How to create an image for 60 Tablets

[TonyMiles]

I've just been told that my primary school has ordered 60 No Acer Aspire Switch 12 Alpha, SA5-271P tablets with detachable keyboard.

 

After a bit of research it appears that they have no Ethernet socket just wireless. This is a bit of a problem as we normally use WDS to create and deploy images and i'm certain that WDS wont deploy over wireless.

 

If that is the case does anyone know of a third party software that will enable me to create an image an deploy it to the remaining 59 tablets?

 

Thanks

[FN-GM]

Could you get some USB Ethernet adaptors?

[ReBoot]

When I work on tablets I use a USB - Ethernet adapter. Looks like your Acers have a full size USB port so a few of these might do the job and allow you to connect to your wired network.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ORICO-USB-2-0-Ethernet-Adapter/dp/B00NP1XOOK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1490691741&sr=8-3&keywords=orico+usb+ethernet

[Fazza]

When I work on tablets I use a USB - Ethernet adapter.[/url]

 

Could you get some USB Ethernet adaptors?

 

Most of them that I've seen are not PXE so wont boot to MDT.

 

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

We use SCCM to do that to our Windows Tablets that dont have Ethernet. We connect up a USB Ethernet 'dongle' and a USB CD-ROM with a bootable SCCM disc in it. We can then connect to a Task Sequence and image them across the network.

 

I know you mention MDT (and not SCCM) but I thought I post this in case someone knows of a similar way of doing what we do but with MDT instead.

 

 

 

does anyone know of a third party software that will enable me to create an image an deploy it to the remaining 59 tablets?

 

Third party, no. Windows, yes! In the past we have used Windows Image Backup (Windows 7 Backup is another name for it) and backed up a tablet with all the software on to a USB hard disk and then done a restore on the remaining tablets. You can copy the backup to multiple USB hard disks to make it a bit quicker.

Edited March 28, 2017 by Fazza

[Arthur]

does anyone know of a third party software that will enable me to create an image and deploy it to the remaining 59 tablets?

MDT with Offline Deployment Media?

[TonyMiles]

Thanks for the quick reply and link.

 

Do you know if all of these adapters use the same drivers?

Does WDS automatically pick up the driver or do you have to add it?

On Ebay you can pick them up for £1.50, has anyone dare use these?

Thanks

[sarge]

had the same issue here. Capture the image using DISM. Save it . Use Dsim to image.

[mrwoberts]

You could go down a DIY scripting solution - a bit of a hack, but I love that stuff.

 

--Simple overview--

1. So, depending on the size of the internal SSD, you could create a partition 'deployment'

2. Push/Copy the wim and bootable PE files to the deployment partition

3. Make deployment partition bootable at the next reboot - perhaps more tricky than I'm making it sound...

4. Once booted into your deployment environment, it will automatically apply the .WIM image to the C drive and restore the boot priority back to the C drive

5. Make yourself a cuppa and sit back to admire your resourcefulness - just before it all fails and you're back to doing it manually.

 

The above would work, in theory, and may be a great project, but if you want something quick, the MDT and WIM image on usb would probably be your best bet.

[mowgli82]

MDT with Offline Deployment Media?

 

This is what i do

[TonyMiles]

I'm not sure I want to buy a load of USB to Ethernet adaptors if they might not boot to PXE.

 

MrWoberts, you make it sound so easy, unfortunately out of the 5 steps you have suggested Making a cuppa is the only task I could just about manage.

Thanks for the suggestion though

[mrwoberts]

One to keep in mind, but as others have indicated, MDT, or a standard install USB (with a custom install.wim) is your best bet.

If you're needing help with any suggestions here, just say and we'll break things down - not physically ;-)

[TonyMiles]

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

I usually use Sysprep to create my image and then PXE boot and capture that image. Because I work in primary schools and the volume of computers aren't that great I have never felt the need to use MDT.

So Mrwoberts I would be grateful if you could explain the procedure of installing a custom WIM from USB, broken or other wise. Lol

Thanks

[korifugi]

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

I usually use Sysprep to create my image and then PXE boot and capture that image. Because I work in primary schools and the volume of computers aren't that great I have never felt the need to use MDT.

So Mrwoberts I would be grateful if you could explain the procedure of installing a custom WIM from USB, broken or other wise. Lol

Thanks

 

When I ran into a similar issue (in my case network cards that I couldn't find WinPE drivers for) - I found this invaluable: WDS/MDT over USB

[Fazza]

Do you know if all of these adapters use the same drivers?

Does WDS automatically pick up the driver or do you have to add it?

 

We use StarTech ones. They're not the cheapest but neither are they the most expensive. With regards to drivers, this depends on the make/model of it. We have found with StarTech they work OK with WindowsPE (which is what SCCM uses).

 

I'm not sure I want to buy a load of USB to Ethernet adaptors if they might not boot to PXE

 

They wont boot to PXE as that's a separate chip that is normally included on your motherboard and as your tablets dont have Ethernet on them they wont have PXE built in. You need some offline way of booting to MDT etc.

[mrwoberts]

Thanks for the suggestions.

So Mrwoberts I would be grateful if you could explain the procedure of installing a custom WIM from USB, broken or other wise. Lol

Thanks

No problem. I'll see if I can write a few instructions later tonight/tomorrow.

Am I right in assuming you want to create a Windows 10 install ??