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Is there an ISO for Validrive? Or a USB bootable version? I only have Linux.

#1

m3110w

m3110w

Just wondering if there's some way I can use Validrive on my Linux laptop? I've got a bunch of USB thumb drives I'd like to validate.


#2

Steve

Steve

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.


#3

m3110w

m3110w

So Validrive can't be converted to an ISO like Spinrite? I'm a tech noob, but I'm guessing that Spinrite has a DOS environment where Validrive doesn't?


#4

P

PHolder

ValiDrive runs on Windows. To convert it to an ISO would require including a copy of the Windows OS for it to run on/with.


#5

T

TProbst67

PHolder said:
ValiDrive runs on Windows. To convert it to an ISO would require including a copy of the Windows OS for it to run on/with.
Click to expand...

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


#6

D

DanR

m3110w said:
So Validrive can't be converted to an ISO like Spinrite? I'm a tech noob, but I'm guessing that Spinrite has a DOS environment where Validrive doesn't?
Click to expand...
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.


#7

Steve

Steve

TProbst67 said:
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...
Click to expand...
I'll bet it would run from a WinPE environment. So that's (potentially) a great thought and solution! (y)


#8

m3110w

m3110w

Steve said:
I'll bet it would run from a WinPE environment. So that's (potentially) a great thought and solution!
Click to expand...
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.


#9

P

PHolder

m3110w said:
writing a DOS environment version of Validrive
Click to expand...
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.


#10

Steve

Steve

I'm sure that SR7 will do that... but for nearly all users, running anything under Windows is by far the easiest. Running under WINE on Linux would be a great next step.


#11

m3110w

m3110w

TProbst67 said:
d/l one of the numerous prebuilt WinPE environments
Click to expand...
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?


#12

P

PHolder

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.


#13

D

DanR

m3110w said:
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?
Click to expand...
Might be worth a shot? :)

What is Windows PE?

learn.microsoft.com

Windows PE (WinPE)

Windows PE (WinPE)
learn.microsoft.com

Download Windows PE

learn.microsoft.com

Download WinPE (Windows PE)

Download WinPE (Windows PE)
learn.microsoft.com


#14

T

TProbst67

m3110w said:
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?
Click to expand...

I was thinking something along the lines of this...

www.makeuseof.com

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 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


#15

m3110w

m3110w

TProbst67 said:
...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.
Click to expand...
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.


#16

S

Scott

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

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 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


#17

m3110w

m3110w

Scott said:
you could create a Windows to Go drive on an external SSD.
Click to expand...
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!


#18

miquelfire

miquelfire

You can download a Win11 VM for those that don't have it.


#19

S

Scott

miquelfire said:
You can download a Win11 VM for those that don't have it.
Click to expand...
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.​


#20

m3110w

m3110w

Scott said:
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.
Click to expand...
As a hardcore Linux user, anything that prevents me from using Windows 11 is fantastic in my book. ;) 😁


#21

P

PHolder

miquelfire said:
You can download a Win11 VM
Click to expand...
Hey now that's a useful solution, wish I knew about that before you mentioned it. I'm going to bookmark it for the future though.


#22

miquelfire

miquelfire

I think when I first found those images, it would have ever variant for each version of IE and Windows version. It first was released to allow users to test sites with different versions of IE. A few months ago, something caused me to realize they were still offering it.


#23

David Frankland

David Frankland

I tried booting Hiren's BootCD PE off a USB stick (using Ventoy). From there, downloaded ValiDrive using the included Firefox and ran it.

Unfortunately got this error:

validrive.png


#24

C

coffeeprogrammer

The message says it all, WinPE does not support the full Windows API. WinPE must be missing some APIs that are required to do the work. Likely there is some technical reason those APIs are missing. An API is like a set of functions and things that allow allow a programmer to "interface" with the operating system. For example Windows has a debugging API and Steve has talked about the SCHANNEL API and the famous Programming Windows by Petzold is for the GUI.


#25

J

Jean_d

Validrive doesn't currently offer an ISO or bootable USB version for Linux. It's designed for Windows only, so you'll need access to Windows to run it effectively.


#26

peterblaise

peterblaise

ValiDrive depends on Window's USB driver
environment, and apparently Windows PE is a
compromised USB subset only, not complete
USB.

Has anyone tried WTG Windows To Go on a
USB drive, and ValiDrive?


#27

S

Scott

peterblaise said:
Has anyone tried WTG Windows To Go on a
USB drive, and ValiDrive?
Click to expand...

Win to go is a full Windows environment. Once you boot a new system with it and install any missing drivers, validrive works just fine.


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