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Deploying and Capturing Images: Which Unattend.xml is used?

Answered Deploying and Capturing Images: Which Unattend.xml is used?

  • Friday, February 01, 2013 1:05 PM
     
     
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    Hi,

    I'm using MDT 2012 to do something quite simple; 1) Deploy Windows 7 Vanilla to a Client PC, 2) Customise the Start Menu, 3) Capture image of Client PC, 4) Deploy to different Client PC.

    I have 3 task sequences in MDT 2012 which are self-explanitory; 1) DeployVanilla, 2) CaptureImage, 3) DeployCustomImage -  Each has it's own unattend.xml file within the \\server\deploymentshare$\control\<taskname> folder but I'm not sure which one I should be adding values such as <copyprofile> to?

    Here is what I have observed:

    Amending unattend.xml in CAPTURE sequence only; Once I have deployed and customised the Refernece PC I run \\server\deploymentshare$\script\LTIxx.vbs from within Windows to kick-off the capture sequence. A few things happen and Sysprep starts. Now I quickly navigated to the c:\windows\system32\sysprep folder on the reference machine and opened Unattend.xml and noticed that this had been copied from the capture sequence on the deployment server and contained the values I had set, such as <copyprofile>true <skiprearm>1 etc... Great I though, then the system reboots, goes into WindowsPE and captures a .WIM to the server. After capture, the reference PC reboots, goes through the "Starting Windows for the first time" business and hey presto the Start Menu is still customised. Brilliant I thought, is captured an image and syspreped using the values I had set!!!

    However, when I deploy my CAPTURE.WIM to another client PC, it goes through the "Starting Windows for the first time" business, but this time the Start Menu icons are back to default! This leads me to belive it had been syspreped, but had not read the unattend.xml

    So I amended the unattend.xml in the DEPLOYCUSTOMIMAGE sequence also, and when I deploy my custom image now everything is set perfectly.

    So why am I boring you with all this? Well I'd like to understand why this is happening; Does this mean that the image is Syspreped just before Capture and then again during Deployment? Or is it syspreped with the capture - unattend.xml and then when deployed does it merge with the deploy - unattend.xml

    It seems mad that I have to specify the same settings in both unattend.xml files.

    I look forward to you thoughts...

    Thanks,

    Matt Courtman, Network Manager, Cromwell Community College, UK

     

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  • Friday, February 01, 2013 1:37 PM
     
     
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    i think what happens is that when you use that captured image with a new task sequence it uses the unattend.xml from MDT instead of the one that is in the image and when you would install that image standalone it would use the unattended.xml that was included in the image.

    hope that makes any sense, don't know if it actually is so though but that is the only thing i can think of what might be happening.

     
  • Friday, February 01, 2013 7:23 PM
     
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    In your deployment share, navigate to \\server\share\Control\<TaskSequenceID folder>. You'll see two XML files: TS.xml (the task sequence) and Unattend.xml. That particularly Unattend.xml is what's used when that particularly task sequence is used. You can edit the Unattend.xml catalog file by finding the TS in your workbench, going to Properties, selecting "OS Info", and then clicking Edit Unattend.xml. WSIM will be invoked so you can make the appropriate changes. Whenever the TS is used to image a device, it will then use that edited version of Unattend.xml. [More specifically, DISM will use the Unattend.xml after the image has been deployed (while still in PE) but before the initial boot.]

    -Nick O.

    • Proposed As Answer by ShadAcker Thursday, February 07, 2013 9:04 PM
    • Marked As Answer by mcourtman Saturday, February 16, 2013 10:22 PM
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  • Thursday, February 07, 2013 9:04 PM
     
     
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    Nick could NOT be more accurate! :)


    ~Shadster

     
  • Tuesday, February 12, 2013 9:25 PM
     
     
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    Thanks for your posts guys. Just let me confirm, as this is what I see happen...

    Capture Sequence: First, unattended.xml is copied from \\Server\DeploymentShare\Control\CaptureSeq\ to the reference PC, it then performs sysprep and uses this xml file for the /generalise phase. System reboots and capture begins. The result is a custom image of Windows 7 is saved to a .WIM file on the server.

    Deploy Sequence: After downloading and applying the .WIM image from the server, DISM.exe is used to inject unattended.xml from \\Server\DeploymentShare\Control\DeploySeq\ then when the system reboots Sysprep continues and uses this new xml file for the /oobe phase

    ...this is how I see it, does this sound correct?

    Thanks, Matt

    Matt Courtman, Network Manager, Cromwell Community College, UK

     
  • Tuesday, February 12, 2013 9:35 PM
     
     
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    yep!
    • Edited by ShadAcker Tuesday, February 12, 2013 9:36 PM typo
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  • Wednesday, February 13, 2013 8:00 AM
     
     
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    that is correct.
     
  • Saturday, February 16, 2013 10:22 PM
     
     
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    That's great, thanks for your help!

    Matt Courtman, Network Manager, Cromwell Community College, UK