Introduction to BootIt™ Next Generation

This is the best disk management software anywhere, by a wide margin. Read what people are saying about it.        

One of the big challenges that computers users eventually face is when something goes wrong with their computer. All of a sudden one day it's not right anymore, it's locking up, crashing, acting strangely, maybe not booting at all. Maybe it just seems to have slowed down to a crawl. Now what do you do? You can't be without your computer. Do you take it to a computer store and pay $50-75/hr so some kid can look at it? Are you knowledgeable enough to fix any self-imposed problem with your computer software? Who is? Got a nerd friend that makes house calls? He probably won't be your friend for long if you pester him too much.

BootIt Next Generation is the ultimate solution to these worries. With the use of "on-the-fly" partitioning of the hard drive, partition images and multi-booting, it makes child's play of avoiding computer interruptions due to computer crashes and protecting important files, all with no CPU overhead. 

For example, I build custom computer systems, and the other day a client's son installed some software on his Windows XP computer which resulted in Windows XP refusing to load afterwards. I attempted to use XP's Repair Console but it just was not cooperating, the C: drive was badly damaged.  Because I had made a BootIt NG Image of the C: drive in advance, stored on the D: partition (also created with BootIt NG), I was able to restore the system to working condition in 10 minutes. Because I had relocated the Mail Store, My Documents, and Favorites folders to the D: drive in advance also, no essential data was lost.

Incidentally, you can easily run separate instances (copies) of Windows on the same computer, or run other Operating Systems like Linux at the same time also.

Read the Introduction and getting Started Guide before installing BootIt NG. You do not need to understand all the different options right away, but you should be familiar with the basic concepts before you begin..

Set up the BootIt NG Discussion Group This will allow you to get quick answers to all your questions from the author of BootIt NG and other experienced users. Here is the web-based version of that forum. Note, that is the place to get support for the product, not from me. The link in this section below is only to report issues with this website.

Terabyteunlimited issues free upgrades to the product frequently, it is wise to check the site  often for the latest version. As of May 07, 2007 the latest version is 1.80a.

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Screen Shots of BootIt™ Next Generation             ..click image for popup full sized view
Normal boot menu

The first screen that greets you is the Boot Menu. Select a menu item and press Boot to continue into your Operating System. The first time you will only see one entry, but later you can create many more. 

 

Direct boot menu

If you press the Direct Boot button you get this screen. The Direct Boot menu allows you to pick any partition and boot it, or boot floppy or CD-ROM. Direct Boot is very convenient for setting up new operating systems or making one-time boot configurations. 
Note on Direct Boot: All other partitions are hidden by Direct Boot if you choose to use unlimited primaries. See Settings, option 7.

 

Maintenance desktop

Maintenance is your BootIt NG central desktop. From here you can access all BootIt NG functions, Settings, Boot Edit, Partition Work, Backup & Restore and the others. From here you can resize, move, copy and image the partitions on your disks at will. You can create an  unlimited number of user specific boot configurations with administrator controllable security with full partition visibility and User control. NG makes it easier than ever to test new software (including operating systems) without endangering your work and family computing environments. NG allows you to completely control security, including blocking all access to the computer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Settings
  1. Timeout (until auto-boot)
  2. Sound events (create your own!)
  3. Background pattern 
  4. Direct Boot on/off
  5. Maintenance password
  6. Virus Check on/off
  7. Limit Primaries on/off
  8. Bootnow support (for quick switches from OS to OS)
  9. IT Mode  (turns all menus off)
  10. User security (system users & passwords)


 

Boot Edit

This menu controls how your boot menus are displayed, and you can add or remove boot menu items. Boot menu items are the core of BING. You begin by creating a partition with WWP, then you make a boot menu item for it, name it, then by pressing the Edit button you set up the boot parameters for the menu item, with the next screen, Edit Menu Item


 

Edit Menu Item

Here you configure your boot menu items. You determine which partition and hard drive will boot, which partitions will exist in that configuration and if they are hidden. Under "MBR Details", you can fill these from available partitions, simulating a "normal" MBR showing 4 primaries or less. Also available here are a keystroke input option, floppy, and "Next BIOS" (usually CD-ROM) booting. Boot sounds can be played, and you can actually create your own sound files with BootIt NG!

 
Work with Partitions  

WWP functions are nearly identical to Partition Magic, but faster. Moving a partition is called "Slide". BootIt NG also has the ability to "Image" a partition like Norton Ghost or Drive Image Pro.
 "Groups" allows, if you choose, to boot multiple operating systems from a single primary partition. 

 

  

Backup & Restore  

This tool allows you to backup and restore the master boot record of any hard disk with the click of a button. This will provide backup protection against damage to the MBR by a crash, virus or power surge.

Creating the disk

When creating the BING install disk you will be presented with two checkboxes, both checked by default. Leave them unless you have a problem

  • VESA display (and make BING use your own display adapter). one display may be better than the other for you.

  • Mouse support.  Some PCs with only USB mice will need to use their keyboards.

Highlight 1.44 Floppy and hit Enter and wait for the disk to be created, then reboot to install BootIt NG.

Installation tips

Boot with setup disk, click on OK to install.

You are asked if you want to enable more than four primary partitions.  If you are unclear what this means then say no. Saying no maintains compatibility with tools like fdisk and Partition Magic. You can change your mind at any time later and enable unlimited partitions using 'Settings'. You are strongly advised against use of any other partitioning tools while 'more than four primary partitions' is enabled.

Manual or Automatic installation? Choose Automatic unless you already know what you are doing. Manual reinstallation of BootIt NG (i.e. to a different location) can be done later.

Use a dedicated partition? Say yes if you know you have free, unpartitioned space on your disk, otherwise say no. It is possible at this point to partition right from the floppy disk, for more on this visit BootItng.com 

If you choose dedicated partition and no space is found? The only way to proceed is to say yes to shared partition and setup will continue.

When setup is completed successfully, remove the BING disk and reboot.

© Copyright Lee Chapelle 2000-2007. All rights reserved.