To update E2B and agFM, download the latest E2B version and run Make_E2B.exe then click on the Update E2B Drive button.
Check contents of \agFM_version.txt for version number.
v1.04 Requires FAT32 partition to be type 0C for .imgPTN switchingv1.5 FAT32 partition can be type 0B or type 0C – incl. latest Feb 03 2002 grub2v1.6 RESTORE_E2B.cfg file updated.v1.7 Automatically recognises .imgPTN, .imgPTN23, .imgPTNauto and .imgPTN23auto files (no need for .cfg file) + few bugfixes.v1.8 2020-02-10 Bug fixes for .imgPTN, more file extensions recognisedv1.9 2020-02-11 Improve .imgPTN handling, font size reduced, latest grub2\agFMv1.10 2020-02-13 .imgPTN* and .cfg files now run immediately they are selected (note: if you have existing .cfg files you will need to update them for the ‘Cancel’ operation to work. F3 boot menu now shows drive info inc. volume label, grub2 fixes for stat -c command not crashing.v1.11 2020-02-14 Allow user to define own file with default menu items + timeout.v1.12 2020-02-15 agFM now only lists bootable files in the menu. Added SHOW ALL FILES (agFM).cfg and SHOW ONLY BOOT FILES (agFM).cfg.v1.13 2020-02-17 Using extension of .isodef, .isodefault, .isodd, .iso01, .iso32, .iso64, .isoPE, .isoPE01 will now immediately boot the ISO using E2B\partnew. Add diagnostic menu entry to users menu, support E2B-style MBR-booting of .iso* and .wim files with spaces in filenames. Display ISO icons in menu after selecting the ISO. Clear type 0 partitions on boot.
v1.14 2020-02-18 Improve direct booting of WinPE ISOs (HBCD PE, Win10XPSE, etc.).v1.15 2020-02-19 Add support for user-defined theme or text+wallpaper menu.
v1.16 2020-02-20 menu improvements/bug fixesv1.17 2020-02-21 Change Font, add FAT32 file copy/rename options, use map.sh for ISOPE extensionv1.18 2020-02-23 WinBuilder ISOs (e.g. Gandalf) now should work correctly (no yellow triangle desktop icon) when using (map) option or .isoPE file extension.v1.19 2020-02-25 Support multiple .imgPTN files, add support for WinPE .ini files, wipe \autounattend.xml and \unattend.xml if booting from Windows Install partition, latest build of a1ive grub2.
v1.20 2020-02-27 grub2 is no longer case-sensitive for filenames on NTFS,ext,exFAT partitions (see F4 option to enable case-sensitivity).v1.21 2020-02-28 grubfm now sorts files alphabetically, partnew command now only works on contiguous files, check files are contiguous and warns the user, language selection now possible from the menu.
v1.23 2020-03-01 Win10 1909 x64_UNAME_PCNAME.cfg sample file added, bugfix for Legacy partnew booting of ISOsv1.24 2020-03-02 grub2 now accepts backspace key on user input, krd.grubfm sample file added to UEFI64-boot Kaspersky krd.iso
v1.25 2020-03-03 Norton Bootable Recovery Tool nbrt.grubfm sample file added for UEFI64 boot from ISO, support Secure UEFI-booting from Windows Install ISOs and .wim files.
v1.26 2020-03-04 Support for .isomem, .isoloop and .isomap file extensions, update .ini files for WinPE (e.g. Bob Ombs),v1.27 2020-03-06 update to allow for easy addition of theme folders, support medicat (use ‘Boot Windows from ISO’ menu entry),
v1.27 2020-03-06 fix Windows Install error when MBR booting – ‘Windows could not update the computer’s boot configuration’
v.1.28 2020-03-09 fix Windows Install issue of Windows Setup displaying on wrong monitor and so leaving the agFM menu displayed on the HDMI or notebook screen.
v1.29 2020-03-11 Add keyboard scan code maps. Sort languages alphabetically. Sort files alphabetically by default.
v1.30 2020-03-13 bugfix for Windows Install ISOs with \sources\Install.swm files, fix for bootmgr being installed to USB drive, add Download and update agFM.cmd so can update to latest version.
v1.31 2020-03-15 Tidy folder structure, add sample submenu.txt file example, change sample theme menu background.png, fix krd.iso not working (and others), add example .cfg file for unattended install of Windows with user entry for Edition, User Name and Computer Name.
v1.32 2020-03-17 .isopersist supported for Ubuntu-based ISOs, add Clover for UEFI-booting from E2B menu, move grubfm.iso to \e2b folder, revised a1ve grub2 filemanager.mnu file for Clover.
v1.33 2020-03-23 Latest versions of agFM (small bugfixes for messages + delay), etc.
v1.34 2020-03-27 Add En-us to F4 Language list, fix clover UEFI32bug in \e2b\alive grub2 filemanager.mnu, F1 now shows correct SecureBoot mode. v1.35 2020-04-01 Polish, Spanish, Hebrew, German languages updated.v1.36 interim beta build.
v1.37 2020-04-05 Update languages, add Ukrainian uk_AU, change bootup message, add \version.txt file to hold agFM version number, add .isowin type, add .cfg files for DLC, nbrt.
v1.38 2020-04-08 partnew\easy2boot and map options now automatically patch secure boot flag when booting an ISO, latest agFM language updates.
v1.39 2020-04-11 Secure Boot flag is now disabled, remove F4 ‘override secure boot policy’ menu item (no need), add .isoagfm file extension so jumps straight to the linux menu (if works then file does not need to be contiguous), latest agFM.
v1.40 2020-04-13 New English startup menu on boot, latest agFM, French language updates. Improve and add “\e2b\Update agFM\Download and update agFM_v2.cmd” for better update.
v1.41 2020-04-15 Fix to allow non-contiguous Windows Install ISOs to run, latest grub2/agFM from a1ive, small French language corrections
v1.42 2020-04-16 Latest grub2 with new partnew command option, True Hide and True UnHide .cfg files to protect partitions 1 and 2, support .imgPTN extensions with 23, auto, 32\64, pwd, 3GB\4GB (must be in that order).
v1.43 2020-04-17 New grubfm/grub2, E2B file extension suffixes now won’t appear in the menu (e.g. .iso64 file will not appear if system has 32-bit CPU, .imgPTN234GB won’t appear in menu if system has less than 4GB of RAM). config file bugfix so variables are exported (e.g. pwd, themes),Fix for partition 4 needing to be erased after selecting an ISO using partnew\easy2boot option.True Hide\Unhide .cfg files in \e2b\Sample agFM Menu files\MISC\. .iso323gb, .iso3gb, .iso4gb, .iso644gb extensions now recognised. F1 now displays total memory in system. if using ‘pwd’ string in the extension, you must set pwd variable in your user startup menu (e.g. set pwd=”Hi Steve”) – beware of incorrect keyboard scan codes if using AZERTY or QWERTZ keyboards!
v1.44 2020-04-20 Update True Hide cfg files to use 1C instead of EF to hide FAT32 partitions. Update SAMPLE_startup_menu.txt to tidy up environment variables.
v1.45 2020-04-25 Add support for non-USA keyboards. Add menu entry into startup menu to disable UEFI booting by renaming the \EFI folder.
v1.46 2020-04-27 New agFM boot files (+ Ventoy support), Some partition references changed to use (e.g.) hd0,1 instead of hd0,msdos1,the variable grubfm_startbat can now be used to define a different start.bat file which is run at the start of Windows Setup. This just provides a way to ‘hook’ in a custom batch file and will not be of value to most users. SAMPLE_startup_menu.txt re-organised. \grldr and \boot\grub\menu.lst file added to allow a system to MBR boot to the agFM partition and then load agFM (grub2). Some README files added to \boot\grubfm folder. Load agFM startup menu.cfg copied to root of agFM folder to allow user to re-run the startup menu. Enable or Disable UEFI booting.mnu file added to \e2b folder (for copying to \_ISO\MAINMENU of partition 1 if required).
*BUG*
v1.47 2020-04-28 Latest agFM with language improvements, small tweaks to the SAMPLE_startup_menu.txt file.
v1.48 2020-04-28 Same as 1.47 but bugfix for .imgptn files not working. Changing to using (hd0,1) instead of (hd0,msdos1) revealed a bug in agFM, so the start menu has now been changed back to use (hd0,msdos1) type names.
v1.49 2020-05-05 Latest agFM, Screenshot driver and grub2 ahci driver removed as caused issues, support for direct boot of Strelec ISO with all apps, Total RAM displayed on startup, .winiso extension can be used to boot some WinPEs and Win Install ISOs, extra DLCBoot .cfg files and grubfm files added, new agFM drive icon for Explorer.
v1.50 2020-05-xx Latest agFM. DLCBoot can now be boot as .iso or .isowin with no .cfg file needed. grub2 echo command now supports escape sequences for outputting coloured text.
v.1.51 2020-05-29 New search (F) button added (e.g. search for file types such a .iso, .wim). Boot Windows ISO option now runs X:\Setup.exe so that Repair option is offered if no XML file is specified. Allow use of file extension override suffixes (e.g. Medicat v18.10 stable_.isowin.iso) so extension can be kept as .iso but it will immediately boot with no secondary menu. Support _.winntsetup.iso file extension suffix for booting to Windows PE from Install ISO and directly loading the ISO into WinNTSetup.exe. Danish language. Bugfix for Auxilliary partition image file not detected as hfs type 0xAF (e.g. MacOS..imgPTN23+MacOS.), .imgPTNrep3 file extension now supported (file must be in partition 3). Add a check to prevent one .imgPTN* file from being used if a .imgPTN* file has already been switched in (thus preventing the backup MBR from being overwritten). The ‘Restore E2B Partitions’ menu entry in the startup_default.cfg menu is now displayed whenever the MBR partition table contains a ‘switched-in’ .imgPTN image. Ventoy boot option added (experimental).
v1.52 2020-06-02 Add .isoventoy file extension support. Latest a1ive grubfm.
v1.53 2020-06-03 Bugfix – parentheses e.g. (xxx) in Windows ISO filename caused Setup to restart.
v1.54 2020-06-04 – Bugfix – No imgptn* files listed if Secondary Menu enabled – now fixed.
v1.55 2020-06-08 – bugfix – remove HDCLONE entry in startup menu. Improve .imgptn Restore Partitions menu. Latest a1ive grub\grubfm version.
v1.56 2020-08-05 – SAMPLE_startup_menu.txt revised – now only shows ‘Restore E2B Partitions’ menu entry if backup partition is valid MBR. Bugfix in agFM MBR code (grubfm.iso) to fix issue of some files reported as not contiguous (thanks to Anwar for reporting bug). hires variable can now be set in the menu so that WinPE runs at highest screen resolution available (e.g. in startup_menu.txt). wimboot code has changed – do not specify bcd, boot.sdi or bootmgr files in wimboot command list. MBR\Legacy also uses wimboot command now. Ventoy has now been removed from agFM by a1ive, so no Ventoy menu option.
1.57 2020-09-09 – Fix for MBR\Legacy install of Windows Setup not allowing Internal hard disk to be selected, update agFM, Ventot support – F5 now will boot to Ventoy if present on Partition 2, \_ISO\docs\MAKE_E2B-USB_DRIVE\Add_Ventoy.cmd can be used with Ventoy.xx.xx.xx.zip to add or update Ventoy onto 2nd agFM Partition. \e2b\Update agFM\Add_Ventoy.cmd added (drag and drop Ventoy zip file onto Add_VEntoy.cmd to add Ventoy MBR+UEFI64).
1.58 2020-09-14 – Fix bugs in \e2b\Add_Ventoy.cmd. wget.exe was failing due to old version plus core.img is now copied to \ventoy folder.
1.59 2020-09-19 – can now suppress the grub2 c and e hotkeys in menu, latest grubfm, remove Ventoy menu options (use F5 to boot to Ventot).
1.60 2020-09-23 – Add Update_to_latest_Ventoy_version.cmd (automatically downloads and installs current latest version of Ventoy),
1.61 2020-10-05 – Add entry to startup menu to look for \EFI\BOOTX64.efi and \EFI\BOOTIA32.efi boot files
1.62 2020-10-08 – Latest agFM with language file updates, default menu now uses first-letter auto-jump, hotkeys ‘c’ and ‘e’ disabled unless user presses TAB in first menu.
1.63 2020-10-14 – adds a line of code to load font files from a user theme (SAMPLE_startup_menu.txt).
1.64 2020-10-31 – update memtest86 EFI files to v8.4, grubfm MBR bugfix for some WinPE .wim files not booting – e.g. DLCBoot 2019.
1.65 2020-11-01 – bugfix for F3 Boot Menu in v1.64.
1.66 2020-12-04 – F3 now also shows winre.wim Boot to Windows Recovery entries if a Recovery folder is present. F10 hotkey will reload agFM without rebooting. Search hotkey is changed from Ctrl+Shift+F which did not work in MBR\Legacy mode to Ctrl+F. New Ctrl-F search function searches current level and one folder down only. User can search for any extension or use a hotkey. e.g. Ctrl+F P will list all .imgPTN* files in current directory and level below current directory. F5 now uses grubfm built-in code (/boot/grubfm/f5.sh no longer used). Bugfix for dd command where -c exceeds 63555. Ability to use Ctrl+F as menu hotkey (but not all Ctrl+ letters can be used!). The menuentry command now supports –help_msg option which can display help text in a themed menu (but is buggy, so I recommend you don’t use it in your menus!). The e2b.sh and map.sh files now use map -f to map as the first device when in efi mode. Add_Ventoy.cmd changed to work with latest e2b for Ventoy 1.0.29.zip download. Update_to_latest_Ventoy_version.cmd file will now automatically add ‘Ventoy for Easy2Boot’ to the USB drive. The current E2B version of ‘Ventoy for E2B’ will be downloaded from the E2B server. Latest grubfm build (2020-12-01). /e2b/loadfm file added. /ventoy/Sample Ventoy config files folder added (contains sample files which user can add to ptn1). Copy to \ventoy folder on ptn1 will allow you to boot agFM or E2B from the Ventoy menu. SAMPLE_slack theme fm.txt updated for Ctrl+F text display on menu. SAMPLE_slack theme fm.txt now supports timeout countdown so it can be used for startup menu with F1-F6 icons and timeout counter. Improved SAMPLE_startup_menu.txt – now can have more than 10 entries and define a different icon and hotkey for each menu entry.
1.67 2020-12-06 – bugfix for .isopersist file extension (did not find -rw file if in same folder – only worked if -rw was in root)
1.68 2020-12-11 – bugfix for .isodef, .isomap, .isomem, .iso01, .isoPE01 not booting in agFM Legacy menu system (1.66 and 1.67 had “No such command: /MAP” bug).
1.69 2021-01-10 – Add blackarch linux .cfg and .grubfm sample files, Latest grubfm – uses new theme files for F1 hwinfo screens, language updates, F1 now shows grub, CPU, Mainboard and RAM info, Easy2Boot menu entry added if MBR\Legacy boot, Add more SAMPLE menu.txt files, \e2b\Sample agFM Menu Files\MISC\Test Sample Menus.txt menu file added, Some type and sample menus updated, F5 can boot to Ventoy and AIOBOOT, Add_Ventoy.cmd updated now adds, UEFI32 boot files when using Ventoy 1.0.32 or later
1.70 2021-02-14 – Recognises .binacpi file extension (e.g. to run DSDT.bin files). Add Enable\Disable Kaspersky shim EFI menu entry. rEFInd by Rod Smith added (EFI boot manager). SAMPLE menu files now include new rEFInd entries.
1.71 2021-06-18 – Support for Strelec ISOs on UEFI32 devices with 64-bit CPUs (e.g. Asus T100). Memtest86 v9 build 2020 EFI files upated. Add DrWeb+persistence .grubfm example to \e2b\Sample agFM Menu Files folder, .isopup changed to display menu, slacko_v7.grubfm and .cfg sample file added to \e2b\Sample agFM Menu Files\Linux folder for Puppy booting. agFM Ventoy menu now directly loads Ventoy menu (not via F5). Sample menu files updated.
1.72 2021-07-11 – if .winiso is chosen to install Windows abc.ISO, then now abc.cmd is run as soon as Setup loads (if present). This means you can run any code including registry edits such as Win11 reg patch as soon as boot.wim loads (same function in E2B). Add support for Ventoy image download and creation and support for different three Ventoy partition 2 images in default menu. Improve .map/.isope so it loads ISO as Y: (to work with HBCD v1.0.2)
1.73 2021-07-14 – add extra startup menu entry F7 to switch to Text mode (in case cannot see screen on boot). Workaround for ‘error: xz file corrupted or unsupported block options.’ error in agFM on some UEFI systems when loading Windows ISOs using isowin option (suspect bug in xzio.mod grub2 module). Legacy Windows BUG in this version.
1.74 2021-11-09 – support for grub4efi, Add_Ventoy.cmd now adds arm64.efi and mips.efi boot files for Ventoy so can UEFI boot to Ventoy on these systems. Update Make_Latest_Ventoy_Partition_Image.cmd to make images compatible with Ventoy v1.0.54 and later. Legacy Windows BUG in this version.
1.75 2021-11-27 – bugfix for Legacy boot of Windows ISOs crashing (grub2 loopback bug?).
1.76 2021-12-28 – fix \e2b\Update agFM\Make_Latest_ventoy_Partition_Image.cmd so always downloads latest version, e.g. 1.0.63
1.77 2022-01-22 – fix for Strelec 01-2022 version hanging at Starting WinPE, please wait…
1.78 2022-03-24 – Remove dependency of find.exe needing to be in winpe when installing from Windows ISO in start_pe.bat, when making Ventoy images copy VentoyPlugson.exe and VentoyVlnk.exe to \ventoy folder on E2B partition.
.1.79 2022-05-11 – update cmd scripts to only download from easy2boot.xyz.
1.80 2022-05-13 – update Make_Latest_Ventoy_Partition_Image.cmd to allow latest debug CI versions of Ventoy to be used. Few new sample .cfg files added for Porteus+persistence and fossapup+persistence.
v1.81 2022-06-30 – support for DLC Boot 2022 ISO – use _.isowin.iso file extension. Allow grub2 menu keys ‘c’ and ‘e’ to be active by default (was previously inactive by default and had to press TAB in startup menu).
v1.82 2022-07-02 – fix .VHD and .IMG boot options for non-windows VHD/IMG files.
v1.83 2022-07-21 – Add \e2b\update agFM\GetLatestVentoyPluginFiles.cmd. Improve download speeds. Fix .imgPTN switch-in operation sometimes detecting difference in MBR and offering to restore instead of switching in new imgptn.
v1.84 2022-08-01 – fix legacy .vhd map and .img map options not working.
v1.85 2022-08-05 – Update \e2b\GetLatestVentoyPluginFiles.cmd so downloads VentoyPlugsonE2B.exe and .xz web app for E2B.
v1.86 2022-08-14 – startup_default.cfg now has provision for user to add extra menu entries and configuration settings. See here.
v1.87 2022-08-23 – fix bug where Windows Install ISO path+filename > 100 characters fails
v1.88 2022-08-26 – fix typo bug for DLCBOOT UEFI64 boot of Win10PE
v1.89 2022-08-28 – fix bug in \e2b\Update agFM\GetLatestVentoyPluginFiles.cmd
v1.90 2022-09-17 – fix legacy bug of windows ISOs not booting when choosing .isomap option, add WinPE boot option if boot.wim contains rescue/repair wim boot option, update grub.exe (grub4dos) to latest version. Update GetLatestVentoyPluginFiles.cmd (fix for recent GitHub change stopping it working).
v1.91 2022-09-21 – fix Make_Latest_Ventoy_Partition_Image.cmd to work with recent github page html changes.
v1.92 2022-09-26 – Add support for ventoy Linux .vtoy virtual disk files.
v1.93 2022-10-14 – Add detection of TrueHide ptn 1 to startup_default.cfg file, add TrueHide.cfg menu to \e2b\Sample agFM menu files folder. Small changes to some .cmd files.
v1.94 2022-10-16 – bugfix for F10 (reload agFM) not working in Legacy mode
v1.95 2022-10-24 – support .agfmisopersist.iso and .agfmisomem.iso file extensions. bugfix booting .img as hdd and fdd.
v1.96 2022-10-28 – add \e2b\Sample agFM menu files\LINUX\pmagic_2022_09_04.grubfm for booting pmagic with persistence.
v1.97 2022-10-29 – fix some .img and .ima files not booting as a floppy disk image. Update Memtes86 UEFI to v10 build 1000
v1.98 2022-11-03 – change startup_default.cfg to use sample_slack theme and show ‘Legacy’, ‘UEFI 64’ or ‘UEFI 32’ at top of menu.
v1.99 2023-01-04 – fix typo in Update_to_latest_Ventoy_version.cmd (error if 2nd attempt to download failed)
v1.A0 2023-01-10 – bugfix start_pe.bat
v1.A1 2023-04-22 – add KeyTool.efi to \efi\refind folder and add a new menu entry into startup_default.cfg. KeyTool is a UEFI64 tool to allow adding/saving/deleting of keys. If using a .cmd file with the same name as the Windows ISO, the environment variable %USBDRIVE% is now available. See here for more information.
v1.A2 2023-07-23 – fix Make_Latest_Ventoy_Partition_Image.cmd not working for Ventoy 1.0.94.
v1.A3 2024-05-12 – bugfix – if boot to agFM and Partition 1 has a XML or INI file in the root due to a .imgPTN file being swapped it, agFM permanently altered some of those files. This permanently changes the imgPTN image file contents. Now it only cleans these files if Partition 1 contains E2B files.
Beta versions
Reported bugs
Kaspersky shim can cause UEFI64 boot to black screen on some systems – solution is to replace Kaspersky EFI boot file and disable Secure Boot. You can use the ‘Disable Kaspersky UEFI64 Secure Boot’ menu option for this.
Strelec 2019-12-28 UEFI64 .isowin – some PCs report ‘File: \efi\boot\BCD status: 0x000c00D info: the boot configuration data for your pc is missing or contains errors – others OK. agFM 1.51 and 1.58 OK, 1.68 fails. Reason unknown (rep: ajinkya).
Windows 10/11 may blacklist the Kaspersky Shim and refuse to Secure Boot to agFM – you may need to clear the DBx database in your UEFI BIOS or disable Secure Boot. If you need to Secure Boot, but don’t want to delete the DBx entries, you can either copy the signed payload files to a FAT32 Partition 3 on the E2B USB drive and Secure Boot to Partition 3 – or – create a FAT32 .imgPTN23 file from the secure boot payload file and switch it in using E2B or agFM or SWITCH_E2B.exe.