Creating a Customized Windows RE Image

In Windows 7, users can initiate image-based recovery without having to first start Windows RE manually. The Recovery control panel allows users to back up their personal data and then restarts the system into Windows RE, where the image recovery application is launched automatically.

You can create a custom Windows RE image by completing the following steps:

1. Click Start, point to All Programs, and then click either Microsoft Windows OPK, Microsoft Windows AIK, or Microsoft Windows PE Kit as appropriate.
2. Right-click Deployment Tools Command Prompt, and then click Run As Administrator.
3. Make directories for mounting the image. At the command prompt, do the following:
   • Enter c:, and then enter mkdir c:\win7.
   • Enter cd win7, and then enter mkdir mount. You will use this directory to mount the Windows 7 image.
   • Enter mkdir mountre. You will use this directory to mount the Windows Recovery Environment.
4. Insert the Windows 7 distribution media into the DVD-ROM drive, and then copy the Windows install image from the distribution media to your hard disk by entering copy e:\sources\install.wim c:\win7, where e: is the drive designator for the DVD-ROM drive.
5. Mount the Windows 7 image on the distribution media by entering imagex /mountrw e:\sources\install.wim c:\win7\mount.
6. Copy the original Windows RE image from the mounted image by entering copy c:\sources\mount\windows\system32\recovery\winre.wim c:\win7.
7. Unmount the Windows 7 image by entering imagex /unmount c:\win7\mount.
8. Mount the Windows RE image by entering imagex /mountrw c:\win7\winre.wim c:\win7\mountre.
9. Customize the Windows RE image as necessary by using the techniques discussed in the section "Customizing a Windows PE Image" earlier in the tutorial. Be sure to add the following package to the image: WinPE-SRTPackage. This package is required.
10. Unmount the customized Windows RE image, and then save your changes by entering imagex /unmount /commit c:\win7\mountre.
11. Mount the Windows 7 image you copied previously to the C:\Win7 directory by entering imagex /mountrw c:\win7\install.wim c:\win7\mount.
12. Overwrite the original Windows RE image in the Windows 7 image with your customized Windows RE image by entering copy c:\win7\winre.wim c:\ win7\mount\Windows\System32\recovery.
13. Save the changes to the Windows 7 image by entering imagex /unmount c:\win7\mount /commit.

Now you have a bootable Windows RE image in the C:\Win7\Winre.wim file and Windows 7 distribution media containing a bootable Windows RE image. You can create Windows RE recovery media using the C:\Win7\Winre.wim file as discussed in the next section.