Sign a Custom Module (Standard 8)

Article
09/29/2016

7/8/2014

Learn how to sign your custom module for Windows Embedded 8 Standard (Standard 8).

You can use the procedures that are described in this section to create a certificate and sign a custom module so that you can import it into the Windows Embedded 8 Standard (Standard 8) catalog.

Task 1: Create a Certificate

Task 2: Create and Sign the Module

Prerequisites

You have installed Windows Embedded 8 Standard Toolkit (Standard 8 Toolkit) on a development computer.
You have Makecert.exe (Certificate Creation Tool), Certmgr.exe (Certificate Manager Tool), and Signtool.exe (Sign Tool) installed on a development computer.
These tools are automatically installed with Visual Studio and the Windows SDK. For example, you may find these tools in a location such as C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\8.0\bin\<arch>\.
To run the tools, you can use the Visual Studio Command Prompt or the Windows SDK Command Prompt. These utilities enable you to run the tools without opening the installation folder. For more information, see Visual Studio and Windows SDK Command Prompts.

Task 1: Create a Certificate

In this task, you will create a new certificate and then add it to your development computer.

To create a new certificate

Create a new certificate by using the Makecert.exe command-line tool. For example:

makecert.exe -r -pe -sr localMachine -ss teststore -n "CN=TestCert" testcert.cer

Add the new certificate to your development computer by using the Certmgr.exe command-line tool. For example:
```
certmgr.exe -add testcert.cer -s root -r localMachine
```

Task 2: Create and Sign the Module

In this task, you will create the custom module and sign it using the Signtool.exe tool.

To create and sign the module

Create a custom module by using Module Designer (MOD). For information about how to create a custom module, see Create a Custom Module using Module Designer.

Important

Module Designer will generate your module as an *.emd file. However, do not add it into the catalog yet, as it must be signed first as shown in the next step.
Sign the custom module by using the Signtool.exe command-line tool. For example:
```
signtool.exe sign /v /s teststore /n TestCert /t TestModule.emd
```
Use the Catalog Manager tool (Catman.exe) from the Standard 8 Toolset to add the signed custom module to your Standard 8 catalog. For example:
```
catman.exe /import E:\TestModules\TestModule.emd “C:\Windows Embedded Catalog”
```
For more information about how to use Catman.exe, see Catalog Manager Technical Reference.

Next Steps

You can also locate and sign any unsigned custom module .emd files that are already imported into the Standard 8 catalog. However after you sign an unsigned custom module, you should rebuild the catalog index so the custom module will display the correct icon in Image Builder Wizard (IBW) and Image Configuration Editor (ICE).