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Bootable CD Wizard

BCDW is a boot manager for CD-ROM created by reanimatolog. It creates multiboot CDs for computers that normally do not have the ability to start a bootmenu from the CD. It can be used to create a heirarchial menu to format and display the various boot options. For more information on BCDW, visit homepage

In the creation of the Cutomizable Emergency CD I will be using BCDW as the boot-manager. BCDW allows us to add almost anything that can boot, plus some programs that don't boot! The feature set of BCDW is impressive. From version 1.50z it supports encrypted passwords, that allows us to control who uses the bootcd.

I'll take a quick look at how to add various entries to the boot-menu.
The boot-menu is displayed by default when the CD boots. It allows the user to select which entry should boot. It can contain a variety of entries like :

• Windows PE
• BartPE
• ERD Commander
• Acronis programs like OS Selector and Recovery Expert
• Setup routine of Win 9x/Me
• Initiate setup of Win 2000/XP
• Bootable floppy
• Linux CD Distros like R.I.P. Linux
• DOS programs like Spinrite can be run directly from the menu

All these entries are added to an ini file which is specified by bcdw.ini. The default ini file is bootcat.ini which should be presemt at the root of your CD. My bootcat.ini file can be viewed here . The bcdw.ini file is present in the 'bcdw' folder at the root of the CD. A simple bcdw.ini could look like this . This file is quite self explanatory. ";" allows you to comment out the linein the ini file.

A simple entry in the bootcat.ini file will look like this:

/isolinux/isolinux.bin ; Smart boot manager ; ^ Smart Boot Manager.^ ; /boot/memdisk initrd=/boot/sbm.img

or this,

\911.bin ; Boot the 911cd 4.0i ; ^Boot the 911 Rescue CD^

The line is divided into 4 parts using the ";" sumbol, like this

part 1 ; part 2 ; part 3 ; part 4

where,

part1 could be

• Name of a submenu configuration file, ie., choosing that option opens a new "ini" file similar in struture to the boot.ini file and containing boot options that are perhaps, classified as floppy images for example.
• Name of a boot image file. This is the command for adding a boot image. In bcdw, boot images of the following formats are supported:
  • Images of floppies or logical disk of any size (up to 8Gb) with the file system FAT(12/16/32), e.g. *.ima files created by WinImage.eg.,
    \Floppies\win98se.ima ; Win98SE Bootdisk ; ^ Windows 98SE BootDisk (for old times sake!) ^
  • Floppy images with capacity of 160Kb, 180Kb, 320Kb, 360Kb, 720Kb, 820Kb, 1.2Mb, 1.44Mb, 1.68Mb, 1.72Mb, 2.88Mb with a file system different of FAT. Example:
    \Floppies\TOMSRTBT.IMG ; Tom's Mini Linux Distro ; ^ A 2.88MB Linux Distro ^
  • Images of harddisks with any number of sectors.
    Note: Please go to the official site at this location for more details of this property. I have not tried this and don't know of many who have used this. (If you use this, please email me, I would like to know more about this)
  • Programs with the loading address 07c0:0000 and the "Boot Info Table" (e.g.  isolinux.bin)
    example:
    /isolinux/isolinux.bin ; Smart boot manager ; ^ Smart Boot Manager.^ ; /boot/memdisk initrd=/boot/sbm.img
  • Bootsector files of Microsoft Windows XP/2000/NT (files \i386\setupldr.bin)
    example:
    \i386\setupldr.bin ; WIndows XP; ^ Install Windows XP ^
• Internal command of BCDW: Instead of a boot image file you can pass internal operating commands to BCDW. BCDW accepts the following commands:
  
  

  A:\		Start from physical floppy drive. Command does not require options.
  C:\		Start from physical harddisk. Command does not require options.
  :Reboot		Reboot the computer. Command does not require options.
  :Restart		Restart BCDW with different setting. Command requires option -a name of a configuration file (name of another \BCDW\bcdw.ini).
  :Return		Return from submenu. Command does not require options.
  :Nop		Do nothing. Command does not require options.
  :		Similar to :nop, but makes this line inaccessible (item cannot be chosen). Command does not require options.

part2 : is the title of the bootoption. For example, in

\911.bin ; Boot the 911cd 4.0i ; ^Boot the 911 Rescue CD^

Boot the 911cd 4.0i is the title.

part3 : Comment of the bootoption ( ^ - line divider) or a keyword from [Options] with the comment text. More on this later. Simply comments could be added directly by enclasing within " ^  ".

part4 : Parameter for the boot image or internal command BCDW. come boot images load usijng isolinux. In these cases, it is essential to use this part.

Note that part3 is optional and part4 is necessary and useful only on special cases.

Please check Build CECD for details to add common boot images.