Zezima Posted March 21, 2017 Posted March 21, 2017 30 PCs require imaging... I did own acronis but I lost that disc... Whats the best, free software that we can use? I want to boot the Live OS via network as I only have 1 USB stick and no discs.
jdoldridge Posted March 21, 2017 Posted March 21, 2017 Just use the built in Windows deployment services which is a role on Windows Server.
RLR Posted March 21, 2017 Posted March 21, 2017 As above. Windows Deployment Services (WDS) is your best bet. You can combine it with MDT if you wish to have control over a few more things but not necessary for a small environment.
Zezima Posted March 22, 2017 Author Posted March 22, 2017 Ha, our server is full up. only 5GB space left so not even space for the image to go on there. Can i centralise this in another way?
sted Posted March 22, 2017 Posted March 22, 2017 Ha, our server is full up. only 5GB space left so not even space for the image to go on there. Can i centralise this in another way? stuff wds on the server and use mdt on a "technician pc" (basically one with a decent nic and free hdd space) then all the server needs is the role (not big) and a boot image 1/2 to 1gb the images etc can be on your technician pc
cpjitservices Posted March 22, 2017 Posted March 22, 2017 (edited) MDT & WDS - if you want Open Source try FOG project. I also use Acronis Backup & Recovery with the Universal Restore. Edited March 22, 2017 by cpjitservices
PotNoodleTech Posted March 22, 2017 Posted March 22, 2017 WDS to provide "boot from the network" functionality and MDT to provide "O/S, Driver and Application installation" functionality. They work great. You'll never be worried about imaging 30 PCs again - using the above software you can do all 30 in an hour.
Zezima Posted March 23, 2017 Author Posted March 23, 2017 WDS to provide "boot from the network" functionality and MDT to provide "O/S, Driver and Application installation" functionality. They work great. You'll never be worried about imaging 30 PCs again - using the above software you can do all 30 in an hour. The Server, I've got WDS On my technician PC I have MDT and a .wim file. So somehow I need to create the boot image for WDS and somehow, i dont know how, that links to the MDT/.wim file? I can do I.T lol. im just slow. Can someone help me to see where my understanding is lacking? Why is MDT needed?
sted Posted March 23, 2017 Posted March 23, 2017 (edited) The Server, I've got WDS On my technician PC I have MDT and a .wim file. So somehow I need to create the boot image for WDS and somehow, i dont know how, that links to the MDT/.wim file? I can do I.T lol. im just slow. Can someone help me to see where my understanding is lacking? Why is MDT needed? simple install windows adk and mdt on your tech pc create a deployment share in mdt basically fill in the os /drivers/task sequences you need (they are all pretty simple and wizzard based) when your happy right click your deployment share in mdt and click update deployment share this will create 1 or 2 (it depends how you configure it i generally disable all x86 options and just do x64) wim files (lite touch x64/x86.wim or something along those lines i cant remember the exact file names) in d:\deploymentshare\boot (or whatever your deploymentshare location is)copy this file to your wds server and import it as a boot image. boot your pcs from wds thres all sorts of config you can do to get it to auto logon etc but just get it working first then worry about finessing it Edited March 23, 2017 by sted
Zezima Posted March 23, 2017 Author Posted March 23, 2017 simple install windows adk and mdt on your tech pc create a deployment share in mdt basically fill in the os /drivers/task sequences you need (they are all pretty simple and wizzard based) when your happy right click your deployment share in mdt and click update deployment share this will create 1 or 2 (it depends how you configure it i generally disable all x86 options and just do x64) wim files (lite touch x64/x86.wim or something along those lines i cant remember the exact file names) in d:\deploymentshare\boot (or whatever your deploymentshare location is)copy this file to your wds server and import it as a boot image. boot your pcs from wds thres all sorts of config you can do to get it to auto logon etc but just get it working first then worry about finessing it Can I do this in windows 10? Gonna give it a go after break
sted Posted March 23, 2017 Posted March 23, 2017 (edited) Can I do this in windows 10? Gonna give it a go after break as the tech pc? yes tou can install mdt on pretty much anything windows 7 (possibly even vista and above) and the adk (which is a pretty big download several gb iirc but it initially downloads about 5mb and the rest as needed) again as far as i remember is anything 7 and above just make sure to download the latest version the adk for win 7 wont deploy win10 ad iirc the 1511 windows 10 adk isnt happy deploying anniversary etc install the adk first though or mdt will do naff all https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/windows-assessment-deployment-kit https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=50407 Edited March 23, 2017 by sted
cpjitservices Posted March 23, 2017 Posted March 23, 2017 Whats wrong with running WDS & MDT on the same server ? Rather than using a "technician PC" ?
sted Posted March 23, 2017 Posted March 23, 2017 Whats wrong with running WDS & MDT on the same server ? Rather than using a "technician PC" ? they said the server dosent have the drive space for it
cpjitservices Posted March 23, 2017 Posted March 23, 2017 they said the server dosent have the drive space for it Ahhhh I see.
CacheMeOutside Posted October 10, 2021 Posted October 10, 2021 MDT & WDS - if you want Open Source try FOG project. I also use Acronis Backup & Recovery with the Universal Restore. FOG works a charm 👍
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