Create a Configuration File by Using Image Configuration Editor (Standard 8)

  • Article

7/8/2014

Learn how to use Image Configuration Editor (ICE) to create a configuration file for Windows Embedded 8 Standard (Standard 8).

Introduction

Image Configuration Editor (ICE) is one of two primary tools used to develop a Windows Embedded 8 Standard (Standard 8) OS that you can then install on your device. The other is Image Builder Wizard (IBW).

ICE runs on your development computer. You use it to choose the functionality that you want to have in your image. ICE provides the most flexibility and control when configuring a Standard 8 image. The configuration file that you create by using ICE specifies which features to include in the OS.

Lab Exercise Purpose

This lab demonstrates how to use ICE to create a configuration file.

Overview of Steps

You will create a configuration file that defines a Standard 8 OS that has the Windows 8 shell, Internet Explorer 10, a Standard 8 startup screen, and a language pack.

  1. Step 1: Create a New Configuration File
    Create a configuration file by using ICE.
  2. Step 2: Add Features to Your OS Image
    Add Internet Explorer 10, Windows Embedded branding, and the English language pack to your configuration file.
  3. Step 3: Add Drivers Required by your Device
    Add drivers required by your device to your configuration file.
  4. Step 4: Add a Product Key to Your Configuration File
    Provide the product key for the image when you deploy it.
  5. Step 5: (Optional) Change the Home Page for Internet Explorer 10
    Customize your OS image by changing the Internet Explorer home page.
  6. Step 6: Add Dependencies and Validate and Save Your Configuration File
    Add dependent modules that are required to support the functionality that you have selected.

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:

Required Software

The following software is required:

  • ICE must be installed on your development computer. Follow the steps in the Get Started with Standard 8 lab if you have not installed the Standard 8 tools on your development computer.
  • If your device can start from a DVD drive: The Standard 8 Bootable IBW disk appropriate for the architecture (x86 or x64) of your device.
  • If your device cannot start from a DVD drive, you will need the 3 gigabyte (GB) minimum (4 GB recommended) USB flash drive that you prepared in Step 2: (Optional) Create USB Boot Media for Your Device in 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:

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

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 what 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 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.

  3. Click Create. A new configuration file that contains the Embedded Core package becomes visible in the Configuration File pane.

Step 2: Add Features to Your OS Image

In this step you will add Internet Explorer 10, Windows Embedded branding, and a language pack to the configuration file.

To add features to your OS image

  1. In the Catalog pane, expand FeaturePack and then expand User Applications.

  2. Right-click Internet Explorer 10 and select Add to Configuration file.

  3. Under FeaturePack, expand Branding, and then expand the Features node.

  4. Right-click Windows Embedded Branded Screens and select Add to Configuration file.

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

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

Step 3: Add Drivers Required by your Device

You need to install drivers to run your OS image on your device. You run Target Analyzer Probe (TAP) 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 start from a DVD, start your device by using the USB flash drive that you prepared in Get Started with Standard 8

      Tip

      To start from a USB flash drive, you may have to adjust the BIOS settings on your device to start 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 earlier in this section, select the devices.pmq file, and then click Open to import it into your configuration file.

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

Additional Information

Configuration Files

Target Analyzer Probe (TAP) Technical Reference

Step 4: Add a Product Key to Your Configuration File

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

To add a product key

  1. In the Configuration File pane, expand the Product node and then click Embedded Core.

  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 then press Enter.

  6. Double-click WillShowUI.

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

Additional Information

Product Keys and Activation

Step 5: (Optional) Change the Home Page for Internet Explorer 10

In this step, you will change the home page that Internet Explorer opens by default.

To change the home page

  1. In the Configuration File pane, expand Features, expand User Applications, and then click Internet Explorer 10.

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

  3. On the Settings pane, in the Filter view by list, select 4 Specialize.

  4. In Settings pane, move to the Home Page node, and expand it. A text box for the home page URL appears.

  5. In the text box, enter https://www.microsoft.com/windowsembedded/en-us/windows-embedded.aspx and press Enter.

Additional Information

To learn about the home page for Internet Explorer, see Home_Page.

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

When you add a module to your OS design that requires the functionality of other modules to operate, you must bring those dependent modules into your configuration file. In this step, you will add the dependent modules.

To add dependencies

  1. On the ICE main menu, click Validate, and then click Add Required Modules. This command adds the required packages that are required 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, move 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 then click Save.

Conclusion

In this lab you have created a configuration file that is named LabBaseConfig.xml, which will be reused in other labs. You have seen how to add features to a configuration file and how to pull in dependent functionality that is required by the features that you selected. You have also seen how to import the drivers required by your device and how to customize aspects of your OS image such as the default home page for Internet Explorer.

The following lab exercises include related information:

Additional Information

Lab Exercises

For more information about the elements of a Standard 8 image, see Modules.

See Also

Other Resources

Create and Use a Configuration File