We are using a WinPE environment that is booted into via PXE from a Windows Deployment Server. I am wondering if there is a way for us to copy registry information and files into the WIM file that we boot from so the applications are already installed and registered? Or will I need to script the installation and registration to occur each time we boot into WinPE?
Customizing WIM is a complex task, however it can be done. To accomplish this, run the following: (Requires Microsoft's Windows AIK and done from a command prompt)
- Mount WIM:
Dism /Mount-Wim /WimFile:D:\ABoot\iso\sources\boot.wim /index:1 /MountDir:D:\!
- Attach Registry from a file to your local registry, add your values, unload registry:
reg load HKLM\my D:\!\windows\system32\config\software
reg add "HKLM\my\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts" /v "Courier New (TrueType)" /t REG_SZ /d cour.ttf
reg unload HKLM\my
- Unmount WIM:
Dism /unmount-Wim /MountDir:d:\! /Commit
Here is the link to access the Microsoft Windows AIK and documentation
An alternate method is to add a script in to the Boot Disk Creator while preparing bootable media. The script is then automatically launched when WinPE is loading. Here is a link with further details: http://boot-disk.com/booting_disk_drivers.htm.
