Windows 7 / Getting Started

Updating the Deployment Share

The Windows AIK 2.0 comes with Windows PE 3.0, so no additional files are necessary to create Windows PE boot images for MDT 2010. When you update your deployment share in the Deployment Workbench, MDT 2010 automatically generates the following custom Windows PE images (here platform is x86 or x64):

  • Lite Touch Windows PE (platform) .wim file
  • LiteTouchPE_platform.iso

If you want, you can configure the deployment share to also generate the following Windows PE images:

  • Generic Windows PE (platform)
  • Generic_platform.iso

You don't need to manually customize Windows PE to add network interface card (NIC) device drivers to it. Deployment Workbench automatically adds the NIC device drivers that you add to the deployment share to the Windows PE boot images. You have the additional option of automatically adding video and system device drivers from the deployment share to the Windows PE boot images. You can also perform additional customizations of your Windows PE images. For example, you can customize the background bitmap, add additional directories, and increase the scratch space size from its default value of 32 megabytes (MB) up to a maximum of 512 MB if needed. To learn more about customizing Windows PE, see the Windows Preinstallation Environment User's Guide for Windows 7 in the Windows AIK.

Updating a deployment share causes Deployment Workbench to update its configuration files, source files, and Windows PE images. Deployment Workbench updates the deployment share's files and generates the Windows PE boot images when you update the deployment share, not when you create it. Deployment Workbench stores these boot images in the deployment share's \Boot folder. After you have updated the deployment share and generated Windows PE images, you can add the .wim image file to Windows Deployment Services. If you want, you can burn the Windows PE .iso images to CD or DVD media by using third-party CD/ DVD-burning software. Windows Deployment Services is the best way to start the Windows PE boot images on lab computers. Updating the boot images is faster than burning media, and booting destination computers is quicker.

Note You must use the same platform edition of Windows PE to start computers for installing each platform edition of Windows. In other words, you must start destination computers using a x86 edition of Windows PE to install a x86 edition of Windows 7. Likewise, you must use a x64 edition of Windows PE to install a x64 edition of Windows 7. If you use mismatched editions, you might see errors indicating that the image is for a different type of computer. Deployment Workbench automatically chooses the correct platform edition of Windows PE to match the operating system you're deploying.

To configure a deployment share for imaging in the lab, perform the following steps:

  1. In the Deployment Workbench console tree, click Deployment Shares.
  2. In the details pane, right-click the deployment share you want to configure and then click Properties.
  3. Click the General tab and then choose the platforms that the deployment share supports. To indicate that the deployment share supports the x86 platform, select the x86 check box. To indicate that the deployment share supports the x64 platform, select the x64 check box. This option determines the platforms for which Deployment Workbench generates Windows PE boot images.
  4. Click the Rules tab and then edit the deployment share's settings. These settings are located in CustomSettings.ini, which is located in the deployment share's Control folder. For more information about the settings that you can configure on this tab, see the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit Reference in MDT 2010.
  5. Click the Windows PE Settings (platform) tab for each platform and edit the settings described in Table below. Then, click OK.

    Windows PE Settings Tab
    AreaSettings
    Images to GenerateGenerate A Lite Touch Windows PE WIM file Select this option to generate a customized WIM file that you can use to perform LTI using Windows Deployment Services (this option is selected by default and cannot be cleared).
    Generate A Lite Touch Bootable ISO Image Select this option to generate a bootable customized Windows PE ISO image that you can use to perform LTI by starting your destination computers manually (this option is selected by default).
    Generate A Generic Windows PE WIM file Select this option to generate a generic WIM file that you can use to perform LTI using Windows Deployment Services.
    Generate A Generic Bootable ISO Image Select this option to generate a bootable generic Windows PE ISO image that you can use to perform LTI by starting your destination computers manually.
    Windows PE CustomizationsCustom Background Bitmap File Type the path and file name of a bitmap file to use as the Windows PE background.
    Extra Directory To Add Type the path of a folder containing extra files and subfolders to add to the Windows PE bootable images.
    Scratch Space Size Select the size of the scratch space for your Windows PE image. The available values are 32, 64, 128, 256, and 512 MB, with 32 being the default.

  6. Click the Windows PE Components (platform) tab for each platform and edit the settings described in Table below and then click OK.

Windows PE Components Tab

AreaSetting
Feature PacksADO Select this option to add the Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) optional feature to the Windows PE bootable images.
Optional FontsSelect the font support to add to the Windows PE boot images that Deployment Workbench generates. You must add these fonts when performing an LTI deployment of Windows Vista images when the setup files are Japanese, Korean, or Chinese. The Optional Fonts area provides the following options:
  • Chinese (ZH-CN)
  • Chinese (ZH-HK)
  • Chinese (ZH-TW)
  • Japanese (JA-JP)
  • Korean (KO-KR)
Adding additional fonts to Windows PE boot images increases the size of the images. Add additional fonts only if necessary.
Driver InjectionSelection Profile Use this list box to choose one of the following selection profiles to include the appropriate device drivers in your Windows PE images:
  • Everything Includes all folders from all nodes in Deployment Workbench. This selection profile includes all applications, operating systems, device drivers, operating system packages, and task sequences.
    All Drivers Includes all folders from the Out-Of-Box Drivers node in Deployment Workbench. This selection profile includes all device drivers.
    All Drivers And Packages Includes all folders from the Applications and Out-Of-Box Drivers nodes in Deployment Workbench. This selection profile includes all applications and device drivers.
    Nothing Includes no folders in Deployment Workbench. This selection profile includes no items.
    Sample A sample selection profile that illustrates how to select a subset of the items and include all folders from the Packages and Task Sequences nodes in Deployment Workbench. This selection profile includes all operating system packages and task sequences.

    Note If you have created any custom selection profiles, these will also be available for selection here.

    Selection profiles are new in MDT 2010 and allow you to select one or more folders in Deployment Workbench that contain one or more items in Deployment Workbench, including applications, device drivers, operating systems, operating system packages, and task sequences. For more information concerning selection profiles, see the topic "Managing Selection Profiles" in the MDT 2010 documentation.
    Include All Drivers From The Selected Driver Group Select this option if you want to include all the device drivers in the selection profile you specified in the Selection Profile list box.
    Include Only Drivers Of The Following Types Select this option to include only specific types of device drivers in the selection profile you specified in the Selection Profile list box. If you select this option, you can select one or more of the following:
    • Include All Network Drivers In The Selected Group Select this option to inject all the device drivers in the selection profile specified in the Selection profile list box.
    • Include All Mass Storage Drivers In The Selected Group Select this option to inject all mass storage drivers found in the deployment share into the Windows PE boot images.
    • Include All Video Drivers In The Selected Group Select this option to inject all video drivers found in the deployment share into the Windows PE boot images.
    • Include All System-Class Drivers In The Selected Group Select this option to inject all system drivers (such as motherboard drivers) in the deployment share into the Windows PE boot images.

After creating and configuring a deployment share in Deployment Workbench, you must update it to update the deployment share's configuration files and generate Windows PE boot images in the deployment share's \Boot folder. Deployment Workbench always generates .wim image files, which you can use to start destination computers using Windows Deployment Services. Choose to generate only the Windows PE bootable ISO images that are actually required. If you limit the number of images generated, the updating process is faster.

To update a deployment share, perform the following steps:

  1. In the Deployment Workbench console tree, click Deployment Shares.
  2. In the details pane, right-click the deployment share you want to configure and then click Update.
  3. On the Options page of the Update Deployment Share Wizard, shown on the following page, select one of the following options:
    • Optimize The Boot Image Updating Process Select this option to update existing versions of the image files in the deployment share. Choosing this option reduces the amount of time required to update the boot images. If you select this option, you can also select Compress The Boot Image Contents To Recover Space Used By Removed Or Modified Content if desired. Selecting this suboption reduces the size of the boot images but may increase the time needed to generate the images.
    • Completely Regenerate The Boot Images Select this option to create a new version of all the image files in the deployment share. You can choose this option when you want to force the creation of new images. Note that this can take some time to complete.
    • Finish the wizard. Depending on how your deployment share is configured and the options you selected in the Update Deployment Share Wizard, generating Windows PE boot images may take some time to complete.

After the deployment share has been updated, Windows PE boot images and other files will be present in the \Boot folder of the deployment share.

Important You must update your deployment share if you make changes to any the settings on the properties sheet of your deployment share. The Windows PE boot images will not contain your updated settings until you update your deployment share.

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In this tutorial:

  1. Developing Disk Images
  2. Getting Started Developing Disk Images
  3. Prerequisite Skills and Lab Requirements
  4. Installation Media
  5. Capturing Images Using Microsoft Deployment Toolkit
  6. Creating and Configuring a Deployment Share
  7. Adding Operating Systems
  8. Adding Applications
  9. Specifying Application Dependencies
  10. Adding Packages
  11. Creating Task Sequences
  12. Editing a Task Sequence
  13. Configuring Group and Task Properties
  14. Configuring the Options Tab
  15. Task Sequence Variables
  16. Operating System Versions
  17. Updating the Deployment Share
  18. Capturing a Disk Image for LTI
  19. Preparing Images Manually
  20. Customizing Microsoft Deployment Toolkit