Prepare a Windows PE Image

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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

  1. At a command prompt, run peimg /prep on your local Windows PE build directory. For example:

    peimg /prep c:\winpe_x86\mount\Windows

  2. 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.

See Also

Concepts

PEImg Command-Line Options