Skip to main content

How to create a Windows PE disk.

By

Windows PE is a pre-execution environment for the Windows platform. Anybody who has used the Vista/2008 recovery option has used Windows PE. The instructions below will guide you through creating a windows PE disk. It is command line driven.

In class, we talked about using Windows PE and Imagex.exe to reimage your clients. This will allow you to restore a client to the same state that it was in prior to release to the user. When you create you WinPE image, do not forget to add the Imagex.exe command from the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK). Imagex is what allows you to capture and apply images.

The process for rebuilding the client is:

1) Offload the client data using User State Migration Tool (USMT) to an external drive.

2) Boot the client in Windows PE.

3) Format the hard drive.

4) Apply the image (imagex /apply ImageSource ImageNumber Imagedetination)

a. Ex imagex /apply e:\ClientImages\Client013.wim 1 c:

5) Run updates.

6) Restore the user data with USMT

7) Rejoin to the domain if needed.

8) Verify the restoration is successful.

9) (Optional) Boot into Windows PE and create a new image. If update process took a considerable amount of time, consider creating a new image to reduce the wait the next time around.

Your organizations policy needs to support this process. You will be only restore the computer to a state that allows the user to do their job. If the user had any personal software installed, it will not be there after the re-imaging process.

Create a Windows PE disk/drive

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc766195(ws.10).aspx (Hard disk)

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc749311.aspx (CD-ROM)

User State Migration Tool

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=799ab28c-691b-4b36-b7ad-6c604be4c595

Windows Automated Installation Kit (Where you get imageX from)

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=c7d4bc6d-15f3-4284-9123-679830d629f2&DisplayLng=en

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sticky Key problem between Windows Server 2012 and LogMeIn

By
This week I instructed my first class using Windows Server 2012 accessed via LogMeIn and discovered a Sticky Key problem every time you press the Shift key. Here is my solution to resolve this.  First off, in the Preferences of LogMeIn for the connection to the Windows Server, click General . Change the Keyboard and mouse priority to Host side user and click Apply at the bottom. On the Windows 2012 server, open the Control Panel – Ease of Access – Change how your keyboard works . Uncheck Turn on Sticky Keys . Click Set up Sticky Keys . Uncheck Turn on Sticky Keys when SHIFT is pressed five times . Click OK twice. If you are using Windows Server 2012 as a Hyper-V host, you will need to redo the Easy of Use settings on each guest operating system in order to avoid the Sticky Key Problem. Updated Information: March 20, 2013 If you continue to have problems, Uncheck Turn on Filter Keys .
6 comments
Read more

Where did a User’s Account Get Locked Out?

By
Updated: May 15, 2015 When this article was originally published, two extra carriage returns were add causing the code to malfunction.  The code below is correct.   My client for this week’s PowerShell class had a really interesting question. They needed to know where an account is being locked out at. OK, interesting. Apparently users hop around clients and forget to log off, leading to eventual lock out of their accounts. The accounts can be unlocked, but are then relocked after Active Directory replication. This problem is solved in two parts. The first one is to modify the event auditing on the network. The second part is resolved with PowerShell. The first part involves creating a group policy that will encompass your Domain Controllers. In this GPO, make these changes. Expand Computer Configuration \ Policies \ Windows Settings \ Security Settings \ Advanced Audit Policy Configuration \ Audit Policies \ Account Management Double click User Account Management C...
18 comments
Read more

How to run GPResult on a remote client with PowerShell

By
In the past, to run the GPResult command, you would need to either physically visit this client, have the user do it, or use and RDP connection.  In all cases, this will disrupt the user.  First, you need PowerShell remoting enabled on the target machine.  You can do this via Group Policy . Open PowerShell and type this command. Invoke-Command –ScriptBlock {GPResult /r} –ComputerName <ComputerName> Replace <ComputerName> with the name of the target.  Remember, the target needs to be online and accessible to you.
Post a Comment
Read more