Windows 7 Test Prep
Ch 2 Part 3
Based on this book
Lesson 1: Capturing System Images
• Part 1: Creating an answer file
– Saving it as unattend.xml on a UFD (USB Flash
Drive)
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Part 2: Creating a Reference Image
Distributing an Image to Many Computers
Using the Deployment Image
Servicing and Management Tool
Sysprep
Manual Deployment from a
Network Share
• On destination computer, boot from WinPE disk
• Use DISKPART to
create partitions
• Copy image.wimto
local hard disk D:
• Apply image with
ImageX
• Use BCDboot to initialize the Boot Configuration Data
ImageX
• At an elevated command prompt
– e:\imagex.exe /apply d:\image.wim 1 c:
BCDboot
• At an elevated command prompt
– d:\windows\system32\bcdboot d:\windows
Cross-Architecture Tools
• ImageX (x86) and Windows PE (x86) can be
used to capture both 32-bit and 64-bit images
Windows Imaging Format
• A WIM file is file-based format that stores files
and file metadata
– Removes duplicates, storing a file only once even
if it is references multiple times in the file system
tree
– Hardware-independent
– Files are stored in a WIM database
– WIM files must be deployed to pre-formatted
partitions (use DISKPART first)
Windows Imaging Format
• WIM file may contain multiple disk images
– Saves size by removing duplicates
• SWM: Spanned WIM Image files
– Split into parts
Mounting WIM Files
• Load WimFltr.sys driver
• Mount WIM file to a drive letter using ImageX
• Wimgapi.dll provides Application
Programming Interfaces for manipulating
WIMs
• To make a WIM bootable, use ImageX with the
/boot switch
Distributing an Image to Many
Computers
• Two tools
–Windows Deployment Services (WDS)
• Targets boot from PXE, or from a WDS
Capture Image
–MDT 2010 (Microsoft Deployment
Toolkit)
• Very powerful new deployment tool
Lite Touch & Zero Touch
• Lite Touch Installation (LTI)
– Requires a small amount of user intervention
– Most new features in MDT are related to LTI
• Zero Touch Installation (ZTI)
– No user intervention
– Requires these items on the network:
• Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager
(SCCM) 2007
• Operating System Deployment Feature Pack
• SQL Server
System Management Server (SMS)
2003
• MTD 2010 ZTI does not work with SMS 2003
WDS Images
• WDS provides a PXE-booted version of
Windows PE
• A WDS image is contained in A WIM FILE
– It's booted over the network into a RAMDisk
– Installation proceeds under Windows PE
• WDS integrates into Active Directory Domain
Services, but the PXE server can run without
ADDS
Types of WDS Images
• Install
– An OS to deploy, typically a WIM file
• Boot
– Windows PE image you boot client to before install the
WIM
• Capture
– Used to capture images
– Has Windows PE and Windows Deployment Services
Image Capture Wizard
• Discover
– Used for non-PXE computers
– Enables target to finds WDS server and install an image
Using the Deployment Image Servicing
and Management Tool (DISM)
• New in Windows 7
• DISM can service a Windows image, or
prepare a Windows PE image
DISM Can Do:
DISM Options
Sysprep
• Sysprep prepares a Windows installation for
imaging or delivery to a user
• GUI mode:
• c:\windows\
system32\
sysprep\
sysprep.exe
Sysprep Command-line Options
Sysprep Options
• /audit Restarts the ciomputer in Audit mode
to test an installation or add drivers
• /generalize Removes all unique system info
• /oobe Restarts in Windows Welcome mode
• /reboot, /shutdown, /quiet, /quit
• /unattend: answerfile – Applies settings in the
answer file during unattended installation
Configuration Passes
• Link TestPrep Ch 2c
Sysprep Answer File
• Configures unattended setup options
• The generalize, auditSystem, and auditUser
passes only occur when you run sysprep.
• Sysprep answer file must be an XML file but
cannot be named Autounattend.xml
Making Plug-and-Play Drivers
Persist During the Generalize Pass
• Specify the PersistentAllDeviceInstalls setting
in the Microsoft-Windows-PnPSysprep feature
• In Windows System Image Manager
– See next slide
Reduced Functionality Mode
• There is no Reduced Functionality Mode in Windows 7
• Textbook is wrong on page 82
• See link TestPrep Ch 2d
Lesson 2: Managing Virtual Hard Disk
Files
• Using Native VHDs in Windows 7
• Using the Windows Image to Virtual Hard Disk
Tool
• Using the Offline Virtual Machine Servicing
Tool to Update a VHD
• Deploying to an Online VHD
• Using Windows Deployment Services
Using Native VHDs in Windows 7
• VHD files are used by Hyper-V, Virtual Server,
and Virtual PC for virtual disks
• VHD files are also used by Microsoft Data
Protection Manager, Windows Server Backup,
client computer backup, and more programs.
• Win 7 Enterprise or Ultimate can boot directly
from VHD
• DISKPART and Disk Management can be used
to create VHD files
Action, Create VHD in
Disk Management
Attaching VHD Files
• You can also "Attach" an existing VHD in
Computer Management
• In either read-only or read-write mode
Creating VHD files with DISKPART
Booting from VHD
• Must have Win 7 Enterprise or Ultimate
• Two ways to put Win 7 on a VHD
– Use ImageX and a Win 7 Install DVD
– Copy a WIM image to the VHD
• Use BCDEdit to add a boot entry for the VHD
file
Using the Windows Image to
Virtual Hard Disk Tool
• WIM2VHD creates VHD imaged from any Win
7 installation source or a custom WIM file
• The VHD will boot to the OOBE (Out-of-BoxExperience) unless you automate that
configuration with an Unattend.xml file.
WIM2VHD Example
Using the Offline Virtual Machine
Servicing Tool to Update a VHD
• If you have a Win7 machine that only rarely
boots from VHD, the VHD won't get Automatic
Updates often
• The Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool lets
you update a VHD
• The VHD will boot up just long enough to get
the updates
Using the Offline Virtual Machine
Servicing Tool to Update a VHD
• Requires Windows Server 2008 or 2003 SP2
• Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine
manager (SCVMM) 2007 or SCVMM 2008
• The SCVMM Administrator Console is built on
a Windows PoqwerShell command-line
interface (see next slide)
SCVMM Admin Console
Deploying to an Online VHD Using
Windows Deployment Services
• WDS enables you to deploy Win 7 Enterprise
or Ultimate remotely to bootable VHDs on
client computers
• WDS runs on Windows Server 2008 or
Windows Server 2008 R2
• WDS is an MMC Snap-in, and comes with the
WDSUtil command-line tool you need to
capture images