BartPE Alternatives

BartPE

Barts PE Builder helps you build a BartPE (Bart Preinstalled Environment) bootable Windows CD-Rom or DVD from the original Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 installation/setup CD, very suitable for PC maintenance tasks.

BartPE operates by loading system registry files into RAM, and not writing any registry changes back to boot media. Thus, both operating systems require no hard drive or network access. This also allows them to be run from non-writable media such as a CD-ROM.
Since each instance of BartPE is a new installation, the BartPE "boot" disk needs original Windows setup files in order to operate. The Bart PE Builder application interprets and condenses files from a Windows setup CD to create the BartPE installation. It can build from a Windows XP Pro or Home Edition CD, or from a preinstalled Windows XP version (without a CD).
Additional applications can be included in the BartPE setup through the use of "plugins". A plugin contains setup information for a specific application, so that it can be included on the media and installed along with Windows at each BartPE boot. Currently there are a few hundred plugins available in addition to the dozen-odd that are included by default with BartPE. Since BartPE represents a totally independent operating environment, the most obvious application examples involve backup, restoration, diagnosis and error-correction of systems with malfunctioning primary storage drives. Plugin programs can nominally be added to the capacity of the BartPE media.