4. An Overview of the System Preparation Tool and Disk Imaging
The System Preparation Tool (Sysprep.exe)
is used to prepare a computer for disk imaging, and the disk image can
then be captured using ImageX—a new imaging management tool included
with Windows 7—or third-party imaging software.
Disk imaging is the process of
taking a snapshot of a computer and then using that snapshot to create
new computers, thus allowing for automated deployments. The reference,
or source, computer has Windows 7 installed and is configured with the
settings and applications that should be installed on the target
computers. The image (snapshot) is then created and can be transferred
to other computers, thus installing the operating system, settings, and
applications that were defined on the reference computer.
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Using the System
Preparation Tool and disk imaging is a good choice (and the most
commonly used in the real world! for automatic deployment when you have a
large number of computers with similar configuration requirements or
machines that need to be rebuilt frequently.
For example,
Stallion Training Center, a Microsoft education center that I work for,
reinstalls the same software every week for new classes. Imaging is a
fast and easy way to simplify the deployment process.
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As I have stated before,
I am a consultant and trainer, but I was an IT manager for many years.
In the real world, imaging software is the most common way to install or
reinstall corporate computers.
Most organizations
use images to create new machines quickly and easily, but they also use
them to reimage end users' machines that crash.
In most companies, end users
will have space on a server (home folders) to allow them to store data.
We give our end users space on the server because this way, we need to
back up only the servers at night and not the end users' machines. If
your end users place all of their important documents on the server, it
gets backed up.
Now, if we are also using
images in our company and an end user's machine crashes, we just reload
the image and they are backed up and running in minutes. Since their
documents are being saved on the server, they do not lose any of their
information.
Many organizations use
third-party imaging software instead of using Sysprep.exe and ImageX.
This is another good way of imaging your Windows 7 machines. Just make
sure your third-party software supports the Windows 7 operating system.
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To perform an unattended
install, the System Preparation Tool prepares the reference computer by
stripping away any computer-specific data, such as the security
identifier (SID), which is used to uniquely identify each computer on
the network; any event logs; and any other unique system information.
The System Preparation Tool also detects any Plug and Play devices that
are installed and can adjust dynamically for any computers that have
different hardware installed.
When the client computer starts
an installation using a disk image, you can customize what is displayed
on the Windows Welcome screen and the options that are displayed through
the setup process. You can also fully automate when and how the Windows
Welcome screen is displayed during the installation process by using
the /oobe option with the System Preparation Tool and an answer file
named Oobe.xml.
Sysprep is a utility that is
good only for setting up a new machine. You do not use Sysprep to image a
computer for upgrading a current machine. There are a few switches that
you can use in conjunction with Sysprep to configure the Sysprep
utility for your specific needs. Table 1 shows you some of the Sysprep switches and what they will do for you when used.
Table 1. Sysprep switches
| Switch | Explanation |
|---|
| /pnp | Forces a mini-setup wizard to start at reboot so that all Plug and Play devices can be recognized. |
| /genera1ize | This
allows Sysprep to remove all system-specific data from the Sysprep
image. If you're running the GUI version of Sysprep, this is a check box
option. |
| /oobe | Initiates the Windows Welcome screen at the next reboot. |
| /audit | Initiates Sysprep in Audit mode. |
| /nosidgen | Sysprep does not generate a new SID on the computer restart. Forces a mini-setup on restart. |
| /reboot | Stops and restarts the computer system. |
| /quiet | Runs without any confirmation dialog messages being displayed. |
| /mini | Tells Sysprep to run the mini-setup on the next reboot. |
The Windows System
Preparation Tool is a free utility that comes on all Windows operating
systems. By default, the Sysprep utility can be found on Windows Server
2008 and Windows 7 operating systems in the \Windows\system32\sysprep directory.
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For many years, when you
had to create many machines that each had a Microsoft operating system
on it, you would have to use files to help deploy the multiple systems.
Then, multiple third-party companies came out with software that allowed you to take a
picture of the Microsoft operating system and you could deploy that
picture to other machines. One advantage of this is that ail the
software that is installed on the system could also be part of that
picture. This was a great way to copy all the software on a machine over
to another machine.
There was one major
problem for years—SID numbers. All computers get assigned a unique
number that represents them on a domain network and that number is
called a security identifier (SID) number. The problem for a long time was that when you copied a machine to another machine, the SID number was also copied.
Microsoft released Sysprep
many years ago and that helped solve this problem. Sysprep would allow
you to remove the SID number so that a third-party software package
could image it to another machine. Many third-party image software
products now also remove the SID numbers, but Sysprep was one of the
first utilities to help solve this problem.
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When you decide to use Sysprep to set up your images, there are a few rules that you must follow for Sysprep to work properly:
You can use images
to restart the Windows activation clock. The Windows activation clock
starts to decrease as soon as Windows starts for the first time. You can
restart the Windows activation clock only three times using Sysprep.
The
computer on which you're running Sysprep has to be a member of a
workgroup. The machine can't be part of a domain. If the computer is a
member of the domain, when you run Sysprep, the computer will
automatically be removed from the domain.
When
installing the image, the system will prompt you for a product key.
During the install you can use an answer file, which in turn will have
all the information needed for the install and you will not be prompted
for any information.
A third-party utility or ImageX is required to deploy the image that is created from Sysprep.
If
you are using Sysprep to capture an NTFS partition, any files or
folders that are encrypted will become corrupt and unreadable.
One new advantage to Sysprep
and Windows 7 is that you can use Sysprep to prepare a new machine for
duplication. You can use Sysprep to image a Windows 7 machine. The
following steps are necessary to image a new machine:
Install the Windows 7 operating system.
Install all components on the OS.
Run Sysprep /generalize to create the image.
When you image a computer using the Windows Sysprep utility, a Windows image (.wim) file is created. Most third-party imaging software products can work with the Windows image file.
4.1. Advantages of the System Preparation Tool
The following are advantages of using the System Preparation Tool as a method for automating Windows 7 installations:
For large
numbers of computers with similar hardware, it greatly reduces
deployment time by copying the operating system, applications, and
Desktop settings from a reference computer to an image, which can then
be deployed to multiple computers.
Using
disk imaging facilitates the standardization of Desktops,
administrative policies, and restrictions throughout an organization.
Reference images can be copied across a network connection or through DVDs that are physically distributed to client computers.
4.2. Disadvantages of the System Preparation Tool
There are some disadvantages of using the System Preparation Tool as a method for automating Windows 7 installations:
ImageX, third-party imaging software, or hardware disk-duplicator devices must be used for an image-based setup.
The
version of the System Preparation Tool that shipped with Windows 7 must
be used. An older version of Sysprep cannot be used on a Windows 7
image.
The System Preparation Tool will not detect any hardware that is not Plug and Play compliant.
Overview of the Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK)
Another way to install Windows 7 is to use the Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK).
The Windows AIK is a set of utilities and documentation that allows an
administrator to configure and deploy Windows operating systems. An
administrator can use the Windows AIK to do the following:
Capture Windows images with ImageX
Configure and edit images by using the Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) utility
Create Windows PE images
Migrate user data and profiles using the User State Migration Tool (USMT)
Centrally manage volume activations by using the Volume Activation Management Tool(VAMT)
The Windows AIK can be installed and configured on the following operating systems:
The Windows AIK is a
good solution for organizations that need to customize the Windows
deployment environments. The Windows AIK allows an administrator to have
the flexibility needed for mass deployments of Windows operating
systems. Since every organization's needs are different, the Windows AIK
allows you to use all or just part of the deployment tools available.
It allows you to manage deployments by using some additional tools.
Microsoft Deployment Toolkit
The tools included with this part of the Windows AIK will allow an
administrator to easily deploy and configure Windows operating systems
and images.
Application Compatibility Toolkit
When new Windows operating systems are installed, applications that ran
on the previous version of Windows may not work properly. The
Application Compatibility Toolkit allows an administrator to help solve
these issues before they occur.
Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit
The MAP toolkit is a utility that will locate computers on a network
and then perform a thorough inventory of them. This inventory can then
be used to determine which machines can have Windows 7 installed.
5. Summary of Windows 7 Deployment Options
Table 2
summarizes the installation options for Windows 7 and notes the
required client hardware, server requirements, and whether the option
supports a clean install or upgrade.
Table 2. Summary of Windows 7 installation options
| | MDT2010 | Windows AIK | Unattended Installation | WDS | System Preparation Tool |
|---|
| Required Client Hardware | PC that meets Windows 7 requirements, access to the network | PC that meets Windows 7 requirements | PC that meets Windows 7 requirements, access to the network | PC that meets the Windows 7 requirements and is PXE compliant | Reference
computer with Windows 7 installed and configured; PC that meets the
Windows 7 requirements; ImageX, third-party disk imaging software, or
hardware disk duplicator device |
| Required Server Hardware and Services | Network installation, distribution server. | None. Windows AIK can be on any compatible machine. | None with DVD; if using network installation, distribution server with preconfigured client images. | Windows
Server 2003 w/SP1 or Windows Server 2008 to act as a WDS server with
image files. Active Directory, DNS server, and DHCP server. | None. |
| Clean Install or Upgrade Only | Clean install | Clean install | Clean install or upgrade | Clean install | Clean install |
Table 3
summarizes the installation tools and files that are used with
unattended, automated installations of Windows 7, the associated
installation method, and a description of each tool.
Table 3. Summary of Windows 7 unattended deployment utilities
| Tool or File | Automated Installation Option | Description |
|---|
| Setup. Exe | Unattended installation | Program used to initiate the installation process |
| Unattend.xml | Unattended installation | Answer file used to customize installation queries |
| Windows System Image Manager | Unattended installation | Program used to create answer files to be used for unattended installations |
| ImageX.exe | Sysprep | Command-line utility that works in conjunction with Sysprep to create and manage Windows 7 image files for deployment |
| Sysprep.exe | Sysprep | System
Preparation Tool, which prepares a source reference computer that will
be used in conjunction with a distribution share or with disk
duplication through ImageX, third-party software, or hardware
disk-duplication devices |
The Windows 7 installation utilities and resources relating to automated deployment are found in a variety of locations. Table 4 provides a quick reference for each utility or resource and its location.
Table 4. Location of Windows 7 deployment utilities and resources
| Utility | Location |
|---|
| Sysprep.Exe | Included with Windows 7; installed to %WINDIR%\system32\sysprep |
| ImageX | Installed with the WALK; installed to C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\x86\imagex.exe |
| Windows System Image Manager | Installed with WALK; installed to C:\ProgramFi 1es\Windows AIK\Tools\Image Manager\ImgMgr.exe |
Now that you have seen some of the ways you can install Windows 7, let's take a more detailed look at each one.
