Deploying Windows 8
With Windows 8, you can deploy
custom builds to computers through manual and automated processes. To deploy
Windows using manual processes, you need to create the required boot and
installation images and optionally create recovery images. To automate the
deployment process, you need to install Windows Deployment Services. Whether
you use a completely manual process, a completely automated process, or some
combination of the two, you’ll perform similar administrative tasks. These
tasks require you to understand and use the Windows Assessment and Deployment
Kit (Windows ADK) for Windows 8 and Windows Deployment Services. The Windows
Assessment and Deployment Kit for Windows 8 is available from the Microsoft
Download Center (download.microsoft.com) and contains the tools for deploying
Windows images, including
■
Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT)
■ The
standard deployment and imaging tools
■ User
State Migration Tool (USMT)
■
Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT)
■
Windows Assessment Services
■
Windows Assessment Toolkit
■
Windows Performance Toolkit (WPT)
■
Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE)
You can use Windows Deployment
Services to deploy Windows 8 over a network. You can add the Windows Deployment
Services role to any server running Windows Server 2012.Windows 8 and Windows
Server 2012 use Windows PE 4.0. Windows PE 4.0 is a bootable startup
environment that provides operating system features for the following:
■
Installation When you install Windows 8,
the graphical tools that collect system information during the setup phase are
running within Windows PE.
■
Deployment When a new computer performs
a network boot, the built-in Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) client can
connect to a Windows Deployment Services
server, download a Windows PE image across the network, and then run deployment
scripts within this environment.
■
Recovery Windows PE enables you to
access and run the Startup Repair tool if Windows 8 fails to start because of a
corrupted system file.
■
Troubleshooting You can manually start
Windows PE to perform troubleshooting or diagnostics testing if Windows 8 is
experiencing problems that can’t otherwise be diagnosed.
Introduction to Windows 8 Administration
Windows PE is modular and
extensible, and it provides full access to partitions formatted using the FAT
or NTFS file system. Because Windows PE is built from a subset of Windows
components, you can run many Windows applications, work with hardware devices,
and communicate across IP networks. Several command-line tools are available in
Windows PE, including:
■
BCDBoot A tool that initializes the boot
configuration data (BCD) store and allows you to copy boot environment files to
the system partition.
■
Bootsect A tool for creating and working
with boot sectors on hard disks and flash drives.
■
Copype A tool for creating a directory
structure for Windows PE files and then copying the Windows PE media files.
Running this tool is a prerequisite for creating bootable Windows PE media.
■
DiskPart A tool for creating and working
with disks, partitions, and volumes.
■
DISM An advanced tool for servicing and
maintaining images.
■
Drvload A support tool for adding device
drivers and dynamically loading a driver after Windows PE has started.
■
ImageX A tool for capturing and applying
Windows images.
■
Lpksetup A tool for adding and removing
a language pack.
■
Makewinpemedia A tool for creating
bootable Windows PE media.
■
Net A set of support commands that
enables you to manage local users, start and stop services, and connect to
shared folders.
■
Netcfg A tool that configures network
access.
■
Oscdimg A tool for creating CD and DVD
ISO image files.
■
Wpeinit A tool that initializes Windows
PE every time it boots.
