BootIt Bare Metal & Windows 8 MULTIBOOT

[TheKid7]

I have a license to BootIt Bare Metal, but rarely use it just for very minor Partition Work. I have never used BootIt Bare Metal for MULTIBOOT.

What are some simple instructions for setting up a MULTIBOOT with the following? Maybe start off with the two Windows 8's and later adding Ubuntu.

Microsoft Windows 8 Consumer Preview 32 bit
Microsoft Windows 8 Consumer Preview 64 bit
Ubuntu 11.10

Thanks in Advance.

[Brian K]

TheKid7,

Multibooting with BIBM is really easy. Once you learn how to do it. It's the same procedure every time. Create the partition, set up the Boot Item, try to boot the Boot Item, it fails of course but this has set the partition Active, install the OS, reactivate BIBM. That is a mouthful but it is explained well in "Installing Windows 7 to its Own Primary Partition".

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/howto/index.htm

I suggest removing the tick from Limit Primaries in Settings. This makes managing the Boot Items easier. You only have to fill the MBR slots that are needed. There is no need to hide partitions. You can have over 200 OS on the same HD but I doubt we need that many.

I assume you will be using a test computer until you get the hang of things. This takes the stress out of the procedure and you can experiment.

[Brian K]

Regarding the Boot Items in the Boot Menu....

Let's say you have 7 primary partitions.

WinXP
Win7
Win8_1
Win8_2
Ubuntu
Linux Swap
Data

There are 5 OS so you will have 5 Boot Items. You would like each OS to see the Data partition but no other partitions. To setup a Boot Item click Boot Edit, Add. Choose the OS from the Boot field. Type a name in the Identity field. Choose an Icon. In the MBR Details on the right side select the 0 slot for HD 0, click Fill and select your OS. Select the 1 slot for HD 0, click Fill and select the Data partition. If there are partitions in the MBR that you don't want, select them and click Clear. We only want two slots filled so now click OK and OK again and you are done. Later you can Edit a Boot Item if you desire to add an extra partition, etc.

With Limit Primaries deselected in Settings you don't have to hide partitions as they aren't even in the MBR anyway.

For Ubuntu you would have Linux Swap in the second or third MBR slot. Your choice.

[aladdin]

I have purchased the license too. Never used it. Time to learn from the expert (Brain).

I will watch this thread for few days and then might take the plunge. However, I only use one operating system on all my nine computers and it is Windows 7 x64. One of them is x32.

Best regards,

KOR!

[Brian K]

Originally Posted by King of Rapture

Never used it.

KOR,

I suggest you install it and practice on a test computer where it doesn't matter if you mess up.

Even if you don't multiboot, installed BIBM has a place. You can script your restores. So you can initiate an IFD restore from Windows or from BIBM. I do lots of restores. Any software issue I can't fix in a few minutes, I restore an image.

I'd probably use BIBM more than any other app on my computers.

[TheKid7]

Brian,

Thanks for your help.

It will be a few days before I get a chance to try it. I had already planned to do it on a "Test" PC. So if I mess up one or more times it does not matter.

[Brian K]

You will have a lot of fun with BIBM. It can do amazing things.

The MBR (LBA-0) has three components. Boot code, Disk Signature and Partition table. BIBM gives you a different partition table with each Boot Item. The partition table has 4 primary partition slots. For example the partition table for your Win7 will be

Win7
Data
empty
empty

So where is the information for the remaining partitions stored? It is in the Extended MBR which are sectors following the standard MBR. Sectors LBA-1 onwards. So BIBM gives you a dynamic partition table in LBA-0. You choose the partition table by choosing the Boot Item. In the Win7 example above, Disk Management will show the two partitions. The remaining space will show as Unallocated. Disk Management can't see partitions that aren't in the partition table. BIBM can see all the partitions.

[Brian K]

To install Ubuntu is a BIBM multi-boot see...

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/kb/article.php?id=279

I'm currently multi-booting Ubuntu and Win8 in my test computer.

[Brian K]

TheKid7,

Any progress with BIBM?

[TheKid7]

Originally Posted by Brian K

TheKid7,

Any progress with BIBM?

No yet.

I will probably give BIBM a try this weekend.

I installed Windows 8 32 bit on my 'Test' PC just to see what Windows 8 looks like.