If you're looking for the most comprehensive step-by-step guide for Windows Autopilot, I strongly recommend you to take a look to Robin Hobo's "Windows Autopilot – The ultimate step-by-step deployment guide".
It's just so simple, accessible and straight forward that you will start using Autopilot in a couple of hours.
So, go ahead and take a look to Robin Hobo's post:
Robin Hobo - Windows Autopilot – The ultimate step-by-step deployment guide
The world of Windows deployment is radically changing in the last couple of years with Windows 10.
With the introduction of Windows as a Service, Windows Autopilot and the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, the need to create a golden image and deploying it massively is no more the “only good scenario” available for enterprises.
Specifically the Windows Autopilot was a very nice way to give the user a machine where he only needed to login with it’s corporate device and the machine get all the corporate configurations.
But…in a lot of scenarios this was a poor experience for the end user that needed to wait a lot of time before he really could use the machine, specially in a poor network environment.
Thinking on this issue, Microsoft developed Windows Autopilot White Glove.
This basically allows IT Administrator to do all the initial work of pre-provisioning all “non-user specific” data. For example, corporate wide software.
After this pre-provisioning, when the user receives the machine, the Autopilot process just resumes the process for the “user-specific” configuration.
Take a look at Windows Autopilot White Glove in action:
Everyday more and more IT Professionals are getting in touch with something called Microsoft 365. And no, this is not Office 365, or better said, it’s not ONLY Office 365. It’s really more than that.
In fact…it’s a lot more than that!
Microsoft 365 it’s a large number of software solutions, almost all relying in the cloud, that allows users and IT Professionals to take advantage of the always connected world, making users get more productive everywhere but also allowing IT Administrators to manage users and devices…everywhere.
That’s one of the major benefits of Microsoft 365.
In this first post, I would like to share a Microsoft video that introduces some of the features available and the big picture of Microsoft 365. It’s a video about Windows and Office modern deployment but shows a lot of Microsoft 365 experience:
Here’s one excellent presentation during Microsoft Ignite 2018 with Johan and Ami Arwidmark.
Although not a in-depth presentation, it really touch's all different themes about Windows 10 deployment, from the traditional scenarios to the new one’s, like AutoPilot.
Take a look here:
Microsoft Office 365 is starting to be the “standard” version of Office suite all over the world.
For enterprises there’s always the need to customize this installation.
Sometime because you don’t want to install the all package, you need to install an additional language, configure the license activation method, etc.
For those with Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), Office Customization Tool it’s like “embedded”, for others there was the need to download Office Customization Tool.
Well, now you can create your xml file for Office 365 installation directly from the web!
With Office Customization Tool online you create and download the generated xml file to use with your deployment.
So, go ahead and give it a try here:
Microsoft Office Customization Tool
For more information about Office Customization Tool:
Overview of the Office Customization Tool
Just a quick link if you need to deploy Micro Focus (formerly Novell) Client.
It’s a nice and detailed website from Micro Focus on how to silently install, generate response files, etc.
Thumbs up to Micro Focus, would love other big companies do the same.
Novell Client - Understanding the Client Install Manager (nciman.exe)
Because you may need to create a new source installation of your Microsoft Office and gather all the necessary security updates, here’s a quick tip extract all *.exe Office updates to the Updates sources folder.
This is particularly useful because most of the time you’ll download the updates on *.exe format and has you may know, the automated install will look for *.msp files inside the Updates folder instead.
So, here are the necessary steps to do it:
For this example we’ll use the folder D:\Temp\10\Office where you’ll put all your downloaded *.exe files and you should create also D:\Temp\10\Office\Updates where the files will be extracted.
And you’re done!
If you’re creating a base or golden image with a lot of updates, it’s good to cleanup superseded components before saving your new wim file.
Here’s a simple way using DISM command line tool:
This will cleanup the superseded components.
Just be aware that after running the DISM command all existing service packs or updates cannot be uninstalled.
For a complete list of available commands and options just type this on an elevated prompt:
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /?
Following the previous article (Win10 Deploy – Customizing Start Menu and Forcing it with GPO) you could create a customized layout, force the layout to be applied but, the users could not pin any shortcuts they need.
If you want users to be able to do that, just follow these steps after exporting the xml file:
And it’s all done.
Now, you’re Start Menu layout has the pinned shortcuts you want (locked) and users are able to add they’re own shortcuts.
Here’s a nice option if you want to quickly start testing Microsoft Windows 10 deployment without all the troubles and hurdles of creating your environment.
Microsoft TechNet gives you a 32GB virtual lab with all that you need.
This is specially nice to test before creating your final production environment.
In this virtual lab you’ll get:
More information about this lab kit can be found here:
Windows 10 deployment and management lab kit
To download the lab kit directly:
Windows 10 Deployment and Management Lab Kit
WinSAT was formally introduced with Windows Vista to give some kind of benchmark of the PC and also to optimize a system based on a series of ratings.
A good example of this, it’s the ability to detect if your computer has a SSD drive, and if so, it disables Prefetch.
Here’s an excellent article from the guru Johan Arwidmark based on the research of Steven Kister where it shows the importance of using WinSAT formal at the end of your task sequences:
Why adding WinSAT formal to your task sequence can be a shiny thing to do
So, following the deployment tips series about drivers, here’s a wrap up of all posts:
Following other posts about drivers packs, today I would like to post about Lenovo Thinkpad drivers.
Lenovo uses a different terminology (SCCM Drivers) but of course they can be used direclty on MDT.
You’ll find this SCCM packages directly on Lenovo support website and basically you just need to select the model you need and you’ll find the drivers pack, or you can just Google something like “thinkpad t450 sccm drivers pack” and you’ll get directly to the download website.
Here’s an example: After searching for “thinkpad 440 sccm drivers” you’ll be redirect to http://support.lenovo.com/pt/en/downloads/ds030230 and you get the list of SCCM drivers available for that model and compatible models.
Following a series of posts about driver packs from the most notorious OEM manufacturers in the worlds, here’s the tip for HP manufacturer.
The website it’s well designed and very easy to navigate. You can always use HP SoftPaq Download Manager but…well..I just like to use this website instead.
Here’s the link:
HP Client Management Solutions - HP Driver Packs
Following the previous post about Intel PROSet/Wireless drivers for IT Administrators, here’s also a nice website, this time from Dell where you can download packs with CABs for Dell Enterprise class systems like Latitude, Optiplex and Precision.
This packs helps to simplify OS deployments on Dell systems using the usual deployment tools like Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) or Microsoft Deployment Kit (MDT).
Dell Command | Deploy - Driver Packs for Enterprise Client OS Deployment
So today, here’s a tip for every IT Administrator that need to download Intel PROSet/Wireless drivers.
Intel provides the below website where you can find drivers-only packages and also software for WiFi, Bluetooth, and WiMax.
This is obviously recommended for large corporations where packages size matters and of course, it helps to avoid installing a lot of “bloatware” usually available on drivers setup.
Intel® PROSet/Wireless Software and Drivers for IT Administrators
So…although you’re a geek and you really like to create your own scripts for managing your WIM files, sometimes you feel that a GUI app would be just great and it would really be a time saver.
Some of you may already know a tool called GImageX but from my experience I think this one its superior.
VDISM, available throungh SourceForge website, it’s a fenomenal tool with a very simple interface that gives you access through a graphical interface to all things you need for servicing WIM files.
It’s really really easy to use and so intuitive that you will probably will not use command-line anymore.
Features:
Go ahead and try this great tool: SourceForge – VDISM
