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Setting up windows image for multiple machines.

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  • 17-03-2015 4:05pm
    #1
    mada82
    Registered Users Posts: 577 ✭✭✭


    Hi all.

    Can anybody point me in the right direction to learn about creating system images.

    I want to setup a windows 7 image with the computers drivers and other program's installed on it too.

    Is this possible?


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    #2
    ressem
    Registered Users Posts: 2,426 ✭✭✭ressem


    Yes,
    Is this for business (i.e will you be buying windows under a volume license. Office volume license also if it's among the programs you want to install).

    Also how similar is the hardware onto which you wish to deploy the images.

    The free but not simple way is...
    Microsoft's way is their WADK + MDT 2013 combination of tools.
    Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit
    https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh825494.aspx

    Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2013
    http://www.microsoft.com/en-ie/download/details.aspx?id=40796&e6b34bbe-475b-1abd-2c51-b5034bcdd6d2=True

    Not straightforward to learn though. It'll take a bit of trial and error.
    There's a guide PDF in the MDT download.

    Also, for windows 7 SP1 it has about 190 updates and some of them bugger up when creating your reference image. You may find that you need to install updates in batches.

    It's handy to have Hyper-V virtual machine software to create, store and update your reference images.
    Once you have Win7 and apps set up as you want it in the Hyper-V virtual machine, you can copy the virtual machine
    (The copy will be your start point for when you need to repeat and update in the future),
    Sysprep it and capture the contents of the virtual machine using a MDT task.

    Then you can deploy it either using pxe, or more simply by booting the target computer from a USB / CD which tells the PC from where on the network to drag the custom windows install.


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    #3
    ressem
    Registered Users Posts: 2,426 ✭✭✭ressem


    If you struggle with the MDT and find yourself getting nowhere,

    a commercial option would be acronis snapdeploy, but that's pricy.

    An open source version is
    http://cruciblewds.org
    with a video to try and walk you through the basic work.
    http://cruciblewds.org/video/


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    #4
    Firblog
    Registered Users Posts: 2,031 ✭✭✭Firblog


    If you just want to create a backup image of the drive on your own computer, try macrium reflect free. Easy peasy.


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