Build and Capture Operating System Image

In my last few articles, you have seen how to install system center configuration manager (SCCM), configuring a boundary, doing inventory, deploying software packages and finally deploying operating system from a reference computer.

In this article you will see how to build new windows xp computer and at the same time how to capture the image. To be frank with you this is the article which I suppose to release it little bit earlier because for understanding\learning purpose I started to build  an OS image and faced lots of challenges, but later I realized that this would be bit advance for new guys to understand it at one instance so I started to release article just on deploying the operating system image and then software package.
Before going through this article I would strongly recommend you to read all my previous articles. And very importaning article which you should go through is  Windows XP with SP2 Deployment (OSD) through SCCM - Zero Touch Installation Method

I hope you will have fun in this article if you are taking this as a reference for your deployment.

All lab setup is done under Virtual PC 2007.






My Labsetup:
1) Maindc.happy.com – Active Directory Server which holding the role of DNS & DHCP
2) newsccm.happy.com – my one and only sccm server
3) Winxp – This is going to be a new xp machine where yet to install operating system.

Goal: The winxp machine in which I am going to deploy need to be a reference computer, however I don’t find any administrator who can go to that specific hardware and install the operating system. So my management asked me to push an OS software to that hardware along with Ms-Office2007 and make that computer image as a reference image for other hardware’s as a part of deployment.
I think the above goal what I explained is easy understandable and can be achieved by mode of SCCM. Let see how to achieve it.

Prerequisites:
• Configure DHCP Server properly
• Configure SCCM Server
• Have a soft copy of windows xp operating system (put it in the shared drive)
• Have a Hardware Drivers (For me I took Virtual PC Drivers)

Configure the DHCP Server (Optional):
 It is very important to configure PXE Client scope reason behind this is whenever any new client computer is bought into the network, the dhcp server will assign an ip address but inorder to reach to pxe point server it will take time to search and get the broadcasted PXE point server so inorder to avoid those consequence of the delay we need to configure PXE client Scope. As I said earlier it is configured by default, we need to enable that 060 PXE client option. Inorder, to configure and enable it please click on this link and go to point number 8 Configure PXE Client Scope Option.

Configure the SCCM Server:
 I won’t cover most of the configuration part of SCCM server except the configuration of Operating System Deployment because it has been covered in one of my previous article which talks about zero touch installation so I would recommend you all to refer that article for achieving the below steps
1) Enable Windows Deployment Service
2) Install Windows Deployment Service
3) Create a boundaries for your AD Site
4) Configure Client Agents
5) Install PXE service Point
6) Configure the configmgr integration
7) Configure Windows Deployment Service
8) Configure Windows Deployment Service
For more details on the above task click here to know how to install\ configure it

9) Create a collection:
It is always best practice to create new collection set for building and capturing the image, inorder to do this:
        a. Open SCCM Console
        b. Expand Site Database => Computer Management
        c. Right click on Collections => then click on New Collections
        d. Give a name for your collections and create it.
                In my lab I created collection name as Build and Caputre
Figure1:

 
10) Create a package from Microsoft Configuration Manager Client and then distribute it: This is part of the requirement.
11) Create a package for MsOffice 2007 and distribute it: Before running this application during deployment I will show you one small configuration which you need to make as part of requirement during OSD
12) Configure the boot image
13) Create a Operating System Install Package
This is the place where you need to have your windows xp soft copy as an package inorder to do this:
        Open SCCM Console
            • Expand Site Database
            • Expand Computer Management
            • Expand Operating System Deployment
            • Right click "Operating System Install Packages" => click on "Add Operating System Install Package"
            • This will open the following wizard, under source directory give the network path of Windows XP shared folder path
Figure 2:

 
             Then in the General : give a friendly name for your package
Figure 3:
 

             Then click on Next and finish this configuration wizard with the default setting
             Then create a copy in the local distribution point, i.e expand this package => distribution point and create a new distribution point and select the shared DP and complete the  process.

14) Import Drivers:
Before the actual operating system to be installed it is very important to install the proper drivers for the hardware. So we need to import the appropriate drivers which we get from vendor like DELL, HP etc.
In my lab as I am using virtual pc I have kept soft of copy of virtual pc drivers, so inorder to do this:
            • Expand Site Database
            • Expand Computer Management
            • Expand Operating System Deployment
            • Right click "Drivers" => click on "Import"
            • This will open the following wizard, under Locate Driver give the network path of Virtual Machine Driver shared folder path.
Figure 4:

 
             Next screen will show you the importing driver details and categories: Here just for our reference click on Categories and create a category for these drivers, in my lab I have given the name as Virtual PC Drivers
Figure5:

 
             Then next screen appear for “Add Driver to Packages” : Don’t add it let it be the default one simply click on next
             Add Driver to Boot Image : Don’t Select boot image x86 and also don’t select update the DP option and click on NEXt
Figure 6:


 
         Then click on next, it will import the drivers and finish the process
Small twist which will reduce your troubleshooting burden:
When we are doing this kind of lab test in virtual pc, vmware or Virtual Server we use to blindly import all the possible drivers and the reason is we don’t know which are the actual drivers we require it and end up with the following error:
Figure7:

 
If you see the above error message : it is giving an error called as “wpeinint.exe” – This application has failed to start because wdi.dll was not found.
The reason behind this 90% of the time improper driver support which we import i.e mixing of 32bit and 64 bit drivers. Let me show what I am explaining here, just simply click on Drivers it will display the following drivers for virtual pc and notice the marked one
Figure 8:


 
If you see the above screen inside the driver you will notice that we have one driver VM Additions S3 Trio32/64, what I feel based on my testing is this is related to something with 64 bit now you might wondering how can I say this might cause the above error message, this thing I came to know by reading SMSTS.log. So SMSTs.log is very much important for us for troubleshooting OSD scenario
Anyway now what we should do inorder to have clean installation method, simple select that one and click on Delete and then select the above 2 drivers and click on “Add or Remove Drivers to Boot Image” and select x86

15) Create a Driver Package:
             Open SCCM Console
             Expand Site Database
             Expand Computer Management
             Expand Operating System Deployment
             Right click "Driver Packages" => click on New and then Driver Package
             This will open the following wizard
Figure 9:

 
If you see the above screen I have shared one folder called as Driver to add the driver package

         Then go back to Driver and select only two drivers and click on “add drivers to a Package” and select the “Virtual PC Driver”
Figure10:
 
             Then configure the distribution point for Virtual PC Driver

16) Import Microsoft Deployment Task Sequence:
This task sequence will help us to create a MDT files and other package like sysprep pacakages. Inorder to do this:
            • Open SCCM Console
            • Expand Site Database
            • Expand Computer Management
            • Expand Operating System Deployment
            • Right click "Task Sequence" => Right click it and click on "Import Microsoft Deployment Task Sequence"
            • This will open the following wizard and select “Client Task Sequence”
Figure11:

 
             In the general : Give a friendly name – I have given it as “Microsoft Deployment Task Sequence” and click on Next

             Details : select as workgroup (reason – capturing image should always be in a workgroup), give the path where you want to capture the image i.e .WIM format, I have chosen file://servername/sharedfolder/capture.wim and give the user id who is having the rights to write this capture image
Figure 12:

 
             Boot Image : Select x86 image because already we have created and click on NEXT

             MDT Package : Select option to create this MDT Package and give the shared folder path
Figure 13:

 
             Under OS image : Select the option “select an existing OS Install Package” and select  the windows xp sp2 package which we have created
Figure 14:

 
             Client Package : Select "Specify an existing ConfigMgr client Package" and browse to "Configuration Manager Client Upgrade"
Figure 15:

 
             USMT Package : Select "Create a new USMT package" and browse to the user migration folder which you have it and then under package source folder select the shared folder where you want this package, in my case it is a new computer so  i just created for a name sake.
Figure 16:

 
             Setting Package: Select "Create a new setting package" and browse to a shared folder where you want this package to be created
Figure 17:

 
             Sysprep Package: Select "Create a new Sysprep package" under the "Path to Sysprep executable and related file" browse to windows xp soft copy folder => support => tools" and under "package source folder to be created" select one shared folder where you want that sysprep to be dumped
Figure 18:

 

            Now it will create a BDD package
Figure 19:

 
Now we have created Microsoft Deployment Task Sequence either you can run this existing one or you can create your own customized task sequence. I am not going to use any MDT package or USMT package just I am going to use sysprep package, so there is lots of chance my deployment will fail. Keep in mind, create the task sequence only with the required things.

17) Create a customized task sequence:
             Open SCCM Console
             Expand Site Database
             Expand Computer Management
             Expand Operating System Deployment
             Right click "Task Sequence" => Right click it and click on New => task sequence
             This will open the following wizard : Select "Build and capture a reference operating system image"
Figure 20:

 
             Under Task Sequence Information : give a friendly name and select Boot image x86
Figure 21:

 
             Install windows : Select operating syste package, give product key and select "Always use the same administrator password" and leave it blank.
Figure 22:

 
             Configure Network : select workgroup and click on Next
Figure 23:

 
              Install ConfigMgr : Select Client Configuration Software package
Figure 24:

 
             Install updates : If you WSUS configured then you need to configure, I select “Do not update option”
             Install Update : Selected MSOffice 2007 Package, but when you select it program id will be blank as per the below figure
Figure 25:

 
            Inorder to resolve the issue : go to Msoffice program package and select this option “ Whether or not user logged in” under environment tab
Figure 26:

 
             Now come back to your customized task sequence wizard and click on software update and select msOffice2007
Figure 27:

 
             Under System Preparation : select sysprep package and click on NEXt
Figure 28:

 
             Capture Image : Select the path where you want this image to be captured
Figure 29:

 
Then finish the process.
             Then right click the customized task sequence, click on EDIT => Then click on "Apply Device Drivers" and select the appropiate Driver Package
Figure 30:


Note : Before you could advertise this task sequence, please create a distribution point for all the packages like Sysprep package in other words the packages which you select under this task sequence other wise it will fail. I have created new distribution for all software packages.

18) Advertise the customize task sequence:
             Open SCCM Console
             Expand site database
             Expand Computer Management
             Expand Operating System Deployment
             Click on "Task Sequences"
             Right click the customized task sequence, in my case it is Built and capture taks sequence" and click on Advertise
             It will open the following wizard : Select the collection , in my case build and capture
Figure 31:

 
19) Import the new computer information under the built and capture collection: To know about how to import new collection click here and go to point number 7

Boot the new hardware it will get installed with the new OS image along with Office 2007 application and the reason is just because I have added MS-Office 2007 as a software package while building the OS.

Now it will build an windows xp operating system, at the same time it will run sysprep so that it will loose the existing sid-value, network identification etc and finally it will create a WIM image , It will have the flow installation based on the below task sequence:
Figure 32:

 
20) Then Add the WIM under Operating System Image : To know to how to add Operating System Image click here and go to the point 3 : Adding Operating System Image

I hope this article is being very informative to you all, thanks for sharing your time and patience in this matter.

Related Articles:

System Center Configuration Manager Articles


Upcoming Article:
Configuring WSUS Server – SCCM

Reference Articles:

SCCM 2007 and Microsoft Deployment Toolkit - Video Walkthrough This link is complete video on OSD deployment of vista i.e zero method and Lite method installation.

Implementing Configuration Manager 2007 (SMS V4) OSD : This link take you to OSD deployment procedures.

Logs SCCM 2007 : This link is very very important which talks about the logs file description and this is very important for the troubleshooting.

Windows XP with SP2 Deployment (OSD) through SCCM - Zero Touch Installation Method