Importing Install Images

Windows 7 includes an installation image on the media. The installation image (Install.wim) can include multiple editions of Windows 7. You can import one or more of these editions into Windows Deployment Services for deployment over the network.

To import a Windows 7 install image, perform the following steps:

1. Insert a Windows 7 DVD into the server's DVD-ROM drive or make an installation source available to the server over the network.
2. Right-click the Install Images folder in the Windows Deployment Services management console and then click Add Image Group. Install Images is under Servers, server_name, where server_name is the name of the Windows Deployment Services server to which you're adding the installation image.
3. Name the Image Group and then click OK. This creates a folder for image import. It also allows you to group similar images together for optimal use of disk space and security.
4. Right-click Install Images and then click Add Install Image.
5. Choose the Image Group you created in the previous steps and then click Next.
6. In the Image File page, click Browse, choose the Install.wim file you're adding to the server, and then click Open. This file is located in the \Sources folder of the Windows 7 DVD. Click Next to continue.
7. Choose the image(s) you want to import from the selections presented on the List Of Available Images page. (Be sure to select only images for which you have licenses.) Click Next.
8. Click Next on the Summary page to begin the import process. The process can take several minutes to finish.
9. When the import task is completed, click Finish.

Note Copying the source files to the local hard drive first and then importing the image into Windows from the local source files is faster than importing the image directly from the DVD.