Adding Acronis Plug-in to WinPE

To add Acronis Plug-in to WinPE:

1. Start the Bootable Media Builder.
2. Specify the license keys. The license keys will not get assigned or reassigned. They determine which functionality to enable for the created media. Without the license keys, you can create media only for recovery.
3. Select Bootable media type: Windows PE or Bootable media type: Windows PE (64-bit). A 64-bit media is required to boot a machine that uses Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI).

   If you have selected Bootable media type: Windows PE, do the following first:

   • Click Download the Plug-in for WinPE (32-bit).
   • Save the plug-in to %PROGRAM_FILES%\Acronis\BootableComponents\WinPE32.

   If you plan to recover an operating system to dissimilar hardware or to a virtual machine and want to ensure the system bootability, select the Include the Universal Restore tool... check box.

4. Select Create WinPE automatically.

   The software runs the appropriate script and proceeds to the next window.

5. Select whether to enable or disable the remote connection to a machine booted from the media. If enabled, enter a user name and password to be specified in a command line if the acrocmd utility is running on a different machine. If you leave these boxes empty, the remote connection will be disabled.
6. Specify network settings for the machine network adapters or choose DHCP auto configuration.
7. [Optional] Specify the Windows drivers to be added to Windows PE.

   Once you boot a machine into Windows PE, the drivers can help you access the device where the backup is located. Add 32-bit drivers if you use a 32-bit WinPE distribution or 64-bit drivers if you use a 64-bit WinPE distribution.

   Also, you will be able to point to the added drivers when configuring Universal Restore for Windows. For using Universal Restore, add 32-bit or 64-bit drivers depending on whether you are planning to recover a 32-bit or a 64-bit Windows operating system.

   To add the drivers:

   • Click Add and specify the path to the necessary *.inf file for a corresponding SCSI, RAID, SATA controller, network adapter, tape drive or other device.
   • Repeat this procedure for each driver you want to be included in the resulting WinPE media.
8. Choose whether you want to create ISO or WIM image or upload the media on a server (WDS or RIS).
9. Specify the full path to the resulting image file including the file name, or specify the server and provide the user name and password to access it.
10. Check your settings in the summary screen and click Proceed.
11. Burn the .ISO to CD or DVD using a third-party tool or copy to a flash drive.

Once a machine boots into WinPE, the agent starts automatically.

To create a PE image (ISO file) from the resulting WIM file:

• Replace the default boot.wim file in your Windows PE folder with the newly created WIM file. For the above example, type:

  copy c:\AcronisMedia.wim c:\winpe_x86\ISO\sources\boot.wim

• Use the Oscdimg tool. For the above example, type:

  oscdimg -n -bc:\winpe_x86\etfsboot.com c:\winpe_x86\ISO c:\winpe_x86\winpe_x86.iso

  Do not copy and paste this example. Type the command manually, otherwise it will fail.

For more information on customizing Windows PE 2.x and 3.x, see the Windows Preinstallation Environment User's Guide (Winpe.chm). The information on customizing Windows PE 4.0 and later is available in the Microsoft TechNet Library.