Create a bootable WinPE 2.1 DVD with a self-contained restoration image. This was addressed for Linux in a precious Juice Article. I have asked permission from the creator of that article and I modified it for WinPE 2.1
There are times where PXE booting seems to take a long time especially with WinPE. After making some changes to the MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) I was able to download WinPE 1.6 and 2.1 under 20 seconds.
As we prepare for a new deployment of Deployment Solution 6.9, IT personnel may encounter difficulties using WinPE 2.x in conjunction with VMWare network drivers. In addition, as more and more users try to virtualize their environments, Microsoft Vista users might find themselves without networking in VMWare Virtual Machines.