EasyBCD 2.3 Beta Builds

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New build, no major changes to EasyBCD core, but a (hopefully) much-improved version of NeoGrub.

* Undid changes related to bringing EasyBCD to the foreground
* Set background property on some threads to prevent possible exception on early exit
* Updated NeoGrub to address some issues loading small files from NTFS and improvements to ISO loading
* Bumped to build 98



Guys, I had some problems post-processing the exe - if you get any weird crashes or odd behavior, do let me know.


Addendum:


Sorry to push out another build so soon, but this is pretty much the only thing left that needed some serious work and I wanted to get it over and done with so we can reach the Release Candidate milestone soon! It's a complicated fix so I've been putting it off for some time (threading and thread synchronization issues), but hopefully it's now finished and done with.

The only thing left now is to fix EasyBCD under high-DPI settings. The UI is currently broken under 120DPI which is (unfortunately) a default on some Windows 7 installations. But that's *all* what's left in the bug tracker!

This build (build 99):

Adds a progress indicator to prevent EasyBCD's main UI from hanging when performing a time-consuming operation. The following dialog will appear when
* Reset BCD configuration
* Re-create/repair boot files
* Change boot drive
* Install BCD
* Write MBR

If there is anything else in EasyBCD that takes a long time and you think the progress dialog should be displayed for it, please let me know and I'll add it.

4660290257_5ae75ce238_b.jpg
 
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Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to EasyBCD 2.0 RC!

DOWNLOAD

The bug tracker is officially empty and this build will remain up for a week or so (or more). If no more bugs are found, this is 2.0 final.

Changes:

* Fixed [EBCD-357]: EasyBCD crashes if adding WinPE 2.0 entry to empty store
* Removed unused DriveSelect_Numerical class
* Fixed possible crash/hang if bcdedit.exe output is too long (redux)
* Fixed [EBCD-358]: Disable resize of SdiMaker dialog
* Fixed clicking cancel in SdiMaker cancels but gives success message
* Fixed "reload system store" doesn't save changes to current store
* Fixed [EBCD-56]: Remove TweakVI integration
* Prevent resize of progress dialog
* Progress dialog no longer topmost
* Finished [EBCD-359]: Revise usage of "Windows Vista" to "Windows 7"
* [EBCD-367]: Cleaned up Windows flag on Add Entries page
* [EBCD-368]: Highlight button for current page
* [EBCD-361]: Link to Vista/7 Recovery Discs
* [EBCD-363]: Explicitly label HFS+ drives
* Make partition identifiers for unknown entries CAPITAL hex digits
* [EBCD-360]: Make EasyBCD fully portable
* [EBCD-366]: EasyBCD no longer writes to the MBRs of non-system disks
* [EBCD-330]: Add option to select installation directory
* [EBCD-365]: Display path to current store in "View Settings" for manually-loaded BCDs
* Fixed threading issues that prevented update of "View Settings" on certain manual-loads
* Added progress dialog for manual selection of BCD in case it takes a long time
* Updated GRLDR to 0.4.5b-2010-06-09
* [EBCD-350]: EasyBCD works in high DPI mode

High DPI support in EasyBCD:


Download the RC now and test away!
 
Hi Guys,

Build 104 (RC2) is now up.

* Fixed crash due to BootGrabber corrupt output (rmittal)
* Updated to grub4dos-0.4.5b-2010-06-26-testonly.zip (have contacted G4D team)
* Fixed crash saving entry settings with blank Locale option
* Use NST link manager to prevent broken URIs
* Fix possible crash when killing program
* Check if iReboot is uninstalled before attempting to run via Useful Utilities
* Set default window size in EasyBCD.exe.config
* Moved DriveSelect to EasyBCD UI project
* Fixed EasyBCD crash on Windows XP when re-selecting system store from File menu (joevt)
* Changed autoscale mode of all dialogs
* Updated grubinst and grubmenu
 
Got some good error reports from the web reporting module in RC2.

None of these bugs will happen under normal circumstances, only when attempting invalid operations. But EasyBCD shouldn't crash even under those circumstances:

* Fail gracefully if unable to save changes to external store - first try to create the directory manually, then error out
* Display detailed error messages if adding any BCD entry fails due to bcdedit error
* Check if partition is not mounted or not primary before the "Make Bootable" feature
* Check if BCD is already present and in use in the "Make Bootable" feature
* Check if partition is not mounted in "Change Boot Drive" feature
* Hide error messages on exit
* Don't crash if "Rescan Entries" fails
* Bumped to build 105
 
OK, really big feature in this build: Single-level XP boot selection!

You no longer have to go through 2 menus if you have multiple NT/2k/XP/2k3 installations! Each is treated as a real first-class citizen in the primary BCD boot menu!

I wasn't supposed to add any new features at this point, and just sort out the remaining crashes. But when I figured this one out, I couldn't resist.

* Fixed two-level XP menu!
* Fixed crash after adding a PLoP entry fails.
* Fixed crash setting fonts on some sysetms
* Update PLoP to 5.0.10
* Stop crashing on legacy versions of .NET 2.0 as a result of AutoUpgrade flag for file dialogs
* Stop crash on unsupported values for DEP, PAE, and SafeMode
* Case-insensitive boolean comparisons for bcdedit output
* Check if NeoGrub ID is valid before attempting to delete
* Don't crash on failed BCD restore due to inability to load current BCD
* Tighter handling of bcdedit exceptions during stream parse

Addendum:

Seems lack of sleep is getting to me - I'm not sure what I uploaded a few minutes ago, but it's definitely not build 107 RC4.

I've re-uploaded, and hopefully this time all is correct. My apologies for the inconvenience.
 
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This build is a couple of minor changes + an option (on by default) to use the old EasyBCD NTLDR two-level menu behavior for XP entries.

* Fixed rounding of filesystem sizes in dropdown menus
* Prevent crash if backing up to a file that already exists
* Handle cases where we don't have permission to write to the backup path
* Fixed some minor UI issues on Windows XP w/out Segoe UI
* Advanced Settings tab now disabled if no entries in the bootloader

Likely the last RC for 2.0. We'll soon see :smile:

Download: The NeoSmart Forums
 
Everyone,

Thank you so very much from the bottom of my heart for your help in bringing EasyBCD 2.0 to fruit. Without your constant beta testing, your bug reports, your persistence, and your moral boosts, this would never have happened.

EasyBCD 2.0 final is now out. You can read the official release here: Welcome to EasyBCD 2.0! The NeoSmart Files

Stay subscribed to this thread, EasyBCD 2.0.x beta builds will soon follow!

And, again, thank you so much once more.
 
For anyone interested in a sneak-peek at 2.0.3, I've uploaded beta build 120.


Key Summary
  • EBCD-426 EasyBCD crashes on Hebrew systems due to invalid characters in DateTime
  • EBCD-425 EasyBCD may crash if BCD is loaded from a UNC share
  • EBCD-424 System.OutOfMemoryException with "Too many items in the combo box"
  • EBCD-423 Smarter error handling with unified exception system
  • EBCD-422 "Load System BCD" doesn't work if a BCD load error has occurred
  • EBCD-420 Limit CPU and Limit Memory checkboxes are permanently disabled
  • EBCD-417 EasyBCD doesn't save safeboot option
  • EBCD-414 EasyBCD sometimes cannot detect Windows XP installs due to BootGrabber bug
  • EBCD-411 Device property for forced portable entries is not correctly reflected in the UI
  • EBCD-410 If blank locale defaults to en-US, UI should automatically reflect this change
  • EBCD-409 Improve BcdParser reliability
  • EBCD-408 EasyBCD may crash if corrupt BCD with no name/id/path set
  • EBCD-407 Crash if dumb antivirus/antimalware software prevent EasyBCD from creating registry keys at startup
  • EBCD-406 Pressing <tab> during rename of menu entry in editor causes crash due to {sa} obfuscation
  • EBCD-388 EasyBCD crashes if Segoe UI is corrupt
 
Updated to 2.0.3 build 125 beta

* Fixed all try() hangs in NeoGrub and Linux entries
* Updated to latest grub4dos
* Switched from SysInternals Contig to UltraDefrag for defragging ISO files for bootable media
* Added SysLinux support to Linux tab

EDIT:

Forgot to mention, also removes grubinst and grubmenu from the distribution. They are no longer needed.

Addendum:

Uploaded 2.0.3 build 126.

* Last build had broken NeoGrub. Fixed in 126
 
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EasyBCD 2.0.3 build 127

* Removes bootpart.exe dependencies
* New (hopefully improved) support for DOS and Windows 9x
 
EasyBCD 2.1 build 129 (yes, new version number :grinning:)

* Fixed issues caused by {smartassembly} obfuscation. Definitely was affected Safe Mode, possibly fixing other features, too.
* First of 2.1 builds. Version increase due to new licensing terms.
 
New build with a new (and much requested feature): the ability to disable the timeout completely.

New UI:

fef3b7ee19de1cf8c7d222fb936ec72c.png
 
Updated to 2.1 beta build 132. Contains a modest number of improvements:

* Fixed [EBCD-445]: Wrong path displayed in dialog box when failing to commit changes to read-only BCD store
* Fixed [EBCD-446]: EasyBCD fails to load system BCD after failing to save changes to external BCD store
* Fixed [EBCD-442]: Removed ReadOnly protection on boot.ini before loading in notepad for editing
* Fixed [EBCD-443]: Dynamically load Boot.ini from the detected boot partition and display error if not found or not mounted
* [EBCD-435]: Added Command-Line Safe Mode to the SM options drop-down (see image)
* [EBCD-435]: Cleaned up and reordered existing SM drop-down list
* [EBCD-441]: Re-ordered BCD menu timeout options, and fixed tabbing order

9098526dcac0ad289eef56b478ff3de7.png
 
No new EasyBCD features, but some important updates:

* [EBCD-416]: Fixed BootGrabber issues writing boot.ini, NTLDR, and NTDETECT.COM to FAT16 and FAT32 partitions.
* Updated copyright date in setup to 2011
* Updated copyright date of exes to 2011
* Updated Grub4Dos build from sources for Jan. 16, 2011

PLEASE TEST the Windows XP autoconfiguration on both NTFS and FAT32 boot drives. It should have been fixed for FAT32, but would like to make sure it didn't break anything for NTFS! Thanks!

Edit: Pruned old 2.0 beta builds from the first page, it was getting to be a very long list!
 
Uploaded EasyBCD 2.1 Beta Build 134.

* Fixes a major bug where adding and using a MSDOS/Windows 9x entry in EasyBCD would result in a permanent change of the active partition. This does not cause problems if MSDOS is on a different physical disk from your BIOS boot disk, but if you're trying to dual-boot Windows and DOS on the same disk, it'll keep you from booting into Windows afterwards.

* Updated to grub4dos 0.4.5b 2011-01-28 chenall

Addendum:

Re-uploaded with correct build number on the About page. Previous download said "13" instead of "134"
 
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New EasyBCD build, focusing mostly on BootGrabber improvements.

* Most importantly, BG supports C:\WINXP installations for autodetection. No need to rename the Windows directory!
* Fixed a hang in BG on buggy filesystems. (I'm looking at you, DataPlow.. grrrrr)
* Added options for logging and debugging of BG. Just add either /v or /vv right after "BootGrabber.exe" and you'll see advanced logging.
 
New build, major new feature.

* Support for multiple automatically detected Linux entries (see screenshot)
* Prevented resizing of many dialogs
* Fixed icons of donate & license dialogs
* Using open source nst-log console logging library for BootGrabber /v switch

Adding a new entry with EasyBCD's internal copy of GRUB:
06de601649ceffd67b53c93698b136d1.png


Manually specifying the partition that EasyBCD should search for a GRUB menu on:
9e7ca889443ec5e624f52a1561f1c541.png
 
Very excited about this new build! Yesterday I had to upgrade the BIOS on a machine at work but didn't have any floppy drives lying around.....

* New: Boot from floppy images! Tested with Windows and DOS setup disks, plus BIOS upgrade disks.
* New: Boot from raw disk or partition! (only very lightly tested. Please test & provide feedback)
* Re-ordered and organized some of the portable entry tabs
* Fixed regression: Setup forgets where it was installed to last time (Thanks, Terry!)

Floppy support:

e758d11110be1320b64af923414a63c4.png


Disk Image support:

6a09f4582d95627f7a90d8c9dbdb7c91.png
 
Uploaded build 138.

Contains major reliability fixes. Basically, when bcdedit.exe crashes with weird errors, EasyBCD tries to plow on ahead and read the full contents of the BCD store.

See Easy BCD 2.1.0.137 - corrupt BCD read error - The NeoSmart Forums for one such case.


Also updated BSD menu text to include PC-BSD reference.

Addendum:

I had accidentally uploaded build 137 again as build 138. If you already downloaded it (and wow, you are fast and eager!!) please do so once more.
 
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