Microsoft Windows XP embedded FAQs

Abstract:This document answers common technical questions about the Microsoft Windows XP embedded operating system.

General questions

Windows XP embeddedWhich type of processor is supported?

Microsoft Windows XP embedded supports all x86-based Intel processors, including Intel x86 and Pentium, amd K5/K6, cyrix 5x86, and 6x86 CPUs.

You can setFor Windows NT embedded 4.0Configuration conversionWindows XP embeddedConfiguration?

No, you cannot convert the entire Microsoft Windows NT Embedded Version 4.0 configuration to Windows XP embedded configuration.

You can useFor Windows NT embedded 4.0Created. KDFFile conversionWindows XP embeddedIn. SLDFile?

Yes, yes.

InWindows XP embeddedCreate a componentWindows NT embeddedIs creating components easier?

Yes, Windows XP embedded provides the econvert tool, which can also convert file and registry entries from. KDF format to. SLD format.

HowFor Windows NT embedded 4.0The written application is transplantedWindows XP embedded?

Porting at the application level may involve simply copying executable (.exe) files and related files. When porting at a more complex level, you may need to use Microsoft Visual Studio to rewrite some of the source code to adapt to different core operating systems (OS) problems, for example, there are differences between registry items and settings. You will need to use the Windows Embedded component designer to define the application in the. SLD file so that it can be imported into the component database.

Windows XP embeddedFunctions andWindows XPIs it fully compatible?

Yes, Windows XP embedded contains the same binary file as Windows XP.

Windows XP embeddedWithWindows XPAre functions the same?

Yes, Windows XP embedded is a fully componentized version of Windows XP Professional. Windows XP embedded enables you to leverage your carefully selected Windows XP functionality in Embedded design with reduced memory footprint. In addition, Windows XP embedded provides embedded functions to support a wide range of device implementations.

Windows XP embeddedYes real-timeOS?

Windows XP embedded meets most performance requirements. However, if your Windows XP embedded OS requires more robust real-time support, you can use one of the real-time extensions available from third-party vendors.

For Windows NT embedded 4.0Will it continue to be supported?

Yes, Windows NT embedded 4.0 will continue to be supported.

Windows XP embeddedHow is authorization and pricing made?

For more information about authorization and pricing, see how to buy on the web page.

HowWindows XP embedded?

You can use the same application environment as developing applications for the desktop. You can develop applications on Windows NT 4.0 retail system without using embedded systems. Microsoft Visual Studio provides a comprehensive environment for developing applications and drivers for Windows XP embedded. For information about the documentation required to develop applications and drivers for Windows NT 4.0-based platforms, visit the Microsoft Embedded Developer Network.

How to targetOSAdd component?

You can use the Microsoft Component designer to define components in a way that is understandable by other Windows XP development tools. The component information is called the component object definition and has a. SLD extension.

Components define their own functions and their own generation scripts. In the component object definition, component functions are represented as resources, attributes, and optional generation scripts that define how components use resources. You need to define dependencies and conflicts for each component. You can also assign components to a group and manage the Group as a component.

You can use the component designer to save the component object definition in a carrier file, which is an extensible markup language (XML) file with a. SLD extension. You can then import the component object definition to the component database.

Why is definition of component objects very important?

The component object definition allows you to add any applications, devices, or services that work on the platform to the component database. With the windows embedded development tool, you can then add applications, devices, or services to the runtime image.

The component object definition also ensures that the resources and dependencies of the component are selected as appropriate. For example, assume that you have defined two custom applications and imported them into the component database. You have created a standard configuration that does not contain any application. Next, you decide to use the standard configuration and one of the applications to create the runtime image. When you add an application to the configuration, it not only adds the function of the application, but also warns the development tool to pay attention to the dependencies and scripts of the application. This allows you to ensure that your configuration contains all the components required for successful generation.

 

First boot agent (FBA)/utility skills

When usingCompact FlashAs the device's memory, please makeFirst boot agent (FBA)Run on disk.

When you plan to use compact flash as the storage device of the image, we recommend that you first start the image on the hard drive and run the "first boot agent" on the disk. The reason is that FBA performed a lot of write operations during registry creation and burned several devices for me. When the image starts and runs the library after the first startup, you can simply copy it to the device.

IfFBAWhat should I do if I restart multiple times?

If your FBA restarts repeatedly, this means that you have generated a Runtime Library for the wrong partition. The target designer uses C:/by default, so you must change the target partition on the target computer. Check the fbalog.txt at the beginning of./Windows/FBA/fbalog.txt. If you see an error indicating "invalid path", this is the problem.

To solve this problem, in the target designer, clickSettings. Then, selectTarget device settings. The boot drive may be correctly setC:,WindowsFolder,Program FilesFolder andDocs and settingsFolder may need to change their drive letter fromC:Change to the correct drive letter. This will be the drive letter indicated in realmode (as if from the fdisk that runs from the Microsoft MS-DOS ). It is not always the same as the drive letter assigned by windows.

Why am IFBAGet"Error"?

This may be because the Runtime Library is located in the wrong partition of the system where you run the dual-start operation. The target designer is used by default.C :/Therefore, you need to change the target partition on the target computer. Check the fbalog.txt at the beginning of./Windows/FBA/fbalog.txt. If the error "invalid path" is displayed, the error partition is the problem.

How do IFBAError troubleshooting?

The first boot agent creates logs that can be used for troubleshooting. It is located in./Windows/FBA/fbalog.txt of the Runtime Library. It lists each registered binary file, protocols bound to the network interface card (NIC), plug-and-play (PNP) devices found, errors, and more.

IfFBAGenerate"Error"And IFBAReceived"Virtual Memory Error"So what should I check?

The service and registered binary files loaded by your Runtime Library exceed the capacity of the physical random access memory (RAM) on the target computer. You can perform one of the following operations:

•	By disabling or deleting components in the configuration, you can reduce the number of features in the running database.
•	Add page file support to the configuration (in the target designer ).
•	Add more RAM to the target computer.

Why?FBAHow long does it take?

The FBA execution target designer is not currently able to perform services offline. This includes plug-and-play, Component Object Model (COM) registration, and security.

Why is myFBALog indication"Invalid path"Error?

If your FBA log contains the "invalid path" statement, this is because you have generated a Runtime Library for the target partition of the target computer. In the target designer, you must provide the tool with the shard location of the Runtime Library. Otherwise, FBA may try to process and register a binary file on secure generation in different partitions and generate an exception error.

 

Component Problems

How do I change the default settings of components?

Not all components can be changed, but some components have configurable settings so that you can modify the default attributes of the component in the target designer before generating the runtime. For example, in your configuration, analyze and display the settings of driver components. You can see that you can select the Runtime Library resolution, refresh frequency, and color depth in advance.

Where can I find third-party drivers that do not exist in the product?

With the Windows Embedded tool, you can easily create your own third-party driver components. For example, in the component designer, you can "import" The. inf file of the driver. The component designer then analyzes the sections of the. inf file and identifies the Required Registry Key and required binary files. You must create a repository to store these binary files, import new components to the database, and add them to your configuration with the target designer. You can also use the command line utility econvert.exe to convert the. inf file to the. SLD file.

What is a macro component?

A macro component is a component that only has component dependencies and does not list any binary files or registry dependencies. If you create your own component in the component designer, selectMacro componentCheck box. When you import the component to your database, the display name is in bold.

What if I have trouble searching for components?

If you know the component name or part of the display name, you can search for the component in the target designer. Do not forget that some components will be hidden from you if the visibility of the component is smaller than your current setting (1000 by default. You only need to reduce the visibility (for example, to 200), you will see more than 200 other components.

If you do not know the component name, but you do know the binary file that makes up the required functions, you can use the filter manager in the target designer to locate the component that owns the binary file.

When I tried to install the old application, I got the following message. Why?

16-bit windows Subsystem
An installable virtual device driver failed DLL initialization.
Choose 'close' to terminate the application.

A 16-bit application requires Windows on Windows (WOW). Therefore, you must add the DOS windows on Windows support component to your configuration. You may need to reduce visibility to 200 items in the target designer to view DoS windows on Windows support components.

Which components must be included in my configuration to provideEncrypted File SystemSupported?

NTFS and NTFS format/tools.

 

Running database Problems

How to automatically log on to the running database?

When the system is started, use the automatic logon component to automatically log on to the user. This component has configurable settings so that you can enter the default domain name, user name, and password. Remember that if you change these values in the Runtime Library, the autologon function will fail.

How do I add page files to the Runtime Library?

In the target designer, locate the hardware abstraction layer (HAL) component in your configuration, such as standard PC. Expand the tree of the component and selectSettings. Edit "initial size" and "maximum size" in "system pagefile ". In addition, selectEnable pagefile supportCheck box.

InWindows XP embeddedWhich Shell programs can be used by the running database?

Standard Explorer Shell, Task Manager shell, and command shell (cmd.exe) exist in the database ). If you want to get a standard Windows Shell experience, you should first choose the Explorer Shell. The command shell is usually used by very small configurations and is usually used with minlogon.

I got"Missing PCI. sys"Error. How to avoid this error?

If you receive "missing PCI. sys "error indicates that you have used ta.exe, but the basic input/output system (BiOS) on the target computer returns information that cannot be found in the database, therefore, you finally lack key devices in the configuration. In this particular case, the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) Local Bus component is missing in your configuration. Use tap.exe to solve the problem.

How to avoid"Stop error 6B"?

If your Runtime Library performs an error check or the operating system stops unexpectedly when you first start your operating system, an error message is displayed on the blue screen, in addition, the operating system has an error with the error code 6B, which indicates that you have omitted the required file system components. For example, if you have added a File Allocation Table (FAT) component to the target designer to meet the file system component requirements, but the target partition contains NTFS, you will receive this error. If you only add NTFS, but your system needs fat, you will also see this error. The database has four file system components: fat, NTFS, CDFs (for CD), and udfs (for DVD ). If you want to, you can add all the four components. They do not conflict with each other.

Note:The fat component is used for fat16 and FAT32.

How to avoid"Stop error 7b"?

If your Runtime Library performs an error check or the operating system stops unexpectedly when you first start your operating system, an error message is displayed on the blue screen, and the operating system has an error with the error check code 7b, which indicates that you have missed the key Startup Device. The boot device may contain one of the following components: a disk drive, an integrated development environment (IDE) controller, a primary ide channel, a secondary ide channel, a PCI bus, or another boot device.

The two most common causes are:

1.

You did not use a tool to query devices on the target computer when generating hardware configurations.

2.

You have used ta.exe In the BIOS of the target computer, but it returns information that cannot be found in the database. This means that you may have lost key devices during the configuration process. If you know the specific component or a compatible component (for example, a common driver in the database), try to add one of these components to your configuration, and generate the Runtime library again.

Try one of the following solutions:

•

Use tap.exe instead of ta.exe. There are almost no errors when using tap, and you can identify all the required devices. You can only run tap from Windows 2000 or Windows XP. Tap queries the Registry to identify the Windows installer to determine the right device that best fits the computer. Another disadvantage of TAP is that it will introduce any device that is used to installing but subsequently deleted on the computer, in addition, it may introduce some software enumeration devices that you may not need into your configuration. If this happens, delete unnecessary components from your configuration.

•

The second solution is to analyze the Device Manager in the security generation that is successfully installed on the target computer. For example, if you have installed Windows XP or Windows 2000, open the Device Manager and identify the key devices that are listed in the Device Manager and lost in the configurations in the target designer. Then, find the device with the same display name in the target designer and add it to your configuration.

How can I clone a running database to multiple target devices?

Windows XP embedded contains the system cloning tool component. If you add this component to the configuration, you will add steps that are typically not visible to the first boot agent (FBA) process. After the system completes FBA stage 0 to 8,500, the system restarts on your primary system and enters the "reseal" phase 8,501 to 12,000. After the "re-sealing" phase, you must shut down the system and copy the image to the disk. Spread the image to multiple cloned computers. The next time the image is started, the clone phase starts, and the security identifier (SID) in the host device of the computer is replaced with a unique sid. For more information, see the Help File in xpehelp. chm: System Design Guide | design considerations | cloning

Note:Refer to xpehelp. CHM to learn the special settings required for FBA to handle some work after cloning. For more information, see the "phase (integer)" explanation in system design guide | appendix info | custom resources | FBA generic command in the Help file.

How to correctly set the partition size to avoid errors:"A problem is preventing windows from accurately checking the license for this computer-0x80090006"?

If the error "a problem is preventing windows from accurately checking the license for this computer. error code: 0x80090006 "indicates that you have not correctly set the partition size in the target designer. In the target designer, you must provide the tool with the size of the target partition. If it is completely incorrect, the runtime fails. The default value is 1024 MB. To change this setting, clickSettings. Then, selectTarget device settingsAnd findBoot partition sizeConfigurable settings. Change the value to the actual partition size that the runtime will reside in.

Important:Run the dependency check again before re-generating the runtime database.

How to enable in the Runtime Library"Right-click"Function context menu?

The context menu is disabled by default. To enable them, you must change the configurable settings in the user interface core component. There are two check boxes related to the context menu that can be modified.

How to ReduceWindows XP embeddedWhat is the memory footprint of the runtime database?

To reduce the memory footprint of the runtime image, you may want to perform the following operations:

•	Disable page file support. If you have enough RAM to support services that you expect your users to run, you may not need page files. Note that page files are disabled by default.
•	In the configuration, disable or delete any unnecessary hardware components. These driver components may have component dependencies, while the latter may have other dependencies, and so on. Therefore, an unwanted driver component in the configuration may have an impact on the memory Footprint (sometimes with a huge impact ).
•	If you use tap.exe to generate hardware configurations, refer to the "Disable software enumeration devices collected by tap.exe" technique. If you are not careful, these problems may have a significant impact on the memory footprint.
•	Convert the partition on the target computer to NTFS and compress the volume (the compression function requires an NTFS file system ). This can reduce the memory footprint, sometimes up to 40% or higher. Do not forget to add the NTFS component to the runtime.

How to deployWindows XP embeddedRuntime Library?

Deploying the Windows XP embedded Runtime library on the device may be quite simple, but here we will provide some tips to help you avoid mistakes. For clarity, the deployment image is used to move the runtime image to the device and start the runtime on the device. For simplicity, the standard Integrated Device Circuit (IDE) is used) the hard drive acts as the boot media. Remember a few things when deploying an image.

The following are some easy tasks that you need to check by yourself:

•	Make sure that the partition you used to start is formatted as fat or FAT32.
•	Make sure that the partition is active (use fdisk verification or change ).
•	Make sure that the boot partition (usually C:, or the first partition on the first hard drive) has a valid Windows XP Boot Sector.
•	Make sure that the boot partition has the required Windows XP boot files (these files include ntldr, ntdetect. com, and boot. INI ).
•	Make sure that boot. INI has the correct arc path pointing to the system file location.
•	Make sure that the system file is in the location you claim as needed.
•	Make sure that the configuration knows where to place these files.
•	Make sure that the system contains the drivers required for startup.

The first two items are very easy to check by yourself, but if you do not consider them, they will cause some problems.

You can use the bootprep. EXE utility that comes with Windows XP embedded beta 2 to place valid Windows XP boot sectors on the boot drive. The tool should be located in/Program files/Windows Embedded/utilitiesFolder. If it is not there, double-clickAdd/Remove ProgramsTo modify the installation of the Windows XP embedded client tool, and select the boot preparation utility. This tool has an associated self-report file that provides complete usage information and some typical use cases.

If you do not specify the startup arc path correctly during generation, Boot. ini will not have the correct path pointing to the system. The information about the arc path is no longer repeated here. For more information about how to correctly build an arc path, see the knowledge base, msdn boot. ini, or arc path.

Apparently, if the arc path is correct, the system file is likely to be there-you need to ensure that conversion from long file names (LFN) to ms dos 8.3 names does not occur. You can use Microsoft and third-party tools to retain them when you use an operating system that does not support LFN for replication. The best way to implement replicas is to install the embedded system on the development computer, and then copy these files in the local Windows 2000 or Windows XP operating system. You can also copy them over the network. You can also use a third-party tool to enable LFN network replication on the boot device of a floppy disk.

Of course, make sure that the system file has the correct components to support startup. The easiest way to ensure this is to use tap. EXE to discover computer hardware. However, if you must run ta. EXE or manually add a component, the crucial component may be lost. The list of required components varies with the computer, but you need at least the BIOS components (for example, standard PC-it is located under the hardware: computers in the target designer) and the IDE controller (hardware-specific), primary ide channel, secondary ide channel, and disk drive components. The last one is tricky because there are three disk drive components in the Windows XP embedded database. Check the attributes of each component and observe the advanced attributes. You need a component whose "cmipnpdevid" attribute value is "gendisk.

You must also make sure that the target drive property is set to the correct position in the configuration. Select Configuration (the top node in the "configuration Editor" tree), and clickAdvanced. There are four attributes to be set:

Cmitargetbootdrive	Where will the system start (usually C :)
Cmitargetwindir	/Where the Windows folder will be located
Cmitargetprogramfiles	Where will the/Program Files folder be located?
Cmitargetdocsandsettings	/Documents and setting folder

If these attributes are not correctly set before the image is generated, problems will occur at startup and problems will occur during the first boot agent operation sequence.

If you want to start from a partition (such as C :) but run the system from another partition (such as D, the runtime image on the development computer will have a drived folder containing system files, and the root directory will contain the required startup files. Make sure that the contents of these folders are copied to the correct drive.

Obviously, this may not solve all startup problems, but running these items should help you solve startup problems faster.

 

Other problems

How to eliminate it after power-on self-checkWindowsStart Screen?

Use the/noguiboot switch in Boot. ini. This will eliminate the Windows XP embedded boot screen, and the screen will remain blank until the shell program is loaded or the user is prompted to log on to the system.

Example: In boot. ini, your arc path looks as follows:

Multi (0) disk (0) RDISK (1) Partition (1)/Windows = "Windows XP embedded"/fastdetect/noguiboot

What isBootprep?

Bootprep.exe is a command line tool used to create media that can be started to Windows XP embedded. First, you must prepare the MBR (Master startup record) and at least one partition by using MS dos tools such as format and fdisk. The program prepares the media. The active partitions of the media have been formatted with fat16, bigdos fat 16, or FAT32, and enabled to be started in Windows Embedded. This program uses the code to load ntldr to replace the code that usually starts the sector code by loading Io. sys and msdos. sys to the partition in DOS.

How to disableTap.exeSoftware enumeration devices collected?

One disadvantage of using tap.exe is that each device listed in the registry is obtained. This includes devices that are usually installed but subsequently removed (such as old video cards that may have been upgraded) and software enumeration devices. For example, many configurations display the WAN miniport and Remote Access Service (RAS) asynchronous components. These components are listed in the computer's registry, but the standard networking feature may work properly in the Runtime Library without them. Disabling or deleting them can greatly reduce the memory footprint. To get this benefit, you must remove them from the configuration before the full run check dependency phase.

How to UseNtldrMulti-startCepc?

With ntldr, you can start your Microsoft Windows CE-based PC multiple times between Windows NT, Windows XP, or MS DoS (including Windows CE without dos Boot Loader. You only need to install Windows NT or Windows xp in the fat16 boot partition on a Windows CE-based computer, and then in the boot. add a line to the INI file to provide another choice for the 512-byte partition to be started.

When ntldr is installed, the starting sector (usually Magnetic Track 0, cylinder 1, and sector 1) of the current partition is saved to bootsect. replace the DOS with its own starting slice for loading ntldr. ntldr calls ntdetect again. com to continue to Windows NT or Windows XP.

Ntldr uses the default bootsect. DOS file for the C:/partition, but you can specify your own path name (as you did during Windows NT installation ). To make ntldr appear absent so as to bypass the prompt, you only need to set timeout = 0 in the boot. ini file.

You can also use the "Startup" button on the "advanced" tab in the "System" Control Panel to select different default options.

I have an application that has multiple files with the same name but resident in different folder paths. I cannot put them in the same repository because they have identical names. How can I solve this problem?

The answer can be short and lengthy. The short answer is to specify the source name and target name of the binary file in the. SLD file. For example, you can rename the binary file to "windows_foo.dll" and "windows_system32_foo.dll" in the repository (where "foo" is a common placeholder for any name you choose ). When the target designer generates a Runtime library, it copies the correct file to the correct location and instantly renames it to the correct file name.

The lengthy answer contains two parts:

1.

Modify the names of some files. For example, if you have two. DLL binary file, one of which should exist in the Windows/system32 folder, and the other should exist in the Windows/drivers folder, you can rename the binary file as follows: • Windows_system32_foo.dll • Windows_drivers_foo.dll

2.

In the. SLD file, create the corresponding components to put windows_drivers_foo.dll into the correct directory, and rename the binary file to foo. dll during the generation process. You canAdd component File resourceDialog box. You can specify the source name (for example, the file name in the repository-it can be "windows_drivers_foo.dll") and the target name (for example, the name of the file that resides in the correct folder of the Runtime Library-it can be "foo. DLL "). The target designer automatically renames the file to the correct name when generating the Runtime Library.

InExplorerOpen"Sharing and security ..."How to Make the Security tab displayWindows XP Pro). Which component may be lost or incorrectly set?

You must include the security shell extension component in the configuration. Note that for Windows XP embedded, you must manually register the "rshx32.dll" file. This has been solved in Windows XP embedded Service Pack 1.