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Step 3: Format and Prepare the Deployment Hard Disk

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Before you can deploy your run-time image to CD-ROM, it must go through the First Boot Agent (FBA) process. Your run-time image goes through this process on the deployment hard disk before the image can be transferred to a CD-ROM.

In this step, you will prepare the deployment hard disk so that it can run FBA, support configuration of Enhanced Write Filter (EWF) and boot your run-time image.

To format and prepare the deployment hard disk

  1. Create an MS-DOS Boot Disk by inserting a blank floppy disk into your development system.

  2. Open Windows Explorer, right-click 3 1/2 Floppy (A:), and choose Format. Under the Format Options section, choose Create an MS-DOS boot disk.

  3. After the formatting is complete, copy BootPrep.exe to your MS-DOS boot disk. BootPrep is located in the Program Files\Windows Embedded\Utilities directory.

  4. Shut down the system and remove the power cable.

  5. Open the case and remove the development hard disk where the Windows Embedded Studio tools are located. This should be the master disk on the primary IDE channel. This disk will be referred to as the development disk for the remainder of this tutorial.

  6. Add the second hard disk to your development system as a master disk on the primary IDE channel. This disk will be the deployment disk where you will run FBA on your run-time image. This disk will be referred to as the deployment disk for the remainder of this tutorial.

  7. Reattach the power cable.

  8. Power on the system. Insert the MS-DOS boot disk and configure the BIOS to boot from the floppy drive.

  9. At the MS-DOS command prompt, run BootPrep on C:. For example:

    bootprep /dC

  10. Restart the system and insert the Windows XP Embedded disk 1 media in to the CD-ROM drive. Configure the BIOS to boot from the CD-ROM drive. Windows PE starts.

    Disk 3 of the Windows XP Embedded SP2 media also includes Windows PE and can be used in place of disk 1 if necessary.

  11. At the Windows PE command prompt, type diskpart.

  12. If there are any partitions on the disk, delete them, for example:

    select disk 0

    select partition 1

    delete partition override

  13. Create a new, 600 MB partition and assign it a drive letter. For example:

    select disk 0

    create partition primary size=600

    assign letter=c

    The partition size must be smaller than the size of the CD-ROM that you are deploying to. For example, if you are using an 80 minute, 700 MB CD-ROM, the maximum size of your partition is 700 MB.

  14. Make the new partition active by using the active command. For example:

    select disk 0

    select partition 1

    active

  15. Quit diskpart by using the exit command.

  16. Run the format command to format the new partition for FAT16:

    format C: /FS:FAT

  17. When prompted, type in a unique name for the volume, such as BOOTCD.

  18. After the disk is formatted, reboot the system by typing exit at the Windows PE command line.

  19. Remove the Windows PE CD-ROM from the CD-ROM drive

  20. Shut down the system and remove the power cable.

  21. Reattach the Windows Embedded Studio development disk to the system as a master disk on the primary IDE channel.

  22. Reattach the deployment disk to the system as the slave disk on the primary IDE channel.

  23. Boot the development hard disk.

After you configure your deployment hard disk, create an ISO image and burn it to a CD-ROM. This CD-ROM is used during the FBA process when the run-time image boots for the first time.

See Also

Tutorial: Creating a Bootable CD-ROM | Step 2: Add the Bootable CD-ROM Components to your Configuration

Last updated on Wednesday, October 18, 2006

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