Monthly Archives: March 2012

MDT 2012: Tip – Getting UUID, SerialNumber

Posted on March 28, 2012 by

I was working at a customers site last year creating a media based Windows 7 deployment for some laptops. I over heard one of the technical leads saying that he was deploying XP to a machine so he could use … Continue reading →

Posted in Deployment, MDT 2010, MDT 2012 | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

MDT 2012: Targeting Lite-Touch Deployments

Posted on March 27, 2012 by

There are a number of Operating System Deployment scenarios where you will need to automate specific configurations to individual or certain types of computers. The most common scenarios are: Automating a Deployment to a Specific Computer Automating a Deployment to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Deployment, MDT 2010, MDT 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

MDT2012: ZTIGather

Posted on March 26, 2012 by

In MDT there’s a script called ZTIGather.wsf that collects a massive list of unique data about the machine you’re running a deployment on. To test it out manually, boot up in WinPE and press F8 to open a command prompt, then type … Continue reading →

Posted in Deployment, MDT 2010, MDT 2012 | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

MDT 2012: Automating updates in Lite-Touch Deployments

Posted on March 22, 2012 by

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit has a built-in script designed to update images, with Microsoft Updates, during a Lite-Touch deployment. I’ve been meaning to write this article for a while now but the enormity of the topic has deterred me from seeing … Continue reading →

Posted in Deployment, MDT 2010, MDT 2012 | Tagged , , , , , | 24 Comments

PowerShell: Hello World

Posted on March 21, 2012 by

Alright, it’s time I started blogging about PowerShell. In fact it’s so long overdue that I really don’t know were to get started. There are so many great resources and blogs available now that most people who are motivated to … Continue reading →

Posted in PowerShell, Scripting | Tagged , | Leave a comment

TestLab: Setting up the hardware

Posted on March 20, 2012 by

So far in my TestLab I’ve purchased a HP N40L MicroServer and installed VMWare hypervisor ESXi 5. The purpose of this is to continue my IT training from my home Office at a low budget. This what my setup looks … Continue reading →

Posted in Testlab | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

MDT Scripting: Deleting Registry Keys

Posted on March 19, 2012 by

A lot has happened since I wrote my articles on MDT Scripting last year. For one thing, I’ve learned how to compile my code in a script block on my blog. Two of my readers have asked about deleting registry … Continue reading →

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MDT 2012: Sysprep and Shutdown

Posted on March 16, 2012 by

With today’s virtualisation technologies, the Windows imaging process of creating and deploying a reference image is not always suitable. In some scenarios you may just want to deploy Windows, patch it, then sysprep and shutdown a machine without capturing an image. … Continue reading →

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Powershell: Video Walkthroughs

Posted on March 15, 2012 by

Microsoft Windows PowerShell is so popular now that there’s no shortage of blogs, free ebooks and resources available to get you started. One resource that I recommend  is PowerShell MVP Don Jones. He wrote a book called Learn Windows PowerShell in a Month of … Continue reading →

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Testlab: Getting Started

Posted on March 8, 2012 by

I’ve been meaning to blog about creating a test/training environment for a while and as I’m in the process of rebuilding one, now’s a good a time as ever. I’m going to demonstrate how to cheaply and quickly knock up a … Continue reading →

Posted in Testlab | Tagged , | 2 Comments