Creating a fully updated Windows 8.1 image and deploying it

[spork schivago]

Hello,

I repair computers for a living. I used to get a lot of Windows 7 machines. It got to the point where it took too long to install a fresh copy of 7 OEM, install the drivers, fully update the machine, etc. So I learned how to start the 7 installation, boot into Audit Mode, install all the updates, run sysprep /generalize to remove the drivers, boot into a Windows PE environment (via PXE Boot), capture the image, customize the image with drivers, and replace the install.wim file in the X:\sources\ directory on the 7 installation media.

This worked very well. I could install a legal copy of Windows 7, fully updated, within 30 minutes or so. Now, I'm seeing a bunch of Windows 8 machines and the number of updates available are growing. I'd like to be able to do the same thing that I do with 7. However, I'm having problems.

I use to Windows Media Creation Tool to download an OEM copy of Windows 8.1. During installation, if I go all the way through, it installs a fully activated copy of Windows 8.1 Setup successfully pulls the product key from the BIOS and 8.1 gets installed, activated. However, during setup, if I boot into Audit Mode, I have trouble. I boot into Audit Mode, I use a PowerShell module to download the Windows Updates because Windows Updates won't run without an account. Once I fully update the machine, I run sysprep /generalize /shutdown, I boot into a PE environment, I capture the image.

Because some of the machines have a UEFI BIOS with secure boot enabled, I make a Windows 8.1 bootable FAT32 installation thumb drive. I replace the install.esd file with my custom install.swm file. However, because my custom install.swm file is greater than 4GB, I have to use dism to split it. I have install.swm and install2.swm. I delete the install.esd file off the thumb drive and put my install.swm and install2.swm file on the thumb drive. When I boot off the thumb drive, setup refuses the product key.

I believe either I'm capturing the image incorrectly or doing something horrible wrong here. I tried asking for help on the Microsoft's technet forums but they told me it is actually illegal to do what I'm trying to do. A user said legally, my only options are to contact the manufacturers of the computers and request recovery disks. I hope they're wrong in that.

Could someone here please let me know if I'm actually breaking the law trying to do this and if not, how I could successfully create a fully updated installation medium to install Windows 8.1? I'd like to know the proper procedure. Thank you.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

You should learn to use MDT, as that's considered the proper way to deploy Windows these days.

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dn475741.aspx

 

[spork schivago]

First off, thank you for taking the time to answer my question. Secondly, I have MDT installed and I thought that was the proper way. My "technician's PC" is running Windows 10, 64-bit. I was using some of the Windows tools for Windows 7 deployment. I also have the ADK installed. For the MDT, I see the following programs:

Configure ConfigMgr Integration
Customer Feedback Options
Deployment Workbench
UDI Wizard Designer

I know this is probably going to sound stupid, but on the site you linked too, I had downloaded the latest version, Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2013 Update 2, which supports 10. Are the versions cumulative? For example, does MDT 2013 Update 2 include MDT 2012 Update 1?

I couldn't really figure out how to capture any 8 images using the MDT that I installed. I couldn't figure out how to even create the Windows PE environment like I did with 7. Are there any how-to's you could link me to please? Thank you.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

Here's a few links to get you started:

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn744270.aspx
http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles-tutorials/windows-7/Deploying-Windows-7-Part1.html
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/askpfeplat/2014/08/04/mdt-2013-part-i-mdt-configuration-capture-a-windows-server-2012-r2-base-os-image/
http://deploymentresearch.com/Research/Post/325/MDT-2013-Lite-Touch-Driver-Management
https://myousufali.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/deploying-win7-using-mdt-2012-step-by-step-guide.pdf

Ignore that some of these links reference MDT 2012. MDT 2013 isn't any different in operation, just a few tweaks and additional options that you may not even need.

For creating what I call a "Gold Master" look here: https://4sysops.com/archives/use-dism-to-slipstream-updates/

I do this once every 6 months or so, or when the windows updates portion of the deployment task sequence takes more than 15 minutes.

Also, if you're not already using it, install and configure WSUS on the MDT server. It'll make managing your Windows updates much easier.

 

[spork schivago]

Here's a few links to get you started:

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn744270.aspx
http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles-tutorials/windows-7/Deploying-Windows-7-Part1.html
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/askpfeplat/2014/08/04/mdt-2013-part-i-mdt-configuration-capture-a-windows-server-2012-r2-base-os-image/
http://deploymentresearch.com/Research/Post/325/MDT-2013-Lite-Touch-Driver-Management
https://myousufali.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/deploying-win7-using-mdt-2012-step-by-step-guide.pdf

Ignore that some of these links reference MDT 2012. MDT 2013 isn't any different in operation, just a few tweaks and additional options that you may not even need.

For creating what I call a "Gold Master" look here: https://4sysops.com/archives/use-dism-to-slipstream-updates/

I do this once every 6 months or so, or when the windows updates portion of the deployment task sequence takes more than 15 minutes.

Also, if you're not already using it, install and configure WSUS on the MDT server. It'll make managing your Windows updates much easier.

Thank you so much. This forum is already so much more helpful than the technet forum I asked in. However, I think maybe I hit up the wrong sub-forum. They were convinced what I needed was a recovery disk from the manufacturers. I don't think they even really understood what I was trying to do. Obviously, you know exactly what I'm after.

Right now, I have MDT 2013 installed on my wife's laptop. I'm thinking of dedicating a PC just for a technician's PC, nothing else. If I were to do this, what OS would you suggest I install on it? Windows 7? And then I'd want MDT 2013 (latest version), WSUS, the Windows ADK, and the Windows AIK?

Or would I just want the latest of MDT and WSUS? I appreciate the help very much so. Thank you!!!

 

[ex_bubblehead]

Best if you build a domain using Windows server 2012 or 2013. Install MDT, ADK, AIK, WSUS, etc. on the DC. I prefer to do the reference builds and "Gold Master" creation in a VM on a separate workstation, although, with enough resources (LOTS of RAM and fast storage), it could be done on the DC. You want to do your master image builds in a VM so that it's hardware agnostic. That way you can use the same master image with any system by configuring MDT to inject the correct drivers for the detected make/model.

You'll want the most current versions of everything, unless, God forbid, you're still working with XP, in which case you have to drop back a couple of versions.

 

[spork schivago]

Best if you build a domain using Windows server 2012 or 2013. Install MDT, ADK, AIK, WSUS, etc. on the DC. I prefer to do the reference builds and "Gold Master" creation in a VM on a separate workstation, although, with enough resources (LOTS of RAM and fast storage), it could be done on the DC. You want to do your master image builds in a VM so that it's hardware agnostic. That way you can use the same master image with any system by configuring MDT to inject the correct drivers for the detected make/model.

You'll want the most current versions of everything, unless, God forbid, you're still working with XP, in which case you have to drop back a couple of versions.

Thank you again. I'm going to have to purchase a copy of Windows Server 2012 or 2013 then. The only legal copy I have is an old 2008 server edition I got through the Microsoft Academic Alliance when I was going to college.

I read how I'm supposed to create these images in the virtual machine but that's where I'm getting confused. With 7, I had no problems doing that. However, with 8.1, which link would show me how to successfully capture those images? I was looking through some of the links you linked me too. The first one I looked at mentioned a domain controller.

The way I tried creating my master image was installing 8.1 and when it asked for the user name, hitting CTRL-ALT-F3 to boot into audit mode. Windows update refused to run because of no accounts. I had to use a powershell module to download and install all the updates. Afterwards, I booted into Windows PE and used ImageX I think or DISM to capture the image. But the image I created refuses to accept the product key. I think the process is different now. The fact that Windows Update wouldn't run tells me I'm doing something the wrong way...

 

[ex_bubblehead]

In the second link I provided is instructions for creating a task sequence that will build, then capture a reference image (http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Deploying-Windows-7-Part10.html). You will not need to use Sysprep or other tools to do this yourself. The way you have been doing it is called "The Hard Way". Let the tools do the work. In fact, once you wrap your head around MDT you'll wonder how you lived so long without it

The last Lite Touch setup I did for a client (They're not using SCCM, darn it) can:

Apply Windows 7, 8.1, or 10 from a single Gold Master OS image (one for each OS)
Inject the correct drivers from the driver repository based upon the make/model detected by the scripts
Name the computer
Join the imaging domain
Apply all Windows updates not already part of the image
Install the selected software for that task sequence and make/model
Apply any available updates for the newly installed software (just reruns the Windows update task)
Applies any custom setups required.

All of this done completely hands off after PXE booting the PC/Laptop/Tablet and choosing the desired tasklist from the menu.

This client does about 100 units a day from this single server. 10-20 at a time, about 45 minutes to an hour per unit. They come off the imaging bench ready to join the corporate domain and hand to the user (about 5 minutes work). If they hadn't specified a separate imaging domain then even that manual step could be skipped.

Adding a new make/model only takes about 45 minutes to an hour to download the drivers, import into MDT, make appropriate changes to all affected tasklists.

They have a mixed bag of Dell, HP, Lenovo. One set of tasklists covers them all.

Add in SCCM and you could do completely zero touch imaging/reimaging. But that's really getting into the enterprise environment.

Just a heads up. You will have to learn some scripting if you want to do any customizing (PowerShell, VBScript, & general purpose batch file stuff)

 

[spork schivago]

Thank you so much. You definitely got me pointed in the right direction. I've been to that second link before! I followed parts of that for the 7 images I created. I didn't read the whole thing and got lost at certain parts. I think maybe the key is having Windows Server 2012 setup. I've downloaded a 180 day trial (in VHD format). I'm going to play with it and hopefully in the virtual machine, I can setup the various stuff and go from there.

Zero touch is something I'm currently not interested in. Just learning how to do one system the proper way is my current goal. If I can setup everything, install 8.1, fully update it, capture the image and then deploy that image to a customer's PC, I'll consider myself good and then I'll start messing around with the more advanced stuff. Ultimately, I'd like to learn this so I can start apply for corporate / enterprise level jobs.

I do appreciate you taking the time to teach me this stuff. Once I'm done with this computer that I'm currently working on, I'm going to take a "sabbatical" and just spend a couple weeks playing around, learning the stuff you linked me to. Thanks again!!!

 

[ex_bubblehead]

No problem. Good luck and have fun!