Windows 8.1 (with Update 1) Deployment using MDT 2013 and WDS-Part2

This is the second part of the Windows 8.1 deployment 4 part series

Installing & Configuring Windows Assessment & Deployment Kit and the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2013

In the first article we saw on how to install and configure WDS in Windows Server 2012 R2. We will be using WDS in order to boot and deploy (over the network) the image we capture and create using MDT 2013. Before we proceed with MDT 2013, we will need to install Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit for Windows 8.1 which can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=39982

This is an online installer hence the above link will download a 1.4mb file named adksetup.exe. If you prefer to download the Offline setup for Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit for Windows 8.1 follow the below steps.

1) Download the adksetup.exe from the above link and open it

2) Select the option “Download the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit for Windows 8.1 for installation on  a separate computer and click next

3) Click next

4) Click Accept

5) Download begins

6) Offline download complete

        

Installation of Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit for Windows 8.1

Double click the adksetup.exe

Setup will load

Browse the installation path and click next

Select the preferred option on the CEIP page and click next

Click Accept to agree the license terms and conditions

I have selected all the features to install in my test lab – you may select the same and click install

The installation is progressing

Installation is done and click close

 

Next we will look at the installation and configuration of MDT 2013

Installing and Configuring Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2013

Download MDT 2013 from http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40796 

Since I am installing it on a Windows Server 2012 R2, I have downloaded the x64 bit version

Double click the setup file

In the MDT 2013 setup wizard click next on the welcome page

Check the I accept check box in the End User License Agreement page and click next

Browse the installation location and click next

select your preferred option for CEIP and click next

Click install

Installation is completed, click finish

Pin the Deployment Workbench tile to your start screen and open it

The Deployment Workbench will open the MDT 2013 MMC

Note that by default there is no Deployment Share created. hence we will have to create one. Right click on top of Deployment Share and click New Deployment Share

Browse and specify the Deployment share path which is recommended to be in a different drive than the system drive (in this case I have selected E:\ Deployment Share)

Provide a Share name, I will be leaving the default name and click next

Provide a descriptive name, again I will be leaving the default value as it is and click next

 

in the options screen you may check and uncheck the necessary options and click next (this can be done after creating the share by editing the rules and this will determine the prompts requesting for information or configuration during the deployment of the images)

Review the summary and click next

Upon completion of installation click finish

The Deployment share is created and visible in the MDT 2013 MMC (Deployment Workbench)

 

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Windows 8.1 (with Update 1) Deployment using MDT 2013 and WDS–Part 1

This article will be divided into 4 parts, namely;

1) Installing & Configuring Windows Server 2012 R2 Windows Deployment Services (WDS)

2) Installing & Configuring Windows Assessment & Deployment Kit and the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2013

3) Importing an OS image, creating task sequences in MDT 2013 and configuring WDS for deployment 

4) Deploying the image using WDS to the target computers

Installing & Configuring Windows Server 2012 R2 Windows Deployment Services (WDS) – Part 1

Before installing WDS and configuring it, we would need the following infrastructure in place.

1) Install and Update the Windows Server 2012 R2

2) Have a AD DS and DNS Server – (for this lab I we will have the AD, DNS, DHCP, WDS and MDT 2013) installed on the same server

3) A fully working DHCP server with an active scope

4) Install .NET Framework 3.0 in the server where you will be installing WDS

Lets start Installing Windows Deployment Services

Open Server Manager and Click on Add Roles and Features

Click Next in the Before you Begin window

 

Click on the Role-based or feature based installation and Next in the Select Installation type Window

Click on the correct server and click next

In the Select server roles section, check the Windows Deployment Services check box and click next

Click Add Features in the pop-up

Click Next

Click Next in the select Features window

Click next in the WDS window

Make sure both the role services are selected

Confirm the installation selections and click install

Installation Progress

Installation Successfully done

Configuring Windows Deployment Services (WDS)

Open Server Manager => Click on Tools => Select Windows Deployment Services

WDS MMC snap-in opens

Expand the servers and right click the server name and select configure server

Click Next on the Before you begin window

Since we have an Active Directory in place, select Integrated with Active Directory and click next

Browse the folder location where the boot images, install images, PXE boot files, etc. will be stored (Preferably in a different hard drive than the system drive) and click Next

In our scenario it will be E:\RemoteInstall

in the Proxy DHCP Server Window select both the option and click next

In the PXE Server Initial Settings window select respond to all client computers (Known and Unknown) and select the check box below

click next

Task progress will begin

You may receive a message saying “the service did not respond….”

Expand the server and right click on the server, Select All task and click start

Service will start

Service successfully started

The fully working  WDS MMS

Now we have successfully installed and configured the Windows Deployment Services on Windows Server 2012 R2. 

 

Installing the Desktop Experience feature in Windows Server 2012

Today I was installing OneNote 2013 on my Windows Server 2012 R2 test lab and during the installation the setup prompted me to enable the Desktop Experience feature in Windows Server 2012 for the OneNote 2013 to work.

So I opened the Windows Server Server Manager and opened the Add roles and Features wizard, when the wizard reached the features page for my surprise I could not find the desktop experience feature. After searching for a couple of minutes found out that its under the User Interface and Infrastructure feature

Windows 8.1 End User readiness content

Shifting to Windows 8.1 can be a bit confusing for end users due to its rich new features. Microsoft has released some wonderful end user readiness content which can be accessed from the below links

http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/springboard/archive/2014/01/22/announcing-windows-8-1-end-user-readiness-content.aspx

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/enterprise/resources-and-tools/default.aspx

Missing attachment warning in Outlook 2013

I am a heavy user of Outlook like most of you’ll out there. If I am guilty of something for not missing out multiple times, it definitely would be forgetting to attach a file in an email. I am sure that most of you’ll also would be guilty of this and the worst part is when your boss send’s a reply reminding about the missing attachment.

With Outlook 2013, you will never face this situation again, how awesome is that.

Outlook 2013 has a mechanism to go through the subject of the mail and the text in the body of the email to check for key words such as “Attached”, “Attachment”, “Attaching”, “Enclosed”, “Here is” etc. if it recognizes of these terms or similar terms like this and when you click send if the attachment if missing, Outlook 2013 will display a message box as below.