HOWTO create easy multi-boot USB Puppy from Windows
Posted: Fri 04 Jan 2013, 22:46
0. Try Puppy Installer
This is the easiest way! The new Try Puppy Installer program makes it
easy to install easy2boot to usb drive. It even comes with a windows setup
program.
SetupTryPuppy_AlphaOS.exe
This download includes a Try Puppy Installer program that installs
Easy2Boot and AlphaOS8.iso to a USB Drive.
I include this to show how easy it is to use for a specific puppy.
Just boot to USB Drive and AlphaOS8
will start automatically after 5 seconds
SetupTryPuppy.exe
This download includes a Try Puppy Installer program that installs
Easy2Boot to a USB Drive.
(OBS! For developers!
Release environment.zip
This dowload includes the build Environment. It is included if anyone wants to see code and fiddle for themselves.
You have to download AutoIT and Inno setup to build the Project
and use Windows OS. Any questions, just ask)
Easy2boot and RMPrepUSB is the creation of steve at rmprepusb.com
Try Puppy Installer have only been tested with win7 but should work from
winxp and forwards
If you have any problems do it the hardway and start from 1 below
1. Download and install RMPrepUSB
(To Download directly press Here)
2. Insert a USB Flash memory pen drive (or USB hard disk) into the USB port of your Windows computer and run RMPrepUSB - set the following options:
1. MAX size
2. Enter a name of your choosing as a label
3. MS-DOS
4. FAT32 + Boot as HDD (2PTNS)
5. Leave COPY FILES box unticked
6. Click Prepare Drive to format the USB pen (Note: you will lose all contents as it reformats the drive!)
Fig. 1 Notice that the settings are numbered 1 to 6 for you - just set 1-5 as shown and then click on 6 Prepare Drive
3. Click on the Install grub4dos button - answer 'Yes' to use the MBR option and hit Enter when prompted to copy the grldr file over.
Make sure that the grldr file has been copied across to the USB drive afterwards
(you must hit the Enter key when requested - do not just quit the console window!).
4. Download, unzip (extract) and copy the Easy2Boot-grub4dos_v0.5.zip
(attached below ) file to your USB drive
Newer versions might be availible at the Easy2Boot page
(If you get a question about overwriting file grldr you
can choose either option.)
Now everything is set up. Download and then place your puppy linux ISO
files into the \_ISO\Linux\Auto folder of your USB drive. Reboot to USB drive
and choose which of your linux ISO's to start from the menu.
98% of linux and DOS and memtest/utility ISOs should just work!
Error 60: - File for drive emulation must be in one contiguous disk area
If you get this error when trying to boot an ISO file it is fragmented.
Make all files on the Easy2Boot USB drive contiguous (most ISO files need to be in one single place on the USB disk) - use RMPrepUSB
and select the Easy2Boot USB drive and press CTRL+F2 to run WinContig and make all files on the drive contiguous - if you have a lot of
files (thousands) or large ISO files on a small drive, this may take a few minutes, but normally it only takes a few seconds!
It may not always work due to lack of spare space. A foolproof way to fix the problem is to copy all the files over to your hard disk, run RMPrepUSB
again on the UFD to reformat the USB drive (and re-install grub4dos) and then copy all the files back to the USB drive again.
Save File
There was a problem with loading the savefile on some puppies, although not on ArchPup.
check out this for a solution.
Tips and Tricks
1. Go straight to the automatically generated list of linux ISO's,
Edit file /grub/MENU.lst
Instead of this line
/grub/automenu.bat .automenu /_ISO
put this line
/grub/autolinuxmenu.bat .automenu /_ISO/Linux/AUTO
2. Boot deafult ISO after 5 seconds
Edit file /grub/LINUXUSER.mnu
At the top of the file change
default 0
#timeout 5
to
default 0
timeout 5
default 0 menas the first itme in the list and hence default 1 would mean
the second item int the list and so forth
Original Information
RMPrepUSB
Easy2Boot
This is the easiest way! The new Try Puppy Installer program makes it
easy to install easy2boot to usb drive. It even comes with a windows setup
program.
SetupTryPuppy_AlphaOS.exe
This download includes a Try Puppy Installer program that installs
Easy2Boot and AlphaOS8.iso to a USB Drive.
I include this to show how easy it is to use for a specific puppy.
Just boot to USB Drive and AlphaOS8
will start automatically after 5 seconds
SetupTryPuppy.exe
This download includes a Try Puppy Installer program that installs
Easy2Boot to a USB Drive.
(OBS! For developers!
Release environment.zip
This dowload includes the build Environment. It is included if anyone wants to see code and fiddle for themselves.
You have to download AutoIT and Inno setup to build the Project
and use Windows OS. Any questions, just ask)
Easy2boot and RMPrepUSB is the creation of steve at rmprepusb.com
Try Puppy Installer have only been tested with win7 but should work from
winxp and forwards
If you have any problems do it the hardway and start from 1 below
1. Download and install RMPrepUSB
(To Download directly press Here)
2. Insert a USB Flash memory pen drive (or USB hard disk) into the USB port of your Windows computer and run RMPrepUSB - set the following options:
1. MAX size
2. Enter a name of your choosing as a label
3. MS-DOS
4. FAT32 + Boot as HDD (2PTNS)
5. Leave COPY FILES box unticked
6. Click Prepare Drive to format the USB pen (Note: you will lose all contents as it reformats the drive!)
Fig. 1 Notice that the settings are numbered 1 to 6 for you - just set 1-5 as shown and then click on 6 Prepare Drive
3. Click on the Install grub4dos button - answer 'Yes' to use the MBR option and hit Enter when prompted to copy the grldr file over.
Make sure that the grldr file has been copied across to the USB drive afterwards
(you must hit the Enter key when requested - do not just quit the console window!).
4. Download, unzip (extract) and copy the Easy2Boot-grub4dos_v0.5.zip
(attached below ) file to your USB drive
Newer versions might be availible at the Easy2Boot page
(If you get a question about overwriting file grldr you
can choose either option.)
Now everything is set up. Download and then place your puppy linux ISO
files into the \_ISO\Linux\Auto folder of your USB drive. Reboot to USB drive
and choose which of your linux ISO's to start from the menu.
98% of linux and DOS and memtest/utility ISOs should just work!
Error 60: - File for drive emulation must be in one contiguous disk area
If you get this error when trying to boot an ISO file it is fragmented.
Make all files on the Easy2Boot USB drive contiguous (most ISO files need to be in one single place on the USB disk) - use RMPrepUSB
and select the Easy2Boot USB drive and press CTRL+F2 to run WinContig and make all files on the drive contiguous - if you have a lot of
files (thousands) or large ISO files on a small drive, this may take a few minutes, but normally it only takes a few seconds!
It may not always work due to lack of spare space. A foolproof way to fix the problem is to copy all the files over to your hard disk, run RMPrepUSB
again on the UFD to reformat the USB drive (and re-install grub4dos) and then copy all the files back to the USB drive again.
Save File
There was a problem with loading the savefile on some puppies, although not on ArchPup.
check out this for a solution.
Tips and Tricks
1. Go straight to the automatically generated list of linux ISO's,
Edit file /grub/MENU.lst
Instead of this line
/grub/automenu.bat .automenu /_ISO
put this line
/grub/autolinuxmenu.bat .automenu /_ISO/Linux/AUTO
2. Boot deafult ISO after 5 seconds
Edit file /grub/LINUXUSER.mnu
At the top of the file change
default 0
#timeout 5
to
default 0
timeout 5
default 0 menas the first itme in the list and hence default 1 would mean
the second item int the list and so forth
Original Information
RMPrepUSB
Easy2Boot