VistaPE

VistaPE is a project (set of scripts) for WinBuilder to create a Live CD based on the kernel of Windows Vista.
VistaPE uses technology from and largely resembles Windows Preinstallation Environment 2.0 (from Microsoft), but has a graphical shell, expanded set of supported devices and functions, and can run almost any Windows program.

Features

• Possibility to either fully or partially load VistaPE at startup into memory (boot.wim)
• Support for a large number of SATA/RAID/SCSI/NIC drivers (thanks to the DriverPacks project).
• Able to read and write NTFS/FAT32/FAT/Ext2/Ext3 partitions
• Full networking support
• Automatic hardware detection (PnP)
• Booting from CD/HDD/UFD/Network
• Compatibility with Microsoft Windows Vista
• A wide range of programs and shells (Explorer, LiteStep, BS Explorer ...)
• No limits regarding the maximum number of open processes
• Automatic creation shortcuts for programs
• Ability to remove VistaPE boot media while VistaPE is running (using boot.wim)
• Full multilanguage support

Portable applications

It is complicated to install applications on the RAM of a Live CD, and all the changes made to those programs and the installation itself will be lost once the computer is rebooted, so a good alternative is to use portable applications, that can be run from either the Live CD, or from a USB flash drive connected to the computer; there is even software dedicated to create those portable applications (VMware ThinApp, Virtual Application Studio or others).

Notes

The default Live CD is less than 200MB in size.

Gallery

See also

• BartPE
• Reatogo-X-PE
• nLite and vLite
• Windows Preinstallation Environment
• WinBuilder
• Live USB
• List of live CDs
• VMware Workstation or VirtualBox to use a Live CD without burning the ISO image.
• Windows To Go