So I have been doing some work with powercfg - and found it a very useful tool for scripting power management options during builds. This command utility is installed with Windows Vista and you can use it to control power settings and configure computers...

Dan Cunningham has written a GUI wrapper for the User State Migration Tool (USMT) In Dan's interface, USMT provides the logic and mechanisms for the actual capture / restore process, but because USMT is entirely command-line, Dan decided to set about...

One thing that seems to stump a number of people with BDD 2007 is using the CustomSettings.ini file (accessible via the Rules tab) to automate the deployment wizards. The usual issues are around differing language settings for Windows XP and Windows Vista...

As I have worked with different customers, a number of common requests often pop up for changes during build creation on deployment. For Windows XP deployment, I built up a library of VB scripts that carried out most of the customisations that I required...

For those that haven't seen it , we have just released the SCCM 2007 Toolkit for download. This excellent toolkit contains: Client Spy - A tool to help troubleshoot issues related to software distribution, inventory, and software metering on Configuration...

Over the past few months, many of the clients I have been working with have started deploying Windows Vista into their environment. One thing that commonly crops up is that the Windows Vista Network Location prompt fires up on all newly built machines...

One of the things that I am often required to obtain for customers are certain WMI tags so that we can write task sequence IF statements and provide the build process with some logic. Gathering these WMI tags can be tricky, so we put together a VB Script...

As promises - I will start to deep dive into the areas that I consider when working with clients on Windows Vista deployment projects...in Windows Vista Client Build and Deployment Process , I presented the diagram used when scoping deployment projects...

Have had a couple of requests to cover creating multiple partitions using BDD 2007. By default BDD 2007 creates a single partition (C:) that then builds out with your required OS and applications via the task sequencer. The partition and format information...

My MCS colleague and top deployment gent - Mark Aslett has put together a handy process list for how device drivers are added to Windows PE and Windows Vista during deployment. The example below assumes than an unattend.xml file is being used to specify...

So - I get asked a lot about how to set up a test lab or Proof of Concept environment for Lite Touch and Zero Touch. Working with my colleages in the MCS UK desktop team, specifically Mark Aslett and Adam Shepherd, we have developed a rough guide to a...

I've been asked by a few people about the RequestComputerName.vbs script that i use in the ZTI configuration demo video posted earlier. The script prompts the technician for a computername at the start of the deployment process and stores it as an OSD...

The BDD team have announced that Deployment 4 (the code name for the next version of Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007) has been released as BETA 3 and unifies the tools and processes required for desktop and server deployment into a common deployment...

I've had a couple of emails from people attempting to use their own admin accounts to carry out the build process and hitting User Account Control (UAC) issues. User Account Control is a core security feature of Windows Vista that fundamentally changes...

In Windows Vista Client Build and Deployment Process , I presented the diagram that I use when scoping deployment projects, so in this post I'll continue discussing the process in more detail - previous posts have covered Infrastructure Prerequisites...

I wanted to point you in the direction of a document that helps with moving from Remote Installation Services (RIS) to Windows Deployment Services (WDS) on Windows Server 2003. Many of the clients that I consult for are big RIS users, so this whitepaper...

My colleague in MCS UK, Adam Shepherd has come up with a solution to dynamically set the machine and model information in the Windows Vista System Properties as part of the build process... the System properties page can be used to show OEM type information...

Deployment Forum is a new community Web site devoted to IT professionals deploying Windows. Myself and fellow MCS blogger Ben Hunter, as well as MCS architect Steve Campbell have taken up residency in the MVP section with a selection of the industry's...

I often get asked about the process I go through when working with clients on deployment projects - I find that building a corporate client image that meets the needs and requirements of a large organisation follows a distinct process. All aspects of...

So - Deployment 4 Beta 3 - very cool indeed...but I bet your thinking "how can I use the task sequences that I built in BDD 2007 as templates in Deployment 4 Beta 3?" - well that's a good question. Deployment 4 Beta 3 stores it's task sequence templates...

The first release of Microsoft Deployment is now available. This release marks the first in a series of three Microsoft Deployment releases planned between now and Summer 2008. It focuses on integration with new deployment features in Configuration Manager...

So over the next few weeks, I will be presenting a mini series of scripts that may useful in your deployments. All of the scripts will be BDD/MDT specific - meaning that they can be run from the task sequencer and will have the correct format for using...

Back in July, I started a series of articles on Windows Vista Deployment Planning, and in Windows Vista Deployment Planning - Part 1 I shared with you details of Infrastructure Prerequisites that need to be considered when deploying Windows Vista in an...

I am often asked why deployment is such a great place to work as a consultant and I usually answer by saying that deployment (both client and server) touches all aspects of the infrastructure and therefore you need a knowledge across many products. All...

Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) is now Microsoft Deployment! The RC1 release and new name for the fourth generation deployment Solution Accelerator, Microsoft Deployment is available from today. Previous Beta releases have been using the code name...