Easy USB Creator can't create a bootable flash drive

Dan Ling

Member
I purchased Easy USB Creator about a week ago, for the sole purpose of creating a USB flash version of EasyRE Pro for Win7 Pro x64. Using Easy USB Creator, I put EasyRE Pro on a 1GB Viking flash drive but it wouldn't boot any of our 5 PCs. I get “Disk error. Press any key to restart.” I tried another flash drive - a 1GB Kingston DataTraveler, and it has the same problem. The drives are 1GB and are formatted FAT32. They both work fine with other boot software such as Acronis TrueImage.

I re-downloaded the software and get the exact same result on all 5 Win7 machines. I tried simplifying the boot environment by removing all but the most basic hardware. Four of these PCs are basic PCs with little of the hardware that you might expect could cause boot problems to begin with.

I contacted support via e-mail the first day with all my system specs, and received one response referring me to the boilerplate instructions at the website. I am an experienced user and had already followed the instructions carefully even before contacting support. Since my reply asking for assistance, I have been totally ignored by "support." Apparently their support is not individualized troubleshooting at all, just standard boilerplate that anybody could read off a screen.

Does anybody have any ideas? Thanks.
 
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Hi Dan,

Can you post a screenshot of Disk Management (or minitool or Acronis Disk Director, etc) of the USB stick?
What OS (and version) did you use to format it as FAT32?
 
Sure, thanks. It was formatted FAT32 using Windows7 Pro x64.

EasyREProFlash.png
 
That certainly looks OK. Are these EFI PCs by any chance? You'll need to have Secure Boot disabled and Legacy Boot (or CSM) enabled.
 
That certainly looks OK. Are these EFI PCs by any chance? You'll need to have Secure Boot disabled and Legacy Boot (or CSM) enabled.

Thanks. I always disable secure boot on all our PCs, ever since a nightmare issue I had with my first UEFI build. And one of these PCs has an older BIOS.
 
Can you use a combination of EasyBCD 2.3 beta and these instructions to see if the USB is bootable using EasyBCD instead of Easy USB Creator?
Thanks, I'll try that later tonight - got to make dinner for my daughter.

on my main PC, I disabled secure boot by choosing Windows 7 instead of Windows 8 (apparently), but I think Windows won't boot unless I boot the UEFI version of the SSD. If I boot from the non-UEFI listed version of the SSD I get a boot error...I'll have to look at the MB manual to figure out what all that means.

In any case, the flash drive won't boot from the old MB that has no UEFI either. Should I try to create the flash drive using that machine?

I'll check back later - thanks for all your help! You should be getting paid :wink:
 
Good luck with dinner!

You could try creating the USB on your BIOS PC and see if that changes things. It's possible the bootsect calls are failing. It should report that and error out, though.
 
Good luck with dinner!

You could try creating the USB on your BIOS PC and see if that changes things. It's possible the bootsect calls are failing. It should report that and error out, though.

I tried using EasyBCD. But when I got to step 5 and 6, I couldn't proceed because everything in the "ISO" tab below "Portable/External Media" is grayed out.
 
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You're using EasyBCD 2.3 Beta? You need to make the USB bootable first ("deploy BCD") then add the ISO after EasyBCD loads the newly-deployed BCD.
 
The directions say to add the iso first, so that's what I did.

So I have to use EasyBCD to make it bootable, then add the iso? Then pick up where in the directions?
 
I see...there are three or four "Step 1"s on that page...sorry if I'm being stupid.

So I will skip the ISO and go right to the part about BDC. Check...thanks!

OK, having the same problem - the stuff on the ISO tab is all grayed out.
 
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It's no problem, Dan.

Did you use 2.3 beta? After selecting the USB drive and choosing the "deploy BCD" option, did you see the prompt asking you to load the newly-created BCD? Did you go through with that?
 
Yes, I've been using the beta and I updated it today also.

Yes, I loaded the BCD. When I get to the part where I'm supposed to use that ISO tabbed window, everything is grayed out.
 
The EasyRE Pro software CD works on the other PCs, but not my main PC that I really need it most for. So that's disappointing but at least I have partial functionality even though it can't do what I really bought it for. But this application simply doesn't work at all on any of my machines nor any of my flash drives, I've received no support from NeoSmart other than one canned response, and no replies to my e-mails, including the one asking for a refund. My experience with NeoSmart has made quite a negative impression on me. So...now I've decided to dispute the charges on my card for Easy USB Creator. I've been using PCs since 1985, and I think this is only the second time in 30 years I've ever had to dispute a charge for software.
 
Dan, Easy USB Creator is free for EasyRE - you didn't need to pay for anything in the first place. And the paid version has a full 30 day refund policy, just PM me your order number.
 
Mahmoud, thank you for your help. I had already disputed the charge but just found out I received a credit. Still no reply from support to any of my e-mails, but I am satisfied and I wanted you to know that I am thankful for your assistance. I stand confused as to how Neosmart's support is supposed to work.

Yes I saw that offer but it requires a Facebook account, and anything that requires a FB account is not free by any informed measure! Facebook exacts a very dear price from all its members, and to a lesser extent even from many who are not members.

Facebook is the antithesis of freedom, as defined by Amendments 9 and 10 of our US Constitution, which in my view, is the best measure available. The reason is not complicated - Facebook (and Google, et al.) largely intentionally and surreptitiously, usurp rights we the people have always had to privacy, but which apparently largely take for granted. We have given up our privacy rights, and those of our children as well, to such entities as will steal our valuable private data for profit, largely without our express permission, by default. This not only jeopardizes our individual freedoms but that of the entire nation as a whole, potentially and ultimately putting us at the mercy of rich and powerful elites, corporations and even our own government. This is wrong, it must stop, and I therefore advocate and take action against it, for my own sake and that of future generations, many of whom will someday come to appreciate that freedom requires constant vigilance against its erosion, and will act as I do to protect it.
 
"Please like Easy USB Creator on Facebook to continue to your download.." - I tried using IE 11 but could not download it - my guess is it works with other browsers. From the text at the top of the page, it looks as though FB is required if the button doesn't work- which in my case it still doesn't. So that's what happened.

https://neosmart.net/Download/Register/21
 
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