how can I CAPTURE an Image using WDS

[anyweb]

This guide assumes you have already setup WDS as described here

 

Part 1 - add boot.wim to WDS

 

 

Step 1. Get your Windows Vista DVD ready.

 

Step 2. Insert the DVD and start WDS (windows deployment services) gui.

 

 

Step 3. In the Left Pane of WDS, select boot images

 

Step 4. In the Right Pane, right click the mouse and choose 'Add Boot Image'.

 

Step 5. In the Add Image Wizard, click the Browse button and browse to the Sources folder on your Vista DVD that you inserted in Step 2.

 

 

Step 6. Highlight the file called boot.wim and click Open, once done Click Next

 

 

Step 7. In the next window, change the Image name from "Microsoft Windows Longhorn Setup (x86)" to 'WDS - Windows XP/Vista Deployment'

 

Step 8. Change the image description to 'WDS to capture/deploy images from windows-noob.com'

 

Step 9. Click next to review the settings, and next again to proceed.

 

 

Step 10. After the file copying is complete click on Finish.

 

[anyweb]

have you familiarised yourself with this section in Technet yet ? it does go into some detail about DFS for WDS

 

you can easily update content within offline images using imagex, the following post will give you some clues about how to inject drivers into an image

 

The switch you need to make your images smaller is called /append

 

you can get a full list of imagex command line switches here on Technet

 

i hope this helps

 

cheers

anyweb

[ckltd740]

Hello all,

I'm new to this site, but found your posts on this topic very useful. However, all works well for me in WDS up until I get to the point of capturing my target PC image. After selecting the option to upload my image directly to the WDS server and connecting successfully, my FINISH button is greyed out. I can only get the button to work if I select a local disk to copy my image to as well as the upload. I enabled both options and WDS says the process completed successfully, but I do not see the image on my WDS server with the Install Image Group that I originally selected. Any ideas?

ck

[anyweb]

what user did you do that as and did you try a Refresh in the WDS gui ?

[ckltd740]

I connected as a local administrator to the WDS server.

 

Per your question, I closed the WDS console and re-opened. The image was there...sometimes we as techs forget to try the simplest of things...

 

However, I'm still not understanding why the FINISH button only activates when selecting a local disk to copy the image to. Is selecting the copy to disk option the only way to get this to work with uploading the image to the WDS server?

[anyweb]

yes i believe that it has to create the image first locally, then it uploads that wim file to the server,

 

at least in my experience it has

 

cheers

anyweb

[RGB09]

yes i believe that it has to create the image first locally, then it uploads that wim file to the server,

 

at least in my experience it has

 

cheers

anyweb

 

Hi I have used WDS before, more familiar with RIS however, I am running into some problem trying to use the WSIM when I try to select an image it tells me that the location does not contain a valid windows image, which is strange as it is the site image that we use to deploy vista business... any ideas??

I have managed to deploy and capture an image before when I worked for another company?

[anyweb]

hi there,

 

are you having a WSIM problem ? if so please post it in the Windows SIM section,

 

or if you have a WDS problem post it in this section in a new topic,

 

i'm closing this topic now

 

cheers

anyweb