1.3 Windows Automated Installation Kit Tools
The latest version of the Windows AIK is called the Windows AIK for Windows 7, which you can download
from the Microsoft Download Center at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads.
The Windows AIK for Windows 7 provides tools and documentation for performing unattended
installs of Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2, Windows Server 2008,
and Windows Server 2008 R2. You can also use the Windows AIK for Windows 7 to help
deploy Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, as long as you do not want to
modify the default boot.wim and winre.wim files on these operating systems. To create
custom images of Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, you should install an
optional add-on called the Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK) Supplement for
Windows 7 SP1, also available from the Microsoft Download Center.
The Windows AIK includes several important deployment
tools, including the following:
-
Windows Preinstallation Environment
(Windows PE) 3 The Windows AIK for Windows 7 helps you
create a Windows PE 3.0 CD by using tools such as Copype.cmd and
Oscdimg.exe. (If you install the Windows AIK Supplement for
Windows SP1, the version is Windows PE 3.1.) Windows PE is a
lightweight and customizable version of Windows with which you
can start a computer from a CD/DVD, from a removable USB drive,
or from a network source. Installations of Windows PE vary in
size, but a typical installation requires about 200 MB of storage space.
The main purpose of Windows PE is to provide an
environment from which to capture or apply a Windows image, but
you can also use it to troubleshoot or recover an installed
operating system or to perform any specialized function. Windows
PE can run many familiar (typically command-line) programs and
even communicate over IP networks. If you start a computer from
a typical Windows PE disk, a command prompt appears from which
you can run built-in tools and other programs you have made
available through customization.
Note
WINDOWS SETUP AND WINDOWS
PE
The default Boot.wim file on a Windows product DVD
includes a version of Windows PE. Whenever you start from the
product DVD and run the Setup program, Windows PE is actually
running in the background.
Although Windows PE starts from the CD drive, Windows PE 3
does not actually run from the CD when it is fully started.
Windows PE 3 instead creates a RAM disk (a portion of RAM used
as a drive), loads the operating system into that drive, and
then runs from that RAM disk. This RAM disk is assigned the
drive letter X by default. From this command prompt, you can
then run various tools and utilities, many of which can be added
through optional packages. -
ImageX ImageX is a command-line utility you can use to
capture, modify, and apply WIM images for deployment. The main
function of ImageX is to enable you to capture a volume to a WIM
file image and apply a WIM file image to a volume. For example,
to capture an image, you can start Windows PE and use the
Imagex.exe /capture
path\wimfilename.wim “Image_Name” command,
by which “path” is the path to the file. To apply an image to a
volume, use Imagex /apply
path\wimfilename.wim 1. (In this case, the
value 1 indicates the index number of a
particular image stored in the wimfilename.wim file.) -
Windows SIM Windows System Image Manager (SIM) is the tool
used to create unattended Windows Setup answer files. In Windows
Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008
R2, answer files are XML-based documents used during Windows
setup to supply information needed by the Windows installation.
For example, you can use Windows SIM to create an answer file
that partitions and formats a disk before installing Windows or
that changes the default setting for the Internet Explorer home
page. By modifying settings in the answer file, you can also use
Windows SIM to install third-party applications,
device drivers, language packs, and other updates.
Note
WINDOWS SIM VS. SETUP
MANAGER
As a means to create answer files for unattended
installations, Windows SIM replaces the Setup Manager tool used in Windows XP, Windows
Server 2003, and earlier versions of Windows.
Windows SIM uses catalog (.clg) files along with Windows
images (WIM files) to display the available components and
packages that can be added to an unattended answer file.
Catalog files and WIM files contain configurable
settings that you can modify after the component or package is
added to an answer file. Figure 3 shows
the Windows SIM tool.
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