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Windows PE Technical Reference

Applies To: Windows 7

Note

This content applies to Windows 7. For Windows 8 content, see Windows Deployment with the Windows ADK.

Windows® Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) is a minimal operating system designed to prepare a computer for Windows installation. It can be used to start a computer with no operating system, to partition and to format hard drives, to copy disk images, and to initiate Windows Setup from a network share.

Windows PE is available as a standalone product to customers with the proper licensing agreement, and is an integrated component of many Windows technologies, including Windows Setup and Windows Deployment Services.

Windows PE 3.0 is the latest release based on the Windows® 7 operating system.

In This Section

What Is Windows PE?

Describes the benefits, common scenarios, limitations, dependencies, and supported drivers and technologies related to Windows PE.

How Windows PE Works

Describes the optimal environment and order of operations in Windows PE.

Windows PE Tools

Describes the tools and settings that are related to the Windows PE.

See Also

Concepts

Deployment Tools Technical Reference