Use a Custom Module in Image Configuration Editor (Standard 8)

7/8/2014

Learn how to use Image Configuration Editor (ICE) to include a custom module in a configuration file, then deploy a Windows Embedded 8 Standard (Standard 8) image to your device based on that configuration file.

Introduction

In Windows Embedded 8 Standard (Standard 8), you can use Module Designer (MOD) to create custom modules that contain software, files, and device drivers that you can install on your device. You can use Image Configuration Editor (ICE) to select that module as part of an OS image that you then install on your device by using Image Builder Wizard (IBW).

Lab Exercise Purpose

This lab demonstrates the end-to-end process of using ICE to select a custom module and create a Standard 8 configuration file that specifies which features to include in your OS. You will then install that OS on your device by using IBW.

Overview of Steps

In this lab you will:

• Create a Standard 8 OS that has your custom module, Windows Embedded branding, and a language pack.
• Use ICE to identify the modules that your OS features depend on and add them to your OS image.
• Run Target Analyzer Probe (TAP) on your device to identify the device drivers that your device needs.
• Add a product key to your OS image so that you are not prompted for a product key when you install the OS image on your device.
• Install the OS image on your device.

• Step 1: Create a New Configuration File
  Create a configuration file by using ICE.

• Step 2: Add a Custom Module to Your Configuration File
  Add the custom module that you created in the Create a Custom Module by Using Module Designer lab to your configuration file.

• Step 3: Add Additional Features to Your OS Image
  Add Windows Embedded branding and the English language pack to your configuration file.

• Step 4: Add Drivers Required by your Device
  Add drivers required by your device to your configuration file.

• Step 5: Add a Product Key to Your Configuration File
  Provide the product key for the OS image.

• Step 6: Add Dependencies and Validate and Save Your Configuration File
  Add dependent modules that support the functionality you have selected.

• Step 7: Start Image Builder Wizard on Your Device
  Start the appropriate version of IBW on your device.

• Step 8: Install the OS Image onto Your Device
  Use IBW to install an OS based on your configuration file on your device.

Prerequisites

To perform the steps in this lab exercise, the following are required:

Required Hardware

Your development computer and your device must meet the minimum hardware requirements:

• Requirements for a Development Computer
• Requirements for an Embedded Device

Required Software

The following software is required:

• ICE must be installed on your development computer.
• If your device can boot from a DVD drive: The Standard 8 Bootable IBW disk appropriate for the architecture (x86 or x64) of your device.
• If your device cannot boot from a DVD drive you will need the USB flash drive that you prepared in Step 2: (Optional) Create USB Boot Media for Your Device of the Get Started with Windows Embedded 8 Standard lab.

Required Lab Exercises or Knowledge

The following lab exercises must be completed before you begin this lab exercise:

• Get Started with Standard 8
• Create a Custom Module by Using Module Designer

Knowledge of the following is recommended before you begin this lab exercise:

• Modules
• Configuration Files
• Image Configuration Editor (ICE) Panes

Step 1: Create a New Configuration File

In this step you will use ICE to create a new configuration file. A configuration file stores the choices you make about which functionality to include in your OS image.

To create a new configuration file 

1. On the Start menu, click All Programs, click Windows Embedded 8 Standard, and then click ICE.

2. On the File menu, click Select Catalog and navigate to the directory that contains the same catalog that you selected in Module Designer when you created your custom module, for example, C:\Program Files\Windows Embedded 8 Standard, select the Catalog directory, and click Select Catalog.

3. On the File menu, click New Configuration File. In the New Configuration File dialog box, do the following:

   1. Enter a name for your configuration file.
   2. Select the OS architecture of your device.
   3. Select the version of the OS that you want to install on your device.

4. Click Create. A new configuration file containing the Embedded Core package becomes visible in the Configuration File pane.

Step 2: Add a Custom Module to Your Configuration File

In this step you will add the custom module that you built in Step 1: Create a Custom Module of the Create a Custom Module by Using Module Designer lab to your configuration file.

To add a custom module

1. To add your custom module to your configuration file:

   1. In ICE, in the Catalog pane, expand Features, and then expand Custom Modules. You will see your custom module that you created in the Create a Custom Module by Using Module Designer lab.
   2. Right-click your custom module and select Add to Configuration File.

Additional Information

Modules

Step 3: Add Additional Features to Your OS Image

In this step you will add Windows Embedded branding and a language pack to the configuration file.

To add features to your OS image

1. In ICE, in the Catalog pane, expand Features, and then expand the Branding node,

2. Right-click Branded Screens and select Add to Configuration file.

3. Under Features, expand Language Modules, and then expand the Languages node.

4. Right-click English and select Add to Configuration file.

Step 4: Add Drivers Required by your Device

You need to install drivers to run your OS image on your device. Target Analyzer Probe (TAP) can be run on your device to detect the drivers that your device needs.

To run the TAP tool

1. To start IBW on your device, either:

   • Run setup.exe from the version of the Standard 8 IBW DVD (x86 or x64) that matches the architecture of your device.

   • If your device cannot boot from a DVD, boot your device by using the USB flash drive that you prepared in Get Started with Standard 8.

     Tip

     To boot from a USB flash drive, you may need to adjust the BIOS settings on your device to boot from a USB device.

2. In IBW, in Windows Setup, click Launch WinPE Command Prompt. A Command Prompt window appears.

3. Prepare a location where you can save the .PMQ file. If you booted using the Standard 8 IBW DVD, prepare a network location or insert a USB flash drive to store the .PMQ file on.

4. From the command prompt, run the TAP tool by using the following command:

   \sources\Tap.exe /o <PMQDrive>:\devices.pmq
   

   The list of devices that TAP discovers on your device will be stored in the devices.pmq file at the location specified by the /o parameter in the command above.

To import the device description file into ICE 

1. On your development computer, on the ICE main menu, click File, click Import, and then click Import PMQ.

2. Navigate to the location where you saved the devices.pmq that you created above, select the devices.pmq file, and click Open to import it into your configuration file.

   A Driver node will appear in the Configuration File pane containing the information about the devices that will be supported on the device.

Additional Information

Configuration Files

Target Analyzer Probe (TAP) Technical Reference

Step 5: Add a Product Key to Your Configuration File

In this step you will add a product key to your configuration file so that the image can be installed on your device without prompting for a product key.

To add a product key to your configuration file

1. In the Configuration File pane, expand the Products node.

2. In the Settings and Properties pane, found to the right of the Configuration File pane, click the Settings tab.

3. In the Filter view by drop-down list, select 1 Windows PE.

4. In the Settings pane, expand UserData, and then expand ProductKey.

5. Double-click the Key node. In the text box, enter your product key. Include the hyphens as part of the key, for example xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx, and press Enter.

6. Double-click WillShowUI.

7. Click the WillShowUI drop-down list box and select OnError. OnError instructs the installer to prompt for a product key only in the event that there is an error using the one you provided above.

Additional Information

Product Keys and Activation

Step 6: Add Dependencies and Validate and Save Your Configuration File

When you add a module to your OS design you need to identify the modules that your module is depends on and add those dependent modules to your configuration file. In this step you will identify and add the dependent modules.

To add dependencies and validate and save your configuration file

1. On the ICE main menu, click on Validate, and then click Add Required Modules. This command adds the required packages that are necessary to enable the basic functionality of the features that you selected in step 2.

2. To save your configuration file, on the File menu, click Save Configuration File. Using the Save dialog box that appears, navigate to a location that you can access from your device, such as a USB flash drive or a network share. Enter **LabBaseConfig.xml ** as the file name, and click Save.

Step 7: Start Image Builder Wizard on Your Device

In this step you will boot your device and start Image Builder Wizard (IBW).

To start Image Builder Wizard

1. To start IBW on your device, either:

   • Run setup.exe from the Standard 8 IBW DVD. Use the version of the DVD (x86 or x64) that matches the architecture of your device.

   • If your device cannot boot from a DVD, boot your device by using the USB flash drive that you prepared in “Step 2: (Optional) Create USB Boot Media for Your Device” of Get Started with Standard 8.

     Tip

     To boot from a USB flash drive, you may need to adjust the BIOS settings on your device to boot from a USB flash media.

Step 8: Install the OS Image on Your Device

In this step you will use IBW to install an OS image on your device, as specified by your configuration file.

To install the OS image on your device

1. In IBW, in Windows Setup, the Where do you want to install Windows page lists the available drives and partitions on your device. Select the drive/partition that your device is configured to boot from.

   Warning

   The following steps will format the selected drive. Before proceeding, make sure that there is no data on the partition that you need to keep.

2. To ensure that you have enough disk space available for your OS, click Drive Options (advanced), and then click Format.

3. Verify that you want to format the partition and click OK to begin formatting the partition.

4. After the partition is formatted, click Next to install your OS image on the device. During the installation process (which will take several minutes), your device will reboot. Remove your boot media before your device reboots to complete the installation process.

   If you forget to remove your boot media, your device may boot back into the IBW tool. If that occurs, exit IBW and remove your boot media and reboot the device.

5. When the Install evaluation copy screen appears, click Next, and then complete the Standard 8 setup wizard to configure your OS.

6. Now you can try out your Standard 8 OS.

Additional Information

Standard 8 Media

Image Builder Wizard Technical Reference

Conclusion

In this lab you saw how to take a custom module that you developed in Module Designer and include it in an OS image that you installed on your device.

You created a configuration file and added your custom module to it, Windows Embedded branding, a language pack, and the functionality that those features depend on. You imported the list of drivers required by your device. You added a product key to your OS image so that you wouldn’t be prompted for one when you installed the OS image on your device. You also installed the customized OS you created on your device by using IBW.

Related Lab Exercises

The following lab exercises include related information:

• Create a Custom Module using Module Designer
• Use a Custom Module in Image Builder Wizard

See Also

Other Resources

Create and Use a Custom Module