Imaging Windows 7

[Newton]

I may soon have to image 40 odd laptops probably with Windows 7. Done this many many times with XP (create image, sysprep it, use ghost to image and disribute it)

 

I've herd Vista was a really pain to depoly is Windows 7 the same?

 

Put simply will I be able to

Create the first image of Windows 7

Sysprep it, use an sysprep.inf for all the setup options, join domain etc (I have a standard .inf file but dont expect it to work with 7)

and image as before?

[howartp]

I may soon have to image 40 odd laptops probably with Windows 7. Done this many many times with XP (create image, sysprep it, use ghost to image and disribute it)

 

I've herd Vista was a really pain to depoly is Windows 7 the same?

 

Put simply will I be able to

Create the first image of Windows 7

Sysprep it, use an sysprep.inf for all the setup options, join domain etc (I have a standard .inf file but dont expect it to work with 7)

and image as before?

 

I took a "Windows 7 MCP practice test" online last week at measureup.com, and one of the questions was about imaging/deployment. The answer to it is as follows:

 

Question:

You are planning to install Microsoft Windows 7 on a new computer using the distribution media. You want the installation to complete without displaying a user interface unless an error occurs. You want to limit the components that are installed.

What should you do?

 

Answer:

You should use the Windows SIM to create a file named Autounattend.xml and save the file to a USB flash drive. The Windows SIM utility is part of the Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK). It allows you to create answer files that can be used to limit the components installed and the features enabled during an automated installation. The answer file is an Extensible Markup Language (XML) file that is normally named Autounattend.xml. You can store the file on a USB flash drive (UFD) or in another location. If you use a different filename or store the file in a location not included in the implicit search path, you will need to specify the path to the file when you run Setup using the following command:

 

setup.exe /unattend:filename

 

You should not use the Windows System Image Manager (SIM) to create a file named Unattend.txt and save the file to a network share. Older versions of Windows used an answer file named Unattend.txt. Windows 7 uses an XML file.

 

You should not use ImageX to create a file named Sysprep.inf and save the file to the root of drive C. ImageX is used to create an image, not to create an answer file. The Sysprep.inf file was used when creating a Windows XP installation image. It has been replaced by the Unattend.xml file in Windows 7. Also, Sysprep.inf was used with the Sysprep tool, not with Setup.exe.

 

You should not create a file named Winbom.ini and save the file to a network share. The Winbom.ini file was another answer file used during Windows XP Setup.

This is more related to unattended installs than imaging, but the info may mean more to you (and thus help you towards your goal) than me as I've never imaged XP. I always use unattended installs if I'm doing a batch.

 

(I have the Windows 7 MCP book at home but I'm still on chapter 4 of XP yet, then probably doing 2k3 before I do 7!)

 

Peter

[jamesfed]

You might be intrested in these two docs from Microsoft-

 

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=f1bae135-4190-4d7c-b193-19123141edaa - Automated Installation Toolkit

 

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=038ac0f6-ded8-4f98-bb1a-8d8873098122 - Desktop Deployment Overview

[Jon_boy1984]

and possible this one:

 

Deploying Windows® 7 Essential Guidance from the Windows 7 Resource Kit and TechNet Magazine