Windows PE 2.0 is the core deployment foundation for Windows Vista. It is designed to make large-scale, customized deployments of the new Windows Vista operating system notably easier. When Windows Vista launches, Windows PE 2.0 will be available to all Windows Vista corporate customers. [Windows PE for Windows XP will remain exclusive to customers who have a Microsoft Software Assurance (SA) agreement.] Windows PE enables users to inject drivers, configure Windows Vista offline, provide recovery solutions as well as diagnose and troubleshoot system problems.

A pre-release version of Windows PE 2.0, built for Windows Vista, will be available for download and testing, in January 2006, for all corporate customers participating in the Windows Vista pre-release program.

Abstract

Microsoft Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) 2.0 provides powerful preparation and installation tools for the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. With Windows PE, you can start a subset of Windows Vista from a network or removable medium, which provides network and other resources necessary to install and troubleshoot Windows Vista. This document is an introduction to Windows PE, its capabilities, and its improvements over earlier pre-installation technologies.