Create Basic WinPE USB Drive - Windows 10

Scenario

You want to create a basic (no frills) bootable drive with WinPE on it.  In this case we will be using the Windows 10 ADK tools.

What you will need:

• Windows 10 ADK - https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/dn913721.aspx
• USB Drive
• DISM GUI (Optional) - https://dismgui.codeplex.com/

Step by Step Setup of MDT 2013 Update 2 Server

SCENARIO

You want a quick walk through on how to setup MDT 2013 Update 2 so that you can get started using it in your environment.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

1. A server OS - Server 2008 R2 or higher.  We will be using Server 2012 R2 in this scenario.
2. Windows Deployment Services role installed on our server.
3. Download MDT 2013 Update 2. You can find it here.
4. Download Windows ADK for Windows 10. You can find that here.
5. Client OS (Win7, Win8, Win10) - whatever you plan on deploying.
6. Drivers for the machines you are deploying to.

Driver Packs

Manufactures make driver packs for their various models.  Use these!!!

HP x64 Drivers - http://ftp.hp.com/pub/caps-softpaq/cmit/HP_Driverpack_Matrix_x64.html

HP x86 Drivers - http://ftp.hp.com/pub/caps-softpaq/cmit/HP_Driverpack_Matrix_x86.html

HP WinPE Drivers - http://ftp.hp.com/pub/caps-softpaq/cmit/HP_WinPE_DriverPack.html

Dell Drivers - http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/enterprise-client/w/wiki/2065.dell-command-deploy-driver-packs-for-enterprise-client-os-deployment

Lenovo Drivers - https://support.lenovo.com/cy/en/documents/ht074984

Building a Basic Windows 7 Hardware Independent Image

This post should give you the basics in how to build a Windows 7 image that contains drivers for many different models.  Image creation can be fairly straight forward or it can be very involved depending on how much you want to customize it.

What you will need:

1. Windows 7 Installation CD / DVD
2. WAIK installed on your computer
3. A computer to build the image on (if you have VMWare or a HyperV server that would be better)
4. A USB flash drive large enough to hold your image and WinPE (8 gig drive is OK if your image is pretty thin, 16 gig drive should do it unless your image is really big)

Outline for making a Hardware Independent XP Image

For anyone interested in building a hardware independent XP image, here is a quick outline on how to make one.

1. Install Windows XP Pro on a computer that has a multi-processor HAL.  You can determine if your computer is a multiprocessor by right clicking on "My Computer" and then clicking on "Manage".  Then go to "Device Manager" and expand "Computer".

2. Do NOT install third party drivers.

3. Collect drivers from all model desktops you will be supporting.  A good tool to extract drivers can be found here.  There are other utilities that you can use, but this is a good one you can use.  Once you have extracted the drivers from all model's put them all in a folder called "drivers".  This will go in your sysprep folder later on.