Adding Acronis Plug-in to WinPE

To add Acronis Plug-in to WinPE ISO:

1. When adding the plug-in to the existing WinPE ISO, unpack all files of your WinPE ISO to a separate folder on the hard disk.
2. Start the Bootable Media Builder either from the management console, by selecting Tools > Create Bootable Media, or as a separate component.
3. If Agent for Windows is not installed on the machine, specify the license key or the license server with licenses. The licenses will not get assigned or reassigned. They determine which functionality to enable for the created media. Without a license, you can create media only for recovery from the cloud storage.

   If Agent for Windows is installed on the machine, the media inherits its functionality, including Universal Restore and deduplication.

4. Select Bootable media type: Windows PE.

   When creating a new PE ISO:

   • Select Create WinPE automatically.
   • [Optional] To create a 64-bit bootable media, select the Create x64 media check box, if available. A 64-bit media is required to boot a machine that uses Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI).
   • The software runs the appropriate script and proceeds to the next window.

   When adding the plug-in to the existing PE ISO:

   • Select Use WinPE files located in the folder I specify.
   • Specify path to the folder where the WinPE files are located.
5. [Optional] Select whether to enable or disable remote connections to a machine booted from the media. If enabled, specify the user name and password to be entered on the console side at the connection to the agent. If you leave these boxes empty, the 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 archive 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 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 boot media.
8. Choose whether you want to create ISO or WIM image or upload the media on a server (Acronis PXE 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, Acronis Backup 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, see the Windows Preinstallation Environment User’s Guide (Winpe.chm).