Part 4 of 4: Desired Configuration Manager and Network Access Protection As more clients and servers are added to your environment, the task of managing these resources becomes much more complex. Knowing the range of available hardware and software, while keeping the machines current with the latest...

Part 3 of 4: Operating System Deployment and Software Update Management: As more clients and servers are added to your environment, the task of managing these resources becomes much more complex. Knowing the range of available hardware and software, while keeping the machines current with the latest...

Part 2 of 4: Site Server Roles: As more clients and servers are added to your environment, the task of managing these resources becomes much more complex. Knowing the range of available hardware and software, while keeping the machines current with the latest applications and patch updates can become...

Part 1 of 4: The Administrator Console: This four-part series introduces you to System Center Configuration Manager 2007. As more clients and servers are added to your environment, the task of managing these resources becomes much more complex. Knowing the range of available hardware and software, while...

One of great new features of the USMT 4.0 is the ability to perform Offline User State Capture. We’ll discuss both offline options available, Windows PE and windows.old directory. We will cover when you would use this feature and what it actually migrates. We’ll finish off the session with a demonstration...

In part 4 of this series we’ll drill down in the Hard-link Migration option, one of the most compelling new features of USMT. We’ll look at why it greatly enhances the performance of a migration and finally we’ll see how to use the Scanstate and Loadstate tools. Resource Links User State Migration Tool...

Before we take a look at the two scenarios, Refresh Computer and Replace Computer, we’ll review the different types of migration stores available. We’ll look at the migration xml files and show how we can do some simple customizations. Resource Links User State Migration Tool 4.0 User's Guide USMT 4...

Today’s session we’ll look at some of the new features of User State Migration Tool (USMT) 4.0 including the Hard-link Migration Store, improved space estimation and integration with SCCM and MDT. We’ll drill down into a detailed discussion of exactly what the USMT 4.0 migrates and what it doesn’t. Resource...

In this session I’ll review the benefits and limitations of the USMT 4.0. I’ll look at what versions of the Windows are supported for migration as well as what different options for user state migration are available for small, medium and large businesses. At the end of the session I’ll demonstrate the...

  There are many questions and misunderstandings surrounding application compatibility which can leave your customer in a state of fear or worse, paralysis. If you are not already conversant in application compatibility then join us for an overview of the types of questions customers are asking...

Custom Edit the Deployment Wizard to Add a New Page   In the final part of the seven part series we’ll see how we can do further customizations to the MDT deployments.  We’ll use the MDT 2010 Wizard editor from CodePlex to modify our Windows Deployment Wizard .  In this demonstration we...

Using Linked Deployment Points In our demonstration we have a Test deployment share that has been populated with some deployment assets suchs as application, operating systems, out-of-box drivers and packages.  So how do I easily get the deployment assets I’ve tested into a production environment...

Configuring the Deployment Point to Use the Configuration Database In order for the properties populated in configuration database to be of any use, the database must be tied to a deployment point. In this demonstration we’ll look at how to configure the database rules which basically tells what needs...

Configuring Other Methods in the Configuration Database In this demonstration we’re going to go through creating examples of the other three role methods and will assign role methods created earlier: Refresh User and Managed Computer . With all methods we can associate properties settings, applications...

Configuring Role Methods in the Configuration Database Role methods are used to target a group of computers based on a variety of criteria. As you will see there are four types of methods: Computers , Role , Locations , and Make and Model . The Role method is unique in that it can be assigned to other...

Create and Explore the Configuration Database The Microsoft Deployment Toolkit has the ability use a configuration database which provides a rich opportunity for customization of an automated deployment.  The configuration database is a logical extension of the configuration settings normally stored...

Reviewing the Available Options in the Deployment Workbench In this demonstration we’ll review the CustomSettings.ini file before we make any customizations to the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) . We’ll also look at what the default experience is from the client computers perspective and step through...

In this screencast I'll go through the process of deploying the custom image created in Part 7 of the series.  We will import the image into the Deployment Workbench and then create a Task Sequence to deploy the imported image to target computers in our environment.   Resources: Download Windows...

How do I get to a standard operating system image? In this screencast we’ll use the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 to first create, and then deploy a custom Windows 7 image to a Reference computer. The image is  then "Sysprepped" and captured, creating a custom, Windows image in the...

In this screencast we’ll continue to go through the Windows 7 deployment process using the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010.  Now we have installed the MDT 2010 and the WAIK for Windows 7, our next step is to configure the the MDT Deployment Workbench.  The first step is to create the deployment...

In this screencast we’ll look at what needs to be done to prepare the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 environment. We'll step through the installation of both the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 as well as the Windows AIK for Windows 7. Resources: Download Windows 7 Enterprise 90-day Trial today...

In this screencast I’ll review the software required for Lite Touch Installation (LTI) deployments.  Using MDT 2010 for the Lite Touch, High-Volume Deployment strategy streamlines deployment and reduces support costs by providing a more consistent configuration with fewer support calls. The Lite...

In this screencast I walk through the Windows 7 deployment process using the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010. Using the toolkit will help reduce support costs by providing a more consistent configuration. Resources: Download Windows 7 Enterprise 90-day Trial today Download the Microsoft Deployment...

In this screencast I talk about some of the free tools to help simplify Windows 7 deployment and make your job easier. Resources: Download Windows 7 Enterprise 90-day Trial today Download the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 Download WAIK for Windows 7 Learn more about the MDT 2010 Windows 7 Deployment...

    During this eight part series I’ll talk about how to use the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 to deploy Windows 7.  The first part in the series talks about why you should deploy Windows 7, walks you through the various Microsoft’s Deployment options.  It also talks about some...