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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.)
Unfortunately, no. ValiDrive is not WINE compatible. I haven't looked into exactly why, yet... But from reports we've received, at least some of the trouble is that WINE doesn't support enough of the low-level Windows USB subsystem for ValiDrive to determine which drive the user wishes to test.
I haven't tried it...but maybe ValiDrive could run in a WinPE environment...?
If so, a linux user could (in theory) d/l one of the numerous prebuilt WinPE environments, create the bootable media (USB drive presumably) and then copy ValiDrive into the PE and run from there...
I don't know how booting off of USB would impact the testing of some other USB connected drive though, or even if a WinPE environment would offer all the Windows subsystems that ValiDrive would need to run, but it may be worth looking into.
Regards,
Thomas
Correct. SpinRite boot media boots up a DOS environment that SpinRite then runs in. ValiDrive is a Windows app that requires a Windows environment to run in.
I'll bet it would run from a WinPE environment. So that's (potentially) a great thought and solution!
OK, now I understand that Validrive relies on a Windows environment while Spinrite relies on a much simpler and smaller DOS environment. I did not understand that earlier. So I'm guessing that writing a DOS environment version of Validrive is probably not a small job.
DOS doesn't have USB drivers, it relies on the BIOS to provide those. BIOS USB implementations don't seem to be very robust, and some of the older BIOSes even include data corruption bugs in their USB drivers.
As a hopelessly optimistic noob, I want to try this cuz I need to use Validrive. Where's a good place to d/l this? Can I download a version of WinPE that is integrated with all the other stuff it needs?
Also, can a WinPE run in a Linux VM like KVM/Qemu/Virt-manager or VirtualBox?
WinPE is part of Windows and is licensed by Microsoft.
As I understand it, the Preboot Environment is what runs when you are installing Windows. I have not tried this, but perhaps you can download a version of Windows from Microsoft, boot it, and during the boot go into the recovery process instead until you get to the point where you might run ValiDrive.
As I understand it, the Preboot Environment is what runs when you are installing Windows. I have not tried this, but perhaps you can download a version of Windows from Microsoft, boot it, and during the boot go into the recovery process instead until you get to the point where you might run ValiDrive.
Might be worth a shot?
What is Windows PE?
Download Windows PE
I was thinking something along the lines of this...
5 Bootable Windows PE-Based Recovery Discs That'll Save Your System
Do you have a Windows system rescue disc nearby? If not, consider making a Windows Preinstallation Environment (PE) disc before you need it.
www.makeuseof.com
...I think there is a way to add other utilities (i.e. ValiDrive) to the system by copying them over to the appropriate location. You may have to look at the documentation for each custom PE to see how to do this.
As for your 2nd question...I'm guessing you could start up a WinPE in VirtualBox...I have not done it, nor have I heard of anyone doing such a thing as normally you would want the WinPE to run natively on the hardware, as many times it is used as a recovery environment for, say, a backup program...which would then be able to restore a system backup to the boot disk.
Regards,
Thomas
At first glance, I wouldn't where to begin to figure out how to do that. I'm a tech noob and don't know how to do such things. Looks like my only option is to buy a copy of Windows, which is way more than I want to spend on this. Looks like using Validive on Linux is beyond my abilities.
If you can borrow a Windows 10 or 11 PC, you could create a Windows to Go drive on an external SSD.
www.thewindowsclub.com
You’ll need a 64 GB or larger external SSD or _fast_ USB flash drive to contain the Windows to Go system. Once it’s built you can boot it from any PC using its boot option key
How to create a Windows to Go version of Windows 11
If you want to use a Portable OS, then create a Windows to Go version of Windows 11 with the help of Rufus and the steps mentioned here.
www.thewindowsclub.com
You’ll need a 64 GB or larger external SSD or _fast_ USB flash drive to contain the Windows to Go system. Once it’s built you can boot it from any PC using its boot option key
I was poking thru my digital archives and found a .ova VM file of Win10 . I was able to load this into my VirtualBox VM and it worked. Yay! I then downloaded Validrive into the Win10 VM and successfully used it to validate one of my USB thumb drives plugged into my Linux laptop. Nice. I'm all set. Thank goodness I saved that .ova file!
And note the caveat associated with the development environment:
If the evaluation period expires, the desktop background will turn black, you will see a persistent desktop notification indicating that the system is not genuine, and the PC will shut down every hour.
As a hardcore Linux user, anything that prevents me from using Windows 11 is fantastic in my book.
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