Modify any WinPE using PEStartup

Following on from my previous blog post on PEStartup, I have written Tutorial #143 on how to use PEStartup to configure any ready-made WinPE OS such as Strelec, Hirens, DLC, Dium and Gandalf WinPEs.

In fact, standard Win10PESE WinBuilder builds including the latest Gandalf Redstone 2 WinPE and Bob Omb's PEs 'just work' and will automatically run PEStartup when they boot, if you follow the Tutorial (you just extract files from a .zip file onto your E2B drive!).

If the WinPE does not have the correct plugin already, you just need to double-click on the \TheOven_Startup.cmd script to run PEStartup and configure your WinPE Desktop.
Many thanks again to Tứ Nguyễn for his PEStartup utility.

Add WinPE Reboot and Shutdown Desktop Shortcuts

Configure PEStartup to add Desktop shortcuts using wpeutil.exe

Add lightweight WinPE versions to E2B that you can easily configure yourself!

It is normally very difficult to tailor a WinPE project to your own requirements unless you rebuild the entire OS each time.

However, there is a way to make changes to your WinPE OS and have those changes remembered on reboots. For instance, you can specify your own wallpaper and Desktop shortcuts.

32-bit XP and 32-bit and 64-bit Win 10 PE builds are available.

See also the more recent blog post here for use with any WinPE.

Gandalf’s Win10PE x64 Redstone 2 build 15063 version 10-01-2017 is now available

Download from here. It is based on WinBuilder and ChrisR's Win10PESE project.

To add to E2B, just copy the .iso file to a menu folder (e.g. \_ISO\WINPE) and run \MAKE_THIS_DRIVE_CONTIGUOUS.exe to make it contiguous.

To suppress the tips and extension suggestions made by the QRUN.g4b script when you run it, just add the letter Q or q to the end of the filename. e.g.
Gandalf'sWin10PEx64Redstone2_10-01-2017q.iso

Do not uses spaces in the filename. If you want to change the menu entry and have spaces in the filename, use a .txt file - e.g. Gandalf'sWin10PEx64Redstone2_10-01-2017.txt

To change keyboard locale press CTRL+TAB.

Tip: if you add PEStartup to your USB drive and PortableApps.com (Start.exe) to the Desktop as Startup options. you can use the Shutdown/reboot button in the PortableApps GUI to shutdown/reboot (as the Start Menu Shutdown\Reboot does not work). You can also add lots of PortableApps apps easily too. Gandalf Redstone 2 will automatically run PEStartup 20 seconds after it loads the Desktop.

E2B v1.96c available

Just a few small changes (no bug fixes)

• QRUN.g4b now checks for fixed type of .VHD\.VHDX file - dynamic VHDs won't boot.
• Added help text for installing from puppy ISOs (.isopup)
• Improved GIFtoIMA.cmd script to calculate size of .IMA file required and now will optionally add the new code lines to your MyE2B.cfg file for you.
• New default wallpaper for E2B
• New SWITCH_E2B.exe version 1.0.17 with improved file re-ordering for dual image payloads
  (see Method 4). 
• Added extra Win7/8/10 disk 1 sample XML unattended install files for use with VMs where disk 1 is the target HDD instead of disk 0.  See here for more info.

Download from Alternate Download Sites as usual.

How to use E2B with Virtual Box to test unattended Windows installs

In a chat session with 'Nathan' today, he explained how he uses VBox to install Windows to a Virtual Machine using ISO files on an E2B USB drive.

Testing E2B's 'Install Windows from ISO' method in a Virtual Machine is problematic because Windows needs to detect a Removable drive (e.g. CD\DVD or USB flash drive) in the system - Setup will only pick up the \AutoUnattend.XML (or \Unattend.XML) file from removable drives.

However, under a VM, a USB drive is 'mapped' as a virtual (IDE\SATA etc.) hard disk when using a .vmdk file (so the drive is not seen as a Removable drive once WinPE\Windows Setup runs).

This means the Product Key and other settings in the XML file are not used by Windows Setup when testing in a VM.

We can get around this by booting in two stages and by adding a USB WinHelper drive:

Adding MDT ISOs to Easy2Boot (UEFI+MBR)

Boot from a .imgPTN23 file

You can 'switch-in' a partition image which holds the MDT boot files and Deployment folder.

For MBR-booting, the simplest way to add an ISO made by the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, is to convert the MDT ISO file to a .imgPTN file using the E2B MPI Tool Kit. Just Drag-and-Drop the MDT ISO file (or MDT USB drive letter) onto the MPI_FAT32 Windows Desktop shortcut.

Rename the file to have a .imgPTN23 file extension.

MDT Setup

This should work fine, as long as all the files inside the ISO are less than 4GB in size, and then you can MBR and UEFI-boot from the .imgPTN file. Later versions of MDT support the creation of split wims, so this will work even for MDT with large files.

If UEFI-booting and you have a large WIM file, you could try using the MPI_NTFS shortcut to create an NTFS .imgPTN23 file. Then you can UEFI boot to agFM on the 2nd FAT32 partition (E2B v2 only) and from agFM boot from the WIM file on the first partition or the \EFI\BOOT\BOOTX64.EFI file on the first partition.

Tip: Instead of using E2B, you could just copy all your ISOs to an IODD Mini #ad. You can still put E2B on it as well! The IODD Mini just looks like a USB DVD once the ISO is selected, so even Secure UEFI boot works.

Alternate method for MBR-booting

If you have files inside the ISO that are larger than 4GB, then use the MPI_NTFS shortcut instead. However, you will only be able to MBR-boot unless you first  UEFI64-boot to agFM (see above).

Below are instructions for direct booting from an MDT ISO (MBR-booting only) and another set of instructions for MBR+UEFI-booting by using two image files...

New Spanish\Espanol YouTube videos uploaded by 'Decomputo - Valledupar'

Many people make YouTube videos showing Easy2Boot, but here is one that shows multiple wallpapers, a modified language file and uses a different text font...

and another just on how to get started...

Add a slideshow to your E2B menu

I have made a quick PowerPoint presentation and converted it to an 'animated GIF' .IMA file for use with E2B. So you can now have PowerPoint slides on your E2B menu!

Try JondoFox Live CD for secure and anonymous browsing

The JonDo Live CD\ISO is now no longer under development but the 2016 version is still available for download.

You may find it easier to use from E2B than Tails, but it does not seem to support persistence or UEFI.

To see what other sites can learn about you when you simply view their site, click here and then click on Start Test.

JonDoFox Live ISO

To use the network (internet) - click the Network Manager icon at the bottom of the display (move mouse to bottom of screen).

To browse securely, you will need to follow the instruction here.

You can also install the JonDoFox browser onto your OS from here.

Add Kali Linux + persistence (UEFI+MBR) to E2B

There is already a .mnu file for booting to a Kali ISO file in MBR mode with persistence.
E2B v1.B4+ also supports the special .isopersistdebian file extension so no .mnu file is required.
There is also a blog tutorial for a full OS install of Kali onto E2B here.

Recommended method: See also the Kali with persistence sample agFM .cfg file in the \e2b folder on the 2nd agFM partition (see here).