Deploying Windows 7 through WDS - Prompt for PC name

Afternoon all,

Just a quick one.

Believe it or not I've got a fully prepped windows 7 image that I've managed to capture and I am able to roll out as I require.

There's just one or two niceties that I'd like to add to the image to make our lives easier when it comes to actually doing the full rollout.

Bascially, I'd like to get it so that WDS prompts me for a computer name prior to adding it to the network. Has anyone else managed to achieve this?

We pre-stage the accounts in active directory.

In practicality this means that we boot a new machine to the WDS server, where it waits for authorisation and us to allocate a name to the computers's guid. Using %machinename% in the unattend file will pull the name from AD. Initial builds are a bit more complicated but rebuilds are a snap.

I know it's not exactly what you were looking for but it's the nearest we could work out and I like it.

Matt

I think all you need to do is completely remove the line below from the specialize pass in your unattend.xml file (as shown here).

Code:

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<ComputerName></ComputerName>

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Change your WDS Server's PXE settings to prompt for administrator approval for all known and unknown PCs
This will then generate a request ID when the PC is booted via F12

name and approve the PC in WDS via the pending devices container....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gatt

Change your WDS Server's PXE settings to prompt for administrator approval for all known and unknown PCs
This will then generate a request ID when the PC is booted via F12

name and approve the PC in WDS via the pending devices container....

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Hi Gatt,

Just trying your approach to this, set it up to prompt for approval which it does successfully and assigns the PC a request ID. However, when I try to name and approve the PC in WDS I get an error (which I failed to write down infuriatingly!

Now, when I try and reboot the PC back into WDS it fails :-(

Is this something you've seen before?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Arthur

I think all you need to do is completely remove the line below from the specialize pass in your unattend.xml file (as shown here).

Code:

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<ComputerName></ComputerName>

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Hi Arthur,

I've already tried this (having used that particular blog as part of my build process :-) ), and it doesn't pick it up. I wonder if it's actually ignoring my answer file completely.....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Iain.Faulkner

Hi Gatt,

Just trying your approach to this, set it up to prompt for approval which it does successfully and assigns the PC a request ID. However, when I try to name and approve the PC in WDS I get an error (which I failed to write down infuriatingly!

Now, when I try and reboot the PC back into WDS it fails :-(

Is this something you've seen before?

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Not had that issue no - unless its a PC that already exists in AD or the name format is wrong...
There is a WDSUTIL cmdlet to flush the WDS Pending Devices DB which soundsl ike the problem you now have...

here it is - WDSUTIL /delete-AutoAddDevices /devicetype:ApprovedDevices

Hi Gatt,

Solved the initial problem, it appears I had to allow the WDS Server to create the computer within the specified OU.

Still struggling the the second bit, the Computer is clearly "Known" to WDS and as such won't treat it as "Unknown" (makes sense) where it would then prompt for the PC username to be entered and approved. Any idea how I make this computer "Unknown" to WDS. I've tried the command you sent through previously but that hasn't resolved it.

This any use? Prestaging Client Computers

That's awesome, now working perfectly :-)

Thanks again Gatt