Terabyte Software's TBWINRE

Discussion in 'backup, imaging & disk mgmt' started by n8chavez, Sep 11, 2013.

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  1. n8chavez

    n8chavez Registered Member

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    I think I might need to flip on my Brian K bat signal on this one, because I can't figure this out.

    I'm having a few problem with Terabyte Software's TBWINRE. I've never heard of this before, I've always either just created an IFL iso and added it to my boot menu and flash or used the PE plugin and added it to a disc with other tools (or both). But this is neat. I like the fact that it combines everything with its launcher. But I'm having a few problems with it. I cannot seem to get it to accept a valid serial. I've edited the imagew.ini file, per instructions, with the same information that works correctly on IFW. But when I run the script to create the image it always says that it'll be in trial mode because there is not a valid serial. It should be like below, right?:


    ; [License]
    ; Key=name key

    Another thing I was thinking about in regards to TBWINRE. Why not include explorer? With that users would be able to at least copy files to a flash or external if need be. Can it be altered by editing the launcher.ini like below:

    [Menu_Item_10]
    Name=Explorer
    Path=%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe
    WorkingDir=
    Parameters=
    Icon=0

    Thanks,

    n8
     
  2. MudCrab

    MudCrab Imaging Specialist

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    Can you provide an exact sample of what's in the imagew.ini file? Just use x's for the name and key characters. Maybe if I see it I can tell what's happening. The script is just checking if it looks correct. When IFW starts after you boot into TBWinRE is it running in trial mode or normal mode?

    TBWinRE is based on the standard WinPE provided by Microsoft and doesn't support running Explorer.
     
  3. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    n8,

    TBWinRE includes TeraByte Explorer. It's "different" but it can do things Windows Explorer can't do. Such as copying files to hidden partitions or partitions that aren't in the MBR.
     
  4. n8chavez

    n8chavez Registered Member

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    Here it is:

    So Name (Space) Key

    But doing that doesn't work for me.
     
  5. n8chavez

    n8chavez Registered Member

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    Where do you see that? I see no mention of explorer at all, and I've booted into it just to check. If I click on the 64-bit launcher in Windows it's there, which makes since because I run w7 x64. But the same is not true for the 32-bit launch or when I boot into the created iso.

    Perhaps I can access it using File < Run Explorer.exe?
     
  6. MudCrab

    MudCrab Imaging Specialist

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    The script is just checking the length of the "name key" in the file. Perhaps it's not being able to read it correctly. In any case, if the name & key are valid IFW will run in normal mode.

    TeraByte Explorer would be in the Scripts menu. If TBOSDT isn't installed or isn't found it won't be included in the build and won't be available when booted. Is TBWinRE reporting that TBOSDT is being included when building? x86 or x64 shouldn't make any difference.

    Are you trying to build TBWinRE using the installed files (those installed with IFW) or are you using the downloaded files (those from the tutorial)? Could be a case of something being blocked.
     
  7. n8chavez

    n8chavez Registered Member

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    The weird thing is that the key works in IFW but not here, so that makes me think it's a formatting issue. But there it's just Name (space) Key, so I don't get how I could mess that up.

    I verified that TBOSDT Pro is added to the iso based on the script output. That being the case, it should include "Explorer," right?

    The former; I am using the files installed with IFW.
     
  8. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    n8,

    Is "TeraByte Explorer 1.49" in the Scripts menu? There should be 6 items in Scripts.
     
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2013
  9. MudCrab

    MudCrab Imaging Specialist

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    It should include TeraByte Explorer (a .tbs script) and it should be available in the Scripts menu of TBLauncher when booted. It won't and doesn't include Windows Explorer.

    Are you using the English language version of Windows? If not, what?

    Are there any special/non-standard characters in your name?

    When you boot into TBWinRE is IFW starting in trial mode?

    What version of IFW is installed? The latest (2.83)?
     
  10. n8chavez

    n8chavez Registered Member

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    Thanks guys. That was my mistake. The entry is there, I was just expecting something different than what was there; gui vs "command line" and all.

    Brian, is it possible to add the launchers and respective files/scripts to a flash? Then I could just use a pe disc I already have in conjunction with the launcher.
     
  11. n8chavez

    n8chavez Registered Member

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    English, USA

    Nope. The name the products are licensed to is Nathan Chavez

    Yes, it is in trial mode.

    I am using the latest version, which I just downloaded a couple days ago from Terabyte.
     
  12. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    n8,

    Can you try this? Is your WinPE disk 32-bit?

    Put imagew.exe and imagew.ini (if your WinPE is 64-bit use imagew64.exe and imagew64.ini) on a flash drive. Boot your WinPE disk. Double click the IFW exe on the flash drive. Does IFW run in Trial Mode?
     
  13. MudCrab

    MudCrab Imaging Specialist

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    You are for sure using the really long IFW key and not the shorter IFD/IFL key?
     
  14. n8chavez

    n8chavez Registered Member

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    Sorry I wasn't able to respond yesterday. I had a very long day.

    Yes, I'm sure the key I was using was for IFW, because it unlocked IFW. It is a ten block key, with each block being comprised of six numbers and/or digits.
     
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2013
  15. n8chavez

    n8chavez Registered Member

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    The winPE disc I use is 32-bit. I copied the respective .ini and .exe over and ran the PE. IFW is in trial mode on that disc as well, but it is not in my actual working environment.
     
  16. MudCrab

    MudCrab Imaging Specialist

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    Just double-checking... You ran imagew.exe directly from the UFD. For example, you copied imagew.exe and imagew.ini to \TestIFW on the UFD. When you boot to TBWinRE the UFD is assigned F:. Close IFW (if it's running). Open a Command Prompt and change to that folder (cd /d f:\testifw). Then run imagew.

    If IFW is in trial mode, something is not right in the imagew.ini file or the name/key info is incorrect.

    To check the imagew.ini file, you could remove everything except the [License] section and key info (the last two lines of the file). The file would contain only the following (with your key, of course):
    Code:
    [License]
    Key=Nathan Chavez 000000-111111-222222-333333-444444-555555-666666-777777-888888-999999
     
  17. n8chavez

    n8chavez Registered Member

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    I alter the INI file the way mudcrab suggested, and it appears to have worked. I copied the TBWINRE files to my flash drive because I already have a separate winpe. And I was able to get image for Windows to launch without ask me for my serial. So that problems in Installed, however there is another issue I'm having now. I'm trying to get it so that I can use TBWINRE on a flash drive and not as a separate ISO file. After copying the files, I'm having trouble editing the launcher INI file some of the application*as expected. I think my problem is that I need to use relative paths in the launcher I and I file, but I don't know how to do that when a flash drive is being used.

    Any ideas?

    n8
     
  18. n8chavez

    n8chavez Registered Member

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    I've decided not to use the launcher because of its hinky ini mapping method. I'll instead place the IFW launchers, the TBIView launchers and the osdtool bats I made on my liberkey menu, and use that as a launcher. It's better anyway. But there is one thing that I can't solve with that. How can I get OSDtool to let me see all the scripts that are there in my folder and not just a few that I can see from inside the tool? I don't see any entry to restore or save the registry yet the scripts are there.
     
  19. MudCrab

    MudCrab Imaging Specialist

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    Is your "WinPE" disc based on something different than TBWinRE or are you using a custom setup? You said you're running Windows 7 x64, but then you said your WinPE was 32-bit. I'm assuming you're running TBWinRE on the Windows 7 x64 system and it's building the x64 (64-bit) TBWinRE. Is this correct?

    It's not clear to me excatly what you're trying to do regarding the ISO and flash drive. Did you use MakeDisk to create the UFD?

    When adding programs they need to be the same architecture as the TBWinRE build (32-bit or 64-bit). 32-bit programs won't run in a 64-bit build and 64-bit programs won't run in a 32-bit build. They also need to be programs that support running in the WinPE environment. Many Windows programs will not run in WinPE.

    The UFD drive letter assignment isn't known until boot-up has finished. However, you can enable the FindBootDrive option and use the %TBDrive% environment variable in the paths. The TBLauncher.ini file and programs can also be added to the UFD and manipulated without needing to rebuild to make changes. To do this, edit the TBLauncher.ini file and set FindBootDrive to 1 (FindBootDrive=1). Then recreate the build. Before running MakeDisk, place a copy of TBLauncher.ini into the ISO\TBData folder. You can also place the program(s) you're adding here. Edit TBLauncher.ini and add the program entries. For example:
    Code:
    [MenuItem_11]
    Name=Custom Program Name
    Path=%TBDrive%\TBData\MyProg\myprog.exe
    WorkingDir=
    Parameters=
    Icon=0
    Run MakeDisk and save it to the UFD. Now you can edit the TBLauncher.ini file in the \TBData folder on the UFD without needing to recreate the build. For example, you could add another program to the launcher and put the program files into the \TBData folder. Then boot to the UFD to see the changes.

    If you create a custom UFD this way, make sure to update your ISO\TBData folder when you get it working how you want. Otherwise, when you run MakeDisk on the UFD (to update the build, for example) it will replace the contents with the new build files and you'll lose the changes.
     
  20. MudCrab

    MudCrab Imaging Specialist

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    Are you using the standard installation location for TBOSDT?
    Code:
    C:\Program Files (x86)\TeraByte Unlimited\TeraByte OSD Tool Suite Pro\scripts
    The savereg.tbs script doesn't show up in the Scripts menu since it requires being run directly from the running Windows system. The menu item to restore the registry should be TeraByte Restore Windows Registry 1.08. Additionally, if a script is already in the main launcher menu it won't be displayed in the Scripts menu. The .run scripts are not .tbs files and not included in the menu.

    For your other scripts, are they in the scripts or public folder?

    By default, TBOSDT starts up in the scripts folder. Do you see your scripts there?
     
  21. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    n8,

    Are you still with us?
     
  22. n8chavez

    n8chavez Registered Member

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    I am. Sorry, I've been so busy lately that I have only been able to work and sleep (if I'm lucky).

    MudCrab, thank you for all your help. My goal was to alter the launcher so that I could use TBWINRE in my PE disc, and that's only because TBWINRE doesn't recognize my external drives, or the drives of any of my clients. I wanted to use TBWINRE because it seemed like an all-inclusive tool for all of Terabytes nifty toys. It is that, but if it doesn't recognize external drives, despite following the directions to add other drivers, than I have no use for it. So, I ended up rigging my own launcher through Liberkey.

    When I recommend Terabyte to clients, which I always do I recommend they use the gui version of IFL, which has never failed to recognize any drive I've thrown at it. It's a shame that TBWINRE doesn't work right.
     
  23. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    Strange. I don't use extra drivers but it recognizes USB2 and USB3 HDs for all of my computers. Both hot and cold plugged USB devices.
     
  24. MudCrab

    MudCrab Imaging Specialist

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    I've never really had any problems with external drives being found either (I do add USB 3 drivers to my Win7-based builds, though). However, you should be able to get it working by adding the necessary drivers. Since that didn't seem to work can you provide some more details (assuming you're interested in more troubleshooting)?

    What are the external drives? Connection, type, etc.?

    Which drivers are you adding? If you're not sure, you can try adding them after booting (use TBLauncher) and see which one lets the drive(s) be detected.

    Have you tried enabling the RunWpeinit option (or running it manually from TBLauncher after booting) to see if that helps? It's disabled by default. You could also try turning off BackgroundInit so the Wpeinit finishes before anything else tries to run.

    If you have a Windows 8 system, have you tried building TBWinRE on it? WinPE 4.0 has more current drivers builit in.
     
  25. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    n8,

    The TBWinRE boot disk that didn't see external drives in your clients' computers. Was it made in your computer or theirs?
     
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