cached Main menu is written to this appropriate folder (look at the sub-folders under \_ISO\Windows to
file if \FASTLOAD.YES is present see where they should go).
firadisk.gz - floppy image containing firadisk driver
isobackup.lst - used for debug – don’t delete! Note: Most OEM Windows 7 and 8 install ISOs contain all SKUs,
KBDxxxx.g4b - specify one of these in your MyE2B.cfg so for instance a Windows 7 Home Basic DVD will usually contain
config file for your keyboard layout (default=US) Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate
LstFExt.g4b - helper file to list files with a specified SKUs. You will be able to choose any of the these versions. So if
extension (e.g. all .iso files) you have a Windows 7 SP1 64-bit Ultimate ISO, simply rename
this to Win7_64_SP1.ISO and it will be listed in the menu system
and you can choose any of the versions inside it.
Note that Retail ISOs usually contain a single SKU and a single
language. These are smaller than the OEM ISOs (e.g. Win7_64 is
only 2GB instead of 3GB+) and the ISO \Sources folder contains
the word 'Retail' in the EI.CFG file. If you have an OEM multi-
lingual Vista/7/8 ISO it should contain all SKUs.
You can use the Install Windows XP using WinPE menu to pick
any XP ISO to install and also pick an unattend.txt file. A WinPE
v2/3/4 ISO or Windows Install ISO is also required. Only a
single boot to the Easy2Boot USB drive is required with this
method. This method will also work if booting from
an exFAT formatted Easy2Boot USB drive using a Win7/8 WinPE
or Install DVD. This method can also be used with XP install ISOs
that contain $oem$ folders.
Although you are asked for a partition size, you can later skip over
partitioning and formatting of the drive. If you specify a partition
size and an unattend.txt, when you later confirm with Y - the disk
will be wiped, re-partitioned, re-formatted and the whole XP build
will continue automatically without further user input being
required.
The XP ISO should have any mass storage drivers already
integrated (nLite'd) as required by the system (e.g. AHCI drivers).
Automating Windows installs
You can automate Windows XP installs by using unattend.txt files
and using the WinPE install option in the Windows XP menu -
see here for more details.
To automate Windows Vista/SVR2K8R2/7/8/SVR2012 installs -
refer to the section below on xml files.
E2B File Extensions used for Payload Files
If you have a boot image or bootable binary and want to quickly
test it, just copy it to one of the folders on the Easy2Boot USB
drive as below:
\_ISO\XXXXXX folder - e.g. \_ISO\MAINMENU for it to be listed in
the Main menu (do not place in a sub-sub-folder under
\_ISO\XXXXX\ as it won't be automatically listed unless you also
have a .mnu file too!).
To change the way it will be executed by grub4dos, change the file
extension. Most are special 'Easy2Boot' file extensions (non-
standard) which will be recognised by Easy2Boot. if you are not
sure what file extension will work best and it is an ISO file,
use .isoask so that you can test all of them until you find one that
works!
If you place any file (except .txt, .cmd, .mnu and files with no
extension) in these folders, they will all be listed in a menu even if
they are not bootable files. When selected from the E2B menu, if
the extension is recognised, the file will be executed. The file
extension determines how it is executed by grub4dos; recognised
file extensions and their run actions are listed below...
.iso - maps the ISO file (if contiguous) and also creates a new
partition containing the ISO contents - use for linux ISOs and
others
.isomem - loads the whole ISO file into memory and also creates a
new partition containing the ISO contents (if contiguous) - use for
non-contiguous linux ISOs and XP-based ISOs and Hirens ISOs
.isowin - as .isomem but does not load ISO into memory unless it
is non-contiguous and boots from /i386/seupldr.bin or ntldr if
possible - use for WinPE ISOs - e.g. Symantec Recovery ISOs
.isolinux - tries to boot from ISO using isolinux.bin or
/boot.isolinux.bin or /boot/syslinux.bin if possible
.isogrub - tries to boot from grldr within the ISO
.isoforce - loads firadisk floppy disk image and forces grub4dos to
boot from the ISO even if it doesn't think it is bootable - use for
CentOS ISOs
.isofira - maps the whole ISO file (if contiguous) or loads it into
memory (if not contiguous) and also loads the firadisk floppy image
as fd0 - use for BartPE\Hirens XP PE based ISOs
.isomemfira - loads the whole ISO file into memory and also loads
the firadisk floppy image as fd0 - use for BartPE\Hirens XP PE
based ISOs
.isowinv - loads the ISO and also WinVBlock as a floppy image +
swap hd0 and hd1 - useful for booting ERDCommander and other
XP PE based ISOs
.isowinvH - loads the ISO and also WinVBlock as a floppy image -
does not swap hdo/hd1 - useful for booting Hirens CD and DLC
multiboot ISOs
.isomemwinv - loads the ISO into memory and also WinVBlock as
a floppy image - useful for booting ERDCommander, BartPE and
other XP PE based ISOs if they are not contiguous
.isogz - loads the ISO into memory - use for a gzip compressed
ISO.
.isoe0 - used to boot Windows PE ISOs which give a blank screen
after booting on some systems that have a buggy BIOS. - e.g.
some Dell PCs - see here for details.
.isomemE0 - as .isoe0 but loads ISO into memory. - e.g. some
Dell PCs - see here for details.
.isowinvE0 - as isowinv but with a special e820cyles=0 patch to
boot WinPE-based ISOs that give a blank screen after loading -
e.g. some Dell PCs - see here for details.
.isowinvHE0 - as isowinvH + e8020cycles=0 patch (see above)
.isoPE - use for WinPE v2/3/4 (Vista and later) WinPE ISOs. If the
extension is .isoPE then when wpeinit is run by WinPE, it will
mount the .isoPE file as a virtual CD/DVD drive letter. Note: This
requires a USB Flash drive (or 'Helper' flash drive) - E2B v
1.07Beta and later versions only. The drive letter can be changed
too.
.isoPE01 - as .isoPE but swaps hd0 and hd1 over so that the
internal hard disk is hd0 - useful for diagnostic WinPE's that expect
to be booted from a CD.
.isoask - asks the user each time which of the above options
should be used - useful to determine which extension works best
.isodd - same as .iso (so even if ISOASK variable is set then E2B
will not ask how you want to run it and it will boot in the same way
as a .iso file).
.iso01 - same as .iso but swaps over hd0 and hd1 so hd0 will be
the internal HDD. (v 1.11 and later)
.gzmd - loads memdisk and then the .gzmd file using initrd
.vhd - a bootable virtual hard disk image (must not be a dynamic
vhd) - boots vhd as hd0.
.vhdmem - as for .vhd but the whole vhd file is loaded into memory
(use if .vhd crashes and for faster operation once booted -
obviously needs loads of memory!). E2B v1.09 and later.
.zip - uses memdisk to load a zip file into memory as a floppy disk
(e.g. use for dos622.zip which contains dos622.ima)
.bin - use for binary executables such as memtest86.bin
.imghd - Swaps over hd0 with hd1, the image is directly mapped if
contiguous or loaded into memory if not - image is mapped as hd0
.imgmemhd, .imgmem - Swaps over hd0 with hd1 and maps the
file as hd0 in memory using --mem
.imgfd, .img, .ima, .imafd, .imz, .imgmem,
.imggz, .gz, .imagz, .imagzmem, .gzfd, .imamem, .imgmemfd, .i
mgfd - These will all cause the file to be loaded into memory and USB HDD using RMPrepUSB and then set up a virtual machine to
be mapped as a floppy disk image boot from the USB stick directly (see Tutorial 4 for details on how
.imgfdhd01 - loads floppy disk img file as fd0 into memory and to do this). Booting to E2B in this way takes just 1 second or so!
swaps hd0 with hd1 - use for KonBoot fdd image where hd0 needs Also, most linux ISOs seem to boot OK as the 'partnew' trick
to be the internal hard disk and not the USB boot drive (E2B v1.08 seems to work. I use DavidB's Virtual Machine USB
and later) Boot application - this allows full rd/wr access to the E2B USB
drive under VBox - something that was not possible before!
For instance, if you have fred.iso and it is a BartPE XP ISO,
rename the extension to fred.isomemfira and it will be loaded into If you only have slow USB 2.0 USB sticks, use a USB hard disk
memory and a firadisk floppy image will also be loaded. If you just instead (for testing the menu system only!).
leave it as .iso, and it is contiguous, it will be directly mapped and
no firadisk floppy image will be loaded and it may BSOD! Even using Virtual Box and DavidB's USB Boot application, some
payload files/ISOs may not boot successfully. Always test on real
If you want a different menu title to be used (rather than the name hardware - never assume that if it doesn't work on a VM, then it
of the file being used in the menu), then make a new .txt file using won't work on real system!
Notepad. For example, if you have DOS622.imagzmem and you  ALWAYS TEST ON REAL HARDWARE - It may or
want a different title, add a new file called DOS622.txt to the same may not work under a VM!
folder and add your replacement title line in the file (must start with  ALWAYS TEST USING A USB Flash drive (or USB
the lower-case word 'title') - e.g. HDD+USB Flash) for Windows NT6 install ISOs and
on a Real system!
title MS-DOS 6.22 Floppy Disk\n This boots the file Having said that, most linux ISOs will boot successfully using
DOS622.imagzmem Oracle Virtual Box from an Easy2Boot USB Flash drive
(usind DavidB's VM USB Boot app) and I can install XP to a virtual
More extensions can be supported by editing drive using the XP STEP 1/STEP 2 menu of Easy2Boot when
the \_ISO\E2B\grub\QRUN.g4b grub4dos batch file and adding booting from a USB Flash drive under Oracle Virtual Box (with VT
your own new extension section of code to the batch file. Let me acceleration disabled for Step 1).
know if you want me to support a new extension in the QRUN.g4b Themes included in the latest E2B download
file for the next version.

Tip: If you have an ISO file which does not boot correctly, rename
it to .isoask - then you can try all of these options to see if any of
them will work correctly.
Suggested File Extensions to use for different ISOs
 Linux ISOs - just keep as .iso
 BartPE/XP/XP Rescue ISOs - rename to .isowinv or
.isomemwinv (if blank screen after boot, try .isowinve0 or
.isowinvHe0)
 Hirens ISOs - rename to .isowinvH (or .isomem for slow
loading but faster operation) - or else try extracting the
\HBCD or \DLC or \DLC1 folder to the root of the
Easy2Boot USB boot drive
 Windows Install ISOs - these must be placed in the
correct \_ISO\Windows\xxx folder
 HDDR2011 ISO - compress it to .gz file and use .isogz
 Windows based ISOs that give a blank screen when
Windows loads - use .isoe0,.isowinve0 or .isowinvHe0 -
due to buggy BIOS!
 WinBuilder WinPE (v2/3/4) ISO files - use an .isope
extension (you can also specify what drive letter the ISO
should be mounted as and specify a post-boot .cmd file
to run - see 'Adding WinPE (WinBuilder) v2/3/4 ISOs'
below).
If you are still having problems, check the \_ISO\docs\Sample mnu
files folder to see if there is a .mnu file you can use (or modify
slightly). You can also ask for help on the reboot.pro forum.

Finally, if all else fails, contact me and I will try to help.

Testing E2B v1
You can use the RMPrepUSB QEMU button (F11) to check the
menu system appearance, however booting from most ISOs is
unlikely to work under QEMU (use RMPrepUSB v2.1.707 or later
for best chance of working!). In addition QEMU is very slow!

I use Oracle VM Virtual Box. I install E2B onto a USB 3.0 stick or
Several alternative 'theme templates' are included with E2B
(Aliums, Blue, Jolene, TextMinimal and lastly GFXMenu) - you
can check these out by copying the two files in one of the
Template folders at \_ISO\docs\Sample E2B Templates\xxxxto
the \_ISO folder and then boot from the USB drive to see what
each looks like (you can use RMPrepUSB QEMU or Oracle Virtual
Box to check the appearance or boot from a real system). Note
that the GFXMenu has some limitations and requires extra .mnu
files to be added to the \_ISO\MAINMENU folder from the
\_ISO\docs folder.

To restore the default E2B menu, just delete the MyE2B.cfg file
from the \_ISO folder.

Installing Windows from an E2B Hard Disk (instead of an E2B

Flash drive)
When Windows Setup runs (Vista and later versions), Setup will
look for a file called \AutoUnattend.xml on a removable drive. E2B
relies on this feature. The AutoUnattend.xml file generated by E2B
contains an entry which causes Windows Setup to run a utility
(FiraDisk and/or ImDisk) which finds and then loads the Windows
Install ISO file as a virtual DVD drive so that Windows Setup can
access the files inside the ISO.

Note: Some modern (win 8 certified) USB flash drives can also
appear as a hard disk to Windows. Run RMPrepUSB and select
the USB flash drive - check that it is listed as a (Removable) drive.
If not, you will need to follow these instructions and use a
secondary 'removable' Helper USB Flash drive.

E2B Windows XP+WinPE (see section below), Vista and later OS

installs will not work if you only use an Easy2Boot USB Hard
Disk (you will get a 'Driver required' error).

To make Windows Vista/7/8/2012/SVR2K8 installs work from an

Easy2Boot USB Hard/Fixed Disk, you must use an Easy2Boot
USB Hard drive together with a spare, writeable, 'removable' USB
'Helper' flash drive, as follows:

1. Prepare your Easy2Boot USB Hard disk as described in this

tutorial.
Add your Windows install ISOs to the \_ISO\Windows\xxx sub-
folders and check that it the menus work and can detect your
Windows ISO files.
Run WinContig (RMPrepUSB - CTRL+F2) to make the files
contiguous.

2. On any small spare USB Flash drive that you have available -
this drive must be seen by Windows as a  AutoUnattend.xml (overwritten - required for Win Vista
writeable, removable disk which is usually the case for small USB
flash drives - check that RMPrepUSB reports it as (Removable):
Copy the 3 files -  WINHELPER.USB (marker file to find correct USB drive)
Unattend.xml, AutoUnattend.xml and WINHELPER.USB files
from the \_ISO\docs\USB FLASH DRIVE HELPER FILES folder
to the root of the USB helper Flash drive using Windows
Explorer.
Note: The Unattend.xml file is only required if you use the
'Windows XP install using WinPE' menu option.
IMPORTANT: When you use the Easy2Boot USB Hard disk+flash
drive combination, the only \WINHELPER.USB file in the whole
system, on any disk volume or filesystem, should be the one on
the USB 'Helper' Flash drive. Do not copy WINHELPER.USB to
the root of your Easy2Boot USB hard disk or anywhere else!
The USB 'Helper' Flash drive should not contain the Easy2Boot
\_ISO\E2B folders, otherwise Easy2Boot may get confused
(certain files are searched for during Windows installs and so the
only Easy2Boot files should be on the boot device).
3. To install Windows Vista/7/8/etc. (or XP via WinPE method)
onto a target system, connect both the Easy2Boot USB hard
disk and the USB flash drive - but boot from the Easy2Boot hard
disk.
This will only work when booting from a real system (it
will not work under a Virtual Machine or Emulator). Even just using
a single E2B USB flash drive will not work because a USB Flash
drive is seen as a hard disk by VM's and so the AutoUnattend.xml
on the flash drive is not found by Windows Setup.
WARNING: If you use a multiple-partition USB flash drive and
the xml files are not on the first partition then Windows Vista/7/8
installs will not work because Windows Setup only mounts the first
partition of a flash drive and so cannot see any of the files on the
other partitions of the flash drive!
Installing Windows XP using the two-step FiraDisk (Setup/F6)
method
See here for more details.
The here for details of how to add mass storage drivers to E2B
which allows you to automatically install from unmodified XP ISOs
to SATA/RAID/SCSI/SAS/AHCI systems (automatic mass storage
driver detection) without needing to press F6.
Install Windows XP using the WinPE method (winnt32.exe)
If the Easy2Boot Windows XP two-step process is not working on
some systems, try this WinPE method instead. With this method
you can also automate the install.
This method requires two ISO files.
 The first ISO is just your Windows XP Install ISO - i.e.
the OS that you want to install (this does NOT need to
be contiguous)
 The second ISO needs to be a WinPE v2/3/4 ISO - this
can be a whole Vista/Win7/Win8 Install ISO OR just a
Vista/7/8 WinPE ISO (Win8 PE recommended)
If you are booting Easy2Boot from a USB Hard disk, you will also
need a USB flash drive containing these 3 files -
and later OS Install ISOs),
 Unattend.xml (overwritten - required for WinPE ISOs)
These 3 files must be on the root of your USB 'Helper' Flash drive.
How to make a WinPE ISO
You can use pretty much any WinPE v2/3/4 ISO that you have on
your Easy2Boot drive or a Windows Install ISO (e.g. an existing
Windows 7 or 8 Install DVD ISO that is already on your E2B drive,
but not an XP-based ISO).
OR
You can make a 150MB WinPE ISO by downloading and using
the >3GB Windows WAIK (use copype x86 c:\winpe3) and make
an iso file using mkfsiso from the Windows command line.
OR
A much easier and fully automated way to obtain a bootable
WinPE3 ISO that is also useful as a rescue ISO (a download and
then just a few mouse clicks!) is to follow Tutorial 107 and make
a Macrium Reflect Rescue ISO. This ISO can then be used with
this method to install XP and as a general purpose rescue ISO
(you can put it in the
\_ISO\MainMenu, \_ISO\MainMenu\Windows or any of the
\_ISO\Windows\xxx folders).
Method
1. Ensure you have an XP Install ISO file in
the \_ISO\Windows\XP folder (any .iso filename can be used)
2. Make sure you have a Vista, 7 or 8 Install ISO or WinPE v2/3/4
ISO in one of the \_ISO sub-folders - the helper PE .iso file can
have any filename you like.
3. The file at \_ISO\Windows\WINPE_INST.TAG should be
already present (don't delete it!) - if you delete it you will not see
the 'Install any ISO using WinPE' option in the menu!
4. You can add your own unattend.txt file
to the \_ISO\Windows\XP folder (use any suitable filename but it
must end in .txt). Use the sample one as a template. The sample
one provided will run Setup without any user interaction.
5. Run WinContig (RMPrepUSB - Ctrl+F2) to ensure the PE ISO
file is contiguous
6. If you are booting from an Easy2Boot USB Hard drive, you also
need to prepare and connect an auxiliary 'Helper' USB Flash
drive (see section above for details)
Using the 'Install XP using WinPE' menu option
When you boot from the Easy2Boot USB drive, the Windows XP
install menu will have the option:
Install any XP ISO using WinPE
When you select this option you will need to answer some user
questions before it boots from the ISO file:
Select a Windows XP ISO - choose the XP ISO you want to
actually install
Which folder is the WinPE ISO in: - choose one of the Windows You can specify your own unattend.xml file for Easy2Boot to use
folders on your Easy2Boot drive that has a WinPE 32-bit ISO file (if (Vista/WIn7/SVR2K8R2/Win8/Server2012) or unattend.txt files (for
using XP 32-bit) XP WinPE install method).

Enter WinPE 'Helper' ISO - choose the helper WinPE ISO (for
instance a Windows 7 32-bit install ISO file or a Win8PE 32-bit .iso
if installing XP 32-bit)
Default Disk 0 1st partition size in MB (0=MAX) : - You will be
asked to confirm this again later on before the disk is wiped, and
then you can choose to just format one partition only and not wipe
the whole disk or install to a partition without formatting. Use 0 for
maximum size. If you are not going to wipe and partition the disk,
choose 0 or any size.
Note: If you delete all .xml files from the Vista/7/8/SVR2012
folders, then the default E2B unattend.xml will be automatically
used and the user will not be prompted to select an xml file.
Unattend.txt files for XP installs
Add your unattend.txt files (any name ending in .txt) to the
\_ISO\Windows\XP folder. Use the 'Install XP from an ISO using
WinPE' menu option.
Unattend.xml files for Vista\Win7\SVR2K8R2 installs
Add these into the appropriate folder and you can choose one
when prompted. Any name ending in .xml will do.

Choose an Unattend.txt file (0=MANUAL INSTALL) : - You can IMPORTANT: You must also add the special
specify an unattend.txt file (there is one included in the XP folder E2B RunSynchronous entry to your .XML file (see below for
which you can copy if you like). Press 0 for no unattend.txt file details). If you don't, then the blue console LOADISO window will
which means you will have to answer all the questions from XP not run and the ISO will not be loaded - Windows Setup will then
Setup manually. complain about a missing CD drive driver as it will not be able to
Booting to WinPE see the DVD (ISO)!
1. The system will then boot to WinPE from the Vista/7/8
WinPE ISO and should automatically open a blue Loadiso.cmd will prompt you to repair the drive - if you don't want
console window (the auxiliary USB Flash drive must also this prompt, copy \_ISO\e2b\firadisk\loadiso.cmd to loadiso1.cmd
be connected if using a USB E2B Hard Disk) (for example) and then edit your unattend.xml file to load
2. WinPE will detect the xml files, run the section of code loadiso1.cmd. Then edit \_ISO\e2b\firadisk\loadiso1.cmd and add
inside it and then mount the XP ISO file as a virtual drive. 'exit' to the file here:
3. You will be asked if you want to wipe the internal hard exit
disk and re-partition it. Check the drive list carefully to echo.
make sure the correct drive has been selected! You may echo ********** REPAIR WINDOWS? ************
need to maximise the blue console window. echo.
4. If you answer N then you will be asked if you want to
format a single partition on the hard drive (e.g. C:). This If you don't want the 'Press a key to boot from CD/DVD' prompt,
partition will be made active and will become the system you must remake the Windows ISO and delete the \boot\bootfix.bin
partition. Note: if you answer N to this question also, the file.
install will stop. If you answer S=Skip then XP will be
installed to an existing partition. If you use a configuration set in your xml file, include the path to
5. Winnt32.exe will then be run (and will use the the drivers folder - e.g.
Unattend.txt file if you specified one to automate the
install process) - this will take several minutes... <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup"
6. Press a key to reboot to the internal hard disk and the processorArchitecture="amd64"
XP Setup should then proceed - the USB drive(s) can be publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral"
disconnected. versionScope="nonSxS"
If you have an XP ISO with integrated AHCI drivers (e.g. using xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State"
driverpacks.net or nLite), then it should work on an AHCI system. xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<UseConfigurationSet>true</UseConfigurationSet>
If possible, use a 32-bit Windows 8 Install ISO as the WinPE </component>
installer OS as that will have the widest range of drivers and USB <component name="Microsoft-Windows-
3.0 support. PnpCustomizationsWinPE" processorArchitecture="amd64"
publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral"
Tip: To automate the process further and remove the final prompt versionScope="nonSxS"
to reboot (see step 6 above), edit the xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State"
\_ISO\E2B\firadisk\RUNWINNT.cmd file and add REM to the line xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
near the end of the file as shown below: <DriverPaths>
echo Press a key and reboot from the internal hard disk to
continue Setup... <PathAndCredentials wcm:action="add"
REM pause > nul wcm:keyValue="1">
wpeutil reboot
<Path>%configsetroot%drivers\</Path>
See below for a description of how this process works...
</PathAndCredentials>
</DriverPaths>
Advanced (unattended) Windows Installs </component>
and place the drivers folder on the root of the USB Flash drive (not
the USB hard disk if you are using one for booting E2B) - <settings pass="windowsPE">
e.g. \drivers\video, \drivers\audio, \drivers\net, etc.
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-International-Core-
If you want to use the drivers inside the ISO file, try WinPE" processorArchitecture="amd64"
using <Path>%USBDRIVE%\drivers\</Path> (note there is a \ publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral"
after %USBDRIVE%) versionScope="nonSxS"
xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State"
Note: I have not personally tested the configset driver path setting xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
and it is rumoured not to work! You may have to define the path. <SetupUILanguage>
e.g. <Path>F:\drivers>/Path> but the drive letter must match the <UILanguage>en-US</UILanguage>
USB drive that contains your drivers which will vary from system to <WillShowUI>OnError</WillShowUI>
system! </SetupUILanguage>
Unattend.xml files for Win8\SVR2012 installs <UILanguage>en-US</UILanguage>
If you or your company use your own unattend.xml files to <SystemLocale>de-DE</SystemLocale>
automate installs, then you can add them into the correct folder <UserLocale>de-DE</UserLocale>
and can be selected instead of the default ones. <InputLocale>0407:00000407</InputLocale>
</component>
If you have a Windows 8 unattend.xml or a Server 2012.xml file,
then you can also define a 5x5 (29 character) product key in your <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup"
.xml file. processorArchitecture="amd64"
publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral"
IMPORTANT: You must also include the versionScope="nonSxS"
special RunSynchronous entry that Easy2Boot requires to your xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State"
.XML file. If you don't, then the blue console LOADISO window will xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
not run and the ISO will not be loaded - Windows Setup will then <RunSynchronous>
complain about a missing driver as it will not ba able to see the <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
DVD (ISO)! <Order>1</Order>
<Path>cmd /q /c "FOR %i IN (C D E F G H I J K L N M O P Q R S
See here for details of what can go in an xml file to automate the T U V W X Y Z) DO IF EXIST
installs. %i:\_ISO\E2B\FIRADISK\LOADISO.CMD cmd /k
%i:\_ISO\E2B\FIRADISK\LOADISO.cmd"</Path>
Note: If you delete all .xml files from the Vista/7/8/SVR2012 <Description>Detecting usb drive</Description>
folders so there is no choice to be made, then the default </RunSynchronousCommand>
unattend.xml will be automatically used and the user will not be </RunSynchronous>
prompted to select an xml file. </component> <------------ end of component section - this
Modifying User Unattend.xml files to work with Easy2Boot line should be deleted
Note that your xxxx.xml files must contain both x86 and amd64
entries if the same .xml file is use for both 32 and 64-bit ISOs. <UserData>
<AcceptEula>true</AcceptEula>
The entry below must go in the settings </UserData>
pass="windowsPE" section of the .XML file under component </component> <------------ another end of component section
name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup". but no <component> section before it!
You should also define a product key or use a configuration set
(see a sample file for details). </settings>

<RunSynchronous> <settings pass="specialize">

<RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add"> <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup"
<Order>1</Order> processorArchitecture="amd64"
<Path>cmd /q /c "FOR %i IN (C D E F G H I J K L N M O P publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral"
Q R S T U V W X Y Z) DO IF EXIST versionScope="nonSxS"
%i:\_ISO\E2B\FIRADISK\LOADISO.CMD cmd /k xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State"
%i:\_ISO\E2B\FIRADISK\LOADISO.cmd" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
</Path> <ProductKey>11111-22222-33333-44444-55555</ProductKey>
<Description>Detecting usb drive</Description> </component>
</RunSynchronousCommand> </settings>
</RunSynchronous>
<settings pass="oobeSystem">
Note: You must balance the XML text - every <xxx> section must <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup"
be closed with a </xxx>. Look at the following xml file - can you processorArchitecture="amd64"
see the mistake? publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral"
Example .xml file with a deliberate mistake: versionScope="nonSxS"
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State"
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend"> xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
</component>
</settings>
</unattend>
Add WindowsToGo to your USB drive
You can follow the Windows8ToGo or Windows7ToGo Tutorials on
this site to install a working copy of Windows to your Easy2Boot
USB pen.
Alternatively, you can install WindowsToGo onto the USB drive
first and then add Easy2Boot.
Win7ToGo is not that stable (especially on a Flash drive) and I
recommend Win8ToGo and a USB HDD or USB 3.0 Flash drive for
best results.
If you need an activated Win8ToGo, then it is best to use a volume
licence version as this will work on more than one system (a retail
version will only work on the system it is activated on).
Note that if you want to install Windows Vista/7/8 from the same
E2B Flash drive, it needs to be a 'Removable' drive, however
Windows8ToGo does not work well unless the drive is seen by
Windows as a 'Fixed disk' drive. To fix this, if you have installed
Win8ToGo onto a Removable USB Flash drive, boot to Windows 8
and install a special driver which will treat the Removable Flash
drive as if it was a 'Fixed Disk' drive - see the Win8ToGo Tutorial
for more details. This can also be done for Win7ToGo.
Now create a new .mnu file
in \_ISO\MAINMENU\bootmgr.mnu (or wherever you want it)
which will boot to Windows if it was installed on your drive:
title Boot to Windows \n This will boot to whatever Windows is
installed currently installed on this E2B drive
chainloader /bootmgr || chainloader /ntldr
OR use this for a Win7/Win8 menu that will only appear if the
bootmgr Windows file is on the USB drive
iftitle [if exist /bootmgr] Boot to Windows 7 from this drive \n
chainloader /bootmgr
Note: If the USB drive boots straight to Windows and does not boot
to the E2B menu, then re-install grub4dos again using
RMPrepUSB (twice - once to MBR - once to PBR).
Making changes to E2B
To change the E2B menu, look in the
\_ISO\Sample_MyE2B.cfg for details of the configuration
options available (these are always updated with each new
version).
Setting your own preferences (MyE2B.cfg)
The recommended way to change Easy2Boot menus and settings
is to use your own copy of E2B.cfg (which must be
named /_ISO/MyE2B.cfg). This file can contain the settings for
menu colours, background image name, menu position, some
menu headings text and colours and the graphics mode.
MyE2B.cfg is NOT contained in the Easy2Boot download and so it
will not be overwritten if you update your Easy2Boot installation.
WARNING: Do NOT edit or copy the
\_ISO\E2B\grub\menu.lst or \_ISO\E2B\grub\E2B.cfg files!
1. Rename the \_ISO\Sample_MyE2B.cfg file
to \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg.
2. Edit the \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg - this new MyE2B.cfg file will be called
by Easy2Boot after \_ISO\E2B\grub\E2B.cfg has run – you can
now change the new MyE2B.cfg to make changes to modify
Easy2Boot's appearance and behaviour. Save the file using
NotePad in UTF-8 format for full character-set language support.
You can use the QEMU button in RMPrepUSB to test your menu
but it is quite slow - I recommend testing the menu appearance by
using Oracle VM Virtual Box as in Tutorial 4 so that you can
quickly test any changes to your menu system.
Note: After editing a file on a USB drive, you may find that the VM
does not see the file change until about 30 seconds later due to
delayed writes by Windows! If the change appears not to have
worked, close down the VM and try again after 30 seconds.
If you have any problems, simple rename MyE2B.cfg to something
else so that Easy2Boot will use the standard settings.
 If you don't want the 'Install any XP ISO using
WinPE' menu item in the Windows XP menu, delete
the \ _ISO\Windows\XP\WINPE_INST.TAG file (or
rename it)
If you wish, you can rename \_ISO\MAINMENU\*.mnu files to
anything else (ending in .mnu) and then make changes to them
(any subsequent version update will write a new .mnu file which
you will need to delete).
If you update Easy2Boot with a newer version - you may need to
also check for changes and then update your MyE2B.cfg file by
comparing it with the newer version of Sample_E2B.cfg - do not
use an old .cfg file if the version has changed as you may get
strange results!
There is an example of a Blue Menu MyE2B.cfg file + blue.bmp.gz
background that is included with the download (in \_ISO\E2B\docs
folder) which you can try (just copy the two files to the \_ISO
folder):
Sample Blue theme - Click to enlarge
Changing the background/wallpaper image
The default background image is located
at \_ISO\E2B\grub\Background.bmp.gz – this is a 800x600 24--bit
colour image but it will also work if you switch to 640x480 graphics
mode using GMODE=640 (see below). Do NOT change this file.
To use your own image, copy to the \_ISO folder your
own mybackground.bmp or mybackground.bmp.gz file (you
can compress a .bmp to a .bmp.gz using 7Zip and by selecting
gzip as the compression type – this greatly reduces the file size).
Alternatively, rename the \_ISO\Sample_MyE2B.cfg file
to \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg and change the following entries
# set graphics mode - use 640, or 800 or 1024 - or specify full
mode - e.g. 800 600 24
# 640 and 800 is supported by the default background bitmap
set GMODE=800
set MYWBMP=/_ISO/mybackground.bmp
set MYWBMPGZ=/_ISO/mybackground.bmp.gz Note that there are 3 % characters between the background and
foreground colours. HCOLOUR sets the background as black and
If you have a .bmp file then change the MYWBMP= line, if you the text as dark red in this example:
have a compressed .bmp.gz file then change the MYWBMPGZ=
line. E2B will look for and use the bmp.gz file if it can be found, MyE2B.cfg
otherwise it will look for the .bmp file. If neither can be found it will ========
use the default background. !BAT
# enable GFX mode to suppress graphicsmode
If you wish to use your own bitmap (e.g. 640x480 or 800x600 or set GFX=none
1024x768) please ensure that the .bmp size is exactly correct (e.g. # set bottom text position 24 lines per screen (note: help text
800x600 and not 800x599 or 799x600). disappears when a user presses a cursor key)
set HBTM=2301
You may also need to change the # set colour for heading
set GMODE=800 set HCOLOUR=0104
# set colour for footer
line in your MyE2B.cfg file if the bitmap that you use is not set FCOLOUR=0104
800x600. Note that 640x480 and 800x600 bitmaps are # set text colours
automatically supported by Easy2Boot as long as you also set the color normal=0x%lgrey%%%lcyan%
GMODE value - the menu size and help text position will be re- highlight=0x%cyan%%%red% helptext=0x%lgrey%%%yellow%
calculated for you (there are some extra lines of code added to the standard=0x%black%%%lcyan% border=0x%red%
MyE2B.cfg file which do this). I strongly recommend you do not
use higher than 800x600 as not all systems can support these
higher resolutions (e.g. early netbooks).

You can specify any name for the image file in \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg
file - it does not have to be "mybackground.bmp.gz".

Tip: Choose a bitmap that has a clear area at the bottom so that
help text is easily visible. Avoid a multi-coloured, high-contrast
picture (e.g. lots of different bright colours and dark blacks) as it
will be difficult to choose a text colour that will stand out against all
of the colours in your picture! Another idea is to use a bitmap editor
and draw a filled rectangle over the picture so that the menu can
be displayed within the rectangle. You can also add any other
items (e.g. your name or company name or company logo) to the
bitmap.
Change the Keyboard Layout
You can use the settings in MyE2B.cfg to change the menu
Standard grub4dos supports the US keyboard layout. If you are
position and the menu size, text and border colours.
entering text using the keyboard, you may need to change the
keyboard layout mapping.
You can, of course, make a plain single colour 800x600 bitmap for
To do this, simply make a MyE2B.cfg file (see above) and specify
the background.
one of the KBD_xxx.g4b files in the \_ISO\E2B\grub folder. e.g.
Removing the background image or using text mode
set KBD=KBD_QWERTY_UK.g4b
If you do not want a fancy picture (which may take a second or two
Specifying the Main menu order and/or the menu items
to load) but prefer to use the standard grub4dos text mode - edit
Main menu order
your MyE2B.cfg file as follows:
The order that ISO and other payload files and .mnu files are listed
in, is determined by E2B alphanumerically sorting the payload and
set GFX=none
.mnu files and folders.
You can set the colours in the usual way but you can also specify
Note: For the menu entries, all payload files and .mnu files will be
background colours as well as foreground colours when in text
listed alphanumerically (not case-sensitive). All you need to do is
mode - e.g.
rename your ISO files, eg. .$1fred.iso $2doris.iso, $3debian.iso,
etc.. Use a .txt file of the same name to have nice menu entries.
instead of
If you have any .mnu files, these will be listed depending on the
color normal=0x%lcyan% highlight=0x%cyan%%%red%
name of the .mnu file itself (not the payload file or title which is
helptext=0x%yellow% standard=0x%black%%%lcyan%
used inside the .mnu file). If you have Ubuntu.mnu it will therefore
border=0x%lgrey%
be listed after dplite.mnu. To change the order, simply rename
ubuntu.mnu to $ubuntu.mnu.
specify a light grey menu background using the following menu as
MyE2B.cfg...
Note that folders will also be searched alphabetically. If you have:

\_ISO\Mainmenu\Utility\PassPass.mnu
\_ISO\Mainmenu\Ubuntu.mnu
You can also use a full 24-bit colour value 0xrrggbb - e.g. color
MENU will be: border=0xFF3377 (be aware that using 0xrrggbb always sets a
Ubuntu black\transparent background)
PassPass
You can also change the colour of the Menu Heading by changing
note that the menu entry for PassPass will be listed after the menu the
entry for Ubuntu because .\Ubuntu.mnu alphabetically precedes
.\Utility. If you want PassPass to be listed before Ubuntu, rename set HCOLOUR=0133
Ubuntu.mnu to ZUbuntu.mnu.
SubMenus line in the \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg file (read the text in MyE2B.cfg for an
Note that E2B has several \_ISO\MainMenu\ZZSubMenuxxx.mnu explanation of what the numbers mean).
pre-defined menu files. As these begin with 'ZZSub' these menu
entries will be listed alphabetically and so will be listed at the end FCOLOUR changes the bottom footer help text colour.
of all other menu items. If you want the sub-menu entries listed first Change the menu box size and position
in the Main menu, rename the ZZSubMenuxxxxx.mnu files to To change the position of the menu and it's size, look at the
$ZZSubMenuxxxx.mnu. menusetting parameters in \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg, for example to
Change the menu headings change the menu text width, change the entries to suit your
Change the HEADING string in your new \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg file that background bitmap:
you have made (see above):
# word-spacing line-spacing border-width top-help number-
set HEADING=\x20 EASY2BOOT V1 - MAIN MENU \x20 of-items-in-menu top-start menu-width right-start-pos-of-
menu
can be changed to set wdspace=0
set HEADING=\x20 STEVE’s (sehr güt!) MAIN MENU \x20 set lnspace=0
set topstart=2
Tip: \x20 is the code for a space character and must be used at the set rstart=3
start of the line to add padding. set noitems=18
set menuw=62
The very bottom help text can also be changed (displayed set bdwidth=1
on most menus): set tophelp=20
To remove the border set the border width to 0 (e.g. set
# USER MAY CHANGE NEXT LINE bdwidth=0).
set HELPTEXT=\x20 see www.RMPrepUSB.com - Tutorial 72a
# use \x20 for no text at the bottom of the first menu - e.g. set As Easy2Boot changes the tophelp and noitems automatically, I
HELPTEXT=\x20 suggest you do not change those but just
change rstart and menuw to suit your background. There is some
Different headings for each of the sub-menus are defined in each extra code in the \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg file which may override any
individual ZZSubMenuXXX.mnu file. tophelp and noitems settings you make. You can delete or change
# at the start of a line is used to comment out the line. this code if you wish.

Tip: Using NotePad you can save the MyE2B.cfg file as UTF-8 To change the main menu bottom message, change the
unicode. You can then add text (menu headings, etc.) using the HELPTEXT setting in\_ISO\MyE2B.cfg (or just use \x20 to remove
character set of your language (e.g. chinese glyphs, etc. ) it completely), two examples are:

set HEADING=\x20 (重启) € á¡ü test UTF-8 set HELPTEXT=Please select an item using the cursor
Change text colours and border colours keys or press a number key
To change the menu text colour and the colour of the border, edit
the color command line in your \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg file (see set HELPTEXT=\x20
Sample_MyE2B.cfg for details). A few menus have their own pre-set help text which cannot easily
color normal=0x%cyan% highlight=0x%cyan%%%red% be changed unless you edit the files in the grub folder.
helptext=0x%yellow% heading=0x%red% Remove grub4dos and E2B startup messages
standard=0x%brown%%%lcyan% border=0x%yellow% As E2B runs it displays progress messages and lists the files that it
adds to each menu (see here for an example of what you might
Note that the highlight and standard (console) text have a see as E2B runs).
background and foreground colour setting - though you can have a E2B version 1.05 and later versions allow you to suppress the E2B
transparent background for the highlighted text if you wish. menu file enumeration messages. To do this add this line to your
\_ISO\MyE2B.cfg file:-
Alternatively, you can specify the colours in text/background pairs
and use black for a transparent background: e.g. set redir=> nul

color normal=light-cyan/black highlight=red/cyan If you also want to suppress the early E2B startup messages (not
helptext=yellow/black standard=light-cyan/black border=light- recommended as they may be useful on systems with bad
gray/black BIOSes) then add this line:
set redirp=> nul
See the \_ISO\Sample_MyE2B.cfg file on the E2B drive (bottom of
file) for an example of these two lines (note there is a space
between the > and nul text).
You can hide the (initial) cursor by adding this line to the top of
your MyE2B.cfg
# set cursor off the screen so no text or cursor is seen for a while
(cursor set to column 0 row 128!)
call Fn.5 0 128
You can use the examples in the Sample_MyE2B.cfg file to
change the behaviour on startup, for instance to just have a blank
screen right up until the Main menu is displayed use this in your
MyE2B.cfg file:
call Fn.70 0 ;; clear ;; call Fn.5 0 128 ;; set redirp=> nul ;; set
redir=> nul
Text in .lst, .g4b, .hdr .cmd and .mnu files may also need changing
for a full language translation however (note: only .mnu files can be
renamed, other types of files must not be renamed and so may be
overwritten if you update your version of E2B in future)!
Tip: An easy way to translate the files to your own language is to
use WinMerge as follows:
1. Install WinMerge onto your Windows system (there are a
selection of languages in the View - Language menu)
2. Copy the Easy2Boot files twice to two identical folders, for
example: C:\Temp\English and C:\Temp\Spanish
3. In Windows Explorer, select both folders - right-click and
select WinMerge to open them in WinMerge for comparison
4. Change the View options to show all files (tick all view options
including identical files)
Now you can double-click on any file and WinMerge will open
one file in a left pane and the other in a right pane.

Patching grub4dos

If you want to blank out the grub4dos boot/startup messages to

make your Easy2Boot USB drive look more professional when it
boots, please do the following:

1. Boot up the Easy2Boot USB flash drive on a real system (not a

VM or under QEMU unless writes work or the patch may not take
effect!)

2. Press C to get to the grub4dos console - if nothing happens

press P and enter the password (e.g. easy2boot), then press C

3. Type /_ISO/docs/patchme - this will patch the flash drive boot You can now edit the words in the 'Spanish' pane whilst keeping
sectors and the grldr file on the E2B USB drive. You can also the 'English' file unchanged. Click the small cross in the top right to
choose to remove the GRUB4DOS version header which is briefly save changes and go back to the main file/folder view. Now you
displayed when a each new menu is loaded and when you go to can see which files you have already changed.
the console command shell (though if you do you won't be able to
see what version you are using!).

4. Hit a key to reboot when prompted.

Note that if you re-install grub4dos to the USB drive or overwrite
the grldr file, you will need to run patchme again.
Changing the Language
Easy2Boot is written only in (UK) English. However, the text in
each .mnu file can be edited manually using Notepad. I suggest
you do not use the same filenames that are used by E2B - so that
if you update E2B with a newer version, you simply need to delete
the standard E2B .mnu files again.
Save your .mnu file as either an ANSI file - or save it as a UTF-8
file (using Windows NotePad) if you use special characters such
as...
title Chinese reboot (重启)
reboot
title Chinese halt (关机)
halt
If you update Easy2Boot in future, you will need to delete the
standard xxx.mnu files (but check the contents have not been
updated or changed since your version was made).
(click to enlarge)
Menu password protection
Note: the default password to gain access to grub4dos is
'easy2boot'. This is set by the E2B.cfg file.
If no password was set, then any user could edit any of the
Easy2Boot menu entries by pressing 'e' or the user could reach the
grub4dos command line by pressing 'c'.
If the user presses 'e' or 'c' by accident, they might not understand
what has happened or know how to get back to the menu again
and you may not want them to access the USB drive in this way,
so I set a default password is set.
You can set or change or remove the password as follows:
1. Copy the \_ISO\Sample_MyE2B.cfg to \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg
2. Change the password line in \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg - base it on one
of the three examples below:
# this will set a pasword of easy2boot (encrypted so the used won't Master Password (v1.08+)
know what it is!) You can set a master password by uncommenting the 2 lines in
set pwd=--md5 $1$1$okAQ3AJUdhqf3TVrwKvJP1 the MyE2B.cfg file, e.g.:

# this will set a password in plain text password fred || echo -e \x20WRONG PASSWORD! && goto
set pwd=fred :mpwd
echo
# this will remove the password OR (use an encrypted password and reboot if the user gets it
set pwd= wrong):
password --md5 $1$4$tsiiC/23IOf0pifS.6ttc. || echo -e
3. Save the \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg file. \x20WRONG PASSWORD! && reboot
echo
This prevents Easy2Boot from running unless the user knows the
set pwd=--md5 $1$1$okAQ3AJUdhqf3TVrwKvJP1 will set a master password.
password of 'easy2boot' and will prevent the user from accidentally Beep
getting access to the menu editor or the grub4dos command When the Main Menu loads, you can make E2B beep to signal that
prompt. it is ready. This is useful if the menu takes a long time to load as it
will tell you when it is ready. 1-3 beeps are supported. The
If you want to use a different password, then you can either use a computer must have an internal speaker fitted (most notebooks
plain, unencrypted password, e.g. don't!). To the MyE2B.cfg file add:

set pwd=mypwd set beep=3

Add a new folder entry to the Main Menu
or you can use an MD5 hashed password so that if the user looks The following instructions can be used to make any number of
at the MyE2B.cfg file, he will not know what the password is (in additional folder entries in the Main menu (e.g. Diagnostics,
this example it is 'mypwd'), e.g. Special, MSDart, etc.).

set pwd=--md5 $1$4$tsiiC/23IOf0pifS.6ttc. Easy2Boot only has several sub-menu folders pre-defined (e.g.
ANTIVIRUS, BACKUP, DOS, etc).
To find the MD5 password for any word, you can download
the md5crypt program from here and generate your MD5 hash Let us say you have some ISOs which you often use to make a
code. backup, and you also have an ISO (ping.iso) which you use to
Run the md5crypt.exe program, type in a password (e.g. mypwd) make an automated backup, but it requires some special
and then cut and paste the md5 hash into commands, and hence it requires a .mnu folder. And let us
your \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg file. suppose that you want all of these in a folder called SPECIAL and
Note that the value of pwd should start with --md5 (two minus a separate menu entry in the Main menu called SPECIAL . e.g.
signs followed by md5 and then a space).
Files:
Tip: To hide the password from prying eyes and prevent it's \_ISO\MAINMENU\ZZSubMenuSpecial.mnu (see below)
removal by someone using NotePad, use 7Zip to compress the \_ISO\SPECIAL\clonezilla.iso
MyE2B.cfg file to GZip format (you must keep the filename the \_ISO\SPECIAL\pmagic.iso
same - i.e. as MyE2B.cfg, not MyE2B.cfg.gz). E2B will still work \_ISO\SPECIAL\Linux\ping.iso
fine as long as the filenames are the same as they were before. If \_ISO\SPECIAL\Linux\ping.mnu
you wish, you can also do this to the \menu.lst file and the menu.lst
and E2B.cfg files in the \_ISO\E2B\grub folder too (or even all .mnu 1. Copy the ZZSubMenuDos.mnu file in the \_ISO\MAINMENU
files, .txt files and .g4b files!). Do not do this with .ISO (payload) folder and rename it to
files though! \_ISO\MAINMENU\ZZSubMenuSpecial.mnu

For an easy way to encrypt a load of files and save having to 2. Edit the ZZSubMenuSpecial.mnu file in NotePad and change
rename them afterwards using 7Zip, download LZMA.zip and unzip the first few lines to your own text and own folder name, e.g.
the three files inside it to your Desktop (or to any folder or even to change this...
your E2B USB drive). To 'encrypt' the menu.lst, MyE2B.cfg, etc.
files on your USB drive, simply select them all in Windows Explorer iftitle [ls (bd)/_ISO/DOS/ > nul] ^Ctrl+D DOS Menu [Ctrl+D]\n
and drag and drop them onto theLZMA_ENCODE.cmd file. A MS-DOS and FreeDOS utilities
backup called .orig is also made on the source folder, which you set MFOLDER=/_ISO/DOS
can choose to keep or delete. To decompress the file(s), simply #MFOLDER must be the full folder path starting with /
drag and drop them onto the LZMA_DECRYPT.cmd file. A backup set HDG=\x20 DOS Menu \x20
of the original compressed file is made called .comp which you #HDG is the top heading for the menu
can choose to keep or delete. Note that if you select more than (bd)/%grub%/SubMenu.g4b
one file, you will only be asked the question to delete the original boot
file(s) once and then that answer will be applied to any more files
you have selected. to this...
Note: Files created using lzma.exe can be decrypted by 7Zip if you
give them the .zip file extension.
iftitle [ls (bd)/_ISO/SPECIAL/ > nul] SPECIAL Menu\n My Special set MFOLDER=/_ISO/WINDOWS/Win7
Menu set ISO=Win7_32_SP1.iso
set MFOLDER=/_ISO/SPECIAL /%grub%/RunVista.g4b Win7
#MFOLDER must be the full folder path starting with / boot
set HDG=\x20 SPECIAL Menu \x20
#HDG is the top heading for the menu # use this for Win8/8.1/SVR2012 ISOs
(bd)/%grub%/SubMenu.g4b iftitle [if exist /_ISO/WINDOWS/Win8/Win8.1_32.iso] Install Win8.1
boot 32-bit \n Install from the ISO
set MFOLDER=/_ISO/WINDOWS/Win8
Note: The original title line defined a hotkey using ^Ctrl+D and the set ISO=Win8.1_32.iso
[Ctrl+D] which indicates to the user that there is a hotkey assigned /%grub%/RunWin8.g4b Win8
to this menu entry. You can add and change these two parts of text boot
f you want a hotkey for your menu item. Note that GFXMenus does
not support hotkeys. ## XP ISOs

4. Create a new folder at \_ISO\SPECIAL
5. Now place your ISO files, etc. in this folder. If you have .mnu
files you can place these in the same folder or any sub-folder that
you make. For instance, if you want to use an Ubuntu.mnu file and
Ubuntu.ISO file, place both of these in \_ISO\SPECIAL\Linux folder
(if the .mnu file is expecting the ISO to be in %MFOLDER%\Linux).
iftitle [if %CXP%>=1 && if "%GFX%"==""] ^Alt+1 Install XP - Step 1
[Alt+1]\n Remember to select an AHCI driver (if required) \n AND
FiraDisk AND WinVBlock drivers (using F6)!\n You must reboot to
Easy2Boot again and run STEP 2 afterwards.
set MFOLDER=/_ISO/WINDOWS/XP
/%grub%/XPStep1.g4b
boot

You can repeat these instructions for any other folder you want to
create.
If the heading at the top of the menu is not aligned correctly, make
sure it is padded with enough spaces.
You can also have sub-sub-menus. For instance, copy your
ZZSubMenuSpecial.mnu file to your \_ISO\SPECIAL folder and
rename it to ZZSubMenuSPECIAL_USEFUL.mnu and edit it as
follows:
iftitle [ls (bd)/_ISO/SPECIAL_USEFUL/ > nul] ^U SPECIAL
USEFUL TOOLS Menu [U]\n My useful backup tools
set MFOLDER=/_ISO/SPECIAL_USEFUL
#MFOLDER must be the full folder path starting with /
set HDG=\x20 SPECIAL USEFUL Menu
\x20
#HDG is the top heading for the menu
(bd)/%grub%/SubMenu.g4b
boot
Now create a folder call \_ISO\SPECIAL_USEFUL and put any
ISO files or .mnu files under there. Do NOT create sub-folders for
sub-menus under the \_ISO\SPECIAL folder!
Your SPECIAL menu will now have a new menu entry in it called
SPECIAL USEFUL TOOLS Menu with a hotkey of U.
You can use a similar menu to move back to the previous folder
menu - see \_ISO\UTILITIES_MEMTEST\ZZBackTo_Utils.mnu for
an example.
Adding 'Install Windows xxx from ISO' menu entries to the
Main menu
If you want to add a Main menu entry to install a specific Windows
ISO directly from the Main menu (to save having to go to the
Windows menu and then the Windows 7 menu), you can add a
.mnu file to the \_ISO\MAINMENU folder as below (this example
contains one Win7 and one Win8.1 ISO):
# Use this for Vista/SVR2K8R2/Win7 ISOs
iftitle [if exist /_ISO/WINDOWS/Win7/Win7_32_SP1.iso] Install
Win7 SP1 32-bit \n Install from the ISO
iftitle [if %CXP%>=1 && if not "%GFX%"==""] Install XP - Step 1\n
Remember to select an AHCI driver (if required) \n AND FiraDisk
AND WinVBlock drivers (using F6)!\n You must reboot to
Easy2Boot again and run STEP 2 afterwards.
set MFOLDER=/_ISO/WINDOWS/XP
/%grub%/XPStep1.g4b
boot
iftitle [if %CXP%>=1 && if "%GFX%"==""] ^Alt+2 Install XP - Step 2
[Alt+2] (512MB+ systems)\n 2nd phase of setup (most reliable).\n
This will complete the install and reboot from the hard disk.\n It
requires at least 512MB of RAM to hold the ISO file.
set MFOLDER=/_ISO/WINDOWS/XP
/%grub%/XPStep2.g4b
boot
iftitle [if %CXP%>=1 && if not "%GFX%"==""] Install XP - Step 2
(512MB+ systems)\n 2nd phase of setup (most reliable).\n This will
complete the install and reboot from the hard disk.\n It requires at
least 512MB of RAM to hold the ISO file.
set MFOLDER=/_ISO/WINDOWS/XP
/%grub%/XPStep2.g4b
boot
iftitle [if %CXP%>=1 && if "%GFX%"==""] ^Alt+3 Install XP - Step 2
[Alt+3] (Low RAM systems)\n Faster - use this if not enough
system memory (<512MB). \n Direct ISO map for WinVBlock. Does
not work on all\n systems, e.g. some Atom CPU based systems.
set MFOLDER=/_ISO/WINDOWS/XP
/%grub%/XPStep2LowRam.g4b
boot
iftitle [if %CXP%>=1 && if not "%GFX%"==""] Install XP - Step 2
(Low RAM systems)\n Faster - use this if not enough system
memory (<512MB). \n Direct ISO map for WinVBlock. Does not
work on all\n systems, e.g. some Atom CPU based systems.
set MFOLDER=/_ISO/WINDOWS/XP
/%grub%/XPStep2LowRam.g4b
boot
See the \_ISO\docs\Sample mnu files\$$AddWin2Main.mnu file
for the XP entries if you also want to add the XP PE install menu
entries (individual menu entries for XP ISOs are not supported
though). You can make separate entries for each non-XP ISO or
combine them into one .mnu file. Menu entries will be arranged
alphabetically according to their filenames, so change the name to
ZZZZZZ.mnu if you want it added last in the Main menu. You can
also add a hotkey for each one by adding it to the title line (search
this page for 'hotkey').
To prevent a Windows XP/Vista/7/8 sub-sub-menu from loading
the Windows Install sub-menu, use this setting in your MyE2B.cfg
file (v1.14 and later):
# NOWMENU causes a Windows Install sub-sub menu to return
back to the Main menu rather than return to the Windows Install
menu
### set NOWMENU=1
Removing the DOS, BACKUP and UTILITIES Main menu
entries
Empty folders will not be listed in the Main menu, so just ensure
that these folders (e.g. \_ISO\DOS, \_ISO\BACKUP and
\_ISO\UTILITIES) are completely empty of any files or folders.
Change the way that payload files are listed in the menus
If you have payload files (.ISO, .bin, .img, etc.) in the Main menu or
in the other folders, the actual filename+extension will be listed in
the menu. You can, of course, change the filename to any name
you like, however, you can specify an alternative menu title
(instead of the whole file name+extension being displayed in the
menu).
For instance, if you have an ISO file at
\_ISO\MAINMENU\LinuxTails_x86_2012_11_02.iso, it will be
displayed in the main menu just as the filename+extension:
LinuxTails_x86_2012_11_02.iso
However, if you also specify an alternative title in a .txt file of the
same name and in the same folder, then that title will be used
instead (note the line of text in the .txt file must start with lowercase
grub4dos command title)
e.g. files:
\_ISO\MAINMENU\LinuxTails_x86_2012_11_02.iso
\_ISO\MAINMENU\LinuxTails_x86_2012_11_02.txt
where \_ISO\MAINMENU\LinuxTails_x86_2012_11_02.txt could
contain the text :
title ^T Tails 2 Nov 2012 (32-bit) [T]\n Press ENTER to launch
the GUI once it has booted\nPassword is toor
A hotkey of T has been defined for this entry. If you don't want a
hotkey or if you use a GFXMenu, omit the ^T characters. See
below for more details about hotkeys.
 You must use .txt files which exactly match the payload
filename (e.g. if your file is linux.i386.iso, then create a
file called linux.i386.txt).
 Except for the \_ISO\AUTO folder, .txt files will only work
in folders directly under \_ISO, i.e.
the \_ISO\XXX and \_ISO\Windows\xxxx folders. Note
that .txt files have no affect if they are present in sub-
folders below \_ISO\XXX folders because payload files
are not enumerated if they are more than one level
below \_ISO\xxxx (except for \_ISO\Auto).
 Use only a single line of text (or one line followed by a
blank line)
Text that follows \n will appear as help text at the bottom of the
menu when the item is selected. Any more \n's on the line will start
a new line of help text.
If you delete the payload file (e.g. linux.iso) you do not need to
delete the .txt file - it will just be ignored.
Note: the text in a .txt file must start with the lower-case
word title or you will see errors reported by E2B as it boots.
Tip: Save the file as UTF-8 using NotePad and any special
characters such as ü will be displayed correctly.
Hotkey support
As soon as the user presses a hotkey (e.g. presses the T key), the
menu entry with a T hotkey assigned will immediately run (they
don't need to press Enter).
Avoid using P, C, E or B for hotkeys as these are used by
grub4dos for password entry and editing, etc. You can use Ctrl+B
or Alt+C or Shift+D, etc. instead.
When you use a title command (e.g. in .mnu and .txt files), you
can also specify a hotkey, e.g.
title ^Ctrl+T Tails linux ISO [Ctrl+T]\nPress ctrl+T to boot to Tails
or
iftitle [if exist /_ISO/MAINMENU/Linux/Tails.iso] ^Ctrl+T Tails linux
ISO [Ctrl+T]\nPress Ctrl+T to boot to Tails
Will be displayed as:
Tails linux ISO [Ctrl+T]
You use the up-arrow symbol to specify a non-displayed hotkey.
Alternatively, you can use square brackets to define hotkeys - in
which case the square brackets and the hotkey character(s) will be
displayed in the menu, e.g.
title [T] Tails linux ISO\nPress T to boot to Tails
Will be displayed in the menu as
[T] Tails linux ISO
You can use numbers (best avoided as menu items can be
selected by entering their number too!) or letters for a hotkey, as
well as F1, F2, etc and Ctrl+F1 (e.g. ^Ctrl+F5). Hotkeys are not
case sensitive, you can't have ^t and ^T.
You can also use iftitle - e.g.
iftitle [if exist /_ISO/MAINMENU/fred.iso] [F] Run fred.iso \n This
runs fred.iso when you press F
GFXMenus do not understand this hotkey notation (and may even
cause GFXMenu to crash!), so if you are using a GFXMenu, you
must copy the ZZGFXSubMenuxxxx.mnu files from the
\_ISO\docs\ZZGFXSubMenu Files folder to
the \_ISO\MAINMENU folder (you can delete the
\_ISO\MAINMENU\ZZSubMenuxxxx.mnu files if you are only using
GFXMenu).
Global Hotkeys
In E2B version 1.13 and later you can define global hotkeys in your
MyE2B.cfg file. See the Sample_MyE2B.cfg file for examples.
These hotkeys do not use a menu entry and so are invisible to
the user. If you want the user to know what they are, add text to
the HELPTEXT or to your background bitmap. The hotkeys that
you define will be active for all the menus.
See \_ISO\docs\Sample E2B Templates\TextMinimal\MyE2B.cfg
for an example.
Note for Advanced Tweakers only!: Any global hotkey that is set
will exist for ALL menus and you cannot change or remove a
hotkey command unless you add a new hotkey command to the
top of a menu hdr or .lst file so that it is executed when that menu
loads or add a .mnu file that is loaded first (e.g. starts with $$$ so it
is added before other payload and .mnu files)
For Example:. If you wanted CTRL+F9 to automatically run
Ubuntu when you are in the LINUX menu, but did not want the
menu entry to appear in the menu,
1. Create a \_ISO\LINUX\Linux\$$$HotkeyUbuntu.mnu file with this
single line:
(bd)/%grub%/hotkey [Ctrl+F9] "(bd)/%grub%/qrun.g4b
%MFOLDER%/Linux/MyUbuntu.iso" > nul
2. Add your MyUbuntu.iso file to \_ISO\LINUX\Linux folder
Note that once the Linux menu is loaded, the Ctrl+F9 hotkey will
now work in every menu unless you redfine the hotkey or clear it.
For instance, if you added (bd)/%grub%/hotkey [Ctrl+F9] > nul to
the top of \_ISO\e2b\grub\main.hdr, then when the Main menu was
loaded the Ctrl+F9 hotkey would always be cleared.
Adding a FASTLOAD Refresh hotkey
In your MyE2B.cfg file add (v1.14 and later):
#set hotkey Ctrl+R to refresh fastload menu cache
()/%grub%/hotkey [Ctrl+R] "clear && echo REFRESH >
/FASTLOAD.YES && configfile /%grub%/menu.lst" > nul
#suppress FASTLOAD Main menu entry (optional)
set NOFLMENU=1
Prevent the menu items from being automatically numbered
If you don't want the Main menu items to be automatically
numbered, use
set AUTONUM=0x0000
Remove or change the 'Boot to first HDD [F7]' menu entry
The Main menu entry is caused by the
\_ISO\MAINMENU\ZZZF7BootHdd.mnu file. You can rename and
edit this file to alter the F7 entry in the Main menu, For instance, to
make it invisible (but still occupy a blank line in the menu), change
the first line to:
iftitle [if "%GFX%"==""] ^F7 \n
Note that if you delete the .mnu file, the hotkey will no longer work
and the menu entry will be removed.
To remove the entry from all other menus use set NOF7HD=0 in
your MyE2B.cfg file.
Remove or change the 'Reload Main Menu [F8]' menu entry
This entry is caused by the
\_ISO\MAINMENU\ZZZF8ReloadMenu.mnu file. You can rename
and edit this file to alter the F8 entry in the Main menu, For
instance, to make it invisible (but still occupy a blank line in the
menu), change the first line to:
iftitle [if "%GFX%"==""] ^F8 \n
Note that if you delete the .mnu file, the hotkey will no longer work
unless you specify a global hotkey in your MyE2B.cfg file.
To remove the entry from the Windows Install menu use set
NOF8B=0 in your MyE2B.cfg file.
Note: You can add your own 'Back to Main Menu' into any menu
by adding a Reload.mnu file into the \_ISO\xxx folder. To load the
Main Menu quickly, use the cached version at (md)0xa000:
title Reload Main Menu \n Reload the Main Menu
configfile /menu.lst
title Reload Main Menu (Quick) \n Reload the Main Menu from
memory
configfile (md)0xa000+0x50
Remove the 'Reboot [F9]' menu entry and function
Use set NOF9R=1 in your MyE2B.cfg file (v1.11 and later).
Change the HELPTEXT setting in MyE2B.cfg too.
Remove the 'Power Off [F10]' menu entry and function
Use set NOF10H=1 in your MyE2B.cfg file (v1.11 and later).
Change the HELPTEXT setting in MyE2B.cfg too.
Add blank lines as separators to a menu
Menu entries are alphabetically sorted. To add a blank line
(separator) in the Main menu between say Acronis.iso and
Backtrack5.iso, for instance, create a file
at \_ISO\MAINMENU\AZSeparator.mnu:
title \n
root ()
You can have as many of these files as you like, but note that each
menu item will be counted by grub4dos, so when you set a default
menu item (using menu 0) then you must also count these blank
lines even though they are not numbered. The small number at the
top right of the menu box actually indicates the menu number you
need to use when setting a menu default.
If you want a blank line immediately after menu 0 ('Set default
menu entry and timeout') then use a filename of
say $$$separator.mnu so it will be the first file enumerated by
E2B.
Remove the 'Set default menu entry and timeout' Main menu
entry
In your \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg add:
set DEFMENU=0
Only show the Windows Install menu
If you just want to use the Windows Install menu, then:
1. Make a new file \_ISO\MAINMENU\$$$JumpToWinMenu.mnu
echo Loading Windows Menu...
configfile (bd)/%grub%/MenuWinInstall.lst > nul
2. To \_ISO\MyE2B.cfg add:
!BAT
set NOF8B=0
set NODEFMENU=0

3. (optional) Delete all ZZxxxxxxx.mnu files in \_ISO\MAINMENU
Speed up loading of the Main Menu
If you find that the Main menu takes too long to enumerate all your
files and create a new menu on every boot, copy the
file \_ISO\FASTLOAD.YES to the root Easy2Boot folder
(i.e. \FASTLOAD.YES). This will cause the Main menu to be
cached for a quicker boot the next time.
The main menu is normally built up in memory on booting and it
enumerates (detects) all the files under the \_ISO folder - this can
take some time if you have lots of files. If FASTLOAD is enabled,
this menu is copied (cached) to the FASTLOAD.MNU file. On the
next boot, if \FASTLOAD.YES is present, the FASTLOAD.MNU file
will be loaded as the main menu instead of Easy2Boot needing to
re-detect all the payload files again and building a new menu in
memory.
When Easy2Boot is in FASTLOAD mode, and if you then change
the contents of the USB drive, you need to use
the REFRESH option to update the cached copy of the menu so
that the Main menu will be updated with the new contents.
Fig. 4 Use this option if you change the contents of the Easy2Boot drive
Note: For Information only: The FASTLOAD.YES file must be at
least 1K in size or larger - otherwise it won't work if it is on an
NTFS partition. If it contains the word REFRESH then Easy2Boot
will build a new menu in memory and write it to the
FASTLOAD.MNU file and then remove the word REFRESH from
the FASTLOAD.YES file so that on the next boot, Easy2Boot will
use the contents of the FASTLOAD.MNU file as the Main menu.
When you choose the REFRESH menu option, it writes the word
REFRESH to the \FASTLOAD.YES file and re-runs menu.lst to
restart Easy2Boot.
Note that you can edit the FASTLOAD.MNU file to change the
Main menu order or contents to whatever you like (just don't
'Refresh' the menu or you will lose the changes!).
Suppress text messages on startup
E2B enumerates files and displays progress information as it starts
up. Displaying text messages and scrolling of the screen can delay
things by a second or two on some systems. To disable these
messages, add the following to your \_ISO\MYE2B.cfg file:
set redir=> nul
If you also want to suppress the initial E2B startup messages (not
recommended), use:
set redirp=> nul
Counting Windows ISO Files
Easy2Boot counts all .iso files under the \_ISO\Windows folder
during startup. If you have a lots of files under \_ISO\Windows, this
may take several seconds.
If you do not want to enable FastLoad, then you can speed up the
Windows folder enumeration by presetting (hard coding) the
number of Windows ISOs that you have.
The following procedure is NOT RECOMMENDED as it will alter
an Easy2Boot file and a later E2B update will overwrite the file.
Edit the \_ISO\E2B\grub\CountFiles.g4b file as below (choose
numbers to fit the number of files you have in each folder):
!BAT
set CXP=3
set CV=0
set C7=5
set C28=1
set CT8=9
set C12=0
set CALL=9
If you set a value to 0 then the menu item will not be listed - e.g. if
CXP=0 then the Install Windows XP menu will not appear.
The value that you set will appear next to each menu item e.g. (9
present). CALL must be set to a number greater than 0 or the
main Install Windows menu will not be listed.
Don't load the font file on start-up
If you don't need to use non-ASCII characters in your filenames or
.mnu and .txt files, then there is no need to load the unifont.hex.gz
1MB font file on startup. To suppress this, edit your
\_ISO\MyE2B.cfg file and add a NOUNIFONT=1 setting (actually
any value will work!):
set NOUNIFONT=1
Don't use a graphics bitmap
To use a non-graphics text mode menu, use set GFX=NONE in
your MyE2B.cfg file. See the TextMinimal example in the
\_ISO\docs\Sample E2B Templates folder for an example.
Delete the xml files from the root
E2B wipes two large (100K) .xml files every time it boots by filling
them with spaces.
If your USB drive is a USB HDD (not a 'Removable' Flash drive),
then you can delete the \AutoUnattend.xml and \Unattend.xml files
from the E2B USB HDD - this will save some time on every boot.
These .xml files are not used if you are booting from a USB HDD.
If you are not going to use the Install XP via WinPE feature, or
install Vista/7/8/SVR2012 from Windows Install ISOs or use .isoPE
or .isoPE01 files (e.g. you only want to boot linux ISOs using E2B)
then you can delete these two .xml files even if your Easy2Boot
USB drive is a USB Flash drive.
If however, your E2B USB drive is a flash drive and you want to
boot 'Windows things' then leave them alone!
How to make an Easy2Boot .mnu file
This part is only for people who want to make a new .mnu file for a
new ISO file (or any type of payload file). This is normally not
necessary unless the normal Easy2Boot automatic process needs
some special additional commands. There are many working
examples in the \_ISO\E2B\docs\Sample mnu files folder.
A .mnu file just contains valid grub4dos menu entries and
comment lines. They are added to E2B's own menu which is held
in memory.
1. Create a file in the same folder as your ISO file and name it the
same as the 'payload' file but with a .mnu extension (it actually
can be of any name but it just makes sense to match the name to
the payload file).
For instance, if it is for YLMF linux and the ISO file is called Note that as the .mnu file specifies %MFOLDER%\Linux, we must
Ylmf_OS_3.0.iso then name the file Ylmf_OS_3.0.mnu and place place the ISO file in a Linux sub-folder or the menu entry will not
both files in the \_ISO\MainMenu\Linux folder or the be listed (because iftitle looks for the file in %MFOLDER%\Linux -
\_ISO\LINUX\Linux folder. e.g. \_ISO\LINUX\Linux).

You can have more than one menu entry in the same .mnu file or Also note that for Linux we MUST get the case correct - I use Linux
you can have more than one mnu file for the same ISO (perhaps for most .mnu files not LINUX or linux!
there is more than one way to boot the ISO?).
Tip: If you use a non-ANSI character set, don't forget to save the
e.g. files are: file as UTF-8 format!
/_ISO/MNU/Linux/Ylmf_OS_3.0.mnu
/_ISO/MNU/Linux/Ylmf_OS_3.0.iso 5. Boot the USB drive (use the QEMU button in RMPrepUSB for a
quick check) and ensure that the menu entry is listed and at least
4. Edit the .mnu file by adding some information for the user as starts to boot. if not check the paths you use in the .mnu and check
comment lines - the easiest way to explain this is to see a before for upper/lower-case letters.
and after file:
6. Finally check that it works on a real system (or several real
menu.lst example taken from this site (before changing to systems!).
.mnu format)...
Note: .mnu filenames can have spaces in them and do work
iftitle [if exist /_ISO/Linux/Ylmf_OS_3.0.iso] Boot YlmF 3.0 but try to avoid filenames with spaces in them if possible.
(Windows Like OS) Non-Persistent\nThis OS boots directly from
the ISO file at /_ISO/Linux/Ylmf_OS_3.0.iso If the original ISO file has spaces when downloaded, then you will
find --set-root /_ISO/Linux/Ylmf_OS_3.0.iso need to use "\ " in the menu for each space character, e.g. for "My
map /_ISO/Linux/Ylmf_OS_3.0.iso (0xff) Big ISO.iso" you need to use, for example:
map --hook
root (0xff) iftitle [if exist %MFOLDER%/My\ Big\ Iso.iso] Run My Big
kernel /casper/vmlinuz file=/cdrom/preseed/ubuntu.seed ISO.iso
boot=casper iso-scan/filename=/_ISO/Linux/ylmf_OS_3.0.iso map %MFOLDER%/My\ Big\ Iso.iso (0xff)
floppy.allowed_drive_mask=0 splash map --hook
initrd /casper/initrd.img root (0xff)
chainloader +1
The converted Ylmf_OS_3.0.mnu file...
7. The User Instructions should be along the lines of:
# Download ISO file from http://www.ylmf.org/en/download.html
# MD5: 919794E3D9B035A5A895C3E1D1818F95 # Download xxx.iso from here
# SHA1: 6E672A667155E442A612F69CCBA1BF6C44752D8D # Copy the xxx.iso and the mnu file to /_ISO/xxxx/yyyy folder on
# INSTRUCTIONS: Copy this file and Ylmf_OS_3.0.iso to the your Easy2Boot USB drive
/_ISO/MainMenu/Linux folder or /_ISO/MNU/Linux folder # Check the MD5 hash of the ISO file is correct - it should be
MD5=aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
iftitle [if exist %MFOLDER%/Linux/Ylmf_OS_3.0.iso] Boot YlmF # Run WinContig to ensure the file is contiguous AFTER you have
3.0 (Windows Like OS) Non-Persistent\nThis OS boots directly copied it to the USB drive (use RMPrepUSB Ctrl+F2).
from the ISO file at %MFOLDER%/Linux/Ylmf_OS_3.0.iso
find --set-root %MFOLDER%/Linux/Ylmf_OS_3.0.iso Note that the .mnu files can be anywhere under the main
map %MFOLDER%/Linux/Ylmf_OS_3.0.iso (0xff) (MFOLDER) folder - they do not have to be in the same folder as
map --hook the ISO (payload) files. However, the .mnu files MUST be under
root (0xff) the MFOLDER in order to be detected. If your .mnu file contains
kernel /casper/vmlinuz file=/cdrom/preseed/ubuntu.seed %MFOLDER% paths, then the main payload file must also be
boot=casper iso- under the main MFOLDER. Also, the .mnu file does not have to
scan/filename= %MFOLDER%/Linux/ylmf_OS_3.0.iso contain the %MFOLDER% path reference - you can hard-code the
floppy.allowed_drive_mask=0 splash path (e.g. /boot/bootmgr) in your .mnu file, but you must tell the
initrd /casper/initrd.img user that they can only place the payload files in those specific
folders on the Easy2Boot USB drive.
Note that a few lines of comments (starting with #) have been
added to indicate where to get the source file and the MD5 or Always use iftitle rather than just title if at all possible to avoid
SHA1 hash values have been added so the user can check this. misleading the user - when using iftitle with if exist - if the payload
iso does not exist or is not in the correct folder, then no menu will
The other thing to note is that %MFOLDER% is used for the top be displayed for that file.
level folder. This will be set automatically to /_ISO/XXXX if the
.mnu file is placed in that folder or under it, e.g. Menu titles can also be assigned a hotkey. See the hotkey
MFOLDER=/_ISO/MAINMENU if the .mnu file is placed in the section above for details.
\_ISO\MainMenu\Linux folder. The variable MFOLDER is set
automatically by Easy2Boot to the 'mother' 2nd-level folder.
Why not send me your .mnu files and I will add it the downloads at
the bottom of this page or to the Easy2Boot Sample folder for
others to use and enjoy (put your name in them for perpetual
fame)!
Example: Adding the Windows 7 menu entry to the MAIN
Menu
You can create a .mnu file in the \_ISO\MAINMENU folder to have
the Windows 7 install entry listed in the Main Menu, instead of
needing to select 'Install Windows' from the Main menu and then
select 'Install Window 7'. The first menu below is for a GFXMenu
system, the 2nd one is for non-GFXMenu (normal) E2B systems. If
you don't use GFXMenu's then just use the 2nd menu. The .mnu
file you make can be any name you like (it will be alphabetically
listed in the Main menu). C7 is the count of the number of ISOs in
the WIN7 folder.
iftitle [if %C7%>=1 && if not "%GFX%"==""] Install Windows 7\n
Install Windows 7 from an ISO file.
set LBACKMENU=/%grub%/MenuWinInstall.lst
/%grub%/VistaMn.g4b .automenu Win7
configfile (md)0x3000+0x50
boot
iftitle [if %C7%>=1 && if "%GFX%"==""] ^7 Install Windows 7 [7]
(%C7% present)\n Install Windows 7 from an ISO file.
set LBACKMENU=/%grub%/MenuWinInstall.lst
/%grub%/VistaMn.g4b .automenu Win7
configfile (md)0x3000+0x50
boot
These menu entries can be found in the
\_ISO\e2b\grub\MenuWinInstall.lst file. You can copy any of them
to make your own .mnu file in the MAINMENU folder if you wish.
Adding WinPE (WinBuilder) v2/3/4 ISOs
E2B recognises a special file extension of .isoPE and .isoPE01.
These can be used for WinPE v2 (Vista), v3 (Win7) and v4 (Win8)
based .iso files. If you use the .isoPE file extension AND the E2B
boot drive is a USB Flash drive (or you have a 'Helper' USB flash
drive), then when wpeinit runs to initialise the network when the
WinPE ISO boots, the WinPE ISO file will be mounted as a virtual
DVD drive and given the letter Y: by default. This means that for
WinPE (e.g. WinBuilder) projects, you can boot directly from a
.isoPE file and the auxilliary files which the WinPE environment
expects to find on the Y: DVD drive, will be present on the Y: drive.
Thus the PStart menu items, etc. should work as if it had booted
from a DVD.
If you wish to have the ISO load as a different drive letter, then you
need to make a new file with the same filename as the ISO but
with a .cmd file extension (in the same folder as the .isoPE file).
e.g. \_ISO\MAINMENU\PE3x86.cmd if the iso was at
\_ISO\MAINMENU\PE3x86.isoPE01
The .cmd file should contain a line similar to the one below:
set ISOLETTER=S:
In this way, you do not need to remember what drive letter each
different ISO uses, once you have made the .cmd files for each of
your WinPE ISO files.
If you require a .cmd file to be run some operations after the ISO
has been mounted but before PE has fully loaded (e.g. to copy
files, etc.), you can define a POSTCMD variable, e.g. if the ISO
was called \_ISO\WINPE\Winpe\123.iso, then here are 4 different
examples of what could be in your 123.cmd file:
set ISOLETTER=S:
REM run \_ISO\WINPE\Winpe\123_Custom.cmd after the ISO file
has been loaded as a virtual drive
set POSTCMD= %~pn0_Custom.cmd
set ISOLETTER=S:
REM run \_ISO\WINPE\Winpe\xyz.cmd after the ISO file has been
loaded as a virtual drive
set POSTCMD= %~p0xyz.cmd
set ISOLETTER=S:
REM Run a cmd file from the E2B USB drive after the ISO file has
been loaded as a virtual drive
set POSTCMD=%USBDRIVE%\xxx\yyy\zzz.cmd
set ISOLETTER=S:
REM Run a cmd file from the ISO after the ISO file has been
loaded as a virtual drive
set POSTCMD=S:\xxx\yyy\zzz.cmd
The .isoPE01 file extension has the same affect as the .isoPE
extension, except that it swaps over the USB boot drive 0 with
drive 1 (the internal HDD) before booting to the ISO (BIOS swap
only). This may be useful for running WinPE ISOs that normally
contain recovery software which expects HD0 to be the 'system'
HDD.
This functionality is in v1.07Beta03 and later versions.
Note: If you also add a .txt file for each ISO, then you can change
the menu text displayed for each file.
Using a Zalman USB Hard Disk caddy
If you have a Zalman USB Hard Disk, then it can load any .ISO file
located under the \_ISO folder and emulate a CD/DVD drive. That
is why E2B specifically uses the \_ISO folder to store it's payload
files. You may find that you need to rename the file extension of an
ISO file in order to get it to work in E2B - for instance, you may
need to rename a WinPE .iso file to .isoPE. However, if you
change the file extension, then the Zalman will not recognise the
file and so the Zalman software will not list the ISO file.
If you set the ISOASK variable to 1 in E2B however, E2B will
always ask the user how to boot every .iso file (just as if the iso
file had a .isoask extension). To do this, edit
the\_ISO\MyE2B.cfg file and add the line
set ISOASK=1
to the end of the file (see \_ISO\Sample_MyE2B.cfg - bottom of
file). This is only supported in v1.07Beta03 and later versions.
Note: If you set the file extension to .isodd then you will not be
asked and E2B will boot from the .isodd file just the same as if it
was a .iso file.
Another alternative (v1.07 and later) is to create a .mnu file for
each iso file that requires a different extension for E2B. For
instance, if you have a Hirens iso file and you want to run it with
the .isowinvh file extension in E2B, but leave the hirens iso file with
a .iso extension on the E2B drive, use this .mnu text:
title Hirens ISO\n Boot direct from Hirens ISO\n Boot Hirens from
ISO
/%grub%/qrun.g4b force.isowinvh %MFOLDER%/Utility/Hiren's.B
ootCD.15.2.iso
boot

Note: In this example, the .iso file and .mnu file should be in a
\_ISO\xxxx\Utility folder (e.g. \_ISO\UTILITIES\Utility or
\_ISO\MAINMENU\Utility).

The force.isowinvh is a dummy filename (any filename will do!) +

extension. Whatever extension is specified in this first dummy
parameter will be used to run the .iso file that is specified in the
second parameter. So in this case, the Hirens .iso file will be run
by E2B as if it had a .isowinvh file extension.
GFXMenu Support
Easy2Boot can use a GFXMenu. A sample GFXMenu 'message'
file is included in the download (\_ISO\docs\Sample E2B
Templates\GFXMenu folder) together with a MyE2B.cfg file. Just
copy these to the \_ISO folder to test them out. You can make you
own GFXMenu (which has to be compiled each time you change it)
by following Tutorial 21 here.

Your GFXMenu file must be in the /_ISO folder and you must
specify the name in your MyE2B.cfg file, e.g.

set GFX=message

This is the sample GFXMenu message file included in the

download (with some extra ISOs added).
Note that hotkeys are not supported in GFXMenu, so you will
need
to copy the ZZGFXSubMenuxxx.mnu files to the MAINMENU
folder.

Using a GFXMenu has disadvantages:

 Any error will take you to the grub4dos textmode menu
 Hotkeys don't work
 No titles at the top of the menus
 No help text is displayed for each menu item
 No menu footer text at the bottom of the screen
 Cannot set the default menu entry or timeout
 Cannot show the number of files present in each folder
 When it switches to the text-mode console to list files,
etc. it looks a bit messy.
  You cannot define the resolution, wallpaper, text colours
or menu position in the MyE2B.cfg file (must be done in
the GFXMenu file and recompiled)
 Password protection does not work
 Uses a larger font so less items per screen.
 Cannot use the cursor keys to scroll from end to
beginning (cursor stops on last item)
 Variables are not translated to text in menu entries, so
you can't use a variable in a title xxxx line.
If using your own compiled GFXMenu menu file (e.g. message), I
strongly advise you to get your USB E2B drive tested and working
first, without using your GFXMenu file - and then when it is all
working correctly, try your GFXMenu. Some GFXMenus have been
known to crash E2B (and display a small 'debug' box at the top
left). You can instead try the sample GFXMenu file included in the
\_ISO\docs folder in the E2B download.
Do not use hotkey entries (e.g. ^P) in any of the .mnu files or .txt
menu files if using GFXMenu - it may cause the menu to crash
when it loads!
Please don't ask me for any help making a GFXMenu - ask
reboot.pro forum members instead or look here for a tool. I will only
support grub4dos menus.
GFXMenus do not understand this hotkey notation, so if you are
using a GFXMenu, you must copy the
ZZGFXSubMenuxxxx.mnu files from the
\_ISO\docs\GFXSubMenu Files folder to the \_ISO\MAINMENU
folder (you can delete the
\_ISO\MAINMENU\ZZSubMenuxxxx.mnu files if you are only using
GFXMode). If you don't copy the ZZGFXSubMenuxxxx.mnu files,
you will not see the ANTIVIRUS, BACKUP, DOS, etc. folders in the
Main menu!
Tip: The Windows console mode menu's will look better if you
change the standard console background colour to black in
MyE2B.cfg e.g. color standard=0x%black%%%lcyan%
Easy2Boot - How it works
1. Easy2Boot starts from \_ISO\E2B\grub\menu.lst. The
number of files under \_ISO\Windows are counted - if no
files are found, then the Install Windows entry is not
shown in the Main menu.
2. All files (except .cmd, .txt and . ) in the \_ISO\MainMenu
folder are then enumerated in alphanumeric order and
added to the Main menu (subfolders are also searched
for .mnu files)
3. If there are one or more ISO files in \_ISO\Windows or
below, the Windows Install menu is added to the Main
menu.
.MNU Files
.Mnu files are simply normal grub4dos menu entries which are
copied by Easy2Boot into one large temporary grub4dos menu
which is held in memory. The %MFOLDER% variable is used to
hold the main path (e.g. \_ISO\MAINMENU or \_ISO\BACKUP,
etc.) so that the .mnu file can be used under either location. The
file name of the .mnu file does not matter and can be changed - all
.mnu files are collected. It is best to use the 'iftitle' command inside
.mnu files so that the user can delete the 'payload' file and leave
the .mnu file on the USB drive. The sub-folder names which have
been pre-set under these two folders have no particular
significance - but .mnu files are usually designed so that the
payload file is in a specific sub-folder. Look at a .mnu file in the
docs folder to see how they work.
Windows Install ISOs
These must go under the \_ISO\Windows folder in the
correct sub-folder.
Vista and later OS Install ISOs also require an AutoUnattend.xml
file to be on a removable drive (i.e. a USB Flash Drive). WinPE
v2/3/4 picks up the AutoUnattend.xml file automatically as it
searches all Removable drives for that filename.
Sequence for VISTA and later OS’s (e.g. Win7/8)
1. Easy2Boot overwrites \AutoUnattend.xml with correct contents
(and changes Product Key if required)
2. Windows Setup PE boots
3. WinPE looks for \AutoUnattend.xml file on any REMOVABLE
DRIVE (e.g. USB Flash drive or CD/DVD)
4. Runs WindowsPE RunSynchronous command
5. Finds and runs \_ISO\E2B\FiraDisk\LoadIso.cmd (or if, in
Win8PE, this fails to load, ImDisk is used instead)
6. Windows ISO is loaded as a new virtual DVD (e.g. J: )
7. User asked if they want to Repair Windows (answer N for
Windows Install)
Note: If you answer No, you may be offered to run Startup
Recovery (StartRec.exe),
OS Repair (RecEnv.exe) or MSDart32 if they are present in the
ISO.
8. Setup.exe is run
9. Setup can find \Sources\Install.wim file on virtual DVD drive and
will list all OS versions inside the Install.wim
10. Note that after a reboot and in the final 'Completing installation'
phase - Setup will look for a \Unattend.xml in the root of all
removable media. For this reason, the \Unattend.xml is filled with
an empty but valid .xml entry. If a blank Unattend.xml is seen,
Setup will complain about an invalid Unattend.xml file!
See Tutorial 43 for more details of Vista and later OS installs.
Windows XP Installs using the 2-Step + F6 method
Note: Your Windows XP Install ISO file must be in the
\_ISO\WINDOWS\XP folder.
When using the 2-Step XP install option (see here for more
details): Don't forget to download and add the Mass Storage
drivers for automatic installation to AHCI/SATA/RAID/SCSI
systems - see here for details.
The following instructions only apply if you answer 'No' to the
'Auto-detect DPMS' question in step 2a below.
If you are using DPMS2 then please follow the
instructions here instead of the ones below.
1. Boot from your E2B drive, press W for the Windows menu and
then Alt+1 for Step 1
2. Choose from the list of XP ISOs
2a. You will be asked if you want to use auto-driver detection
(DPMS2) - say N=No
3. You will be prompted for 2 seconds to press Y if you want the
ISO to be loaded into memory - for most systems this is not
required.
Only press Y if you get a BSOD when using Step 1.
4. You will see some instructions about pressing F6 - on some
systems pressing F6 during Windows XP Setup is not necessary.
So try not pressing F6 first.
If you get a BSOD in Step 1 or XP cannot detect your internal hard
drive, then reboot and press F6 and select
FiraDisk32+WinVBlock32. If you have a system which uses a
SATA AHCI HDD controller, also add that driver too.
See Tutorial 30 for how XP ISO installs work using
FiraDisk/ImDisk.
See here for a list of AHCI drivers included with the F6 XP install
process used in E2B. You can identify your AHCI controller using
the List Disk Controller PCI IDs [L] menu.
5. Continue with the text mode setup and allow the system to
reboot after the copy-files stage has completed
6. Reboot back to the E2B USB drive (do NOT allow the computer
to boot from the internal HDD). Select W and Alt+2 for Step 2.
7. The system should now boot from the internal HDD and
continue the GUI Setup phase of the XP install. It may be
necessary to confirm the loading of some drivers during this phase.
8. Once XP has been fully installed, you can delete the storage
drivers which show up as errors in Device Manager and then install
all drivers for your hardware in the usual way.
Windows XP install using Vista/7/8 WinPE 'Helper' ISO
These installs work in a similar way to Vista/7/8 installs, but only
ImDisk is used:
1. Easy2Boot overwrites \AutoUnattend.xml and \Unattend.xml
with \_ISO\E2B\FiraDisk\auwinnt.xml
2. Windows Setup or PE boots
3. WinPE Setup looks for \AutoUnattend.xml file on
any REMOVABLE DRIVE (e.g. USB Flash drive or CD/DVD) -
WinPE looks for \Unattend.xml when wpeinit runs.
4. PE runs the WindowsPE RunSynchronous command from the
.xml file which then looks for and runs LoadIsoW.cmd
5. \_ISO\E2B\FiraDisk\LoadIsoW.cmd loads the XP ISO as a
virtual drive and then runs \_ISO\E2B\FiraDisk\RUNWINNT.cmd
6. RUNWINNT.cmd prompts the user and formats, or wipes and
partitions the target drive and runs winnt32.exe with the correct
command line parameters.
.ISO/.IMA/etc. Booting
Payload files (e.g. .ISO. .IMA, etc) which are placed in the
\_ISO\MAINMENU folder (not sub-folders under
\_ISO\MAINMENU) and in other \_ISO\XXXX folders (not sub-
folders) are automatically listed in a dynamic menu which is made
in memory. Files which have .txt, .cmd, .mnu and . (no extension)
are not listed in the menu. If a .txt file exists that exactly matches
the payload filename, the text from inside the .txt is used as the
menu entry title instead of just the payload filename (so the text in
the .txt file should always start with the word 'title' followed by the
grub4dos menu text that you want displayed).
The grub4dos batch file \_ISO\E2B\grub\QRUN.g4b (.g4b =
grub4dos batch file) is run when the menu item is selected by the
user. The QRUN.g4b batch file looks at the file extension of the
payload file and performs a set of grub4dos commands depending
on the file extension. If the file extension is not recognised by the
QRUN.g4b batch file, no action is taken (as the correct label is
missing - see below).
There are code sections in QRUN.g4b which are run depending on
the file extension. The most common action occurs when an ISO
file is selected and the code section for .iso is shown below:
1. :.iso
2. :.isoxx
3. partnew (hd0,3) 0x0 %1
4. map %1 (0xff) || map --mem %1 (0xff)
5. map --mem /grub/firadisk.gz (fd0)
6. map --hook
7. root (0xff) || rootnoverify (0xff)
8. chainloader (0xff)
9. exit
Line 1 - The batch file label - a colon followed by the file
extension. You can have more than one label so that the same
commands will be run if (in this example) the extension is .isoxx or
.iso.
Line 2 - The 2nd batch file label
Line 3 - This is the main reason why lots of linux ISO files can be
booted. The partnew command creates a new partition entry on
the boot drive (in the last table position of the 4 available on the
Master Boot Record). The start sector of the partition points to the
start of the ISO file (which must be contiguous). When linux boots,
it searches for filesystems to mount. Linux sees the 4th partition as
a CDFS filesystem and so mounts the 'ISO' as a CD/DVD. Now
when linux goes on to look for more files (e.g. squashfs, etc.) it will
find the files it needs on the mounted CDFS filesystem and
proceed just as if it had booted from a CD/DVD. The partnew
command actually writes to the MBR sector and so physically
alters the MBR sector. The 4th partition table entry is checked by
the main Easy2Boot menu to ensure it is empty first - if it was not
empty then the 4th partition would be destroyed by this command
and all data in it lost! As physical drive writes are involved, some
emulators or VMs may not boot linux ISOs successfully using this
technique.
Line 4 - This maps the ISO to BIOS device 255. The 2nd part of
the command will never be executed as Line 3 would fail if the file
was not contiguous.
Line 5 - This maps the firadisk floppy image to floppy device 0. If
an XP ISO is booted, it will pick up the firadisk ramdisk driver from
this floppy image. If a linux or DOS ISO is booted, it will just be
ignored by the OS.
Line 6 - The BIOS mapping is hooked so that it takes affect
Line 7 - The (0xff) device is set as the root device. This has the
affect of setting some CPU registers which some ISOs may
require. If the root command fails, the rootnoverify is run instead.
Line 8 - This loads the ISO bootcode into memory ready to boot
Line 9 - This returns back to the grub4dos menu that originally
called the QRUN.g4b batch file - the next line in the Easy2Boot
menu will be 'boot'
If you wish, you can invent new file extensions (e.g. .iso_dave )
and add a new entry for it! Do not change the existing code as this
will affect all files that have the same file extension, so copy new
code below your :.iso_dave label and ensure it ends with 'exit'.
This partnew method for linux ISOs was originally mentioned by
'cdob' on reboot.pro, tested by me and closely followed by a loud
cry of 'Eureka'!
Booting linux ISOs with persistence
I also discovered that you can map an ext2 file to a partition using partnew (hd0,3) 0x0 0 0 0
partnew, so that linux will find and mount the ext2 file and use if not exist (bd)/BT5-rw echo WARNING: /BT5-rw persistence file
it for persistence (e.g. casper-rw) without needing to use special not found! && pause
cheat codes. Some .mnu files use this trick and so (hd0,2), the 3rd errorcheck off
primary partition is used for the ext2 file. So Easy2Boot USB if "%check%"=="0x00" partnew (hd0,2) 0x0 (bd)/BT5-rw
drives requires both the 3rd and 4th partitition table entries to errorcheck on
be unused. This also allows us to have multiple linux ISOs all
using casper-rw as a persistent filesystem but actually using map %MFOLDER%/Linux/BT5R2-GNOME-32.iso (0xff)
different files for the persistent file. For instance, we can map --hook
use partnew (hd0,2) 0x0 /fileext2a for one ISO and partnew partnew (hd0,3) 0x0 (bd)%MFOLDER%/Linux/BT5R2-GNOME-
(hd0,2) 0x0 /fileextb for a different linux ISO (or even the same 32.iso
ISO but with a different persistence file!). As long as the ext2 files root (0xff)
were created with the volume label of casper-rw (or whatever the kernel /casper/vmlinuz file=/cdrom/preseed/custom.seed
linux version is looking for) then the linux ISO will mount the ext2 boot=casper persistent text splash noprompt vga=791--
filesystem and use it. initrd /casper/initrd.gz

Note that many linux editions will not automatically mount a
persistent (e.g. casper-rw) file if it is on an NTFS
filesystem volume. However, if you use this partnew trick then it
will work and you can have persistence even on an NTFS volume!
IMPORTANT: you MUST run WinContig (RMPrepUSB - Ctrl+F2)
before booting E2B. This is because ext2 files need to be
contiguous - if they are not then partnew will not work but you may
not see any error message.
RMPrepUSB v2.1.711 and later versions allow you to specify the
filename and the volume name of the ext2 file separately - e.g. you
can specify the filename as say BT5-rw and the volume label as
casper-rw.
Note that because grub4dos loads the initial ram drive files, and
linux then mounts the new partition(s), even if the linux SKU that is
being booted does not support the NTFS file system at all, this
technique should still work if the ISO is also mapped to a partition
using partnew. This means you can also boot linux ISOs from
exFAT Easy2Boot USB drives too!
Here is the BackTrack 5 .mnu file for reference:
Please let me know what you think of Easy2Boot and how it can be
improved - Thanks!
Adding E2B to your own multi-boot USB drive
If you already have a syslinux or grub4dos multiboot USB drive,
you can add E2B to your USB drive as follows:
1. Download, extract and copy the E2B files to your existing
multiboot USB drive. If you already have a \menu.lst file then do
not overwrite it with the E2B menu.lst
2a. If you have a grub4dos menu.lst file, add in a menu entry to run
E2B as follows:
title Run Easy2Boot
set grub=_ISO/e2b/grub
configfile /%grub%/menu.lst
2b. If don't already have a \menu.lst file and have a syslinux boot
pen, add this to your syslinux menu
LABEL Easy2Boot
MENU LABEL Easy2Boot
BOOT /grldr

# For persistence, create an ext2 file called casper-rw in the root of If you just want to use the same method of autorunning any
the boot drive using the RMPrepUSB - Create ext2 FS button payload file but don't want the E2B menu system, use QRUN.g4b
# Then rename the file to BT5-rw (do NOT create a file called in your menus, e.g.
BT5-rw - you MUST create a file called casper-rw and then rename title Run xxxx.iso
it!) /%grub%/qrun.g4b ()/_ISO/MAINMENU/xxxx.iso
# Place ISO in \_ISO\Mainmenu\linux or \_ISO\XXXX\Linux (and
this .mnu file too) title Run Hirens
# DOES NOT WORK UNDER VM!!! Run WinContig after copying /%grub%/qrun.g4b ()/_ISO/MAINMENU/Hirens.isowinvh
all files to the USB drive.
You can also force qrun to run an iso as if it had a different
iftitle [if exist %MFOLDER%/Linux/BT5R2-GNOME-32.iso] extension, e.g. this will run the iso as if it had the .isowinvh file
BackTrack 5 (1024x768) Persistent\nType startx to run GUI once extension
booted
#enable parttype output title Run Hirens
debug 1 /%grub%/qrun.g4b force.isowinvh ()/_ISO/MAINMENU/Hirens.iso
# make empty table entry in 3rd position in ptn table
parttype (hd0,2) | set check= Note: The %grub% parameter must be set by you to point to the
debug off folder that contains Qrun.g4b, so at the top of your menu.lst put
set check=%check:~-5,4%
if "%check%"=="0x00" partnew (hd0,2) 0 0 0 set grub = _ISO/e2b/grub
if not "%check%"=="0x00" echo WARNING: PTN TABLE 3 IS
ALREADY IN USE! && pause
debug 1 Convert your E2B USB drive into a bootable CD or DVD
#clear ptn 4
You can easily make an ISO from the drive which you can then
burn as a bootable E2B CD or DVD.
Don't get too excited though because many things won't work!
 Windows XP via WinPE installs and Win8/SVR2012
installs won't work (Vista/7 and XP step1/2 may work but
I have not tested them!).
 Many linux ISOs won't work unless you use a .mnu file
which has special cheat codes in it - this is because I
can't use the partnew command on a CD!
WARNING!!!: If you have used any of the old sample .mnu files for
linux ISO's - remove them before you boot from the E2B CD!!!!
These .mnu files will wipe the 4th partition of your hard disk without
warning if you boot from an E2B CD/DVD!!!!!
Simple ISOs like KonBoot, dban, plpbt or WinPE ISOs will work
though. Hirens Mini XP will work if you use an extension of
.isomem (.isoWinvH does not fully work with Mini XP).
The CD\DVD that you make will also support FASTLOAD so it
does not have to enumerate all the ISOs each time it boots.
Here is what you need to do to turn your E2B Flash memory stick
into a bootable CD/DVD:
1. Make a USB Flash drive (or USB HDD) with E2B
2. Add your payload files and test as normal
3. (optional) If you want FASTLOAD enabled on your final CD/DVD
then copy FASTLOAD.YES to the root of the USB drive
4. (optional) If you have FASTLOAD enabled, boot the USB drive
on a real system. Then reboot it to check that it loads the menu
from cache correctly.
5. Run RMPrepUSB and select the USB drive - then
type Ctrl+M (File - Make grub4dos ISO from drive). This will make
a bootable ISO file.
6. (optional) Test the ISO using RMPrepUSB Ctrl+F11 (File - Boot
from ISO using QEMU Emulator)
7. Burn your ISO (or copy it to a Zalman ZM VE-200/300/400 or
IsoStick for testing).
I strongly suggest that you search all files on the USB drive for
.mnu files that you are using and check that they don't use the
partnew command - otherwise you could accidentally delete a
partition on a hard drive!
Testing E2B using an emulator or Virtual Machine
I recommend testing E2B using Oracle Virtual Box and using
DavidB's great new Virtual Machine USB boot application which
allows you to add a USB drive to a VM and allows the VM full
read/write access to the USB drive. QEMU from RMPrepUSB can
also be used but it is rather slow (but has rd/wr access). Unless
you have write access under the VM, some functions of E2B will
not work.
To use DavidB's Virtual Machine USB Boot application - first make
a VM in Oracle VBox with just one SATA virtual hard disk at SATA
Port 1 and leave SATA Port 0 free. Then run VMStarter and create
a new entry and set your E2B USB drive as the First USB drive.
When you click on Start in VMS, the USB drive will be dismounted
and the VM will then gain full read/write access to the USB drive.
If using VBox, you can set up a VM with VT-x/AMD-V acceleration
when testing most features of E2B. However, you may find that the
VM won't run XP Setup unless VT-x/AMD-V acceleration is first
turned off. Once the text-mode stage has completed, you can turn
on VT-x/AMD-V acceleration to run the 2nd GUI stage.
Note that Vista/Win7/Win8 (NT6) installs will not work correctly if
you attempt to use a VM and install Windows to a virtual hard disk.
You will see the message 'A required CD/DVD drive device
driver is missing'. This occurs because Windows Setup will only
load an Unattend.xml file from a Removable disk and any USB
drive which is attached to a VM will be seen by Windows as a
Fixed Disk. Therefore LOADISO.CMD will not run and the
Windows ISO file will not be loaded as a virtual DVD before Setup
starts to look for it.
To use E2B to install Windows Vista/7/8 in a VM, you will need to
run LOADISO.CMD manually as follows:
1. Run the VM and boot to E2B
2. As soon as Setup loads and asks you for a language/country,
press the key combination SHIFT+F10 - a black console window
should open (if not, answer the next question and try SHIFT+F10
again)
3. In the console window, type dir C:\_ISO and press the ENTER
key - if the folder is not listed, try dir D:\_ISO etc. until you find the
E2B USB drive letter - let us assume that 'dir E:\_ISO' worked -
then the USB drive letter must be E:
4. Now run loadiso by typing E:\_ISO\e2b\firadisk\loadiso,cmd -
a blue console window should open - if then prompted to Repair
Windows, just hit ENTER
5. The blue console Window should close - now continue with
Windows Setup in the normal way.
Using E2B on an ext2/ext3 USB drive
This is not fully supported and there are some problems. Note that
all files and file extensions are case sensitive in an ext2/3
grub4dos environment, so use .iso not .ISO, .txt not .TXT or .Txt.
Here is how I made an ext2 USB flash drive under Windows 7 64-
bit
1. Download and install Ext2Fsd to add ext2/3 filesystem
support to Windows
2. Download and run Easeus Home Partition Master and
format your USB drive as ext2 or ext3
3. Run Ext2Fsd and allow write-access to the USB drive
4. Run RMPrepUSB and install the WEE bootloader to the
USB drive (Ctrl+W)
5. Extract the E2B files onto the USB drive
6. Add your payload files
7. Make all files contiguous (I am not sure how to do this
under Windows as the Ext2Fsd driver seems to make all
files non-contiguous!)
Note: Windows installs won't work as Windows cannot access the
ext2/3 USB drive.
Including payload files from other drives or partitions
If you have payload files (but not Windows Install ISOs) in other
partitions or even on other drives, you can add a new .mnu file for
them and create a new menu entry for each partition/folder.
For instance, if you are using E2B from a USB hard disk that has
two Primary partitions and you have payload files (e.g. ISO files) in
the \_ISO folder on the 2nd partition of the USB hard disk, use the
PTN2_Menu.mnu file (in the \_ISO\docs\Sample mnu files folder)
and copy it to the \_ISO\MAINMENU folder.
The contents of the .mnu file are shown below for reference:
# EXAMPLE .MNU FILE FOR 2ND PARTITION
# You can add payload files under \_ISO on partition 2 and they
will be included in the menu
# EDIT lines 1 and 3 to match the name of your folder and partition
# Add this file to the /_ISO/MAINMENU folder
iftitle [ls (hd0,1)/_ISO/ > nul && if "%GFX%"==""] ^Ctrl+2
PARTITION 2 Payload Files Menu [Ctrl+2]\n Run payload files in
Partition 2 \\_ISO folder
set LBACKMENU=(bd)/%grub%/menu.lst
(bd)/%grub%/QAUTO.g4b .automenu (hd0,1)/_ISO
configfile (md)0x3000+0x50
You can have two formatted Primary partitions on
a USB Flash drive too - e.g. NTFS for E2B and large 4GB+ linux
ISO files and .FAT32 for various DOS filesystems.
1. Prepare the USB Flash drive using RMPrepUSB but
enter a reduced Size (e.g. 40GB for a 64GB Flash drive)
and format it as NTFS but do NOT tick the 'Format as
HDD' box.
2. Then install grub4dos (to MBR and PBR) and copy over
the E2B files.
3. Then add the second FAT32 or NTFS partition using
EaSeus Home Partitions Master.
4. Then in RMPrepUSB, press Ctrl+O to swap Windows
access over to partition 2 (choose 2).
5. Now create a _ISO folder on the 2nd partition and copy
over any payload files that you want to run
automatically.
6. Then press Ctrl-O again to swap back to the E2B NTFS
partition (choose 2 again).
7. Add the PTN2_Menu.mnu file to \_ISO\MAINMENU
folder
The PTN2_Menu.mnu file is only for payload files that will auto-run,
such as linux liveCD ISOs or floppy disk images, etc.
Windows Install ISOs must be on the same partition as the
Easy2Boot \menu.lst file and the rest of the Easy2Boot files. If you
have large ISOs, you therefore need to place the E2B files and the
Windows Install ISOs on the NTFS partition (i.e. use Config
1 or Config 4 below).
Config 1
(hd0,0) PTN1 - NTFS - \menu.lst and \_ISO folder containing E2B
files - Windows Install ISOs must be under \_ISO\WINDOWS\xxxx
folders
PTN2 - FAT32 - \_ISO folder can contain payload files that will
autorun using the PTN2_Menu.mnu file
--- OR ---
Config 2
(hd0,0) PTN1 - Primary FAT32 - \menu.lst and \_ISO folder
containing E2B files - Windows Install ISOs must be under
\_ISO\WINDOWS\xxxx folders (must be <4GB)
(hd0,1) PTN2 - Primary NTFS - \_ISO folder can contain payload
files that will autorun using the PTN2_Menu.mnu file
If you modify the PTN2_Menu.mnu file and change (hd0,1) to
(hd0,0) and change the name to PTN1_Menu.mnu then you can
have:
Config 3
(hd0,0) PTN1 - Primary FAT32 - \_ISO folder can contain payload
files that will autorun using the PTN1_Menu.mnu file
(hd0,1) PTN2 - Primary NTFS - \menu.lst and \_ISO folder
containing E2B files - Windows Install ISOs must be under
\_ISO\WINDOWS\xxxx folders (must be <4GB)
--- OR ---
Config 4
(hd0,0) PTN1 - Primary NTFS - \_ISO folder can contain
payload files that will autorun using the PTN1_Menu.mnu file
(hd0,1) PTN2 - Primary FAT32 - \menu.lst and \_ISO folder
containing E2B files - Windows Install ISOs must be under
\_ISO\WINDOWS\xxxx folders
Note: the partition that has the \menu.lst file is considered by
grub4dos to be the 'boot partition' (bd). That partition is expected to
contain the E2B files and the \_ISO\WINDOWS\xxxxxx folders.
If you have some bootable files (e.g. DOS OS files) that need to be
on a FAT32 partition (e.g. extracted files from the Hirens Boot CD),
then you can copy and modify a .mnu file so that it will find the
correct partition and set it as the root partition - e.g.:
title Hiren's Boot CD (extracted) \n This will find the HBCD folder
on any partition
find --set-root /HBCD/menu.lst
configfile /HBCD/menu.lst
More than two partitions
If you need more than two usable formatted partitions on the E2B
USB drive, then you will need to create one primary partition and
the other partitions must all be Logical partitions. In grub4dos, the
first logical partition on the USB drive is (hd0,4), then second
Logical partition on the 2nd (internal hard drive) would be (hd1,5),
etc. etc. The four partition table entries in the MBR of the E2B USB
drive will thus be:
(hd0,0) PTN1 - NTFS Primary
(hd0,1) PTN2 - Extended partition entry
(hd0,2) PTN3 - Reserved for use by E2B (if using persistence with
ISOs)
(hd0,3) PTN4 - Reserved for use by E2B (required for linux ISOs)
Make a 'secret' E2B partition on a USB Flash drive
We can make use of the fact the normal Windows systems can
only access the first partition (first in the partition table that is which
is not necessarily the first on the disk) of a Removable drive - e.g.
a USB Flash drive that is classed as 'Removable' (which is most
USB Flash drives except for newer 'certified Windows8ToGo' USB
Flash drives).
This means we can make an E2B USB Flash drive that will appear
to contain a normal partition if anyone looks at it in Windows
Explorer, but the other (hidden) partition will contain E2B and all
our payload files.
1. Format a USB Flash drive using RMPrepUSB FAT32 - Size =
xxxx (where xxxx is the size in MBs that you want for the E2B
partition) - do NOT tick the 'Boot as HDD' box in RMPrepUSB as
we don't want to add a small 2nd partition. Give it a volume label of
E2B so you will know which one it is.
2. Add E2B and grub4dos etc in normal way and get E2B working
with all your payload/ISO files, etc.
3. Use Easeus Home Partition Master to create a
2nd PRIMARY partition using remaining space on the USB Flash
drive. It can be FAT32 or NTFS - it is up to you.
4. In RMPrepUSB - press CTRL+O and enter 2 when prompted.
This re-orders the partition table so that the new empty partition is
the first in the partition table

Now Windows will only see the empty partition but it will still boot to
E2B! The user can add files to this partition in the normal way
using Windows Explorer or whatever. Even if the end user re-
formats the partition it won't affect the E2B partition.

If you want to change the files on the E2B partition, just

run RMPrepUSB - Ctrl+O and enter 2 to make the E2B partition
the first one. After making your changes, run Ctrl+O again so that
the other partition is the first one and visible to Windows.

If you want to have an E2B menu entry which will change the
partitions over for you, add the E2B_PTN_SWAP.mnu file to the
\_ISO\MAINMENU folder.
This will allow you to Hide or UnHide the E2B partition when
booting to E2B. You can use this menu entry to unhide the E2B
partition, then run Hirens or Win7/8 installs and then reboot back to
E2B and hide the E2B partition again.
PassPass - Bypass the Windows User Account Password
PassPass is a grub4dos batch file which patches a Windows DLL
so that any user password will be accepted when you boot to
Windows (written by Holmes.Sherlock, Wonko and co. from
reboot.pro). The original batch file can be found here.

The version I made for E2B is here and contains the payload and
.mnu files (read the .mnu file for instructions on how to add it to
E2B).

With PassPass, you can take a backup of the DLL (optional), then
permanently patch the DLL, then boot to Windows XP->8 and get
into any user account (any password is accepted) and then change
passwords to fix the problem. Then boot back to E2B and run
PassPass again and either restore the original DLL from the
backup or choose 'UnPatch' from the menu.

Technical details: The script tries to locate all existing Windows

installations and corresponding Windows editions as well.
Thereafter, it replaces the CMP instruction responsible for
password verification with a ‘benign’ sequence of bytes. For
reverting back the changes, the process is just the opposite. The
whole idea is derived from WindowsGate and Astr0baby’s tutorial.

Downloads
Note: Various sample payload .MNU files are included in the
\_ISO\docs folder of the latest download version of E2B - any new
.mnu files are listed below and will be included in the next version
of E2B.