Walkthrough: Deploy a Custom Image

To complete this walkthrough, you need the following:

• A technician computer. A technician computer is any computer that has the Windows® Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK) tools installed..
  
  
• A Windows 8 product DVD.
  
  
• A master computer on which you will install and capture your custom image.
  
  
• Bootable Windows PE media. There are several types of Windows PE media that you can create. For more information about these options, see Windows PE Walkthroughs.
  
  
• Access to a network share to store your custom image and Windows Setup source files.
  
  

On your technician computer, copy the entire content of the Windows product DVD to a network share. For example:

net use N: \\server\share\
xcopy D: N:\WindowsDVD\ /s

where D: is the DVD-ROM drive on your local computer.

1. Create a master installation by using one of the following methods:
   
   
   • Walkthrough: Boot from a DVD
     
     
   • How to Use a Configuration Set with Windows Setup
     
     
2. After the installation is complete, shut down the computer.
   
   

In this step, you will capture an image of the reference installation by using the Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool and then store the custom image on a network share.

1. Boot the reference computer by using your bootable Windows PE media.
   
   
2. At a command prompt, capture an image of the installation. You specify a name and description as part of your image capture. All values are required by Windows Setup. If a .wim file does not include these values, then the image will not install correctly. For example:
   
   
   Copy

   Dism /Capture-Image /ImageFile:C:\myimage.wim /CaptureDir:c:\ /Compress:fast /CheckIntegrity /ImageName:"x86_Ultimate" /ImageDescription:"x86 Ultimate Compressed"
   

3. Replace the default Install.wim on the network share with your custom image. The image must be called Install.wim. For example:
   
   
   Copy

   net use N: \\server\share\
   copy C:\myimage.wim N:\WindowsDVD\sources\install.wim
   

   If necessary, provide network credentials for appropriate network access.
   
   

For more information, see Image Management Command-Line Options.

In this step, you will create an answer file that points to your custom image. This step assumes that you have already built an answer file and have a working catalog.

1. On your technician computer, open Windows System Image Manager.
   
   
2. On the File menu, click New Answer File.
   
   
3. In the Windows Image pane of Windows SIM, expand the Components node to display available settings.
   
   
4. Add the following components to your answer file by right-clicking the component and then selecting the appropriate configuration pass.
   
   

    

   Component	Configuration Pass
   Microsoft-Windows-Setup\DiskConfiguration\Disk\CreatePartitions\ CreatePartition	windowsPE
   Microsoft-Windows-Setup\DiskConfiguration\Disk\ModifyPartitions\ ModifyPartition	windowsPE
   Microsoft-Windows-Setup\ImageInstall\OSImage\InstallTo	windowsPE

   Note
   Expand the component list until you see the lowest setting listed in the previous table, and then add that setting to your answer file. This shortcut will add the setting and all parent settings to your answer file in one step.

5. All of the settings that you added must appear in the Answer File pane. Select and configure each setting as specified in the following table.
   
   

    

   Component	Value
   Microsoft-Windows-Setup\DiskConfiguration	Copy WillShowUI = OnError
   Microsoft-Windows-Setup\DiskConfiguration\Disk	Copy DiskID = 0 WillWipeDisk = true
   Microsoft-Windows-Setup\DiskConfiguration\Disk\CreatePartitions\CreatePartition	Copy Extend = false Order = 1 Size = 300 Copy Type = Primary
   Microsoft-Windows-Setup\DiskConfiguration\Disk\CreatePartitions\CreatePartition	Copy Extend = true Order = 2 Copy Type = Primary
   Microsoft-Windows-Setup\DiskConfiguration\Disk\ModifyPartitions\ModifyPartition	Copy Active = true Extend = false Format = NTFS Label = System Letter = S Order = 1 PartitionID = 1
   Microsoft-Windows-Setup\DiskConfiguration\Disk\ModifyPartitions\ModifyPartition	Copy Extend = false Format = NTFS Label = Windows Letter = C Order = 2 PartitionID = 2
   Microsoft-Windows-Setup\ImageInstall\OSImage\	Copy WillShowUI = OnError
   Microsoft-Windows-Setup\ImageInstall\OSImage\InstallTo	Copy DiskID = 0 PartitionID = 2

6. In a command prompt window copy the answer file to a network location. For example:
   
   
   Copy

   net use N: \\server\share\
   md N:\AnswerFiles
   copy C:\deploy_unattend.xml N:\AnswerFiles\
   

   If necessary, provide network credentials for appropriate network access.
   
   

In this step, you will deploy your custom image from a network share onto a destination computer.

1. Boot the destination computer by using your bootable Windows PE media.
   
   
2. Connect to the network share that you specified in Step 4: Create a custom answer file, and then run Setup with your answer file. For example:
   
   
   Copy

   net use N: \\server\share
   N:\WindowsDVD\setup /unattend:N:\AnswerFiles\deploy_unattend.xml
   

   If necessary, provide network credentials for appropriate network access.
   
   

You can further customize your answer file to include additional options. You can also build a DVD deployment media that contains the same content that you put on the network share. A single deployment DVD provides a portable installation solution that requires no network or any additional resources. The process includes building a configuration set and recapturing all source files into a single DVD.

Important
The DVD media that you create is for internal deployment use only. You cannot redistribute this media.

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