Building Windows 7 Enterprise x64 Image [2] – Test Deployment Base OS & Core Apps

OK, start deployment capture using MDT 2010 Update 1 capture platform. Apply Windows PE capture step fails. Capture task eventually reports 8 errors. Logs are written to C:\MININT subdirectories and %temp%\SMSTSLog folder and %temp%\smsts.log.

Try updating deployment share. Install 7Entx64 as OS in MDT. Update deployment share again to use new OS boot images. This time capture task is going OK. Can’t RDP into captured machine due to network disconnect during Sysprep. Continue with direct access. Capture completed successfully, 0 errors.

Test deployment to target platform (6550b laptop). Will try to deploy this image on MDT 2010 Update 1 instead of Gold. Received an error about networking driver not installed after starting the Deployment Wizard (The following networking device did not have a driver installed. PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_10EB&SUBSYS_1471103C&REV_05). Abort MDT2 deployment. Download Intel network drivers from HP, import drivers, update deployment share & burn new LiteTouch CD.

Retry deployment on 6550b. Wizard starts & connects OK. Wizard commences deployment @ 14:36. Windows 7 install sequence commenced. Deployment completed automated around 15:11.

Still have a few devices not installed with this image so the drivers need to be injected in a custom deployment task sequence which is some way off yet. Next step is to install Feature Apps into the deployment image, recapture, test this then create the platform specific task for the Probook 6550b.

Building Windows 7 Enterprise x64 Image / Home PC

We have started deploying new laptops (HP Probook 6550b) with 4 GB RAM so x64 Windows 7 is the preferred OS due to 3.5 GB limit of x32 Windows. Previous image covered in the series of articles starting here was 32 bit Pro generic and specific, now building 64 bit Ent generic / specific. I expect most desktops hereon in to have 64 bit OS eventually standardising on this except special cases.

Basic deployment steps:

• Deploy OS to target platform
• Deploy “core apps” (Office, SEP, SMS, Adobe, Smartboard)
• Capture generic x64 OS + core apps image
• Deploy “feature apps” (e.g. Firefox, Google Earth etc)
• Capture generic x64 OS + core apps + feature apps image
• Either one of the following:
• Deploy to specific platform for image capture & deployment
• Deploy this image to specific hardware platform (Probook 6550b for example)
• Make any specific hardware customisations
• Capture platform specific image
• Test image deployment
• Create platform specific task sequence for deployment
• Create specific task sequence
• Inject platform specific drivers (in addition to Windows driver injection)
• Install platform specific applications
• Test task sequence deployment

The above is a summary of my experience to date in the MDT system as well as some possible options for future exploration. Obviously MDT is a specialised system that I need to have some knowledge of, but I am not an expert in this system as I do not use it every day. For deployment to specific platforms to date (only one so far) I have preferred to use a customised task and this will probably be the means implemented for 64 bit deployment. Also I have two MDT environments, one used for capture and the other for deployment.

Building new home PC continues with purchase of motherboard. Next month will buy the CPU and RAM hoping to complete assembly in a few weeks. Delivery of memory for T5720 thin client expected shortly so can test capabilities soon.

LCD Form Factor Trend Hype

New laptops being shipped today have a native resolution of 1366x768. Previously it was 1280x800. Before that it was 1024x768.

Considering I can get 1280x1024 or 1440x900 on the desktop the trend to increase only the width of the screen while keeping the height roughly the same seems backward. Application and OS design favours horizontal toolbars which increase in size over time, for example the Office 2007 Ribbon etc. This then presumes that screen height will increase over time. However the emphasis of LCD manufacturers of late in base models has been geared towards increasing the width leaving the height essentially unchanged. The screen starts to look very cluttered when considering the height of these screens is essentially unchanged since the days of 17” glass, and that’s probably going back more than 10 years. Recently I was working on a HP 8510 laptop with a native resolution of 1680x1050 approx, a huge difference in resolution and one that makes the screen sizes of mid range business laptops look positively antiquated.