______ |

L,. ', falconfour's | april-1-2013 |

\ ',_ ultimate boot CD | procrastination ftw. |
\ @ ', |
\ ^~^ ', |
\ NR ', |
\___'98fw ',_ _..----.._ |
[______ "'==.I\_____________..--"<__\\_n@___4\,_ |
,..-=T __ ____________ \/ "'" O<== ""-+.._ |
I____|_____ }_>=========I>=**""''==-------------==- " | "'-.,___ |
[_____,.--'" _______ ""--=<""-----=====+==--''"" |
""'-=+..,,__,-----,_____| | -=* | |
|__ / |---,--'"---+------+-'" |
""" d"b=" '-----+t |
q_p '@ |
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F A L C O N F O U R P R O U D L Y P R E S E N T S |
-----------+-------------------------------------+----------+-----------------+
T I T L E | FalconFour's Ultimate Boot CD v4.6 | D A T E | April 1, 2013 |
-----------+-------------------------------------+----------+-----------------+
D E S C R I P T I O N |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

You've just downloaded the last diagnostic boot CD you will ever need.

In this boot CD are the most popular and useful tools anyone would ever need.
The best of the free software, the best of the commercial software, and it all
fits on one CD-R that's readable by any computer worth booting on. Not
everything can read a DVD, and USB booting is hit and miss at best.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
P R O L O G U E |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Hola amigos. I don't speak Spanish, but, you know, trying to stay hip. Like
actually releasing a new version, that sounds like an awesome idea, doesn't it?
Hell, v4.5 had so many holes that've been fixed in v4.6, it made 4.5 look like
Swiss cheese. And I'm sure the Swiss have even used this thing. It's been all
the way around the internet and back - in fact, v4.6 was created on a laptop I
bought from a guy on eBay (just shopping around) that uses my disc as well! I
was amazed. This thing has seen some mileage.

Meanwhile, since the last release in 2011, more has changed. I wrote off the
dry, stale corporate IT world of wastefulness and over-powered, under-utilized
systems and unnecessary, poorly planned "cloud" services. Currently unemployed
(at least, as of this release!), I found some time to put some major polish on
MiniXP and get everything working well. Still would love to work in computer
repair. Anyone? I'll even move. Anything? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

This disc, an even more minor single-point revision, is actually a huge MiniXP
update. Other tools have been updated, like Memtest86+, which has been replaced
with the more frequently updated Memtest86, with a smarter loading mechanism.
Tons of updates in MiniXP. AHCI support, for one thing. Better driver support
for network and wireless drivers, faster (and more reliable) startup, better
error reporting/catching, better graphics, better compatibility with more tools
and software, and... Flash support in the latest Portable Firefox! Yes, you can
watch YouTube from MiniXP now. And access TeamViewer/LogMeIn which uses Flash.
LOTS of work has been put into polishing the startup routine and compatibility.
Plenty of features from v4.5: Virtual Floppy enables you to mount images from a
USB stick to be used in a boot selection like MiniXP (for F6 SATA/RAID drivers)
or FreeDOS (Dell option). VFD with file copy allows you to make a <1mb RAR file
accessible to DR-DOS or Hiren's DOS in a virtual floppy. Wireless drivers in
MiniXP along with improved Ethernet and storage support. Mini Linux provided by
RIP Linux. Bootable partition and imaging utilities provided by Acronis True
Image and EASEUS Partition Manager. Improved Memtest86+ with failsafe mode to
resolve startup hangs. Kon-Boot 1.1 is really v1.1 now, with support for 32-bit
and 64-bit Windows. Tons of new utilities in MiniXP with new launchers to
provide easier access. ERD 5.0 is integrated with MiniXP for offline system
restore and service/driver management, and Microsoft DaRT 6.5 (x86 and x64) are
added to support Windows Vista and 7. Antivirus scanning with real-time updates
is provided by DaRT 6.5's Standalone System Sweeper, and allows you to load
definitions to a USB stick for live updating.

This ain't yo mama's BartPE compilation.

Once you dive into this disc, you'll never need another boot CD.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
O N T H E D I S C |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Based on F4UBCD v4.5 with MiniXP from Hiren's 15.2, heavily modified.
MiniXP gutted and rebuilt with new, flexible on-disc scripting, for easy mods.
Active File Recovery 7.5.1
CCleaner
CPU-Z
HWMonitor
MS DaRT 5 / ERD Commander 2005 utilities
HD Tune Pro 5
ImgBurn
Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder 2.0.8
MyDefrag 4.3.1 with FullOptimize script
NirSoft collection 2/1/2013, now with 90% fewer antivirus false alarms
SoftPerfect Network Scanner 5.1.2
TreeSize Personal 5.4.4
Firefox Portable
Shiny graphics that make the room smell nicer

And of course, a slew of utilities from Hiren's disc, some updated, including:
EzPcFix, Acronis Disk Director, ATF Cleaner, Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware updated
11/6/2012, Bulk Rename Utility, Combofix updated 2/16/2013, Defraggler, Speccy,
Content Advisor Password Remover, Recuva, Diskview, Filemon, Regmon, Procmon,
DriveImageXML, GetDataBack, Recover My Files, Ghost32 11.5.1, ISOBuster,
GImageX (ImageX GUI), SUPERAntiSpyware, IrfanView, NTPWEdit, Partition Magic,
TeraCopy, TightVNC Server/Viewer, Unstoppable Copier, Victoria, MHDD, WinRAR,
and 7-Zip
... among others.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
C H A N G E L O G |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
4.6, Apr-1-13: Many modifications to MiniXP. AHCI/RAID support (not quite
universal yet due to architecture). Firefox update with Flash
support. Memtest86 instead of Memtest86+. Streamlined boot menu
configuration. Made USB setup easier with BootICE. ImageX front
and center on the desktop now, as well as some additional new
icons. Vastly improved MiniXP startup process. PDF, Word, Excel
 file viewing support. Replaced a billion references to outdated
portable Opera browser in MiniXP with Firefox. Much improved
network driver support. Battery support. Power management
support (no longer roasts laptop CPUs while in MiniXP). Added
keyboard switcher in tray. More sane date/time display.
4.5, Mar-12-11: Integration with HBCD 13.0. Gutted, rebuilt, tested, tweaked,
all over again. And yes, plenty of that changing-1-letter thing
again. Had to do that a lot with the boot WIMs. Added Mini
Linux (no modifications; I don't use Linux). Added lots of new
and updated utilities. Virtual Floppy. Wireless in MiniXP.
WIM-based MiniXP with loading progress bar. Kon-Boot 1.1. DaRT
6.5 x86 and x64. Removed Opera for Firefox. Oh, Chrome, how I
wish you weren't so huge...
4.0, Jul-30-10: Complete rewrite from scratch (HBCD 10.6). Gutted, rebuilt,
tested, tweaked, added, removed, retested, changed 1 letter,
retested... the whole mess. Of significance, this new version
is designed to allow people to add and remove programs as they
see fit, instead of having everything hard-coded. Windows
Recovery Console was removed since it's completely fucking
useless with no driver support, and the MiniXP system can do it
all anyway (even has F6 floppy support).
3.0, 3.5, ????: Internal release only due to politics. Sorry for the looooong
delay!
2.0, Jan-15-09: Removed DriverPacks from CD. They're pretty much useless and
add 180mb to the download size, which could otherwise be used
on, say, a fat-ass spacer file. Also added a guide and tools to
make F4UBCD USB-bootable! And it all fits on an old 650mb CD-R
instead of requiring a 700mb CD-R. Corrected a minor issue with
the Grub4Dos menu.lst file which should allow it to boot
properly from HD0. Labeled for public release due to being
decomissioned by F4UBCD 2.5 in-shop.
2.5, Jan-4-09: Not for your eyes quite yet ;) Hiren's 10.1, Memtest86+ 4.0,
and a few others...
2.0, Aug-14-09: Removed UBCD4Win (too unstable, bulky, doesn't recognize USB
KB/mouse even if BIOS does). Replace Vista repair with DaRT 6.0
(same but with added DaRT tools). Replaced BCDW with Grub4Dos
(kickass startup graphic & supports Kon-Boot). Updated Hiren's
BootCD to 9.9, with various mods (left malware tools intact now
that I have the room with UBCD4Win gone). Removed countless
superfluous utils from Programs folder. Replaced Memtest-86
with Memtest86+. Made a shiny new CD graphic. *whew*
1.5, Apr-11-09: Updated to Hiren's 9.8 DOS+XP. Added ERD Commander (MS DaRT
5.0). Added SpinRite to Hiren's DOS disc (under Hard Drive
utilities page 1). Added Dell MBR recovery tool. Compressed ISO
using RAR for faster downloading.
1.0, Feb-8-09: Original release.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
E P I L O G U E |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Next time you hear a plane flying by, look up and say thanks. It may not be me,
and you're not saying thanks for making this disc. You're saying thanks for that
guy keeping you safe when you fly, or keeping the country safe when others fly
where they're not supposed to. Who knows, maybe one day that person you look up
and say thanks to might actually be me.

But _never_ be afraid to fly. Never be afraid to do your best work and let the
world enjoy it. Never let someone tell you not to try something because it's
stupid. Turn off the recommended settings. Break your computer and learn to fix
it. Or just go back to Farmville, your choice.

Question everything.

Google is your friend if you want to contact me. Facebook works too:
facebook.com/F4UBCD

PS: seriously, go test drive an electric car, it'll change your world forever.
(google: "Tesla Model S", "Nissan LEAF")

------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
T H A N K S |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Hiren (www.hiren.info) - go donate. Some amazing work in MiniXP and others, it
really couldn't be done without the amazing MiniXP. Just, someone, please
tell the guy that "XP" is an acronym meant to be capitalized ;)
Nir Sofer (www.nirsoft.net) - also go donate. Can't even believe how many
amazing tools this guy has come up with. NirCmd is a very useful scripting
extension tool that's used throughout F4UBCD.
Facebook fans (fb.com/f4ubcd) - sometimes a pain in the rear, but most of the
time it's awesome to hear from everyone using the CD. You guys are the
reason v4.6 now exists - with v5.0 on the way! Thanks!
Piotr Bania(.com) for the excellent work on Kon-Boot. I never thought it was
possible...
Google - no, wait, I take this one back. Pretty much every time I
encountered a problem during this build, I could Google it, but get nothing
but garbage results. Wasting time, wasting effort, and just making me
miserable. Google, clean up your search algorithm. Stop replacing my
keywords with similar (but irrelevant) words. Stop putting them out of
order and scattering them throughout totally unrelated pages. If I search
for "reload explorer locale win pe", that doesn't mean I'm looking for
"WinXP" (no, I "didn't mean"). Not "Basic Windows deployment". Not "Adding
RAM drive to winpe". Worthless crap. Get your act together, Google.
ThePirateBay.org for hosting this disc and for providing MS DaRT after MS
stopped supporting it.
deadmau5 - Keeping up the awesome. Even with two and a half hearts.
Lockheed Martin - I dunno if the plans for building an F-16 just came to
some General Dynamics engineer from the heavens or something, but I still
believe it's the single most beautiful thing ever created by man. Just wish
you could convince the USAF to buy some new model F-16s.
Anyone responsible for bird of prey preservation and education - Keeping
the falcon's spirit alive in physical form is just as important as keeping
it alive in digital form. I just wish people would stop thinking of
dinosaurs when they hear about "raptors"... bah.
Driverpacks.net for giving me a good target to shoot shit at. I hold out
some hope that some day you can get your shit together and quit being a
bunch of pretentious douchebags, and get some relevant organization to
Graphics A, B, and C. Maybe even (finally) a Vista/7 version, too.
http://forum.driverpacks.net/viewtopic.php?id=3515
http://www.xcski.com/~ptomblin/planes.txt for the kickass F-16 ASCII art in the
header :)
Microsoft - making stuff that breaks, so us geeks have something to do.