RAM Loading BartPE (SDI Build)
Plugin by diddy
Download Plugin (.zip)
Download Plugin (.7z)
*NOTE* This plugin has been tested using pebuilder v3.1.10a (using Windows XP source). It is working with nu2shell and xpe (v1.0.4) shells
SDI (System Deployment Image) files are writable disk images. This plugin will create an SDI file containing BartPE, which will be booted into RAM. Once the image has finished booting the CD or other media it was booted from can be removed. SDI files have a number of advangages over RAM loading ISO files - they are writable and can also use NTFS compression. As an example - during testing I was able to fit a stripped down nu2menu build of BartPE (163MB in size) onto a 143MB SDI file. The files were compressed to 108MB - allowing the rest of the space (approximately 30MB + system files) to be used as storage. This extra room can be used instead of a RAMDRIVE.
This plugin will enable you to install the SDI build to CD, USB drive or HDD (dual booting with Windows XP). System RAM requirements can be high - I would therefore advise you to include a limited set of essential plugins within the SDI file - other plugins can be executed from outside the SDI file by copying the Programs folder to another drive. I would recommend a minimum of 512MB RAM. The larger the SDI file the greater the memory requirements. There is a reported maximum file size of 500MB - anything larger will not boot into RAM (restriction is due to the required files from Windows 2003 SP1).
*NOTE* An alternative to SDI is the .IMG image format - see here. IMG has a number of advantages over the SDI format, most notably it is not a propriatory format and it's easier to automate the process with (freeware) third party tools (e.g. Filedisk)
Instructions
Download the following files:
* Windows XP Embedded SP1 Tools (7.1MB download)
* robocopy.exe from Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools (11.8MB download)
* ramdisk.sy_ and setupldr.bin from Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (329.3MB download)
The link to Windows XP Embedded SP1 Tools will download XPEFFI.EXE. Run XPEFFI.EXE and select the Windows XP Embedded SP1 Tools. This will download disk1.cab and tools.cab. Extract the contents of tools.cab and run Windows XP Embedded Tools SP1.msi (the product key can be extracted from disk1.cab - in productkey.txt).
Robocopy.exe is required from Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools (rktools.exe) and can either be extracted from the download or installed to the PC and copied from the installation folder. Once extracted/copied place the file in plugin\!SDI\files directory. Alternatively you can try to download robocopy.exe as a single file from here
Extract ramdisk.sy_ and setupldr.bin from Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 download. ramdisk.sys will then need extracting from ramdisk.sy_. Copy ramdisk.sys and setupldr.bin to plugin\!SDI\files directory.
Copy SDI.CMD to the same directory as pebuilder.exe (root of folder containing pebuilder files). SDI.CMD can be edited to change paths, filenames, output directories, etc.
Create an empty file TempDir in the plugin\!SDI\files directory (temp directory will not be created if this step is not completed).
To create a RAM loading SDI build first run pebuilder.exe (disable RAMDRIVE plugin before building PE). After pebuilder.exe has completed run SDI.CMD and follow the prompts.
The files and programs required for installing to USB, HDD (dual boot) and CD are all included with PE Builder.
Ensure that all important files are backed up before installing to USB or HDD. A number of safeguards are built into the script but you could still lose data if you are not careful!
HOME