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  • DNS Benchmark v2 Release 5 with Consultant License
    Guest:
    If you own any earlier release of our DNS Benchmark you may immediately download its release #5 replacement. Running an earlier release will detect the new release and help you upgrade.

    Although this release is cosmetic, appearance matters and affects ease of use. The biggest change, as seen in the image above, is that the DNS Benchmark now has a traditional Windows application menu to more fully expose its many features. This release is also "Consultant License Aware" and GRC will now issue a Consultant version when owners have previously purchased four "Personal Use" licenses. If you have previously purchased four DNSB licenses, or if you wish to upgrade your "Personal Use" license to Consultant, GRC's purchase process will direct you through that process.
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  • BootAble – FreeDOS boot testing freeware

    To obtain direct, low-level access to a system's mass storage drives, SpinRite runs under a GRC-customized version of FreeDOS which has been modified to add compatibility with all file systems. In order to run SpinRite it must first be possible to boot FreeDOS.

    GRC's “BootAble” freeware allows anyone to easily create BIOS-bootable media in order to workout and confirm the details of getting a machine to boot FreeDOS through a BIOS. Once the means of doing that has been determined, the media created by SpinRite can be booted and run in the same way.

    The participants here, who have taken the time to share their knowledge and experience, their successes and some frustrations with booting their computers into FreeDOS, have created a valuable knowledgebase which will benefit everyone who follows.

    You may click on the image to the right to obtain your own copy of BootAble. Then use the knowledge and experience documented here to boot your computer(s) into FreeDOS. And please do not hesitate to ask questions – nowhere else can better answers be found.

    (You may permanently close this reminder with the 'X' in the upper right.)

How To: Run SpinRite on a UEFI-only machine (Part 3A of 5 - Linux as base OS)

#1

S

Scott

NOTE: These steps will create a portable Linux environment on a USB flash drive that can be moved from machine to machine as needed.

As noted in Part 1 of this series, one can create a VirtualBox environment suitable for SpinRite within a Linux OS environment. That Linux boot drive must be setup in a particular way. This article will outline how to setup that drive, and how to run VirtualBox and then SpinRite from that drive.

This article is split into multiple parts:
  1. Introduction
  2. Using Windows to Go as the base OS for your bootable VirtualBox system:
  3. Using Kubuntu Linux as the base OS for your bootable VirtualBox system
    1. Part 3A - Setting up the Linux drive, Installing VirtualBox (this article)
    2. Part 3B - Creating a SpinRite Virtual Machine, Mapping the Host drives to the SR Virtual Machine, Steps to take when moving your Linux drive to a new Target Machine
  4. Using MacOS as the base OS for your bootable VirtualBox system
  5. Downloading or Creating your VM and moving files in and out of the virtual drive

On your Prep PC (which is running Windows 10 or 11):​

NOTE: Instructions have been updated (as of May 9 2024) for Kubuntu 24.04.1 LTS instead of 22.04.4
  1. Download and install (or use Portable) version of Rufus; MUST USE AT LEAST VERSION 4.5:
    1. https://rufus.ie/en/
  2. Download the Kubuntu flavour of Ubuntu Linux. Get the LTS version 24.04.1 or higher
    1. https://kubuntu.org/getkubuntu/
    2. Get ISO or use the Torrent file to get the ISO
    3. NOTE: versions earlier than 24.04.1 may give an SBAT error if Secure Boot is enabled
  3. Insert your USB drive
  4. Use Rufus with the following options:
    1. Main screen
      1. If your drive is NOT a flash drive, but is an External USB SSD drive, click on "List USB Hard Drives"
      2. Select your USB drive and the Kubuntu ISO
      3. Partition Scheme: GPT
      4. Set Persistent Partition Size to at least 12 GB
        1. The drive will be split between the Persistent Partition and the Partition for the ISO, which needs be at least 10 GB
      5. All other options default, press Start
    2. Rufus will now make your flash drive
  5. Now, go to GRC.com and download your personal copy of SpinRite
  6. Run the SpinRite executable
  7. Use the option to create an IMG file.
  8. By default it's called SpinRite.img, change the name to SPINRITE-FD.img
  9. Copy that file to your 2nd flash drive and put it aside, you'll use it later

On your Target PC (on which you will eventually run SpinRite against its drives)​

A. Getting the OS up to date​

  1. Boot into your firmware settings:
    1. Ensure Virtualization is turned on, if there is a firmware setting for it (might be called VT-X or AMD-V)
    2. Your Secure Boot settings do not have to change, just make a note of whether Secure Boot is On or Off
  2. Boot your PC from the USB using your particular PC's boot option key
  3. You should see at least one entry for the USB
  4. You will boot to the main Kubuntu boot menu; select the first entry from the Kubuntu boot menu, Try or Install Kubuntu
  5. The next screen is a graphical menu to allow WiFi network connection, and for you to decide to Try or Install Kubuntu.
    1. Connect to your WIFi network or select wired Ethernet, whatever is appropriate
    2. You obviously want to Try Kubuntu, not install it!
  6. Once you get to the desktop, ensure you are connected to your WiFi network (or ensure you have Ethernet plugged in and working)
  7. Go to System Settings | Regional Settings and set:
    • Date and Time, set your Time Zone
    • Region and Language, set your Language to American English and hit Apply
  8. Change Power settings so that the system NEVER suspends, goes to sleep or turns itself off
    1. Go to System Settings | Power Management
    2. Energy Saving section
      1. Turn OFF "Screen Energy Saving"
      2. Turn OFF "Suspend session"
      3. Click the "Apply" button
    3. Activity Power Settings section
      1. Define a special behavior
        1. Turn ON "Never turn off the screen"
        2. Turn ON "Never shut down the computer or let it go to sleep"
        3. Click the "Apply" button
  9. Reboot. If the system remembered your settings (WiFi network, etc.), then persistence is working, which is required to proceed
  10. Open the Discover app and click on the bottom left of the menu where it says “Fetching updates”
  11. You should see a list of Updates to apply. Click on Update All in the top right of the window
  12. After a while (it may take time for the system to prepare itself for the updates), the system may prompt you with a box saying "Authentication is required to update software" and ask for a password. As we never set an adminstrator / root / sudo password, just leave it blank and click OK. This will remain true for future actions that prompt for a password.
  13. If you don't see items start to update, you may have to click "Update All" again
  14. After all updates are installed, Reboot the system
  15. After reboot, open a Terminal window (called Konsole in Kubuntu)
  16. Enter the following:
    1. sudo snap refresh
  17. Your system is now up to date
  18. Open Firefox and ensure it’s working

​

B. I have a Mac, is there anything else I need to do?​

My limited testing is that Macs can work from the base Linux drivers; there are no Linux drivers from Apple, but feel free to read up on running Linux on your particular Mac (or any PC!!) to ensure that you have the drivers you need

C. Installing VirtualBox​

Unlike installing on Windows or MacOS, installing VirtualBox on Linux is not straightforward, and varies among the different distributions, mainly due to differing prerequisites (which are not well documented). There is a pre-built version in the Ubuntu repository, or you could seek out the most current version. At this writing (January 2025), the Ubuntu repository hosts VirtualBox version 7.0.16, while the most current is 7.1.4.

If you want the most current version, you can follow the directions at:
  1. https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads
  2. Do not install the pre-built binary; follow the directions for a Debian based install. When typing in the commands, replace <mydist> with noble .
  3. If the install goes well and Secure Boot is on, you should follow the instructions from Step 6 and onwards below to enroll the MOK.
  4. You may need other prerequisites, you're on your own for finding what those are!
  5. Because of the complexity of this approach, I don't recommend it but if you're comfortable with Linux, by my guest!
  6. After installation, the program will be listed on your Application list as Oracle VirtualBox, not VirtualBox.
For simplicity's sake, I recommend using the older but viable VirtualBox version included in the Ubuntu Repository.
  1. Open a Terminal window (called Konsole in Kubuntu)
  2. You should be in the home directory for the kubuntu user; enter the command:
    1. pwd
  3. Should show:
    1. /home/kubuntu
  4. Make the Virtual Machine directory:
    1. mkdir 'VirtualBox VMs'
  5. From the terminal command line:
    1. sudo systemctl daemon-reload
    2. sudo apt update
    3. sudo apt upgrade
      1. There will probably be no upgrades to apply but it's fine either way
    4. sudo apt install virtualbox
    5. Enter Y when prompted to proceed
  6. If you have Secure Boot On:
    1. The system will throw up a text dialog box telling you that you need a password (at least 8 characters) to generate a signing key. That password must be entered on special screens on the next reboot in order to have VirtualBox work with SecureBoot On.
    2. I used something simple like “spinrite”; whatever you choose, remember it!!
  7. After the install finished, exit the terminal
  8. If you have Secure Boot On, you must now Reboot:
    1. You’ll see the following prompts:
      1. A “Perform MOK management” screen
        1. You may have to press Enter to proceed into MOK Management
        2. Select “Enroll MOK”
      2. At the “Enroll MOK” screen
        1. Select “Continue”
      3. At the “Enroll the key(s)?” screen
        1. Select “Yes”
      4. You’ll be prompted for the password from before; enter it
      5. At the final screen
        1. Select “Reboot”
  9. Now we need to edit the VirtualBox entry on the Application Menu
    1. Find the “VirtualBox” entry in the Application list menu
    2. Right click on it, select “Edit Application”
    3. Select the Application tab
    4. Click on the Advanced Options button
    5. In the User section, click the box that says "Run as a different user":
      1. Username: root
    6. Click OK
    7. Click OK
    8. Start VirtualBox by selecting it off the Application Menu
  10. Go to the File | Preferences menu
  11. Change Default Machine Folder to:
    1. /home/kubuntu/VirtualBox VMs
  12. Exit VirtualBox
And now VirtualBox is installed. On to Part 3B, setting up the Virtual Machine and installing SpinRite


#2

leonfeng

leonfeng

Thank you so much, Scott, for these incredible instructions! I just successfully ran SpinRite 6.1 on my UEFI-only laptop following your guide :D

Two small corrections:

7.1. There should be two dashes in front of dearmor, otherwise gpg complains "can't open '-dearmor'". Unfortunately, the error message ends with the word "(success)". I suggest people double check if the keyring file is actually created using the following command:
Code: 
ls -l /usr/share/keyrings/oracle-virtualbox-2016.gpg

17.5.1. There should be a U after %, otherwise KDE complains "invalid syntax".

Cheers~


#3

S

Scott

leonfeng said:
Thank you so much, Scott, for these incredible instructions! I just successfully ran SpinRite 6.1 on my UEFI-only laptop following your guide :D

Two small corrections:

7.1. There should be two dashes in front of dearmor, otherwise gpg complains "can't open '-dearmor'". Unfortunately, the error message ends with the word "(success)". I suggest people double check if the keyring file is actually created using the following command:
Code: 
ls -l /usr/share/keyrings/oracle-virtualbox-2016.gpg

17.5.1. There should be a U after %, otherwise KDE complains "invalid syntax".

Cheers~
Click to expand...
Hi @leonfeng, if those two items were my only mistakes, I’m happy! I’ve fixed them both, and thanks for finding them.

Did you create your own Virtual Machine or download my pre-built one? And did your laptop have Secure Boot on?


#4

leonfeng

leonfeng

Scott said:
Hi @leonfeng, if those two items were my only mistakes, I’m happy! I’ve fixed them both, and thanks for finding them.

Did you create your own Virtual Machine or download my pre-built one? And did your laptop have Secure Boot on?
Click to expand...
I downloaded your pre-built VM because I'm lazy. And I turned off Secure Boot beforehand to keep things a little simpler.


#5

P

pakal

Scott said:
NOTE: These steps will create a portable Linux environment on a USB flash drive that can be moved from machine to machine as needed.

As noted in Part 1 of this series, one can create a VirtualBox environment suitable for SpinRite within a Linux OS environment. That Linux boot drive must be setup in a particular way. This article will outline how to setup that drive, and how to run VirtualBox and then SpinRite from that drive.

This article is split into multiple parts:
  1. Introduction
  2. Using Windows to Go as the base OS for your bootable VirtualBox system:
  3. Using Kubuntu Linux as the base OS for your bootable VirtualBox system
    1. Part 3A - Setting up the Linux drive, Installing VirtualBox (this article)
    2. Part 3B - Creating a SpinRite Virtual Machine, Mapping the Host drives to the SR Virtual Machine, Steps to take when moving your Linux drive to a new Target Machine
  4. Using MacOS as the base OS for your bootable VirtualBox system
  5. Downloading or Creating your VM and moving files in and out of the virtual drive

On your Prep PC (which is running Windows 10 or 11):​

NOTE: Instructions have been updated (as of May 9 2024) for Kubuntu 24.04.1 LTS instead of 22.04.4
  1. Download and install (or use Portable) version of Rufus; MUST USE AT LEAST VERSION 4.5:
    1. https://rufus.ie/en/
  2. Download the Kubuntu flavour of Ubuntu Linux. Get the LTS version 24.04.1 or higher
    1. https://kubuntu.org/getkubuntu/
    2. Get ISO or use the Torrent file to get the ISO
    3. NOTE: versions earlier than 24.04.1 may give an SBAT error if Secure Boot is enabled
  3. Insert your USB drive
  4. Use Rufus with the following options:
    1. Main screen
      1. If your drive is NOT a flash drive, but is an External USB SSD drive, click on "List USB Hard Drives"
      2. Select your USB drive and the Kubuntu ISO
      3. Partition Scheme: GPT
      4. Set Persistent Partition Size to at least 12 GB
        1. The drive will be split between the Persistent Partition and the Partition for the ISO, which needs be at least 10 GB
      5. All other options default, press Start
    2. Rufus will now make your flash drive
  5. Now, go to GRC.com and download your personal copy of SpinRite
  6. Run the SpinRite executable
  7. Use the option to create an IMG file.
  8. By default it's called SpinRite.img, change the name to SPINRITE-FD.img
  9. Copy that file to your 2nd flash drive and put it aside, you'll use it later

On your Target PC (on which you will eventually run SpinRite against its drives)​

A. Getting the OS up to date​

  1. Boot into your firmware settings:
    1. Ensure Virtualization is turned on, if there is a firmware setting for it (might be called VT-X or AMD-V)
    2. Your Secure Boot settings do not have to change, just make a note of whether Secure Boot is On or Off
  2. Boot your PC from the USB using your particular PC's boot option key
  3. You should see at least one entry for the USB
  4. You will boot to the main Kubuntu boot menu; select the first entry from the Kubuntu boot menu, Try or Install Kubuntu
  5. The next screen is a graphical menu to allow WiFi network connection, and for you to decide to Try or Install Kubuntu.
    1. Connect to your WIFi network or select wired Ethernet, whatever is appropriate
    2. You obviously want to Try Kubuntu, not install it!
  6. Once you get to the desktop, ensure you are connected to your WiFi network (or ensure you have Ethernet plugged in and working)
  7. Go to System Settings | Regional Settings and set:
    • Date and Time, set your Time Zone
    • Region and Language, set your Language to American English and hit Apply
  8. Change Power settings so that the system NEVER suspends, goes to sleep or turns itself off
    1. Go to System Settings | Power Management
    2. Energy Saving section
      1. Turn OFF "Screen Energy Saving"
      2. Turn OFF "Suspend session"
      3. Click the "Apply" button
    3. Activity Power Settings section
      1. Define a special behavior
        1. Turn ON "Never turn off the screen"
        2. Turn ON "Never shut down the computer or let it go to sleep"
        3. Click the "Apply" button
  9. Reboot. If the system remembered your settings (WiFi network, etc.), then persistence is working, which is required to proceed
  10. Open the Discover app and click on the bottom left of the menu where it says “Fetching updates”
  11. You should see a list of Updates to apply. Click on Update All in the top right of the window
  12. After all updates are installed, Reboot the system
  13. After reboot, open a Terminal window (called Konsole in Kubuntu)
  14. Enter the following:
    1. sudo snap refresh
  15. Your system is now up to date
  16. Open Firefox and ensure it’s working

​

B. I have a Mac, is there anything else I need to do?​

My limited testing is that Macs can work from the base Linux drivers; there are no Linux drivers from Apple, but feel free to read up on running Linux on your particular Mac (or any PC!!) to ensure that you have the drivers you need

C. Installing VirtualBox​

Unlike installing on Windows or MacOS, installing VirtualBox on Linux is not straightforward, and varies among the different distributions, mainly due to differing prerequisites (which are not well documented). These instructions are specifically for this Kubuntu release. Virtualbox installation for Kubuntu 24.04 is MUCH easier than it was for version 22.04.
  1. Reference:
    1. https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads
  2. Open a Terminal window (called Konsole in Kubuntu)
  3. You should be in the home directory for the kubuntu user; enter the command:
    1. pwd
  4. Should show:
    1. /home/kubuntu
  5. Make the Virtual Machine directory:
    1. mkdir 'VirtualBox VMs'
  6. From the terminal command line:
    1. sudo systemctl daemon-reload
    2. sudo apt update
    3. sudo apt upgrade
      1. There will probably be no upgrades to apply but it's fine either way
    4. sudo apt install virtualbox
    5. Enter Y when prompted to proceed
  7. If you have Secure Boot On:
    1. The system will throw up a text dialog box telling you that you need a password (at least 8 characters) to generate a signing key. That password must be entered on special screens on the next reboot in order to have VirtualBox work with SecureBoot On.
    2. I used something simple like “spinrite”; whatever you choose, remember it!!
  8. After the install finished, exit the terminal
  9. If you have Secure Boot On, you must now Reboot:
    1. You’ll see the following prompts:
      1. A “Perform MOK management” screen
        1. You may have to press Enter to proceed into MOK Management
        2. Select “Enroll MOK”
      2. At the “Enroll MOK” screen
        1. Select “Continue”
      3. At the “Enroll the key(s)?” screen
        1. Select “Yes”
      4. You’ll be prompted for the password from before; enter it
      5. At the final screen
        1. Select “Reboot”
  10. Now we need to edit the VirtualBox entry on the Application Menu
    1. Find the “VirtualBox” entry in the Application list menu
    2. Right click on it, select “Edit Application”
    3. Select the Application tab
    4. Click on the Advanced User button
    5. In the User section, click the box that says "Run as a different user":
      1. Username: root
    6. Click OK
    7. Click OK
    8. Start VirtualBox by selecting it off the Application Menu
  11. Go to the File | Preferences menu
  12. Change Default Machine Folder to:
    1. /home/kubuntu/VirtualBox VMs
  13. Exit VirtualBox
And now VirtualBox is installed. On to Part 3B, setting up the Virtual Machine and installing SpinRite
Click to expand...
I have a 2 years old Dell Precision 7750, Zeon Processor, 64GB RAM, Mobile Workstation. I was working through Parts 3A and 3B to run SpinRite through Kubuntu. I started trying to install to a 64GB flash drive (USB 3.0 on a USB 3.1 port. When I started rufus I did not see any way to load the Kubuntu iso. The only options available were a list of stck bootable images provided by Kubuntu. The same thing happened when I tried to install to a 2TB SSD external drive. I tried doing the install with the rufus anf Kubuntu in the c:| root directory but that made no difference. What am I missing. Thank - pakal


#6

P

pakal

pakal said:
I have a 2 years old Dell Precision 7750, Zeon Processor, 64GB RAM, Mobile Workstation. I was working through Parts 3A and 3B to run SpinRite through Kubuntu. I started trying to install to a 64GB flash drive (USB 3.0 on a USB 3.1 port. When I started rufus I did not see any way to load the Kubuntu iso. The only options available were a list of stck bootable images provided by Kubuntu. The same thing happened when I tried to install to a 2TB SSD external drive. I tried doing the install with the rufus anf Kubuntu in the c:| root directory but that made no difference. What am I missing. Thank - pakal
Click to expand...
I forgot to mention that I am running Windows 10 Pro Workstation (UEFI Only) and just finished a complete reinstall of everything on the laptop so its all up to date. I also downloaded all of your recommended versions for rufus and Kubuntu. Thanks.


#7

S

Scott

pakal said:
I forgot to mention that I am running Windows 10 Pro Workstation (UEFI Only) and just finished a complete reinstall of everything on the laptop so its all up to date. I also downloaded all of your recommended versions for rufus and Kubuntu. Thanks.
Click to expand...
From the Rufus UI click the Select button, it opens a standard Windows file picker dialogue box and you can select the ISO file


#8

P

pakal

Thanks Scott. I must have been "click challenged" when I first tried that. I could have sworn that I clicked on "SELECT" but nothing happened - i.e. no DownArrow for additional selections. Anyway, it worked properly when I went back in and did it again. So, everything was proceeding along as expected until I got to the step in Part 5C where (for Linux) you open Konsol and change to the 'VirtualBox VMs' directory with the command:

cd ~/'VirtualBox VMs'

where I recieve the response - "Permission Denied"

I'm guessing it has something to do with "root" being the owner and maybe the password the was set up earlier but I don't know how to procceed from here.

Thanks.


#9

S

Scott

pakal said:
Thanks Scott. I must have been "click challenged" when I first tried that. I could have sworn that I clicked on "SELECT" but nothing happened - i.e. no DownArrow for additional selections. Anyway, it worked properly when I went back in and did it again. So, everything was proceeding along as expected until I got to the step in Part 5C where (for Linux) you open Konsol and change to the 'VirtualBox VMs' directory with the command:

cd ~/'VirtualBox VMs'

where I recieve the response - "Permission Denied"

I'm guessing it has something to do with "root" being the owner and maybe the password the was set up earlier but I don't know how to procceed from here.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
That’s odd and I’m not sure where you’ve gone wrong

From a command line, ido the following commands to go to your home directory and print the full path. What does it say?
cd ~
pwd

Then do a list directory and what’s there?
ls -al


#10

P

pakal

Hi Scott - Had an inspiration (substitute for knowledge about Linux here) to try the same commands you listed for changing the Permissons of SRDOS - "sudo chmod 777 'VirtualBox VMs'" to start and "sudo chmod 666 VirtualBox VMs'" to end. That seemed to work. I'm hoping the chmod 666 at the end is proper. Was able to change the SRDOS image file to SRDOS.img and run it in a VM in VirtualBox. No errors and I got a FreeDOS c:\ prompt. I did use your SRDOS.ova file. Assuming that is all correct, the last issue I have is how to get Spinrite into the system. I have a registered copy of 6.1 and created a spinrite.img image file. Assuming that I need the spinrite.img file (which should have FreeDOS incorporated) it seems I would have to import and mount the image and just run spinrite from there - but I'm guessing here. I cannot figure out how to import the spinrite.img file. Copied (using Wndows) spinrite.img to the flash drive (just like I did with SRDOS.ova - which Kubntu was able to find and import) but Kubuntu/Gnome does not see it. Where to go from here? Thanks.


#11

S

Scott

pakal said:
Assuming that is all correct, the last issue I have is how to get Spinrite into the system. …. Where to go from here? Thanks.
Click to expand...
You go here, Part 5C: https://forums.grc.com/threads/how-...ing-files-to-and-from-the-vm-hard-drive.1659/


#12

P

pakal

OK - I didn't realize that Kubuntu would recognize a flash drive and its contents as soon as it was plugged in - made file tansfer of spinrite.img a breeze to where ever you want. In SRDOS VM I was able to copy spinrite.exe from the a:\ drive (spinrite.img) to the c:\ drive (after deleting dummy spinrite.exe from SRDOS.ova). I'm now at Part 3B, Steps D.3.1 through D.3.4 - "Configuring Access to Target Drives". I was in Konsol and ran "lsblk". The listing that came back was a bunch of Loop0 thru Loop13 (installed apps it looks like) devices but only one drive (sda - disk0 with two partitions) which is the flash drive. Neither one of my laptop drives (2 - 1TB Kioxia NVMe SSD) show up. Does this mean that the actual SSDs I wanted to run spinrite on are not recognizable by Kubuntu? Or do I have to do some kind of extended search? Thanks.


#13

S

Scott

pakal said:
OK - I didn't realize that Kubuntu would recognize a flash drive and its contents as soon as it was plugged in - made file tansfer of spinrite.img a breeze to where ever you want. In SRDOS VM I was able to copy spinrite.exe from the a:\ drive (spinrite.img) to the c:\ drive (after deleting dummy spinrite.exe from SRDOS.ova). I'm now at Part 3B, Steps D.3.1 through D.3.4 - "Configuring Access to Target Drives". I was in Konsol and ran "lsblk". The listing that came back was a bunch of Loop0 thru Loop13 (installed apps it looks like) devices but only one drive (sda - disk0 with two partitions) which is the flash drive. Neither one of my laptop drives (2 - 1TB Kioxia NVMe SSD) show up. Does this mean that the actual SSDs I wanted to run spinrite on are not recognizable by Kubuntu? Or do I have to do some kind of extended search? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Hmm. Not sure why that’s happening for you. I’ll revisit my directions in the next few days and ensure they still work for me


#14

P

pakal

One other indication that may help - I tried using the "DiskUtlil List" command in Konsol (from your Mac OS Section 4A, 4B) and recieved an error message - "Not found".


#15

S

Scott

pakal said:
One other indication that may help - I tried using the "DiskUtlil List" command in Konsol (from your Mac OS Section 4A, 4B) and recieved an error message - "Not found".
Click to expand...
Well that’s a Mac only command, you need to only do the Linux commands


#16

P

pakal

Hi Scott - Quick uodate. While I was waiting for a possible resolution for my internal drives not being recognized by Kubuntu, I went ahead set up (successfully) the Windows OS version of using SpinRite in VirtualBox. Ran SpinRite on my internal drives and it made a real noticable difference - everything is much quicker. Couple of things of note you may be interested in:
1. The latest version of Tiny11 comes with MS Edge now (or it at least showed after installation - could have been from the 230+ updates that occurred after initial install
2. VirtualBox requires MS Visual C++ 2019 (or later) Redistribution Package (needs to be downloaded and installed)
3. There was no IDE Controller available in my installation of VirtualBox (which may be because of my particular hardware configuration - I don't know)
4. I used the AHCI Controller and was real happy with the speed - ran SpinRite Level 3 on a 1TB SSD which took about 45 minutes!
5. After VirtualBox install, the c:\Users\Admin\VitualBox VMs subdirectory was not actually created even though it was specified in VirtualBox. Had to do it manually.

Anyway - very cool to have SpinRite running on my system and seing big improvements. Thanks hugely for all of the work (and it looks like A LOT!) on getting SpinRite working on UEFI systems.

P.S. - if you are able to figure out the issue with Kubuntu not recognizing internal drives, please let me know. I kinda like playing with Linux.

Thanks.


#17

S

Scott

pakal said:
Hi Scott - Quick uodate. While I was waiting for a possible resolution for my internal drives not being recognized by Kubuntu, I went ahead set up (successfully) the Windows OS version of using SpinRite in VirtualBox. …
Click to expand...
Glad you got it to work! I tried to be thorough in my instructions but it doesn’t surprise me that I missed some of the smaller steps. I’ll (eventually) add them to the documentation, thanks!

And I’ll also (eventually) check that Linux issue too. Thanks again!


#18

S

Scott

pakal said:
P.S. - if you are able to figure out the issue with Kubuntu not recognizing internal drives, please let me know. I kinda like playing with Linux.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Hi @pakal , I ran through my Linux instructions from scratch and everything worked as I previously documented. I did not have a permissions problem with the 'VirtualBox VMs' directory, and the lsblk command showed the internal drives on my test system. I did clarify some of the instructions (like noting that when prompted for a password, you should just leave it blank and click OK), but otherwise the instructions worked. Maybe try it again, and be very careful of what you type / click? I'll get around to checking the Windows instructions and updating them with your findings later today or tomorrow.


#19

S

Scott

pakal said:
Hi Scott - Quick update. While I was waiting for a possible resolution for my internal drives not being recognized by Kubuntu, I went ahead set up (successfully) the Windows OS version of using SpinRite in VirtualBox.
Click to expand...
Hi @pakal , I went through the Windows instructions and hopefully clarified things. Thanks again!


#20

P

pakal

Thanks for the Linux update. I think I'll go through the whole Kubuntu install process again slowly and make sure - I could have easily screwed something up. Glad to provide input for an obviously superior volume of work.


#21

P

PotatoCakes

Hi @Scott ,
Thank you for these directions.

I had a couple of questions for you:
1. Was there anything special about Kubuntu that led you to use it?
2. What is the significance of setting the Persistent Partition Size to at least 12 GB, when VirtualBox only requires ~300MB?

Like @pakal , I've been enjoying tinkering with Linux. I created a streamlined guide for preparing a UEFI-only USB drive based on your work here that can use a smaller USB drive because it uses smaller Linux distro, which surprisingly also has wider hardware support than kubuntu in my tests.


#22

S

Scott

PotatoCakes said:
I had a couple of questions for you:
1. Was there anything special about Kubuntu that led you to use it?
2. What is the significance of setting the Persistent Partition Size to at least 12 GB, when VirtualBox only requires ~300MB?
Click to expand...
1. I was used to Debian based distros and I thought Kubuntu had the most intuitive UI. Additionally the persistent partition setup from Rufus doesn’t work with every distro’s Live CD, but it does with Ubuntu and its offshoots.
2. The persistent partition also holds OS updates in addition to installed apps.


#23

P

PotatoCakes

Thanks for your response, @Scott. I was going to post my Linux-only setup guide, but the lack of markdown and text formatting support here really made me second guess the ROI on reformatting my notes.

The TLDR is that I found the ParrotOS Live Home ISO to be smaller than Kubuntu (2.4GB vs 4.4GB) and seems to have wider hardware support, enabling the possibility of doing more with less. ParrotOS also published a helpful illustrated Persistent partition guide, which eliminates the need for a Windows PC and Rufus and covers pretty much the first half of the operation. Most of the remaining steps are the same. ParrotOS's MATE Desktop Environment has a few minor differences that cut out several extra steps that kubuntu seems to require and you don't have to upgrade all of the packages to get it operational.

In my testing, I was able to do everything from an 8GB thumb drive, although the recommendation to use a proper SSD makes a lot of sense from a speed perspective. All told, my ISO partition only needed 2.4GB and my persistence partition only needed 592MB. It wasn't until I upgraded all of the packages that my persistence partition needs ballooned up to 2.4GB and I really felt the pain of operating off of a thumb drive.

I tried several other lightweight distros (PuppyLinux, DSL, Q4OS Aquarius, Trinity (1GB), antiX-base (1.2GB), Bodhi Linux (1.3GB), Q4OS Aquarius, Plasma (1.4GB), Peppermint OS (1.5GB), MX Linux (2.1GB)) and found ParrotOS had the best range of hardware support (particularly WiFi, but also as it relates to actually booting).

I had initially tried to do everything from the CLI, but ran into complications with the ISOHYBRID ISO format, which seemed to cause problems when manually-configuring partition tables. I noticed the dus app encounters many of the same errors I did, but it somehow gets everything working.

I hope this helps.


#24

P

PHolder

PotatoCakes said:
post my Linux-only setup guide
Click to expand...
Github handles markdown, and you can create an account there to host content. Post it there, then post a link to that here...


#25

P

pakal

PotatoCakes said:
Thanks for your response, @Scott. I was going to post my Linux-only setup guide, but the lack of markdown and text formatting support here really made me second guess the ROI on reformatting my notes.

The TLDR is that I found the ParrotOS Live Home ISO to be smaller than Kubuntu (2.4GB vs 4.4GB) and seems to have wider hardware support, enabling the possibility of doing more with less. ParrotOS also published a helpful illustrated Persistent partition guide, which eliminates the need for a Windows PC and Rufus and covers pretty much the first half of the operation. Most of the remaining steps are the same. ParrotOS's MATE Desktop Environment has a few minor differences that cut out several extra steps that kubuntu seems to require and you don't have to upgrade all of the packages to get it operational.

In my testing, I was able to do everything from an 8GB thumb drive, although the recommendation to use a proper SSD makes a lot of sense from a speed perspective. All told, my ISO partition only needed 2.4GB and my persistence partition only needed 592MB. It wasn't until I upgraded all of the packages that my persistence partition needs ballooned up to 2.4GB and I really felt the pain of operating off of a thumb drive.

I tried several other lightweight distros (PuppyLinux, DSL, Q4OS Aquarius, Trinity (1GB), antiX-base (1.2GB), Bodhi Linux (1.3GB), Q4OS Aquarius, Plasma (1.4GB), Peppermint OS (1.5GB), MX Linux (2.1GB)) and found ParrotOS had the best range of hardware support (particularly WiFi, but also as it relates to actually booting).

I had initially tried to do everything from the CLI, but ran into complications with the ISOHYBRID ISO format, which seemed to cause problems when manually-configuring partition tables. I noticed the dus app encounters many of the same errors I did, but it somehow gets everything working.

I hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Hi @PotatoCakes:
I am very interested in seeing your "Linux-only setup guide", hopefully I can deal with the formating issue, if you have not already posted it on Github. Thanks.


#26

M

msquared6

Thank you for these instructions. I think I found a new way to mess them up.

BLUF: Where can I read about resetting/changing MOK keys?

On a UEFI Dell Latitude I got as far as the MOK key step. kubuntu no longer gets to the desktop - it starts, and then hangs with a _ cursor forlornly blinking upper left in the screen and the pointer showing, and that's it.
  • The window provided for the MOK key entry confused me and I may have inserted a tab in my key trying to get in that window (there is no feedback showing you are typing in that window) and thus it could be my MOK key in kubuntu doesn't match what is in the BIOS.
  • the kubuntu does boot another non-UEFI machine (a Lenovo), and while it didn't remember the WiFi, it did show the correct language and time zone. So maybe I don't have to start from scratch?
I think maybe kubuntu on the Dell now is blocked from the screen drivers by the wrong MOK key? And I have a bad MOK key in the BIOS now. So the question is, where to go from here? Have I assessed the situation correctly? Questions are:
  • Do I just start over completely? But what happens to the key int he BIOS? Is that still a problem?
  • Do I try to wipe the MOK keys? But then I'd lose windows, too?
  • Can I wipe/change the MOK key in the kubuntu?
And meanwhile, it seems from reading above, I could just go ahead and install Virtualbox & spinrite using the Lenovo that does boot. Thankfully I have done a fair amount of setup of Virtualbox VMs and Guest additions.


#27

S

Scott

msquared6 said:
Thank you for these instructions. I think I found a new way to mess them up.

BLUF: Where can I read about resetting/changing MOK keys?
Click to expand...
The short answer is, I don’t know. It worked for me on 4 different systems and that’s the extent of my system inventory.

If you’re unable to proceed with VirtualBox you can check out the instructions for QEMU that I wrote up for Apple silicon and try and adapt them for kubuntu


#28

M

msquared6

Scott said:
The short answer is, I don’t know. It worked for me on 4 different systems and that’s the extent of my system inventory.

If you’re unable to proceed with VirtualBox you can check out the instructions for QEMU that I wrote up for Apple silicon and try and adapt them for kubuntu
Click to expand...
Well this is very interesting. Today, after the laptop I was trying to get going as the drive examination machine (and which wouldn't boot kubuntu yesterday) booted just fine this morning after being fully shut down last night. What draining capacitors might have to do with this stumps me. Spinrite is now running and confirming bad sectors on a drive I was suspicious about.


#29

E

ejkeerbs

I was using these instructions today and ran into a problem when installing VirtualBox. Well, okay, two.

I previously configured a 500GB external SSD - probably a year ago now - for a failing HDD. I decided to do a clean install of Kubuntu on this SSD, as it was not booting with a laptop. That's another story in itself.

After performing software updates per the instructions - which included a new Linux kernel - installing VirtualBox (using sudo apt install virtualbox) resulted in multiple errors where the error messages indicated that VirtualBox was not configured for the new kernel. I used sudo apt remove virtualbox, followed by sudo apt autoremove, to remove VirtualBox.

I downloaded the latest version of VirtualBox from Oracle's website (see below for the URL), and installed it using Discover. I needed to run the command sudo /sbin/vboxconfig in a terminal to create the MOK key and finish configuring VirtualBox. After a reboot and enrolling the key, VirtualBox fired up - it's processing an NVMe drive on another computer right now.

Now...I said "two problems". The easier one to deal with: the URL to get to VirtualBox seems to have changed. I got "502 - Bad Gateway" errors trying to use the https://www.virtualbox.org website. The download URL that worked for me is https://www.oracle.com/virtualization/technologies/vm/downloads/virtualbox-downloads.html - and note that there is a specific .DEB package for Ubuntu 24.04 (which is correct for Kubuntu 24.04).

Eric


#30

P

PHolder

ejkeerbs said:
errors trying to use the https://www.virtualbox.org website
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VirtualBox seems to be the neglected stepchild of Oracle... there are many times when their site seems to be half broken or worse, unfortunately. They also only ever seem to fix reported problems with it if a customer PAYING for support experiences them. I think the product only exists to allow them to have a way to entice customers into others of their products and platforms, so it doesn't seem to receive the true care or attention of their big earning products like the database or CRM systems.


#31

peterblaise

peterblaise

Does https://www.oracle.com/virtualization/virtualbox/ mirror help?

https://www.oracle.com/virtualizati...xHero&intcmp=:ow:o:p:nav:mmddyyVirtualBoxHero

https://download.virtualbox.org/vir...n.exe?source=:ow:o:p:nav:mmddyyVirtualBoxHero

- - - - -

And PowerShell or Command Prompt:

winget install Oracle.VirtualBox​

Attached is an index web page of all Virtualbox files of all time.

But, hey, it's up to Oracle to actually respond to their own links.

Let us know if it helps, or if others have working solutions.

Attachments


  • Index of http___download.virtualbox.org_virtualbox 2026-08-26.zip
    3.3 KB · Views: 31

#32

S

Scott

ejkeerbs said:
I was using these instructions today and ran into a problem when installing VirtualBox. Well, okay, two.

….
Click to expand...
I’m traveling for a bit but I’ll update the instructions and URL sometime in the next month or so. Thanks for the info!


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