A utility run on the target hardware to probe the devices and generate a hardware definition file (.pmq).

This is the most critical information for anyone considering using Windows XP Embedded SP2 today.

You cannot install a Windows XP Embedded ISO directly onto a target machine using a standard, automated setup wizard like standard Windows XP. Deployment requires a multi-step engineering process. Step 1: Install the Development Tools

Before building the operating system, run the built-in dependency check within Target Designer. The tool will scan your configuration to ensure that no vital system files or drivers are missing. Step 5: Build and Transfer the Image

Once the development environment is set up, you would then use the tools to build a custom run-time image, which could be as small as a few dozen megabytes and deployed to the target embedded device.