What do you guys think of installable desktops for windows 10?

Sounds egoistic but can't help it , start with two of my tutorials:

• Windows 10 Image - Customize in Audit Mode with Sysprep - Windows 10 Forums
• PowerShell OneGet - Install Apps from Command Line - Windows 10 Forums

And, although written two years ago for Windows 7, still valid overview of the process:

• An Old School Geek’s approach to Installing Setting Up a Windows PC - Windows 7 Help Forums

Thanks Kari. I will start doing this tonight (still at work right now :) ) and hopefully use it on the next build.

If you check that image customization tut, please read carefully the warning in the beginning of it regarding Build 10041. It also applies to Build 10049.

@badrobot, one more thing that might be some tips.

I removed this video from the customization tutorial because with the new 10K builds it needs to be redone, but it can still be used to show how the whole process works. Too much has changed in the 10K builds for this to be used as it is, even the reboot to Audit Mode needs now to be done already from the first OOBE dialog (Custom or Express Settings dialog).



I will wait the next build before making a new video. I will most definitely do it but not now.

groze said:

@Kari,
Are you saying you can add customizing programs and/or drivers to the windows install? Would this work for a windows 7 oemslip pre-installed and pre-activated system? I have the re-installation dvd for windows, I got legally from dell.

One issue I had in making an new iso from the DVD is making the new iso bootable. I am using an old version of imgburn.

Have you tried using USB instead of DVD? USB is much faster.
But with regards to your DVD issue, always use the slowest burn speed (x6). Faster burn speeds is prone to errors.

Kari said:

@badrobot, one more thing that might be some tips.

I removed this video from the customization tutorial because with the new 10K builds it needs to be redone, but it can still be used to show how the whole process works. Too much has changed in the 10K builds for this to be used as it is, even the reboot to Audit Mode needs now to be done already from the first OOBE dialog (Custom or Express Settings dialog).



I will wait the next build before making a new video. I will most definitely do it but not now.

Many thanks Kari.

groze said:

Are you saying you can add customizing programs and/or drivers to the windows install? Would this work for a windows 7 oemslip pre-installed and pre-activated system? I have the re-installation dvd for windows, I got legally from dell.

I am working on a few tutorials at the moment, one will be about including the driver packages in this process. The existing customization tutorial at the moment is based on a generalized image (sysprep /generalize) which will remove all hardware drivers and make the image totally hardware independent so it can be installed on any machine, real or virtual, capable of running Windows 10.

Part Eight in the tut shows how to create the image for deployment. I simply use Macrium, meaning that my reinstalls or installs on a new machine will be done by booting the machine with Macrium boot disk and then simply restoring the image.

For Windows 7 see this walkthrough I have made: Windows 7 Image - Customize in Audit Mode with Sysprep - Windows 7 Help Forums

Kari said:

PowerShell OneGet is not a tool designed or intended to swap desktops. It is a package manager, or rather a packet manager management system (aggregator) to guide and handle various package managers like Chocolatey, NuGet and so on, even allowing users to create their own package providers and repositories.

A package provider's main purpose is to offer a centralized access to application installers in various repositories. The most useful feature and the advantage even for a normal average user is the fast, easy and reliable "no-BS" approach for application installation: multiple apps can be installed with one simple command, the installers are picked up directly from the source bypassing each and every "Would you also download this" or "By installing this you also install that", as well as all "Click Next", "Click Continue" and such dialogs. One command, press enter, go get coffee and all 5 or 8 or 16 apps you told OneGet to install have been installed, silently in the background.

In no way is OneGet meant nor will it be used to swap Windows desktop and windowing system.

I am a great OneGet fan. Even if somewhat off topic, to finish this rant here's how I install Windows nowadays:

• Install Windows 10 until it finally arrives to Settings dialog
• Press CTRL+SHIFT+F3 to reboot to Audit Mode
• Open PowerShell, give one command to install all my desktop apps
• While OneGet works in the background, customize Windows and prepare the answer file to generalize the image and relocate the Users folder to drive X:
• Sysprep the Windows image shutting down the PC
• Boot with WinPE to capture the image for further installs / deployments
• Boot the PC to OOBE to finalize installation

Nice, relatively fast, extremely easy. End result is a Windows with everything installed, and a virgin Windows image which I can use to install (deploy) this same setup to any PC. Although the image already contains all the software I installed in Audit Mode, it's deployed faster to a new PC than a normal clean install of Windows would take on the same PC.

Kari

Is it technically create an Image? Isn't this a violation of licensing outside the enterprise versions? The virgin image is the violation of the license agreement isn't it.

orlbuckeye said:

Is it technically create an Image? Isn't this a violation of licensing outside the enterprise versions? The virgin image is the violation of the license agreement isn't it.

Please educate, enlighten me! How on earth you can find an EULA violation in this? Creating a system image before entering the product key? or are you saying creating the image is already an EULA violation?

I have every right to customize my Windows install image as I see fit, doing it in my way it's done before any product key is used.

When restored / deployed to other machines I then activate the Windows with proper, valid and legal product key.

What a funny and completely invalid comment!