Thursday, April 12, 2012

Deploying a Windows 7 image with WDS and MDT 2010 - Part 3

This is the final part of the installment. Here you will learn how to install software after you PC has been imaged. For part 1 click here and for part 2 click here


Adding Applications

You may want the server to install certain software automatically after you have installed the image. It may be because software is only needed in a certain room or you have a problem with the anti-virus connecting if you don’t install it after an image is deployed. I will run through this now.

First adding software to the application list.

Still in MDT workbench, right click on the applications box and choose New Application.





















Choose the option most applicable to you but I normally go with ‘Application with source files’
On the next box fill in the appropriate information


 



















On the next screen, browse to the software folder and click next





















Next specify the name of the folder to be created






















Next specify the command you wish to run. This will normally be setup.exe or install.msi. You can also specify command line parameters. You will have to check if any apply to the install file but normally /s will do silently etc. you may even be able to pass a command file to the executable to fill in all the information.






















Then click next and finish. The computer will copy across all the files that are in the directory and you will be able to  see it in the applications box in MDT.

Adding the software to a task sequence.

Click back onto the task sequence box in MDT and right click on the task sequence you wish to have install the software. Now choose properties. On the box that pops up choose the second tab called task sequence. What you see here is a complete breakdown of what the computer will do.




Under the sub folder ‘state restore’ there will be an option called install applications. If you click on this, you will have two options on the right. Choose ‘install single application’. You can then click on browse and choose which application you want.


In the above picture I have also added a restart computer command and then a second install application command. To do this you simply click the add button at the top of the task sequence and then choosing the option. I find it better to add a restart after it installs the software as most require a restart to work.




With all this done. You will need to update the deployment share. To do this you will need to go into the MDT workbench software, right click on ‘MDT DeploymentShare’ subfolder and then choose ‘update deploymentshare’. Leave everything as the default and click next, next and then finish. You should be able to see if the computer has updated the boot files. If it has then you will need to change them on the WDS software. I will go through this now.

Updating the boot file in WDS

Run the ‘windows deployment services’ program. On the left hand side click on the server and then the boot folder. In this you will be able to see all the boot files available. Right click on the boot folder and choose ‘Add boot image’

On the first box that comes up browse to the newly created lite touch boot image. These are normally stored under your 'DeploymentshareFolder\boot' folder and are called “LiteTouchPE_x86”. Then click next.

You can then change its name to something else (up to you), and then click next. Click next again and the boot image will be installed.


Once this is all done you are ready to deploy the image.

Reboot the computer and pxe boot to the boot images. Choose the one you want and let it load. It should ask you for authentication ( you will need to provide your root account details) and then the computer name. After this everything is automatically done and you should have no problems.


I hope you've found all this useful.

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