An interesting app But it doesn't support booting from ISO files. A definite bummer.
And loopback fails to find the ISO file specified when manually added.
menuentry "ISO" --class slackware --class icon-linux {
echo Grub is now booting an ISO
echo Boot disk address is $root
echo Prefix is $prefix
echo Locale_dir is $locale_dir
echo ls (hd0,5)/ISOs
ls (hd0,5)/ISOs
echo
set iso=/ISOs/Recovery.iso
loopback loop (hd0,5)$iso
sleep -v -i 90
echo "Loading Linux"
linux (loop)/boot/syslinux/vmlinuz
from=$iso
extramod=/Linux/modsavedat volume=33 reboot=cold
echo "Loading initrd"
initrd (loop)/boot/syslinux/initrd.xz
}
Executing grub2win from a drive other than C: doesn't work. I like keeping useful apps on a flash drive.
Any chance these things can be looked at?
Thanks
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I tried on my system and was able to load Ubuntu from a usb iso file using loopback. I'm wondering if there is some kind of issue with your particular motherboard / bios.
I usually test this kind of thing using the grub command line. When you boot and the Grub2Win menu selection screen comes up, press the "c" key to go to command line.
As you enter the commands above from the Grub command line, where does the failure occur.
Are there any error messages associated with the failure.
Also, are you running BIOS or UEFI? What is your motherboard model?
Please advise.
Thanks,
Dave
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I was able to get my ISO to boot on my UEFI system using Grub2Win's grub2win.boot.efi but it was all manual effort. Grub2win.exe was of no help once the EFI folder was added. And based on my grub2.cfg results it's probably understandable. This is what I ended up with:
#
# Menu Item 1 Linux
#
menuentry "Linux ISO" --class slackware --class icon-linux {
echo Grub is now booting A Linux ISO
echo Boot disk address is $root
echo Prefix is $prefix
echo The boot mode is $grub2win_bootmode
set iso=/ISOs/Recovery.iso
search -f $iso --set=root
echo ISO root $root
if [ -f (hd1,1)/USB_INSTALLATION.txt ]; then
set linux_drv=/mnt/sdb1
else
set linux_drv=/mnt/sda5
fi
echo Linux extramods $linux_drv
echo
loopback loop $iso
sleep -v -i 7
echo "Loading Linux"
linux (loop)/boot/syslinux/vmlinuz extramod="$linux_drv/Modules;$linux_drv/modsavedat" volume=33 reboot=cold
echo "Loading initrd"
initrd (loop)/boot/syslinux/initrd.xz
}
#
# Menu Item 2 Reboot
#
menuentry 'Reboot' --class slackware --class icon-unknown {
reboot
}
A key to getting this to work was your grub2 beta had a functioning loopback command. Other grub2 downloads I've tried didn't.
Do note I'm not booting this from the C: drive, I'm booting it from a bootable USB drive. Once installed on my Windows system I copied the EFI folder and C:\grub2 folder to my flash drive and customized the grub2.cfg file there.
Your app has the potential for a wider range of systems than you realize. ;-)
Ed
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BTW I should have noted there is a bug in the grub.cfg file when run on an EFI system. You: set theme=$prefix/themes/grub2win/theme.ascrollcir.txt
then when the EFI test is positive: if [ $grub2winbootmode = EFI ]; then
set theme=$theme.efi.txt
which results in: theme=$prefix/themes/grub2win/theme.ascrollcir.txt.efi.txt
A couple of enhancements you might consider:
An option to copy the system, the EFI grub2win folder and the c: drive's grub2 folder, to a USB drive.
An option to boot an ISO file. An ISO file not on the C: drive. It would need the drive, folder path and name of the ISO file. And possibly include the ability to add any boot options.
An option to allow the user to open the cfg file in Notepad to manually tweak the file.
Yes, the end user can do these things manually but it would be nice if Grub2Win could help.
It's an impressive app Dave and I think it has quite a future.
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I just uploaded version 6.3.0 of Grub2Win to SourceForge. On EFI systems, this new version allows you to run Grub2Win from partitions other than the Windows boot partiiton. This includes USB drive partitions.
Grub should now find it's code at boot time on the partition where you place it. Note that this will not work on BIOS systems since the Windows BCD has no capabilty to dynamically search and find the grub code.
I also fixed a couple of minor bugs in the code.
I've been working on Notepad edits for the grub.cfg file for a while now. I hope to have it up and working shortly.
Regards,
Dave
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Ok, the PE systems are X: and on a Rescue system the Windows partition is F:. But it's immaterial because Grub2Win would not be run under them. Grub2Win would be run from a standard Windows system, 7 or 10 in my cases, just not necessarily from the C: drive. And not necessarily from the hard drive.
I like to keep my OS files separate from my Data files. As such I partition my hard drives into C: drives and D: drives and sometimes E: drives also. (OS, Data, Backups) These in addition to the various system partitions on machines now days. When I installed Grub2Win to my D: drive I couldn't run it. This was a BIOS machine. When I copied the grub2win and grub2 folders to my USB drive to try it on a different machine I couldn't run it from there either.
Basically the app needs to know where it was executed from, and what system it is going to change, which is usually the booted system.
FYI
@echo off
echo.
echo Execution file: %0
echo Execution path: %~dp0
echo System Drive: %SystemDrive%
echo.
Last edit: Ed P 2015-11-20
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I'm a little confused. I ran the 6.3.0 version grub2win.exe from
several different drives including a USB drive without any problems.
What error message are you receiving when you run grub2win.exe?
Thanks,
Dave
On 11/20/2015 2:07 PM, Ed P wrote:
Ok, the PE systems are X: and on a Rescue system the Windows partition
is F:. But it's immaterial because Grub2Win would not be run under
them. Grub2Win would be run from a standard Windows system, 7 or 10 in
my cases, just not necessarily from the C: drive. And not necessarily
from the hard drive.
I like to keep my OS files separate from my Data files. As such I
partition my hard drives into C: drives and D: drives and sometimes E:
drives also. (OS, Data, Backups) These in addition to the various
system partitions on machines now days. When I installed Grub2Win to
my D: drive I couldn't run it. This was a BIOS machine. When I copied
the grub2win and grub2 folders to my USB drive to try it on a
different machine I couldn't run it from there either.
Basically the app needs to know where it was executed from, and what
system it is going to change, which is usually the booted system.
I'm sorry Dave, I was going by your comment about BIOS systems and my experience with the earlier 6.2.x version. I have not as yet run the 6.3.0 version.
So you're saying it will run from my USB drive on my BIOS system?
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Sorry for the miscommunication. Drive independence will only work on EFI
systems.
It's simply not feasible to do on BIOS systems because the Windows boot
address (and therefore the address of the grub code) is "hardwired" into
the Microsoft bootloader / BCD which is the first thing to boot. In BIOS
systems, the Microsoft bootloader has no facility I'm aware of to search
at boot time in order to locate grub outside the Windows boot partition.
Since grub is loaded before the Windows bootloader on EFI systems, the
full search and scripting facilities of grub are available at boot time
to find the code.
If you do have an EFI system, you should be able to install and run
Grub2Win from any NTFS or FAT partition, including on USB drives.
Hope this explanation helps,
Dave
On 11/20/2015 4:10 PM, Ed P wrote:
I'm sorry Dave, I was going by your comment about BIOS systems and my
experience with the earlier 6.2.x version. I have not as yet run the
6.3.0 version.
So you're saying it will run from my USB drive on my BIOS system?
Ok, I loaded the 6.3.0 grub2 folder to a USB drive and executed the G:/grub2/grub2win.exe program and it executed producing the window:
For BIOS system, Grub2Win must run from the drive C:
It was run from G:\grub2
But I don't agree. Grub2Win.exe is an app, running on a Windows 10 64-bit system, and has access to the C: drive, so it should be able to install/copy whatever files/folders it needs to the C: drive to support booting grub2 when the machine is rebooted regardless where it is executed from.
OK?
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The items required comprise about 90% of the /grub2 directory. These
must be located on the Windows boot drive at boot time due to the
Microsoft bootloader / BCD limitations I outlined before. It makes
little sense to copy 90% of the directory from one drive to another when
the directory can be on the boot drive in the first place.
Grub2Win was designed to be a self-contained, simple to install
application, occupying a single directory, with no registry changes to
Windows. Splitting it into two directories on different drives would
needlessly complicate the application for a very marginal result.
Hope this helps,
Dave
On 11/20/2015 5:58 PM, Ed P wrote:
Ok, I loaded the 6.3.0 grub2 folder to a USB drive and executed the
G:/grub2/grub2win.exe program and it executed producing the window:
For BIOS system, Grub2Win must run from the drive C:
It was run from G:\grub2
But I don't agree. Grub2Win.exe is an app, running on a Windows 10
64-bit system, and has access to the C: drive, so it should be able to
install/copy whatever files/folders it needs to the C: drive to
support booting grub2 when the machine is rebooted regardless where it
is executed from.
" It makes little sense to copy 90% of the directory from one drive to another when
the directory can be on the boot drive in the first place."
I understand where you're coming from, I just don't agree with it. :-)
And it has nothing to do with where booting requires the files, it has to do with saving disk space which disregards USB space and portability. "can be" doesn't need to be "has to be". When Grub2Win.exe executes and finds it is not on the C: drive it simply copies the "90% of the directory" from where it is being executed to the c: drive, not a big deal imo, and continues installing grub2. Currently it is forcing me to manually do the same thing except I'm simply copying 100%.
My point also works for running Grub2Win.exe from a different partition on the hard drive. Periodically I restore my C: drive. If Grub2Win.exe is not on the backup it will be gone when the restore finishes. But if it's on my D: drive I can rerun it and it will recreate my C:/grub2 folder.
OK?
Ed
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6.3.0
/grub2/winsource/basic.cfg
line 31
set theme=$prefix/themes/grub2win/theme.ascrollcir.txt
There is no such file in /grub2/themes/grub2win/ folder. The two ascrollcir files there are named:
theme.ascrollcir/bios/txt and
theme.ascrollcir/efi.txt.
Ed
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I manually copied the 6.3.1 grub2 folder to my primary machine, again, and tried it. My summary so far is:
Grub2Win 6.3.1
Windows 10 64-bit BIOS machine
1366x768 screen
Help displays menu but no content.
Initial Grub2Win window, 655x542, missing characters: Additional Drivers (advanc
Menu Configuration window, OS Type - windows, missing characters: Defau
Editing Menu Slot 0, missing a line: Boot Pause ?????
Editing Menu Slot 1, OS Type: doesn't show a type for "Linux" though there is an icon for it.
Editing Menu Slot 1, OS Type: doesn't show a type for icons a user has added for it.
Editing Menu Slot 1, OS Type: doesn't show a type for Reboot.
Editing Menu Slot 1, doesn't have an option for importing a user defined menu item(s).
I think my last comment has some possibilities for supporting users booting ISO files.
I just uploaded version 6.3.2 which enforces a minimum display size of 800x600. I set up a minumum screen size to ensure character truncation does not happen. Please try the new version to see if this works for you.
As to OS Types. Simply adding an icon does not imply support of an OS. The icons are cosmetic items provided for display purposes only.
The supported OS types are coded in the program and are used in a number of places to set boot parameters etc.
I am in the process of setting up a "Custom" OS type which will allow you to set your boot paramaters and other Grub commands at your own risk. I plan to have this feature set up shortly.
Thanks for keeping me on my toes,
Dave
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All screen truncations are gone. However the Help function still doesn't work.
And Black text on dark blue backgrounds is hard to read. ie the Help buttons. On dark backgrounds consider using white characters.
If you want to add support for the Porteus distro this is what I use:
menuentry "Porteus LXQT ISO" --class slackware --class icon-porteus {
echo Boot disk address is $root
echo Prefix is $prefix
echo The boot mode is $grub2win_bootmode
set iso=/ISOs/Porteus-LXQT-v3.1-x86_64-nu.iso
search -f $iso --set=root
echo ISO root is $root
echo ISO is $iso
if [ -f (hd1,1)/USB_INSTALLATION.txt ]; then
set linux_drv=/mnt/sdb1/porteus3.1
else
set linux_drv=/mnt/sda5/porteus3.1
fi
echo Porteus extramods $linux_drv
echo
loopback loop $iso
sleep -v -i 7
echo "Loading Linux"
linux (loop)/boot/syslinux/vmlinuz from=$iso extramod="$linux_drv/Modules;$linux_drv/modsavedat" volume=33 reboot=cold
echo "Loading initrd"
initrd (loop)/boot/syslinux/initrd.xz
}
A menu item for Reboot would be nice also. ;-)
Ed
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I'm a bit puzzled by your experience with the Help function. Let's try
this:
Please double-click file C:\grub2\winhelp\Grub2Win.chm. This is the
standard Grub2Win help file created with Microsoft's help compiler.
If the file won't open, you may be missing the Microsoft hh.exe program
that was created when you installed Windows. Another possibility is
that your virus scan software might be getting in the way of Grub2Win
invoking the hh.exe program.
Yours is the first report I have had of this issue.
Also, please run the diagnostic bat file C:\grub2\winsource\diag.bat.
Zip up the output diagnostic directory and send it to me.
Please let me know how you make out. The text of any error messages you
receive would be very helpful.
Thanks,
Dave
On 11/28/2015 11:48 AM, Ed P wrote:
Hey Dave,
All screen truncations are gone. However the Help function still
doesn't work.
And Black text on dark blue backgrounds is hard to read. ie the Help
buttons. On dark backgrounds consider using white characters.
If you want to add support for the Porteus distro this is what I use:
menuentry "Porteus LXQT ISO" --class slackware --class icon-porteus {
echo Boot disk address is $root
echo Prefix is $prefix
echo The boot mode is $grub2win_bootmode
set iso=/ISOs/Porteus-LXQT-v3.1-x86_64-nu.iso
search -f $iso--set=root
echo ISO root is $root
echo ISO is $iso
if [ -f (hd1,1)/USB_INSTALLATION.txt ]; then
set linux_drv=/mnt/sdb1/porteus3.1
else
set linux_drv=/mnt/sda5/porteus3.1
fi
echo Porteus extramods $linux_drv
echo
loopback loop $iso
sleep -v -i 7
echo "Loading Linux"
linux (loop)/boot/syslinux/vmlinuz
from=$isoextramod="$linux_drv/Modules;$linux_drv/modsavedat" volume=33
reboot=cold
echo "Loading initrd"
initrd (loop)/boot/syslinux/initrd.xz
}
Whether I click on a Grub2Win Help icon or the Grub2Win.chm file the Grub2 User Manual window opens, there are menu items shown in the left column but nothing shows in the right side, regardless of what is clicked on. This is on a BIOS booting Windows 10 system.
In addition on the BIOS booting Windows 10 system, with the grub2 folder on the C: drive, when I boot I get a BCD menu now showing a Grub2 option. Selecting it opens the Grub2Win menu with the Windows Boot Loader menu item at the top. Clicking on this option brings up a terminal window which shows:
Windows will boot normally from the
C: partition at address (hd0,msdos3)
0 error: file 'ntldr' not found.
Press any key to continue...
Pressing a key takes you back to the main menu. Which has no Reboot option. ;-)
Pressing the c key opens a command prompt window with the title containing:
2.02~beta2-9ubuntu1.2
It would look better as:
2.02~beta 2-9 ubuntu 1.2
Regardless entering the command reboot and hitting enter reboots the machine back to the Windows BCD menu.
On my C: drive there is no boot.ini, ntldr or BCD, which is (hd0,msdos3). My boot manager is on (hd0, msdos2).
Ed
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There may be something amiss with your hh.exe or your registry. The
Grub2Win.chm help file compiled with the standard Microsoft help
compiler without errors. I have tested it extensively on several XP,
Win7 and Win10 systems both BIOS and EFI with no problems.
Do you have a clean Windows install to try it on? I suspect it might
work properly.
I have re-worked the Windows boot menuentry to accommodate unusual boot
address mixes such as yours.
Please edit the C:\grub2\grub.cfg and replace the Windows menuentry code
with the following:
menuentry 'Windows Boot Loader' --class windows --class
icon-windows {
set windiagdelay=0
if [ $grub2win_bootmode = EFI ]; then
set efibootmgr=/efi/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi
getbootpartition file $efibootmgr
if [ $? = 0 ] ; then
if [ $windiagdelay -gt 0 ] ; then
echo Grub is now booting Windows EFI Boot Manager
echo Boot disk address is $root
echo The boot mode is Windows EFI
sleep -v -i $windiagdelay
fi
chainloader $efibootmgr
fi
else
if [ -f (hd0,1)/ntldr ]; then
set bootcontrol=boot.ini
set bootstyle=ntldr
set root=$winpart
else
set biosbootmgr=/bootmgr
getbootpartition file $biosbootmgr
set bootcontrol=BCD
set bootstyle=bootmgr
fi
if [ $windiagdelay -gt 0 ] ; then
echo
echo The Windows BIOS boot manager is at address ($root)
echo
echo The Windows boot type is $bootstyle
echo
sleep -v -i $windiagdelay
fi
ntldr /$bootstyle
fi
}
Let me know if this works for you.
Thanks,
Dave
On 11/28/2015 2:22 PM, Ed P wrote:
Hi Dave,
Whether I click on a Grub2Win Help icon or the Grub2Win.chm file the
Grub2 User Manual window opens, there are menu items shown in the left
column but nothing shows in the right side, regardless of what is
clicked on. This is on a BIOS booting Windows 10 system.
In addition on the BIOS booting Windows 10 system, with the grub2
folder on the C: drive, when I boot I get a BCD menu now showing a
Grub2 option. Selecting it opens the Grub2Win menu with the Windows
Boot Loader menu item at the top. Clicking on this option brings up a
terminal window which shows:
Windows will boot normally from the
C: partition at address (hd0,msdos3)
0 error: file 'ntldr' not found.
Press any key to continue...
Pressing a key takes you back to the main menu. Which has no Reboot
option. ;-)
Pressing the c key opens a command prompt window with the title
containing:
2.02~beta2-9ubuntu1.2
It would look better as:
2.02~beta 2-9 ubuntu 1.2
Regardless entering the command reboot and hitting enter reboots the
machine back to the Windows BCD menu.
On my C: drive there is no boot.ini, ntldr or BCD, which is
(hd0,msdos3). My boot manager is on (hd0, msdos2).
Interesting. The grub2win.chm file does indeed work on my wife's Windows 10 system and even on a Linux system, with Wine installed!! So the problem is indeed my Win 10 system.
And your Windows menu changes work on this BIOS system. I have yet to try them on the UEFI system. My system was Windows 7 prior to the Win 10 update and I don't think it's partition structure was that unique at the time I bought it 4 yras ago. Even a new Dell I tested a few months ago had multiple partitions for system restores.
BTW My hdd is set up like this:
# Recognized devices:
/dev/sda1: LABEL="PQSERVICE" UUID="9894832D94830CC6" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda2: LABEL="SYSTEM RESERVED" UUID="ECF483DEF483AA02" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda3: LABEL="Acer" UUID="48168114168103E2" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda5: LABEL="Data" UUID="01CD20066B8BF780" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda6: LABEL="BKUPS" UUID="1ECAD5A8CAD57C89" TYPE="ntfs"
The latter two I created.
Thanks for your help Dave.
Ed
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I just uploaded a new beta version of Grub2Win. It's version 7.0.0 and includes a new feature that several people have requested. You can now enter your own Grub commands as "Custom" code instead of having the program generate the code. Just select "custom" as the OS Type and you should be good to go.
Please download grub2win.custom.beta.zip from SourceForge and give it a try.
Thanks again,
Dave
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Just downloaded the beta. In copying the new grub2 folder to the C: drive I see a window stating that it is copying 691 items from the zip and that there are 670 files in the destination with the same name!! Surprised you've added so many new files.
Ed
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An interesting app But it doesn't support booting from ISO files. A definite bummer.
And loopback fails to find the ISO file specified when manually added.
menuentry "ISO" --class slackware --class icon-linux { echo Grub is now booting an ISO echo Boot disk address is $root echo Prefix is $prefix echo Locale_dir is $locale_dir echo ls (hd0,5)/ISOs ls (hd0,5)/ISOs echo set iso=/ISOs/Recovery.iso loopback loop (hd0,5)$iso sleep -v -i 90 echo "Loading Linux" linux (loop)/boot/syslinux/vmlinuz from=$iso extramod=/Linux/modsavedat volume=33 reboot=cold echo "Loading initrd" initrd (loop)/boot/syslinux/initrd.xz }Executing grub2win from a drive other than C: doesn't work. I like keeping useful apps on a flash drive.
Any chance these things can be looked at?
Thanks
Hi Ed,
I tried on my system and was able to load Ubuntu from a usb iso file using loopback. I'm wondering if there is some kind of issue with your particular motherboard / bios.
I usually test this kind of thing using the grub command line. When you boot and the Grub2Win menu selection screen comes up, press the "c" key to go to command line.
As you enter the commands above from the Grub command line, where does the failure occur.
Are there any error messages associated with the failure.
Also, are you running BIOS or UEFI? What is your motherboard model?
Please advise.
Thanks,
Dave
Hi Dave,
Thanks for getting back to me.
I was able to get my ISO to boot on my UEFI system using Grub2Win's grub2win.boot.efi but it was all manual effort. Grub2win.exe was of no help once the EFI folder was added. And based on my grub2.cfg results it's probably understandable. This is what I ended up with:
# # Menu Item 1 Linux # menuentry "Linux ISO" --class slackware --class icon-linux { echo Grub is now booting A Linux ISO echo Boot disk address is $root echo Prefix is $prefix echo The boot mode is $grub2win_bootmode set iso=/ISOs/Recovery.iso search -f $iso --set=root echo ISO root $root if [ -f (hd1,1)/USB_INSTALLATION.txt ]; then set linux_drv=/mnt/sdb1 else set linux_drv=/mnt/sda5 fi echo Linux extramods $linux_drv echo loopback loop $iso sleep -v -i 7 echo "Loading Linux" linux (loop)/boot/syslinux/vmlinuz extramod="$linux_drv/Modules;$linux_drv/modsavedat" volume=33 reboot=cold echo "Loading initrd" initrd (loop)/boot/syslinux/initrd.xz } # # Menu Item 2 Reboot # menuentry 'Reboot' --class slackware --class icon-unknown { reboot }A key to getting this to work was your grub2 beta had a functioning loopback command. Other grub2 downloads I've tried didn't.
Do note I'm not booting this from the C: drive, I'm booting it from a bootable USB drive. Once installed on my Windows system I copied the EFI folder and C:\grub2 folder to my flash drive and customized the grub2.cfg file there.
Your app has the potential for a wider range of systems than you realize. ;-)
Ed
BTW I should have noted there is a bug in the grub.cfg file when run on an EFI system. You:
set theme=$prefix/themes/grub2win/theme.ascrollcir.txt
then when the EFI test is positive:
if [ $grub2winbootmode = EFI ]; then
set theme=$theme.efi.txt
which results in:
theme=$prefix/themes/grub2win/theme.ascrollcir.txt.efi.txt
A couple of enhancements you might consider:
An option to copy the system, the EFI grub2win folder and the c: drive's grub2 folder, to a USB drive.
An option to boot an ISO file. An ISO file not on the C: drive. It would need the drive, folder path and name of the ISO file. And possibly include the ability to add any boot options.
An option to allow the user to open the cfg file in Notepad to manually tweak the file.
Yes, the end user can do these things manually but it would be nice if Grub2Win could help.
It's an impressive app Dave and I think it has quite a future.
Hi Ed,
I just uploaded version 6.3.0 of Grub2Win to SourceForge. On EFI systems, this new version allows you to run Grub2Win from partitions other than the Windows boot partiiton. This includes USB drive partitions.
Grub should now find it's code at boot time on the partition where you place it. Note that this will not work on BIOS systems since the Windows BCD has no capabilty to dynamically search and find the grub code.
I also fixed a couple of minor bugs in the code.
I've been working on Notepad edits for the grub.cfg file for a while now. I hope to have it up and working shortly.
Regards,
Yes, I saw the 6.3.0 change log. Sorry to hear you can't do it for BIOS systems also.
I boot USB drives, I use RMPrepUSB portable, and they don't boot as C: drives. As X: in some cases. I'll try one and get back to you.
Ok, the PE systems are X: and on a Rescue system the Windows partition is F:. But it's immaterial because Grub2Win would not be run under them. Grub2Win would be run from a standard Windows system, 7 or 10 in my cases, just not necessarily from the C: drive. And not necessarily from the hard drive.
I like to keep my OS files separate from my Data files. As such I partition my hard drives into C: drives and D: drives and sometimes E: drives also. (OS, Data, Backups) These in addition to the various system partitions on machines now days. When I installed Grub2Win to my D: drive I couldn't run it. This was a BIOS machine. When I copied the grub2win and grub2 folders to my USB drive to try it on a different machine I couldn't run it from there either.
Basically the app needs to know where it was executed from, and what system it is going to change, which is usually the booted system.
FYI
Last edit: Ed P 2015-11-20
Hi Ed,
I'm a little confused. I ran the 6.3.0 version grub2win.exe from
several different drives including a USB drive without any problems.
What error message are you receiving when you run grub2win.exe?
Thanks,
Dave
On 11/20/2015 2:07 PM, Ed P wrote:
I'm sorry Dave, I was going by your comment about BIOS systems and my experience with the earlier 6.2.x version. I have not as yet run the 6.3.0 version.
So you're saying it will run from my USB drive on my BIOS system?
Hey Ed,
Sorry for the miscommunication. Drive independence will only work on EFI
systems.
It's simply not feasible to do on BIOS systems because the Windows boot
address (and therefore the address of the grub code) is "hardwired" into
the Microsoft bootloader / BCD which is the first thing to boot. In BIOS
systems, the Microsoft bootloader has no facility I'm aware of to search
at boot time in order to locate grub outside the Windows boot partition.
Since grub is loaded before the Windows bootloader on EFI systems, the
full search and scripting facilities of grub are available at boot time
to find the code.
If you do have an EFI system, you should be able to install and run
Grub2Win from any NTFS or FAT partition, including on USB drives.
Hope this explanation helps,
Dave
On 11/20/2015 4:10 PM, Ed P wrote:
Ok, I loaded the 6.3.0 grub2 folder to a USB drive and executed the G:/grub2/grub2win.exe program and it executed producing the window:
But I don't agree. Grub2Win.exe is an app, running on a Windows 10 64-bit system, and has access to the C: drive, so it should be able to install/copy whatever files/folders it needs to the C: drive to support booting grub2 when the machine is rebooted regardless where it is executed from.
OK?
Hi Ed,
The items required comprise about 90% of the /grub2 directory. These
must be located on the Windows boot drive at boot time due to the
Microsoft bootloader / BCD limitations I outlined before. It makes
little sense to copy 90% of the directory from one drive to another when
the directory can be on the boot drive in the first place.
Grub2Win was designed to be a self-contained, simple to install
application, occupying a single directory, with no registry changes to
Windows. Splitting it into two directories on different drives would
needlessly complicate the application for a very marginal result.
Hope this helps,
Dave
On 11/20/2015 5:58 PM, Ed P wrote:
Hi Dave,
" It makes little sense to copy 90% of the directory from one drive to another when
the directory can be on the boot drive in the first place."
I understand where you're coming from, I just don't agree with it. :-)
And it has nothing to do with where booting requires the files, it has to do with saving disk space which disregards USB space and portability. "can be" doesn't need to be "has to be". When Grub2Win.exe executes and finds it is not on the C: drive it simply copies the "90% of the directory" from where it is being executed to the c: drive, not a big deal imo, and continues installing grub2. Currently it is forcing me to manually do the same thing except I'm simply copying 100%.
My point also works for running Grub2Win.exe from a different partition on the hard drive. Periodically I restore my C: drive. If Grub2Win.exe is not on the backup it will be gone when the restore finishes. But if it's on my D: drive I can rerun it and it will recreate my C:/grub2 folder.
OK?
Ed
Dave,
6.3.0
/grub2/winsource/basic.cfg
line 31
set theme=$prefix/themes/grub2win/theme.ascrollcir.txt
There is no such file in /grub2/themes/grub2win/ folder. The two ascrollcir files there are named:
theme.ascrollcir/bios/txt and
theme.ascrollcir/efi.txt.
Ed
Hi Ed,
Many thanks for pointing out the bug in basic. cfg.
I just uploaded version 6.3.1 which fixes it.
Thanks again,
Dave
Hello Dave,
I'm back.
I manually copied the 6.3.1 grub2 folder to my primary machine, again, and tried it. My summary so far is:
Grub2Win 6.3.1
Windows 10 64-bit BIOS machine
1366x768 screen
Help displays menu but no content.
Initial Grub2Win window, 655x542, missing characters: Additional Drivers (advanc
Menu Configuration window, OS Type - windows, missing characters: Defau
Editing Menu Slot 0, missing a line: Boot Pause ?????
Editing Menu Slot 1, OS Type: doesn't show a type for "Linux" though there is an icon for it.
Editing Menu Slot 1, OS Type: doesn't show a type for icons a user has added for it.
Editing Menu Slot 1, OS Type: doesn't show a type for Reboot.
Editing Menu Slot 1, doesn't have an option for importing a user defined menu item(s).
I think my last comment has some possibilities for supporting users booting ISO files.
BTW My Reboot menu item:
menuentry 'Reboot' --class slackware --class icon-reboot { reboot }Ed
Hi Ed,
I just uploaded version 6.3.2 which enforces a minimum display size of 800x600. I set up a minumum screen size to ensure character truncation does not happen. Please try the new version to see if this works for you.
As to OS Types. Simply adding an icon does not imply support of an OS. The icons are cosmetic items provided for display purposes only.
The supported OS types are coded in the program and are used in a number of places to set boot parameters etc.
I am in the process of setting up a "Custom" OS type which will allow you to set your boot paramaters and other Grub commands at your own risk. I plan to have this feature set up shortly.
Thanks for keeping me on my toes,
Dave
Hey Dave,
All screen truncations are gone. However the Help function still doesn't work.
And Black text on dark blue backgrounds is hard to read. ie the Help buttons. On dark backgrounds consider using white characters.
If you want to add support for the Porteus distro this is what I use:
menuentry "Porteus LXQT ISO" --class slackware --class icon-porteus { echo Boot disk address is $root echo Prefix is $prefix echo The boot mode is $grub2win_bootmode set iso=/ISOs/Porteus-LXQT-v3.1-x86_64-nu.iso search -f $iso --set=root echo ISO root is $root echo ISO is $iso if [ -f (hd1,1)/USB_INSTALLATION.txt ]; then set linux_drv=/mnt/sdb1/porteus3.1 else set linux_drv=/mnt/sda5/porteus3.1 fi echo Porteus extramods $linux_drv echo loopback loop $iso sleep -v -i 7 echo "Loading Linux" linux (loop)/boot/syslinux/vmlinuz from=$iso extramod="$linux_drv/Modules;$linux_drv/modsavedat" volume=33 reboot=cold echo "Loading initrd" initrd (loop)/boot/syslinux/initrd.xz }A menu item for Reboot would be nice also. ;-)
Ed
Hi Ed,
I'm a bit puzzled by your experience with the Help function. Let's try
this:
Please double-click file C:\grub2\winhelp\Grub2Win.chm. This is the
standard Grub2Win help file created with Microsoft's help compiler.
If the file won't open, you may be missing the Microsoft hh.exe program
that was created when you installed Windows. Another possibility is
that your virus scan software might be getting in the way of Grub2Win
invoking the hh.exe program.
Yours is the first report I have had of this issue.
Also, please run the diagnostic bat file C:\grub2\winsource\diag.bat.
Zip up the output diagnostic directory and send it to me.
Please let me know how you make out. The text of any error messages you
receive would be very helpful.
Thanks,
Dave
On 11/28/2015 11:48 AM, Ed P wrote:
Hi Dave,
Whether I click on a Grub2Win Help icon or the Grub2Win.chm file the Grub2 User Manual window opens, there are menu items shown in the left column but nothing shows in the right side, regardless of what is clicked on. This is on a BIOS booting Windows 10 system.
In addition on the BIOS booting Windows 10 system, with the grub2 folder on the C: drive, when I boot I get a BCD menu now showing a Grub2 option. Selecting it opens the Grub2Win menu with the Windows Boot Loader menu item at the top. Clicking on this option brings up a terminal window which shows:
Windows will boot normally from the
C: partition at address (hd0,msdos3)
0 error: file 'ntldr' not found.
Press any key to continue...
Pressing a key takes you back to the main menu. Which has no Reboot option. ;-)
Pressing the c key opens a command prompt window with the title containing:
2.02~beta2-9ubuntu1.2
It would look better as:
2.02~beta 2-9 ubuntu 1.2
Regardless entering the command reboot and hitting enter reboots the machine back to the Windows BCD menu.
On my C: drive there is no boot.ini, ntldr or BCD, which is (hd0,msdos3). My boot manager is on (hd0, msdos2).
Ed
Hey Ed,
There may be something amiss with your hh.exe or your registry. The
Grub2Win.chm help file compiled with the standard Microsoft help
compiler without errors. I have tested it extensively on several XP,
Win7 and Win10 systems both BIOS and EFI with no problems.
Do you have a clean Windows install to try it on? I suspect it might
work properly.
I have re-worked the Windows boot menuentry to accommodate unusual boot
address mixes such as yours.
Please edit the C:\grub2\grub.cfg and replace the Windows menuentry code
with the following:
menuentry 'Windows Boot Loader' --class windows --class
icon-windows {
set windiagdelay=0
if [ $grub2win_bootmode = EFI ]; then
set efibootmgr=/efi/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi
getbootpartition file $efibootmgr
if [ $? = 0 ] ; then
if [ $windiagdelay -gt 0 ] ; then
echo Grub is now booting Windows EFI Boot Manager
echo Boot disk address is $root
echo The boot mode is Windows EFI
sleep -v -i $windiagdelay
fi
chainloader $efibootmgr
fi
else
if [ -f (hd0,1)/ntldr ]; then
set bootcontrol=boot.ini
set bootstyle=ntldr
set root=$winpart
else
set biosbootmgr=/bootmgr
getbootpartition file $biosbootmgr
set bootcontrol=BCD
set bootstyle=bootmgr
fi
if [ $windiagdelay -gt 0 ] ; then
echo
echo The Windows BIOS boot manager is at address ($root)
echo
echo The Windows boot type is $bootstyle
echo
sleep -v -i $windiagdelay
fi
ntldr /$bootstyle
fi
}
Let me know if this works for you.
Thanks,
Dave
On 11/28/2015 2:22 PM, Ed P wrote:
Dave,
Interesting. The grub2win.chm file does indeed work on my wife's Windows 10 system and even on a Linux system, with Wine installed!! So the problem is indeed my Win 10 system.
And your Windows menu changes work on this BIOS system. I have yet to try them on the UEFI system. My system was Windows 7 prior to the Win 10 update and I don't think it's partition structure was that unique at the time I bought it 4 yras ago. Even a new Dell I tested a few months ago had multiple partitions for system restores.
BTW My hdd is set up like this:
# Recognized devices:
/dev/sda1: LABEL="PQSERVICE" UUID="9894832D94830CC6" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda2: LABEL="SYSTEM RESERVED" UUID="ECF483DEF483AA02" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda3: LABEL="Acer" UUID="48168114168103E2" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda5: LABEL="Data" UUID="01CD20066B8BF780" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda6: LABEL="BKUPS" UUID="1ECAD5A8CAD57C89" TYPE="ntfs"
The latter two I created.
Thanks for your help Dave.
Ed
-update-
My Grub2Win.chm file problem is fixed.
Right-click on the chm file, select Properties, then click “Unblock”.
Hi Ed,
I just uploaded a new beta version of Grub2Win. It's version 7.0.0 and includes a new feature that several people have requested. You can now enter your own Grub commands as "Custom" code instead of having the program generate the code. Just select "custom" as the OS Type and you should be good to go.
Please download grub2win.custom.beta.zip from SourceForge and give it a try.
Thanks again,
Dave
Hi Dave.
Just downloaded the beta. In copying the new grub2 folder to the C: drive I see a window stating that it is copying 691 items from the zip and that there are 670 files in the destination with the same name!! Surprised you've added so many new files.
Ed