Here, you will need to direct the program to your Windows installation media, the location of Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 files, and a directory of any additional files you want loaded onto the ISO.īartPE maps memory to use as a hard drive for quick-loading applications (this is called a RAM drive). Start Bart’s PE Builder and you’ll see the free license screen followed by the Source screen ( Figure A).
Extract from the Windows Server 2003 install media (\support\tools\deploy.cab) or download the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit and extract factory.exe from rktools.msi\\deploy.cab.
Factory.exe: This is a Sysprep component that installs drivers after boot.IPChange.exe: This is an IP tool that can reset an IP address without a reboot.
It only takes about 30 seconds to figure out the problem and correct it, but you may run into a few more of these kinds of bugs.īefore customizing your own disk you should get some files to enable network support: The instructions have you place the files in the \plugin\mcafee\ directory, while the INF file is looking for \plugin\mcafee\files\. I did find one error in the plug-in process, and it involved the McAfee virus scanner.
For example, I added Ultimate Zip, a freeware archive program, onto the BartPE disk. You’ll probably want to add some programs of your own. For both free and proprietary programs, you will need to copy some files into the plug-in directory and enable the program in BartPE. The BartPE help file provides instructions on acquiring and adding the other free applications. While a few of these programs are free, and BartPE includes a few of the freeware tools, it also supports many of the most popular commercial products that might be desired on a recovery CD. One of the smallest (1.2MB) free Web browsers available This is the free version of Bart’s hardware testing tools and it’s useful for checking hard drives.ĭrivers for these popular RAID controllers By default, it comes with the configuration files for the programs shown in Table A.Ī system information tool that displays processor, memory, etc. It is built with a plug-in system using XML and INF files. It’s important to note that for Windows file sharing you will need to have shares accessible outside a Windows domain since BartPE cannot log onto domains.īartPE is also expandable so you can roll other software into your PE disk. Naturally your experience may vary, but this fact could cut down the number of BartPE variants you need to keep in your IT library. I discovered that the NIC drivers managed to operate cards from different vendors. You will need to download a few different packages to get the files you need for a full TCP/IP stack, but when you are done, you will have a DHCP-capable system able to access the Internet or your internal network from the book disk.
This is not, however, a one-click solution. Unlike many recovery CDs, Bart’s PE can provide network connectivity once you boot into the system. The result is not identical to the Windows PE, but it is very similar. BartPE requires a functioning Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 system and the Windows installation media in order to create a bootable ISO image. Microsoft provides Windows PE to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to install software and test hardware, but Bart’s PE is intended to be used to recover data, remove viruses and trojans, and identify broken hardware.
Let’s take a look at what it can do and how to use it.īartPE Builder, from Nu2 recreates the Windows Pre-installation Environment (PE).
And unlike most recovery CDs, BartPE can also provide network access. It also enables you to customize it so that you can add just about anything else you want to cram onto a bootable CD or DVD.
There are a number of freeware recovery CDs and boot disks available, but there’s one difference between most of them and Bart’s Preinstalled Environment (BartPE), and that’s the fact that BartPE is based on a native Windows environment. Learn how to install, set up, and customize a native Windows boot disk using a free program called BartPE.
Build a robust Windows boot disk for free with BartPE