Main menu
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Main menu (text mode)
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Profile partitions
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MBR partition edit
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The Plop Boot Manager is a small program to boot different operating systems. The boot manager has a built-in ide cdrom and usb driver to access that hardware without the help/need of a bios. You can boot the operating systems from hard disk, floppy, CD/DVD or from USB. You can start the boot manager from floppy, CD, network and there are many more ways to start the boot manager. You can install the boot manager on your hard disk. There is no extra partition required for the boot manager.
Programming language: Assembler
Software developer: Elmar Hanlhofer
The current version is plpbt-5.0.14.zip.
| Hard disk installation | The boot manager will be installed as primary boot manager to your hard disk. No extra partition and required. The boot manager will be in the first sectors of your hard disk before the first partition begins. The boot manager starts even when no operating system exists. |
| Start from external media Floppy CDROM/DVD USB drive |
It's not required to install the boot manager to your hard disk. You can start it from those media and use the boot manager with some limitations. |
| Start from other boot managers LiLo Syslinux Grub Grub4Dos Grub2 Windows boot.ini Windows BCD |
You can still use your preferred boot manager and additionally use features
from the Plop Boot Manager (like boot the usb drive,...). The boot manager can run in hidden mode, so you have for example an entry in your preferred boot manager to boot the usb drive and when you use this entry then it starts immediately without any additional menu. This can be useful for the usb boot function. |
| Start from network | With help of pxelinux it's possible to start the boot manager from the network. |
| Start from your bios as option rom | You can store the boot manager as option rom in your bios. There is no need for any hard disk or anything else to start the boot manager. It can be used as PNP part of your bios or the boot manager can hook the INT19 to take control as first boot device. |
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Main menu zoom |
Main menu (text mode) zoom |
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Profile partitions zoom |
MBR partition edit zoom |
The Plop Boot Manager licence conditions:
This licence conditions are also used for the boot manager tools that are written by Elmar Hanlhofer and not released under the GPL.
¹ You can add the tools to non-profit products for free.
Example: You sell a CD and charge only the price for the blank CD without the
work to create the final CD (and so on).
| plpbt-5.0.14.zip | 2012-02-11 | Plop Boot Manager 5.0.14 |
| plpbt-5.0.13.zip | 2011-08-14 | Plop Boot Manager 5.0.13 |
| plpbtrom-0.6.zip | 2011-08-14 | Create a PCI Option ROM |
| plpbt-createiso.zip | 2010-06-08 | Create custom boot manager cd's |
| plpcfgbt-0.11.zip | 2012-02-03 | Tool to configure the boot manager file plpbt.bin (Windows/Linux) |
| plpdisd-0.2.zip | 2010-10-16 | Deactivate the USB driver under DOS |
| plpchk-0.1.zip | 2010-10-14 | Detect the USB driver under DOS |
| plpmkboot-0.1.zip | 2012-02-03 | plpbt.bin native FAT boot |
Cursor up/down Move the bar Enter Choose selection ESC Close window CTRL - ESC Switch to text mode CTRL - PAGE UP Switch to higher screen resolution CTRL - PAGE DOWN Switch to lower screen resolution z Enable/Disable window zoom animation
In the main menu you see all visible profiles to boot an operating system. You can start an operating system from floppy, cd/dvd, usb or network. You can go to the setup of the boot manager, partitions and profiles. If your bios supports APM, you can shut down your computer.
1-9 Boot profile q Quick boot, open a list of all possible hardcoded partitions to boot w Write MBR with the profile settings, but do not boot f Boot floppy c Boot CD/DVD u Boot USB n Network boot Special additional keys for USB boot:
Difference CTRL-u and ALT-u:
Press SHIFT-u to force USB 1.1
Press CTRL-u to wait for a key press before starting the operating system. When a drive was found, then you can press "s" to skip the device or you can boot from the drive.
Press ALT-u to wait for a key press before detecting the usb device type. When a device was found, then you can press "s" to skip the device or you can boot from the device when it's as mass storage device.
When you use CTRL-u and the boot manager finds an usb device, then the boot manager identifies it. Because of the stripped down usb implementation, it's possible that the boot manager sometimes hangs on some computers. With ALT-u, the identification of the usb drives happens when you press enter. When you press "s", then the boot manager skips the device and it should not hang.
You can manage your partitions here. The install program creates an entry for all primary partitions it finds. The names are from HDA1 up to HDD4. HD means hard disk. HDA stands for hard disk A and is the first hard disk. The numbers 1-4 are the numbers of the primary partitions.
Notice for linux users: HDA has nothing to do with the devices in linux like /dev/hda.
You can change the label for the partition. This label is used in the boot manager. The maximum length is 16 chars.
Here, you choose the hard disk of the partition.
HDA = Hard disk 1
HDB = Hard disk 2
HDC = Hard disk 3
HDD = Hard disk 4
There are 2 ways to set the ID of a partition.
You can enter the hexadecimal value for the partition.
This list has the mostly used partition ID's. If the requested ID is not in the list, then use Enter partition ID.
This is used to change the values of partitions in the MBR.
BP means boot manager partition. This values are stored in the boot manager.
P1-P4 this are the current values of the primary partitions in the MBR.
You can edit the hexadecimal values in the partition table. You can select a row with s (select) and paste the values to the row where the cursor is with p. With this function, you can import partition values to the boot manager or change values in the MBR. This can be very useful in emergency cases.
Clearing the data means clearing of the partition data in the boot manager. The data on the partition itself is unchanged.
Use it if you changed something and you want to restore the whole values of the partition in the boot manager. This is possible until you close the partition edit window.
Profiles are used to start different operating systems from different hard disks and partitions. It's also possible to detect changes in the MBR made by other software and import or forget the changes.
If you have an operating system installed and you install the boot manager, the installer creates a profile to boot the current operating system.
You can edit the label of the profile. This label is shown in the main menu. It's useful to use a label to see what operating system is going to boot. The maximum length is 16 chars.
With this option you select if the profile is shown in the main menu or not. Only visible profiles can be booted. It also has effects on the default profile in the boot manager setup.
You select from which hard disk, partition and bios device number you want to boot with this profile. You can also select what partitions or cleared partitions should be used for the MBR.
There are 3 states for a partition entry
1. a selected partition
Press enter to choose a partition from a list with all partition of this hard disk available from Partitions.
If another software changes this entry in the MBR, the boot manager detects this change at the next startup. You can choose if you want to import the new values or forget them.
2. don't touch
The partition entry in the MBR will not be changed from the boot manager. That is the default setting.
If a software changes this entry in the MBR the boot manager cannot detect this change.
3. cleared
The boot manager set's this entry to 0 in the MBR. An operating system cannot detect that there is/was a partition.
WARNING: if the boot manager has not stored the values of the partition in "Partitions" then you lose the partition values in the MBR and you cannot access the data on the partition. It's possible to restore those values, but it's better, easier and safe to store the values in Partitions.
Partition programs will say this is unallocated space! Do not partition this space! You can lose data if you do it wrong.
b set boot partition. You select, what partition you want to boot with this profile. The boot manager set a bios drive number automatically. It's possible to change it with another key.
c clear partition. You set this entry to "cleared" and the boot manager clears this entry in the MBR when you boot this profile.
d don't touch. You set the entry to don't touch and the boot manager does not change this entry when you boot this profile.
e edit boot flag. The boot flag has the bios drive number used by the boot sector routine. In some cases it's required to change this value.
r remove boot flag. Here, you remove the boot flag from the profile.
l set logical partition. You can set to boot from a logical partition 1-4 of an extended partition. Change the logical number by pressing "l". L1 = first logical, L2 = second, ...
You can clear the profile data in the boot manager. The data in Partitions are not changed.
Use it if you changed something and want to restore the whole values of the profile in the boot manager. This is possible until you close the profile edit window.
The boot manager has two modes to start. With the user interface menu and hidden.
For the hidden mode, you have to set the boot countdown and you have to select a default profile. The default profile boots after the countdown. The user cannot see that there is a boot manager in the background. If you want to go into the boot manager, then press ESC.
You can enable and disable the countdown.
If the boot countdown is enabled, the boot manager waits the given time and starts after the countdown the last used profile or the default profile, depending on your settings.
Choose between 1 and 99 seconds.
At start, the boot manager set the bar to the selected option. This works for the hidden start mode too.
You have the following options
1. Last booted profile
2. Default profile
3. Floppy
4. CDROM
5. USB
You can select the default profile from a list of all visible profiles.
Show the floppy boot option in the main menu.
Show the cdrom boot option in the main menu.
Show the USB boot option in the main menu.
Use USB 1.1 controller even if there is a USB 2.0 controller.
Mode 1: Ignore the EHCI Controller
Mode 2: Setup EHCI Controller and set all ports to the companion host. Some controllers need this option to force usb 1.1.
Use Mass Storage Device. Boot the X mass storage device that was found. Other devices are ignored.
You can select the text mode during the startup of an operating system. Choose between "don't change" and 80x50.
Select the screen resolution in the boot manager. Choose between text mode 80x50 and graphic mode 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024.
Enable and disable the window animation.
Select the boot manager font or the bios font.
Enable and disable the starfield animation.
Setup the master password. Disable the boot manager password protection with an empty password.
Setup the setup password. Disable the boot manager setup password protection with an empty password.
You can install the boot manager to the MBR of your hard disk. When you do that, then the boot manager is the first program that is started when you boot from the hard disk. That means the boot manager is started before any operating system has been started. This installation has many benefits. Some features are only available when the boot manager is installed to the MBR. When you don't want to install the boot manager to the MBR, then you can start the boot manager in many different ways. See plpbt.bin - LiveCD and ...
Warning Linux users: Install LILO or GRUB to the boot sector of your Linux instead of the Master Boot Record (MBR). The Plop Boot Manager is not a Linux loader and cannot start Linux without LILO, GRUB, Syslinux and similar! See Linux Boot Managers.
There are 2 versions of the install program. Basically both versions do the same. The only difference is that plpinst.com creates a backup file plpback.bin to restore hard disk sectors for a complete boot manager uninstall. The second version plpinstc.com skips the backup part. You have to use the second version for installation from write protected media like CD's or when you install from network or any other boot manager.
With this option you install the boot manager to your hard disk. If you have an installed operating system, then the install program creates a profile for you to boot this operating system.
With the installation from floppy, the install program makes a backup of the sectors where the boot manager will be installed. The install program writes the backup to the floppy disk. With this backup it's possible to remove the boot manager completely from your hard disk. If you use the CD installation, then it's not possible to restore the sectors. In this case the uninstall routine creates a new MBR to boot the current operating system. The partition table data won't be changed.
A small program (the loader) is required in the MBR to start the boot manager. Operating systems like Windows XP are writing during the installation their own small program into the MBR. If you install Windows XP after the boot manager, then Windows XP will start instead of the boot manager, because the loader is overwritten with the program from Windows XP. To setup that the boot manager starts before Windows XP you have to use Rewrite loader.
With this, you can update the boot manager. But only updates with boot manager v5 are working.
Warning, this option is only available with the installation from floppy.
The install program takes the backup that was saved on the floppy disk and writes it back to the hard disk.
Warning, if you changed anything with the partition table, then don't use this option!
With this option, the program writes a new MBR to start the current operating system. The partition table will be unchanged.
Configures the Boot Manager to start in text mode.
Set destination hard disk to install the boot manager.
See Hotkeys.
The computer will be restarted.
When you installed the boot manager to the MBR, then you can remove the boot manager in the same way that you used to install the boot manager, but you have to use the option 4 or 5 in the install program.
When you don't want to use the install program to remove the boot manager, then you can use any other program that writes a new program to the MBR. Example FIXMBR, or "fdisk /mbr" and so on. Or you install another boot manager to the MBR.
You create the install floppy with a floppy disk image. A floppy disk image is a file that contains every sector of the floppy disk. You cannot copy the image file on a floppy disk like a common file. It's required to use a special program that writes sector per sector of the image file to the floppy disk sectors. There are many programs available to do this.
Download the current boot manager plpbt-5.0.14.zip. Extract it to get the floppy disk image. You find the disk image in the install directory. The name of the file is plpbtin.img
How to create the floppy:
DOS: You can use diskimg.com with diskimg -d a -w plpbtin.img
Windows: Write the disk image with the program rawwritewin to the floppy disk
Linux: dd if=plpbtin.img of=/dev/fd0
Download the current boot manager plpbt-5.0.14.zip. Extract it to get the iso file. You find the iso file in the install directory. The name of the file is plpbtin.iso
Notice: The CD installer makes no backup for a complete uninstall. See The install program.
Windows:
You can use Nero, or the free program CDBurnerXP, or any other program that can burn ISO images.
Use the option like burn ISO on CD or burn ISO Image. Then choose the boot manager ISO and burn it.
Linux:
cdrecord is the linux program to burn ISO images to a CD.
Burn the ISO with cdrecord: cdrecord -v dev=<devicename> <iso image>
Example:
If you access your CD burner with /dev/hdd
cdrecord -v dev=/dev/hdd plpbtin.iso
Download the current boot manager plpbt-5.0.14.zip. Extract it to get the install program. In the install directory there are 2 install programs (plpinst.com and plpinstc.com) for using under DOS.
plpinst.com creates a backup file plpback.bin for a complete boot manager uninstall. plpinstc.bin makes no backup. Use plpinstc.com for write protected media like CD's.
Hint: When you don't want to install the boot manager to the MBR then see plpbt.bin - LiveCD and ....
Download the current boot manager plpbt-5.0.14.zip. Extract the zip file. Open the folder Windows. You will find the batch program InstallToMBR. Run it as administrator in VISTA/WIN7 (right mouse click on the file and choose "Run as administrator"). The batch creates an entry in your windows boot menu called "Install the Plop Boot Manager to the MBR". When you reboot, then use the entry to install the Plop Boot Manager to the mbr.
To remove the entry from the windows boot menu run the program c:\plop\plpbt4win. Use "l" to list all entries. Remove the entry with "r ID". ID is the number you have seen with "l". See here for more info's to plpbt4win.Note: plpgenbtldr and contig are no longer required.
Download the current boot manager plpbt-5.0.14.zip. Extract it to get the boot manager install program. You find the install program plpinstc in the install directory.
Add plpinstc.com to the config file
Add the following lines to the config file
label plpinst linux plpinstc.com
Copy plpinstc to the same directory where the config file is.
You start the install program when you select it from the menu or you enter plpinst at the Syslinux command prompt.
Download the current boot manager plpbt-5.0.14.zip. Extract it to get the boot manager install program. You find the install program plpinstc.com in the install directory.
Copy plpinstc.com to /boot.
Add to your /etc/lilo.conf the following
image=/boot/plpinstc.com label=plop-install
Run lilo to update lilo.
Download the current boot manager plpbt-5.0.14.zip. Extract it to get the boot manager install program. You find the install program plpinstc.com in the install directory.
Copy plpinstc.com to /boot.
Add to your /boot/grub/menu.lst the following
title Install Plop Boot Manager root (hd0,0) kernel /boot/plpinstc.com
When you reboot, you should be able to choose the install program from your grub menu.
Info: You have to choose the correct root settings in your configuration or you get a "Error: file not found". See also this Forum entry.
Download the current boot manager plpbt-5.0.14.zip. Extract it to get the boot manager install program. You find the install program plpinstc.com in the install directory.
Copy plpinstc.com to /boot.
Example file /etc/grub.d/40_custom
#!/bin/sh
exec tail -n +3 $0
menuentry "Install Plop Boot Manager" {
set root='(hd0,1)'
linux16 /boot/plpinstc.com
}
Then run update-grub2 or update-grub.
When you reboot, you should be able to choose the install program from your grub menu.
Info: You have to choose the correct root settings in your configuration or you get a "Error: file not found". See also this Forum entry.
A better documentation comes when I have more time. Meanwhile use the documentation of Plop Linux.
You need for booting over network a DHCP, TFTP server and the program pxelinux.
For Linux click here, for Windows click here
Download the current boot manager plpbt-5.0.14.zip. Extract it to get the boot manager install program. You find the install program plpinstc.com in the install directory.
Copy plpinstc.com to the FAT formatted drive and rename it to plpbt.bin.
Then use the program plpmkboot to make the drive bootable to start plpbt.bin.
Linux example: plpmkboot /dev/sdb1
Windows example: plpmkboot F:
Hint: Do not use the other install program plpinst.com except on FAT12 formatted drives.
When you don't want to install the boot manager to the MBR, then you have to use plpbt.bin. You can start plpbt.bin in many different ways. You cannot save boot manager settings when you use plpbt.bin. But you can use plpcfgbt to configure plpbt.bin.
| 1. Floppy |
| 2. CD (LiveCD) |
| 3. Windows boot menu (NT, 2K, XP, VISTA and Win7) |
| 4. Syslinux, Isolinux, Extlinux |
| 5. LILO |
| 6. GRUB / grub4dos |
| 7. GRUB2 |
| 8. From network |
| 9. Native from a FAT file system |
A floppy disk image is a file that contains every sector of the floppy disk. You cannot copy the image file on a floppy disk like a common file. It's required to use a special program that writes sector per sector of the image file to the floppy disk sectors. There are many programs available to do this.
Download the current boot manager plpbt-5.0.14.zip. Extract it to get the floppy disk image plpbt.img.
How to create the floppy:
DOS: You can use diskimg.com with diskimg -d a -w plpbt.img
Windows: Write the disk image with the program rawwritewin to the floppy disk
Linux: dd if=plpbt.img of=/dev/fd0
You can configure the plpbt.bin on the floppy with plpcfgbt.
Download the current boot manager plpbt-5.0.14.zip. Extract it to get the iso file plpbt.iso.
Customize ISO: See Create your own ISO ...
Windows:
You can use Nero, or the free program CDBurnerXP, or any other program that can burn ISO images.
Use the option like burn ISO on CD or burn ISO Image. Then choose the boot manager ISO and burn it.
Linux:
cdrecord is the linux program to burn ISO images to a CD.
Burn the ISO with cdrecord: cdrecord -v dev=<devicename> <iso image>
Example:
If you access your CD burner with /dev/hdd
cdrecord -v dev=/dev/hdd plpbt.iso
Download the current boot manager plpbt-5.0.14.zip. Extract the zip file. Open the folder Windows. You will find the batch program InstallToBootMenu. Run it as administrator in VISTA/WIN7 (right mouse click on the file and choose "Run as administrator"). The batch creates an entry in your windows boot menu called "Plop Boot Manager". When you reboot, then use the entry to start the Plop Boot Manager.
To remove the entry from the windows boot menu run the program c:\plop\plpbt4win. Use "l" to list all entries. Remove the entry with "r ID". ID is the number you have seen with "l". See here for more info's to plpbt4win.Note: plpgenbtldr and contig are no longer required.
Download the current boot manager plpbt-5.0.14.zip. Extract it to get the boot manager binary program plpbt.bin.
Add plpbt to the config file
Add the following lines to your config file
label plp linux plpbt.bin
Copy plpbt.bin to the same directory where the config file is.
You start the boot manager when you enter plp at the Syslinux command prompt.
You can configure the file plpbt.bin with plpcfgbt.
Download the current boot manager plpbt-5.0.14.zip. Extract it to get the boot manager binary program plpbt.bin.
Copy the plpbt.bin file to /boot.
Add to your /etc/lilo.conf the following
image=/boot/plpbt.bin label=Plop
Run lilo to update lilo.
You can configure the file plpbt.bin with plpcfgbt.
Download the current boot manager plpbt-5.0.14.zip. Extract it to get the boot manager binary program plpbt.bin.
Copy the plpbt.bin file to /boot.
Add to your menu.lst
title Plop Boot Manager root (hd0,0) kernel /boot/plpbt.bin
Info: You have to choose the correct root settings in your configuration or you get a "Error: file not found". See also this Forum entry.
You can configure the file plpbt.bin with plpcfgbt.
Download the current boot manager plpbt-5.0.14.zip. Extract it to get the boot manager binary program plpbt.bin.
Copy the plpbt.bin file to /boot.
Example file /etc/grub.d/40_custom
#!/bin/sh
exec tail -n +3 $0
menuentry "Plop Boot Manager" {
set root=(hd0,1)
linux16 /boot/plpbt.bin
}
Then run update-grub2 or update-grub.
When you reboot, you should be able to start the boot manager from your grub menu.
Info: You have to choose the correct root settings in your configuration or you get a "Error: file not found". See also this Forum entry.
You can configure the file plpbt.bin with plpcfgbt.
A better documentation comes when I have more time. Meanwhile use the documentation of Plop Linux.
You need for booting over network a DHCP, TFTP server and the program pxelinux.
For Linux click here, for Windows click here
Download the current boot manager plpbt-5.0.14.zip. Extract it to get the boot manager binary program plpbt.bin.
Copy plpbt.bin to the FAT formatted drive.
Then use the program plpmkboot to make the drive bootable to start plpbt.bin.
Linux example: plpmkboot /dev/sdb1
Windows example: plpmkboot F:
plpbt-createiso.zip is a simple script to create a custom plop boot manager iso by Elmar Hanlhofer. There is one script for Windows and one script for Linux in the zip file. The scripts are using mkisofs from cdrtools.
The windows binaries of cdrtools are from http://smithii.com/cdrtools and included in the zip file. plpbt.bin and create-iso.bat must be in the same directory. You have to run create-iso.bat to create the iso file. You get a file called plpbtmycd.iso. That's your new boot manager iso file.
You must have installed mkisofs. plpbt.bin and create-iso.sh must be in the same directory. You have to run sh create-iso.sh to create the iso file. You get a file called plpbtmycd.iso. That's your new boot manager iso file.
plpcfgbt-0.11.zip is a tool to configure plpbt.bin. This program is available as source code for Linux and Windows. You start the program from a command shell. If you run the program without parameters then you will see the help information.
Usage: plpcfgbt [OPTIONS] file
Options:
========
parameter meaning
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
vm setup video mode
values: text, 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024
stm start mode of the boot manager
values: menu or hidden, hidden requires cnt=on and dbt not off
cnt activate countdown, values: on or off
cntval countdown in seconds between 1 and 99
dbt default boot, values: off, profile, floppy, cdrom, usb
dprf use default profile value between 1 and 16
stf starfield, values: on or off
zan windows zoom animation, values: on or off
fnt set font, values: bt or bios
usb1 force usb 1.1
values: off
1 = Mode 1 = skip ehci
2 = Mode 2 = force ehci to companion
usbmdev use usb massdev 1-99 (obsolete)
int19h do not boot the os and use int19h, values: on or off
hotkey startup hotkey, values: yes or no
prf set profile, value: 1-16
prfname set profilename 16 chars, 'prf' must be set
btdrv boot drive, 80h-89h, 'prf' must be set
btprt boot partition 1-4, 'prf' must be set
btlog boot log partition, 1-4, 'prf' must be set
skippcmcia skip pcmcia check, values: yes or no
fastpcmcia skip pcmcia check after usb card was found, values: yes or no
ignoreusbdev ignore number of usb devices 0-99
showextended show extended partitions in the main menu, values: yes or no
hiddenusb automatic usb boot without showing the boot manager
hiddencdrom automatic cdrom boot without showing the boot manager
Infos about int19h see here.
The hotkey option is useful with CD's or ROM's. You get the info to press CTRL-A
to start the boot manager. If you don't press it, the booting continues
without the boot manager.
Print current settings:
plpcfgbt plpbt.bin
Configure hidden boot and boot the usb drive:
plpcfgbt stm=hidden cnt=on cntval=1 dbt=usb plpbt.bin
or
plpcfgbt hiddenusb plpbt.bin
When you use a Linux boot manager, then you can pass some parameters with "append" to plpbt.bin.
| Parameter | Meaning |
| hiddenusb | is the short version of "stm=hidden cnt=on cntval=1 dbt=usb" |
| hiddencdrom | is the short version of "stm=hidden cnt=on cntval=1 dbt=cdrom" |
| usb1=1 | Force USB 1.1 Mode 1 (ignore the EHCI controller) |
| usb1=2 | Force USB 1.1 Mode 2 (force EHCI ports to usb 1.1) |
| vm=text | Switch to text mode |
| fnt=bios | Switch font to bios font |
| int19h=on | Use INT19h instead of booting usb |
| showextended=yes | Show extended partitions in the main menu |
Example syslinux.cfg:
# configure the boot manager to start in text mode
label plp
linux plpbt.bin
append vm=text
# configure the boot manager to start in hidden mode and
# boot usb with forcing usb 1.1 mode 1
label plp2
linux plpbt.bin
append "hiddenusb usb1=1"
You can create a pci option rom file with plpbtrom-0.6.zip. You can store the option rom in your bios or to the rom of a network card and run it from there.