This post will walk through installing and configuring Microsoft Deployment Toolkit to build a reference image of Windows 10 1803 (April 2018 Update) using a Hyper-V Virtual Machine. It is assumed that you have a Server or PC ready to install MDT onto and create an file share for MDT to build the image with. Here are the links to the software we’ll be using: Windows 10 1803 Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (8450) Windows 10 1803 x64 Volume Licensing Service Center Additional software which may be useful to you:

Windows Deployment Services can not be installed on Windows Server Core unfortunately - it still requires a Windows Server install with a GUI (Desktop Experience). Luckily we can still install it using PowerShell and the command line. In this post I’ll go through the initial steps on how to deploy and configure a WDS server using command line and PowerShell. Installing Windows Server Boot the server from the Windows Server media and on the “Select the Operating System you want to install” screen, select the option “Windows Server Standard” or “Datacenter” edition with “Desktop Experience” in brackets.

Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) can use a lot of resources, so why not use Windows Server Core and make the most of the resources you have. In this post I’ll go through the initial steps on how to deploy and configure a WSUS server using command line and PowerShell. Important note: If you need the to boot Windows Server 2016 ISO from a USB flash drive, use Rufus. Installing Windows Server 2016 Core Boot the server from the Windows Server 2016 media and on the Select the Operating System you want to install screen, select the option Windows Server 2016 Standard or Datacenter edition.

Windows Server Core is an ideal choice for Active Directory Domain Controllers due to it’s low resource usage and greatly reduced attack surface. In this post I’ll go through the initial steps on how to deploy a new Active Directory forest and add an additional Domain Controller to the domain, and finally I’ll run some basic checks on the health of the domain after installation. Installing Windows Server Core Boot the server from the Windows Server media and on the “Select the Operating System you want to install” screen, select the option “Windows Server Standard” or “Datacenter” edition.

In a couple of weeks the next update to Windows 10 - Redstone 4, 1803, the Spring Creators Update will be released and later this year Redstone 5, 1809 will be come out, all being well. This continues the pace set last year and the semi-annual release cycle that Microsoft have put into place. For those of you who, like me, might be wondering what would happen to Windows Server’s release cycle.

Download it from the Microsoft TechNet Gallery the PowerShell Gallery and GitHub. Today I’ve released an update to my Hyper-V Backup Utility PowerShell script. Version 4.1 adds zip file creation and the ability to keep a history of Virtual Machine backups. These new features are included along with the ability to backup Virtual Machines using the built-in Hyper-V export function, meaning that the VMs do not need to be shutdown. However if the Hyper-V host lacks the permissions necessary to perform the export, it can be configured to shutdown the Virtual Machines and backup through a file-based copy operation.

Update 2018-11-04: I’ve evolved the script in this post into a more friendly utility which I’ve posted about here. If you are familiar with my other PowerShell scripts/utilities this isn’t as complete or polished as them, but it get’s the job done, and that’s all we can really ask for right? Let’s say it’s in early beta. The purpose of this script is to automate the process of setting the location and Office 365 license for users, using a local Active Directory to specify the users.

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit build 8450 is out. You can read more about it here over on the MS Deployment Blog. Installing & Configuring Microsoft Deployment Toolkit and Dependencies Here are the links the software we’ll be using: Windows 10 1703 Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (8450) First we’ll install the Windows 10 1703 ADK which is now fully supported by MDT in build 8450. The setup will need to download additional files so it may take some time depending on your internet connection.

In a previous post I wrote about my Image Factory PowerShell script for MDT. This post is about a script derived from that which I setup to test my images and my deployment task sequences. Since this script is only an edit of the previous one I don’t intend to release it “officially” on the TechNet Gallery or the PowerShell Gallery. To explain succinctly what this script does, it turns Task Sequences into Virtual Machines.

My game 3D Maze Remix is now available in the Microsoft store for Windows 10 devices. Please check out this page for more information on the game and downloads for other Operating Systems. If you’d like to contact me, please leave a comment, send me a tweet or DM, or you can join my Discord server. -Mike

Update 16/01/2018: Updated this post to reflect the release of Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 8450, which fully supports Windows 10 1709. Update 30/10/2017: If SysPrep is consistently failing when building your Windows 10 1709 image, it is most likely due to the Windows Store update process updating the built in UWP apps. This issue is a known issue, but one I’ve managed to dodge when building previous versions of Windows 10. With 1709, I’ve had SysPrep fail every time.

This is a round-up all my previous posts regarding deployment and configuring Windows 10, installing Microsoft Deployment Toolkit and Windows Server Update Services into one post for reference. Installing and Configuring a WSUS Server Installing WSUS from scratch! Resolving WSUS Connection Errors On Windows Server 2012 R2 Installing and Configuring Microsoft Deployment Toolkit Getting Started With Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 8443 and Windows 10 1607/1703 PXE Booting for Microsoft Deployment Toolkit PXE Booting with WDS for UEFI and BIOS Devices Building and Deploying a Windows 10/Windows Server 2016 Reference Image Building a Windows 10 1607 Reference Image with Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 8443 Deploying a Windows 10 1607 Reference Image with Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 8443 Building a Windows 10 1703 (Creators Update) Reference Image with Microsoft Deployment Toolkit Building a Windows 10 1709 (Fall Creators Update) Reference Image with Microsoft Deployment Toolkit Building a Windows Server 2016 Reference Image with Microsoft Deployment Toolkit Customising and Configuring Windows 10 Stuck Windows Updates from WSUS on Windows 10 1607/Windows Server 2016 Windows 10 1607 (Anniversary Update) opens msn.

With Hyper-V it is possible to run VMs inside of VMs without needing to install third-party virtualization software. You might not have the need to run an entire Virtual Machine inside of another, but some upcoming security features of Windows 10 require Hyper-V to be enabled so this could be a way to have those security features on a Windows 10 VM that you otherwise would not be able to take advantage of.