Two Methods to Create WinPE Bootable Disk in Windows 10 Effectively

What is WinPE Bootable disk?

A WinPE Bootable Disk, also known as Windows Preinstallation Environment or Windows PE, is a compact version of Windows designed for tasks like deploying PCs, workstations, and servers, as well as troubleshooting operating systems while they are offline.

A WinPE Bootable Disk can be loaded from various media such as USB flash drives or hard disks. Major corporations and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like Dell, HP, Asus, Acer, Lenovo, and others utilize WinPE to preinstall operating systems on PCs during the manufacturing process. This ensures that when you purchase a computer, it comes with Windows 11/10/8/7 already installed.

How to create WinPE bootable disk Windows 10?

Now, this part will show you two ways to create a WinPE bootable disk for Windows 10. One is creating a WinPE boot disk via the Windows ADK tool (Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit) while another one is using a professional tool.

Method 1. Create a WinPE bootable drive for Windows 10 manually

This method is relatively proper for professional users. The steps are complicated:

Step1. Download the Windows ADK for Windows 10. It contains the CopyPE and MakeWinPEMedia command-line utilities.

Step 2. Launch this ADK tool, select the “Install the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit-Windows 10 to this computer” and click “Next”.

Step 3. On the subsequent page, click “Next” and then “Accept”.

Step 4. Tick “Deployment Tools” and "Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE)" options and click “Install”.

Step 5. When the installation process is finished, click “Close”.

Step 6. Open the Start menu and go to “Windows Kits”. Right-click “Deployment and Imaging Tools Environment” and select “More”> “Run as administrator”.

Step 7. When it runs, execute the command: copype amd64 G:\WinPEx64 (replace G:\ with your drive letter).

Tip: If you are using 32-bit Windows 10, run the command: copype x86 G:\WinPEx86 instead.

Step 8. Execute the command: MakeWinPEMedia /ISO G:\WinPEx64 G:\WinPEx64\WPE64.iso. When you see “100% complete” and “Success”, it means you’ve successfully created WinPE files.

Step 9. Now you can navigate to the G drive where you created the WinPE files. There you will see a WinPE iso file.

Then you can connect the target disk to the computer, and burn ISO files to it to make it bootable. For this task, you can use Windows To Go (an available feature in Windows 10 Education/Enterprise/Pro and Windows 8/8.1 Enterprise).

Step 10. Type “Windows To Go” in the search box to launch this tool.

Step 11. It will automatically search for all inserted USB drives. Choose the destination USB drive and then “Next” to continue.

Step 12. Click “Add search location” to search for the Windows installation ISO file and choose the mounted ISO file.

Step 13. In the next window, you can set a BitLocker password to encrypt your Windows To Go workplace.

At last, you will get a WinPE bootable disk for Windows 10.

▶ Common risks of manually creating WinPE bootable disk:

While creating and using a WinPE bootable disk, you may encounter some common issues.

• Booting problems: Ensure that the computer's BIOS is configured to boot from the correct device, such as a USB drive or DVD. Double-check the creation process of the WinPE bootable disk for any errors.
• Driver compatibility issues: If certain hardware components are not recognized or functioning properly within the WinPE environment, you may need to add the corresponding drivers during the customization process.
• Network connectivity problems: If you require network connectivity within WinPE, ensure that the necessary network drivers are included and configured correctly. Check the network settings and connectivity options within the WinPE environment.

Method 2. Create WinPE bootable disk automatically

Obviously, the first method is very complex and involves about 13 steps. If you are looking for an easier solution to creating a Windows 10 Preinstallation Environment disk, you can switch to AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. It is compatible with all editions of Windows 11/10/8/7.

Its “Make Bootable Media Wizard” can enable you to create Windows 11/10/8/7 PE USB drive for repairing system boot issues. With its clear interface and comprehensive guidance, even a computer novice can handle with the process. Here are detailed steps:

Step 1. Prepare a USB flash drive of at least 13GB, insert it into your Windows 10 computer, and make sure it is detected.

Note: back up necessary files on the USB drive first because this operation will delete all data on it.

Step 2. Download  and execute the program. Select "Tools“ > “Make Bootable Media” in the main interface.

Step 3. Click "Next" at the next window make sure you have noticed that information.

Step 4. Choose “USB Boot Device” option and select the prepared USB drive, and press “Proceed” to create WinPE bootable disk for Windows 10.
● Burn to CD/DVD: You can create a bootable CD/DVD.
● Export ISO File: You could make a bootable Windows 10 PE ISO File. Then you can burn it to a USB drive or CD/DVD.

After a while, you will get a WinPE bootable disk in Windows 10. And then you could use the Windows PE boot disk to troubleshoot the system failure problems caused by file boot bcd error, missing BOOTMGR, etc.

Further tips: How to boot from WinPE bootable disk

If your system crashes or malfunctions, you can use WindowsPE to repair it. Following these simple procedures, you can boot your machine to a Windows PE drive and fix your disk issues.

Step 1. Connect the WinPE bootable USB drive to your system.

Step 2. If your system is already running, then you need to restart it. Else, you can just turn it on.

Step 3. As your Windows PC turns on, press the relevant key (depending on the system you are using) that will launch the boot menu.

Step 4. From here, you can select the USB drive as a source.

Once you select the bootable USB drive with Windows PE, you can see the command "Wpeinit" on the screen as it will load the WinPE.

Final Words

This is how to create WinPE bootable disk Windows 10. Apparently, AOMEI Partition Assistant offers an easier method. In addition, you can experience some other advanced functions like command line partitioning, quick partition, allocating free space from one to another (you could use it to increase system partition usually C drive), migrating OS from MBR disk to GPT/MBR SSD/HDD, converting MBR to GPT without losing data, dynamic disk management, etc.

If you have a server computer, you could try AOMEI Partition Assistant Server or Unlimited Edition to assist you in optimizing the unreasonable partition structure and troubleshooting the system problems.