You can use the WinPE image to provision a device that does not have a Mirage client installed or to provision a device that does not have an operating system installed.

About this task

The image that you create with WinPE runs on memory, not on the hard disk.

On the WinPE image you can only perform provisioning procedures and generate sysreports.

Mirage supports provisioning into legacy systems and EFI systems. In some cases, such as when the disk is not Windows ready, or when there is insufficient space on the existing volumes, Mirage might re-partition the disks. Re-partitioning creates a single partition for the whole disk that is selected by Mirage. Re-partitioning only succeeds on EFI machines if they are configured to boot in legacy mode.

Note:

If you do not have the option to select legacy boot on the endpoint, you can implement a PreMirage script using diskpart to partition the disk.

Figure 1. Disk Partition Logic

If WinPE reboots during a provisioning procedure, the device reconnects and is identified as a new pending device. Previous provisioning orders on the device are not applied and you must restart the provisioning process.

When the image boots, two command prompt windows appear. One command prompt window is for troubleshooting. The other command prompt window runs Mirage in the WinPE environment.

Important:

WinPE stops running the shell and restarts after 72 hours of continuous use.

You can provision a device with Mirage by using a base layer with the following operating systems.

  • POSReady 2009

  • POSReady 7

  • Windows 7

  • Windows 8.1

  • Windows 10

Procedure

  1. Boot the device using the appropriate WinPE image.

    • The .wim file.

    • The .iso file.

  2. When the Mirage status window appears, note the host name of the device.

    A host name is generated during each reboot.

  3. Provision the device using the WinPE image.

    Option

    Action

    Mirage Web management

    1. Navigate to the Mirage Web console and click the Pending Devices tab.

    2. Select the device with the host name that you noted and click Provision Endpoint.

    Mirage Management console

    1. Navigate to the Mirage Management console and select Inventory > Pending Devices.

    2. Right-click the WinPE device and select Device Provisioning.

    After you provision the device, the device boots with the provisioned operating system.