Configure WinPE

Integrate current WinPE PreBoot version

First, a current WinPE preboot version must be integrated. There are two ways to do this:
The first option - via Matrix42 Management Console - automatically downloads the latest WinPE support package, unpacks it into the Empirum structure and integrates the packages into the Matrix42 Management Console.
The second option - via Marketplace - requires all steps to be carried out manually.

{
  "Disks": [
    {
      "Comment_Disks": "----------- 1. Additional Disk -----------",
      
      "Comment_PartitionSizeAsPercentage": [
        "PartitionSizeAsPercentage specifies if the partition size values should be interpreted as percentage values or GB values:",
        "- true: Interprets the partition size values as percent values",
        "- false: Interprets the partition size values as GB values"
      ],
      "PartitionSizeAsPercentage": true,
      
      "Comment_PreserveMode": [
        "The PreserveMode value specifies the handling of already existing partitions:",
        "- 0: All partitions will always be removed and recreated",
        "- 1: The partition will be keeped if it was made by empirum (or will be created if not exists).",
        "     Partition sizes and labels must match the configuration to be retained."
      ],
      "PreserveMode": 0,
      
      "Comment_Partitions": "The list of all partitions of the first disk",
      "Partitions": [
        {
          "Comment_Partitions": "----------- 1. Partition -----------",          
          "Comment_PartitionSize": "Partition size in GB value or percentage",
          "PartitionSize": 33,
          "Comment_PartitionLabel": "Label of the partition",
          "PartitionLabel": "Data2-1"
        },
        
        {
          "Comment_Partitions": "----------- 2. Partition -----------",          
          "PartitionSize": 33,
          "PartitionLabel": "Data2-2"
        }
        
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Importing operating system sources and language packs

Before the Windows operating system files (ISO) can be imported, the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (WADK) 10 (2004) | 11 (22H2 from September 2023) must be installed on the (master) server. 

The procedure for importing operating system files is described here.
The procedure for importing language packages is described here.

Create boot configuration

Boot configurations can be used to create a WinPE based PXE boot image based on the Windows ADK installed on the Empirum Master Server.

1. Switch to Configuration > Boot Configurations.

Create a new boot configuration using the New button.

Symbol definition:

•  One or more critical details are missing or incorrect.
•  Information or data has been changed but not yet saved.
•  The job is in the queue.
•  The boot configuration is currently being created in the background.
•  The boot configuration has been created successfully.
•  An error has occurred during the creation of the boot configuration.
•  The configuration was changed in the background and can no longer be saved. An update is required to load the changes.
•  The boot configuration was deleted in the background and can no longer be saved. A refresh is required to remove the configuration from the list.

3. Enter a descriptive name and description according to your requirements.

4. Select WinPE as the configuration type to create a WinPE-based PXE boot image-if not already selected.

5. Select the desired agent template from the Agent Template drop-down field.
   If at least one agent template is configured, this is entered directly. If several Empirum agent templates have been created, the first one - sorted alphabetically - is always displayed directly.
6. To select which platforms are to be supported, you must either check EFI x86 or EFI x64 or select one of the platforms from the BIOS drop-down field. Several platforms can be selected at the same time. For BIOS, however, only one of the platforms can be selected at a time - either 32 bit or 64 bit. To create a configuration, at least one of the platforms must be selected. EFI x64 (64 bit) is selected by default.
   

7. You can make the settings for TFTP Block Size, Self Provisioning and Driver Directories via Advanced Properties. Click the button  to show the fields.
   
   With the help of the TFTP block size setting, the transfer of the WinPE boot image can be adjusted to make it either more stable or faster.

Self Provisioning is described in detail here.

8. To include additional drivers into the WinPE boot image, click on the button  below the list of additional driver folders.
   
   The Browse for Folder window opens, which can be used to select a directory.
9. Confirm the selection with OK.
   The selected directory is added to the list of additional driver folders.
10. If several drivers need to be integrated, repeat the procedure from point 8.
     
    If you want to remove a driver directory, click on the button  to the right of the driver directory entry.
11. Once all settings have been made, confirm with Save and answer the security question with Yes.
    The configuration is saved in the database, the PXE boot image is created directly.
    

After saving the Empirum Preinstallation Environment configuration, the automatic creation of the PXE image is taken over by the Backend Task Queue extension.

Once  the PXE boot image has been successfully created, it is displayed with the specified name in Management > Administration under PXE-BootImages in the right-hand tree and can be assigned as usual using drag & drop.

Create variables 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 from this package from the folder ".\24.0.0 - SDK\04 OS-Install - WinPE".

1. Download the variable configuration package here and unpack it into a directory (e.g. Temp) on the Empirum Master Server.
2. In the Matrix42 Management Console, go to Configuration > Variable Configurations and click the Import button at the bottom right.
   
3. Change to the directory (Temp) where you have unpacked the variable configuration package. Select the template from the folder ".\24.0.0 - SDK\04 OS-Install - WinPE" and click on Open.
4. Confirm the successful import with OK.
5. A description of which variables you need to adapt for your environment can be found here. In this case, this only affects the "OS-Install - WinPE" variable configuration. A description of the variables used can be found here: DiskPartitioning | DomainJoin | MX42_AGENT_PUSH_PACKAGE_FOLDER / FQDN | OS_RegionalSettings | WindowsInstallation
6. Once you have checked all variables in the "OS-Install - WinPE" variable configuration and adapted them to your environment, click Save at the bottom right corner.
   

After saving, this variable configuration is displayed in Management > Administration under Variable Configurations and can now be assigned using drag & drop. On the configuration side, all preparatory measures have now been completed.

Create configuration group

In order for a computer to run the OS deployment via WinPE, the settings must now be made in the administration.

1. In the Matrix42 Management Console, go to Management > Administration.
2. Create a new configuration group.
3. If you have created a view for the Matrix42 PreOS packages, drag it to the newly created configuration group.
   Otherwise, under Software Packages > Matrix42 PreOS Packages, drag the Matrix42 PreOS packages
    - DiskPartitioning,
    - WindowsInstallation,
    - PxeOffAndReboot,
    - DomainJoin,
    - EmpirumAgentSetup
   to the configuration group.
   When using language package imports, the LanguageInstallation package must also be assigned.
   If additional drivers are to be integrated into the operating system, the DriverIntegration package must also be assigned.
   The Matrix42 PreOS package HardwareInfo is only required if you also want to read out the hardware information for the assigned client (log).
4. In the tree on the right, under Software Packages > Matrix42, drag the current Matrix42 UEM Agent Windows software package onto the newly created configuration group.
5. On the right-hand side of the tree, drag the variable configuration (OS Install) imported under Variable Configurations onto the newly created configuration group.
6. On the right-hand side of the tree, drag the desired edition of the operating system under Operating System Imports > Microsoft > Windows 10 > x64 > "<your operating system import>" > e.g. Windows 10 Enterprise onto the newly created configuration group.
7. On the right-hand side of the tree, drag the desired language pack(s) under Language Pack Imports onto the newly created configuration group, If language packs are required.
8. On the right-hand side of the tree, drag the newly created WinPE boot image (WinPEx64) under PXE-BootImages onto the newly created configuration group.
9. In the tree on the right under Agent Templates, drag the agent template required for this configuration onto the newly created configuration group.
10. In the tree on the left under Unassigned Computers, drag a computer onto the newly created configuration group. 
    The configuration group you have created will then look something like this:
    

The options marked in green must be specified in the properties of the assigned client! Either the UUID and/or the MAC address must be specified.
    
    Once all assignments have been made, the computer can be activated via the context menu.

11. Right-click on the configuration group and select Activate. In the Activation Wizard that opens, activate the options PULL via DDS/DDC (Software packages only) and Enable PXE (Reinstall Computer). Click on Next. Click on Finish.
12. Start the assigned client - the operating system is installed via the WinPE boot image.
    
    If the assigned WinPE boot image is started on the computer, the Matrix42 Universal Agent Framework starts automatically and executes the assigned packages one after the other.

When the WindowsInstallation package is executed, the Windows installation is also executed.

Once the various installation phases have been completed, the operating system is installed on the computer.