How Do You Image Auto Pilot Devices?

[FN-GM]

Hello,

 

I am currently testing out Auto Pilot and I am wondering how you go about installing new installs of Windows. For example you might want to do it in the following circumstances:

 

Replacement of a failed SSD

Clean installation for when a devices is re-assigned

Upgrading from Windows 10

 

I could use a USB drives, but it could be a pain when updating to new builds, managing drivers (such as network card so Auto Pilot can function).

 

Maybe a small instance of MDT just to get a clean version of Windows on a device?

 

How do you do it?

 

Thanks

[TechMonkey]

Clean installation I do from the Azure interface or use the built-in wipe.

Upgrade to W11 I'm intending to push out from the Azure interface with a time frame.

 

Dead SSD, I don't think there is anyway round it except a USB rebuild, but you shouldn't need to re-register with Auto-pilot. A USB stick will probably be less hassle than MDT for the number of times it will be used.

[FN-GM]

Clean installation I do from the Azure interface or use the built-in wipe.

 

Does it use the latest build or the build the device came with please?

 

Upgrade to W11 I'm intending to push out from the Azure interface with a time frame.

 

It’s not something I had considered as we are all on premise at the moment. If I import my devices could I use this to trigger a clean installation of Windows 11 over the top of Windows 10? Or would it be an in place upgrade?

 

Thanks for the reply!

[psydii]

If we really need a bare metal re-install we use a USB Stick. We tend to use the current version, or the previous version.

 

We have to do this a lot because of changes made to autopilot a couple of years ago require us to take it back to bare-metal and re-enroll devices if we want to reset them. Once re-enrolled we almost never need to go back to a USB deployment. FMMV.

[TechMonkey]

Does it use the latest build or the build the device came with please?

I do not know definitely but I'm pretty sure it is the same build that is currently on the device. But with the proper policies the device will be up to date... won't it

 

It’s not something I had considered as we are all on premise at the moment. If I import my devices could I use this to trigger a clean installation of Windows 11 over the top of Windows 10? Or would it be an in place upgrade?

 

Thanks for the reply!

I've not got a coherent plan yet. Currently we have a policy that prevents W11 being upgraded onto our devices. So my pack of an envelope plan is to turn this off for a pilot group. Check it works OK and what issues it raises. Then set groups of devices to upgrade over a holiday. As far as I am currently aware, this will be an in-place upgrade.

 

Having a quick look at this evaluation of the two options makes it look my plan is feasible.

[DalekSec]

New machines imaged via USB, hardware hash put into autopilot etc... (Some companies can link to your autopilot and put hash of new devices directly in)

 

Once onboarded if needed resetting can do via intune portal,

[ZakFarnworth]

What if you are imaging 150 laptops to Intune, what is the deployment process for that? I wouldn’t want to have to go around 150 laptops with a usb stick personally

[FN-GM]

What if you are imaging 150 laptops to Intune, what is the deployment process for that? I wouldn’t want to have to go around 150 laptops with a usb stick personally

 

This is our situation. But way more than 150!

[psydii]

I’ve been doing network based OS deployment since the days of RIPL. Finding it was best to use a USB to wipe a device before putting it into intune sucked.

 

Of course if we all were buying ‘proper’ enterprise/education specific kit, the base image is free of junk and you’d just be able to autopilot them without the need for a wipe. (fwiw 90% of our intune devices needed the OS reinstalling from USB)

[Mr.Ben]

We have 2 modes for our 40 sites

 

For new kit coming in we use MDT/WDS set up on an old server with a switch so that we can do it in bulk .

 

For in the field it's USB, plus a driver repository available to techs to make sure everything works on the device (we export these from the device).

 

For W11 updates we will likely just swap kit and take back to the office (we have a budget for 20 laptops for the project).

[ZakFarnworth]

This is our situation. But way more than 150!

 

That was a fake scenario I was using, I’m testing intune on a personal dev home tenant and only have 3 laptops to test. If you have 150+ a usb deployment method would really kill your thumbs by the end of the day (no joke intended)

[IT_JB]

If you are working with a large volume of new devices you can also ask your vendor for a clean image to be installed on them and then they are shipped like that, pre-registered on autopilot and ready to go out of the box.

[TechMonkey]

You can register the devices into AutoPilot from the setup screen by running the AutoPilot script from CMD. You can get at CMD by pressing SHIFT + F10. Do be aware some laptops you have to press FN as well to make the F key actually be an F key. THen you can wipe, reset and clear from Entra/AAD. This way no manual imaging is needed.

[FN-GM]

You can register the devices into AutoPilot from the setup screen by running the AutoPilot script from CMD. You can get at CMD by pressing SHIFT + F10. Do be aware some laptops you have to press FN as well to make the F key actually be an F key. THen you can wipe, reset and clear from Entra/AAD. This way no manual imaging is needed.

 

Would a wipe / reset upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 please or just reinstall windows 10?

[TechMonkey]

It would put it back to where it was, but through InTune you could manage the upgrade to Win11 and that would be where it would return in a future wipe/reset.

 

So the process would be:

- Get device on autopilot

- Get upgrade from InTune

- Wipe.