Windows 8 Hiren's boot CD?

MikeHawthorne

Essential Member
Microsoft Community Contributor
Hi

While looking for a way to solve the missing Windows 8 password in relation to a post on the support forum I found this video....



I decided to give it a try myself, since it seemed like something that could be useful.

I made a CD and booted my computer to Mini Windows XP.
I booted right up, and I thought this is great, except I found that the tools icon shown in the video wasn't available on the desktop.

In fact I found that I couldn't do anything from the desktop, I appeared to have no access to anything in my computer.

No file manager, no way to access anything except the command prompt.

I tried the Run Window, and could not access msconfig etc.

So my question is, has anyone here had any experience with this?
Anyone know why my desktop didn't' have active menus like the one in the video?

About the only thing I could do was to shut it down again, I couldn't access any of the tools that you are supposed to run from it.

Mike
 
I saw your post in the other thread referencing Hiren's Boot CD.
I had downloaded it a while back intending to try it but never got around to it, so.....
I tried it yesterday and I click the mini-xp desktop icon the reference something like "menu" and from there was able to run the password editor, which worked perfectly.
I was able to unlock the built in Administrator's account and edit the password with my choice and upon rebooting it was one of my logon choices and worked as expected.
 
I have a very old Hirens CD from abour 5+ years ago and that still works. I have not used it for a long time because it is kind of semi legal. Hirens has no authorization from MS to use that mini XP, but I guess they never went after them.
 
Hi

I made a second CD and tried again, while I can boot into Mini XP with no issues the tools icon isn't on the desktop and I can't find anyway to access them after I'm in.

I'll do some research and see if they have a forum.

This looks like it could come in handy it I can figure out why I'm not getting the options to open the tools.

I have a couple boot DVDs of which Ubuntu works the best giving me complete access to may files and data, along with an internet connection browser etc.

I had an Ultimate boot CD at one time buy don't know what happened to it.
I guess I'll make a new one of those and see how it works too.

Mike
 
tools icon isn't on the desktop
It's not a tools Icon, it says HBCD Menu I believe and it's a desktop Icon. If you don't have it then I might suggest perhaps another download and try a new burn of the newly downloaded ISO, there has to be something wrong.
How about the system tray / notification area icon?
 
Hi Trouble

I just checked again.

I have an icon for "My Computer, My Network, Command Prompt and Install All Hardware".
There are no links on the system tray except the same ones listed above.

"My Computer" only shows the Mini XP drive and Drive B (ram drive).
My Windows 8 drive and my other drives are not visible.

What do you have access to when you are booted into it?

Mike
 
What do you have access to when you are booted into it?
Everything that you see in the video, exactly as you see it in the video, plus a bunch more stuff that he doesn't go into in the video.
This is on my Windows 8.1 Desktop (legacy BIOS and MBR Partition). I'm wondering if perhaps either UEFI and or GPT partition may have some effect on how or what it can do.
The program may not know what a Guid Partition Table is so it may be limited as you are seeing.
 
I'm thinking you are right, that the UEFI bios has something to do with it.

I sent a message to the people there, I'll see if they have a suggestion.
 
Well I could understand how UEFI might prevent it from booting but evidently you've managed to get past that part.
I was thinking that it might be incompatible with a hard disk that was configured as GPT
 
It does claim to support Windows 8. But no details regarding the file systems.
 
It does claim to support Windows 8
I suspected as much as I had already successfully ran it on an 8.1 64bit install. My concern was with Mike's install, I know he has a pretty new machine and I was thinking that, with that in mind it might have a GPT partition along with the UEFI BIOS thingy.
Hey Mike will you take a look in disk management and see what's up with the disk that your 8 install is on.

EDIT:
Can the 32-bit version of Windows XP read, write, and boot from GPT disks?
No. The 32-bit version will see only the Protective MBR. The EE partition will not be mounted or otherwise exposed to application software.
SOURCE: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/dn640535(v=vs.85).aspx#gpt_faq_xp32_boot

And my apologies to Wolfgang. I certainly didn't mean to sound as snippy as, after having re-read this post, it sounded.
Sincerely
Randy
 

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Hi

Here it is...

DiskManagement_zps4ebc2302.jpg


Both drives look the same but this is the hard disk that has Windows on it.

Mike
 
Hi

I'm going to download it again and try making a new disk.
It's not like I really need this, I just hate to give up on stuff like this.

I can't tell you how many times I've crashed my computer trying to fix something that wasn't really important anyway.

By the way my Ubuntu boot flash drive really works great.
It boots really fast, give me access to all of the data on my computer.

I have internet, my Thunderbird email, I've installed Chrome and it's working, and it could replace Windows if I didn't need to run a lot of software that isn't compatible with it.

And unlike my Ubuntu DVD, I can make changes in it that stay after I shut it off.

Everyone should have something like this just in case the worst happens and you have to reinstall Windows, or use factory reset.

It will let you back up everything on your computer if you needed to.

I'm going to look into installing antivirus scanners etc, in it so I could use it to scan the computer for malware if I had a problem and Windows was compromised.

I haven't had time to really look and see what software I can run from it.

Mike
 
Hi

I downloaded a new install file, this time I used ImgBurn to make the disk instead of the one included in the download.
I got exactly the same results, it booted quickly but did not have any way to access the tools on the disk.

I messed around with it and I could access the files in Mini XP, I could change the monitor resolution, (type way too small) and that's about it.

I didn't see any indication of the software that's supposed to be accessible from the disk.

Well I guess I'll write this off as a fail, unless I get some feedback from the people who created it.

Mike
 
I suspected as much as I had already successfully ran it on an 8.1 64bit install. My concern was with Mike's install, I know he has a pretty new machine and I was thinking that, with that in mind it might have a GPT partition along with the UEFI BIOS thingy.
Hey Mike will you take a look in disk management and see what's up with the disk that your 8 install is on.

EDIT:
SOURCE: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/dn640535(v=vs.85).aspx#gpt_faq_xp32_boot

And my apologies to Wolfgang. I certainly didn't mean to sound as snippy as, after having re-read this post, it sounded.
Sincerely
Randy
No problem Randy. You did your homework and you are probably right. The mini XP is probably a 32bit version. It has been around since ages.
 
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