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Do you rely on your computer for work or school? Do you run a SOHO (small office,
home office) business that relies on computers and the information stored on them?
What if your computer did not boot/start up properly? What if you could not gain
access to important information/files you have stored on it? If none of the components
within your computer have been damaged PE Builder can probably help you. PE Builder
allows you to create a CD or DVD you can use to boot/start and run your computer.
The CD/DVD you create with PE Builder is nicknamed "BartPE". Your computer will
actually run from the CD/DVD and it's drive. The BartPE CD/DVD can be extremely
useful as an emergency rescue tool.
How can you use PE Builder? Use the CD or DVD created with PE Builder to:
- Boot/start and run your computer from the CD/DVD.
- Access important files stored on your computer if it will not boot/start properly.
- Scan for spyware and some types of computer viruses. This is especially useful
if your computer has been infected and will not boot/start normally.
- Perform a disk image backup or restore of your
computer's hard drive or partitions.
- Access the Internet or a local network if you're connected to one.
Tools/applications can be added to the CD/DVD you create using "plugins". For
example plugins are available to add spyware and
antivirus detection. Plugins allow you to customize your BartPE CD/DVD to meet
your needs. A number of plugins are included with PE builder. You will need to
download additional files to enable some of these plugins. The PE Builder Web site
includes links to plugins created by other PE Builder users and various computer
software manufacturers. Unfortunately in order to find the plugins you want you
must search the individual Web sites of plugin contributors. Once you find a plugin
to add an application you have to test it to make sure it works. Some of the plugins
I tested that were produced by other PE Builder users did not work properly.
All the plugins I tested that were produced by software vendors/manufacturers
worked perfectly. If what I've just described sounds like to much work you may
consider using UBCD4Win (Ultimate Boot CD for Windows).
If you want to access the Internet or a local network from your BartPE CD/DVD you
must have the proper software drivers for your dial up modem and or NIC (network
interface card). I think some less advanced computer uses may have problems
setting up and configuring Internet/network access. You can still use the BartPE
CD/DVD as an emergency rescue tool.
More advanced computer users may want to test their BartPE CD/DVD using
virtualization
software. The company VMware distributes it's FREE
"VMware Player"
that can be used to test your BartPE CD/DVD. Of course you can test BartPE
the old fashioned way and re-start/boot your computer with the CD/DVD inserted in
it's drive.
At the time I wrote this article PE builder was a small download (3.23 MB). Someone
with a dial up connection can successfully download it. If you want additional tools
(over 140 applications) useful for fixing and troubleshooting computer problems
you might consider using UBCD4Win (Ultimate Boot CD
for Windows). UBCD4Win is based on the PE Builder
application. However, it contains all the plugins and applications as one download.
It requires less work to build and burn your CD or DVD. You do not have
to search for, download and install additional plugins or files. It is a much
larger download than PE Builder at around 175 megabytes in size. If you use a dial
up connection to access the Internet you may have a problem downloading a file this
large. The fact that UBCD is so large and contains so many applications might
intimidate/overwhelm some new users.
What do I need to use BartPE to create a bootable CD or DVD? You will need the
following:
- BartPE application (pebuilder.exe) and supporting files
- CD or DVD burner and at least one blank CD or DVD
- Windows XP installation disk
You will need to install BartPE on a computer with Windows 2000/XP/2003. BartPE
does not run on Windows NT4/ME/9x installed on it.
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