Ideas - best method to add windows updates to images

[btdag]

Ok

 

This is an issue that's been bugging me for a long time now.

 

What methods do people use to get updates into their images?

 

Things I've tried and the reason they aren't working for me:

Creating images which are already updated

-- the images have to be updated every time new updates are released

Creating a WSUS Server

-- only supplies updates to Windows 7 Pro, Ent & Ult and Windows 8 Pro & Ent - however we use Windows 7 Home Prem & Windows 8 Standard

 

Possible Other Options:

MDT -- not sure how it will implement updates and because all of our systems are bespoke it doesn't really work that well

SCCM -- not sure how to use or even if this is a feature or implications of having entirely bespoke hardware for every system

 

Any ideas?

[Deano]

We are currently using MDT and the way we update the images is to deploy the current image to a workstation and then add the updates. Now sysprep and capture the image.

 

For SCCM, you can now inject new updates into the win without it being deployed.

[WinOutreach4]

You can use DISM to inject most updates to an offline image. This article from the ConfigMgrDogs blog on TechNet shows how this is done.

 

MDT can inject updates during the deployment if you add the updates as packages, or you can set MDT to look to your WSUS server or Windows Update during the deployment to make sure it is up to date. Since you have some versions of Windows that can’t use WSUS, having MDT call Windows Update is probably the best solution for your situation.

 

Another solution that I’ve seen used is to keep your base images running in VM’s, and when you need to update your image, snapshot the machine, then sysprep and capture. Then you can restore your snapshot to keep the base image from reaching the sysprep limit (which doesn’t exist on Windows 8).

 

More information about managing Windows is available on the Springboard Series on TechNet.

 

Hope this helps,

 

David

Windows Outreach Team – IT Pro

[btdag]

Thanks. I'll look into all of that.

 

What's the Sysprep limit for Windows 7?

[WinOutreach4]

While it is commonly referred to as the ‘Sysprep limit’ it is actually an activation reset limit. The TechNet article ‘How Sysprep Works’ has a section titled ‘Resetting Windows Activation’ that explains this in detail. To summarize, when Windows starts for the first time, it triggers the activation clock (30 days to activate Windows). So when you install Windows on a reference machine and start it up to customize, you have started the activation clock. When you sysprep this image to capture it, you have used the first reset (specifically, if you use the /generalize switch). Later, if you load your image on to a machine, start it up to run Windows update or update other software and run sysprep again to capture that image, you have started a second activation (when Windows starts) and then you are re-setting the activation when you sysprep to capture this updated image. Windows 7 has a limit of 3 ‘re-arms’ before you have to rebuild the image. Installing SP1 raises this limit by 1. When you have exceeded the limit, sysprep will fail and this support article explains that the image must be rebuilt.

 

Hope this helps,

 

David

Windows Outreach Team – IT Pro

The Springboard Series on TechNet

[crakeador]

btdag,

 

I am using virtual machines for do it. Basically I have installed a virtual machine with all updates + software + .... then before to sysprep I make a backup. Then I add a second hard drive and I do a "sysprep". I save the image in the hard drive added before and when it is finishes, I update the new image into WDS Server.

 

When new updates comes, or you need change software, you start with your backup.