47031: Acronis Disk Director 12: Creating WinPE-Based Acronis Bootable Media

Download and install Windows AIK, and then create the WinPE-based media

This article applies to:

• Acronis Disk Director 12

Introduction

Acronis Plug-in for WinPE is a modification of Acronis Disk Director 12 that can run in the preinstallation environment. The plug-in can be added to a WinPE image using Bootable Media Builder.

With the WinPE-based media you can boot a crashed machine, or a machine without any operating system, and perform the Acronis Disk Director 12 disk management operations.

If you have Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK) installed, Acronis Disk Director 12 will detect it, and you will be able to have the WinPE created from Acronis Bootable Media builder.

Downloading and installing Windows AIK

1. If you do not have Windows AIK, you can download it from the Microsoft website:
   • AIK for Windows Vista: http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C7D4BC6D-15F3-4284-9123-679830D629F2&displaylang=en
   • AIK for Windows Vista SP1: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=94bb6e34-d890-4932-81a5-5b50c657de08&DisplayLang=en
   • AIK for Windows 7 (PE 3.x): http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=696DD665-9F76-4177-A811-39C26D3B3B34&displaylang=en
2. After you download an ISO file from the links, burn the ISO to a DVD disc (see Burning an ISO Image).
3. Now that you have the DVD disc ready, make sure it is back in the DVD tray and run it. If double-clicking the DVD icon does not automatically run Windows AIK, open it and and find the executable file that starts it:

   For example, StartCD.exe

   

4. Click Windows AIK Setup:

   

5. After going through the wizard and clicking OK, the installation will start:

   

   (!) Reboot the machine after the installation of Windows AIK, otherwise Acronis Disk Director 12 will not be able to detect it properly and the creation of the WinPE media will fail.

Solution

1. In the main window of Acronis Disk Director 12, click Tools -> Acronis Bootable Media Builder:

   

2. On the welcome screen, click Next:

   

3. On the next screen, you can select Linux-like or Windows-like drive representation as well as the bootable media type:

   

   For information on how to create Linux-based bootable media, see Acronis Disk Director 12: Creating Acronis Bootable Media.

   Since this article is devoted to the creation of WinPE-based media, select Windows PE;

4. If you do not have Windows AIK installed on the machine, you will be offered to download and install it. For instructions see the Introduction section of this article: Downloading and installing Windows AIK. If you have Windows AIK already installed, the product will automatically detect it:
   

   No Windows AIK installed	Windows AIK installed

5. Select Create WinPE automatically:

   

6. WinPE preparation will start:

   

7. If you have any specific drivers you need to add, do it here:

   

   Generally, you need the add drivers option only if you have compatibility issues with the machine's hardware and the WinPE media.

8. Select the type of media to create:

   

   You will generally need to select an the ISO image option.

   The WIM image can be used if you plan to create a custom WinPE image. See Microsoft TechNet Article: Windows PE Customization.

9. After selecting where to save the image file, click Proceed:

   

10. Once the WinPE media image is created, burn it to a disc. See Burning an ISO Image;
11. You will then be able to boot from the created WinPE media with Acronis Disk Director 12:

    

More information

See also Acronis Disk Director 12: Creating Acronis Bootable Media.