TeraByte Unlimited

When I try to backup to an external USB harddrive, IFD (which came with BootIt Bare Metal) disables my USB keyboard and mouse. My computer is a fairly new Win8 computer running Win7, and doesn't have the old style mouse and keyboard ports, so I can only hook those devices up via USB (wired or wireless). How can I get around this problem? Thanks

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/kb/article.php?id=349


"hfletcher" wrote in message news:[email protected]...

When I try to backup to an external USB harddrive, IFD (which came with
BootIt Bare Metal) disables my USB keyboard and mouse. My computer is a
fairly new Win8 computer running Win7, and doesn't have the old style mouse
and keyboard ports, so I can only hook those devices up via USB (wired or
wireless). How can I get around this problem? Thanks

Thank you Terrabyte Support! I previously read the IFD Manual, and don't recall mention of the USBIGN option to hide a USB controller from IFD. Would you please instruct me as to where in the manual this is discussed.

hfletcher,

It's on page 99.

No wonder I didn't recall the usbign option, I've never used the command prompt and didn't read that section. I guess it's time I learn. I assume I must have IFD installed on the HD so that the command prompt will recognize "image" as a valid command. Unfortunately I can't install IFD, apparently because I have the version which came bundled with BootIt Bare Metal which is not a stand alone version. I still have my IFD v. 2.52 stand alone. Can I upgrade that to the current v. 2.83? I just bought BBM about three weeks ago, if that matters. Sorry for belaboring you with such trivia.

Version 2.52 can be upgraded. Just download the current version:
https://www.terabyteunlimited.com/product-download.php

Use the INI file option instead if that's easier than the command line (USBIgnoreMask=n). You can create the IFD GUI boot media using MakeDisk that comes with BIBM. Just select that option at the start. You can specify the "USBIgnoreMask=n" option when creating the media. For example, on the "Additional IFD.INI Options" page of the wizard, put "USBIgnoreMask=1" (without the quotes) into the first box.

Otherwise, if BIBM is installed, edit the INI file in the BIBM partition (BOOTITBM.INI) and add it. You can use BIBM to edit the file.

I downloaded the upgraded versions - there are two versions of Image for DOS V2.83 - a GUI and a CUI version. What is the difference? Yesterday I studied the section on using IFD from the command prompt where the option USBign is discussed. I believe I understand how to use USBign using the Command Line Options, but now you seem to be urging me to use the INI Variables rather than the Command Line Options. I didn't study those, but I guess they are just a different language for saying the same thing. I will study that tonite. I am still unclear about how to run IFD from the command prompt. I opened the Command Prompt and typed "image /?" - the response was that "image" was not recognized as an internal or external command. That is why I asked yesterday if IFD must first be installed on the hard drive. If so, can I install IFD from the bootable media I created? I don't recall that was an option, just the actions "backup", "restore" etc. So, I guess the big question is how do I get the Command Prompt to recognize the command "image"? Thanks

The GUI version is graphical -- same as the version included with BIBM. The CUI version is text/character based.

It's difficult to install IFD on modern systems. It does get installed with BIBM (if you choose to) or it can be used from a DOS installation. Generally, it's used from the boot media.

I was suggesting the INI file method because it's probably easier to use for testing. You can add the INI variable when creating the boot media and then test it by booting it -- no need to install. Also, if you create the boot media on a flash drive it's even easier since you can just edit the IFD.INI file on the flash drive between boots to change the option's value. For example, you might first try "USBIgnoreMask=1" and then "USBIgnoreMask=2".

Thanks again for the help. I created several boot disks and tried them all (USBIgnoreMask=1,2,4,5,6. None of them would see the USB3 HDD when USB access to target was specified, and all but USBIgnoreMask=2 locked up the mouse/keyboard. Since I still had a mouse, I hit "back" and selected Bios Direct instead of USB and all worked fine. I then tried accessing the target using Bios Direct instead of USB on the other Masks=n and all seemed to work. I used CD's because when I tried using a flash drive I had to select between different USB modes (Normal - Raw Boot Image,No Partition etc.) I didn't know which to choose.

This has been an interesting learning experience. You say if I install BIBM on the drive IFD will also get installed. Yet you say "if I want to install BIBM" like that isn't necessarily wise. If I did install BIBM and IFD could that be problematical for my computer? If I installed BIBM and IFD, would the command prompt then recognize the command "image"? Would using the command line options possibly produce different results than I obtained using INI variables regarding accessing the target via USB/Bios Direct?

When I did a backup, the transfer rate was about 73 Mb/sec. I thought I'd get better than that. Does IFD knock a USB3 port down to USB2 speed?

When creating a bootable UFD using MakeDisk, I usually use the "Partition - MBR FAT/FAT32 Partition" option. If that doesn't boot correctly on your system you could try the other options. This KB article has details on them: http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/kb/article.php?id=317

IFD GUI is installed with BIBM if you included it when you created the boot media. When you boot to BIBM you can start IFD from the desktop. There's nothing wrong with installing BIBM. However, I'd guess most users install it for use as a boot manager or for partition work, not just for running IFD. To install BIBM the computer must boot in Legacy mode (not UEFI) and the booting drive must be MBR/EMBR (not GPT).

The "Command Prompt" you get in BIBM is for TBOSDT. It's not exactly the same as DOS, but you can run "image.exe" from the prompt or create a script to run it. The command line options should have the same results -- they are the same options.

You may find it easier to create the UFD with BIBM and IFD and use that instead of installing BIBM.