Build a Reference Installation (OPK) (POSReady 7)

  • Article

4/29/2013

A reference computer has a customized installation of Windows Embedded POSReady 7 that you plan to duplicate onto one or more destination computers. You can create a reference installation by using the POSReady 7 product DVD and an answer file.

Install Windows Embedded POSReady 7 from the Product DVD

  1. Turn on the reference computer and insert the POSReady 7 product DVD and the UFD containing the answer file you created in the previous step (Autounattend.xml).

    Important

    When using a UFD, insert the drive into the primary set of USB ports for the computer. For a desktop computer, this is typically in the back of the computer.

  2. Restart the computer by pressing the CTRL+ALT+DEL keys.
    To boot from the DVD-ROM disc, you may have to override the boot order. During initial boot, select the appropriate function key to override the boot order.
    POSReady 7 Setup (Setup.exe) will begin automatically. By default, POSReady 7 Setup will search the root directory of all removable media for an answer file called Autounattend.xml.

  3. After Setup finishes, validate that all customizations have been applied correctly. For example, if you set the Home_Page setting for Internet Explorer in your answer file, you can verify it now by opening Internet Explorer.

  4. Prepare the computer for the end user.
    Use the sysprep command with the /generalize option to remove hardware-specific information from the POSReady 7 installation, and the /oobe option to configure the computer to boot to Windows Welcome upon the next restart.
    In the System Preparation Tool (Sysprep) window that is displayed on the desktop in audit mode:

    1. Select Enter System Out Of Box Experience (OOBE) from the System Cleanup Action list.
    2. Select Generalize.
    3. Select Shutdown from the Shutdown Options list.
    4. Click OK.

Note

You can also run the Sysprep tool from a command prompt by typing: c:\windows\system32\sysprep\sysprep.exe /oobe /generalize /shutdown

Sysprep.exe prepares the image for capture by cleaning up various user- and computer-specific settings, as well as log files. The reference installation now is complete and ready to be imaged.

Warning

When you run the sysprep /generalize command, out-of-box device drivers are removed from the POSReady 7 image. If you add out-of-box device drivers during installation and you intend to capture the POSReady 7 image, set the PersistAllDeviceInstalls setting of the Microsoft-Windows-PnpSysprep component to True in the answer file. When you do this, Sysprep does not remove the detected device drivers.

You now have a computer that you can use as your reference computer. When deploying a large number of computers, it may be more efficient to capture an image of the reference installation, and then deploy that image onto other new computers. Alternatively, you can repeat Step 2 for each new computer.

Next Steps

To continue with this installation as a reference for image-based deployment, follow the next three steps:

Create Bootable Windows PE Media (OPK)

Capture the Installation on a Network Share (OPK)

Deploy from a Network Share (OPK)

See Also

Tasks

POSReady 7 Deployment for OEMs