Getting Started - from EPE 4 to WinPE

Last updated
Save as PDF

This Getting Started describes the procedure to change from an EPE 4 based to a WinPE based operating system installation.

The complete WinPE - HowTo can be found here.

Requirements

We assume that you have EPE 4 in use, so the following requirements are met:

At least one EPE 4 configuration is available / ready for use
An operating system source is imported (Windows 10 Enterprise x64)
The Empirum-PXE (TFTP) service was configured and installed via Empirum DBUtil
Language packages are not considered here
Drivers are not considered here, we assume a "virtual machine" (VM with NIC = E1000)

Switching to WinPE

Download the latest WinPE PreBoot version here.
Log on to the Matrix42 Empirum Master Server with an administrative account and copy the archive to a local folder (Temp) on the Empirum Master Server.
Run the file WinPE_PreBoot_Support_*.exe (Run as administrator if UAC is enabled). The archive will extract itself to the Empirum folder in the same directory.
Move (cut) the Empirum folder to the location where your Empirum installation is located, e.g. to D:\ if your Empirum installation is located in D:\Empirum. Confirm the merging of the folders with Yes and move and replace all requested files.

Import PreOS packages

Start the Matrix42 Management Console and go to Configuration > Software Management > Depot.
Expand tabs, right click on Matrix42 PreOS Packages and select Import/Export > Import Package.
In the Import Wizard, click on Next.
Click on the directory button and select the directory %Server%\Configurator$\PackageStore\PreOsPackages
Click on Next.
Select (check mark set) the packages shown in the image and click Next.
Confirm the summary with Done.
The selected packages have been integrated into the Matrix42 PreOS Packages tab. Check the order of the packages as shown in the next picture.

This is also the order in which the packages are executed later in the installation process.

If you create a view (1_OS-Install) from these packages in the View Designer, you can assign it to a configuration group in one go.

Create a boot configuration

To create the boot configuration a Power Shell version 5.1 or higher is required!

Switch to Configuration > Boot Configurations.
Create a new boot configuration via the New button.
Enter a descriptive name and a description.
Select an Agent Template.
Activate the option EFI > x64 (check mark set) if it is not already activated.
For a safe operation we do not change the block size (Extended Properties) at first.
Since a virtual machine with an E1000 network card is used as a prerequisite, we now also do not need any dedicated drivers.
After all settings have been made, click on Save.
The configuration you have created will look something like this:

Create a Variable Configuration

To simplify the initial configuration, you can download a set of variable configurations for the OS Installer from the Matrix42 Marketplace (Add-ons button) and customize them for your environment. For this example we use the variable configuration "1_v20.0.0__OS-Install.xml" from this package.

Download the Variable Configuration Package here and unpack it into a directory (e.g. Temp) on the Empirum Master Server.
Switch to Configuration > Variable Configurations and click on the Import button at the bottom right.
Change to the directory (Temp) where you unpacked the variable configuration package. Select the template "1_v20.0.0__OS-Install.xml" and click Open.
Confirm the successful import with OK.
A description of which variables you need to adjust for your environment can be found here. In this case this concerns only the variables of the variable configuration OS-Install.
After all variables of the variable configuration OS-Install have been checked by you and adapted to your environment, click on Save in the lower right corner.

On the configuration side, all preparation steps have now been completed.

Create a Configuration Group

In Matrix42 Management Console, go to Management > Administration.
Create a new configuration group, e.g. "OS-Install - WinPE" as high up in the tree as possible to avoid inheritances from higher-level configuration groups.
If you have created a view for the Matrix42 PreOS packages, drag it onto the newly created configuration group. Otherwise, under Software Packages > Matrix42 PreOS Packages drag the above 5 Matrix42 PreOS packages onto the newly created configuration group.
Since we are assuming a managed client, drag the current Matrix42 UEM Agent Windows software package onto the newly created configuration group under Software Packages > Matrix42.
On the right side of the tree, drag the variable configuration (OS-Install) imported under Variable Configurations onto the newly created configuration group.
On the right side of the tree under Operating System Imports > Microsoft > Windows 10 > x64 > "<Your Operating System Import>" > Windows 10 Enterprise, drag and drop on the newly created configuration group.
On the right side of the tree drag the newly created WinPE boot image (WinPEx64) under PXE-Bootimages onto the newly created configuration group.
On the right side of the tree under Agent Templates, drag the Agent Template required for this configuration onto the newly created configuration group.
In the tree on the left, under Unassigned Computers, drag a virtual machine to the newly created configuration group.
The configuration group you created will look something like this:

In the properties of the assigned virtual client, the options marked yellow must be specified! Either the UUID and/or the MAC address must be specified.

Right-click on the configuration group and select Activate. In the Activation Wizard that opens, activate the options Activate PULL via DDS/DDC (software packages only) and Activate PXE (reinstall computer). Click on Next. Click on Done.
Start the assigned virtual client - the operating system will be installed via the WinPE boot image.