Official MediCat USB - A Multiboot Linux USB for PC Repair

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Amantefurtivo

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SPIREN I hope it's okay.

I'll tell you something, my machine is a sony vaio all in one, UEFI -GPT starter.
I couldn't start medicat.img either, in Ventoy.

At this moment I have almost 50 .iso images, tested in Ventoy.
Most of them start me on the device.


VENTOY :

1) It only detects .iso files , it does not detect .img files .

2) Ventoy formats the .iso files in EX FAT by default.

3) UEFI- GPT does not start from a removable drive, formatted in NTFS, in 99% of the cases.

I would like to know how to load Medicat.img from Ventoy?
Because right now I find it very difficult.



SPIREN.

1) Do you only have problems starting medicat.img or do you have problems starting other images as well?
 

Ruxos

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I also think this is the case. I think it's either motherboard or SSD related.
Either the chipset drivers or some other essential memory
There's not a lot of WinPE's that are getting updated at the moment so i would like to have alternatives if Strelec quits updating the english version again.
I am not all that well aware with when strelec stopped updating the English version or when he started it again. Although constant monthly updates for the whole media sounds a bit ominous to me. If it were me, I'd at best only update the programs and distribute them instead (it's one of my goals with the winpe, have a separate programs module entirely separate from the winpe, which is more like plug n Play and can be used in any other WinPE or even normal windows, strelec uses that kind of a method too, if not then similar. Unless I am wrong about it, but anyways that's what I might be working on or making it as such)

With this, all you ever need is a winpe. And as far as I can see, you don't need to update it regularly as far as monthly updates. In fact, there might not even be a need to update the winpe portion of it and one could just update the programs on a half yearly or yearly basis. Considering all that, I don't think why one would want to constantly update them (goes for both the creator and the user). I can get with the curiosity of having the updated media but is it really that worth. In the end there might even be a point where you (speaking generally) might not end up liking the resultant winpe or whatever sort of technicians gizmo they create. You can already see an example here. I don't see anyone ever give any contradictory comments to my refutes over how ridiculous this current medicat is. All there is just baseless personal opinions instead of anything constructive against what I say. Just goes to show who is correct and who isn't. Not the first time I came across such content creator or the subsequent audience. Anyways, enough about my banter. Point is, why do you need to update it that much? If you're just curious into testing things out then cool, if you only want a functioning winpe that works for you, then find it and just stick to it. There's really no need to have it's updates regardless whether the dev circulates them or not.

1) It only detects .iso files , it does not detect .img files .

2) Ventoy formats the .iso files in EX FAT by default.

3) UEFI- GPT does not start from a removable drive, formatted in NTFS, in 99% of the cases.

Not sure what you're on about there mate.
1) Try and check the product page first (ventoy). It states that it only supports iso and wim files only (wim files are supported via wimboot)
2) Ventoy does create the second partition as exfat. I think one could just reformat it to NTFS. I think this is what Jayro did, or something similar to it. I'll test it out when I have some free time later perhaps.
3) Eh, weird cause uefi gpt has never failed me. In fact, if your own hdd is formatted as gpt I think Rufus automatically picks the gpt method instead of mbr. Or maybe that's just default, can't say because both my laptop and desktop are gpt partitioned. In fact I've even got it to work on older systems as far as 2010 and above. And yes, all my bootable usb are formatted in NTFS always and no other format, except for the primary partition (like ventoy's efi partiton which is always formatted with fat32 to give the uefi boot (this is the case for multi OS boot options only))

Also, the IMG file that Medicat distro gives currently, already has ventoy. You don't need to create another ventoy partition and copy the IMG file to it, because that won't be working. What you can do is extract the IMG file and the resultant NTFS file within it using 7zio (it'll work on both, or you can use Peazip) and extract what you need and copy that to the ventoy partition (the partition formatted as exfat) after you used the ventoy2disk.exe (ventoy software) and created a bootable media using it. Once you do that, just copy the WIM/ISO files to the ventoy partition and you can boot through it. (Make sure to keep wimboot.img which would be somewhere in the NTFS file you opened via 7zip above, that's the main gizmo used to boot wim files directly)

That's all you gotta do. Can't use the IMG file directly without burning it onto a usb disk.
Edit: if you read our previous replies correctly you'd notice that spiren is talking about the medicat mini winpe or Medicat windows portable edition.
 
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Amantefurtivo

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Thank you very much, Ruxos, for trying to help me.

Here's what I did:

1) Download medicat .img

2) Extrage medicat.img in a folder IN MY WRITING DESKTOP or inside Ventoy (ex fat partition) .
I got 2 files : A) 0 .NTFS , B) 1.IMG


3) I extracted 0.NTFS and got all the folders with the medicat programs , .exe , .iso , .win .

4) Copy and paste all .iso and all .win into Ventoy USB (EX FAT) .

5) The WIN BOOT .IMG file does not appear, I can only find a WINBOOT.IMG file inside a VENTOY folder.
With the name VENTOY-WINBOOT.IMG .

Is this file the one you are referring to?

6) Can I copy and paste the portable programs extracted from NTFS .exe file 0 into ventoy , these programs are detected by Ventoy .

7) Are .WIN files detected by the Ventoy menu in order to start them?

Thanks Ruxos, I'm waiting for your answers.
 

Ruxos

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2) Extrage medicat.img in a folder IN MY WRITING DESKTOP or inside Ventoy (ex fat partition) .
I got 2 files : A) 0 .NTFS , B) 1.IMG
Yes, that's what Medicat_xx.IMG file contains.

3) I extracted 0.NTFS and got all the folders with the medicat programs , .exe , .iso , .win .
Yes, you have to extract that NTFS file. It's stated at the first post under spoilers. Check the first page/post of the thread.

5) The WIN BOOT .IMG file does not appear, I can only find a WINBOOT.IMG file inside a VENTOY folder.
With the name VENTOY-WINBOOT.IMG .
Yes, the file name may have changed but doesn't matter. Also, it's WIM not WIN

6) Can I copy and paste the portable programs extracted from NTFS .exe file 0 into ventoy , these programs are detected by Ventoy .
Yes you can. But keep it in the same folder as they are. If you're talking about the portableapps folder, who's programs can be started by PStart.exe or something similar. Make sure to use that entire folder and not the individual files within. Same goes for the files inside the Programs folder. They are relevant for the medicat Winpe.

7) Are .WIN files detected by the Ventoy menu in order to start them?
Yes they are. Again read the project page.

It's not your fault, that you don't have a clue whatsoever maybe or whatever the reason you can't google it up. The fault lies with the person creating this whole mess of a compilation where they could reasonably have just stated the tools required to make what they created and not post such a huge waste of time and efforts, and resources for a lot of users. But unreasonable people can't be argued or reasoned with, so just stick with whatever floats your boat.
 

Amantefurtivo

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RUXOS: Thank you very much for all your time and effort in giving a clear, precise explanation about how to use medicat .img in Ventoy .

It tried its way and now it works perfectly in my UEFI-GPT system.
 
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ascrounch

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hi, i just discovered Medicat. this is really nice.

if i can make a suggestion : it could be better if we could choose what do we want in the .img. it will reduce the image size.

Also, if you could select software online, or when creating the bootable usb. I do not think it is hard to do, I have already seen it on some installers of pirated games
 

Youtubuntu

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Hello. Really cool to hear someone picking up HBCD-s legacy. May your sailing always be smooth!

1. I noticed you link to Alternativeto.net. I think you would rather want the link not to be to alternatives of MediCat USB but to the about page instead. EDIT: Seems fixed.

2. Secondly I was wondering is this open source? The source-code link on AlternativeTo.net is to a tool you used to make your product, but not to (digital or otherwise) instructions to make your product. Idk. I just feel there could maybe be something more. Also it would have caused slightly less confusion if you mentioned it in the thread-starting post here (in features link e.g.) that it is open-source. I personally kind of expected a link to Github or Gitlab when I landed here.

3. And on similar veins - have you put some thoughts into increasing the maintainability of this or just some public source/instructions on how to continue MediCat USB, if something happens to you (life gets busy, traffic accidents, depression)? I don't know much about the topic, but I've heard Gitlab has some pretty amazing automation options as well - so you can possibly automate part of your workflow. But writing them down somewhere publicly would go a long way to make your product not go the way of HBCD.

Idk. I don't want to put too much on your shoulders. You do you at a pace that is comfortable for you and I'm happy that at least for this moment, this product exists. But I do hope that it gets more amazing constantly and never dies.

PS: Love the name and icon btw!
 
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stevehh

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Hi can i become a short step for step guide to change the formated size from Medicat Partition? i Have a 256GB USB Stick.
Medicat is formated ca 22 GB and have no space for more Portable Apps or other Files. The other size of the STick is unallocated memory.
Partition tools gives Error Messages or stick no boot after change. Why: The short second Partition is a Prob, the tools can no make greater the First Partition.
My English is very Bad please short answers.
Stick Production was with ImageUSB and Medicat 20.06.1
 
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stevehh

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Ok Thx its funktional for Version 20.06.1 with NTFS Format. Please resize the Install Guide for that Tip.

To Info for others :thats no Funktion with Easus by Version 20.05.1 with exFat Format.
 
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Jayro

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Nothing important, I just wanted to show you all the very first copy of MediCat that I ever made. Back then, I called it M.E.D.S. (MediCat Emergency Disc System).
It wasn't catchy, and I wanted something simple, so I settled on MediCat DVD for a long time. Then it outgrew the DVD format, and now it's MediCat USB.

What a fun trip down memory lane!

IMG_20140304_041450.jpg
 

kgvelkov

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Hi there! What tool should I use to edit the new Medicat image? I used UltraISO to modify the ISO image, but that doesn't work with the IMG file anymore :(
 

Jayro

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Hi there! What tool should I use to edit the new Medicat image? I used UltraISO to modify the ISO image, but that doesn't work with the IMG file anymore :(
You can mount the image using OSFMount. Mount Partition 0 (The NTFS partition). Make sure you uncheck the "Read-only drive" box, and then manually give it a drive letter. Then click Mount, and it will show up as a drive under Explorer.
 
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romel

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Thank you for your amazing tool.
Hi... I've been using the Mini - Windows 10 PE distro - ISO, but in this new format I don't know how to "implement it" .
I've opened the "medicat.20.06.1.img" IMG file with 7-zip, enter in the NTF (partition), and I've seen the file "medicat.20.06.1.img\0.ntfs\Boot_an_Operating_System\[UEFI]_Mini_Windows_10.iso".
So, must I extract that ISO file, apply it in the "old" way to an USB flash drive | pendrive, and then customize it adding Portableapps, drivers and suchs?
 

FeMaster

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No, it is an .img file to be written to USB, not an ISO file. (I also have the korean version, the iODD 2451 clone of the Zalman.)

Hello Jayro

I have been using your releases for just over a year now, and love this collection of utilities you have put out. I came here to check for a newer version and was excited to see there was. Like you, I have an iODD 2451 that I use for all my repair, recovery, maintenance, and installation needs. I see that the latest version has changed from an ISO file to a USB IMG file. I run your wonderful creation from my iODD drive, at least up to this point anyway.

I am curious if you are using your iODD drive with this latest release, and if so how are you doing it? With an ISO file it was straightforward and easy to accomplish. Perhaps this can be done with the Virtual Hard Drive functionality of the iODD? I've not experimented with that feature, so I'm not really sure how it works or what it's capabilities are.

Really hoping that I can still implement the latest version into my iODD drive and not have the need to carry yet another flash drive around. Thanks for any information you can offer.
 
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Jayro

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The v20.07 version of MediCat USB is up as a torrent and on Google Drive. The MEGA files are still uploading (Painfully slow, sadly).

I also added the donation link to Ventoy's donation page to the OP, so make sure you drop him some coin if you're feeling generous.

Main Menu.png
 
Last edited by Jayro,

titou43

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Hello
I have read it possible to update the ventoy files....on this marvellous compilation

Is anyone could explain how to do ?
 

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