Windows XP – Sysprep (for imaging)
KB ID 0000599 Problem A client who we recently did a WDS (Windows 7) install for, needed to image a couple of Windows XP machines, (They had some software that either would not run, or was not supported on Windows 7). They asked me for some documentation on how to do this, it’s been such a long time since I imaged any XP machine, so I took the opportunity to document it properly. Solution Before you begin, be aware you need to...
Window Server Where is Sysprep
KB ID 0000419 Problem You have a 2008 R2 Server to sysprep, but your not sure where sysprep is. Solution 1. Thankfully in Server 2008 R2, there’s no messing about, its in c:windowssystem32sysprep. (Note: to regenerate a SID don’t forget to tick “Generalize”). Server 2008 – It’s in the same place. Server 2003 – As with Windows XP, you need to get it from the Windows install CD, its in the...
Windows Deployment Services – Asks for Locale and Keyboard
KB ID 0000734 Problem Seen when deploying images with WDS, even though you have specified language, and keyboard settings in your answerfile. The system still asks you to set the language and keyboard options. For a couple of machines you might put up with this, but for a few thousand machines it can get quite annoying! Solution There is a reason it’s doing this, and it’s because the next thing it asks you to do is...
WDS Deploying Windows Part 3: Carry Out an Unattended Deployment
KB ID 0000738 Problem In part two we built our reference machine and took an image of it using WDS. Now to automate the deployments we need to create some unattended answer files, these will answer all the questions that the Windows 8 machines will ask while they are building. We will take those files and import them into the WDS server we configured in part one. Finally to make sure everything is working we will deploy Windows 8....
Windows 8 – Stopping ‘Sign in to your PC’ On Imaged Machines
KB ID 0000736 Problem When you have deployed Windows 8, you are presented with the option to sign in with a MICROSOFT ACCOUNT. That’s a good thing (generally), but that might be a leap to far for most IT departments at the minute! So you may want t stop your imaged machines asking in the first place. You may also want to stop the machine asking for a LOCAL ACCOUNT also. Solution 1. If you are using the System Image Manager to...