Introduction to Windows PE (Standard 7 SP1)
7/8/2014
Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) 3.0 is a bootable tool that can be used to install, troubleshoot, or recover an operating system. Windows PE is a minimal Win32 subsystem with limited services. Windows PE is not a general-purpose operating system. For information about the benefits and limitations of Windows PE, see Benefits and Limitations of Windows PE.
Windows PE can be used to perform the following tasks:
- Install Windows Embedded Standard 7.
Windows PE runs each time you install Standard 7. The graphical tools that collect configuration information during the Setup phase run in Windows PE. You can customize and extend Windows PE to meet your deployment needs. - Troubleshoot system problems.
Windows PE performs automatic and manual troubleshooting. You can manually start Windows PE to use built-in or custom troubleshooting and diagnostic tools. - Recover an operating system.
You can use Windows PE to build custom, automated solutions for recovering and rebuilding computers running Standard 7. For example, an end user can start a computer by using recovery disks or recovery partitions for Windows PE. The end user can then automatically reformat hard disks and reinstall Standard 7 with the original drivers, settings, and applications.
Related Tools
Some tools that deploy operating systems already include customized versions of Windows PE.
Image Builder
Image Builder uses Windows image (.wim) files to install Standard 7 on a hard disk drive. Image Builder uses a customized version of Windows PE to start the computer and copy Windows to the hard disk drive from a .wim file. To install Standard 7, you must run Image Builder. For information about Image Builder, see Image Builder Technical Reference.
Image Builder can perform an unattended installation if you configure an Unattend.xml answer file. Unattended installation of Standard 7 can be used to complete the following tasks:
- Perform automated installations on computers that have mixed hardware configurations.
- Configure a wide range of operating system settings during an automated installation without using batch files and scripts.
For information about setting up unattended installation, see Configure an Answer File to Be Unattended.
Windows Deployment Services
Windows Deployment Services is an updated and redesigned version of Remote Installation Services (RIS). You can use Windows Deployment Services to set up new computers through a network-based installation without being physically present at each computer and without installing from disk. Windows Deployment Services includes a customized version of Windows PE that is the boot environment for operating system installation.
Note
To boot Windows PE from a network, you must use Windows Deployment Services.