- go to https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/get-started/adk-install#download-the-adk-101261001-may-2024 to download and install windows adk and Windows PE addon for the adk
- right-click on the shortcut “C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Windows Kits\Windows ADK\Deployment and Imaging Tools Environment” and select run as administrator
- in the command prompt, run “copype amd64 C:\WinPE_amd64″
- in the command prompt, run “MakeWinPEMedia /UFD C:\WinPE_amd64 P:” (P is the driver letter for your USB)
Now, your usb is a bootable disk with Windows PE in it.
The latest Windows PE does not support x86 architecture. To create a 32 bit Windows PE boot disk, you need to download an older version of WIndows PE: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2120253(version 2004) and use “copype x86 C:\WinPE_x86″. The 64 bit Windows PE may not work on old computers(cannot boot).
Miscrosoft keeps hiding the real programs running. The shortcut C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Windows Kits\Windows ADK\Deployment and Imaging Tools Environment points to a bat file “C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Deployment Tools\DandISetEnv.bat”
If you get the following problem when running “MakeWinPEMedia /UFD C:\WinPE_amd64 P:”
ERROR: Failed to format P; DiskPart errorlevel “-2147024809″
try to change the partition type of the USB disk from GPT to USB. This cannot be done in Disk Manager as for usual HDDs. You will not find the “convert to MBR” or “convert to GPT” options in Disk Manager when right-clicking on the USB disk. Cleaning the USB disk on diskpart is not enough. You cannot even format the cleaned USB disk. The only way is to “clean” AND “convert to MBR” in diskpart.