Share via

Remove Standard 8 Brand Elements From Your OS (Standard 8)

  • Article

7/8/2014

Learn how to create a Windows Embedded 8 Standard (Standard 8) image with almost no brand images, then deploy that image to a device using a configuration file.

Introduction

When you create a specialized Windows Embedded 8 Standard (Standard 8) OS, you can choose to remove nearly all brand elements that indicate that the OS is based on Standard 8. Standard 8 provides several modules that can help to remove the Standard 8 branding.

Lab Exercise Purpose

This lab demonstrates how to create a Standard 8 OS with no visible Standard 8 brand elements. You will use the Unbranded Boot, Custom Logon, Shell Launcher, and Unbranded Screens modules to help create an unbranded device.

Overview of Steps

In this lab you will create a Standard 8 OS with the Unbranded Boot, Custom Logon, Shell Launcher, and Unbranded Screens modules, and configure the OS so that almost no Standard 8 brand elements are displayed during the normal use of the OS. You will configure the OS to create an automatic logon account and to launch a command prompt window as the shell.

  • Step 1: Create a New Configuration File
    Create a new configuration file by using Image Configuration Editor (ICE).
  • Step 2: Add Drivers Required by your Device
    Add drivers required by your device to your configuration file.
  • Step 3: Add Branding Features to your OS Image
    Add Unbranded Boot, Custom Logon, Shell Launcher, Unbranded Screens, and the English language pack to your configuration file.
  • Step 4: Configure Startup and Logon Features
    Configure Unbranded Boot and Custom Logon.
  • Step 5: Add a Product Key to Your Configuration File
    Provide the product key for the image when you deploy it.
  • Step 6: Create User Accounts
    Create a general user account and an administrator account.
  • Step 7: Set the Computer Name
    Set the name of the device.
  • Step 8: Configure Shell Launcher for Multiple Accounts
    Configure Shell Launcher to launch a command prompt for the general user account, and to launch the Windows 8.shell for the administrator account.
  • Step 9: Add Dependencies and Validate and Save Your Configuration File
    Add any dependent modules required to support the functionality you have selected, and save the configuration file.
  • Step 10: Start Image Builder Wizard on Your Device
    Start IBW on your device.
  • Step 11: Deploy the OS Image to your Device
    Use IBW to deploy your configuration file on your device.
  • Step 12: Configure Your Device to Automatically Login
    Configure your device to automatically login to the general user account.
  • Step 13: Verify That the Device Works Correctly
    Verify that no Windows 8 branding displays on the device during normal usage.

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:

  • The Windows Embedded 8 Standard (Standard 8) Toolkit disk
  • 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, a USB flash drive that is formatted as a bootable Image Builder Wizard (IBW) image.

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 Start, click All Programs, click Windows Embedded 8 Standard, and then click ICE .

  2. On the File menu, click New Configuration File.

  3. 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 module becomes visible in the Configuration File pane.

Step 2: 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, do one of the following:

    • 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, 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.

Step 3: Add Branding Features to your OS Image

In this step you will add Custom Logon, Unbranded Boot, Unbranded Screens, Shell Launcher, 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 Branding.

  2. Right-click Custom Logon, and select Add to Configuration file.

  3. Right-click Unbranded Boot, and select Add to Configuration file.

  4. Right-click Unbranded Screens, and select Add to Configuration file.

  5. Under Features, expand the Shell node.

  6. Right-click Shell Launcher, and select Add to Configuration file.

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

  8. Right-click English, and select Add to Configuration file.

Additional Information

You can select any language that is available instead of English.

For the purpose of this lab, we are not blocking any key combinations that expose Windows 8 elements, such as Ctrl+Alt+Delete or Windows logo key+L. You can add Keyboard Filter to your image to block these key combinations.

Step 4: Configure Startup and Logon Features

In this step you will configure the Custom Logon and Unbranded Boot features.

To configure startup and logon features

  1. In ICE, in the Configuration File pane, expand Features, expand Branding, and then click Custom Logon.

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

  3. In the Settings pane, in the Filter view by list, select 2 Offline Servicing.

  4. In Settings pane, double-click Branding Neutral.

  5. Enter 1 in the Value field to disable all logon screen UI elements, and press enter.

  6. In the Configuration File pane, click Unbranded Boot.

  7. In the Settings pane, in the Filter view by list, select 2 Offline Servicing.

  8. In the Settings pane, double-click CrashDumpEnabled.

  9. In the Value field, enter 1 to enable full crash logging, and press Enter.

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 deployed image can be installed on your device without prompting for a product key.

To add a product key to your configuration file

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

  2. In the Settings and Properties pane 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.

  6. In the text box, enter your product key and press Enter. Include the hyphens as part of the key, for example xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx.

  7. Double-click WillShowUI.

  8. Click the WillShowUI drop-down list box, and select OnError.

    OnError instructs the installer to prompt for a product key only if there is an error using the one you provided above.

Additional Information

Product Keys and Activation

Step 6: Create User Accounts

In this step you will create an administrator account and a general user account.

To create an administrator account

  1. In ICE, in the Configuration File pane, expand the Product node, expand the Embedded Core node, and then do one of the following:

    • For 32-bit architecture, click Shell-Setup x86.
    • For 64-bit architecture, click Shell-Setup x64.

  2. In the Settings and Properties pane, in the Filter view by drop-down list, select 7 OOBE System.

  3. In the Settings pane, expand UserAccounts.

  4. Right-click LocalAccounts, and select Insert New LocalAccount.

  5. Expand the new LocalAccount setting, and double-click Name.

  6. In the text box, type the name of the administrator account and press Enter.

    For the purpose of this lab, type AdminAcct as the administrator account name.

  7. Double-click Password.

  8. Type in a password for the administrator account and press Enter.

  9. Double-click Group

  10. Type Administrators and press Enter. This adds the account to the Administrators group.

To create a general user account

  1. In the Configuration File pane, expand the Product node, expand the Embedded Core node, and then click Shell-Setup x86 (or Shell-Setup x64 if you selected a 64 bit architecture).

  2. In the Settings and Properties pane, in the Filter view by drop-down list, select 7 OOBE System.

  3. In the Settings pane, expand UserAccounts.

  4. Right-click on LocalAccounts and select Insert New LocalAccount.

  5. Expand the new LocalAccount setting, and double-click on Name.

  6. In the text box, type the name of the user account and press Enter.

    For the purpose of this lab, type AutoUser as the account name.

  7. Double-click Group.

  8. Type Users and press Enter.

Additional Information

In this lab, leave the password blank for the general user account because you will configure auto login for the account.

Step 7: Set the Device Name

In this step you will configure the name of your device.

To set the device name

  1. In ICE, in the Configuration File pane, expand the Product node, expand the Embedded Core node, and then do one of the following:

    • For 32-bit architecture, click Shell-Setup x86.
    • For 64-bit architecture, click Shell-Setup x64.

  2. In the Settings and Properties pane, in the Filter view by drop-down list, select 4 Specialize.

  3. Double-click ComputerName.

  4. In the text box, type a name for your device and press Enter.

Step 8: Configure Shell Launcher for Multiple Accounts

In this step you will configure Shell Launcher to launch a command prompt for the general user account and to launch the Windows 8 shell for the administrator account.

To launch a command prompt for a general user

  1. In ICE, in the Configuration File pane, expand Features, expand Shell, and then click Shell Launcher.

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

  3. In the Settings pane, in the Filter view by list, select 7 OOBE System.

  4. In Settings pane, right-click UserSettings, and select Insert New User.

  5. Expand the new User setting.

  6. Double-click AccountName.

  7. In the text box, type the name of the general user account that you created in Step 6: Create User Accounts and press Enter.

    For the purpose of this lab, type AutoUser.

  8. Double-click Shell.

  9. In the text box, type cmd.exe and press Enter.

  10. Double-click DefaultReturnCodeAction.

  11. In the text box, type 0 and press Enter.

    This configures Shell Launcher to restart the shell when the shell exits.

  12. Double-click Key.

  13. In the text box, type 1 and press Enter.

To launch the Windows 8 Shell for the administrator

  1. In ICE, in the Configuration File pane, expand Features, expand Shell, and then click Shell Launcher.

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

  3. In the Settings pane, in the Filter view by list, select 7 OOBE System.

  4. In Settings pane, right-click UserSettings and select Insert New User.

  5. Expand the new User setting.

  6. Double-click AccountName

  7. In the text box, type the name of the administrator account that you created in Step 6: Create User Accounts and press Enter.

    For the purpose of this lab, type AdminAcct.

  8. Double-click Shell.

  9. In the text box, type explorer.exe and press Enter.

  10. Double-click DefaultReturnCodeAction.

  11. In the text box, type 0 and press Enter.

    This configures Shell Launcher to restart the shell when the shell exits.

  12. Double-click Key.

  13. In the text box, type 2 and press Enter.

Additional Information

The Key setting values must be unique integers for each User setting. The actual values don’t matter.

Step 9: Add Dependencies, Validate, and Save Your Configuration File

In this step you will add any dependent modules to your image and validate that the configuration file has no errors or warnings. You will also save your configuration file.

To add dependencies, validate, and save your configuration file

  1. On the ICE main menu, click 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 added to your image.

  2. If there are any errors or warnings, they are displayed in the Messages pane, below the Configuration File pane. You can double-click any error or warning message for more information.

  3. On the File menu, click Save Configuration File.

  4. In the Save dialog box, navigate to a location that you can access from your device, such as a USB flash drive or a network share.

  5. Enter LabUnbrandedConfig as the file name, and click Save.

Step 10: Start Image Builder Wizard on Your Device

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

To start IBW

  1. To start IBW on your device, do one of the following:

    • 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 11: Deploy the OS Image to your Device

In this step you will use IBW to deploy the OS image to your device, as specified by your configuration file.

To deploy an OS image

  1. In IBW, in the Setup wizard, click Deploy a Configuration File or WIM.

  2. Browse to the location where you saved your configuration file in Step 9: Add Dependencies and Validate and Save Your Configuration File.

  3. Select LabUnbrandedConfig, and click Open. The setup process begins.

  4. Accept the license terms by clicking I accept the license terms, and then click Next.

  5. Select your language preferences, and then click Next.

  6. On the Where do you want to install windows page, click the drive or partition pair on which you would like to install your OS image. Select a drive and 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.

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

  8. Verify that you want to format the partition, and then click OK to begin formatting the partition.

  9. 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. You will need to remove your USB flash drive before your device reboots to complete the installation process. If you forget to remove the USB flash drive, your device may boot back into the IBW tool. If that occurs, exit IBW and remove your USB flash drive and reboot the device.

  10. When the Install Evaluation Copy wizard appears, click Next and complete the Standard 8 setup wizard to configure your OS.

    Important

    When setup is complete, you must login to an administrator account before logging in to any non-administrator account, or else the Unbranded Boot settings will not be applied, and Windows 8 UI elements will be displayed during device startup.

Step 12: Configure Your Device to Automatically Logon

In this step you will configure your device so that it automatically logs on to the general user account.

To configure automatic logon

  1. On your device, at the logon screen, select the administrator account that you created in Step 6: Create User Accounts, and type in the password to logon.

  2. In the User Account Control (UAC) prompt that appears, click Yes to allow Shell Launcher to launch the Windows 8 shell.

  3. Open an administrator command prompt.

  4. At the command prompt, type the following:

    netplwiz

  5. In the User Accounts window that appears, under Users for this computer, select the general user account (AutoUser) that you created in Step 6: Create User Accounts.

  6. Clear the check box for Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer.

  7. Click Apply.

  8. In the Automatically sign in window, click OK.

  9. In the User Accounts window, click OK.

  10. At the command prompt, type the following commands to disable password protection when the device wakes up from sleep:

    powercfg -setdcvalueindex scheme_current sub_none consolelock 0
powercfg -setacvalueindex scheme_current sub_none consolelock 0

  11. Restart your device.

Step 13: Verify That the Device Works Correctly

In this step you will verify that your device displays no Windows 8 UI elements (other than a command prompt) when not logged in as an administrator.

To verify that your device works correctly

  1. Restart your device.

  2. During startup, verify that the logo and progress indicator do not appear.

  3. Verify that the OS signs in to the general user account without displaying any logon UI.

  4. Verify that the command prompt is started as the shell.

  5. At the command prompt, type the following to restart your device:

    Shutdown /r /t 0

  6. Verify that no UI is displayed during the shutdown or restart.

Conclusion

In this lab exercise you created a configuration file in ICE that you can use with IBW to create an unbranded OS experience on a device, and then deployed that image onto a device and configured the device to automatically sign in to a specified account.

Next Steps

This lab does not create a completely locked down experience, as a user can still use keyboard shortcuts to access the login screen or the Secure Authentication Screen (SAS). Also, the command prompt is recognizable as a Windows element.

Here are some exercises that you may want to try:

  • Add Keyboard Filter to your image, and block the Windows logo key+L and Ctrl+Alt+Del key combinations for non-administrator accounts.
  • Install a custom application and configure Shell Launcher to launch that application as the shell for the general user account.

The following lab exercises include related information:

See Also

Other Resources

Advanced Lab Exercises