Win32 Disk Imager / Blog: Recent posts

I have been asked by a few people if we can support XP with 1.0. The short answer is no. The long answer is that there is a lot of new code running behind the glossy interface that is very dependent on API calls in WIndows. Some of them were introduced in Vista, and changed again in Windows 7. To support XP, we would have to do a bit of an overhaul with a lot of code duplication along with OS checks to enable/disable that functionality.... read more

Finally, 1.0 release is here! Lots of bug fixes, a few improvements, and at least 1 major new feature: Verifiy Image.

Please download and give it a spin. And as always, if you do find an issue, please PLEASE post a bug report.

Thanks to all that have helped with their contributions, translations, bug reports, and support in general.

I almost hate posting here and making a promise of a new release, but I am pushing out 1.0 very soon. All I need now is translation updates. I have received updates from two people already (many thanks). Please check out the source and if you can translate a language, upload it to https://sourceforge.net/p/win32diskimager/features/19/ as an attachment, create a git merge request, or just email it to me. All will be accepted.... read more

I know I was supposed to get a new release out before the end of the year. Unfortunately, life has an ugly way of stepping on my plans, squishing them into the ground like some scurrying insect.

I now have a new home server and with it, enough power to run multiple versions of Windows for testing and development. Now I just need a decent laptop to be able to work with, as my home office currently doubles as a guest bedroom (greatly limiting when I can actually do work).... read more

Too much time has gone by since I updated this blog or really any other information on this project. Work and home life has consumed all of our time here, leaving less than 0 time to work on features, bugs, and now a list of merge requests from some dedicated contributors.

I just want everyone that uses this program to know that it is NOT abandoned. I hope to dedicate a few days before the new year to devote to this project, first in reviewing the merge requests in the queue, then debugging the critical bugs that were reported. I will also work on some of the features requested, but I won't include partial features. All or nothing for each feature request. Depending on the complexity, some may have to wait for another release cycle (hopefully not nearly as long as this one has been).... read more

While we still appear to have some API issues to shake out with the move to QT 5.2/Mingw 4.8 (mainly affecting Drag & Drop), we have a tentative list of features we're shooting for in 1.0:

1. Bug fixes (always highest on the priority list)
   • Not all bugs will be fixed, but this is always top priority for each release.
2. Shrink images to fit device (when possible)
   • This will require reading the file from the last sector of the device to EOF and determining if there is data present.
3. File Compression support
   • Use zZip as it supports the most compression formats & is open source.
4. Reformat device
5. Write verification
6. Time stats (this should be an easy feature to add)... read more

So, after a lot of in-depth digging, it appears that QT 5.2.1/MinGW 4.8 DOES support what we need for Windows 7/8 API calls. A new build is currently being tested and will soon come up, along with an installer. This release is only to test the new build environment, along with the installer. There are still several bugs that are open, some are critical. These are our top priority for 1.0 (before any additional features). ... read more

A lot of people are wondering when the next release is going to happen, or when certain bugs are going to be fixed (or maybe if we are even still here). To update everyone, we ran into a major snag, namely changing Windows API calls. A lot of the issues we are currently experiencing are mainly due to our now outdated build environment (QT 4.84/Mingw 4.4). The api's supported by this environment only cover us up to Windows XP.... read more

There have been several news articles today that put Sourceforge in a bad light. This largely has to do with their ad revenue stream. Part of the issue stems from a SF sponsored Windows Installer, that will install a project's programs, along with some opt-out apps (like the ask.com toolbar).

As I understand the full facts of the issue, this installer is opt-in only (the project admin's have to opt in for it to appear - see this blog entry ).... read more

The last of the bugs (hopefully) were fixed with the v0.9 release. Now focusing on desired features for the big 1.0 launch, tentatively scheduled for later this year.

Progress is slow due to a lot of mitigating factors, namely there are only two of us focusing on this project at the moment, and it has been lower priority due to our busy work/life schedules. Another issue is the lack of hardware available to us to reproduce some of these bugs (the lack of SD support on some systems with XP/Vista was very unique). Unless we can reproduce a bug, we really can't isolate it to figure out what code to change. ... read more