Tag Archives: windows

Rescatux 0.32b3 tutorial

So this is the official Rescatux tutorial based on the latest 0.32 beta 3 Rescatux. Please enjoy the full show or select the section that matches your need.

If you are more interested on what Rescatux can do instead of how you are supposed to use it please check Summary .

If you want to make use of the Recover Windows boot option ( Restore Windows MBR (Beta) ) make sure to use Rescatux 0.32 beta 2 or a newest version else you might get your Windows 7 unbootable even if you use the latest stable 0.30.2 version.

My English is not perfect and I will try to improve it for the next videos.

Rescatux 0.32 beta 2 released

Rescatux 0.32 beta 2 has been released.

Rescatux 0.32 Beta 1 Extended menu
Rescatux 0.32 Beta 1 Extended menu

Downloads:

Rescatux 0.32b2 size is about 444 Megabytes.

Rescatux 0.32b2 updated options : Restore Windows MBR, Blank Windows password, Promote Windows user to Admin and Unlock Windows user.
Rescatux 0.32b2 updated options : Restore Windows MBR, Blank Windows password, Promote Windows user to Admin and Unlock Windows user.

Some thoughts:

Update as 25th October 2014. I had mistakenly thought that install-mbr was a program from syslinux package. So, so sorry syslinux guys. Actually it is from the mbr package and the bug about turning a Windows 7 partition unbootable is already reported at: https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=725417 . Now that I know what a disk id is I might write a tool on fixing these kind of problems, specially if you think that current stable Rescatux generates these errors.

I have had a hard work trying to make the winunlock command (for unlocking windows passwords from command line) because original winpasswd command was not working ok! I have sent an email to upstream chntpw so that it fixes it. Hopefully there is a new upstream release and we can enjoy it both fixes in Debian soon. Here there is my fork: chntpw-ng .

As you might imagine the biggest improvement in this release is that resetting windows password, promoting a windows user to Administrador and unlocking a windows user uses the latest version of chntpw which makes easier and more safe to add users to the admin group. It also fixes a bug that prevented a promoted admin user to be demoted from windows.

The other big improvement is that lilo is being used instead of mbr package syslinux so that you can finally solve this:

grub rescue>

( grub rescue > ) problems when you remove GNU/Linux partition from Windows itself. Unfortunately that only works if Windows boot partition is in the first hard disk. This is the Restore Windows MBR option which it’s going to be still BETA till many of you report me that it works ok. The difference is that the old version did break working Windows seven (and probably others) boot when used. So that it’s fixed.

There is not Super Grub2 Disk available from boot menu but, as you can see per, the pending bugs there will be one.

Finally you can boot Rescatux from Super Grub2 Disk thanks to its loopback.cfg file which I hope will be accepted upstream in Debian Live soon although they seem to be busy with Jessie freeze.

In the development arena I have removed old scripts and add new build folders so that everything is easier to understand when developing Rescatux.

This release is very needed so that we can all test this new 140201 chntpw version before I release the stable version in probably less than three months. So please report any bug if you find them. So, contrary to other versions I encourage to download it so that we can debug it.

I almost forgot that we have a new background for you to enjoy!

This is the first time that I recycle older changelog so that you can see the full changes as a whole (well, actually only from Rescatux 0.32b1).

There has been other improvements in this release so I encourage you to click on the Rescatux 0.32-freeze roadmap link so that you get more detailed information about them.

Roadmap for Rescatux 0.32 stable release:

You can check the complete changelog with link to each one of the issues at: Rescatux 0.32-freeze roadmap.

  • [#1323]    GPT support
  • [#1364]    Review Copyright notice
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2188]    install-mbr : Windows 7 seems not to be fixed with it
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2190]    debian-live. Include cpu detection and loopback cfg patches
  • [#2191]    Change Keyboard layout
  • [#2192]    UEFI boot support
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2193]    bootinfoscript: Use it as a package
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2199]    Btrfs support
  • [#2205]    Handle different default sh script
  • [#2216]    Verify separated /usr support
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2217]    chown root root on sudoers
  • [#2220]    Make sure all the source code is available
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2221]    Detect SAM file algorithm fails with directories which have spaces on them
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2227]    Use chntpw 1.0-1 from Jessie
  • [#2231]    SElinux support on chroot options
  • [#2233]    Disable USB automount
  • [#2236]    chntpw based options need to be rewritten for reusing code
  • [#2239]https://www.supergrubdisk.org/wizard-step-put-rescatux-into-a-media/suppose that the image is based on Super Grub2 Disk version and not Isolinux.The step about extracting iso inside an iso would not be longer needed.”>Update doc: Put Rescatux into a media for Isolinux based cd
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2259]    Update bootinfoscript to the latest GIT version
  • [#2264]    chntpw – Save prior registry files
  • [#2234]    New option: Easy Grub fix
  • [#2235]    New option: Easy Windows Admin

Other fixed bugs (0.32b2):

  • Rescatux logo is not shown at boot
  • Boot entries are named “Live xxxx” instead of “Rescatux xxxx”

Fixed bugs (0.32b1):

  • Networking detection improved (fallback to network-manager-gnome)
  • Bottom bar does not have a shorcut to a file manager as it’s a common practice in modern desktops. Fixed when falling back to LXDE.
  • Double-clicking on directories on desktop opens Iceweasel (Firefox fork) instead of a file manager. Fixed when falling back to LXDE.

Improvements (0.32b1):

  • Super Grub2 Disk is no longer included. That makes easier to put the ISO to USB devices thanks to standard multiboot tools which support Debian Live cds.
  • Rescapp UI has been redesigned
    • Every option is at hand at the first screen.
    • Rescapp options can be scrolled. That makes it easier to add new options without bothering on final design.
    • Run option screen buttons have been rearranged to make it easier to read.
  • RazorQT has been replaced by LXDE which seems more mature. LXQT will have to wait.
  • WICD has been replaced by network-manager-gnome. That makes easier to connect to wired and wireless networks.
  • It is no longer based on Debian Unstable (sid) branch.

Distro facts:

Feedback welcome:
I’ve tried myself the distro in my dev environment for the new options, not the old ones and they seem to start ok. Another thing is doing a full test about their complete functionality. Please test the ISO and report back if something that worked on previous stable versions no longer works in this beta version.

Don’t forget that you can use:

Help Rescatux project if you cannot wait:

I think we can expect three  months maximum till the new stable Rescatux is ready, probably half of it because I manage to fix bugs very quick lately. These are some of the funny tasks that anyone can easily contribute to:

  • Making a youtube video for the new options.
  • Make sure documentation for the new options is right.
  • Translate the documentation of new options to Spanish.
  • Make snapshots for new options documentation so that they don’t lack images.

If you want to help please contact us here:

Thank you and happy download!

Boot into Linux from Windows thanks to Grub4Dos

I never write piece of news about wiki updates on the main page. I am doing an exception because I don’t update the wiki as often as in the old times.

So there are two new pages:

Boot into Linux from Windows thanks to Grub4Dos

and

Mikael63 and how he managed to boot into its Linux from Windows thanks to Grub4Dos .

This example is quite strange and I actually discourage the use of Grub4Dos for being as outdated as the Super Grub Disk (not Super Grub2 Disk). I suppose I will have to update my knowledge on how to do the same thing with grub2 (or knowing if it is possible at all).

By the way I have been working a little more on Rescatux 0.30 series. The QT and Python combination (pyqt) is a very powerful one. I will be able to show an integrated webbrowser to show the help of each command!