Base image tips please?

[Sir]

Happy New Year all!

 

I am about to lease 80-100 Dell 3020's and am getting them to do my image. they will be sending me one to sort as i like so along with activated office cs4 SIMS and the like, what tips for other settings have you got for me because I am bound to forget something! UAC, LSP, etc? Does anyone know of a good checklist for this?

Also, could you clear up whether i need enterprise or should i go for 7 pro as i do not use KMS activation. The last lot of Dells here have 7 ENT but I'm not 100% on the benefits; despite much reading. Can i pre-activate based on my Volume licence key?

 

Thanks for reading!

[tech_guy]

We tend to include as part of our image the following:

 

Adobe Reader

Adobe Flash

Adobe Shockwave

Java

ITunes

Apple QuickTime

RealPlayer

[synaesthesia]

iTunes? Today I learned tech_guy is a masochist!

Image Resizer

Paint .NET

[soveryapt]

As @tech_guy I make sure those "standard" bits are included, though I've moved away a bit more and now push out most of them just because I can push updates as well using GPO. I tend to include office in my image as that's needed on all machines, and any fiddly software (such as CrazyTalk) which needs to be activated per machine, but shove it in an image and it's quite happy then.

 

With regards to the keys, I have Pro here and use KMS, but I only switched to KMS about 12 months ago. Prior to that I used VLK and included them in the image with a little script to run the activation on first run.

Windows 7 Activation (put your own VLK in place)

 @echo off

c:

cd\

cd "c:\windows\system32"

cscript slmgr.vbs /ipk xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

cscript slmgr.vbs /ato

:end

 

Office 2010 (again add you own key)

 @echo off

if not exist "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\." goto end

c:

cd\

cd "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14"

cscript ospp.vbs /inpkey:xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

cscript ospp.vbs /act

:end

 

Run those in a BAT file on first run, and it should (so long as the machine has internet connectivity) activate Windows 7 / Office 2010 using your VLK. If you're on a different version of office, I have no idea whether that will work or not though.

[tech_guy]

iTunes? Today I learned tech_guy is a masochist!

Image Resizer

Paint .NET

 

I know, I know. It's to stop the whingeing from newbie teachers. I'll do anything these days for a quiet life.

[Dos_Box]

We tend to include as part of our image the following:

 

Adobe Reader

Adobe Flash

Adobe Shockwave

Java

ITunes

Apple QuickTime

RealPlayer

 

 

RealPlayer? Really?! I haven't seen anyone use that for years.

[elsiegee40]

We tend to include as part of our image the following:

 

Adobe Reader

Adobe Flash

Adobe Shockwave

Java

ITunes

Apple QuickTime

RealPlayer

 

Java and Adobe Readers are the only ones of those we bother with. Flash player got left off the install and nobody complained so we didn't put it back

[tech_guy]

RealPlayer? Really?! I haven't seen anyone use that for years.

 

We have a lot of staff who are creatures of habit. We missed it off an image once and they threatened to go outside and set fire to themselves in the playground.

[Mr.Ben]

We put non of the above into our images, as we use our deployment tools to send them out after (otherwise it's a pain to recall them).

 

We push out:

 

Adobe Flash, Shockwave, AIR

Java

 

I don't go near deploying iTunes/Quicktime - there is no good reason to do so in Windows 7

 

Our need for Realplayer died a decade ago when the BBC stopped using it.

[MatthewL]

VLC Player

Chrome (Enterprise Edition)

Firefox

Adobe Reader

Adobe Flash/Shockwave

Java

7Zip

Paint.net

Office Package (MS or OpenOffice/Libre)

AV - Depending on solution

VNC Server

IM Client if used

 

Windows Updates

[Dos_Box]

We have a lot of staff who are creatures of habit. We missed it off an image once and they threatened to go outside and set fire to themselves in the playground.

 

If that habit is computing like it's 2001 then I feel for them. Out of interest what does RP do that anything else doesn't'?

I used to think that using RP like going to the dentist. Then I didn't have to use it anymore i.e. at least 8 years back now, as everything else did what RP did, and without the pain.

[soveryapt]

If that habit is computing like it's 2001 then I feel for them. Out of interest what does RP do that anything else doesn't'?

I used to think that using RP like going to the dentist. Then I didn't have to use it anymore i.e. at least 8 years back now, as everything else did what RP did, and without the pain.

 

I vaguely remember there being some software that wanted RP to run it's clips, older software I admit, but it was there. When I redid all our images about 18 months ago (as in rethought how I was going to go about them) I left out installs of all older software that needed RP, and no one has come to me begging for it to be put back, so it's stayed gone. I do push out QuickTime though as we have a few French pieces of software that insist on it to play their videos, despite my best efforts to get everything like that to play through VLC or Media Player instead.

[tech_guy]

Yeah, we have a science dept that needs RP to play stuff they bought a century ago.

[psydii]

We have a lot of staff who are creatures of habit. We missed it off an image once and they threatened to go outside and set fire to themselves in the playground.

 

That happened here too. I let them.

 

When a teaching colleague asked what happened I said 'they wanted me to install reaplayer'

 

 

Never had a request for it since.

[Sir]

Thanks for all the replies. it is useful indeed. Should I be just building on the win7 os that the build pc comes with then and changing the activation key or installing my downloaded MS VLC image and building from there and hence then checking all the drivers are up to date and the correct ones from the dell website etc?

[Arthur]

The last lot of Dells here have 7 ENT but I'm not 100% on the benefits

You will want the Enterprise edition for Bitlocker (assuming you have laptops that need encrypting?).

 

Should I be just building on the win7 os that the build pc comes with then and changing the activation key or installing my downloaded MS VLSC image and building from there and hence then checking all the drivers are up to date and the correct ones from the dell website etc?

Create your reference image in a VM (using an ISO from VLSC). Never use a physical PC.

 

http://trekker.net/archives/create-a-mostly-automated-reference-image-in-mdt-part-1

 

The following video is worth watching too. Even though it's for Windows 8, the same principals apply.

 

http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/NorthAmerica/2013/WCA-B305

Edited January 2, 2014 by Arthur

[DMcCoy]

One time I installed real player, getting on for 10 years ago now, and it asked what email notifications you wanted to be signed up for. The top were all unticked, the ones you had to *scroll* down to see were all ticked. Never put it on a machine ever again.

 

Plus the license didn't allow distribution/imaging, these days I'd probably leave Java off too...

[heckle]

In addition to previous postings. VNC preinstalled, any local admin accounts you will need, any browser settings. Add in your network (shared or ip) printers, you can remove ones not needed by the user later.

 

I also additionally do the following on all my images.

1. Create a folder named "Software" on the root of C. (c:\software). I have my users "trained" to look there for some specific items. I can just copy to that location over the network (copy c:\tostaff\*.* \\remotepc\c$\software)

2. I have a global security group in AD that I have setup with local admin access on client machines. If any use needs local admin rights, I can just add them to the security group as needed.

[vladker]

I have preinstalled on a standard staff/student PC:

 

VLC (pain to deploy otherwise)

Office

 

Everything else I deploy via GPO as they require regular updating, or are machine dependant (eg. SMART, Promethean).

SIMS, and most other subject software I virtualise and deliver via APP-V.

 

Other than removing some 'Windows Features' (Media Player, XPS etc), I make no alterations to the image at all. All my customisations are delivered through GPO/GPP and a tiny sprinkling of powershell.

 

Its more managable, cleaner and easier to make changes. The images are also much smaller so are quicker to deploy.

 

I have an IT room image which is much more bogged down with various software, but that is ok. Would really recommend against taking an 'all in one image approach'. If they don't need it, then dont give it to them.

[Sagima]

I only use the dell drivers for the things that aren't detected by windows.

 

I also use the ISO from the VLC and build it from scratch.

[simpsonj]

I'll just add that if you want a quick way to install software onto an image, I highly recommend ninite.com - One quick and easy installer that automatically disables add-ons, toolbars and other spyware.

[Zourous]

I have an IT room image which is much more bogged down with various software, but that is ok. Would really recommend against taking an 'all in one image approach'. If they don't need it, then dont give it to them.

 

Have to disagree with this. I put everything on the image that I can (licenses permitting). Trying to work out what teachers need or want is a nightmare. Even if you email them they won't neccessarily reply and then you get those days where they just want a bit of software that is normally in one room working in a different room. With the size of hard disks these days you might as well install what you can so that it is accessible to them and this will reduce the number of urgent support calls.

[Sir]

Thanks again all. This is great. I'll prob go for a little bit of a mix as I have some software gpo's already working fine; shockwave, adobe reader etc...

 

I'm assuming that if i put out local admins pw on then that will stay for the image but what about the domain, activation of win7 and office?

[MordyT]

We put everything on the thick image unless it is machine specific or can't go in a thick image. Timed it both ways and it is faster to deploy a thicker image.

[gerardsweeney]

I'm in the "put everything in" brigade.

Our school has a site licence for Design Academy 2013 - it gets included. It takes about 3 hours to install the sodding thing individually, versus adding an extra 20-odd minutes to an image deployment time.