Specifications

Before you bolt Ad-Aware onto your BartPE disc, you need to
first download and install it to your computer. You can get Ad-
Aware from www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware.
From within Windows, navigate to the Programs\Lavasoft\
directory and copy adaware.cmd, ad-aware.exe, alert.wav,
defs.ref, default.awl as well as the three subdirectories—Lang,
Plugins, Skins—to the “\pebuilder3032\plugin\adaware” direc-
tory. Copy the contents of the Lang and Skins subdirectories
into the same directory as ad-aware.exe. Unfortunately, the
adaware.inf file included with PE Builder is out of date so
you’ll need to update it. We found an INF file created by Malok
that seems to fix it.
In the plugin\adware\ directory open the file adaware.inf
and add the lines: c=”Programs\adaware\Plugins”,2 and
As with the drivers, you’ll have to install applications your-
self. If there is a supported plugin the process is exceed
-
ingly simple—hitting the PluginHelp button will give you
links and directions.
If you don’t have the attention span to add drivers or plugins,
click “Next” and simply compile your BartPE disc now. Once
burned, this CD lets you immediately boot into a BartPE envi-
ronment and browse the machine using A43—a Windows
Explorer equivalent. You can also run a rudimentary Check Disk
and gain basic network access. Skip ahead to the step labeled
“Burn your Bart PE disc” to finalize your disc. But if you want to
add drivers for your RAID or network cards, read on.
Make a basic disc
The thing that makes a BartPE disc interesting is the ability to
customize your disc with drivers for the hardware in your sys-
tem. For example, some preinstall environments require you to
insert a floppy disk with RAID or SATA card drivers every time
you boot off the disc. That’s a drag! Without drivers and crucial
applications, your disc is useless.
PE Builder supports lots of hardware and dozens of free
applications, but these apps and drivers are not included with
the PE Builder app. To install them you must download the files
yourself. Fortunately, the program holds your hand through
most of the process. If you didn’t skip ahead, PE Builder should
be displaying a screen that says “Plugins” on the top.
Adding drivers is as easy as clicking the appropriate plugin
and following the install procedures. Usually this entails down-
loading the correct drivers, decompressing them to the appro-
priate directory, and enabling the plugin, although you may
need to manually edit some text files if required by the plugin.
Regardless, PE Builder will provide step-by-step instructions
for each supported plugin. If your hardware isn’t listed as sup-
ported by PE Builder, you may be able to find it by searching
the Internet.
Once you’ve installed drivers for your RAID or SATA control-
lers and network controllers, it’s time to install applications.
Add drivers
To enable a plugin, highlight the feature, click enable, and fol-
low the directions that PE Builder gives you.
Add applications
The most important applications to include on your
BartPE disc are virus and spyware removal programs.
Without them, your BartPE disc will be little more than a
nifty toy.
McAfee offers two free virus scanners that should take
care of all your antivirus needs. Stinger is a stand-alone
app checks for any bad worms floating around on your
PC. SuperDat is a command-line app with a GUI that
scans for a comprehensive list of viruses. Both are easy
to install using the instructions built into PE Builder and
they’ll take up very little space on your BartPE disc.
For combating spyware, we recommend Ad-Aware.
When this magazine went to press, a plugin for the
program was unavailable, so you’ll need to follow the
instructions in the next step for manual installation.
Adding Ad-Aware
MAXIMUMPC JANUARY 200572