Prepare a Windows PE Image
The following procedure demonstrates how to use the PEImg tool to prepare a Windows PE image for deployment. After you customize your image, the peimg /prep
command will optimize the image for size by removing non-installed packages from the base image. This operation cannot be reverted, and, after the /prep
option is run, the /install
, /uninstall
, /import
, and /list
commands will not function.
You can still add drivers and language packs by using the /inf
and /lang
commands, respectively. The tool will prompt you before executing the command. You can suppress the prompt using the /f
option.
Note
It is recommended that you recapture and save a copy of the image before running the /prep
option. This ensures that you have a custom base image that you can later modify. You can then reapply your custom base image, run the /prep
option to optimize for size, and then recapture the image to a new file.
For an example on how to build custom Windows PE images, see Windows PE Walkthroughs.
To prepare a Windows PE image for deployment
At a command prompt, run
peimg /prep
on your local Windows PE build directory. For example:peimg /prep c:\winpe_x86\mount\Windows
After you prepare the image, you can burn the image to media. First, recapture or commit the local Windows PE directory to a .wim file by using ImageX, create an .iso file by using one of the provided tools, and then burn the .iso file to the appropriate media.