How to Deploy Window 11 Image via WinPE USB Disk

What is WinPE bootable disk?

WinPE, also known as Windows Preinstallation Environment, is a lightweight operating system with limited features. It can be used to install, deploy, and repair Windows desktop editions, Windows Server, and other Windows operating systems.

To use Windows PE, you need to create a bootable disk. You can boot WinPE from USB, CD/DVD/ISO, or a virtual hard drive. You cannot use Windows PE as the main operating system. It was originally developed to replace MS-DOS booting with ready-to-boot environments that can be loaded from CDs, DVDs, USB flash drives, etc. Since it can be easily loaded from a USB drive or CD Rom, it is used in many occasions.

How to create a Windows 11 WinPE bootable USB

The Windows Preinstallation Environment provides users with a quick and easy way to run the installation of primary Windows. In this part, we will teach you how to create a bootable WinPE USB in Windows 11 in no time.

Before we Proceed Windows PE bootable USB, let us discuss some of the things you need throughout the process.

◑ Backup files before creating a bootable USB. Because all data on the USB will be overwritten. In case of data loss, you can easily restore the data if you have a backup of it.
◑ Make sure you have a stable internet connection. You need a good internet connection to download Windows and then create a bootable USB drive.
◑ Make sure you have a USB drive with at least 8GB of storage space. You will need it to create a bootable USB drive from the Media Creation tool.

Method 1: Create a WinPE bootable USB via Media creation tool

1. Insert a USB flash drive (8GB minimum) to your computer.
2. Click on the official link from Microsoft to open the software download page. Find Create Windows 11 Installation Media and click on Download Now.

3. After downloading the media creation tool for Windows 11, run it on your PC. You will be asked to accept the license terms. Once you have done this, you will see a screen that says " Getting a few things ready."
4. Next, you will see two options on the screen, select “Create installation media for another PC” and click on Next.

5. Then, it will automatically fill in the configuration of your PC. If you want to change these options, simply uncheck the option that says “Use the recommended options for this PC” and make the necessary changes. Then click the Next button.

6. Now select the “USB flash drive” option and click Next.

7. The tool will automatically detect the USB flash drive you have previously connected. If not, click the Refresh drive list option. If everything is normal, click the Next button.

8. This will begin the creation of installation media of Windows 11 operating system. Once finished you will get a Windows 11 WinPE bootable USB.

Method 2: Create a bootable WinPE media with the most convenient software

There is another reliable third-party software that can help you create Windows 11 WinPE bootable USB. Qiling Disk Master Professional helps you create bootable media and easily deploy Windows system images to another computer with different hardware with its Universal Restore feature.

Creating a bootable media will help you successfully start your computer. Qiling Disk Master supports creating two kinds of bootable CD or USB Flash Drive. One is Linux boot disc, and another is Windows PE boot disc.

In this part, learn how to create a bootable WinPE media via Qiling Disk Master.

Step 1. Download Qiling Disk Master Pro and install it on your computer.

• Free Download
• Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7, 100% Secure

Step 2. Launch this software. Go to Tools tab and click Create Bootable Media.

Step 3. Then you’ll be asked to choose bootable media. Select USB Boot Device if you want to create a Windows 11 WinPE bootable USB and then click on Next.

Guide to Window 11 image deployment via WinPE USB disk

There are many Windows 11 deployment tools to deploy the Windows 11 operating system and applications. Those tools include DISM commands, Windows System Image Manager (Windows SIM) and Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE). After creating a bootable Windows PE USB drive, you can deploy Windows 11 image via WinPE USB disk to different computers. Two methods are provided in this part, select one according to your needs.

Method 1: Deploy Windows 11 image via Windows 11 Media Creation Tool

1. Plug the bootable USB drive you previously created with Media Creation Tool into the computer which you want to deploy Windows 11. Start the PC.
2. On prompt, press any key to boot from the Windows 11 bootable USB.
3. On the "Windows Setup," click the Next button.

4. Then click on Install now button.

5. Next, you will be asked to choose which type of installation you want. Select Custom: Install Windows only (advanced).

6. Select the partition with the current installation (usually "Drive 0"), and click the Delete button.

Note✍: If "Drive 0" has multiple partitions, you must select and delete each partition to allow the setup to use the entire hard drive for new installations.

7. Then select the empty drive (Drive 0 Unallocated Space) and click on Next.

After completing these steps, the setup will install a fresh copy of Windows 11 on your computer. After the system is installed, you need to set up the system from scratch.

Method 2: Restore Windows 11 image via WinPE USB disk

Performing a clean installation of the Windows 11 image can be time-consuming, and the operation is relatively cumbersome. There is another method available to help you with Windows 11 image deployment. You can use the best Windows PC backup software—Qiling Disk Master to deploy Windows 11 image via WinPE USB disk. If you use Qiling Disk Master to restore the Windows 11 image, there is no need to reset the system from scratch, saving time and effort.

As mentioned in the previous part, the software provides a Universal Restore function, which supports restoring system images to different hardware in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, XP, and Vista. It is an all-in-one, reliable, easy-to-use backup and recovery software, and has a user-friendly interface.

Before deploying Windows 11 system image to new hardware, there is something you must do in advance:

◐ You need to use Qiling Disk Master to create a Windows 11 system image. The software allows you to store the system image to an external hard drive, USB flash drive or network drive. Make sure that the place you choose can be accessed by another computer.

Next, I will show you how to use this software to deploy Windows 11 image to new hardware with a WinPE USB disk. Assume that you have stored the system image on the network location.

Step 1. Insert the bootable media to start the target computer into Windows PE. Go to Restore tab in the popping out window, and click Select Image File.

Step 2. Locate your system image backup stored on a network location and click OK.

Step 3. Check the Universal Restore to ensure the system is bootable after restoring to dissimilar hardware. Select Restore this system backup and click Next.

Step 4. Select the destination which you plan to restore the system image on and click Next. If the target partition is not empty, it will pop up a window to remind you that it will be overwritten. Click Yes to continue.

Step 5. Confirm the operation, click Proceed.

Tips✍:
✬ If the destination disk is an SSD, you can tick the box SSD Alignment in order to get better performance after restoring.
✬ The bootable disk is suitable for one or two computers. If you want to deploy an image to multiple computers, you could consider using PXE boot tool (supported on Qiling Disk Master Workstation).

Step 6. When the progress reaches 100%, click Finish to exit.

Note:

If you need to restore system image file on the server computer to multiple client computers at the same time over network, you can upgrade to Qiling Disk Master Technician to achieve the goal easily.

Conclusion

Both of the above methods can help you deploy Windows 11 image via WinPE USB disk. Although the Window 11 deployment tool-Media Creation tool can help you do this, it sometimes has some problems. In order to get rid of these unnecessary troubles, use a professional backup tool-Qiling Backuppper is your best choice.

After deploying the Windows 11 image to other computers, you can also use this software to protect your data and system. At the same time, you can use it to perform a bootable clone on Windows 11. Whether you want to transfer data or the system, it will provide you with the best experience without any data loss, you only need a few clicks. Try it now to discover more!

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