Capturing a Disk Image for LTI

In MDT 2010, installing a build and capturing an image is essentially an LTI deployment that ends with the Windows Deployment Wizard capturing an image of the destination computer. When you create a deployment share, Deployment Workbench provides the option of prompting to capture an image (the Ask If An Image Should Be Captured check box). You must enable this option, as described in the section titled "Creating and Configuring a Deployment Share" earlier in this tutorial.

Then, when you install the build on the destination lab computer, the Windows Deployment Wizard asks whether you want to capture an image after installation is complete. The wizard also allows you to specify a destination for the image. The default destination is the \Captures folder in the deployment share, and the default file name is task sequence.wim, where task sequence is the ID of the task sequence you installed.

To capture an image, start a lab computer using the Windows PE boot image generated by updating the deployment share. Start the Windows PE boot image in either of two ways. One way is to burn the .iso images to a DVD. This process is slow and tedious. These ISO image files reside in the \Boot folder of the deployment share. The other way is to add the LiteTouchPE_x86.wim or LiteTouchPE_x64.wim image files to the Boot Images item of a Windows Deployment Services server. The .wim image files are in the \Boot folder of the deployment share. For more information about installing and configuring Windows Deployment Services.

To capture an image using the Windows Deployment Wizard, perform the following steps:

1. Start the lab computer using the Windows PE boot image that you created in the section titled "Updating the Deployment Share" earlier in this tutorial. You can start this boot image by burning the .iso file to CD or DVD media or by adding the .wim file to Windows Deployment Services. For more information about Windows Deployment Services.
2. In the Welcome Windows Deployment dialog box, click Run The Deployment Wizard To Install A New Operating System.
3. In the User Credentials dialog box, type the credentials necessary to connect to the deployment share (user name, domain, and password) and then click OK. The Windows Deployment Wizard starts automatically. To capture an image using the Windows Deployment Wizard, you must use an account that has Read and Write access to the deployment share, such as an account that is a member of the local Administrators group on the computer that contains the deployment share.
4. On the Select A Task Sequence To Execute On This Computer page, choose a task sequence to run from the list of available task sequences and then click Next.
5. On the Configure The Computer Name page, type a computer name or accept the default and then click Next. The default, randomly generated computer name is reasonable because the computer name will change during deployment to the production environment.
6. On the Join The Computer To A Domain Or Workgroup page, click Join A Workgroup. In the Workgroup box, type a workgroup name or accept the default and then click Next. If you join the computer to a domain, the Windows Deployment Wizard does not prompt you to capture an image.
7. On the Specify Whether To Restore User Data page, select Do Not Restore User Data And Settings and then click Next.
8. On the Packages page (if displayed), choose the packages, such as software updates and language packs, that you want to install on the image and then click Next.
9. On the Locale Selection page, choose your locale and keyboard layout and then click Next. Your choice here is irrelevant, because the Windows Deployment Wizard will configure the locale and keyboard layouts during deployment to the production environment.
10. On the Select The Time Zone page, select a time zone and then click Next. Your choice here is irrelevant, because the Windows Deployment Wizard will configure the time zone during deployment to the production environment.
11. On the Select One Or More Applications To Install page (if displayed), select the check box next to each application that you want to install on the image and then click Next.
12. In the Specify Whether To Capture An Image page, select Capture An Image Of This Reference Computer. In the Location box, type the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path of the folder in which to store the image or accept the default capture location. In the File Name box, type the file name of the image or accept the default file name for the captured image. The default UNC path is the \Captures folder of the deployment share; the default image file name is the ID of the task sequence being installed. Click Next.
13. Click Next, then on the Ready To Begin page, click Begin.

After you click Begin, the Task Sequencer begins running the build's task sequence. By default, it begins by partitioning and formatting the hard disk. Then it installs and configures the operating system, runs Sysprep to prepare the computer for imaging, and restarts the computer in Windows PE to capture the image. The Windows Deployment Wizard stores the captured image in the folder specified on the Specify Whether To Capture An Image page, which is the deployment share's \Captures folder by default. After capturing the image, you can add it to the deployment share as a custom image by using the steps described in the section titled "Creating and Configuring a Deployment Share" earlier in this tutorial.