Wpeinit Command-Line Options

Wpeinit is a command-line tool that initializes Windows PE each time it boots. When Windows PE starts, Winpeshl.exe executes Startnet.cmd, which launches Wpeinit.exe. Wpeinit.exe specifically installs PnP devices, processes Unattend.xml settings, and loads network resources.

Wpeinit replaces the initialization function previously supported in Factory.exe -winpe. Wpeinit outputs a log messages to c:\Windows\system32\wpeinit.log.

Wpeinit Command-Line Options

You can manually execute Wpeinit from a Windows PE Command Prompt window to process a custom answer file. Wpeinit.exe accepts one option called -unattend. You can specify the parameter in one of four ways.

wpeinit –unattend=<path\unattend>
wpeinit –unattend:<path\unattend>
wpeinit /unattend=<path\unattend>
wpeinit /unattend:<path\unattend>

For more information about how to create an answer file (Unattend.xml), see the Unattended Windows Setup Reference.