High-Performance Bootable USB Creator for Windows

Bootelware is a portable, single-executable Windows application that creates bootable USB drives from ISO images — Windows 11, Windows 10, Linux distributions, FreeDOS, rescue and diagnostic utilities.

Built entirely from scratch in C++17 using the Win32 API, Bootelware is 100% original code with zero external dependencies and zero runtime requirements.

Unlike other tools where users must manually choose between GPT and MBR partition schemes (often leading to non-bootable drives), Bootelware features Smart System Detection:

1. At startup, Bootelware queries the physical drive hosting your active Windows installation (C:).
2. It detects the partition style (GPT vs MBR) and firmware boot mode (UEFI vs BIOS).
3. It automatically applies the matching settings:
   • GPT Host → Partition Scheme = GPT, Target System = UEFI (non-CSM)
   • MBR Host → Partition Scheme = MBR, Target System = BIOS or UEFI-CSM
4. If a user manually overrides these, Bootelware displays an explicit warning highlighting the divergence.

• Smart System Detection (USP) — Real-time inspection via Win32 IOCTL_STORAGE_GET_DEVICE_NUMBER, IOCTL_DISK_GET_DRIVE_LAYOUT_EX, and GetFirmwareType.
• High-Throughput Write Engine — Unbuffered direct I/O with sector-aligned writes for maximum speed.
• Bad Blocks Detection — Multi-pass pattern verification test across drive sectors.
• Strict Device Isolation — Fixed internal drives and the Windows system drive (C:) are automatically blacklisted to prevent accidental formatting.

• Bypass TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, and 4 GB+ RAM hardware checks
• Bypass CPU and storage requirements
• Remove mandatory Microsoft online account requirement (BypassNRO)
• Automatic local administrator account creation with custom username
• Disable BitLocker automatic device encryption
• Disable diagnostic telemetry collection

• Cryptographic Image Checksums — Hardware-accelerated MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, and SHA-512 via Windows CNG (bcrypt.dll) with 1-click verification.

• Modern Dark UI/UX — Custom owner-drawn buttons, hover feedback, deep slate-zinc palette, Segoe UI typography.
• Slide-Open Menu Drawer — About Bootelware, Disclaimer, and Developer info with 1-click GitHub launch.
• Custom Application Icon — High-tech cyberpunk neon cyan & emerald USB rocket emblem (16×16 to 256×256).
• Official ISO Download Hub — Quick-access launcher for official Windows 11, Windows 10, Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and FreeDOS ISOs.

• Zero Runtime Dependencies — Statically linked CRT (/MT), standalone .exe under 1 MB.
• Portable — No installation required. Run from anywhere.

bootelware/
├── CMakeLists.txt              # CMake build config with static CRT and UAC manifest
├── build.bat                   # Automated MSVC build script
├── assets/
│   └── screenshots/            # Application screenshots
├── resources/
│   ├── app.manifest            # UAC, DPI awareness, Common Controls 6
│   ├── resource.h              # Resource identifiers
│   └── bootelware.rc           # Windows resource definition
└── src/
    ├── main.cpp                # Application entry point (wWinMain) & DPI init
    ├── core/
    │   ├── system_detector.*   # System drive GPT/MBR & UEFI/BIOS detection
    │   ├── device_manager.*    # USB enumeration, volume mapping, safety guards
    │   ├── checksum.*          # Hardware-accelerated hash engine
    │   ├── iso_reader.*        # ISO 9660, UDF, El Torito, virtdisk mounting
    │   ├── win11_bypass.*      # autounattend.xml answer-file generator
    │   └── disk_writer.*       # Partitioning, formatting, bad blocks, I/O writer
    └── ui/
        ├── dark_theme.*        # Dark Mode theme, brushes, typography
        ├── dialogs.*           # Win11 options, checksums, ISO download dialogs
        └── main_window.*       # Main window, controls, event routing

Requirements: Visual Studio 2019+ with C++ Desktop Development workload, CMake 3.15+.

build.bat

cmake -B build -A x64
cmake --build build --config Release

The standalone executable is generated at:

build/Release/Bootelware.exe

Md Saim
📧 lakhvisaim@gmail.com
🔗 github.com/Md-Saim

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 — see the LICENSE file for details.