Hardware independant imaging

[idoru]

What 'm trying to figure it out is making a windows 7 image that is hardware independant, meaning that I should have all the files needed to install windows 7 then could add all drivers needed for a specific computer (and eventually the software I might want to be installed when that install will be completed).

After searching the web I came across sysprep (that is bound to imaging a specific machine), system center control manager (that requires a physical server running a sql database and a domain based computer running system thing), some tools from paragon (that can only manage .inf based drivers) and at the end just nothing !!!

IS that so way out of the line thinking of such a way to install a system by using an hardware independant image ???

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Have a good look at this one mate and it's free.


Paragon Adaptive Restore Technology

 

[idoru]

Have a good look at this one mate and it's free.


Paragon Adaptive Restore Technology

It can only use .inf based drivers : in the case the driver is an exe file that cannot be uncompressed/unpacked or that doesn't contain an .inf file, this software is just useless.
Thanks for your input but as it is said in my post, I already came upon paragon's solutions (and by the way adaptive restore is to "unleech" an old windows upon a new hardware platform, I want to be able to install a new box (sure i could create a fresh windows platform to adaptive restore it onto a new hardware, but that is just cutting hair in pieces, don't you think ?)).

 

[logicearth]

Windows Automated Installation Kit, WAIK for short is hardware independent. When you install Windows 7 you are installing from an image made with WAIK.

Maybe these might help:

http://benosullivan.co.uk/windows/how-to-image-and-deploy-windows-7-a-complete-guide/

Side note, when creating the base image instead of using a virtual machine or another computer I use Windows' support for booting from Virtual Hard Disks (VHD).

 

[whs]

Apart from the technical details, what about the product keys you need for each PC. You cannot just move a system from one box to the next without running into validation problems.

 

[SIW2]

If I understand your post correctly - you want to inject drivers that are not already in the image.

In that case , sysprep won't do it.

You can use sysprep , or Paragon to make all drivers in the image file repository available on the new hardware.

You can use Paragon to inject extra drivers in inf form.

However, your drivers come as an .exe.

Try extracting the .exe - you should then have an extracted folder containing the .inf to point paragon at.

Uniextract (free) will probably be the simplest way to do the extraction Lupo PenSuite: Box

Otherwise, you should at least be able to get to the desktop after sysprep/paragon and then install the drivers.

 

[logicearth]

If I understand your post correctly - you want to inject drivers that are not already in the image.

In that case , sysprep won't do it....

If using the built in imaging capabilities of Windows 7 (WAIK for example) one can inject drivers and other files into an existing image. Either by mounting the image with imagex or with another tool DISM from WAIK.

 

[idoru]

Windows Automated Installation Kit, WAIK for short is hardware independent. When you install Windows 7 you are installing from an image made with WAIK.

Maybe these might help:

How To Image and Deploy Windows 7 a Complete Guide - Using sysprep and imagex - Ben O'Sullivan

Side note, when creating the base image instead of using a virtual machine or another computer I use Windows' support for booting from Virtual Hard Disks (VHD).

Let's say that things don't always start well....
Using your link (I already had waik) the first answer i got was "copype isn't a command, blah blah" (running a 7 x64)... because, of course, I had to launch 'deployment tools command prompt' to update paths instead of basic cmd and for an x64 based computer WAIK is in x:\program files\windows AIK (you might want to update your tutorial). Regarding this specificity do I have to assume that the amd64 folder is to be used instead of x86 ?

 

[logicearth]

Well its not my tutorial, just one I found while doing a search. There was a good one I found a while back for making custom images for Windows 7. But cannot currently find it.

 

[SIW2]

I am not entirely sure that is going to help.


Dism /image:C:\test\offline /Add-Driver /driver:C:\test\drivers\mydriver.INF

The driver servicing commands can be used on an offline image to add and remove drivers based on the INF file, and on a running operating system (online) to enumerate drivers. Microsoft® Windows® Installer or other driver package types (such as .exe files) are not supported.

 

[cluberti]

I would recommend looking into MDT 2010 from Microsoft (it is free, is good at doing this sort of thing, and does most of what sccm does - not all, but most). You can do all sorts of hardware detection in MDT and keep a database of driver info (SQL or MSDE). It also can handle a mix of .inf and .exe drivers due to the task sequence design of running the install.

 

[logicearth]

I am not entirely sure that is going to help.


Dism /image:C:\test\offline /Add-Driver /driver:C:\test\drivers\mydriver.INF

The driver servicing commands can be used on an offline image to add and remove drivers based on the INF file, and on a running operating system (online) to enumerate drivers. Microsoft® Windows® Installer or other driver package types (such as .exe files) are not supported.

For those other drivers not in inf form, can use a online installation and then capture.

 

[SIW2]

Yes, that is blindingly obvious.

If you are willing/able to install the drivers on the o/s first - then make an image - any image-Acronis/Paragon/Macrium/Wim , etc , those drivers will be included.

I understood the OP wasn't willing/able to do that - therefore was looking for a way to get the .exe drivers into the image only ( i.e not into the original o/s ), but so they were available on the new machine.

I don't know a way of injecting drivers in .exe form into an image.

What I'm trying to figure it out is making a windows 7 image... then could add all drivers needed for a specific computer

...the driver is an exe file that cannot be uncompressed/unpacked

 

[cluberti]

...and this is what tools like MDT and SCCM are designed to assist with .

 

[SIW2]

Yes, They may be.

I was responding the previous poster.

 

[cluberti]

understood.

 

[idoru]

I would recommend looking into MDT 2010 from Microsoft (it is free, is good at doing this sort of thing, and does most of what sccm does - not all, but most). You can do all sorts of hardware detection in MDT and keep a database of driver info (SQL or MSDE). It also can handle a mix of .inf and .exe drivers due to the task sequence design of running the install.

While I'm currently giving MDT2010 (that I didn't know) a try ,I'm not sure it would allow for adding non .inf drivers or at least I've not find out yet how...

 

[xarden]

All you really need is network drivers, so you should be putting that in the image itself.
After deploying the image to the target machine, you can then assign a task for SCCM to install all the other necessary drivers depending on which hardware is being used.

 

[Kari]

I've done it as described here (method two). After the image is done, then boot PC again from HD and Windows re-install drivers to existing setup. Fast and easy.

Kari

 

[idoru]

All you really need is network drivers, so you should be putting that in the image itself.
After deploying the image to the target machine, you can then assign a task for SCCM to install all the other necessary drivers depending on which hardware is being used.

Maybe my fisrt post wasn't obvious (and certainly missed some points)...

I do, for friends and occasional clients, windows installations and what I do NOT want to re iterate is :
- install windows
- install drivers
- install some common applications
- eventually configure some things
including the multiple reboots of a non dynamic system like BeOs was or at some point is Linux.

So what I do want is a generic image with an updatable drivers database and an updatable applications database.

Unless I didn't get it, SSCm needs a serveur, a sql database, things that I won't be able to carry when going to a friend's or client's without an enterprise infrastructure in some beefy laptop (I choose to buy a 18"4 one to watch movies in bed, not to carry 4.6kgs every time I have an installation request).

I didn't know all the solutions you guys gave me and I'm looking forward some right now (adding that even if i'm not a noob, I certainly am not an MCSE)... So, please, don't forget that if some of my answers don't show total accuracy !