In this article, I will list all the important MDT log files and location of MDT logs. The MDT log files help you to troubleshoot operating system deployments.
Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) provides a unified collection of tools, processes, and guidance for automating desktop and server deployments. MDT requires the Windows PE add-on for the Windows ADK and latest Windows ADK version.
If you are using Configuration Manager, you can install MDT and integrate it with SCCM. Refer to the following article to know how to integrate MDT with ConfigMgr.
If you are new to Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, I recommend the following article from Microsoft for getting started with MDT, and its capabilities. The latest MDT build available for download is 8456.
What are MDT Logs?
When you install MDT, each MDT script automatically creates log files when running. These MDT log files are useful to troubleshoot issues with operating system deployments.
The MDT log files end with .log extension. You can use CMTrace or ConfigMgr log file viewers to read the MDT log files.
The names of these MDT log files match the name of the script for example, ZTIGather.wsf creates a log file named ZTIGather.log.
Each script also updates a common master log file (BDD.log) that aggregates the contents of the log files that MDT scripts create.
Location of MDT Log Files?
MDT log files reside in C:\MININT\SMSOSD\OSDLOGS during the deployment process. The location of MDT log files changes as the deployment progresses.
If you are using MDT for operating system deployments, you should know the location of MDT log files. This article lists all the MDT log files and their locations.
There are three locations to locate MDT log files for troubleshooting:
| MDT OSD Phase | Location of MDT Log Files |
| Before the Image is applied to the machine | X:\MININT\SMSOSD\OSDLOGS |
| After the system drive is formatted | C:\MININT\SMSOSD\OSDLOGS |
| After the deployment is successful | %WINDIR%\SMSOSD or %WINDIR%\TEMP\SMSOSD |
Note: For Lite Touch Installation (LTI) deployments, the logs start in C:\MININT\SMSOSD\OSDLogs. They end up in %WINDIR%\TEMP\DeploymentLogs when the task sequence processing is complete.
Read: Location of SMSTS.log file during SCCM OSD
MDT Log Files for Troubleshooting
The below table lists all the MDT log files along with the location that you can use for troubleshooting MDT OSD issues.
| MDT Log File Name | MDT Log File Location | Description |
| BDD.log | C:\MININT\SMSOSD\OSDLOGS (Lite Touch running) C:_SMSTaskSequence\Logs (ConfigMgr running) C:\WINDOWS\Temp\DeploymentLogs (Lite Touch complete) | This is the aggregated MDT log file that is copied to a network location at the end of the deployment if you specify the SLShare property in the Customsettings.ini file. |
| LiteTouch.log | %WINDIR%\TEMP\DeploymentLogs | This file is created during LTI deployments. It resides in %WINDIR%\TEMP\DeploymentLogs unless you specify the /debug:true option. |
| Scriptname*.log | Log file that is created by every MDT Script | This file is created by each MDT script. Scriptname represents the name of the script in question. |
| SMSTS.log | %TEMP%, %WINDIR%\System32\CCM\logs or C:_SMSTaskSequence, or C:\SMSTSLog. | This file is created by the Task Sequencer and describes all Task Sequencer transactions. Depending on the deployment scenario. |
| Wizard.log | Created by deployment wizard | The deployment wizards create and update this file. |
| WPEinit.log | Created during WINPE Stage | This file is created during the Windows PE initialization process and is useful for troubleshooting errors encountered while starting Windows PE. |
| DeploymentWorkbench_id.log | Created in the %temp% folder when you specify a /debug when starting the Deployment Workbench. | This log file is created in the %temp% folder when you specify a /debug when starting the Deployment Workbench. |
Out of all the MDT logs, the following deployment logs are critical:
- BDD.log – This is a main MDT log file and the combined log of all other deployment logs.
- SMSTS.log – If you are a ConfigMgr admin, you know the importance of SMSTS.log file. This log file contains logs of task sequences and this is an important log file for troubleshooting MDT deployments. The core MDT log file is BDD.log. MDT will dump that to the Windows temp folder on the system being imaged.
While deploying Windows Operating systems with MDT+SCCM, you can refer to the following Windows logs:
- Setupact.log – This log file is created during the OS installation process. This is the most important log for diagnosing setup issues.
- Setuperr.log – This log file contains information about setup errors during the installation.
Hi Prajwal, I know this is old article now but I was wondering what would cause devices not to have BDD, ZTIGather and ZTISCCM logs from being created at the completion of a task sequence? Is there anyway of troubleshooting this at the end of the task sequence?
We’ve got a number of devices that are either taking the hostname of an existing device or the serial number resulting in duplicate records not only in SCCM but in our asset management database. The one thing that is common amongst these devices is the above logs are never created in C:\Windows\CCM\Logs.