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HI I am creating a Windows 7 Image to be deployed out through WDS. THe problem I am having is so new that when I run sysprep to install the drivers it crashes. So my question is where should I install my drivers so it can continue and go through sysprep

BigCAT41
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2 Answers2

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You can add the drivers offline. To do this, you need to download the Windows Automated Installation Kit (http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=5753), mount the wim, and add the drivers to the wim that way.

TechNet has a good article about how to do this here:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd744355%28v=ws.10%29.aspx

You might also need to add the network drivers to your boot images.

Katherine Villyard
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  • Question so does the AIK inject the drivers needed and have to be done before sysprep is ran. The image has been all loaded up and its at the last part that all I need to do is run sysprep and then do the capture through WDS. – BigCAT41 Jul 15 '13 at 21:37
  • AIK runs before you deploy the image. From your question, it sounded like you were adapting an existing image to your new hardware. If so, you should be able to take your existing image, add the drivers for the new hardware with AIK, and then deploy as usual. – Katherine Villyard Jul 15 '13 at 22:54
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If you are using Windows Server 2008 R2 or 2012, WDS has a driver store that can manage your drivers based on PnP hardware calls. There is no need to inject them into the image manually. If you are on Server 2003 or 2008, then the driver node doesn’t exist and Katherine Villyard’s advice will help you.

However, you should look into using the free Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) with your WDS, whichever version. MDT is a task based deployment solution that manages device drivers, installs software after the OS is deployed, and much more. These two videos will show you the benefits and how to get started with MDT:

Deployment Day Session 1: Introduction to MDT 2012

Deployment Day Session 2: MDT 2012 Advanced

Hope this helps,

dwolters
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  • HI ok I am running 2k8 not R2 but now i am considering upgrading it to R2. The reason why I was trying to figure out at first the issue with the drivers is I created the Image and was running sysprep. Once I ran sysprep it crashed because of the drivers. So I wasn't able to completely finish the image to do the capture. What you described wil lthat not matter before sysprep? – BigCAT41 Jul 16 '13 at 21:26
  • @BigCAT41 At what point does the crash happen? If you are using the /generalize switch during sysprep, it will remove device drivers so that the image can be hardware independent, unless you are using the setting to maintain them. Can you check the [log files](http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee851579(v=WS.10).aspx) for errors? – dwolters Jul 17 '13 at 14:58
  • it crashes at the point when its at a black screen with the ball going across the bar goes and it says preparing system. I don't have a log because i just re imaged it with ghost back to the point before I ran sysprep. Also with sysprep there is a drop down that says system cleanup action: Enter system out of box Experience or enter system audit mode and below that there is a check box that says Generalize. The first time I ran it I did not check off generalize. Should I? – BigCAT41 Jul 17 '13 at 17:52
  • When I tried running it with out of box experience and generalize selected as the check box I got this error: Windows Setup could not configure Windows to run on this computer's hardware. – BigCAT41 Jul 17 '13 at 18:02
  • @BigCAT41 As soon as you run sysprep again, log files will be written. If you boot to Windows PE, you will be able to access these files. There could be a few things causing this error. Have you reached the sysprep limit on this image? On the pre-sysprepped image, run slgmgr.vbs /dlv to see the remaining count. – dwolters Jul 17 '13 at 20:14
  • @BigCAT41 This can also be caused by [driver](http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/801899a7-10b9-4d8a-a3e9-213275c5236c/sysprep-error) issues or by the [BIOS](http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/9d60ecd8-008d-4702-8a95-5688d1740420/windows-setup-could-not-configure-windows-to-run-on-this-computers-hardware) setting AHCI/ATA. The log files should help narrow this down. – dwolters Jul 17 '13 at 20:15
  • how would I be able to check the logs the reason being it jsut gets caught in a loop with that system setup part. Is there a way to exit it and go to windows? The machine im using is an Optiplex 9010 so the drivers are probably very new. – BigCAT41 Jul 17 '13 at 21:04
  • let us [continue this discussion in chat](http://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/9700/discussion-between-bigcat41-and-winoutreach4) – BigCAT41 Jul 18 '13 at 14:10