Program for quick test boot disks

Quite a lot of people download or create bootable disks in the format of CD / DVD / USB / FDD images and there is a need to quickly check their performance before using in business. To do this, this program was written, which in essence is an add-on on the QEMU virtual machine.



Its main advantages:

• Full portability.
• Very fast launch.
• No need to install any drivers.
• No need to understand the intricacies of the QEMU command line yourself (although the ability to edit it is present for experienced users).
• For most functions, administrative privileges are not required (except for booting from physical hard drives where direct access to equipment is required).
• It is possible to simulate the presence of a second HDD in the system, for example, to test the installation.
• By default, snapshot mode is enabled, when all changes on the disk are written to a temporary file.
• You can freely choose the type of processor from 486 to Core 2 Duo, as well as the type of platform - x86 or x64.
• There is a simple network emulation to test the initialization of network capabilities.
• Support for popular virtual disk formats (VMDK, VHD, VDI).

Well, minor flaws:

• Of course, the emulation speed is not as high as that of commercial programs using kernel drivers and hardware virtualization.
• Imperfect support for modern operating systems.

But for the required tasks, these IMHO shortcomings are not significant ...

You can download the program archive from here [3,7MB] (including the latest QEMU v0.12.4).
Source on AutoIt! attached!
Tips for improving the program are welcome.

The program is published on Habré at the request of its author Nomadic, while not being a habrayuzer ...