Deploying Windows 7

Using
Microsoft Deployment
Toolkit 2010

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Table of Contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Contact details .............................................................................................................................................................. 3
Installing Windows Deployment Services ......................................................................................................................... 4
Configure Windows Deployment Services .................................................................................................................... 5
Installing Windows 7 Automated Installation Kit ............................................................................................................. 8
Installing Microsoft deployment Toolkit 2010 .................................................................................................................. 8
Configuring Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 ............................................................................................................. 9
Adding Windows 7 Source Files .................................................................................................................................. 12
Update Deployment Share.......................................................................................................................................... 13
Install Boot Images To Windows Deployment Services .............................................................................................. 14
Enabling Multicast Deployment .................................................................................................................................. 15
Creating A Task Sequence ............................................................................................................................................... 16
Installing To A Bare Metal PC .......................................................................................................................................... 18
Setting Installation Screen Defaults For Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 ............................................................... 19
Capturing A Reference Computer ................................................................................................................................... 23
Deployment Share Rules ............................................................................................................................................. 23
Creating A Capture Task Sequence ............................................................................................................................. 23
Disable Sysprep Task Sequence .................................................................................................................................. 25
Capturing The Image ................................................................................................................................................... 26
Capturing Error........................................................................................................................................................ 27
Deploying A Captured Image .......................................................................................................................................... 28

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Introduction
This eBook has grown out of the blog posts at www.edutechnow.com

The posts started out as a series showing the steps taken to deploy Windows 7 using Microsoft Deployment Toolkit
2010. This eBook amalgamates all those posts.

In July 2009 the School I worked at was the first School in Europe to fully deploy Windows 7 across our site. This
eBook draws on all that experience to help make the readers life easier.

Contact details
If you have any questions or comments about this eBook or any other aspect of using ICT in education then you can
contact me using the following details.

Blog: edutechnow.com

Email: arichards@westhatch.essex.sch.uk

Twitter: @arichards_Saruk

YouTube: youtube.com/arichardsSaruk

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Installing Windows Deployment Services
The first step in deploying Windows 7 is to install and configure Windows Deployment Services. I would recommend
running your deployment server on a Windows Server 2008 R2 platform and the screenshots throughout this eBook
are all taken from such a setup.

Open Server Manager using the icon on the taskbar.

Right click on Roles and select Add Role.

Click Next on the welcome screen.

Select the Windows Deployment Services role and click Next.

On the overview screen ensure you meet all the pre-requisites, these mainly being that to use Windows Deployment
Services you need to have a domain environment using Active directory, DHCP and DNS.

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Leave both the role services options ticked and click Next.

Click on Install and Windows Deployment Services will be installed.

Configure Windows Deployment Services

Open Server Manager if it is not already open and expand the Windows Deployment Services node and right click on
the server and select Configure Server.

Make sure you meet all the pre-requisites on the welcome screen and click Next.

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Select the location for all the images that will be stored by Windows Deployment Services.

Select how your server will respond to clients.

If you plan on using Windows Deployment Services to install Windows to bare metal computers then the best option
to select is Respond to all client computers.

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As we will be using Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 to deploy Windows 7 we can leave the Add images to server
now box unticked and click Finish.

That’s all the configuration we need to do with Windows Deployment services, so any open windows can be closed.

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Installing Windows 7 Automated Installation Kit
MDT 2010 utilises the Windows Automated Installation Kit which you will need to download from the Microsoft site
and install before installing MDT 2010. A link to the Windows 7 AIK is below.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=696dd665-9f76-4177-a811-
39c26d3b3b34&displaylang=en

The download for the Windows 7 AIK is an ISO file and therefore you will need DVD burning software to produce a
DVD from the ISO. If you are running Windows 7 then you can use the built in DVD burning software.

Launch the DVD you created from the downloaded ISO file.

Select the Windows AIK Setup option and follow the onscreen instruction accepting all the defaults.

Installing Microsoft deployment Toolkit 2010

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 is a free product produced by Microsoft and can be downloaded from their
website. For convenience there is a link below.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=3BD8561F-77AC-4400-A0C1-
FE871C461A89&displaylang=en

Once you have downloaded the file double click to launch the installation and follow the onscreen instructions.

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Configuring Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010
Once the installation of MDT 2010 has completed then expand the start menu and select the Deployment
Workbench.

The first step is to create a deployment share. To do this right click on the deployment shares node and select New
Deployment Share.

Select a location for the deployment share, remembering that this is where all your images will be stored so it needs
to be a significant size.

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Select a share name, leaving the dollar sign in place so that it remains hidden to network browsing.

Give the share a descriptive name.

The next screen will ask you if MDT 2010 should ask to capture an image. If you plan on using MDT 2010 to capture
images of reference computers then this option should be ticked.

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The next screen asks you if the user should set the local administrators’ password. In practice it is desirable that the
local administrators’ password is set by the system and not a local user running MDT 2010. Letting local users set
local administrator passwords could create a scenario where all your computers have different administrator
passwords, so leave this unticked.

The next screen asks if MDT 2010 should ask the user for a product key. Leave this unticked.

Check the summary page and then configure the deployment share.

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Adding Windows 7 Source Files
After the deployment share configuration has completed, right click on the Operating System node and select
Import Operating System.

Select the Full set of source files option

Select the location for the source files. In this instance we are using an original Windows 7 Enterprise DVD.

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Enter a name for the destination directory for the source files to be copied to.

Check the summary page and click Next, MDT 2010 will now copy the source files to the deployment share. Click
Finish once the import has completed.

Update Deployment Share

When you change anything in MDT 2010 it is always good practice to update the deployment share. This ensures
that all the boot images and other tools contain the latest changes and additions you have made.

Updating the deployment share also creates several boot images that can be used to deploy Windows 7, these
include a .WIM files, .ISO file and a .XML file.

Right click the deployment share and select Update Deployment Share.

Select Completely Regenerate The Boot Images and click Next twice.

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All the boot images needed by MDT 2010 will now be created; these will be located in the deployment share you
created earlier in a folder call Boot.

Install Boot Images To Windows Deployment Services

Earlier in this ebook you setup WDS, now we are going to use it.

Open the Windows Deployment Services manager and right click on boot images. From the pop up menu select Add
Boot Image.

Browse for the location where MDT 2010 stores its boot images and select the LiteTouchx86.wim file.

Enter a name and description for the boot image and click Next twice.

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Enabling Multicast Deployment

The final step in this section is to enable multicast deployment. On its own MDT 2010 doesn’t support multicast
deployments and for this reason it uses Windows Deployment Services to send out the multicast traffic.

To enable multicast right click on the deployment share and select Properties.

In the dialogue box that appears put a tick in the Enable Multicast For This Deployment Share option and click OK.

That completes the basic configuration of MDT 2010.

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Creating A Task Sequence
After completing the previous steps in this eBook we are now in a position to start deploying Windows 7. MDT 2010
using task sequences to deploy software so the next step is to setup a task sequence to deploy the Windows 7
operating system we setup earlier.

In the deployment workbench right click on the task sequence node and select New Task Sequence.

Complete all the text boxes with the details of the image you are going to deploy.

Leave the task sequence template as the default setting.

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Select the operating system you want to install – in this case you should only have one option; the Windows 7 one
you configured earlier.

The next screen asks you if you want to specify a product key. In this example you do not want to specify a product
key.

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Complete the text boxes in the next screen with the details relevant to your organisation.

Enter the password you want to use for the local administrator.

Check the summary page and click Next to complete the task sequence.

Installing To A Bare Metal PC

You have now completed all the steps necessary to install a clean copy of Windows 7 to a bare metal computer. To
complete the task you will need to boot the computer to the network and go through the MDT 2010 installation
screens to install Windows 7.

MDT 2010 provides you with a lot of option screens such as capturing local user details, enabling bitlocker and time
zone settings.

A video showing all these screens can be seen at www.youtube.com/user/arichardsSaruk

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Setting Installation Screen Defaults For Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010
MDT 2010 is a powerful piece of software and therefore when you install an operating system using only the default
settings there are a number of screens for you to complete. You can however set defaults for the screens and also
hide screens that you do not want to show.

All of this is done using rules within MDT 2010.

Right click on the deployment share and select Properties.

Click on the Rules tab.

As you can see the default rules are very basic. We need to add to these rules for each of the screens we want to
hide or set defaults for.

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The text below is taken from a system that hides every screen except the following three.

 Computer name
 Task sequence selection
 Time zone selection

[Settings]
Priority=Default
Properties=MyCustomProperty

[Default]
OSInstall=YES
SkipAdminPassword=YES
SkipApplications=NO
SkipAppsOnUpgrade=YES
SkipBDDWelcome=YES
SkipBitLocker=YES
SkipCapture=YES
SkipComputerName=No
SkipComputerBackup=YES
SkipDeploymentType=YES
DeploymentType=NEWCOMPUTER
SkipDomainMembership=YES
JoinDomain=DOMAIN
DomainAdmin=USER
DomainAdminDomain=DOMAIN
DomainAdminPassword=PASSWORD
SkipFinalSummary=No
SkipLocaleSelection=YES
KeyboardLocale=en-GB
UserLocale=en-GB
UILanguage=en-GB
SkipPackageDisplay=YES
SkipProductKey=YES
SkipSummary=YES
SkipTaskSequence=NO
SkipTimeZone=NO
TimeZone=085
TimeZoneName=Greenwich Standard
Time
SkipUserData=Yes

You will need to replace parts of this script with details that are relevant to your domain setup. Once you have done
this click Apply and then click on the Edit Bootstrap.ini button.

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The bootstrap.ini file controls the account that is used to run MDT 2010 on the bare metal computer and connect to
the deployment share. Below is the text taken from a system which does not ask for any user details when MDT
2010 launches on a bare metal computer.

[Settings]
Priority=Default

[Default]
SKipBDDWelcome=YES
UserDomain=DOMAIN
UserID=USER
UserPassword=PASSWORD
DeployRoot=\\SERVERNAME\DeploymentShare$

Once you have edited the text with the relevant entries for your domain, save the changes to the file, close it and
then click on OK on the deployment share properties dialogue.

As you have made changes to MDT 2010 you will need to update the deployment share as detailed on page 13. You
will also need to replace the boot image on the Windows Deployment Server.

Once the update process has finished you will need to re-assign the boot images to Windows Deployment
Services.

Expand Windows Deployment Services | Boot Images and delete the current boot image, then right click
on boot images and select Add Boot Image.

Browse for the location where MDT 2010 stores its boot images and select the LiteTouchx86.wim file.

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Enter a name and description for the boot image and click Next twice.

When you boot your bare metal computer this time you will only be presented with three screens asking for
information.

 Computer name – Complete this with the relevant details for your organisation
 Task sequence selection – Use this screen to select which operating system to install
 Time zone selection – This will default to GMT but can be altered at this point if necessary

A video showing the reduction in screens can be seen at www.youtube.com/user/arichardsSaruk

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Capturing A Reference Computer
If you have a large amount of software to install to your computers you have a number of options for deployment,
both MDT 2010 and group policy are perfectly adequate ways of deploying software. However both these methods
mean that a computer will be installing software for a while instead of being in use.

A simple method is to build a reference computer and then take an image of it to be deployed using MDT 2010.

Deployment Share Rules

Firstly you will need to check that your deployment share rules do not prohibit capturing an image. To do this right
click on the deployment share node and select Properties.

Click on the Rules tab and ensure that the Skip Capture rule is set to NO.

If you have to change this rule then you will need to follow the steps earlier in this eBook to update the deployment
share and add the regenerated boot image to Windows Deployment Services

Creating A Capture Task Sequence

Right click on the task sequence node and select New Task Sequence.

Complete all the details to identify this task sequence.

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Select Sysprep and Capture from the drop down menu.

Select the operating system to be used as the base of this capture.

After accepting the defaults on the next screen complete all the relevant details on the OS settings screen.

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Enter a password for the local administrator and click Next.

At the last screen check the summary and click Next to complete the task sequence.

Disable Sysprep Task Sequence

In my experience the running of the sysprep command from the task sequence is patchy at best, to get around this
issue you need to follow these simple steps to disable the task sequence command for sysprep and then run it
manually on the reference computer before capturing the image.

Right click on the task sequence you creating earlier and select Properties.

Click on the task sequence tab.

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Click on the Execute Sysprep option and then click on the Options tab on the right hand side. Now click the check
box next to Disable this Step and click OK to complete the configuration.

Capturing The Image

On the reference computer install all of your software and then run Sysprep, the sysprep application can be found in
the C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep\ folder.

Select the options for OOBE (Out Of the Box Experience) and tick the Generalize option.

When the computer reboots ensure it boots to the network.

As it boots up you will now have another task sequence to choose from as well as your original Windows 7
deployment one, selecting the capture task you have created will start the process of capturing an image of your
reference computer and uploading it to your deployment share.

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Capturing Error
In some network scenarios you may receive an error message when the capture starts, referencing a blank UNC
error. To solve this issue right click on the capture task sequence and select Properties and then select the task
sequence tab.

You now need to add a variable into the sequence with these settings

 Name: Set Image Folder

 Task Sequence Variable: ComputerBackupLocation
 Value: \\SERVERNAME\deploymentshare$\captures

To add the variable select Add | General | Set Task Sequence Variable and use the details above to complete the
fields.

Use the arrow buttons to move it to the top of the sequence.

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Deploying A Captured Image
Once the capture has completed you will need to add the created .wim file to your operating system node.

Right click on the operating system node and select Import Operating System and select the Custom image file
option.

Browse for the location of the captured file (normally in a folder called captures in the deployment share) and put a
tick in the move the files option (this saves on disk space by moving the file and not copying it).

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Select the option to copy the windows setup files and browse for the location of the original source files you copied
to the server.

Specify a name for the destination directory.

Check the summary screen and click Next to import the captured image.

Once the import process has completed you will need to follow the steps from earlier in this eBook to create a new
task sequence to deploy your newly imported image.

You will then be able to boot your PC’s to the network and use MDT 2010 to deploy your captured image.

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