Windows 7 / Getting Started

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Task Sequence Properties

A common mistake is to double-click a task sequence to edit the tasks it contains. (Don't confuse editing a task sequence, which involves creating, modifying, and deleting its tasks, with modifying its properties!). Double-clicking a task sequence, like nearly all doubleclicks on objects in ConfigMgr, brings up the properties of that task sequence, which contains the following three pages:

• General: On this page, you set the Name and Description of the task sequence as well as defining a category. The title bar text of the progress dialog shown during the execution of the task sequence is also customized on this page.
• Advanced: This page contains several options:
  • Run another program first: This option is valid only for task sequences started while in an existing OS. It runs the specified program from the specified package before executing the task sequence if the program has not previously run on the system. If the Always run this program first option is selected, the specified program is always run regardless of its previous run status or result.
  • Suppress task sequence notifications: Does not notify the interactive user that the task sequence is available for deployment.
  • Disable task sequence on computers where it is deployed: This disables the task sequence.
  • Maximum allowed run time (minutes): The number of minutes specified for this option is used when calculating whether a task sequence should run in an available maintenance window. If a task sequence exceeds this time, it is not terminated; ConfigMgr simply ignores it.
  • Use a boot image: Enables you to choose which boot image to use for this task sequence. For non-OSD task sequences, such as those used for deploying applications or a complex series of ordered tasks that may involve some advanced conditional logic available in a task sequence, you can choose to not use a boot image.
  • Run on any Platform or Run only on the specified platforms: Enables you to limit which platforms a task sequence can run on. Note this setting is not honored if the task sequence is initiated from boot media or PXE. A common trick to allow constant task sequence availability from boot images or PXE but not the Software Center is to set this setting to an OS that is not in the environment or targeted by the deployment.
• Security: Identical to the security page for all other objects in ConfigMgr, this page displays which users have what permissions on this task sequence. You cannot edit permissions from this page.

Tasks

Tasks are the individual steps that perform each of the actions in a task sequence. Tasks and task sequences are similar to a macro-based programming language or a storyboard where you put together high-level steps and instructions using a graphical tool, without having to know or learn the syntax of the underlying language to take advantage of it fully. In addition, third parties can add tasks extending this pseudo-macro language, enhancing what you can do with task sequences.

There are six built-in categories of tasks:

• General
• Disks
• User State
• Images
• Drivers
• Settings

NOTE: MDT CATEGORY
MDT adds a seventh category to this list for its custom tasks; this category is appropriately named MDT.

Under each category is a set of tasks corresponding to that category. Each task is discussed briefly in the following sections. Some tasks must be combined with others and in a specific order for them to make sense-when required, it is noted in the discussion of that particular task.

You can disable each task independently using the Options tab; this allows you to disable tasks during troubleshooting.

General Category: Options under the General category include:

• Run Command Line: This task allows you to run any valid command line that you want in your task sequence, including batch files and VBScripts. If the files referenced in the command line do not exist on the target computer, you can specify a package containing those files. Additional options include specifying a working directory for the command line, and a timeout to ensure that a command does not continue executing if it falls into an infinite loop or becomes otherwise hung.
  The last option available allows you to specify the user account that runs the command. Without this option, the command uses the security credentials of Local System because all task sequences run in that context.
  Because it is possible for multiple return codes to be considered as a successful execution of a given command line, there is an additional option on the Options tab, allowing you to configure numeric return values that should be considered a success. This field should contain integers separated by spaces. Only the first value listed can be negative. The typical success code of 0 is listed by default, along with 3010-denoting success with a reboot required.
  NOTE: DOS COMMANDS
  To use a DOS command such as md or copy, you must call the command as a parameter to the command interpreter cmd.exe-for example, cmd.exe /c md MyNewDirectory.
• Install Application: This task installs a single application or multiple applications already defined in ConfigMgr.
  The application must meet three distinct qualifications:
  • It must run silently and not interact with the desktop.
  • It must run with administrative privileges.
  • It must not initiate a reboot; reboots can be handled with a task sequence if needed.
  Any applications marked to run Only when a user is logged on or Run with user rights are not displayed and thus not selectable in this task.
  When the Install Application step runs, the application checks the applicability of the requirement rules and detection method on the deployment types of the application. The application then installs the applicable deployment type. If a deployment type contains dependencies, the dependent deployment type is evaluated and installed as part of this step. Application dependencies are not supported for standalone media.
  An advanced use of this task is to install multiple applications based on the value of a series of task sequence variables. You must name the variables with a single base name and then append a two-digit, sequential numeric suffix (such as Software01, Software02, Software03, and so on). Each variable should contain the name of application, nothing more, nothing less; this value is case-sensitive. A break in the sequence number stops evaluation of the variables; for example, if you have Software01, Software02, and Software04 and omit Software03, execution of programs stops at Software02.
  Using a series of variables in this manner makes your task sequence dynamic by deferring the definition of which applications to install to the time it actually runs. The "Variables" section includes a complete discussion of defining and using task sequence variables.
  Also, note that each application you intend to install using this task using a dynamic variable list must have the Allow this application to be installed from the Install Application t ask sequence action instead of deploying manually option set on the General tab of its Properties dialog box.
• Install Package: With this task, you can call any program from any package that you defined as part of software distribution. The program must meet the same three qualifications as those listed for applications in the previous bullet.
  A caveat with program execution is that program dependencies are honored, but programs in the dependent chain are not automatically initiated. For example, if you configure ProgramA to run ProgramB with the Run another program first option, ProgramA does not automatically run ProgramB and fails to install unless ProgramB already ran on the system (presumably using another task). This occurs because the Run another program first option sets up a dependency chain that is checked before a program is run. In this example, ProgramA depends upon ProgramB. During software distribution, this setting automatically causes ConfigMgr to run ProgramB before ProgramA. However, this does not happen with OSD; the dependencies for ProgramA execution are not met, thus causing ProgramA to fail when it executes.
  Similar to the Install Applications task described in this section, you can also specify a base task sequence variable name to install a list of packages. The format differs slightly though: each variable should contain a value matching the pattern PackageID:Program Name. Note the slight change from ConfigMgr 2007 where you used a three-digit suffix.
  Also similar to applications, each program you intend to install with this task using a dynamic variable list must have the Allow this program to be installed from the Install Package task sequence without being deployed option set on the General tab of its Properties dialog box.
• Install Software Updates: This task allows you to incorporate software updates into an image, limiting the amount of time spent on updates after deploying the image. The task is also used to layer on updates not included in the image, allowing you to deploy fully patched systems. Updates used for this task are pulled directly from the ConfigMgr software updates facilities; these must be configured and performing properly and the ConfigMgr client installed on the target system prior to the task's execution. You cannot use this task to pull updates from any other source. There are two options for this task:
  • Install Mandatory Software Updates: Installs all mandatory updates assigned to collection where the task sequence is advertised.
  • Install All Software Updates: This installs all updates assigned to the collection where the task sequence is advertised.
    NOTE : INSTALL UPDATES SECURITY EXPOSURE
    The Install Software Updates task runs after Windows is installed and running on the target system. This means that any vulnerabilities not fixed by hotfixes or updates in the image deployed are subject to exploitation by the "bad guys." Here are some ways you can mitigate the risks:
    • Building systems using OSD on a secured or locked-down network segment.
    • Ensuring a quality host-based firewall (such as the built-in Windows firewall) is installed in the image and active as soon as the OS in the deployed image is booted. The Windows Firewall is enabled by default during WinPE portions of OSD and actively blocks all incoming traffic.
    • Frequently rebuilding your base image to include the latest security updates (using a Build and Capture task sequence to automate the process).
    • Using the built-in offline image maintenance capabilities to directly inject updates into images (see the "Offline Software Updates" section for details).
    • Using the MDT Install Update Offline task. This task is similar to the built-in offline image maintenance capabilities but run during a Deployment task sequence. See http://blog.configmgrftw.com/?p=125 for an in-depth look at this task.
• Join Domain or Workgroup: T his task allows you to join a workgroup or domain after Windows installation is completed later in a task sequence. Generally, this task is not used unless the domain join during Windows setup (which occurs during the Setup Windows and ConfigMgr task) fails to complete successfully. If you specify a domain name, you must also specify credentials capable of joining a system to the domain and an organizational unit (OU) to place the computer object.
  CAUTION : DOMAIN USERS CAN JOIN ONLY 10 COMPUTERS TO A DOMAIN By default, Domain Users can join only 10 computers to a domain (see Microsoft KB number 251335 for further details at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/251335 ). Because of the 10-computer join limitation, ensure that the account used in the Join Domain or Workgroup task has been specifically delegated the ability to join systems to the domain. Failing to do so causes unexpected failures in the task sequence after it successfully runs 10 times.
• Connect to Network Folder: This task lets you map a drive letter to any shared folder using a UNC while specifying alternative credentials to make this connection. This drive letter is available in subsequent tasks to access resources available in that share. One common use for this task is to map a drive later used by another task to copy the task sequence logs to that shared folder, and then use it for troubleshooting or tracking purposes. An excellent discussion of this specific troubleshooting step is at http://blogs.msdn.com/steverac/archive/2008/07/15/capturing-logs-during-failedtask-sequence-execution.aspx.
• Restart Computer: This task restarts the host computer where the task sequence is currently running. After restart, the system can be set to boot either into the task sequence's specified boot image or into the just installed default OS. You can specify a message to display on the screen, providing feedback to anyone observing the task sequence's progress, along with a timeout in case no one is actually watching the task sequence.
  CAUTION : YOU CANNOT BOOT INTO A PREVIOUSLY INSTALLED OS After booting into WinPE during a task sequence, you cannot boot back into an OS instance that previously existed on the system using this task. Nothing prevents you from creating a task sequence that attempts this; however, this task will fail if a new OS has not been deployed during the task sequence.
• Set Task Sequence Variable: Setting task sequence variables allows you to configure available OSD-specific deployment options, configure variable application deployments with the Install Software task category, or execute future tasks in the task sequence conditionally.
  Conditions can be applied to this step so that the variable is set only when specific conditions exist; you can then configure a future task to be performed based on this variable being set. The "Task Conditions and Grouping" section provides an example, and task sequence variables are covered in detail in the "Variables" section.
  Disks Category A number of configurations are possible under the Disks option.
• Format and Partition Disks: This task allows you to configure the partitioning and formatting of all disks in the target system. If you plan to handle multiple physical disks, each must have its own instance of this task. Configuration options include specifying the physical disk number and the type of disk to create:
  • A standard disk using a master boot record (MBR).
  • A disk using a Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) partition table, known as a GPT. Note that GPT disks are not supported for boot disks except on Itanium systems.
  In addition to specifying which disk to use and its partitions, you can create individual volumes:
  • Each volume can be set to a percent of total space on the disk or hard-coded to a specific size.
  • The format type can be specified (NTFS, FAT32, or none).
• The partition can be set to be a boot partition.
  By default, a Quick format of the volume takes place; this is a change from ConfigMgr 2007 where a Quick format was not the default. A Full format can add unnecessary time to the task sequence when a quick format is normally sufficient.
  The last option for this task allows you to store the drive letter used in a task sequence variable. This allows you to reference files on this volume or use the file system on this volume in future tasks by referencing this task sequence variable.
• Convert Disk to Dynamic: This task converts a specified disk to a dynamic disk. The only configuration option for this task is specifying the disk number to convert.
• Enable BitLocker: Only applicable to systems running Windows Vista or later, this task enables BitLocker on a specified disk. BitLocker encrypts the contents of an entire disk at a low-level. Here are additional configuration options:
  • Where to store the startup key (Trusted Platform Module [TPM], USB drive, or both).
    Choosing USB startup key storage requires attaching a USB drive to the system during the execution of the task sequence.
  • Where to store the recovery key (Active Directory or no storage).
  • The final BitLocker configuration option chooses whether to wait for full encryption of the drive before the task sequence continues.
  Depending on the current contents of the drive, this could be a lengthy process and greatly increase the running time of the task sequence. If you do not choose this option, drive encryption takes place dynamically in the background.
  BitLocker requires two NTFS partitions: one for the system volume and one for the OS volume. The system volume partition must be at least 100MB in size with at least 64MB free and set as the active partition. Create these partitions in a Format and Partition Disk task prior to executing the Enable BitLocker task in the task sequence if they do not already exist.
  CAUTION : THE BITLOCKER PARTITION AND OS REFRESHES
  The default and Windows-recommended method to partition a hard drive in preparation for Windows BitLocker is to include a 100MB system partition at the beginning of the drive, leaving the rest of the space for the partition holding the installed OS and protected by BitLocker encryption. If you manually install Windows 7, this partition scheme is automatic with Windows hiding the system partition.
  Unfortunately, this partition is still visible to WinPE, meaning OSD sees this partition as the first partition on the disk and tries to use it when deploying the Windows image. With the partition being only 100MB, this operation will fail miserably.
  The workaround is scripting a solution to detect the presence of this partition and adjusting the tasks accordingly, or using the easy solution of placing the boot partition at the end of the drive. This solution is even easier because the Windows team provided a BitLocker Drive Preparation tool ( http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ dd875534(v=WS.10).aspx ) that shrinks the main partition of the drive and then adds a boot partition in the now-open space at the end. Using this tool also means not having to do anything special to your Format and Partition Disk task, and accounts for refresh scenarios that leave user data in place on the hard disk and therefore cannot format the disk.
  Unfortunately, this does not address existing systems with the 100MB system partition at the beginning of the drive (you'll still have to script around those), but it prevents any of your deployed systems from causing a refresh to fail.
• Disable BitLocker: The exact opposite of enabling BitLocker, this task disables BitLocker on a specified drive. Decrypting the drive contents is dynamic and in the background; the task sequence does not wait for completion of this activity before continuing.
  User State Category A number of tasks are available under User State.
• Request State Store: The Request State Store task attempts to connect to a state migration point prior to capturing or restoring a user's state data.
  If there are multiple state migration points in an environment, the task uses the first one listed on the site's management point with space available for the capture; for a site with multiple state migration points, each migration point is searched looking for the one with a computer association where the destination system is listed as a target.
  You can specify the number of times to retry the connection and the delay between retries, and whether to capture or restore a user's state. An additional option allows using the Network Access account rather than the Computer account for connecting to the state migration point.
  This task creates a computer association if one does not already exist, as described in the "Computer Associations" section.
  If the task is used to capture user state data, it creates an encryption key that stores the data securely; this key is stored with the computer association. If used to restore the user state data, this task retrieves the encryption key from the computer association.
  The computer association also stores the exact path where the files are stored on the state migration point, and the times they were captured and restored. An additional option while creating a computer association is the ability to choose which user profiles to capture-either by using the User Accounts tab or by right-clicking an association after it is created and choosing Specify User Accounts . To recover captured user state data, see the discussion in the "Computer Associations" section in this tutorial.
• Capture User State: This task initiates the use of USMT (described in the "User State Migration Tool" section) and captures the user state data using the USMT ScanState tool. A prerequisite for using this task is the existence of a software distribution package containing the files from an installation of USMT. In addition, you should place this task after a Request State Store task in your task sequence. Additional options for this task include
  • Use custom USMT configuration files
  • Enable Verbose logging
  • Skip files that use the Encrypting File System (EFS)
  • Copy by using file system access
  • Capture by using Volume Copy Shadow Services (VSS)
  Select the Copy by using file system access has these additional options:
  • Continue if some files cannot be captured
  • Capture locally by using links instead of copying files
  • Capture in off-line mode (Windows PE only)
  Using each of these options is covered in detail in the "User State" section. Note the caveat next to some of the options, stating that USMT 4.0 is required.
  You can customize the options passed to ScanState by setting the OSDMigrateAdditionalCaptureOptions task sequence variable.
• Restore User State: This is the mirror task for Capture User State and has similar options: a USMT package must exist, specification of non-default configuration files, continuation without raising an error when files cannot be restored, and verbose logging.
  The one option that is different from the Capture User State task is the addition of a password for migrated local accounts. The password for these accounts cannot be migrated even though their data is, so you must supply a password to use them. You must use this task after a Request State Store task in a task sequence.
  You can customize the options passed to USMT LoadState tool by setting the OSDMigrateAdditionalRestoreOptions task sequence variable.
• Release State Store: This task has no options and must be preceded by a Request State Store task and either a Capture User State or a Restore User State task.
  • If used with a successful Capture User State task, this task tells the state migration point that the capture was completely successful and is ready to restore.
  • If used with a successful Restore User State task, the task also communicates with the state migration point telling it that a successful restore took place. The state migration point then applies the configured retention settings on this data, allowing the storage space used by the data to be cleaned up.
    Images Category: Tasks in the Images category focus on capturing and deploying images, OS configuration, Sysprep, and the ConfigMgr client agent.
• Apply Operating System Image: This is the central task in any OSD task sequence and performs one of two things:
  • It applies an OS from a captured image to the target system. This is a destructive operation; OSD wipes the entire partition before delivering the image. A single folder is preserved from being wiped; the location of this folder is stored in the _SMSTSUserStatePath task sequence variable.
  • It installs an OS on the target system using the original source files from an OS installer.
  The options for this task are to specify a package containing unattended setup files and select a destination: Next available formatted partition, Specific disk and partition, Specific logical drive letter, or Logical drive letter stored in a variable.
  If you specify an unattended files package for Windows XP and deploy an image, you should specify a sysprep.inf file. If you deploy an XP setup, use a unattend.txt file. Windows 7 uses the same XML file format regardless of the type of deployment. If you do not specify an unattended file, ConfigMgr uses an applicable default one.
  If you need to create one (or more) of these unattended setup files, Microsoft provides several tools to facilitate this, depending on the OS being deployed:
  • Windows 7: SIM for Windows 7 is part of the WAIK. A help file is also installed with the WAIK, Unattended Windows Setup Reference.chm, containing a comprehensive reference to the schema of the unattend.xml setup file.
  • Windows XP: Setupmgr.exe for Windows XP is contained in the deploy.cab compressed file along with Sysprep. Also contained in deploy.cab is deploy. chm-a help file containing a complete reference to the valid schema and possible settings of the unattended setup files for Windows XP.
  CAUTION: TASK SEQUENCE SIZE: Task sequences are limited to 10MB as measured by the size of the underlying XML that defines them-this is an increase from 4MB in ConfigMgr 2007. There is no corresponding absolute maximum number of task sequence steps, although in ConfigMgr 2007 the 4MB size often equated to approximately 450 tasks.
  If you find yourself against this maximum size threshold, try moving some actions performed by your tasks into single, combined scripts or the unattended files.
• Apply Data Image: This task uses a pre-existing image imported into ConfigMgr as an OS image and applies it to a data partition. The same options for specifying a destination for the Apply Operating System Image task are available for the Apply Data Image task. Unlike the Apply Operating System Image task, this task is nondestructive and preserves all data on the specified destination.
• Setup Windows and ConfigMgr: This task must be included in task sequences as it actually initiates Windows setup (or mini-setup), reboots, and then installs the ConfigMgr agent allowing the rest of the task sequence to complete. There is no way to avoid installing the ConfigMgr client agent in a task sequence that deploys Windows.
  The only prerequisite is the package containing the ConfigMgr client, which you must select for this task. Although you can create your own package for this, the best practice is to use the built-in Configuration Manager Client Agent package. Additional installation properties used to install the ConfigMgr client can also be specified. By default, any additional installation properties specified for client installation on the Installation Properties tab of the Client Push Installation Properties dialog are automatically copied to this task.
• Install Deployment Tools: The main job of this task is to make the Sysprep files available to the task sequence. The task typically is used only in Build and Capture task sequences. Sysprep is included in the installation of Windows 7, so this task does not need a package specified when deploying Windows 7. If the OS version installed is XP, a package containing the Sysprep files from the corresponding deploy.cab file must be specified.
• Prepare ConfigMgr Client for Capture: This task is required before capturing an OS image from a target system. It prepares the ConfigMgr client agent to be part of an image by stripping it of any unique identifiers. There are no options for this task.
• Prepare Windows for Capture: This task runs the actual Sysprep on an installed OS, stripping it of any uniqueness and preparing it for capture in an image. There are only two options available for this task:
  • Automatically build mass storage driver list.
    The build mass storage driver list option is equivalent to using the bmsd option with Sysprep and allows a deployed image to use any available mass-storage driver available. This option is not applicable to Windows 7 even though it is available.
  • Do not reset activation flag.
    The Do not reset activation flag option is equivalent to the activate option of Sysprep and is only used only when you capture an image of an OS that has already been activated. This option is rarely used.
• Capture Operating System Image: This task captures an image of the installed OS on the target system to a WIM file using ImageX. Two parameters are required:
  • The first parameter is a filename for the destination WIM file. This filename needs to be fully qualified to include the destination UNC and can be on any accessible folder share; for example, \\< servername >\Captures\Win7SP1Ent-x64.wim.
  • The second parameter is an account and its associated password with permissions to write to the specified location.
  Optional parameters are metadata to associate with the image including the creator, version, and description.
  CAUTION: WIM CAPTURE
  If you hard code the WIM filename and location, ensure you copy or move the WIM file from the folder where it was captured to prevent another execution of this task from overwriting it.
• Auto Apply Drivers: Using this task, you tell the task sequence to first run a plugand- play check on the target system's hardware generating a list of plug-and-play IDs; this check emulates the plug-and-play check that Windows setup performs.
  The task compares the list of IDs to the driver catalog maintained by OSD copying those best matched to the target system. For Windows 7, the drivers are directly added to the deployed image's driver store using DISM and its offline image management capabilities. For Windows XP, the unattended setup file is modified to reference the copied drivers for usage during the full Windows setup or mini-setup on Sysprepped images.
  Options for this task include
  • Copying the best matched drivers
  • Copying all compatible drivers and choosing the categories of the drivers to consider for matching
  • Bypass checking of a signature on drivers on operating systems that allow it- this option has no effect on 64-bit Windows editions because all drivers must be signed on these systems
• Apply Driver Package: Use this task to tell the task sequence to copy all the drivers in a particular driver package to a target system and either use DISM for Windows 7 to add them to the driver store or update the unattended setup files with those drivers for Windows XP. The Apply Driver Package task skips the plug-and-play precheck performed by the Auto Apply Drivers task and forces ConfigMgr to copy the specified drivers.
  Using this task, you can deploy mass-storage drivers such as SATA drivers to Windows XP. Windows 7 has no need to handle mass-storage drivers differently than regular drivers, so this option is a no-op if deploying Windows 7.
  You would also use this task in cases where the plug-and-play pre-detection used by the Auto Apply Drivers task is not picking up the proper driver or the hardware is not yet attached to the system, as is the case for locally attached printers and scanners.
  Options include choosing a particular package, choosing the specific mass-storage device driver to use from the package, and overriding the requirement to use signed drivers.
  Settings Category: Settings tasks capture specific settings from a source system and restore them during an in-place migration or allows you to specify the specific settings during a side-by-side migration or new installation. These settings are not directly applied to the target system; they are merged into the unattended answer file in use for the application by Windows setup or mini-setup.
• Capture Network Settings: This task, used for refresh scenarios, captures the network settings of a source system before wiping the system. These settings are automatically migrated to the system after deploying the OS and override any settings specified in an Apply Network Settings task. The two network settings that can be migrated are the domain and workgroup membership and the network adapter configuration. If neither option is selected, the task is benign.
• Capture Windows Settings: Similar to the Capture Network Settings task, this task captures specific Windows settings and migrates them during refresh scenario; these settings override any settings specified in an Apply Windows Settings task. The Windows settings that can be migrated are the computer name, username and organization name, and the time zone. If you do not select any options, this task does nothing.
• Apply Network Settings: This task sets network settings on a target system including joining a domain or workgroup and network adapter settings. If joining a domain, an account and password must be set that has privileges to join the domain. You can configure multiple network adapters individually; each can be set to use DHCP or a statically assigned Internet Protocol (IP) address. You can also specify static DNS and WINS settings and advanced filtering settings. Settings specified in this task are overridden by those captured using a Capture Network Settings task. Settings specified using this task are added to the unattended setup file in use, which is then used by Windows setup or mini-setup during the Setup Windows and ConfigMgr task.
  For Build and Capture task sequences, joining a domain is not necessary and not recommended because systems joined to a domain often have configuration changes made to them by group policy, login scripts, or other tools that should not be in a generic, reference image.
  CAUTION : ORGANIZATION UNITS AND DOMAIN FQDNS
  Do not specify the default AD Computers container as the OU in the Apply Network Settings or Join Domain or Workgroup tasks. This container is not an OU and specifying it causes the domain join to fail. In addition, if you specify the FQDN of the AD domain you want the system to join you must also supply an OU; failure to do so also causes the domain join to fail. If you provide the NETBIOS (or short) name of the domain, you do not need to add the OU.
• A pply Windows Settings: This task sets specific Windows settings on the target system including username, organization name, product key, server licensing model, local administrator password, and time zone. Settings specified using this task are also added to the unattended setup file in use which is then used by Windows setup or mini-setup during the Setup Windows and ConfigMgr task. A product key is not required for Windows 7 because it automatically operates in an evaluation mode (called the grace period ) for 120 days that does not require a product key. Settings specified in this task are overridden by those captured using a Capture Windows Settings task.

CAUTION : DO NOT DISABLE THE ADMINISTRATOR ACCOUNT IN WORKGROUPS Do not set the local Administrator account to disabled when deploying an image to a system that will not be part of a domain; you will then have a system you cannot access because the only user account on the system is disabled.