Installing WinPE 2.0

1. If you already have Windows Vista OPK installed, skip this step. Otherwise, download and install Windows Vista AIK into your Windows XP PC (not your Windows Vista system).

2. Open the Windows PE Tools Command by going to Start -> All Programs -> Windows OPK / Windows AIK -> Windows PE Tools Command Prompt.

3. Now, you need to run the Copype.cmd script. This script requires two arguments - hardware architecture and destination location. To run this script, type the following in the command prompt :

Copype.cmd x86 c:\winpe_x86

x86 - this can be used in most x86 systems
amd64 - for systems using AMD 64 processors
ia64 - for Intel Itanium systems

Running the script above creates a winpe_x86 folder in drive C: and copies all the necessary files for that architecture (in this example, x86) into the folder. You can choose to change the folder name, and drive letter.

4. Copy any tools you want (like imagex, pkgmgr, etc.) into C:\winpe_x86\iso.

5. Insert the USB key into the PC and run the following command.

xcopy c:\winpe_x86\iso\*.* /s /e /f e:\

In this example, e:\ is the drive letter of the USB key. Feel free to change if it's using a different drive letter.

6. Done! Now, try to boot your USB key on any PC that supports booting by USB and it will boot into WinPE. So there you have it, a bootable USB key with WinPE 2.0!

If you are a reseller, even someone who sells PCs on a part-time basis, this WinPE 2.0 bootable USB key will come in handy and can save you time setting up different systems, partitioning and formatting hard drive with Diskpart, backing up hard drive using ImageX, connecting to network, troubleshooting using Windows-based programs, system recovery and many more.

Questions & Comments

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