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Windows Preinstallation Environment: Difference between revisions
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|introduced in = [[Windows XP build 2257]] | |introduced in = [[Windows XP build 2257]] | ||
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'''Windows Preinstallation Environment''', often shortened to '''WinPE''' or '''Windows PE''', is a minimal version of Windows typically used for system deployment or recovery. It is configured in such a way that changes made to the environment do not persist across reboots, which makes it possible to boot it from read-only media such as | '''Windows Preinstallation Environment''', often shortened to '''WinPE''' or '''Windows PE''', is a minimal version of Windows typically used for system deployment or recovery. It is configured in such a way that changes made to the environment do not persist across reboots, which makes it possible to boot it from read-only media such as optical discs or across the network. It was first introduced in [[Windows XP]] as a replacement for [[MS-DOS]]-based boot disks and has since been adopted for the [[Windows Setup|setup]] and the [[Windows Recovery Environment|recovery environment]] starting with [[Windows Vista]]. The [[Microsoft Validation OS]], introduced alongside the [[Windows 11 2022 Update]], is also based upon the Preinstallation Environment, although it is stripped down to the bare essentials required to bring up the Windows GUI and console. | ||
In Windows XP, the environment is loaded by <code>setupldr.bin</code> in a similar manner to the text mode setup. However, it does not load the operating system into a RAM disk by default and therefore it is required to keep the system disk in the drive, as ejecting it would cause the system to misbehave. In Windows Vista, the system is stored inside a [[W:Windows_Imaging_Format|WIM file]] called <code>boot.wim</code>, which is loaded by the [[W:Windows_NT_6_startup_process|boot manager]] into a RAM disk and then executed. Unlike regular versions of Windows, Windows PE uses the <code>/MININT</code> switch to instruct the kernel to load registry hives as volatile to ensure that the operating system does not attempt to save any registry changes to the boot disk. | In Windows XP, the environment is loaded by <code>setupldr.bin</code> in a similar manner to the text mode setup. However, it does not load the operating system into a RAM disk by default and therefore it is required to keep the system disk in the drive, as ejecting it would cause the system to misbehave. In Windows Vista, the system is stored inside a [[W:Windows_Imaging_Format|WIM file]] called <code>boot.wim</code>, which is loaded by the [[W:Windows_NT_6_startup_process|boot manager]] into a RAM disk and then executed. Unlike regular versions of Windows, Windows PE uses the <code>/MININT</code> switch to instruct the kernel to load registry hives as volatile to ensure that the operating system does not attempt to save any registry changes to the boot disk. | ||