Questions tagged [windows-pe]

Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) 2.0 is a minimal Win32 operating system with limited services, built on the Windows Vista kernel. It is used to prepare a computer for Windows installation, to copy disk images from a network file server, and to initiate Windows Setup.

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How to safely shutdown/reboot a Windows PE environment?

I read http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd744537(WS.10).aspx and made a WinPE iso myself. It boots OK and I do something about diskpart, imagex and bcdboot, screen shot below: But I have a ...
Jimm Chen's user avatar
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6 votes
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Is it possible to live-boot VirtualBox from a USB flash drive?

To clarify, I'm not asking if you can boot from USB from within VirtualBox. I would like to make a portable version of Windows 7 that I can run from a USB drive on any machine. I'm putting a distro ...
bw.'s user avatar
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5 votes
3 answers
9k views

Why does my VM hang on "Windows is loading files..." during a sysprep and capture task sequence?

My nice, well crafted reference machine will not boot at all! I'm trying to run a sysprep and capture task sequence (MDT 2010 and WDS off server 2012). I ran litetouch.vbs off the deployment share and ...
rtf's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
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Windows 7 installation using Windows PE

Is it possible to install Windows 7 (64-bit) using Windows PE (32-bit)? I am following the guide available here.
Nikhil Bhandari's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
4k views

How do I determine what device drivers I need from command line?

I need network access from a device running WinPE, but I don't believe that the WinPE image has the correct network drivers. Is there a way to figure out what drivers I need from the command line? I ...
Sam I am says Reinstate Monica's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
5k views

BCD: naming multiple WinPE with {ramdiskoptions} clause

I want a BCD boot menu with multiple WinPE versions, that have their descriptions displayed. I made a thumb drive, and later PXE, that supports booting to multiple WinPE environments - from version 3....
Kitet's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
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Find partition letters on physical drives using wmic

I am looking for a way to list drives and the partitions on them. Specifically I am looking to prompt a user for a drive to format and I want to show them the exists partitions so they can confirm ...
TwistedTech's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
20k views

Windows PE Recovery CD with explorer shell

I am trying to create a recovery cd using winpe so that I am able to boot with a minimal set of disk recovery tools. I have noticed that there are a few tutorials for pe 1 (winxp based pe) One looked ...
Kendrick's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
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Running VB.NET on Windows PE

I made an app in Visual Basic. And I want to run it in Windows PE - the stock PE you can get from Microsoft, not any distro such as BartPE. WindowsPE doesn't support .NET by default, but I think there ...
PetrMolek's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
802 views

Win10 will no longer boot or restore after removing language pack

I've been following this explanation to change the default language from Spanish to English on my Windows 10 Home Single Language edition (yes, I know, naughty). In a fit of frustration, I ...
Ignacio Rosa's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
3k views

How do I make a UFD that will boot on UEFI?

I have been trying for more hours than I'd care to admit to get a bootable UFD (USB Flash Drive) with Windows PE on it. There are loads of tutorials, all of which I've been trying in succession, but ...
soapergem's user avatar
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2 votes
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does or can adding partitions affect windows recovery?

Does shrinking the C:\ partition in Windows 10 to make room for a Linux partition affect the ability of the Windows Recovery partition(s) (One for Windows PE, one for recovery) to find and work with ...
Thufir's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
4k views

Windows 8.1 missing WinRE.wim in WinPE

I'm trying to pull a Windows 8.1 .wim file down to a laptop (the same laptop that was the source of the .wim), and am following these directions from MS. Everything works until "W:\Windows\System32\...
StackExchangeGuy's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
4k views

Put an item in Startup folder without admin rights

I need to put a script in windows 7 (Enterprise) at startup after the login, but I don't have the admin rights. We need to put it for all users who use this computer. I share a computer at work ...
Ali Syed's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
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Loud Fan in Windows PE

I have a machine running Windows XP and the fan is loud until the login screen comes up. It is quiet after that. If I use a PE disk the fan stays loud and never gets quiet. Why does it become quiet ...
rjm's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
3k views

How to change Windows PE registry values from within Windows PE

I have a Windows PE (Win7) image which I can boot but the hostname is randomly set. I know I can change that behavior by setting the following registry keys: SOFTWARE\ControlSet001\Control\...
Fabian's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
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Modifying MBR entries after implementing Windows 7 image

I have a computer whose hard disk I recently formatted. As soon as I implement a .wim image in the computer using the WindowsPE disc with imagex utility, two entries are shown in the mbr menu: one for ...
haroldmoma's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
1k views

Creating Windows PE boot cd with MyDefrag

As I would like to defrag the unmovable files. As far as I understend it is possible to do by running Windows PE. What is the easiest way of creating custom Windows PE image?
Maja Piechotka's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
5k views

SHIFT+F10 while repairing Windows XP

When you repair Windows XP if you press SHIFT+F10 while Installing Devices is displayed on the screen it will take you to the Control Panel, where you can easily reconfigure the system. Is it a ...
M LOHIT's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
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Unable to capture Windows Image

I'm unable to capture image of Windows 10 with dism. When I try the dism throws me error 2: The system cannot find the file specified. I use this command to capture image: DISM /Capture-Image /...
bgolemba's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
70 views

Windows 10 install log on non-booting machine

My Windows 10 laptop suddenly stopped booting. It booted up normally at first, with all the autostart(mostly win32) apps launched working ok, however Forza Horizon wouldn’t start. I restarted, and ...
user1018551's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
486 views

Unable to deploy any x86 Windows version with LiteTouch_x64

In MDT 2012 Update 1, I configured task sequences for Windows 7 x86, Windows 7 x64, Windows 2008 R2, and Windows XP (x86). I also generated Windows PE for x86 and x64 versions. In WDS, both boot ...
Velcro's user avatar
  • 345
1 vote
0 answers
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How to programmatically change windows data? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: What is Sysprep? How is it useful? I have a WMI image to load a preload and preconfigured image of windows. We use Windows PE in a boot USB to load this and autoformat the ...
AbrahamSustaita's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
469 views

Device imaging process Won't work first time

I'm having an issue regarding a disk imaging process. To get the machine into it's initial state, I first run a simple DISKPART CLEAN, and then restart the machine. I then boot the machine into a ...
Sam I am says Reinstate Monica's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
1k views

How to upgrade Supermicro BIOS from WinPE (Norton Ghost shell)?

I need to upgrade the BIOS on a Supermicro X6DAL-G/TG/XG/XTG system that runs Linux. It has no floppy drive, so I need to upgrade from CD or USB key. I've tried booting Norton Ghost 14.0 and using ...
royco's user avatar
  • 479
0 votes
3 answers
13k views

Change default keyboard language for Windows PE media

I have used this guide to make a Windows PE flash drive. It works as it should. When I boot a computer into Windows PE a CMD window appears. The problem is that the keyboard is set to US by default, ...
Arete's user avatar
  • 1,449
0 votes
1 answer
26 views

Windows 10 Leonova recovery

I have a laptop that seems to have crashed into Window PE recovery tools. However every option regarding images, windows repair, system restore and rollback errors. But I do have command line and thus ...
Tom's user avatar
  • 419
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1 answer
5k views

Converting MBR to GPT during Windows installation without wiping the disk

I get an old laptop with Windows 7 installed. Wishing to just clean install Windows 10 while keeping the data on non-system partition, I made a mistake by booting from Windows 10 installer USB drive, ...
Martheen's user avatar
  • 1,534
0 votes
1 answer
239 views

ISO is only bootable by CD, not USB

I have an ISO that I'm trying to get ready for PXE booting. After many attempts, I tried to check if it is even bootable by USB and it wasn't. Then I took a CD and burned the image onto it and it ...
RikuXan's user avatar
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1 answer
635 views

Add software to Macrium Reflect Windows PE rescue media

I have created a WinPE 10 rescue medium on a flash drive and would like to add additional software (PortableApps, Veracrypt, Sysinternals tools) and drivers. When I just copy the portable executables ...
bosti's user avatar
  • 3
0 votes
1 answer
4k views

Win PE won't find my Network card

I'm trying to install windows7 x64 to a desktop with damaged optical drive. I have a laptop with windows7 x64 on which I'm trying to run a TFTP server for network booting of windows7 to my desktop. I ...
bharat's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
2k views

UBCD built for Windows 7?

UBCD4Win is a great tool, but I still prefer the Windows 7 interface much better. As well, it'd be nice to have up to date tools instead of older tools available, plus it'd be nice to run off of a USB ...
Canadian Luke's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
312 views

run batch file during Windows Setup from autounattend.xml

I want to run a batch file during the windowsPE phase of an unattended Windows setup, and the autounattend.xml works fine as long as I launch the batch file from its path like this: <...
likeeatingpizza's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
254 views

Using the Windows 7 installer environment to add missing USB drivers to the OOBE

I'm installing Windows 7 on my computer. It's fairly modern (2020), uses UEFI (with legacy support), and has no PS/2 ports or disk drive and uses a modern chipset. I used NTLite on a separate ...
AcinonX's user avatar
  • 111
0 votes
0 answers
133 views

Delete cursor and ui elements from Winpe10

I want to have a winpe10 build that has no UI elements and a cursor. I want to do this because I want a batch file to run on startup fullscreen but when this is done I can still see the cursor and ...
Rasil's user avatar
  • 1
0 votes
1 answer
769 views

Windows PE (Win10) access denied to fileserver

I want to install Windows over the network using PXE. I made the winpe iso, but when I try to access a mounted drive I get "Access Denied" This is my start.cmd script for win pe: wpeinit ...
Jens Vde's user avatar
  • 167
0 votes
1 answer
3k views

Disk Partitioning using DiskPart - Virtual Disk Service Error

I can find similar posts, but not the exact issue I am having. I am trying to create a partition on a Dell Latitude 7490. If I run the commands below in sequence then it fails on convert gpt with the ...
RLBChrisBriant's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

install windows PE 1.5 to a USB/hard drive

I have been using a tool called Bart's PE builder which creates windows PE 1.5 boot images, however I need to make some adjustments - so it it cant be installed on a CD which is read only. I cannot ...
ketchup's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
49 views

Different File Creation time between WinPe and Win7

I am booting WinPe from USB drive and do some driver related tasks there. These tasks are writing logfiles to WinPe temporary ramdrive X:. The logfile name includes file creation time. The logfiles ...
Hans Hubert Vogts's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

Creating a Windows XP Professional PE USB ISO on Linux

I am attempting to create a Windows XP PE ISO on Ubuntu 16.04. So far the best way I found was the apparently popular Gandalf PE version that I downloaded and burned to USB. I am using UNetbootin as ...
dinnerisserved's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
560 views

Where on a bootable Windows PE USB drive should I put custom executables?

I have made a bootable flash drive with Windows PE edition corresponding to Windows 7. Now I want to add an executable file to the flash drive so that I can run it manually inside the PE environment. ...
peterboston's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
122 views

Install an image of Windows7(with some installed programs) through LAN, without Windows PE limitations, is it possible?

Im trying to install windows7 (with some basic programs) on many PCs throught LAN, I have read that I can do it via PXE tool, like AOEMI Backupper PXE boot tool, or Serva PXE, but both ways uses ...
Natysiu16's user avatar
  • 175
0 votes
1 answer
838 views

How to stop a driver from running in Windows PE

My computer has unfortunately succumb to an error caused by AVG Anti-virus and upon boot of my computer it tells me that certain .sys files are either corrupted or missing. Upon searching the ...
Connor Simpson's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
60 views

Where is the HDD driver needed to detect Win7?

This question is related to the following question. Clonezilla stopped. Can "sgdisk -z /dev/sdx" destroy all the data on sda? Win7 don't boot. I used the Win7 installation disk. And I ...
user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
1k views

Does there exist a live-cd of Windows 7 or 8?

I know there a few Windows live-cd's that were based on Windows PE. But does there exist a live-cd of the normal Windows too?
Maestro's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
787 views

How to add disk partition wizard in MDT 2013?

I have a deployment share in MDT 2013, and only use it to install Windows 7 on both new and old PC's and only from a USB drive (offline media). Is it possible to add a step in a task sequence, so the ...
lyngsie's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
11k views

Sysprep.exe completely missing on both of my Windows 7 64bit machines. How should I find a workaround?

The sysprep.exe file is simply missing on my Windows 7 64bit machine. I tried to find it on another computer, but it wasn't found there either. I can't understand it, because on a lot of forums and ...
Zoltán Tamási's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
395 views

Install Windows 7 from HDD (with WindowsPE)

I am thinking it will probably be fastest to install Windows 7 from HDD (or network sometime later). I suppose I will need Windows PE, but I haven't done it b4, how do I go abt installing from this ...
Jiew Meng's user avatar
  • 1,355
0 votes
3 answers
572 views

Free, scriptable, partition manager for Windows

Are there any free scriptable partition managers for windows that can create an EFI partition? (Identifier 0xEF) EDIT: It needs to run on Windows XP (BartPE) EDIT 2: So it seems Intel has a 32-bit ...
Tobbe's user avatar
  • 369
-1 votes
1 answer
563 views

How to run BASIC script in Windows PE?

I work for a computer hardware business. They've got automated installations over a file server in their network, where they clone a Windows installation to a hard drive and then run Windows PE to ...
Trollwut's user avatar
  • 451