Microsoft OEM Partner Center

OPK eXtender for Windows XP

The OPK eXtender (OPX) is a powertoy for Windows XP allows system builders to manage the preinstallation process more easily in the following ways:

Adds system builder-specific features to the OEM Preinstallation Kit (OPK).
Can be used with or without the OPK.
Can be used to build fully customized PCs using the CD-based preinstallation method if you do not have the OPK installed.

Runs Most Frequently Used Tools, Manages Configuration Sets OPX adds a management layer to the preinstallation infrastructure created with the OPK. With the graphical user interface (GUI) of OPX, you can run the most frequently used command-line OPK tools and manage the configuration sets created by the OPK.

Easier to Automate Windows PC Builds Use OPX to manage all the software resources used to build new PCs:

Windows SKUs
Product keys
Out-of-box drivers
Windows updates
Third-party applications
Your company logos and support information

Using the OPX makes it easier to automate the process of building a Windows PC, using either the network-based or CD-based method.

Build New Windows PCs Faster, Lower Costs With the OPK and OPX together, you can build new Windows PCs—customized with your branding, support information, extra drivers, third-party applications, and Windows updates—faster than by hand or using the standard OPK techniques. This lowers your manufacturing costs. By adding your branding and support information, you build a better relationship with your customers by delivering more than just a "whitebox".

Technical Support for the OPX

The OPK eXtender powertoy is English only.
It is not part of the Windows OPK and is not supported by Microsoft. For this reason, Microsoft System Builder Technical Support (sbst@microsoft.com) is unable to answer questions about OPX.

OPX 1.0 Features

Feature	Description
Reinstall CD solution for your customers	Restores PC to the state you sold it in. Creates CD image (ISO) containing out-of-box drivers to burn to CD and includes a Winnt.sif that adds your branding and runs Sysprep. With that CD and a floppy containing the Winnt.sif and OPX files, your customer can boot the PC with the hologram Windows CD and Winnt.sif. The OPX files will automate the reinstallation of Windows with your customizations. The next release of OPX will add update support to the reinstall solution.
Repository of out-of-box drivers, driver packages, applications, and Windows updates	As you build PCs and add hardware that uses an out-of-box (OOB) driver, you can add those drivers to the OPX repository. When you have an OPX repository, use OPX to scan a new PC to identify the missing drivers, and automatically update config sets to add those drivers from the repository. OPX modifies all answer files, including Txtsetup.oem for mass-storage drivers. Run the network-based preinstall using the updated config set and Windows is installed with the OOB drivers. Use the Manage Applications command of the Repository tab to add driver packages, Windows Updates and third-party applications to the repository.
Customized Windows PE builds and ISOs	OPX provides a GUI to the Windows PE build tools (Mkimg and Oscdimg) to make it simple for you to create custom Windows PE builds. Add OOB drivers from your repository to your Windows PE builds, including mass-storage drivers.
Driver enumeration file (DEF) for new PCs	Scan command of the OPX tab will analyze the hardware of a new PC and identify any missing drivers. Scan results are listed in a driver enumeration file (.def) and displayed in DEF tab. Load that DEF in the OPX install on your technician computer and use it to add the missing drivers to your repository and then to one or more config sets.
System builder profiles	A profile is the set of information used to brand a new PC with your logos, support information, desktop background, Internet Explorer home page, and more. Automatically updates one or more config sets with a profile. If you build PCs for another system builder, you can add their profile to config sets to create PCs with your partner's branding.
UFD that boots with Windows PE	Windows Server 2003 SP1 OPK added the ability to create bootable UFDs (USB flash devices that can boot Windows PE). With this OPK use the OPX GUI to create the bootable UFD from your custom Windows PE build.
Enhanced CD-boot solution	If you use the CD-boot method, OPX enables an enhanced version that customizes the PC with the information in your profile and reseals the PC with Sysprep.

OPX Download

The OPX download is an .exe file that contains the OPX executable and the user's guide.

Download the OPX .exe 2.8 MB.

Additional System Builder OPKs

OEM Preinstallation Kits are available for many Microsoft technologies, including:

Operating systems
Servers
Windows Services
Other Microsoft products

For additional information, see Microsoft OEM Preinstallation Kits.