Rufus detected XP SP3 ISO as WinPE so that can't boot from USB.

[stormbeforesunsetbee]

Win XP SP3 ISO log:

Rufus version: 1.4.9.506
Syslinux versions: 4.07, 5.10
Windows version: Windows 8.1 32 bit
Locale ID: 0x0421
Found VHD device 'Microsoft Virtual Disk'
1 device found
Disk type: Fixed, Sector Size: 512 bytes
Cylinders: 484, TracksPerCylinder: 255, SectorsPerTrack: 63
Partition type: MBR, NB Partitions: 1
Disk ID: 0xEF326138
Drive has a Windows 7 Master Boot Record
Partition 1:
  Type: NTFS (0x07)
  Size: 3.7 GB (3981443072 bytes)
  Start Sector: 128, Boot: No, Recognized: Yes
Scanning image...
Disc image is an ISO9660 image
Checking txtsetup.sif:
  OsLoadOptions = /fastdetect /noguiboot /nodebug
ISO label: 'GRTMPVOL_EN'
  Size: 605831168 bytes
  Has a >64 chars filename: No
  Has Symlinks: No
  Has a >4GB file: No
  Uses ReactOS: No
  Uses KolibriOS: No
  Uses EFI: No
  Uses Bootmgr: No
  Uses WinPE: Yes
  Uses isolinux: No
Using ISO: Windows XP SP3.iso

Format operation started
Requesting disk access...
Caution: Opened drive \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE2 for write access
Will use 'H:' as volume mountpoint
I/O boundary checks disabled
Analyzing existing boot records...
Drive has a Windows 7 Master Boot Record
Volume has an unknown Partition Boot Record
Deleting partitions...
Closing existing volume...
Clearing MBR/PBR/GPT structures...
Erasing 128 sectors
Partitioning (MBR)...
Waiting for logical drive to reappear...
Formatting (NTFS)...
Using cluster size: 4096 bytes
Quick format was selected
Creating file system: Task 1/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 2/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 3/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 4/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 5/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 6/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 7/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 8/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 9/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 10/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 11/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 12/12 completed
Format completed.
Writing master boot record...
Drive has a Zeroed Master Boot Record
Set bootable USB partition as 0x81
Using Rufus MBR
Found volume GUID \\?\Volume{e7d9b017-0d7c-11e4-98bd-001f167e0f06}\
Volume is already mounted, but as F: instead of H: - Unmounting...
Caution: Opened drive \\?\Volume{e7d9b017-0d7c-11e4-98bd-001f167e0f06} for write access
Writing partition boot record...
Using Standard NTFS partition boot record
Confirmed new volume has an NTFS boot sector
Successfully remounted Volume{e7d9b017-0d7c-11e4-98bd-001f167e0f06}\ on H:\
Copying ISO files...
Extracting files...
Disc image is an ISO9660 image
This image will be extracted using Joliet extensions (if present)

[SORRY I'M REMOVE EXTRACTION PROCESS LOG BECAUSE THERE ARE 7057 LINES]

Successfully added 'SetupSourceDevice = "\device\harddisk1\partition1"' to H:\txtsetup.sif
Patching file H:\BOOTMGR
  0x000226CA: '\minint\txtsetup.sif' -> '\i386\txtsetup.sif'
  0x0002275E: '\minint\system32\' -> '\i386\system32\'
  0x000226A3: '$WIN_NT$.~BT' -> 'i386'
  0x0002277F: '$WIN_NT$.~BT\' -> 'i386\'
  0x0003763B: 'rdisk(0)' -> 'rdisk(1)'
  0x0003765F: 'rdisk(0)' -> 'rdisk(1)'
  0x00037723: 'rdisk(0)' -> 'rdisk(1)'
Finalizing, please wait...
H:autorun.inf already exists - keeping it
NTFS Fixup (Checkdisk)...
Volume label is GRTMPVOL_EN.

Stage 1: Examining basic file system structure ...
  7424 file records processed.
File verification completed.
  0 large file records processed.
  0 bad file records processed.

Stage 2: Examining file name linkage ...
  7792 index entries processed.
Index verification completed.

Stage 3: Examining security descriptors ...
Security descriptor verification completed.
  184 data files processed.

Windows has scanned the file system and found no problems.
No further action is required.

   3890175 KB total disk space.
    642204 KB in 7066 files.
      1800 KB in 186 indexes.
     29463 KB in use by the system.
     21504 KB occupied by the log file.
   3216708 KB available on disk.
      4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
    972543 total allocation units on disk.
    804177 allocation units available on disk.
NTFS Fixup completed.

Found VHD device 'Microsoft Virtual Disk'
1 devices found
Disk type: Fixed, Sector Size: 512 bytes
Cylinders: 484, TracksPerCylinder: 255, SectorsPerTrack: 63
Partition type: MBR, NB Partitions: 1
Disk ID: 0x000AC022
Drive has a Rufus Master Boot Record
Partition 1:
  Type: NTFS (0x07)
  Size: 3.7 GB (3983540224 bytes)
  Start Sector: 2048, Boot: Yes, Recognized: Yes

Whereas real BartPE ISO log are:

Rufus version: 1.4.9.506
Syslinux versions: 4.07, 5.10
Windows version: Windows 8.1 32 bit
Locale ID: 0x0421
Found VHD device 'Microsoft Virtual Disk'
1 device found
Disk type: Fixed, Sector Size: 512 bytes
Cylinders: 484, TracksPerCylinder: 255, SectorsPerTrack: 63
Partition type: MBR, NB Partitions: 1
Disk ID: 0x000AC022
Drive has a Rufus Master Boot Record
Partition 1:
  Type: NTFS (0x07)
  Size: 3.7 GB (3983540224 bytes)
  Start Sector: 2048, Boot: Yes, Recognized: Yes
Scanning image...
Disc image is an ISO9660 image
Checking txtsetup.sif:
  OsLoadOptions = /fastdetect /minint
ISO label: 'BartPE'
  Size: 164810752 bytes
  Has a >64 chars filename: No
  Has Symlinks: No
  Has a >4GB file: No
  Uses ReactOS: No
  Uses KolibriOS: No
  Uses EFI: No
  Uses Bootmgr: No
  Uses WinPE: Yes (with /minint)
  Uses isolinux: No
Using ISO: pebuilder.iso

Format operation started
Requesting disk access...
Caution: Opened drive \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE2 for write access
Will use 'H:' as volume mountpoint
I/O boundary checks disabled
Analyzing existing boot records...
Drive has a Rufus Master Boot Record
Volume has an unknown Partition Boot Record
Deleting partitions...
Closing existing volume...
Clearing MBR/PBR/GPT structures...
Erasing 128 sectors
Partitioning (MBR)...
Waiting for logical drive to reappear...
Formatting (NTFS)...
Using cluster size: 4096 bytes
Quick format was selected
Creating file system: Task 1/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 2/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 3/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 4/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 5/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 6/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 7/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 8/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 9/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 10/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 11/12 completed
Creating file system: Task 12/12 completed
Format completed.
Writing master boot record...
Drive has a Zeroed Master Boot Record
Set bootable USB partition as 0x80
Using Windows 7 MBR
Found volume GUID \\?\Volume{e7d9b0b9-0d7c-11e4-98bd-001f167e0f06}\
Volume is already mounted, but as F: instead of H: - Unmounting...
Caution: Opened drive \\?\Volume{e7d9b0b9-0d7c-11e4-98bd-001f167e0f06} for write access
Writing partition boot record...
Using Standard NTFS partition boot record
Confirmed new volume has an NTFS boot sector
Successfully remounted Volume{e7d9b0b9-0d7c-11e4-98bd-001f167e0f06}\ on H:\
Copying ISO files...
Extracting files...
Disc image is an ISO9660 image
This image will be extracted using Joliet extensions (if present)

[SORRY I'M REMOVE EXTRACTION PROCESS LOG BECAUSE THERE ARE 1216 LINES]

Patching file H:\BOOTMGR
  0x000226CA: '\minint\txtsetup.sif' -> '\i386\txtsetup.sif'
  0x0002275E: '\minint\system32\' -> '\i386\system32\'
Finalizing, please wait...
H:autorun.inf already exists - keeping it
NTFS Fixup (Checkdisk)...
Volume label is BartPE.

Stage 1: Examining basic file system structure ...
  1280 file records processed.
File verification completed.
  0 large file records processed.
  0 bad file records processed.

Stage 2: Examining file name linkage ...
  1344 index entries processed.
Index verification completed.

Stage 3: Examining security descriptors ...
Security descriptor verification completed.
  32 data files processed.

Windows has scanned the file system and found no problems.
No further action is required.

   3890175 KB total disk space.
    195064 KB in 1224 files.
       332 KB in 34 indexes.
     23319 KB in use by the system.
     21504 KB occupied by the log file.
   3671460 KB available on disk.
      4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
    972543 total allocation units on disk.
    917865 allocation units available on disk.
NTFS Fixup completed.

Found VHD device 'Microsoft Virtual Disk'
1 device found
Disk type: Fixed, Sector Size: 512 bytes
Cylinders: 484, TracksPerCylinder: 255, SectorsPerTrack: 63
Partition type: MBR, NB Partitions: 1
Disk ID: 0x001FDD97
Drive has a Windows 7 Master Boot Record
Partition 1:
  Type: NTFS (0x07)
  Size: 3.7 GB (3983540224 bytes)
  Start Sector: 2048, Boot: Yes, Recognized: Yes

Sorry I'm use VHD, because when I use flashdisk take a long time.

If you want full logs, download here

[pbatard]

WinPE is what you want to see for Windows XP, and I'm not seeing anything unusual here. Many people (including myself) have been using Windows XP SP3 ISOs with Rufus and not found an issue, so this is not a general problem. Unless you know precisely where each log message comes from, which you can only do by looking at the source, please don't try to interpret what they might mean. These messages are mostly to help me identify issues, and as such, because Windows XP and BartPE use the WinPE installation method, they will mention WinPE even for Windows XP.

From what I can tell from your report, the USB was created successfully and the problem is that your target computer can't seem to boot it, but, because the log doesn't mention anything that looks out of place, my guess is that your flash drive was created successfully and will most likely work on a different computer (regardless of whether BartPE boots). For instance, I have an old Dell machine where BartPE boots just fine, but the Windows XP install process produces a 7e error, which has to do with something specific that Dell have in their BIOS (which trying to figure out seems like a lot of effort for very little benefit, so I haven't pushed it further).

Do you see an error when XP doesn't boot? If so which is it? Have you tried on a different machine? Also did you modify your XP installation ISO in any way from the official one?

Finally, please be mindful that with XP having been officially retired, unless there is a general issue that affects all XP installations (which your issue isn't), anything that is related to XP will be very low priority as far as I'm concerned, because my time is limited and trying to help XP users with issues that only a handful of them are experiencing is just not worth the investment (but then again, the source for Rufus is free, so if XP users have a fix they would like to see apply, they can always invest time troubleshooting and send a patch).

[stormbeforesunsetbee]

Thank you for reply and inform. I have tried to burn the ISO to a CD and boot successfully. As well as on virtual machine. And even I install successfully.

Do you see an error when XP doesn't boot? If so which is it?

I do not see any error, but only a black screen appear and few seconds later the machine automatically boot from hard drive.

Have you tried on a different machine?

Yes, on Toshiba notebook, and same happens.

Also did you modify your XP installation ISO in any way from the official one?

I do not modify it.

XP having been officially retired

That mean XP now is free and open source. I am interested to install XP on my old notebook, also to improve game performance.

they can always invest time troubleshooting and send a patch

If I successful troubleshooting the problem, I will send patches.

[pbatard]

Unfortunately, I still can't reproduce the problem using the Windows XP with SP3 English ISO labelled GRTMPFPP_EN, which was downloaded from the MSDN. I tested again on an IBM Thinkpad T43p and I got the expected Press any key to boot from USB... message, and I have not received recent reports of issues when trying to install Windows XP SP3, so, if it seems to fail on multiple machines, I would tend to believe that the problem is with your ISO.

Can you tell if it's a non-English ISO? What is its label? (the label is the name that will appear in the New Volume Label control after the USB has been created). If you didn't download the ISO from a Microsoft server, did you use a physical CD to create the ISO? If so, what program and options did you use?

That mean XP now is free and open source

I'm afraid it doesn't work that way:

1. Microsoft has not released the sourcecode from Windows XP, so it's not Open Source
2. It's not because something is no longer on sale that it is free!

[stormbeforesunsetbee]

I would tend to believe that the problem is with your ISO. Can you tell if it's a non-English ISO? What is its label?

It's GRTMPVOL_EN, according to this article, my ISO is Volume Version, maybe that is why my old notebook bios can't boot my XP (on Flashdisk), may I need to download and try the FPP Version ISO to find out what happen.

If you didn't download the ISO from a Microsoft server, did you use a physical CD to create the ISO? If so, what program and options did you use?

I forget where I got the ISO, but according to this article, it's file name, label, size and SHA are matches with my ISO.

[pbatard]

The label shouldn't matter. I'll see if I can get access to a Windows XP Professional (SP3) VLK/Corporate/Volume to test with, but I must say that, ever since Microsoft retired Windows XP, anything that has to do with XP is very low priority for me...

[stormbeforesunsetbee]

I think so, installing XP not the important thing, and indeed should I sell (or dispose) my old notebook which is not useful anymore.

Sorry I waste your time. Thank you very much to Rufus, I love this app!

[pbatard]

I have now tested Windows XP Professional (SP3) VLK/Corporate/Volume (GRTMPVOL_EN, SHA-1: 66ac289ae27724c5ae17139227cbe78c01eefe40) and found no issue with the boot process, using the default Rufus options.

Thus I have to conclude that the problem is with your USB Flash Drive or, more likely, with the BIOS or boot options of the target computers you tested with...

[stormbeforesunsetbee]

The picture below is my options, are there any something wrong with my options? I'm using default Rufus options.

About Flashdisk, I bought it at the closeout market with very cheap price, because at that time I didn't have much money, and I don't really need high transfer speeds.

I don't fully understand about the BIOS or boot options, so I'm use default boot options. By the way, I'm not sold my old notebook, so I kept it in the storage for keepsakes. Oh I was reminded my memories to my pet cat. Let me tell you, my mom hates my cat because allergies, then she threw my cat far-far away, and I never found it. That's why I put my cat photo as a profile photo.

Back to the topic, I will send log to compare with your log. If next time doesn't work (for me), you can close this issue.

[pbatard]

closing issue.

[lock[bot]]

This thread has been automatically locked since there has not been any recent activity after it was closed. Please open a new issue if you think you have a related problem or query.