WinPE install missing x86 folder

Question

I've been attempting to make a WinPE iso disc, and so I downloaded the ADK For Windows 11 version 22H2 with the corresponding add-on package for WinPE. I ran the installer to download the rest of the files and then transferred the files to a host computer I have admin privileges over to install both. Installation of the ADK kit is without any issue. Additionally, when I go through the installation options, x86 appears under the list of architectures to install. After the installation completes, there is no "x86" folder in the "Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Windows Preinstallation Environment/" directory. Am I missing something that I need to install?

So far I have tried:

Restarting the host laptop

Reinstalling both ADK and WinPE addon

Tried the Windows ADK 10.1.26100.2454 version of the WinPE addon

Answer 1

Hello Sashur ,

Microsoft has completely removed the 32-bit (x86) version of WinPE from the newer ADK installers. The x86 option you see in the architecture list during installation is a generic template that the installer UI has not been updated to remove. However, when the installation runs, the x86 components are no longer present in the package, which is why the C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Windows Preinstallation Environment\x86 folder is never created. 

The last version of the ADK to include the x86 WinPE files was the one for Windows 10, version 2004. 

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/get-started/adk-install 

  

The widely accepted solution is to manually create the folder structure that MDT is looking for. This tricks MDT into thinking the x86 components are present and prevents it from crashing: 

1.  Open File Explorer and navigate to the following directory:      

C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Windows Preinstallation Environment\ 

2.  In this folder, create a new folder and name it x86. 

3.  Open the new x86 folder and create another folder inside of it named WinPE_OCs. 

You can also do this quickly with a single command. Open a Command Prompt as Administrator and run the following: 

mkdir "C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Windows Preinstallation Environment\x86\WinPE_OCs" 

This command will create the entire nested folder path in one step. After running it, close and completely restart the MDT Workbench. 

  

Hope this helps!