Boot loader offloaded to USB thumb drive

wwnexc · 05-12-2008, 01:07 AM

Hi,

I am trying to copy the booloader for a windows harddrive encryption program to a USB thumb drive, in order for the computer to only boot successfully from the thumb drive. I am intending on copying a wrong bootloader back on to the encrypted drive, in order to gain a certain level of plausible deniability.

I am wondering how I should configure grub and what i should do in order to get my little project to work.

I would greatly appreciate any help.

Thank you in advance,
wwnexc

Larry Webb · 05-12-2008, 06:34 AM

First will the computer boot usb first from bios? If it will install grub on the usb stick and change the mbr. That way the only way someone could boot would be with is with your usb or a copy of grub on a disk.

wwnexc · 05-14-2008, 09:29 PM

Any Ideas?

I am trying to put the windows bootloader of a whole disk encryption program on a USB thumb drive, in order for the machine to only show the "enter your password" screen when the thumb drive is connected, and return an error message from the bios because of a missing mbr otherwise.

I am wondering how i could configure GRUB / coax it into doing that.

@Larry Webb
Yes, my computer boots from thumb drives. I am wondering how to install grub to do just that.

Thanks in advance!

Larry Webb · 05-14-2008, 09:49 PM

I can not find it but read an article with a person writing a program that had a password program that operated with a floppy. This was used in a school where the room was unattended and they wanted the teacher to have control over the operation of the computers without passwords. Now days with the live cds or the boot rescue cds I would not think it would not be a useful program. Sorry for giving my view but maybe if that is the thing you are looking for another old timer might be able to point you in the right direction.

Larry Webb · 05-14-2008, 10:02 PM

Sorry for getting off track, here is an old thread that may help you

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...bdrive-613248/

wwnexc · 05-14-2008, 11:19 PM

I am trying to save the entire windows harddrive encryption program's boot loader onto the thumb drive. I am not sure if this is even possible, after reading the above links.

Is it possible for grub to load a copy of a bootloader from windows from its own thumbdrive and then boot into windows?

Larry Webb · 05-15-2008, 05:57 AM

Grub does not touch windows boot loader, it points to it or loads indirectly. When you dual boot with a windows installation grub does it with a method called 'chainloading'. Here is a link that explains more about chainloading and setup.

http://www.linuxquestions.org/linux/...ading_in_Linux