This walkthrough describes how you can create a bootable Windows® PE RAM disk on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM by using the Copype.cmd script. Windows PE RAM enables you to start a computer for the purposes of deployment and recovery. Windows PE RAM boots directly into memory, enabling you to remove the Windows PE media after the computer boots.

Note:

This configuration boots directly into memory and is assigned the drive letter X, which does not correspond to the media, USB flash drive (UFD) or CD-ROM, from which you booted. You can set the drive letter using the DISM /Set-TargetPath option. Ensure that you have sufficient memory to support the size of your Windows PE image plus any additional memory requirements; for example, if you plan on running customized applications that need additional working memory.

Prerequisites

To complete this walkthrough, you need the following:

  • A technician computer, which provides all the tools and the source files. For more information, see Building a Technician Computer.

  • CD-ROM or DVD-ROM burning software. The Windows OEM Preinstallation Kit (Windows OPK) and Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) do not include CD-ROM or DVD-ROM burning software.

  • A blank CD-ROM or DVD-ROM.

Step 1: Set up a Windows PE build environment

In this step, you create a required directory structure that supports building a Windows PE image.

  1. On your technician computer, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Windows OPK or Windows AIK, right-click Deployment Tools Command Prompt, and then select Run as administrator.

    The menu shortcut opens a Command Prompt window and automatically sets environment variables to point to all the necessary tools. By default, all tools are installed at C:\Program Files\<version>\Tools, where <version> can be Windows OPK or Windows AIK.

  2. At the command prompt, run the Copype.cmd script.

    The script requires two arguments: hardware architecture and destination location. For example,

    copype.cmd <architecture> <destination>

    where <architecture> can be x86, amd64, or ia64, and <destination> is a path to a local directory. For example,

    copype.cmd x86 c:\winpe_x86

    The script creates the following directory structure and copies all the necessary files for that architecture. For example,

    \winpe_x86

    \winpe_x86\ISO

    \winpe_x86\mount

  3. Copy the base image (Winpe.wim) to the \Winpe_x86\ISO\sources folder and rename the file to Boot.wim.

    copy c:\winpe_x86\winpe.wim c:\winpe_x86\ISO\sources\boot.wim

Step 2: (Optional) Add additional customizations

This step is optional, but recommended.

Using ImageX, you can add applications and scripts to your Windows PE image that you might need while working in Windows PE. ImageX is a tool for capturing and applying images during deployment scenarios. For example, at a command prompt, type:

copy "C:\program files\<version>\Tools\<architecture>\imagex.exe" C:\winpe_x86\iso\

where <version> can be Windows OPK or Windows AIK, and <architecture> can be x86, amd64, or ia64. In both of the previous examples, the tools are not loaded into memory during a Windows PE RAM boot. The media must be available to access the tools.

Step 3: Create a bootable CD-ROM

This step describes how to put a Windows PE RAM disk onto a CD-ROM. This option requires that you create an .iso file by using the Oscdimg tool.

  1. On your technician computer, create an .iso file with Oscdimg. At a command prompt, type:

    oscdimg -n -bC:\winpe_x86\etfsboot.com C:\winpe_x86\ISO C:\winpe_x86\winpe_x86.iso
    Note:

    To remove the "Press any key to boot from CD" prompt during boot, remove the bootfix.bin file from the \boot folder within your mounted image.
    For EFI based system or Itanium-based architecture, replace Etfsboot.com with Efisys.bin. The Oscdimg tool is not supported on an Itanium-based computer running Windows Server 2003.

    To build an AMD64 EFI .iso file, use the following commands:

    oscdimg.exe -bC:\winpe_amd64efi\efisys.bin -u2 -udfver102 C:\winpe_amd64efi\ISO C:\winpe_amd64efi\winpeamd64efi.iso
  2. Burn the image (.iso) onto a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM.

Next Step

You can also place Windows PE RAM on other bootable media, such as a UFD or hard disk. For more information, see Windows PE Walkthroughs.

To load an application or a script into memory with Windows PE, you must create a customized Windows PE image. For more information, see Walkthrough: Create a Custom Windows PE Image.

See Also