[plop_pagetop.gif] URL: [1]http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager.html PLoP Boot Manager v5.0 page update: 21/Apr/2010 [2]1. Introduction [3]2. Features [4]3. Screenshots [5]4. Download [6]5. Licence [7]6. Harddisk installation [8]7. Running without harddisk installation from Floppy, CD, Windows boot menu, Syslinux, LILO, GRUB, network [9]8. The Boot Manager [10]9. Configure the Boot Manager binary plpbt.bin with plpcfgbt [11]10. Create an ISA/PCI boot manager option ROM [12]11. Disable the USB driver under DOS [13]12. Hidden partition / Cleared partition [14]13. USB info [15]14. Video dual boot install Windows XP and Windows XP [16]15. Windows XP and Windows Vista dual boot with hidden (cleared) partitions [17]16. Dualboot Windows XP and Windows 7 [18]17. Using the Boot Manager as USB harddisk driver for DOS [19]18. NOD32 Virus report [20]19. FAQ's - Frequently asked questions [21]20. Test team 1. Introduction __________________________________________________________________ The PLoP Boot Manager is a small program to boot different operating systems. You can boot the operating systems from harddisk, floppy, CD/DVD or from USB. You can start the boot manager from floppy, CD, network and there are many more ways to start the boot manager. You can install the boot manager on your harddisk. There is no extra partition required for the boot manager. The PLoP Boot Manager was written by Elmar Hanlhofer. If you need help, post it to the [22]forum or send me a message with the [23]contact form. The current version is [24]plpbt-5.0.10.zip. 2. Features __________________________________________________________________ * CD/DVD boot without BIOS support * USB boot without BIOS support (UHCI, OHCI and EHCI) * Floppy boot * Different profiles for operating systems * Define up to 16 partitions * No extra partition for the boot manager * Hidden boot, maybe you have a rescue system installed and the user should not see that there is another system installed * Boot countdown * Hide partitions * Password protection for the computer and the boot manager setup * Backup of partition table data * Textmode user interface 80x50 * Graphic user interface 640x480, 800x600, 1024x786, 1280x1024 * MBR partition table edit * Start of the boot manager from harddisk, floppy, USB, CD, DVD * Starting from Windows boot menu * Starting from LILO, GRUB, Syslinux, Isolinux, Pxelinux (network) * It can be used as ISA/PCI option ROM * The boot manager is freeware 3. Screenshots __________________________________________________________________ Main menu [25]mainmenu zoom Main menu (textmode) [26]mainmenu zoom Profile partitions [27]mainmenu zoom MBR partition edit [28]mainmenu zoom 4. Download __________________________________________________________________ You can download all files [29]here. 5. Licence __________________________________________________________________ The PLoP Boot Manager is freeware. * The Program is free to use for personal and commercial use. * The Program may not be sold. * The origin of this software must not be misrepresented; you must not claim that you wrote the original software. If you use this software in a product, an acknowledgment in the product documentation would be appreciated but is not required. This software is provided 'as-is', without any express or implied warranty. In no event will the authors be held liable for any damages arising from the use of this software. 6. Harddisk installation __________________________________________________________________ There are many ways to install the boot manager to the harddisk. If you want run the boot manager without harddisk installation then see [30]Running from Windows boot menu, LILO, GRUB, Syslinux, Floppy, CD. Warning Linux users: Install LILO or GRUB to the boot sector of your Linux instead of the Master Boot Record (MBR). The PLoP Boot Manager is not a Linux loader and cannot start Linux without LILO, GRUB, Syslinux and similar! [31]The install program [32]Install program menu [33]Harddisk install using Floppy with a disk image [34]Harddisk install using CD with an ISO file [35]Harddisk install using DOS [36]Harddisk install using Windows boot menu (2K, XP and VISTA) [37]Harddisk install using Syslinux, Isolinux, Pxelinux (Network) [38]Harddisk install using LILO [39]Harddisk install using GRUB The install program __________________________________________________________________ There are 2 versions of the install program. Basically both versions do the same. The only difference is that plpinst.com creates a backup file plpback.bin to restore harddisk sectors for a complete boot manager uninstall. The second version plpinstc.com skips the backup part. You have to use the second version for installation from write protected media like CD's or if you install from network or any other boot manager. The install programs are installing the boot manager always on the first harddisk of your computer. Install program menu __________________________________________________________________ 1. Full boot manager install With this option you install the boot manager to your harddisk. If you have an installed operating system, then the install program creates a profile for you to boot this operating system. With the installation from floppy, the install program makes a backup of the sectors where the boot manager will be installed. The install program writes the backup to the floppy disk. With this backup it's possible to remove the boot manager completely from your harddisk. If you use the CD installation, then it's not possible to restore the sectors. In this case the uninstall routine creates a new MBR to boot the current operating system. The partition table data won't be changed. 2. Write mbr loader only A small program (the loader) is required in the MBR to start the boot manager. Operating systems like Windows XP are writing during the installation their own small program into the MBR. If you install Windows XP after the boot manager, then Windows XP will start instead of the boot manager, because the loader is overwritten with the program from Windows XP. To setup that the boot manager starts before Windows XP you have to use Write mbr loader only. 3. Boot Manager update With this, you can update the boot manager. But only updates with boot manager v5 are working. 4. Complete uninstall Warning, this option is only available with the installation from floppy. The install program takes the backup that was saved on the floppy disk and writes it back to the harddisk. Warning, if you changed anything with the partition table, then do not use this option! 5. Short uninstall With this option, the program writes a new MBR to start the current operating system. The partition table will be unchanged. 6. Set Boot Manager screen to textmode Configures the Boot Manager to start in textmode. 7. Change destination harddisk Set destination harddisk to install the boot manager. 8. Boot Manager hotkeys See [40]Hotkeys. 9. Reboot The computer will be restarted. Harddisk install using Floppy with a disk image __________________________________________________________________ A floppy disk image is a file that contains every sector of the floppy disk. You cannot copy the image file on a floppy disk like a common file. It's required to use a special program that writes sector per sector of the image file to the floppy disk sectors. There are many programs available to do this. Download the current boot manager [41]plpbt-5.0.10.zip. Extract it to get the floppy disk image. You find the disk image in the install directory. The name of the file is plpbtin.img DOS: You can use [42]diskimg.com with diskimg -d a -w plpbtin.img Windows: Write the disk image with the program [43]rawwritewin to the floppy disk Linux: dd if=plpbtin.img of=/dev/fd0 Harddisk install using CD with an ISO file __________________________________________________________________ Download the current boot manager [44]plpbt-5.0.10.zip. Extract it to get the iso file. You find the iso file in the install directory. The name of the file is plpbtin.iso Notice: The CD installer makes no backup for a complete uninstall. See [45]The install program. Windows: You can use [46]Nero, or the free program [47]CDBurnerXP, or any other program that can burn ISO images. Use the option like burn ISO on CD or burn ISO Image. Then choose the boot manager ISO and burn it. Linux: [48]cdrecord is the linux program to burn ISO images to a CD. Burn the ISO with cdrecord: cdrecord -v dev= Example: If you access your CD burner with /dev/hdd cdrecord -v dev=/dev/hdd plpbtin.iso Harddisk install using DOS __________________________________________________________________ Download the current boot manager [49]plpbt-5.0.10.zip. Extract it to get the install program. In the install directory there are 2 install programs (plpinst.com and plpinstc.com) for using under DOS. plpinst.com creates a backup file plpback.bin for a complete boot manager uninstall. plpinstc.bin makes no backup. Use plpinstc.com for write protected media like CD's. Harddisk install using the Windows boot menu (2K, XP and VISTA) __________________________________________________________________ Download the file [50]plpgenbtldr-0.7.zip and extract it. * Create a directory like c:\plop. You can use any directory you want. * Copy plpinstc.com and plpgenbtldr.exe to your c:\plop directory. * Rename plpinstc.com to plpbt.bin. * As administrator/with administrator rights open a command shell and change to c:\plop * Then start plpgenbtldr This program searches for the file plpbt.bin In the current directory. plpgenbtldr generates the file plpbtldr.bin. * Adding to the boot menu. Windows 2K and XP is different to Windows VISTA + Windows 2K, XP add the line below to your c:\boot.ini c:\plop\plpbtldr.bin="Install PLoP Boot Manager" + Windows VISTA open notepad as administrator and create a file c:\boot.ini add those lines [boot loader] [operating systems] c:\plop\plpbtldr.bin="Install PLoP Boot Manager" Thanks to tri_zet for this info Now you should be able to install the PLoP Boot Manager from your Windows boot menu to your harddisk. Problems/Errors plpbt.bin must not be fragmeted! Use [51]contig to take care, that plpbt.bin is not fragmented. Harddisk install using Syslinux, Isolinux, Pxelinux (Network) __________________________________________________________________ Download the current boot manager [52]plpbt-5.0.10.zip. Extract it to get the boot manager install program. You find the install program plpinstc in the install directory. Add plpinstc.com to the config file * for Syslinux it's syslinux.cfg * for Isolinux it's isolinux.cfg * for Extlinux it's extlinux.conf * for Pxelinux it's pxelinux.cfg/default Add the following lines to the config file label plpinst linux plpinstc.com Copy plpinstc to the same directory where the config file is. You start the install program when you enter plpinst at the Syslinux command prompt. Harddisk install using LILO __________________________________________________________________ Download the current boot manager [53]plpbt-5.0.10.zip. Extract it to get the boot manager install program. You find the install program plpinstc.com in the install directory. Copy plpinstc.com to /boot. Add to your /etc/lilo.conf the following image=/boot/plpinstc.com label=plop-install Run lilo to update lilo. Harddisk install using GRUB / grub4dos __________________________________________________________________ Download the current boot manager [54]plpbt-5.0.10.zip. Extract it to get the boot manager install program. You find the install program plpinstc.com in the install directory. Copy plpinstc.com to /boot. You have to choose the correct root settings in menu.lst for your system. The following is an example title PLoP Boot Manager Install root (hd0,0) kernel /boot/plpinstc.com When you reboot, you should be able to choose the install program from your grub menu. 7. Running without harddisk installation from Floppy, CD, Windows boot menu, Syslinux, LILO, GRUB, network __________________________________________________________________ You can use the PLoP Boot Manager without harddisk installation with the boot manager binary file plpbt.bin. It's possible to configure the binary with [55]plpcfgbt. Warning: If you start the Boot Manager in the following ways, then the Boot Manager DOES NOT save the changes you made in the profile/partitions menu! Use this Boot Manager features only when you installed the Boot Manager with the install program. See [56]Harddisk installation. [57]Run from Floppy with a disk image [58]Run from CD with an ISO file [59]Run from Windows boot menu (2K, XP and VISTA) [60]Run from Syslinux, Isolinux, Pxelinux (Network) [61]Run from LILO [62]Run from GRUB [63]Run from GRUB2 Run from Floppy with a disk image A floppy disk image is a file that contains every sector of the floppy disk. You cannot copy the image file on a floppy disk like a common file. It's required to use a special program that writes sector per sector of the image file to the floppy disk sectors. There are many programs available to do this. Download the current boot manager [64]plpbt-5.0.10.zip. Extract it to get the floppy disk image plpbt.img. DOS: You can use [65]diskimg.com with diskimg -d a -w plpbt.img Windows: Write the disk image with the program [66]rawwritewin to the floppy disk Linux: dd if=plpbt.img of=/dev/fd0 You can configure the plpbt.bin on the floppy with [67]plpcfgbt. Run from CD with an ISO file __________________________________________________________________ Download the current boot manager [68]plpbt-5.0.10.zip. Extract it to get the iso file plpbt.iso. Windows: You can use [69]Nero, or the free program [70]CDBurnerXP, or any other program that can burn ISO images. Use the option like burn ISO on CD or burn ISO Image. Then choose the boot manager ISO and burn it. Linux: [71]cdrecord is the linux program to burn ISO images to a CD. Burn the ISO with cdrecord: cdrecord -v dev= Example: If you access your CD burner with /dev/hdd cdrecord -v dev=/dev/hdd plpbt.iso Run from the Windows boot menu (2K, XP and VISTA) __________________________________________________________________ Download the file [72]plpgenbtldr-0.7.zip and extract it. * Create a directory like c:\plop. You can use any directory you want. * Copy plpbt.bin and plpgenbtldr.exe to your c:\plop directory. * As administrator/with administrator rights open a command shell and change to c:\plop * Then start plpgenbtldr This program searches for the file plpbt.bin in the currrent directory. plpgenbtldr generates the file plpbtldr.bin. * Adding to the boot menu. Windows 2K and XP is different to Windows VISTA + Windows 2K, XP add the line below to your c:\boot.ini c:\plop\plpbtldr.bin="PLoP Boot Manager" + Windows VISTA open notepad as administrator and create a file c:\boot.ini add those lines [boot loader] [operating systems] c:\plop\plpbtldr.bin="PLoP Boot Manager" Thanks to tri_zet for this info Now you should be able to start the PLoP Boot Manager from your Windows boot menu. You can configure the file plpbt.bin with [73]plpcfgbt. Problems/Errors plpbt.bin must not be fragmeted! Use [74]contig to take care, that plpbt.bin is not fragmented. Run from Syslinux, Isolinux, Pxelinux (Network) __________________________________________________________________ Download the current boot manager [75]plpbt-5.0.10.zip. Extract it to get the boot manager binary program plpbt.bin. Add plpbt to the config file * for Syslinux it's syslinux.cfg * for Isolinux it's isolinux.cfg * for Extlinux it's extlinux.conf * for Pxelinux it's pxelinux.cfg/default Add the following lines to your config file label plp linux plpbt.bin Copy plpbt.bin to the same directory where the config file is. You start the boot manager when you enter plp at the Syslinux command prompt. You can configure the file plpbt.bin with [76]plpcfgbt. Run from LILO __________________________________________________________________ Download the current boot manager [77]plpbt-5.0.10.zip. Extract it to get the boot manager binary program plpbt.bin. Copy the plpbt.bin file to /boot. Add to your /etc/lilo.conf the following image=/boot/plpbt.bin label=PLoP Run lilo to update lilo. You can configure the file plpbt.bin with [78]plpcfgbt. Run from GRUB / grub4dos __________________________________________________________________ Download the current boot manager [79]plpbt-5.0.10.zip. Extract it to get the boot manager binary program plpbt.bin. Copy the plpbt.bin file to /boot. You have to choose the correct root settings in menu.lst for your system. The following is an example title PLoP Boot Manager root (hd0,0) kernel /boot/plpbt.bin Run from GRUB2 __________________________________________________________________ Download the current boot manager [80]plpbt-5.0.10.zip. Extract it to get the boot manager binary program plpbt.bin. Copy the plpbt.bin file to /boot. You have to choose the correct root settings in grub.cfg for your system. The following is an example menuentry "PLoP Boot Manager" { set root=(hd0,0) linux16 /boot/plpbt.bin } When you reboot, you should be able to start the boot manager from your grub menu. You can configure the file plpbt.bin with [81]plpcfgbt. 8. The Boot Manager __________________________________________________________________ 1. Hotkeys - Global keys Cursor up/down Move the bar Enter Choose selection ESC Close window CTRL - ESC Switch to textmode CTRL - PAGE UP Switch to higher screen resolution CTRL - PAGE DOWN Switch to lower screen resolution z Enable/Disable window zoom animation 2. Main menu In the main menu you see all visible profiles to boot an operating system. You can start an operating system from floppy, cd/dvd or usb. You can go to the setup of the boot manager, partitions and profiles. If your bios supports APM, you can shutdown your computer. Special additional keys for USB boot: * press SHIFT to force USB 1.1 * press CTRL to wait for a keypress before starting the operating system. You have here the option to press "n" (next) and continue the search for mass storage devices to boot from another usb device. 2.1. Main menu hotkeys 1-9 Boot profile q Quick boot, open a list of all possible hardcoded partitions to boot w Write MBR with the profile settings, but do not boot f Boot floppy c Boot CD/DVD u Boot USB press SHIFT to force USB 1.1 press CTRL to wait for a keypress before starting the operating system. You have here the option to press "n" (next) and continue the search for mass storage devices to boot from another usb device 3. Setup 3.1. Partitions You can manage your partitions here. The install program creates an entry for all primary partitions it finds. The names are from HDA1 up to HDD4. HD means harddisk. HDA stands for harddisk A and is the first harddisk. The numbers 1-4 are the numbers of the primary partitions. Notice for linux users: HDA has nothing to do with the devices in linux like /dev/hda. Edit label You can change the label for the partition. This label is used in the boot manager. The maximum length is 16 chars. Select Device Here, you choose the harddisk of the partition. HDA = Harddisk 1 HDB = Harddisk 2 HDC = Harddisk 3 HDD = Harddisk 4 Partition ID There are 2 ways to set the ID of a partition. 1. Enter partition ID You can enter the hexadecimal value for the partition. 2. Select ID from list This list has the mostly used partition ID's. If the requested ID is not in the list, then use Enter partition ID. View/Edit/Copy data This is used to change the values of partitions in the MBR. BP means boot manager partition. This values are stored in the boot manager. P1-P4 this are the current values of the primary partitions in the MBR. You can edit the hexadecimal values in the partition table. You can select a row with s (select) and paste the values to the row where the cursor is with p. With this function, you can import partition values to the boot manager or change values in the MBR. This can be very useful in emergency cases. Clear partition data Clearing the data means clearing of the partition data in the boot manager. The data on the partition itself is unchanged. Reset changes Use it if you changed something and you want to restore the whole values of the partition in the boot manager. This is possible until you close the partition edit window. 3.2. Profiles Profiles are used to start different operating systems from different harddisks and partitions. It's also possible to detect changes in the MBR made by other software and import or forget the changes. If you have an operating system installed and you install the boot manager, the installer creates a profile to boot the current operating system. Edit label You can edit the label of the profile. This label is shown in the main menu. It's useful to use a label to see what operating system is going to boot. The maximum length is 16 chars. Show in main menu With this option you select if the profile is shown in the main menu or not. Only visible profiles can be booted. It also has effects on the default profile in the boot manager setup. Linked partitions You select from which harddisk, partition and bios device number you want to boot with this profile. You can also select what partitions or cleared partitions should be used for the MBR. Configure partition entries There are 3 states for a partition entry 1. a selected partition Press enter to choose a partition from a list with all partition of this harddisk available from Partitions. If another software change this entry in the MBR, the boot manager detects this change at the next startup. You can choose if you want to import the new values or forget them. 2. don't touch The partition entry in the MBR will not be changed from the boot manager. That is the default setting. If a software changes this entry in the MBR the boot manager cannot detect this change. 3. cleared The boot manager set's this entry to 0 in the MBR. An operating system cannot detect that there is/was a partition. WARNING: if the boot manager has not stored the values of the partition in "Partitions" then you lose the partition values in the MBR and you cannot access the data on the partition. It's possible to restore those values, but it's better, easier and safe to store the values in Partitions. Partition programs will say this is unallocated space! Do not partition this space! You can lose data if you do it wrong. Linked partitions - hotkeys b set boot partition. You select, what partition you want to boot with this profile. The boot manager set a bios drive number automatically. It's possible to change it with another key. c clear partition. You set this entry to "cleared" and the boot manager cleares this entry in the MBR when you boot this profile. d don't touch. You set the entry to don't touch and the boot manager does not change this entry when you boot this profile. e edit boot flag. The boot flag has the bios drive number used by the boot sector routine. In some cases it's required to change this value. r remove boot flag. Here, you remove the boot flag from the profile. l set logial partition. You can set to boot from a logical partition 1-4 of an extended partition. Change the logical number by pressing "l". L1 = first logical, L2 = second, ... Clear profile data You can clear the profile data in the boot manager. The data in Partitions are not changed. Reset changes Use it if you changed something and want to restore the whole values of the profile in the boot manager. This is possible until you close the profile edit window. 3.3. Boot manager Startmode The boot manager has two modes to start. With the user interface menu and hidden. For the hidden mode, you have to set the bootcounter and you have to select a default profile. The default profile boots after the countdown. The user can not see that there is a boot manager in the background. If you want to go into the boot manager, then press ESC. Boot countdown You can enable and disable the countdown. If the bootcounter is enabled, the boot manager waits the given time and starts after the countdown the last used profile or the default profile, depending on your settings. Edit boot countdown Choose between 1 and 99 seconds. Select at start At start, the boot manager set the bar to the selected option. This works for the hidden start mode too. You have the following options 1. Last booted profile 2. Default profile 3. Floppy 4. CDROM 5. USB Default profile You can select the default profile from a list of all visible profiles. Show floppy boot Show the floppy boot option in the main menu. Show cdrom boot Show the cdrom boot option in the main menu. Show usb boot Show the USB boot option in the main menu. Force USB 1.1 Use USB 1.1 controller even if there is a USB 2.0 controller. Mode 1: Ignore the EHCI Controller Mode 2: Setup EHCI Controller and set all ports to the companion host. Some controllers need this option to force usb 1.1. Use Mass Stor Dev Use Mass Storage Device. Boot the X mass storage device that was found. Other devices are ignored. Textmode after boot You can select the textmode during the startup of an operating system. Choose between "don't change" or 80x50. Graphicmode Select the screen resolution in the boot manager. Choose between textmode 80x50 and graphicmode 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024. Zoom animation Enable and disable the window animation. Font Select the boot manager font or the bios font. Starfield Enable and disable the starfield animation. Masterpassword Setup the master password. Disable the boot manager password protection with an empty password. Setuppassword Setup the setup password. Disable the boot manager setup password protection with an empty password. 9. Configure the Boot Manager binary plpbt.bin with plpcfgbt __________________________________________________________________ [82]plpcfgbt-0.7.zip is a tool to configure the binary version plpbt.bin of the boot manager. This program is available for Windows and Linux. You start the program from a command shell. If you run the program without parameters then you will see the help information. Usage: plpcfgbt [OPTIONS] file Options: ======== PARAM SET VALUES vm video mode text, 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024 stm start mode menu or hidden, hidden requires cnt=on and dbt not off cnt countdown on or off cntval countdown value in seconds between 1 and 99 dbt default boot off, profile, floppy, cdrom, usb prf profile value between 1 and 16 stf starfield on or off zan zoom animation on or off fnt font bt or bios usb1 force usb 1.1 on or off int19h int19h/os boot do not boot the os and use int19h, on or off hotkey startup hotkey yes or no Infos about int19h see [83]here. The hotkey option is useful with CD's or ROM's. You get the info to press CTRL-A to start the boot manager. If you don't press it, the the booting continues without the boot manager. Examples * Print current settings plpcfgbt plpbt.bin * Configure hidden boot and boot the usb device plpcfgbt stm=hidden cnt=on cntval=1 dbt=usb plpbt.bin 10. Create an ISA/PCI boot manager option ROM __________________________________________________________________ You can create an option ROM file with [84]plpbtrom-0.3.zip. Usage: plpbtrom [OPTIONS] input-file output-file Options: ======== -h this help -pci create PCI ROM (default) -isa create ISA ROM -vendorid id hex value of the card vendor (only pci) -deviceid id hex value of device (only pci) -grabid grab vendor/device id from PCI ROM file input-file boot manager file (ex. plpbtrom.bin) output-file ROM file name Examples * plpbtrom plpbtrom.bin plpbt.rom * plpbtrom -isa plpbtrom.bin plpbt.rom * plpbtrom -vendorid 0x10ec -deviceid 0x8139 plpbtrom.bin plpbt.rom * plpbtrom -grabid netcard.rom plpbtrom.bin plpbt.rom Files plpbtrom - Linux executable plpbtrom.exe - Windows executable plpbtrom.bin - Boot Manager Difference plpbtrom.bin and plpbt.bin The only difference is that plpbtrom.bin gives the control of the boot process back to the bios with a far return if you press esc. plpbt.bin makes a reboot with int 19h. You can configure plpbtrom.bin like plpbt.bin with [85]plpcfgbt. You can enable/disable a hotkey to stat the boot manager. How to test a ROM You can test your rom file with the free virtual machine [86]qemu. qemu -hda harddisk.img -option-rom plpbt.rom If you have no harddisk image file then take one from the qemu download page or use a floppy image. qemu -fda floppy.img -option-rom plpbt.rom How to flash Flash at your own risk. See [87]http://www.etherboot.org. 11. Disable the USB driver under DOS __________________________________________________________________ If you run DOS and the PLoP USB driver is loaded, then you can disable the USB driver with [88]plpdisd-0.1.zip. When you disable the driver, then you are able to load other DOS usb drivers. You can run plpdisd from config.sys DEVICE=\plpdisd.exe It's also possible to run it from the autoexec.bat or command line. 12. Hidden partition / Cleared partition __________________________________________________________________ There is a important difference between "hidden" and "cleared" partitions. * Hidden Partition: Operatings systems, backup soulutions and so on can see them but they ignore them. I would say, this is a pseudo hidden partition. * Cleared Partition: No program (except the boot manager) knows that there is/was a partition defined in the MBR. This is really hidden. It looks like unallocated space for every program. That means no other program can access the data on that partition (with some work and searching the harddisk there are still ways to access the data). There is a risk, if you repartition the harddisk, you will overwrite your invisible partition and all data on it if you do it wrong. The partition should be visible in one profile and hidden (and not cleared) in another profile Lets say you want to have the second partition on HDA (HDA2) on one profile visible and on another hidden (and not cleared). * Use an empty entry in partitions. Give it the label "hidden hda2". * Select the device HDA. * Go to "VIEW/EDIT/COPY DATA". * Move the cursor to P2 and press "s". Now move up to "BP" and press "p". * Press ESC and go to "Partition ID". Choose "Select from list". Choose the hidden version of your partition. * Press ESC and save your changes. * Go to "profiles". Now you can assign the "visible" version of your partition to one profile and the "hidden" to another profile. 12. USB info __________________________________________________________________ * Only USB mass storage devices are supported. The USB support allows to boot from usb harddisk, usb sticks and usb cardreaders. USB floppys and CD/DVD drives are not working. * There is no USB HUB implementation. It's required to connect your USB device directly to the USB port of your computer. * The USB implementation works on many computers. If it does not work on yours, please contact me. Maybe we can fix it. Current status see [89]Bootmanager Status. 14. Video dual boot install Windows XP and Windows XP __________________________________________________________________ Download [90]demoinstall.wmv ([91]demoinstall.zip). The quality is not the best but you see all required steps. I hope its useful. 15. Windows XP and Windows Vista dual boot with hidden (cleared) partitions __________________________________________________________________ The goal is to install Windows XP on the first partition and Windows Vista on the second partition. I want that no windows has access to the partition of the other Windows. There should be a third partition that will be used as shared partition. Both Windows have access to this partition. There are many ways to do this. I will describe one way. It works only with the [92]Harddisk installation! What should be the result * Windows XP on partition 1 * Windows Vista on partition 2 * A shared partition for both Windows as partition 3 * No Windows has access to the other Windows partition * Realized with the PLoP Boot Manager (harddisk installation) Basic conditions * The harddisk is not partitioned * No boot manager is installed The description Install Windows XP At first install Windows XP. Create with the Windows installer a partition with the size you want. I use a 10GB partition. Install Windows XP on this partition. Setup Partitions When you installed your Windows, go to the Disk Management and create a second primary partition for Vista and a third primary partition for the shared data. Install the boot manager Now comes the boot manager part. Boot from the boot manager install floppy or CD. Install the boot manager to the harddisk and then reboot. Configure the Windows XP profile The boot manager created a profile called "os harddisk 1" to boot Windows XP. It also imported the 3 primary partitions. The names are HDA1, HDA2 and HDA3. Now go to setup and profiles. Select os harddisk 1. Give it the new label windows xp. Select linked partitions. Press enter at the first slot of HDA and select HDA1. At the second slot press c to set it to cleared. You can leave the third slot as don't touch or select HDA3. See the difference at [93]configure partition entries. Configure the Windows Vista profile Now leave the configuration of Windows XP and go to an empty profile in Profiles. Give it the label windows vista. Set show in main menu to yes. Now select linked partitions. Press at the first slot c to set it to cleared. At the second slot press b to set the boot flag. Press enter and select HDA2. On the third slot choose the same as for windows xp (don't touch or HDA3). Install Window Vista Go back to the main menu. Now you see windows xp and windows vista. Move to windows vista and press Enter. This writes the profile settings to the harddisk. The booting will fail, because Vista is not installed. Now boot the Windows Vista install DVD. In the installer you should see at the partitions screen at first an unallocated space (there is xp installed) and 2 primary partitions. Select the first primary partition to install Windows Vista. when the Windows Vista installation has been finished, it's possible, that Vista is booting immediately and the PLoP Boot Manager does not come. In this case use Write mbr loader only from the PLoP Boot Manager install floppy or CD. Now you should have two bootable Windows on your harddisk and they don't know from each other. You can share data between both with the shared partition. Windows Vista on the second harddisk It's similar to the previous description, if you want to install Windows XP on the first harddisk and Windows Vista on the second harddisk. The second harddisk is HDB in the boot manager. So install Windows Vista to the first partition of the second harddisk. Set in the vista profile/linked partitions the first slot of HDB to HDB1 and press b. The boot manager will set the boot flag to 81h. This should be ok for your installation. 17. Dualboot Windows XP and Windows 7 __________________________________________________________________ Here are short instructions for a complete new installation of your pc with dualbooting WinXP and Win7. It doesn't matter if you use 32 or 64 bit versions. Take care, all data on your pc will be deleted! Boot the Win7 install DVD. Remove all partitions from the harddisk. Create a partition for Win7. The install program will create 2 partitions. One with about 80MB for the Win7 boot files and a second partition with the Win7 files. Create an additional partition for WinXP. Now you see 3 partitions. Install Win7 to the second partition. After the Win7 installation is complete, install the PLoP Boot Manager. After the Boot Manager installation go to the Boot Manager Setup, then Profiles, then "OS HARDDISK 1". Change the name to "Win7". Go to linked partitions and press enter on the first position of HDA and select HDA1, on the second select HDA2 and on the third press "c" for cleared. Now leave the profile settings for Win7. Use now an empty profile to create the WinXP profile. Give it the name WinXP, visible in main menu "yes". In linked parttitions select for HDA on the first position HDA3, press "b" to set the bootflag on the first position. On the second press "c" to set it cleared. On the third press "c" to set it to cleared too. Go to the main menu and press enter on WinXP. You will be not able to boot this partition because XP is not installed currently. If you get the message about invalid boot signature, then press "n" to abort. Now boot the WinXP install CD. You should see now only one partition. Install WinXP there. After the installation completed then start the PLoP Boot Manager install CD and use "Install mbr loader only". Reboot, the boot manager will tell you about partition changes. Press "y" to import the new values. Now you should be able to boot both systems. 16. Using the Boot Manager as USB harddisk driver for DOS __________________________________________________________________ I know this is very special. Maybe it's useful for some people. You have to configure the plpbt.bin with [94]plpcfgbt to use int19h instead of booting the operating system. plpcfgbt int19h=on plpbt.bin Now you have to start plpbt.bin with a boot manager like grub, syslinux or what ever during boot time (supported boot managers see [95]here). Choose USB and the boot manager will install the usb driver and go back to your boot manager. If you start DOS you will have access to your usb drive as last harddisk. But remember, the usbdrive is only as "read only" device available. If it works for you then use plpcfgbt int19h=on stm=hidden cnt=on cntval=1 dbt=usb plpbt.bin To disable the usb driver from DOS see [96]plpdisd. 18. NOD32 Virus report __________________________________________________________________ This problem was fixed but with the new NOD32 versions it's back. It's a false report. 19. FAQ's - Frequently asked questions __________________________________________________________________ 1. [97]I booted DOS from USB and I cannot write on the drive 2. [98]Are there plans to add write support in the future 3. [99]The boot manager detect's my usb cdrom, but booting hangs 4. [100]My USB keyboard does not work when I booted from USB 5. [101]Can I use my PCMCIA Card to boot from USB 6. [102]I want to install the boot manager from my USB device, but I cannot choose my internal harddisk 7. [103]I use plpbt.bin and it forgets my settings 8. [104]I can not boot from my SATA CD/DVD drive 1. I booted DOS from USB and I cannot write on the drive My drivers have no write routines implemented. You want to know why? My intention was to have USB drivers for UHCI, OHCI and EHCI controllers in my tiny boot manager. The space to install the boot manager without the need of a partition is very limited. So there was no space left for write routines. 2. Are there plans to add write support in the future It's in my mind, but there are no fix plans. 3. The boot manager detect's my usb cdrom, but booting hangs USB CD/DVD drives are not supported. 4. My USB keyboard does not work when I booted from USB USB keyboards are not supported by my drivers. When you boot Linux or Windows, then your keyboard will be available when those operating systems are taking control over the USB hardware. 5. Can I use my PCMCIA Card to boot from USB No, PCMCIA is not supported. 6. I want to install the boot manager from my USB device, but I cannot choose my internal harddisk The problem with installing on the internal (in this case the second) harddisk with the installer is, that the installer imports the partitions from the usb device and thinks this are the partitions of the first harddisk. When the boot manager boot's later from the real harddisk then the imported partitions are not correct. You see the problem? Sure it would be possible to add an option to handle this situation, but there are so many other ways to install the boot manager, that there are no plans to add this feature to the installer (except, many people request this feature). 7. I use plpbt.bin and it forgets my settings You have to configure plpbt.bin with plpcfgbt. All changes you make within the boot manager menu are only valid until you reboot. The changes are not saved. 8. I can not boot from my SATA CD/DVD drive SATA CD/DVD drives are not supported. Only IDE CD/DVD drives are working. 20. Test team __________________________________________________________________ Special thanks goes to * Florian "Bazong" G. * Diego Rodriguez * Rodrigo Cassali * Giano * George A. Martinez * Koen van Beek * Pete K * Raymond * Michael Reichenbach * Julius Schwartzenberg * Quinn Plattel Thanks for you patience and trying again and again a lot of test programs. References 1. http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager.html 2. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#intro 3. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#features 4. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#screenshots 5. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#download 6. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#licence 7. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#installhd 8. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#noinstall 9. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#bootmanager 10. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#plpcfgbt 11. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#plprom 12. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#plpdisd 13. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#hid 14. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#usbinfo 15. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#ex0 16. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#ex1 17. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#ex3 18. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#drv 19. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#nod32 20. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#faq 21. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#testteam 22. http://forum.plop.at/ 23. http://www.plop.at/en/contact.html 24. http://download.plop.at/files/bootmngr/plpbt-5.0.10.zip 25. http://www.plop.at/slide16en01.html 26. http://www.plop.at/slide16en02.html 27. http://www.plop.at/slide16en03.html 28. http://www.plop.at/slide16en04.html 29. http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanagerdl.html 30. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#noinstall 31. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#installer 32. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#instop 33. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#flpinst 34. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#cdinst 35. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#dosinst 36. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#wininst 37. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#syslinuxinst 38. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#liloinst 39. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#grubinst 40. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#hotkeys 41. http://download.plop.at/files/bootmngr/plpbt-5.0.10.zip 42. http://download.plop.at/files/DISKIMG.COM 43. http://download.plop.at/files/rawwritewin.exe 44. http://download.plop.at/files/bootmngr/plpbt-5.0.10.zip 45. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#installer 46. http://www.nero.com/ 47. http://www.cdburnerxp.se/ 48. http://cdrecord.berlios.de/old/private/cdrecord.html 49. http://download.plop.at/files/bootmngr/plpbt-5.0.10.zip 50. http://download.plop.at/files/bootmngr/plpgenbtldr-0.7.zip 51. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897428.aspx 52. http://download.plop.at/files/bootmngr/plpbt-5.0.10.zip 53. http://download.plop.at/files/bootmngr/plpbt-5.0.10.zip 54. http://download.plop.at/files/bootmngr/plpbt-5.0.10.zip 55. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#plpcfgbt 56. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#installhd 57. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#runflp 58. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#runcd 59. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#runwin 60. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#runsyslinux 61. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#runlilo 62. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#rungrub 63. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#rungrub2 64. http://download.plop.at/files/bootmngr/plpbt-5.0.10.zip 65. http://download.plop.at/files/DISKIMG.COM 66. http://download.plop.at/files/rawwritewin.exe 67. http://www.plop.at/print/bootmanager_en.html#plpcfgbt 68. http://download.plop.at/files/bootmngr/plpbt-5.0.10.zip 69. http://www.nero.com/ 70. http://www.cdburnerxp.se/ 71. http://cdrecord.berlios.de/old/private/cdrecord.html 72. http://download.plop.at/files/bootmngr/plpgenbtldr-0.7.zip 73. 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