Boot Camp, physical disk and needing to boot from a USB tool

[havinabubble]

OSX 10.10.5 (Yosemite)

VMware Fusion 7.1.3

physical disk Windows 8.1

plpbt-5.0.15.iso / .img

USB - Windows Password Unlocker

The original problem seemed simple enough: Lenovo desktop Windows 8.1 PC with a forgotten admin password, needs resetting.

Sourced a suitable reset tool (WPU), made the flash drive using my guest OS in VMware

returned to site. But not for a love of trying, I could not, would not, get it to boot from the USB attached to the desktop PC!

After limited research (as the Internet connection was offline on site that day) it seemed to have a protected BIOS: that shuts off the ability to boot from USB or allow alternate boot methods (but don't quote me)

so I removed the hard drive...

Back to the safety of my 10.10.5 (Yosemite) iMac and a working Internet connection, I discover how to boot VMware from USB (thanks to Plop Boot Manager) and I test the Windows Password Unlocker USB on my Windows 8.1 guest OS.

HUZZAH!

Attached the physical disk via USB drive dock to my VMware Fusion, using the Bootcamp Guest option, it boots fine!

BUT I just cannot get it to change the boot sequence to anything other than the physical drive :smileyangry:

If I create a new Guest and test it, then change its boot method to Plop it works fine, every time!

I just cannot get THIS Boot Camp guest to go via the plop image, iso OR bootable USB

any advice appreciated

TIA

[havinabubble]

is it possible that the:

/Users/username/Library/Application Support/VMware Fusion/Virtual Machines/Boot Camp/Boot Camp.vmwarevm/Boot Camp.vmdk

file syntax is OVERULING the Guest OS settings that I select from the GUI?

I just tried a simple test of turning OFF the physical drive and it threw the following error up & gave me an idea:

Unable to open file "/Users/username/Library/Application Support/VMware Fusion/Virtual Machines/Boot Camp/Boot Camp.vmwarevm/Boot Camp.vmdk":

On a working Windows 8.1 Guest OS

I set the Windows Password Unlocker USB flash drive to CONNECT TO WINDOWS

I set the CD to boot from plpbt.iso

and I goto Startup Disk and select CD

Guest OS then boots into Plop,

I make sure the USB is mounted in the VM icons,

and then I select USB from the Plop menu and it boots into the Windows Unlocker on the physical USB

this then displays all the Admin accounts of the Guest OS!

....but via Bootcamp, it boots straight into Windows EVERYTIME! :smileyconfused:

# Disk DescriptorFile

version=1

encoding="UTF-8"

CID=2e4a0f7c

parentCID=ffffffff

isNativeSnapshot="no"

createType="partitionedDevice"

# Extent description

RW 34 FLAT "Boot Camp-pt.vmdk" 0

RDONLY 2014 FLAT "/dev/disk2" 34 partitionUUID @disk:diskModel=EZEX-08M2NA0,diskSize=1000204886016,diskVendor=WDC|20WD10

RW 2048000 ZERO

RW 532480 FLAT "/dev/disk2s2" 0 partitionUUID @partition:diskModel=EZEX-08M2NA0,diskSize=1000204886016,diskVendor=WDC|20WD10,partSize=272629760,partOffset=1049624576,partMediaUUID=DB4D55C3-04E2-49C0-954A-6005F3D17488,partVolumeUUID=CCD539E6-3762-3C1D-AAA1-B477A80B9F37

RW 1024000 ZERO

RW 262144 ZERO

RW 1897533440 FLAT "/dev/disk2s5" 0 partitionUUID @partition:diskModel=EZEX-08M2NA0,diskSize=1000204886016,diskVendor=WDC|20WD10,partSize=971537121280,partOffset=1980760064,partMediaUUID=B6F1892F-32CC-4F4E-8D3D-4D59A11BFDFF,partVolumeUUID=61405D9A-3971-4EB3-B689-DEEC737D4D16

RW 921600 ZERO

RW 51200000 ZERO

RW 1423 ZERO

RW 33 FLAT "Boot Camp-pt.vmdk" 34

# The Disk Data Base

#DDB

ddb.adapterType = "ide"

ddb.geometry.biosCylinders = "1024"

ddb.geometry.biosHeads = "255"

ddb.geometry.biosSectors = "63"

ddb.geometry.cylinders = "121601"

ddb.geometry.heads = "255"

ddb.geometry.sectors = "63"

ddb.longContentID = "d7b9c22d137a6bc11d3a48c42e4a0f7c"

ddb.uuid = "60 00 C2 90 f9 24 03 d3-be 6b 52 62 50 0b be bd"

ddb.virtualHWVersion = "11"

[ChipMcK]

VMware Fusion does not boot from USB drive.

It will boot from virtual CD/DVD drive [.ISO]  and virtual hard drive [.VMDK].

smooth sailing!

[havinabubble]

cheers for the reply ChipMcK however VMware Fusion boots fine from USB if you use Plop Boot Manager

what I cant get to happen is it to interrupt this Boot Camp physical Volume from only booting from itself.

I have  tested using PBM and Windows Password Unlocker on USB with a Windows 7 Guest OS & Windows 8.1 Guest OS and both worked fine

its just THIS physical disk.

Currently ImportingBootCamp from the physical and see if I can boot from USB with that version

[ChipMcK]

I vaguely recall using a 'windows dual boot manager' to enable me to set a delay so  that  i got

control between the boot loader and windows. This permitted use of safe mode, etc.

smooth sailing

[havinabubble]

hmmm ok I'll look into that one, cheers

So having ImportedBootCamp, I still cannot interrupt the boot sequence :smileyangry:

what is different about a Boot Camp related Win 8.1 Guest OS and a manually installed Windows 8.1? which I can interrupt.

one good thing, I can actually SHUTDOWN the OS correctly (couldn't do that before when talking direct to the physical drive)

[havinabubble]

so with the words WINDOWS BOOT and MANAGER ringing in my ears from a previous reply, it got me a thinking...

I've noticed that for a nanosecond I'm seeing a message displayed on both these Guests that I think reads "Attempting to start up from Windows Boot Manager" (it flashes so fast I cannot quite make it out)

so I've begun sniffing around UEFI and BIOS and EFI VMware references regarding secure boot and Windows 8.1

if I change some of the EFI VMware boot order settings I can get it to fail in DIFFERENT ways :smileymischief:

but does ANYONE know what setting I need to change to stop what appears to be a Secure Boot happening with this Boot Camp volume and let me startup from something other than the installed Windows 8.1?

TIA