WinPE: Add packages (Optional Components Reference)

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Applies To: Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2

Add feature packages, also known as optional components, to Windows PE (WinPE).

Languages: When you install each optional component, you must first install the language-neutral optional component and then install the language-specific optional component. The required language resources must be the same version as the language-neutral resources. Language resources are in a folder that has the same name as the language that is installed in the directory of optional components.

Adding optional components

Optional components are included in the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK), in the C:\Program Files\Windows Kits\8.1\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Windows Preinstallation Environment\amd64\WinPE_OCs\ folder.

Get the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit with Windows PE tools

Create a set of either 32-bit or 64-bit Windows PE files

  • Click Start, and type deployment. Right-click Deployment and Imaging Tools Environment and then select Run as administrator.

  • In the Deployment Tools and Imaging Environment, copy the Windows PE files for the PCs you want to boot.

    • The 64-bit version can boot 64-bit UEFI and 64-bit BIOS PCs.

      copype amd64 C:\WinPE_amd64

    • The 32-bit version can boot 32-bit UEFI, 32-bit BIOS, and 64-bit BIOS PCs.

      copype x86 C:\WinPE_x86

Mount the Windows PE boot image

  • Mount the Windows PE image.

    Dism /Mount-Image /ImageFile:"C:\WinPE_amd64\media\sources\boot.wim" /index:1 /MountDir:"C:\WinPE_amd64\mount"

Add optional components (packages or .cab files)

  1. Add the optional component into Windows PE. To add optional components, you need to add both the optional component and its associated language packs.

    Dism /Add-Package /Image:"C:\WinPE_amd64\mount" /PackagePath:"C:\Program Files\Windows Kits\8.1\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Windows Preinstallation Environment\amd64\WinPE_OCs\WinPE-HTA.cab"  

Dism /Add-Package /Image:"C:\WinPE_amd64\mount" /PackagePath:"C:\Program Files\Windows Kits\8.1\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Windows Preinstallation Environment\amd64\WinPE_OCs\en-us\WinPE-HTA_en-us.cab"

Important

Some optional components have prerequisites that must be installed in order. See the list of optional components on this page.

  1. Verify that the optional component is part of the image:

    Dism /Get-Packages /Image:"C:\WinPE_amd64\mount"

    Review the resulting list of packages and verify that the list contains the optional component and its associated language pack.

Add more languages to images that include optional components

  1. List the optional components in the Windows PE image:

    Dism /Get-Packages /Image:"C:\WinPE_amd64\mount"

  2. Review the resulting list of packages, and add the corresponding language packs for each package in the image, including the base Windows PE language pack.

    Dism /Add-Package /Image:"C:\WinPE_amd64\mount" /PackagePath:"C:\Program Files\Windows Kits\8.1\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Windows Preinstallation Environment\amd64\WinPE_OCs\fr-fr\lp.cab"

Dism /Add-Package /Image:"C:\WinPE_amd64\mount" /PackagePath:"C:\Program Files\Windows Kits\8.1\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Windows Preinstallation Environment\amd64\WinPE_OCs\fr-fr\WinPE-HTA_fr-fr.cab"

    where … WinPE_OCs\fr-fr\lp.cab represents the base Windows PE language pack.

  3. If you're adding language packs for Japan, Korea, or China, add the font packages for these languages. Here's an example for Japan:

    Dism /Add-Package /Image:"C:\WinPE_amd64\mount" /PackagePath:"C:\Program Files\Windows Kits\8.1\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Windows Preinstallation Environment\amd64\WinPE_OCs\WinPE-Font Support-JA-JP.cab"

  4. Verify that the language packs are part of the image:

    Dism /Get-Packages /Image:"C:\WinPE_amd64\mount"

    Review the resulting list of packages and verify that the for each optional component, including the base Windows PE image, that there is an associated language pack.

  5. Change the regional settings to the language you'd like to use:

    Dism /Set-AllIntl:en-US /Image:"C:\WinPE_amd64\mount"

    To switch languages while in Windows PE, use wpeutil setmuilanguage.

Unmount the Windows PE image and create media

  1. Unmount the Windows PE image.

    Dism /Unmount-Image /MountDir:"C:\WinPE_amd64\mount" /commit

  2. Create bootable media, such as a USB flash drive.

    MakeWinPEMedia /UFD C:\WinPE_amd64 F:

  3. Boot the media. Windows PE starts automatically. After the Windows PE window appears, the wpeinit command runs automatically. This may take a few minutes. Verify your customizations.

List of Optional Components

Area Optional component name Description

Database

WinPE-MDAC

WinPE-MDAC supports Microsoft® Open Database Connectivity (ODBC), OLE DB, and Microsoft ActiveX® Data Objects (ADO). This set of technologies provides access to various data sources, such as Microsoft SQL Server®. For example, this access enables queries to Microsoft SQL Server installations that contain ADO objects. You can build a dynamic answer file from unique system information. Similarly, you can build data-driven client or server applications that integrate information from a variety of data sources, both relational (SQL Server) and non-relational.

File management

WinPE-FMAPI

WinPE-FMAPI provides access to the Windows PE File Management API (FMAPI) for discovering and restoring deleted files from unencrypted volumes. The FMAPI also provides the ability to use a password or recovery key file for the discovery and recovery of deleted files from Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption encrypted volumes.

Fonts

WinPE-Fonts-Legacy

WinPE-Fonts-Legacy contains 32 font files for various languages/writing scripts. Some of these fonts are no longer used as UI fonts. For example, scripts such as Bengali, Devanagari, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Tamil, Telugu, and Sinhalese were covered by Mangal, Latha, Vrinda, Gautami, Kalinga, artika, Raavi, Shruti, and Tunga, but in Windows 8, they were all unified under Nirmala UI, a single, pan-Indian font. The following list shows the fonts and languages included in this optional component:

  • estre.ttf Estrangelo Edessa (Syriac)

  • mvboli.ttf MV Boli (Thaana)

  • KhmerUI.ttf Khmer UI (Khmer UI)

  • KhmerUIB.ttf Khmer UI Bold (Khmer UI)

  • Laoui.ttf Lao UI (Lao)

  • Laouib.ttf Lao UI Bold (Lao)

  • daunpenh.ttf DaunPenh (Khmer)

  • moolbor.ttf MoolBoran (Khmer)

  • dokchamp.ttf DokChampa (Lao)

  • Himalaya.ttf Microsoft Himalaya (Tibetan)

  • monbaiti.ttf Mongolian Baiti (Mongolian)

  • MSYI.ttf Microsoft Yi Baiti (Yi Syllables)

  • nyala.ttf Nyala (Ethiopic)

  • sylfaen.ttf Sylfaen (Armenian & Georgian)

  • euphemia.ttf Euphemia (Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics)

  • plantc.ttf Plantagenet Cherokee (Cherokee)

Fonts

WinPE-Font Support-JA-JP

WinPE-Font Support-JA-JP contains two Japanese font families that are packaged as TrueType Collection (TTC) files. MS Gothic is the Windows Japanese user interface font in versions of Windows before Windows Vista. MS Gothic contains a large character set and embedded bitmaps to ensure legible rendering at small sizes. Meiryo, a font that was introduced in Windows Vista, is designed specifically for use in a Microsoft ClearType® rendering environment. Meiryo does not include embedded bitmaps. Instead, Meiryo relies on hinting instructions to produce legible characters at small sizes. In addition, the module contains two Japanese bitmap fonts, App932.fon and Vga932.fon. The module also contains a bitmap-only TrueType font, Jpn_font.ttf. This font is used on boot screens.

Fonts

WinPE-Font Support-KO-KR

WinPE-Font Support-KO-KR contains three core Korean font families: Gulim, Batang and Malgun Gothic. Gulim is the legacy UI font and, as a TTC file, contains Gulim, GulimChe, Dotum and DotumChe. Batang is the legacy text font and is also a TTC file, containing Batang, BatangChe, GungSuh and GungSuhChe. Malgun Gothic, a font that was introduced in Windows Vista, is designed specifically for use in a ClearType rendering environment. Malgun Gothic does not include embedded bitmaps and instead relies on hinting instructions to produce legible characters at small sizes.

Fonts

WinPE-Font Support-ZH-CN

WinPE-Font Support-ZH-CN contains two Chinese font families that are packaged as TTC files. Simsun is the Simplified Chinese user interface font in Windows versions before Windows Vista. Simsun contains embedded bitmaps to ensure legible rendering at small sizes. The other TTC font is MingLiu. MingLiu has embedded bitmaps and provides support for the Hong Kong Supplementary Character Set (HKSCS). YaHei, a font that was introduced in Windows Vista, is designed specifically for use in a ClearType rendering environment. YaHei does not include embedded bitmaps. YaHei relies on hinting instructions to produce legible characters at small sizes. In addition, the module contains one bitmap-only TrueType font, Chs_boot.ttf. This font is used on boot screens.

Fonts

WinPE-Font Support-ZH-HK

and

WinPE-Font Support-ZH-TW

The Hong Kong and Taiwan optional components contain two Chinese font families that are packaged as TTC files. Simsun is the Simplified Chinese user interface font in Windows versions before Windows Vista. Simsun contains embedded bitmaps to ensure legible rendering at small sizes. MingLiu has embedded bitmaps and provides support for the HKSCS. JhengHei, a font that was introduced in Windows Vista, is designed specifically for use in a ClearType rendering environment. JhengHei does not include embedded bitmaps. JhengHei relies on hinting instructions to produce legible characters at small sizes. In addition, the module contains one bitmap-only TrueType font, Cht_boot.ttf. This font is used on boot screens.

HTML

WinPE-HTA

WinPE-HTA provides HTML Application (HTA) support to create GUI applications through the Windows Internet Explorer® script engine and HTML services. These applications are trusted and display only the menus, icons, toolbars, and title information that you create.

Microsoft .NET

WinPE-NetFX

WinPE-NetFX contains a subset of the .NET Framework 4.5 that is designed for client applications.

Not all Windows binaries are present in Windows PE, and therefore not all Windows APIs are present or usable. Due to the limited API set, the following .NET Framework features have no or reduced functionality in Windows PE:

  • Windows Runtime

  • Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) (not supported)

  • .NET Framework Fusion APIs

  • Windows Control Library event logging

  • .NET Framework COM Interoperability

  • .NET Framework Cryptography Model

Dependencies: Install WinPE-WMI before you install WinPE-NetFX.

Network

WinPE-Dot3Svc

Adds support for the IEEE 802.X authentication protocol on wired networks. For more info, see WinPE Network Drivers: Initializing and adding drivers.

Network

WinPE-PPPoE

WinPE-PPPoE enables you to use Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE) to create, connect, disconnect, and delete PPPoE connections from Windows PE. PPPoE is a network protocol for encapsulating Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) frames inside Ethernet frames. PPPoE enables Windows users to remotely connect their computers to the web. By using PPPoE, users can virtually dial from one computer to another over an Ethernet network, to establish a point-to-point connection between the computers. The computers can use this point-to-point connection to transport data packets.

Network

WinPE-RNDIS

WinPE-RNDIS contains Remote Network Driver Interface Specification (Remote NDIS) support. WinPE-RNDIS enables network support for devices that implement the Remote NDIS specification over USB. Remote NDIS defines a bus-independent message set and a description of how this message set operates over various I/O buses. Therefore, hardware vendors do not have to write an NDIS miniport device driver. Because this Remote NDIS interface is standardized, one set of host drivers can support any number of bus-attached networking devices.

Network

WinPE-WDS-Tools

WinPE-WDS-Tools includes APIs to enable the Image Capture tool and a multicast scenario that involves a custom Windows Deployment Services client. It must be installed if you intend to run the Windows Deployment Services client on a custom Windows PE image.

Windows PowerShell

WinPE-PowerShell

WinPE-PowerShell contains Windows PowerShell–based diagnostics that simplify using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) to query the hardware during manufacturing. You can create Windows PowerShell–based deployment and administrative Windows PE–based tools. In addition to deployment, you can use Windows PowerShell for recovery scenarios. Customers can boot in Windows RE and then use Windows PowerShell scripts to resolve issues. Customers are not limited to the toolsets that run in Windows PE. Similarly, you can build scripted offline solutions to recover some computers from no-boot scenarios.

WinPE-PowerShell has the following known limitations:

  • Windows PowerShell remoting is not supported. Any cmdlets that have remoting functionality will return an error.

  • The Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE) is not supported.

  • Windows PowerShell 2.0 is not supported.

Dependencies: Install WinPE-WMI > WinPE-NetFX > WinPE-Scripting before you install WinPE-PowerShell.

Windows PowerShell

WinPE-DismCmdlets

WinPE-DismCmdlets contains the DISM PowerShell module, which includes cmdlets used for managing and servicing Windows images.

For more info, see Deployment Imaging Servicing Management (DISM) Cmdlets in Windows PowerShell.

Dependencies: Install WinPE-WMI > WinPE-NetFX > WinPE-Scripting > WinPE-PowerShell before you install WinPE-DismCmdlets.

Windows PowerShell

WinPE-SecureBootCmdlets

WinPE-SecureBootCmdlets contains the PowerShell cmdlets for managing the UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) environment variables for Secure Boot.

Dependencies: Install WinPE-WMI > WinPE-NetFX > WinPE-Scripting > WinPE-PowerShell before you install WinPE-SecureBootCmdlets.

Windows PowerShell

WinPE-StorageWMI

WinPE-StorageWMI contains PowerShell cmdlets for storage management. These cmdlets use the Windows Storage Management API (SMAPI) to manage local storage, such as disk, partition, and volume objects. Or, these cmdlets use the Windows SMAPI together with array storage management by using a storage management provider. WinPE-StorageWMI also contains Internet SCSI (iSCSI) Initiator cmdlets for connecting a host computer or server to virtual disks on external iSCSI-based storage arrays through an Ethernet network adapter or iSCSI Host Bus Adapter (HBA).

Dependencies: Install WinPE-WMI > WinPE-NetFX > WinPE-Scripting > WinPE-PowerShell before you install WinPE-StorageWMI.

Recovery

WinPE-Rejuv

WinPE-Rejuv is used by Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE). This package is included in the base winre.wim file.

Recovery

WinPE-SRT

WinPE-SRT is used by Windows RE. This package is included in the base winre.wim file.

Recovery

WinPE-WinReCfg

WinPE-WinReCfg contains the Winrecfg.exe tool, and it enables the following scenarios:

  • Boot from x86-based Windows PE to configure Windows RE settings on an offline x64-based operating system image.

  • Boot from x64-based Windows PE to configure Windows RE settings on an offline x86-based operating system image.

Before Windows 8, the Winrecfg.exe tool was included in the Windows 7 OEM Preinstallation Kit (Windows OPK).

Scripting

WinPE-Scripting

WinPE-Scripting contains a multiple-language scripting environment that is ideal for automating system administration tasks, such as batch file processing. Scripts that run in the Windows Script Host (WSH) environment can call WSH objects and other COM-based technologies that support Automation, such as WMI, to manage the Windows subsystems that are central to many system administration tasks.

Dependencies: Install WinPE-Scripting to make sure that full scripting functionality is available when you are using WinPE-NetFX and WinPE-HTA. The installation order is irrelevant.

Scripting

WinPE-WMI

WinPE-WMI contains a subset of the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) providers that enable minimal system diagnostics. WMI is the infrastructure for management data and operations on Windows-based operating systems. You can write WMI scripts or applications to automate administrative tasks on remote computers. Additionally, WMI supplies management data to other parts of the operating system and products.

Setup

Winpe-LegacySetup

Winpe-LegacySetup contains all Setup files from the \Sources folder on the Windows media. Add this optional component when you service Setup or the \Sources folder on the Windows media. You must add this optional component together with the optional component for the Setup feature. To add a new Boot.wim file to the media, add the parent WinPE-Setup, either of the children (WinPE-Setup-Client or WinPE-Setup-Server), and Media optional components. Media Setup is required to support Windows Server 2008 R2 installation.

Setup

WinPE-Setup

WinPE-Setup is the parent of WinPE-Setup-Client and WinPE-Setup-Server. It contains all Setup files from the \Sources folder that are common to the client and the server.

Setup

WinPE-Setup-Client

WinPE-Setup-Client contains the client branding files for the parent WinPE-Setup optional component.

Dependencies: Install WinPE-Setup before you install WinPE-Setup-Client.

Setup

WinPE-Setup-Server

WinPE-Setup-Server includes the server branding files for the parent WinPE-Setup optional component.

Dependencies: Install WinPE-Setup before you install WinPE-Setup-Server.

Startup

WinPE-SecureStartup

New for Windows 8. WinPE-SecureStartup enables provisioning and management of BitLocker and the Trusted Platform Module (TPM). It includes BitLocker command-line tools, BitLocker WMI management libraries, a TPM driver, TPM Base Services (TBS), the Win32_TPM class, the BitLocker Unlock Wizard, and BitLocker UI libraries. The TPM driver provides better support for both BitLocker and the TPM in this preboot environment.

Dependencies: Install WinPE-WMI before you install WinPE-SecureStartup.

Storage

WinPE-EnhancedStorage

New for Windows 8. WinPE-EnhancedStorage enables Windows to discover additional functionality for storage devices, such as encrypted drives, and implementations that combine Trusted Computing Group (TCG) and IEEE 1667 ("Standard Protocol for Authentication in Host Attachments of Transient Storage Devices") specifications. This optional component enables Windows to manage these storage devices natively by using BitLocker.

Windows RE optional components

The default Windows RE image contains the following built-in optional components:

  • WinPE-EnhancedStorage

  • WinPE-Rejuv

  • WinPE-Scripting

  • WinPE-SecureStartup

  • WinPE-Setup

  • WinPE-SRT

  • WinPE-WDS-Tools

  • WinPE-WMI

See Also

Tasks

WinPE: Mount and Customize

Other Resources

WinPE for Windows 8.1: Windows PE 5.1