Newbie: can't boot

[Newbie]

Hi, all

After strugling with Component Designer and Target Designer, I've come up
with a configuration with no errors. It includes NTFS, NTFS format, NT
Loader, First Boot Agent and several other components.

After the build process, directly to a "flash disk on module" IDE
partitioned in two drives, "D" and "E", partitioned and NTFS formated using
the disk management tool in a normal Win XP Pro.

But when I install the flash disk on the target, it doesn't boot at all.

Any hints?

Thanks
Francisco

 

[KM]

Francisco,

What exactly you are seeing there when it doesn't boot? Any error message?

It is possible that you didn't create the proper MBR on the flash disk when you partitioned it.
Please see if this article helps: http://km-dev.blogspot.com/2007/04/xpe-tip-22-disk-read-error.html

 

[vcnewbie]

Hi, KM

Forry for the lack of information. Yes, there's an error message:

Disk error
Press Ctrl-Alt-Del to restart

Using a hex editor, I've found that message to be inside the boot
sector, that suggests that it can't find "NTLDR", although it is
there. It also suggests that the MBR is fine.

Just to make sure, using the tip in your article, MBRfix didn't help,
there's no difference from the original MBR and the fixed one, so I
suppose it was ok.

Comparing it to the NTLDR present on the development machine, using a
hex editor, it is differs here and there in some bytes, and then on
the localized messages, of course. I'm going to try to replace the
target NTLDR with this one on the development machine.

Meanwhile, please let me explain what I am doing, and perhaps you or
someone else may find something wrong.

- just to make sure, now I wipe clean the flash IDE module with all-
zeros. I mean the whole disk, not just the partitions;
- using standard XP Pro disk manager tool, I canceled the volume
wizard, initialized the disk, partitioned it in D and E, NTFS formated
both and activated the first one;
- using TAP.exe, created the target description file and imported this
to Component Designer to create the target hardware component;
- using Target Designer, I've included "advanced set top box", the
target hardware component generated on the last step, and a few
others, like windows logon, administrator account, automatic logon,
keyboard and mouse;
- the settings I have set:
- on the overall settings, just inserted the image license key;
- on automatic logon, inserted "administrator" as user;
- issued a "check depencencies", corrected the errors and issued a
"build image", that reports it will erase all files in the given
folder ("D:\");
- struggled with "system volume information" folder, giving myself
complete access rights, so Target Designer could wipe it out;
- waited for 10 minutes or so, turned off development machine, removed
flash module, inserted in on target, turned it on and error message
appeared.

I'd bet I am missing some critical step, but up to now I couldn't find
it anywhere. As I didn't find anything like that in several internet
searches, it must be a very stupid thing.

Thank you all
Francisco

 

[KM]

Francisco,

Are you preparing the disk on your development machine and then plug it in the target? This often doesn't work since when you
partition and format the drive if will use the PC BIOS and set up particular disk geometry parameters in the MBR and/or boot sector.

You are better off partitioning and formatting the disk on the *target* hardware. This also applies to the MBRFix approach.

 

[Sean Liming \(MVP\)]

I have ran into the same problem from time to time. KM has the right answer.

--
Regards,

Sean Liming
www.sjjmicro.com / www.seanliming.com

Book Author - XP Embedded Advanced, XP Embedded Supplemental Toolkit

 

[vcnewbie]

Hi, guys

First of all, thank you for your time.

Next: I'm sorry, another information missing: the target and the
development environments are the same. I'm using the same mobo in a
daily use (just to go on testing a sample), that will be used in
production.

Someone else suggested me to use diskpart to create the partitions and
the command line format tool for the rest, and it also didn't work.

I've tryed to make a normal XP instalation on that flash IDE module,
just to have it bootable, then I would remove the files and place my
own ones, but the XP asks for 1066MBytes and the flash IDE has only
512.

Now I'm back with no ideas on what could I do next.

Thanks again
Francisco

 

[KM]

Francisco,

Just wondering what happens if on your development machine you unplug all the drives except the flash disk and try to reboot? Is it
going to boot or give you the same error? If the same error, at least we will know if it is "target/development machine" issue.

 

[vcnewbie]

Hi, KM

Trying to boot the development machine with that flash module resulted
in the same error.

Somewhat good I've managed to boot in two ways:

- first, I've found a "boot helper floppy" in www.bootdisks.com; with
that in a floppy drive, the flash module boots, starts FBA, and so on;
- second, I've managed to copy the MBR info and the boot loader from
that disk (thanks for the links in your articles), and now the same
flash disk boots normally.

So it IS a boot issue, nothing related to XPe.

I saind "somewhat" good news, because it was very clumsy, very
difficult to automate in a production environment. Now I'll have to
look for an application for correctly creating the things needed for
boot in a flash module. Or write my own ;-)

The strange thing to me is that Target Design claims to create a "disk
image" (as far as I could understand), but it just creates a bunch of
files that can be moved arround to a bootable device, that must be
bootable before anything else.

Thanks again for your assistance!

Francisco

 

[KM]

Francisco,

Just to help you out a little bit with the procedure (factory mode).

From the MBR, boot sector and etc. point of view it is the best to partition and format the drive on target hardware (or the same
mobo) under *DOS*. This will make sure to use the right disk geometry settings from the BIOS.