SERVICING & CUSTOMIZING WINDOWS XP EMBEDDED GWYNETH SALDANHA APRIL 2007 Department of Mathematics and Computer Science Algoma University College, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario © Gwyneth Saldanha GWYNETH SALDANHA ABSTRACT This thesis will attempt to examine the issues involved in customizing or modifying the hardware or the underlying operating system for thin client devices based on Microsoft Windows XP Embedded and offer a solution for working through the required process. PAGE 2 OF 88 GWYNETH SALDANHA TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................................8 1.1 EMBEDDED OPERATING SYSTEMS .......................................................................................................................8 1.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE THESIS ...................................................................................................................................9 CHAPTER 2 : XP EMBEDDED: AN OVERVIEW...............................................................................................10 2.1 THE MICROSOFT EMBEDDED PLATFORM ...........................................................................................................10 2.2 WINDOWS XP EMBEDDED .................................................................................................................................11 2.3 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WINDOWS XP AND WINDOWS XP EMBEDDED ..............................................................13 2.4 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND COSTS.................................................................................................................14 2.4.1 Development System Requirements...........................................................................................................15 2.4.2 Target Device Requirements .....................................................................................................................15 2.4.3 Licensing Costs .........................................................................................................................................16 2.5 SUMMARY..........................................................................................................................................................17 CHAPTER 3 : THE EMBEDDED STUDIO TOOLS ............................................................................................18 3.1 TARGET ANALYZER...........................................................................................................................................18 3.2 COMPONENT DESIGNER .....................................................................................................................................20 3.3 COMPONENT MANAGEMENT INTERFACE ...........................................................................................................22 3.4 COMPONENT DATABASE MANAGER ..................................................................................................................23 3.5 TARGET DESIGNER.............................................................................................................................................24 3.6 EMBEDDED ENABLING FEATURES......................................................................................................................26 3.7 THE COMMAND LINE TOOL ...............................................................................................................................29 3.8 SUMMARY..........................................................................................................................................................30 CHAPTER 4 : XP EMBEDDED IMAGE DEVELOPMENT CYCLE ................................................................31 4.1 CREATING AN XP EMBEDDED IMAGE ................................................................................................................31 4.1.1 Analyzing the Target Computer ................................................................................................................31 4.1.2 Create a Component for the Target Device ..............................................................................................32 4.1.3 Creating a New Configuration in Target Designer...................................................................................34 4.1.4 Update Configuration Settings..................................................................................................................35 4.1.5 Check Dependencies .................................................................................................................................35 4.1.6 Build the Run-Time Image ........................................................................................................................36 4.1.7 Deploy the Run-Time Image......................................................................................................................37 PAGE 3 OF 88 GWYNETH SALDANHA 4.2 BOOTING FROM USB FLASH ..............................................................................................................................38 4.2.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................................................38 4.2.2 Format USB Media ...................................................................................................................................39 4.2.3 Add USB Boot 2.0 Component ..................................................................................................................40 4.2.4 Build Target Image and Transfer to USB Media ......................................................................................41 4.2.5 Boot with the USB Media..........................................................................................................................41 4.3 DEMONSTRATING XP EMBEDDED WITH VIRTUAL PC........................................................................................42 4.3.1 Setting up the Virtual Machine..................................................................................................................42 4.3.2 Capturing the Hardware Information .......................................................................................................43 4.3.3 Building and Deploying the Image............................................................................................................43 4.3.4 Running XP Embedded .............................................................................................................................43 4.4 SUMMARY..........................................................................................................................................................44 CHAPTER 5 : COMPONENTS AND COMPONENTIZATION.........................................................................45 5.1 COMPONENT DEVELOPMENT .............................................................................................................................46 5.2 ADVANCED COMPONENT DEVELOPMENT ..........................................................................................................47 5.2.1 Tools Used on the Development PC..........................................................................................................48 5.2.2 Tools Used on the Target Device ..............................................................................................................49 5.3 COMPONENT SUPPORT FROM THIRD-PARTY VENDORS......................................................................................50 5.4 SUMMARY..........................................................................................................................................................51 CHAPTER 6 : MANAGING AND SERVICING RUNTIME IMAGES..............................................................53 6.1 UPDATES OVERVIEW .........................................................................................................................................53 6.2 DATABASE UPDATES .........................................................................................................................................54 6.2.1 Creating a Database Update.....................................................................................................................55 6.2.2 Advantages of a Database Update ............................................................................................................56 6.2.3 Issues with Database Updates...................................................................................................................56 6.3 DESKTOP UPDATES............................................................................................................................................56 6.4 SERVICING EMBEDDED DEVICES .......................................................................................................................57 6.4.1 Recovery CD .............................................................................................................................................58 6.4.2 Run-Time Image Replacement ..................................................................................................................59 6.4.3 Remote Management.................................................................................................................................60 6.4.4 Device Update Agent.................................................................................................................................60