Win10XPE - How To Quick Start Guide
Win10XPE - How To Quick Start Guide
Copy Win10XPE folder to your Data Drive. (I prefer to use my D drive rather then my C Drive as to keep away
from OS..
If using Windows 10 as your Host OS - you will need to allow a Windows Defender "Exception" for the
Win10XPE folder ( I would suggest the same exception for any A/V software) in order to allow the program
exe's to run without being blocked....
Then Mount Your Official Release Windows 10 Setup Media ISO (it is suggested that you copy the contents of
the setup media to a folder on your Data Drive and select it as the source) but it is not required..
Note: We do not add support for MS Preview Releases - all projects use Official MS Release Media
When you run the Win10XPE.exe the builder will open (Note: A link to Official Media Download is present on
interface)
Hit the gray box and point to the folder location or drive letter of the Setup Media..
After it finds the media that main screen will change now listing the Wim Info
You can use the scroll box to select "Pro" or make any other selection..
Then Hit the Big Blue Play Button....
But Basically You are going to be Exporting those Driver(s) from your Host PC with DISM
You will then Copy the Driver Folders into the Driver Integration Folder in XPE
Another Hint To Additional Drivers - Copy Your Macrium Reflect "Drivers" Folder.
Be sure to check the "Integrate Custom Drivers" Checkbox
The Drivers are sorted by Arch - and Each Driver Folder is Recursed
Note: You Only Need To Load Required/Special Drivers That Are Not Included In WinPE
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Additional Folders
There is a "Custom Folder" So You Can Include Additional Program Files (For Portable Programs or Custom
Files/Folders)
To Process Custom Folder - Check The "Add Your Custom Folder" Checkbox
There Is An "ISO Root Folder" where you can place additional files on the root of drive
These are files that will be Accessible Without Booting into WinPE
To Process The Root Folder - Check The "Include Files In ISO Root" Checkbox
Add Host Boot Menu Option
I will provide a little hint for you so you can Boot directly from the Win10XPE folder...
Thus no need to keep burning/coping ISO files to USB..
Hit the "Create Batch File" button - that will create a batch file to add the Boot Menu option for XPE to boot from
the Win10XPE directory
Note: If your selected build is to USB the Y drive is not created (As Y Drive is the Root of the drive)
Selecting the "Run All Programs From Ram" option will work no problem..
Type> msconfig
Select the "Boot" Tab and remove the "XPE Recovery" Option
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In the "Above Post" screenshots you will see a "Run all programs from ram" checkbox (Just below the HostOS
boxes) ...
Selecting it will override the use of the Scrollbox on every program interface - by placing all the programs into
Ram..
Leaving the "Run all programs from ram" checkbox - unchecked on Build Core Plugin
Will allow you to select the programs target location via the program interface.. USB or RAM
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There are times when you may want to Add Additional Plugins or Make Edits To Your Current Build
This can be done without the Need To Process the Complete Build Again.
Select The Plugin You Want to Add and Then Hit The Little Green Play Button on Plugin Interface
After The Additional Plugin(s) are Added To The Build
Select The "Create ISO" Plugin from the Left Pane.
On the Interface Hit The "Create Boot.wim and ISO" Button
Build Log - Error Messages - Build Stops Abruptly - Programs Not Found In ISO
Sometimes Things Go Wrong and Error Messages Appear - Sometimes Things Go Wrong And No Message
Appears..
Instead Of Jumping To Make A Complaint Post In This Forum - Use The "LOG" Tab and Investigate The Cause
First...
The Build Log is My Best Friend When Creating and Testing Plugins..
Select The "Log" Tab after the Plugin Is Processed - Look For Yellow (Warnings) or Red (Errors) Icons In Pane
Everything Not So Good Here - I See a Yellow Warning Message - Red would be an Error Message
You Can Hover Your Mouse Over The Message to Read it
Ok, Now that you know something went wrong - Single Click The Message To Locate It In The Log
Scroll a little past the Message and You Will See The "Script" That Was Processed...
Now, You Have a General Idea of where To Start Looking and You May Be Able To Fix It...
IF
After All Else Fails and You Just Can't Not Figure Out The Cause
Post a Report with the Error Message and The Plugin That Caused it
You can also save the complete build log - By Hitting The "Save As Log.Html" Button
Then Compress (7z or Zip) and Attach That log File To the Bottom of Your Report Post
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We Create and Test Plugins With Limited Resources and Do Our Best To Prevent Them..
With That Said, Not Every PC Is The Same and Program Error Messages Do Happen...
Take a Screenshot of The Error Message and Attach it to the Bottom of your report post..
Update Existing Plugins
Update/Replace The Program Files Inside the 7z Setup File on your Desktop
You usually only need to update the existing files - because we usually do not include unneeded files
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Notice that the Setup File .7z is shown in the left pane and Then Click "Start" Button
Exit The Attachment Interface By Clicking The Red X in the Upper Right Corner
You Have Just > Extracted, Updated and Encoded A File...
Read other plugins by using the Edit button and Selecting the Source tab....
If you see the registry line(s) you are looking for - Copy them into your Plugin...
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This is where this Game gets Very Tricky and Requires Experience...
And it will require you to do a lot of Testing with your Plugin Settings
On the Plus Side > it is PE and written to rewritable media
If you screw up - Erase, Rebuild and Test Again
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You Can Export the Registry Settings from your Host Registry or PE Registry using RegEdit
Select Create ISO Plugin and on Interface Hit the "Reg Convert PE" Button
Click Folder Icon and Point to the Exported Registry File - ie Test.reg
Select "Gooo Reg File" Button
Click Save and Close the Dialog Box...
The Script File Created is the code for adding the registry setting you exported and are going to use in your
Plugin
You will not use that Script File [process] but the code for the settings will be copied under [Add-Registry] in
your plugin.....
Be Very CAREFULL and Read the Settings as they are exported from a different Host and many use
different Folder locations
YOU will need to change this information and you may not need to add all the registry settings....
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Option 3) Capture The Registry Settings Before and After The Programs Installation Process
Run the Installer File That You Want To Capture The Registry Changes For
You should see the Required or Missing Files listed with "NAME NOT FOUND" and see the Path The Program
Searched for them.
Note: Some Non-Portable Programs' Require MS Files, Need a few Registry Entries and Require Driver Files
Copied into System32
All This Takes A lot Of Time, Testing and Learning To Get Things Right..
That Is What Makes This A Hobby For Us...
And A Great Self Taught Experience That Will Last A Lifetime...
6) Run Process Monitor > there are 4 selected (blue) Icons in top pane - deselect all but File Cabinet
Now Process monitor is filtered to look only for files that are not found
7) Launch the App and navigate around in the App - leave App Minimized or open...
8) Go into Process monitor - Under "Process Name" Header find the program.exe - right click Include
"Program.exe"
Now Process Monitor filtered to find only files not found by program exe...
You can create other filters as well (not going to get into that now)
But you are generally looking for System32 and Syswow64 files
right click file name > Copy > Paste to New Txt Document, then save..
With those 3 saved txt files and a compare of the extracted files - you should be able to create a reliable App...
That is the challenge and the enjoyment for me..
Hope this helps... Enjoy!