How to set date format and timezone in WinPE

I had a need for an accurate timezone and specific date format during Windows PE session when using SCCM OSD.

To change timezone:

At the start of the task sequence, run a command like “reg.exe import AUS_EST.reg”
This is simply an export of HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\TimeZoneInformation.
In my case, the contents of AUS_EST.reg looked like:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\TimeZoneInformation]
“Bias”=dword:fffffda8
“StandardName”=”AUS Eastern Standard Time”
“StandardBias”=dword:00000000
“StandardStart”=hex:00,00,04,00,01,00,03,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00
“DaylightName”=”AUS Eastern Daylight Time”
“DaylightBias”=dword:ffffffc4
“DaylightStart”=hex:00,00,0a,00,01,00,02,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00
“ActiveTimeBias”=dword:fffffd6c

To change date format in WinPE:

Mount WIM using DISM
Load hive “mount”\Windows\System32\config\DEFAULT into registry
Navigate to the loaded hive then Control Panel\International
Update the values you need to in here such as sLongDate and sShortDate
Unload hive
Unmount WIM using DISM, ensuring that you use the /commit switch

For more info on editing the registry for a WIM file, see my other post http://blog.danovich.com.au/2010/03/16/edit-the-registry-inside-a-wim-file/