Jump to content
DeployCentral

Deploy Images and Tasks


MichaelR

Recommended Posts

Hello,

I'm currently trying out SmartDeploy Enterprise trial and I want to know about setting up tasks. I apologize if this question was already answered in another forum.

Is there a way to set up post and pre installation tasks without having to go to every computer we image? On our current system, we set up the task sequence and then have individual pre and post OS installation tasks set up. Post install tasks are things like installing MS Office, Java, etc.... I want my technicians to have as little interaction with the PC as possible. Basically all I want them to do is give the computer a name. Can these tasks be set up before the OS deployment is started?

Also, can the answer file be editied before hand so the technician doesn't have to fill in the answers on every machine?

Thank you

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Michael,

Thanks for taking the time to evaluate SmartDeploy. Yes, you can have pre and post image tasks. A great form post regarding tasks can be found here.

A lot of programs can be installed on the virtual reference machine before capture, like Office. Some programs will break sysprep so I would advise installing 1-2 programs at a time and testing deployment so if a installed program does break deployment, you can narrow down which application cause it pretty fast.

To create an unattended answer file you can boot to your boot media and select "Deploy an image" and proceed through the wizard choosing all settings, mapping drive, etc. On the Summary page there will be an Export button. Export your answer file and then re-create new boot media via the Media Wizard. There will be an optional components page that will allow you to browse to your exported answer file. Boot to that newly created boot media and your unattended deployment will start using the desired settings you exported.

In order to skip all pages except the network identification page, when you export your answer file, please export it as attended, not unattended. Once exported, open your exported XML and simply add a skip value of 1 for every page you want to skip. For example, if you don’t want to skip the network identification page you would leave that value as 0. All other pages you would have a value of 1.

<network_identification skip="0">

This way, when you select “Deploy an Image” from the SmartPE splash screen it should skip all the pages except for the network identification page where you can name the computer.

Thanks,

SmartDeploy Support

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...