***NOW WITH A USB VERSION!***
History:
I run a PC repair service out of my apartment, and call it ReSET Computers. As a seasoned PC Technician (A+ Certified by CompTIA) in the field for 16 years, I could never find a software toolbox that could fit my personal needs.... Until I found YUMI. That got me making multiboot USB sticks, and all was great. However, some older hardware (and picky computers) wouldn't boot from them, rendering them useless. Even the F12 boot menu wouldn't work. Sometimes the BIOS just doesn't support bootable USB sticks for whatever reason.
This got me curious to try a DVD variety, for those finicky computers that refuse to (or can't) boot from USB. So for the past 2 months off and on, I have been working on a bootable 3.99GB utility DVD called MediCat DVD. I started with SARDU to get the initial ISO generated with the ISOs I wanted, and went on my own from there.
The Project Objective:
My overall goal of this project is to provide a simplified menu system that's easy to read and understand, while remaining aesthetically pleasing to technicians. I wanted something elegant, but not too distracting. (I figured the blurred wallpaper I made with the menu's drop-shadow looked good enough.) I didn't want it to come across as too technical-looking, or confusing. I also didn't want a butt-ugly DOS-style menu. This is 2014, and there is no need for that anymore... So I did what I could to spruce things up, within the constraints of ISOLINUX. The final generated ISO image of MediCat DVD will always be under 4GB for FAT32 storage purposes, beginning with the v6.10.2014 release.
Testing:
I periodically test my ISO in Virtualbox and VMware, whenever I make enough drastic changes in PowerISO UltraISO. (PowerISO 6.0 is now bundled with adware by Conduit Ltd. called "Search Protect". For this reason alone, I can no longer promote or support the use of PowerISO) All the artwork was generated by myself from scratch in Photoshop (Yes, I'm aware that I have borrowed and re-purposed the Nyan Cat), and all menus have been extensively modified*, with some parts re-written completely to function as I needed them to. Constant testing to make sure the boot paths are correct takes a large part of my time, but is always necessary.
DOWNLOADS:
Click the icon below for the Full 3.99GB MediCat DVD
The DVD version Includes Linux Mint, Mini Windows 7, and everything in the screenshots below. Burn the ISO image to a blank DVD+/-R, and the disc created will be bootable.
Size: 3.99 GB (4,293,044,224 bytes)
SHA-1: 1B50539A579FF32B092D56AEA94CBF6B188FF1F2
MD5: CCEE44237B3B0A6AA2DAF99971A04641
CRC32: 9186E3B7
Click the icon below for the 1.41GB Mini Windows 7 DVD
This is just the Mini Windows 7 DVD ISO by itself. Burn the ISO image to a blank DVD+/-R, and the disc created will be bootable.
Size: 1.41 GB (1,521,985,536 bytes)
SHA-1: DFCA5B5BD9FBB53A9AB69D9712B8E0FC9AFE2699
MD5: B1C79326C149BB0329C80EAA6699A3C2
CRC32: 48D9ECD7
Click the icon below for the 1.8GB Mini Windows 7 USB
The USB version only includes Mini Windows 7, with it's robust collection of utilities. 2GB flash drive or larger required, and flashing software "ImageUSB" is included, along with clear flashing instructions.
Size: 1.8GB (1,888,655,601 bytes)
SHA-1: 4A220623415D1B8B3FB7EC290CDB6274E17C6BAA
MD5: 4B9C97A01FE435A5A1C3AF6041EADA67
CRC32: 014986F5
Changelog for v12.10.2014:
- Removed "AOMEI Partition Assistant" ISO, because I added the program to Mini Windows 7 instead, recovering over 100MB of disc space
- Removed "Windows Defender" ISO, as it was replaced by Avira and Avast in Mini Windows 7
- Removed "Reset User Passwords" ISO in the Windows Recovery menu, as it was replaced by similar applications in Mini Windows 7
- Removed an empty "SOURCES" folder from the root of the DVD, as well as a duplicate isolinux.cfg file
- Downgraded TrueCrypt from version 7.2 to version 7.1a; The last known "good" version, as suggested by jonthedit
- Added Memtest86+ v4.3.5 and Memtest86+ v5.01 to Diagnostic Tools menu
- Added support URL to the F1 "About" page, URL takes you to page 1 of this thread
- Added "MediCat DVD Help Thread" desktop shortcut in Mini Windows 7, which also takes you to page 1 of this thread
- Fixed "Boot 1st Harddisk" entry from "localboot hdd0" to "localboot 0x80", which now boots hdd0 as it should
- Fixed a few incorrect instances of the "<== Back" entry being in the incorrect position on a few of the sub-menus
- Fixed minor design inconsistencies in the Linux Mint menu
- Fixed some incorrect boot paths on the menus from the beta, everything boots fine again
- Updated SOPHOS Antivirus ISO to v5.08 (Latest as of 11/19/2014)
- Updated ISOLINUX to v6.03, which has EFI support (This was NO EASY TASK!!!)
- Updated Dos4grub (grub.exe) to v0.4.5c (latest stable build as of 11/30/2014)
- Updated Linux Mint (Cinnamon, 64-bit) to 17.1 (LTS)
Mini Windows 7 changes:
- Made a 1024x768 MediCat Wallpaper
- Integrated Driverpacks for Chipset, Mass Storage, LAN, WLAN, and GPU from Driverpacks.net directly into 7.WIM, to get majority of important hardware working automatically upon bootup.
- Updated 3DP_Chip to v14.9
- Updated 7zip to v9.34 alpha
- Updated Ammyy Admin to v3.5
- Updated Avira and Avast definitions to their latest as of Oct 6th, 2014
- Updated BOOTICE to v1.3.2
- Updated Bulk Rename Utility to v2.7.1.3
- Updated CloneSpy to v3.13
- Updated Complete Internet Repair to v2.1.0.2103
- Updated CPU-Z to v1.71
- Updated CrystalDiskInfo to v6.2.1
- Updated DiskCryptor to v1.1.846.118
- Updated DTaskManager to v 1.53
- Updated DriveImage XML to v2.50
- Updated DSynchronize to v2.30.6
- Updated Everything to v1.3.4.686
- Updated Explore2fs to v1.08 beta 9
- Updated Firefox Portable to v33.1
- Updated GPU-Z to v0.8.0
- Updated HDClone to v5.0.6
- Updated HiJackThis to it's latest as of Oct 16th, 2014
- Updated HitmanPro to it's latest as of Oct 16th, 2014
- Updated HWiNFO32 to v4.46-2330
- Updated ImgBurn to v2.5.8.0
- Updated IfranView to v4.38
- Updated JkDefrag to v3.36
- Updated LicenseCrawler to v1.43 (build 732)
- Updated McAfee Removal Tool to v7.6.133.0
- Updated Malwarebytes Antimalware setup file to it's latest as of Oct 16th, 2014
- Updated MyDefrag to v4.3.1
- Updated Norton Removal Tool to it's latest as of Oct 16th, 2014
- Updated Notepad++ to v6.6.9
- Updated Notepad2 to v4.2.25
- Updated NTFS Access to v2.2
- Updated NTPWEdit to v0.4
- Updated NTREGOPT to latest version as of 11/12/2014
- Updated ODIN to v0.3.4.308
- Updated Opera Portable to v25.0.1614.68 Dev Test 1
- Updated Partition Assistant to v5.5.8
- Updated Partition Find and Mount to v2.31
- Updated PartitionGuru to v4.6.5
- Updated Passware Kit to Forensic v10.0 build 1772
- Updated PC Decrapifier to v 2.3.1
- Updated PC-Wizard to latest version as of 2/13/2014
- Updated PhotoFiltre to v6.5.3
- Updated Piriform tools (Ccleaner, Defraggler, Recuva, and Speccy) updated to latest versions as of Oct 6th, 2014
- Updated Power Data Recovery to v6.8
- Updated Prime95 to v28.5
- Updated PuTTY to v0.63
- Updated Raid Reconstructor to v4.32
- Updated RegEditPE to v1.0a
- Updated RegWorkshop to v4.6.3
- Updated RemoveFakeAntivirus to v1.99
- Updated Revo Uninstaller to v1.95
- Updated RMPREPUSB to v2.1.0.720
- Updated Roadkil's apps' latest versions as of 11/13/2014
- Updated Rufus to v1.4.12
- Updated SD Formatter to v4.0
- Updated ShadowExplorer to v0.9.462.0
- Updated SIW to v2011.10.29 Home Edition
- Updated SkyIAR AIDA64 to v4.70.3200
- Updated Smart Partition Recovery to v2.5
- Updated SoftPerfect File Recovery to v1.2
- Updated SoftPerfect Network Scanner to v5.5.12
- Updated SpaceSniffer to v1.2.0.1
- Updated Spread32 to v2.05
- Updated SumatraPDF to v3.0
- Updated SuperAnti-Spyware to v6.0.0.1158 (+Updates as of 11/13/2014)
- Updated System Explorer to v6.0.1.5281
- Updated TDSSKiller to v3.0.0.41
- Updated TeamViewer to v9.0.32494
- Updated TeraCopy to v2.3.0.0
- Updated TestDisk+PhotoRec to v7.0-WIP
- Updated Tftpd32 to v4.50
- Updated TightVNC to v2.7.10
- Updated TrID to v2.10
- Updated TrueCrypt to v7.1a
- Updated Ultimate Windows Tweaker to 2.2 (for Windows Vista/7)
- Updated UltraISO to v9.6.1.3016
- Updated Unlocker to v1.9.2
- Updated WinKeyFinder to v1.75
- Updated WinMerge to v2.14.0
- Updated WinRAR to v5.20 Beta 3
- Updated WinSCP to v5.6.6 (build 4746)
- Updated wxHexEditor to v0.22
- Updated XXClone to v2.06.5
Screenshots:
Mini Windows 7:
FAQs:
"Will this boot on my Mac?"
Yes, provided your Mac is an Intel Mac, and not of the PowerPC architecture. The DVD has been updated to Isolinux 6.04, with EFI support.
"Is it free?"
Absolutely. I'm not hellbent on making money from my efforts. I am just in it to better my knowledge, and if others can benefit from my creation, so be it.
"How often will this be updated?"
All included ISOs on the DVD image will be updated to their latest versions, shortly following each release of Linux Mint every 6 months. The link here will be updated to the latest version, always.
"My computer won't boot the DVD, what's up?"
Make sure your BIOS is set to boot from CD-ROM drive, before the harddrive. If using a PC with an EFI, try disabling Secure Boot, and try again. Alternatively, there's usually an F-key Boot Menu you can bring up during POST. (Mine is F12, yours may differ)
"If anyone can make these bootable DVDs and USB sticks, what makes yours so special?"
Nothing, really. Just simplicity, and convenience on my part. Everything is subjective to opinion of usefulness. My DVD may not be everyone's cup of tea, but f it helps you in the field, yay.
*I have also removed any and all ties to SARDU, there is no evidence to suggest the ISO was generated by SARDU. This isn't to claim that I made the ISO myself, because I didn't; SARDU did. I just find it annoying to have their logos plastered everywhere within the ISO. The structural integrity was created entirely by SARDU, I only edited their initial ISO from their provided GUI.