Mdt 2012 Deployment Guide Step by Step 9 of 11

Creating a Deployment Task Sequence

1. From the Deployment Workbench, expand the customer Deployment Share and right-click on Task Sequences and select New Task Sequence
2. Enter a Task Sequence ID and Name.  Make a note of the ID as you may need it later!

1. Accept the default “Standard Client Task Sequence” template
2. Select the relevant OS Image to deploy

 

1. This option will vary dependent on whether you are going to be using KMS or MAK licenses for their Windows 7 deployment.

KMS          -                 Select Do not specify a product key at this time

MAK         -                 Select Specify a multiple activation key (MAK key) for activating this operating system

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Mdt 2012 Deployment Guide Step by Step 8 of 11

Importing a Customer Reference Image

1. From the Deployment Workbench, expand the customer Deployment Share and right-click on Operating Systems and select Import Operating System
2. From the Import Operating System Wizard, select Custom Image File and click Next
3. Browse to the path of the WIM file.  For captured images, this would by default be the \Captures folder in the Deployment Share
4. Select “Copy Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, or later setup files from specified path” and enter the path to the relevant OS installation media.  (Strictly speaking you shouldn’t need to do this step but it bugs out sometimes in my experience)

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Mdt 2012 Deployment Guide Step by Step 7 of 11

            Capturing a Windows 7 Image from a reference PC

The reference computer should be connected to the same network as the MDT Deployment server and should be set to get an IP address via DHCP.

 

THE REFERENCE COMPUTER MUST NOT BE JOINED TO ANY DOMAIN!

 

1. Boot the reference computer and ensure network connectivity
2. Make any last-minute modifications (additional software, Windows Updates, etc.)
3. Click Start and type \\<MDTSERVER>\share$\scripts\litetouch.vbs and press Enter
   1. If prompted for credentials, enter a domain account with access to that share:
   2. If prompted with a Security Warning like the one below, click Open
   3. 

1. Select Sysprep & Capture Win7 Reference Image from the Task Sequence selection screen
2. 

1. Select Capture an image of this reference computer from the Capture an Image selection screen and enter an appropriate file name.
2. 

1. Wait while the Windows PE environment is copied to the reference computer and SYSPREP is run

 

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Mdt 2012 Deployment Guide Step by Step 6 of 11

Completing the Deployment Share Configuration

Now you have imported an OS (from source media) and some WinPE drivers, we can go ahead and complete the configuration of the Deployment Share.

6.1       Advanced Configuration

The Advanced Configuration section of MDT consists of four separate areas although, we only use the Selection Profiles section for now.  The rest are advanced topics which you can explore later!

Advanced Configuration – Selection Profiles

Created a single additional selection profile – “WinPE Drivers” and configured it to contain only the drivers which Windows PE will use.  We’ll use this profile in a moment to configure the Windows PE environment.  The next three photo's are in order by actions:

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Mdt 2012 Deployment Guide Step by Step 5 of 11

 Creating a Sysprep & Capture Task Sequence

The “Task Sequence” is the heart of the MDT deployment solution.  It is a list of steps which need to be taken to successfully deploy an Operating System.

 

Initially you need to create a “Sysprep and Capture” task sequence.  Go ahead and do this now.  You don’t need to worry too much about which choice of OS you make as it doesn’t matter.  Make sure you select the “Sysprep and Capture” template!

Mdt 2012 Deployment Guide Step by Step 4 of 11

4.          Importing an OS Image

The Operating Systems section of MDT lists all of the Operating Systems which are available to deploy from a Deployment Share.  The deployment itself is controlled by a Task Sequence but the operating system source files need to be available.

 

Simply right-click on Operating Systems on the left and Import your Windows 7 source media from either DVD or a network share.  If you are planning to deploy both 32 and 64 bit versions, import both!  You can also import Windows XP, Vista, Server 2003, 2003R2, 2008 and 2008R2 for deployment…

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Mdt 2012 Deployment Guide Step by Step 3 of 11

Device Driver Management

3.1       Obtaining Device Drivers for a Deployment

In order to deploy a single image to multiple hardware types, MDT performs a “driver injection” during the OS load process.  For this to work, any and all relevant drivers need to be imported into the deployment share in advance.  Depending on the hardware vendor, the process for obtaining these drivers may vary but will generally involve going to the vendor website and downloading the drivers for specific hardware models.  Once you have downloaded these drivers, they may require unpacking as the import process can only recognise drivers containing .INF or .CAB files.

 

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