Author Topic: Bootable Win2k CD with multi OS\'s (Read 83132 times)

cybervyk · « **on:** June 01, 2001, 03:43:33 PM »

I have read a number of posts here regarding the building of the Win2k boot CD. I have succesfully done this many times since the first success. I\'ve also made a bootable Windows NT 4.0 Server CD with the 2000 bootimg.bin and bootfix.bin.
I was, however, wanting to take it a step or two further. I would like to be able to set up an optional boot that would enter either the Windows 2000 setup or the Windows NT 4.0 setup. The first and most devastating problem is that they both want to run out of I386. I have also succesfully hacked the bootimg.bin (seems to be a popular name for the boot sector image off the the 2000 CD) to start from a, say, 4386 or 5386 folder. The boot is succesful, but the installation is very choppy because so much of the installation is hard wired to run from the I386 directory.
I have not been able to find any help on the internet concerning the bootimg.bin, the boot sector from the cd. Most all of the sites with instructions on building such a cd offer the file as a seperate download, the rest simply instruct someone to use (usually) CDRWin to rip it off of the 2000 CD. But, I can not seem to find discourse with those who may be more familiar with how this tiny little program works.
Anyone who has been inside of it would certainly recognize the \"SETUPLDR.BINBOOTFIX.BINI386\" at the end of the data section. I\'d mentioned that I was able to get it to run from \"5386\" for example by changing \"BINI386\" to \"BIN5386\". I can do this for a number of boot sectors, but would rather find a way to get it to start from w2ki386 or nt4i386.
Toward accomplishing this, I\'ve come across two stumbling blocks. First, I can not seem to get the thing to recognize more than four characters for a path, i.e., I cannot tell it to go to nt4i386. The second stopping point is that I also cannot seem to specify a path any deeper than one off of the root. Again, being limited to four characters, I tried to set up my files in a directory called simply 86 under another folder off of the root caled 4. Hacking the boot sector file with 486 instead of I386 still did not work.
Anyone have further insight into the nature of this beast?
Thank you and please also give me feedback if I have been unclear. I tend to do that from time to time. =/

Vic

Edited by cybervyk on 06/01/01 04:16 PM.

Anonymous · « **Reply #1 on:** June 07, 2001, 05:28:55 AM »

Maybe you can tell me how to get my W2K cd slipstreamed with SP2 bootable. I\'ve done precisly what the instructions here told me (believe me it\'s true). However I keep getting the message \'put the cd labeled service pack 2 in drive a:\'
To make WinXP bootable the same way was no trouble at all.

Anonymous · « **Reply #2 on:** June 12, 2001, 03:50:47 PM »

I\'m afraid I can\'t help you with the boot loader internals, but I do have a suggestion you could try: Use two \'s instead of one. You could, for instance, try substituting \"44\" for the \"I386\". In \'C\', a \"\" is an escape character, and two of them indicates that you want a real (single) \"\".

YTZ · « **Reply #3 on:** June 12, 2001, 09:25:31 PM »

My best guess is that, in the never-ending madness that is \"Why the @#$% did Microsoft do that?\", they purposefully skimped on the dir name in the boot loader (since it never should be anything but i386, right? And then they bloat the Operating System to make up for it....AGH!).

You could always right your own custom boot.bin to do the trick, but a little ASM might be needed to do it small enough...

Oz (AUS) · « **Reply #4 on:** June 14, 2001, 09:28:45 AM »

Hi M8

Yes it is a tricky one. I have lately be looking into something similar, but I want 98SE and Win2kSP2 on the same install bootable CD. I have not yet figured out how to load the info about multiple sector in the bootcatalog file. What you are trying to do I guess is trickier with NT4 and NT5 working of the same install folder. But there probably is a workaround it.

Oz

Josetann · « **Reply #5 on:** June 14, 2001, 12:40:23 PM »

Why not just use a regular win98 startup disk for the disk image to make the cd bootable? Just make sure you add smartdrv to it. In the menu you can have it not only ask if you want to boot with or without cd support, but also if you want to start the win98 or win2k install.

Only major limitation there, is win2k would only install on a fat or fat32 partition. Even though win2k can see ntfs just fine, you\'d be starting the install from DOS, which can\'t.

Big_Z · « **Reply #6 on:** June 14, 2001, 01:47:10 PM »

http://www.nu2.nu/bootcd/

Wonderful Multiboot guide detailed above

http://drivers.homestead.com
http://windowstweaks.homestead.com
[email protected]

Oz (AUS) · « **Reply #7 on:** June 14, 2001, 07:47:50 PM »

I have seen the guide from http://www.nu2.nu/bootcd/ a while back, but instructions from him, never seem to work in real life.

I dont see how using a Windows 98 floppy image can do it, that will only load aspi drivers for CD or not, how are the 4 sectors from the Windows 2000 loaded here?

JP23 · « **Reply #8 on:** July 24, 2001, 08:44:51 AM »

1°) I\'m french, and i wanted to do that too !
2°) I find this link on the net \"by chance\" :
- http://www.wwwfox.net/3in1.htm
3°) But there is a big PB ! This page is in Chinese ... !
4 °) Is somebody know this language ? Not me ! And i\'ll be very happy if anyone could traduct this for all of us.

Sorry for my poor english !

Josetann · « **Reply #9 on:** July 24, 2001, 04:55:10 PM »

It helps, because Win2k can be installed from DOS. You\'ll want to load smartdrv first else it\'ll be painfully slow, but it will work. Only caveat, is the drive cannot currently be ntfs. It has to be FAT or FAT32 (since DOS cannot read NTFS).

Oz. · « **Reply #10 on:** August 26, 2001, 12:16:28 AM »

I have today, just downloaded an official Microsoft Windows 2000 3in1 SP2 CD, meaning all 3 versions of Windows 2000, Pro/Server/Advanced Server (with SP2 slipstreamed into them) are on the same bootable CD, havnet burned it yet, but if I figure out how they have made the triple bootoption, I\'ll get back to you.

Oz

Anonymous · « **Reply #11 on:** August 26, 2001, 05:23:32 AM »

Slt je te joins un site qui t\'aidera pour tout
http://www.bellamyjc.net/index.html
A +

mterlouw · « **Reply #12 on:** September 01, 2001, 12:37:35 AM »

I have created a multiboot CD that has Win98SE, WinME, and Win2k Adv. Server w/SP2 integrated. It also has my boot manager, partition manager, DOS version of Partition Magic, and some other command-line tools on it as well.
The El Toro menu goes like this:

A. Windows 98 Second Edition
B. Windows ME
C. Windows 2000 Adv. Server
D. Command Prompt

I followed all the instructions on that guide mentioned above and it worked perfectly. Well almost... inserting the boot images into the iso didn\'t work sometimes for no reason. After I got it to work everything was fine.

I too would like to know how to get past the dual I386 folder thing. kanyeung (from iexbeta boards) has made a dual WinXP Home/Pro CD, we should probably ask him how he did it.

Oz. · « **Reply #13 on:** September 05, 2001, 01:18:29 AM »

I have had a look at the mentioned CD now.

It\'s made up in a quite clever way.
First if you try to extrack the ISO to HDD, you will end up with 1.2GB of files.
WTF I thought, 1.2GB on a CD, once it\'s burned, it\'s only around 450MB.

It contains all 3 sets of Windows 2000, but they are in a subdirectory, not in the root.

The way they make it look like there are 1.2Gb on the CD, is that some of the big files in the 3 induvidual I386 folders are the same files repeated in 3 folders. Not quite sure yet how this is done. Say a file like driver.cab has the same sector location in all 3 folders. That saves 100MB straight away. Either a special Image master program is used, or a Hex editor, or whatever.

If someone has a place, I can post a few screenshots of the CD, will give some idea to people how it\'s made.

Oz

Bart-nu2 · « **Reply #14 on:** September 07, 2001, 02:34:56 AM »

They use symbolic links!

You can create such a CD on linux using mkisofs/cdrecord, not on win32 ;-(

Bart.
- www.nu2.nu/bootcd -

Anonymous · « **Reply #15 on:** September 08, 2001, 02:33:38 AM »

Someone can do this with WIN32 by a small tools Named CDIMAGE.EXE. This tools is from M$ and it\'s powerful. Anyone want to get it?

Oz. · « **Reply #16 on:** September 08, 2001, 09:41:49 PM »

Absolutely, thats the one they use to make all their ISO\'s as far as I know. That Appz is mentioned in the Application Name for most of MS\'s CD\'s

So yes please.

TA

Oz

Josetann · « **Reply #17 on:** September 09, 2001, 05:56:24 PM »

So you won\'t get a ton of me-too\'s, you could send it to me, and I could put it up on the site. Just email [email protected].

Oz. · « **Reply #18 on:** September 09, 2001, 08:44:10 PM »

Not to worry, found a copy of it now. CDIMAGE.EXE 2.39

Now comes the funny part, finding out how to use it, LOL

Admin, if he hasn\'t sent it to you by now, drop me a line, and I\'ll mail it to you.

Josetann · « **Reply #19 on:** September 10, 2001, 09:53:39 PM »

Got it. I\'ll put it on the site tomorrow afternoon when I get back home, as long as there\'s no legal problems with doing so.

News:

Author Topic: Bootable Win2k CD with multi OS\'s (Read 83132 times)

cybervyk

Anonymous

Anonymous

YTZ

Oz (AUS)

Oz (AUS)

JP23

Oz.

Anonymous

mterlouw

Oz.

Bart-nu2

Anonymous

Oz.

Oz.