So what unattended tool should I go for?

[zoobooboozoo]

Hi all, haven't been to the whole unattended business in quite a while(since Win7 came out),

and I'm bewildered by the different stickies and info on the net.

I've noticed some tools in the sticky are quite dead activity-wise and I wondered:

what is the most updated/generally recommended tool for creating an unattended install of windows 7?

I also noticed there's a WAIK tool by Microsoft that weighs about 1.5GB - which seems excessive, is it something worth looking into?

Thx in advance, ZBBZ.

Edited July 1, 2013 by zoobooboozoo

[Tripredacus]

The WAIK is indeed large but I think it is worth it. But you should probably get the ADK for Windows 8 instead. I don't know about any of the tools that are out there, I don't use any of them.

[zoobooboozoo]

Thanks trip, but why should I get ADK for windows 8 if I intended to unattended windows 7 ?

also, this is the WAIK i downloaded., is it the latest?

My link

Edited July 2, 2013 by zoobooboozoo

[Tripredacus]

ADK is the newest version of WAIK. It works fine with Windows 7, Vista and of course Windows 8. For some reason MS stopped calling it WAIK and just calls it ADK now.

[zoobooboozoo]

I got ADK and I watched a couple of tutorials on youtube, but there where doing things kinda differently from each other.

I know Windows PE is like a "Live" Windows version(if I'm not mistaken) that can be started up from a CD, and I didn't get why in one of the tutorials the guy loaded the setup PE component to the answer file.

I would also like to know where should I add each component(there's the 7-oobe and 6 other "places" to put it).

Is there a good guide or KB on using the ADK for an unattended installation?

[Tripredacus]

Iceman's tutorial for WinPE is still relevant for ADK, obviously paths are going to be different.

Regarding answer file questions, check out this thread:

[WinOutreach4]

If you use the Windows System Image Manager (WSIM) that is built into the ADK, it will show you where it is possible to add the components. Some can go in several of the passes, but where you put them depends on exactly what you are trying to do.

For your example of the tutorial where settings were put in the PE pass (assuming they were language settings), that automates the setup language selection. So you would not see the language selection screen any more during the beginning of a deployment. You would have to also add it in the OOBE pass to set the deployed OS language.

It may be in your best interest to also install the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT). MDT is a free task based deployment solution that uses the tools in the ADK (and more) to simplify deployments. You do not need to write your own answer files, as MDT will build it for you based on the settings you specify in the task sequence. It can also manage device drivers and install other software during the deployment process. These two videos area great introduction to MDT:

Deployment Day Session 1: Introduction to MDT 2012

Deployment Day Session 2: MDT 2012 Advanced

If you also have a Windows Server, MDT can use the WDS role to deploy over the network using PXE booting.

More information on MDT and the ADK are available on the Deliver and Deploy Windows 8 page of the Springboard Series on TechNet

Hope this helps,

David

Windows Outreach Team – IT Pro

Edited July 8, 2013 by WinOutreach4