XP Embedded Builder v2 allows you to create your own components very easily.
To create a component you just need to create the correct file structure, export your registry entries and build a configuration file.
I’ll show you how to build your component here and use the MsConfig component as example.

  1. Create a folder for your new component – in this case „MsConfig“
  2. Create a subfolder named Data in the component folder
  3. Now copy the files into the Data folder with the full pathExample:

    MsConfig
    |-Data
    –|-Windows
    —–|-PCHEALTH
    ——–|-helpctr
    ———–|-binaries           <– place the file MsConifg.exe also in this folder

    If you have your own application you can just copy and paste the whole folder structure into the data folder and you are fine. Just take care that you put it into the correct subfolders like „Windows“, „Program Files“, etc.

  4. Create a registry import

If you need to add registry data to run the application just export them to normal registry files (.reg – extension)
Open the exported file – you now need to split up the file according to the registry pathes.
You need a seperate file for HKLM\Software, HKLM\System, HKLM\Security, HKLM\SAM.
Create a seperate file for each of those path and replace the root pathes with ‚tmp‘.

For example:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet] with [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\tmp\CurrentControlSet] [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft] with [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\tmp\Microsoft]

Save each individual reg file to the components folder under a seperate name.

Example for MsConfig:

Filename: reg_msconfig.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\MSCONFIG.EXE] @=“C:\\WINDOWS\\PCHealth\\HelpCtr\\Binaries\\MSConfig.exe“

New Filename: reg_sw.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\tmp\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\MSCONFIG.EXE] @=“C:\\WINDOWS\\PCHealth\\HelpCtr\\Binaries\\MSConfig.exe“

5.  Create a file named Config.cfg

Use the following sample as template to create your component configuration.

[Component] Name=System Configuration – MsConfig
Version=1.0
Group=System Configuration
Order=1000
Autorun=FALSE

[Step_0] Action=copy
Arg0=Data\
Arg1=[InstallPartition] [Step_1] Action=reg
Arg0=Import
Arg1=[InstallWinDir]System32\config\SOFTWARE
Arg2=reg_sw.reg

[Step_2] Action=reg
Arg0=Import
Arg1=[InstallWinDir]System32\config\SOFTWARE.SAV
Arg2=reg_sw.reg

Description[Component] Name=Displayname in the selection menu
Version=Version of the component -> older version get replaced by newer ones
Group=Name of the group in which the component will show up in the selection menu
Order=Installationorder (the higher the later)
Autorun=TRUE -> component will be launched automatically after baseimage installation

[Step_x] Action=copy  <- tell XPeBuilder to copy files
Arg0=Data\  <- Source directory (relative to the pluginpath)
Arg1=[InstallPartition] <- Destination directory (see Tags)

[Step_x] Action=reg <- tell XPeBuilder that a registry function will follow
Arg0=Import <- tell XPeBuilder to import a file into the registry
Arg1=[InstallWinDir]System32\config\SOFTWARE <- path to the registry hive which should be loaded
Arg2=reg_sw.reg <- path to the file which should be importet to the registry[Dependencies] DepX=Name of the component <- this creates a dependency to this component

[Conflicts] ConX=Name of the component <- this creates a conflict between the components

Tags
Tags will be replaced with certain parameters specified during the installation – see list below

[InstallPartition]=Installation Partition (e.g.: C:\)[InstallWinDir]=Windows Directory of the installation (e.g.: C:\Windows\)


Integrating the component into XP Embedded Builder

  1. Create a folder named „Components“ in the root of an USB drive.
  2. Copy the created component into this folder
  3. Connect the USB drive to the target machine and boot XPeBuilder
  4. The component will now appear in the component selection dialog