Would you recommend NLite?

[Sonic007]

I'm after a deployment software for customising an image, adding programs, windows tweaks, join domain, add wifi settings, etc and wondered if anyone uses NLite?

 

This would be mostly for making Windows 11 images.

 

Thankyou.

[Guest Guest]

I used to use it years ago.

 

Had to be careful about what I removed as it would often break features of Windows

[Norphy]

Honestly, I thought it'd been deprecated. The more modern equivalent to it was WimWitch iirc, but even that's stopped development as the devs feel that native tools are now good enough.

[Sonic007]

I had a play around with WimWitch and didnt like it.

NLite seems easy enough and I'm not a fan of going down the Microsoft inTune and all route.

[CHiLL]

I had forgotten about NLite, I haven't used it since Windows XP, as it took a while for them to release a version for Vista. To be honest, I haven't used the golden image method of deploying Windows for a very long time now. I find it easier to just use a regular image from VLSC and then made any amendments during the imaging process in SCCM (or MDT if you don't have SCCM). I have SCCM set the timezone, join the domain, install important apps (less important/used apps are pulled after the imaging process is complete, to speed up the process) and I use AppLocker to restrict access to apps instead of ripping them out of the image. I haven't used MDT specifically, only the integration in SCCM, so don't know what it offers in terms of those types of customisations during the imaging process.

[Julian]

I am using MDT, with a very similar process. Useing a VLSC Will 11 Education image, the process includes a Powershell script to remove some UWP apps (bing new, bing weather, windows alarms, xbox games, ...), install MS Office, install anti virus, join the domain. Updating for a new iWindows 11 mage is a simple process, get the image, upload image to MDT, change 1 line in the sequence to use the new image.