How to Create a Bootable WinPE USB for Dell Encryption Enterprise or Dell Encryption Personal

This article explains how to create a bootable Windows Pre-installation Environment (WinPE) for Dell Encryption Enterprise (formerly Dell Data Protection | Enterprise Edition) or Dell Encryption Personal (formerly Dell Data Protection | Personal Edition) using a USB storage device.

Affected Products:

• Dell Encryption Enterprise
• Dell Data Protection | Enterprise Edition
• Dell Encryption Personal
• Dell Data Protection | Personal Edition
• Dell Data Protection | Server Edition

Affected Operating Systems:

• Windows

A bootable WinPE USB requires:

• A Dell Data Security WinPE image
  • For more information, reference How to Download WinPE for Dell Encryption Enterprise or Dell Encryption Personal.
• A USB storage device
• A third-party file compression utility
  • Examples of a third-party file compression utility include (but are not limited to):
    • 7-Zip
    • Universal Extractor
    • WinRAR

The process differs depending on whether the targeted endpoint is using UEFI or Legacy BIOS boot mode.

Click the appropriate boot mode for more information.

UEFI

1. Plug the USB storage device into the computer.
2. Right-click the Windows Start menu and then click Run.
   
3. In the Run UI, type cmd and then press OK.
   
4. Type diskpart and then press Enter.
   
   Note: The computer that is listed will differ in your environment.
5. Type list disk and then press Enter.
   
6. Identify the disk number that is assigned to the USB storage device.
   
   Note:

   • In the example, the disk number 1 is assigned to the USB storage device.
   • DiskPart results will differ in your environment.
7. Type select disk [NUMBER] and then press Enter.
   
   Note: [NUMBER] represents the disk number that is assigned to the USB storage device in Step 6.
   Warning: Data on the USB storage device must be backed up to another location before completing any further steps to avoid data loss.
8. Type clean and then press Enter.
   
9. Type create partition primary and then press Enter.
   
10. Type select partition 1 and then press Enter.
    
11. Type format fs=fat32 quick and then press Enter.
    
12. Type active and then press Enter.
    
13. Type assign letter=[LETTER] and then press Enter.
    
    Note: [LETTER] represents an unused drive letter that is assigned to the USB storage device. In the example image, the letter F is assigned to the USB storage device. This may differ in your environment.
14. From the downloaded WinPE image, use a third-party file compression utility to extract it.
    
    Note:

    • UEFI bootable environments and Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) drives require an x64 WinPE image.
    • Your third-party file compression utility may differ from the screenshot example.
15. Copy the extracted contents to the root of the USB storage device.
    

Legacy BIOS

1. Plug the USB storage device into the computer.
2. Right-click the Windows Start menu and then click Run.
   
3. In the Run UI, type cmd and then press OK.
   
4. Type diskpart and then press Enter.
   
   Note: The computer that is listed will differ in your environment.
5. Type list disk and then press Enter.
   
6. Identify the disk number that is assigned to the USB storage device.
   
   Note:

   • In the example, the disk number 1 is assigned to the USB storage device.
   • DiskPart results will differ in your environment.
7. Type select disk [NUMBER] and then press Enter.
   
   Note: [NUMBER] represents the disk number that is assigned to the USB storage device in Step 6.
   Warning: Data on the USB storage device must be backed up to another location before completing any further steps to avoid data loss.
8. Type clean and then press Enter.
   
9. Type create partition primary and then press Enter.
   
10. Type select partition 1 and then press Enter.
    
11. Type format fs=ntfs quick and then press Enter.
    
12. Type active and then press Enter.
    
13. Type assign letter=[LETTER] and then press Enter.
    
    Note: [LETTER] represents an unused drive letter that is assigned to the USB storage device. In the example, the letter F is assigned to the USB storage device. This may differ in your environment.
14. From the downloaded WinPE image, use a third-party file compression utility to extract it.
    
    Note:

    • Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) drives require an x64 WinPE image.
    • Your third-party file compression utility may differ from the screenshot example.
15. Copy the extracted contents to the root of the USB storage device.
    

To contact support, reference Dell Data Security International Support Phone Numbers.
Go to TechDirect to generate a technical support request online.
For additional insights and resources, join the Dell Security Community Forum.