Part II
I.
Test WinPE
If you don’t already have it, grab the latest version of WinPE from the link provided in Part 1. The latest version is actually Vista compatible, so it can be used for Vista deployments as well. The file should be in the form of an .img file or an .iso. The Microsoft path is
here.
You should test this first, because without this utility, the goals of this tutorial will be nearly impossible to meet. For testing, we need to make sure:
·The image file can boot from system start up.
·WinPE fully loads.
OK, so let’s get started on the step.
1.Burn the .image file to a CD.
Using Nero, simply go to File, open. Browse to the image file. Use the same CD burning settings you normall use to burn a CD and Burn!
2.
Boot from CD.
Using an available computer, insert the burned CD into the disk drive and reset the computer to ensure it boots from the CD. During initial boot, if you are prompted to press any key to boot from CD, please do so. After that, there will be no other prompts. Simply wait for WinPE to fully load.
3.Shut down system.
Once WinPE fully loads, we know the disk that we created works. So let’s shut down and move on to the next phase.
II.Build Core PC Image
The purpose of this CD is to get your system back with as much core application functionality as quickly as possible. Because our image has to fit on a DVD, there has to be a limit the amount of applications installed into this image. If too many applications are installed, the final packaged image will be too big fo a single dvd and will require that we span the restore image across multiple DVDs. This complicates the solution even further.
What do we need:
·Operating system disk
·Software disks for items listed below
·Spare PC. You will need a PC for building this image. If you use your existing pc, you will most like have an image that is too big to fit on a CD or DVD.
So let’s define our Core image applications and installation steps:
·Install the Operating System.
First, we have to install the operating system. Once that’s installed, complete whatever OS level settings and tweaks that you prefer.
·Install all drivers.
·Install all needed Microsoft Updates.
·Antivirus
Make sure you update virus definitions after installation.
·AntiSpyware
Make sure you update spyware definitions after installation
·Office Suite
Install your applications completely and use your supporting documentation if you aren’t familiar with the procedure. Once you are finished installing and updating all of your applications, we are ready to begin the process of actually cloning the system.
Linear Mode
