Deploying Windows 7 Using Microsoft Deployment Toolkit – Part 1

In the previous post we saw the steps to integrate Windows Deployment Services with Microsoft Deployment Toolkit. In this post we will see the steps to deploying windows 7 using Microsoft Deployment Toolkit. We would be making use of WDS and MDT in deploying windows 7 to a client machine. Before you start deploying windows 7 using MDT please go through my previous post on Installing and Configuring Windows Deployment Services and Integrating WDS with MDT. When you talk about deploying operating system using MDT, there are two types of deployment – Lite-Touch Deployment and Zero-Touch Deployment. The difference between the two is a Lite-Touch Installation requires limited interaction at the beginning of installation whereas a Zero-Touch Installation is fully automated and will not require user interaction.

Task Sequence – Task sequences provide the mechanism for performing multiple steps or tasks on a client computer at the command-line level without requiring user intervention. Task sequences do not represent a full scripting language. Task sequences can be advertised to computers but cannot be advertised to users. You can create task sequences that will allow you to install an existing image package, build and capture a reference operating system image, or create a custom task sequence that will perform a customized task using variables. Custom task sequences can be used to perform specialized operating system deployments or to perform other custom actions or steps.

Before we deploy windows 7 to our client machine, we must import operating system to the deployment share. To do that launch the Deployment Workbench. Click on MDT Deployment Share, right click on Operating Systems and click on Import Operating System.

OS Type  – There are 3 options to add operating system to our deployment share.

Full set of source files – Select this option if you have the operating system source files in the DVD, CD or source files stored in a folder.

Custom Image File – Select this option if you have a captured image file of an operating system with you. The captured OS file must have an extension as.wim.

Windows Deployment  Services Images – Select this option if you have OS images available on your windows deployment services server.

In this post we will be mounting a windows 7 dvd to the dvd-rom and that shall be our source directory. We will be choosing the first option Full set of source files. Click on Next.

Source Directory – Browse to the path where the operating system source files are located. Click on Next.

Destination Directory Name – Provide a directory name which would be created under Deployment share. This folder will contain the operating system files.

In this step the operating system will be imported to the deployment share. If you have multiple editions of windows 7 in a single DVD, then all the editions will be imported. Click on Finish to close the import operating system wizard.

The operating system has been imported successfully to our deployment share.

If you would want to know where the OS files are copied, open the deployment share, Operating systems folder and inside the destination directory you will find the OS source files.

After importing the operating system, the next step is to create a task sequence. Right click on Task Sequence and click on New Task Sequence.

Provide the Task Sequence ID, Task Sequence Name and click on Next.

Select Task Sequence Template as Standard Client Task Sequence. Click on Next.

Choose the Windows 7 edition that you would want to install. Click on Next.

Choose the option Do not specify a product key at this time. If you have a MAK key for activating the operating system that you have selected then choose the second option. Click on Next.

Provide the OS settings details like Full name, Organization Name, IE home page. Click on Next.

Provide the local administrator password for this task sequence. You can choose the second option and provide the password during the deployment of task sequence. click on Next.

Right click the Task Sequence that you just created, click on Properties. Click on Task Sequence, expand Preinstall and click on Format and Partition Disk. Click on edit button as shown in the picture below.

Under Partition Options, choose Use specific size and provide the size value as 20 GB. This means that the operating system will be installed on the C drive with 20 GB as the disk space. Click on Ok.

.

We have imported operating system and added the task sequence and the deployment share should now be updated. To update the deployment share, right click Deployment Share and click on Update Deployment Share.

 Choose Optimize the boot image updating process. Click on Next.

 On the confirmation page click on Finish.