Fully Unattended Vista Setup using WDS

By arwidmark / July 27, 2007

This is a quick guide and samples files for a fully unattended setup of Vista using WDS.

Download sample unattend.xml files from the Vista repository
http://www.deployvista.com/Repository/WindowsVista/tabid/72/Default.aspx

Step-by-step guide…

To add The Windows Deployment Services client unattend.xml

  1. Copy the Sample WDSClientUnattend.xml to \RemoteInstall\WDSClientUnattend
  2. In the Windows Deployment Services Console, expand Servers, right-click the server and select properties
  3. In the Client tab, select the “Enable unattended installation” checkbox, browse to \RemoteInstall\WDSClientUnattend\WDSClientUnattend.xml and click OK

To add Image (Vista Setup) unattend.xml

  1. Copy the Sample Image (Vista Setup) ImageUnattend.xml to c:\tmp
  2. In the Windows Deployment Services Console, expand Servers, expand your server, expand Install Images, select your image group, in the right pane, right-click the image and select properties
  3. In the General tab, select the “Allow image to install in unattended mode” checkbox, click “Select File”, browse to c:\tmp\ImageUnattend.xml and click OK twice.

Solving Network timeout issues with OSD/ZTI

By arwidmark / July 25, 2007

If you have a routed, high latency or just a slow network, OSD (WinPE) might timeout when initializing the network… This is a workaround for the issue…

Background info
In the OSD FP Update Microsoft increased the number of network retries from five to seven in every component but the one actually needing it (osdshell.exe)   🙂

Workaround, configure WinPE to start the network before launching osdshell…

1. Remove winpeshl.ini
2. Edit Startnet.cmd with the following info…

factory -winpe
osdshell
exit

Note: in really rare routed scenarios you might even need to add a timeout between “factory -winpe” and osdshell… I use the timeout.exe from Windows Server 2003 for this…

factory -winpe
timeout /t 5
osdshell
exit

Windows PE 2.0 Plugins Library forming

By arwidmark / June 6, 2007

This is an effort for creating a library with Windows PE 2.0 Plugins. Please send me suggestions for plugins, or if you have any existing plugins I will happily post them on this site…

The format used for the plugins is the .inf-file format, used together with ImageX and PEImg (from the WAIK tools).

The plugins are downloadable from the Repository / Windows PE 2.0 menu. http://www.deployvista.com/Repository/WindowsPE20/tabid/73/Default.aspx

 

General Instructions for using the plugins…. (sample with the BGInfo Plugin)

  1. Download the Plugin from http://www.deployvista.com/Repository/WindowsPE20/tabid/73/Default.aspx and extract to C:\Plugins\BGInfo   
     
  2. Download BGInfo from http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Miscellaneous/BgInfo.mspx and extract the BGInfo binaries to C:\Plugins\BGInfo  
     
  3. Using ImageX, mount your WinPE image (winpe.wim)

    Syntax: ImageX /mountrw winpe.wim 1 c:\mount  
     

  4. Using PEImg, inject the plugin

    Syntax: PEImg /inf=C:\Plugins\BGInfo\BGInfo.inf c:\mount\windows  
     

  5. Using ImageX, commit the changes

    Syntax: Imagex /unmount /commit c:\mount

 

 

Migrating Network Drives and Printers using USMT 3.0

By arwidmark / May 16, 2007

 

Template for Network drivers and printers


http://www.microsoft.com/migration/1.0/migxmlext/customsys“>

MigSys.dll


Network Drives, Printers
   
     
       
         
            HKCU\Network\* [*]   
  
            HKCU\Printers\* [*]          
       
     
   
 

A Geeks Guide to BDD 2007 – Part 4, Deploying XP using Lite Touch

By arwidmark / May 5, 2007
Welcome
BDD 2007, as you probably already know, is End-to-end guidance, best practices, and tools for planning, building, and deploying Windows and Office. BDD 2007 is developed by a team led by Michael Niehaus (lead developer) and Mike Lewis (Architect).
This guide explains the necessary steps to use the Lite Touch Component of BDD 2007 to deploy Windows XP. It assumes that you have set up the BDD 2007 deployment server as described in “Geeks Guide to BDD 2007 – Part 1, Core Configuration”.  
For improvement suggestions (or bugs) in this guide, please drop a note to johan [dot] arwidmark [at] truesec [dot] com, at myitforum.com (alias jarwidmark) or post in the public Microsoft newsgroups (group: microsoft.public.deployment.desktop)
 
If you want to learn more, check out my public BDD 2007 classes, or bring me onsite to teach at your company location. Go http://www.truesec.com for more info.
Regards,
Johan Arwidmark
Microsoft MVP – Setup & Deployment
The guide covers the following steps
o   Create and Capture a Windows XP Machine for LiteTouch
o   Use Lite Touch to Install a new Computer
 
·        SRV001 (Domain Controller for tslab.net)
·        PC0001 (Windows XP SP2, 512 MB of RAM)



Add Windows XP installation files to the Deployment Workbench
1.      ON SRV001, capture an iso-file with Windows XP SP2
2.      Using the BDD Workbench, expand the Distribution node, right-click on the Operating Systems node, and select New (Or Click New from the Actions pane). Use the following settings for the New Os Wizard.
a.      Full set of source files
b.      Source directory: :\
c.      Destination directory name: Windows XP SP2 x86
Create a Build
1.      Using the BDD Workbench,, right-click on the Builds node, and select New (Or Click New from the Actions pane). Use the following settings for the New Build Wizard.
a.      Build ID: WinXPSP2
b.      Build name: Windows XP SP2 Reference
c.      Build comment: Company Reference Build
d.      Operating System Image: Windows XP SP2 x86
e.      ProductKey:
f.       FullName: TrueSec
g.      Organization: TrueSec
h.     Internet Explorer home page: http://www.truesec.com
i.       Administrator Password and confirm Password: P@ssw0rd
2.      Configure the Task Sequencer for the Windows PE 2.0 uberbug (only valid for Windows XP and Windows Serve r 2003 deployments) using the following steps
a.      Create a file named Custom_Set_VDS_Alignment.reg with the below content and copy to the Distribution\Scripts folder

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CURRENTCONTROLSET\SERVICES\VDS\ALIGNMENT]
“LessThan4GB”=dword:00000000
“Between4_8GB”=dword:00000000
“Between8_32GB”=dword:00000000
“GreaterThan32GB”=dword:00000000
b.     Add a custom task first in the PreInstall Phase with the following settings:

Name: Fix WinPE 2.0 Bug
CommandLine: reg import %SCRIPTROOT%\Custom_Set_VDS_Alignment.reg

Step 3 – Create and Capture a XP Reference Machine
Create a Windows XP Machine
1.      On SRV001, copy the D:\Distribution\Boot\LiteTouchPE_x86.iso file to Z:\Diskimages (C:\Diskimages on the Host PC).
2.      Create a new Virtual Machine with 512 MB RAM, name it Windows XP SP2 Reference and boot from the LiteTouchPE_x86.iso file.
3.      Complete the BDD Deployment Wizard using the below settings
a.      Keyboard Layout: United States
b.      Specify credentials for connecting to network shares:
                                                    i.     User name: BuildAccount
                                                  ii.     Password: P@ssw0rd
                                                 iii.     Domain: TSLAB
c.      Computer name: (Default)
d.      Join a workgroup: Workgroup
e.      Specify whether to restore user data: Do not restore user data and settings
f.       Select an operating system image to install: Windows XP SP2 x86.
g.      Locale Selection: English (United States)
h.     Time Zone: (GMT+01:00) Amsterdam, Berlin, Bern, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna
i.       Select one or more applications to install: Microsoft Word Viewer 2003.
j.       Specify whether to capture an image: Capture an image of this computer
                                                    i.     Location: \\SRV001\Distribution$\Captures
                                                  ii.     File name: WinXPSP2LT.wim
k.      Review the Details before clicking Begin.
4.      After installing the base XP operating system and the Word Viewer application, BDD will automatically run sysprep and capture the computer to an image.



Add Windows XP SP2 installation files to the BDD Workbench
1.      On SRV001, using the Deployment Workbench,, expand the Distribution node, right-click on the Operating Systems node, and select New (Or Click New from the Actions pane). Use the following settings for the New Os Wizard.
a.      Custom Image File
b.      Source file: D:\Distribution\Captures\WinXPSP2LT.wim
                                                    i.     Move the files to the distribution share instead of copying them
c.      Destination directory name: Windows XP SP2 LT
Add another Build
1.      Using the Deployment Workbench, right-click on the Builds node, and select New (Or Click New from the Actions pane). Use the following settings for the New Build Wizard.
a.      Build ID: WinXPSP2LT
b.      Build name: Windows XP SP2 LT
c.      Build comment: Company Standard LT Build
d.      Operating System Image: CDrive in “WinXPSP2LT\WinXPSP2LT.wim”
e.      ProductKey:
f.       Organization: TrueSec
g.      FullName: TrueSec
h.     Internet Explorer home page: http://www.truesec.com
i.       Administrator Password and confirm Password: P@ssw0rd
2.      Configure the Task Sequencer for the Windows PE 2.0 uberbug (only valid for Windows XP and Windows Serve r 2003 deployments) using the following steps
a.      Create a file named Custom_Set_VDS_Alignment.reg with the below content and copy to the Distribution\Scripts folder

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CURRENTCONTROLSET\SERVICES\VDS\ALIGNMENT]
“LessThan4GB”=dword:00000000
“Between4_8GB”=dword:00000000
“Between8_32GB”=dword:00000000
“GreaterThan32GB”=dword:00000000
b.     Add a custom task first in the PreInstall Phase with the following settings:

Name: Fix WinPE 2.0 Bug
CommandLine: reg import %SCRIPTROOT%\Custom_Set_VDS_Alignment.reg

Install a new Windows XP client using Lite Touch
2.      Complete the BDD Deployment Wizard using the below settings
a.      Keyboard Layout: United States
b.      Specify credentials for connecting to network shares:
                                                    i.     User name: BuildAccount
                                                  ii.     Password: P@ssw0rd
                                                 iii.     Domain: TSLAB
c.      Computer name: (Default)
d.      Join a Domain: TSLAB
                                                    i.     User name: JoinAccount
                                                  ii.     Domain: TSLAB
                                                 iii.     Password: P@ssw0rd
e.      Specify whether to restore user data: Do not restore user data and settings
f.       Select an operating system image to install: Windows XP SP2 LT
g.      Locale Selection: English (United States)
h.     Time Zone: (GMT+01:00) Amsterdam, Berlin, Bern, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna
i.       Select one or more applications to install: None (already installed in image)
j.       Review the Details before clicking Begin.
3.      BDD 2007 will now Deploy a Windows XP SP2 image including Word Viewer.
 
 

Setting DeployRoot value from WDS Server

By arwidmark / May 5, 2007

Note: This issue/configuration has been fixed in BDD 2007 Update 1  and MDT 2008…. still here for those of you still running BDD 2007 RTM. 

When using WDS Server to PXE boot the Lite Touch WinPE 2.0 image, you can use a function to to set the DeployRoot value to the WDS Server you booted from. This could be very useful for Branch Office Scenarios.

BDD 2007 Lite Touch has a variable for this called WDSServer, however it is only set if you run “wpeutil updatebootinfo” first

Method 1: Via Unattend.xml

Update unattend.xml on the Lite Touch WinPE image to start wpeutil and then set Deployroot=\\%WDSServer%\Distribution$ in bootstrap.ini.

Bootstrap.ini
[Default] DeployRoot=\\%WDSServer%\Distribution$

Unattend.xml



   
        http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State“>
           
                16
                1024
                60
                768
           
           
               
                    WPEUtil
                    1
                    wpeutil updatebootinfo
               
               
                    Lite Touch PE
                    2
                    wscript.exe X:\Deploy\Scripts\LiteTouch.wsf
               
           
            Restart
       
   


    
          
   
Method 2: Via UserExit (thanks to Volker Neumann for provding the code)

Using a userexit to call wpeutil

Bootstrap.ini
[Default] UserExit=UserExit.vbs
DeployRoot=\\#GetWDSServerName#\Distribution$

UserExit.vbs
Function UserExit(sType, sWhen, sDetail, bSkip)
                oLogging.CreateEntry “entered UserExit “, LogTypeInfo
                UserExit = Success
End Function

Function GetWDSServerName
                oLogging.CreateEntry “Entered UserExit Function ‘GetWDSServerName'”, LogTypeInfo
               
                on error resume next
                oShell.run “wpeutil updatebootinfo”, 1, true

                sWDSServerName = oShell.RegRead(“HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\PEBootServerName”)
                sWDSServerName = Left(sWDSServerName, InStr(sWDSServerName ,”.”)-1)

                oLogging.CreateEntry “WDSServerName = ” & sWDSServerName, LogTypeInfo
                oLogging.CreateEntry “Exiting UserExit Function ‘GetWDSServerName'”, LogTypeInfo

                GetWDSServerName = sWDSServerName
End Function

BDD Select Roles Through LiteTouch Wizard

By arwidmark / April 24, 2007

Edit: I have posted an updated article for this procedure here: http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/jscheffelmaer/archive/2007/05/02/new-bdd-roles-select-wizard-lti-zti-mod.aspx

 

I have posted a blog about this at http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/jscheffelmaer/archive/2007/04/24/bdd-select-roles-through-litetouch-wizard.aspx

It contains the document that explains the modification. I’ll admit that right now the document might be hard to follow for some, and make sense for those that have dove into BDD coding already.  I mainly posted for reference as I hope to update the procedure in the future and make it easier to impliment.

Document Location: http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/jscheffelmaer/BDD/Deployment%20Roles%20Modification.zip

1 … 11 12 13 14 15
Page 13 of 15