Notes on preparing a Windows Active Directory forest for Windows Server 2008:

http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/1d502209-cdb9-4e13-9a6c-57ad6c9d1e8b1033.mspx
http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer2008/en/library/83cd65ef-1923-448b-8f58-4c922cae04e71033.mspx

For previously installed W2K or W2K3 Active Directory Forests:
ADPREP /Forestprep on the forest's schema master
ADPREP /rodcprep on the domain master in each domain - for introducing 2008 Read-Only DCs
ADPREP /domainprep /gpprep on the infrastructure master in each domain

Note that Microsoft recommends creating a local copy of \sources\adprep from the installation media, and running adprep.exe from there.

Which DCs hold your FSMO roles?  Run the following command on a DC...

     netdom query fsmo

The folks at NeoWin have a great FAQ about a lack of slipstream capability with Vista SP1.  Read more here, but the bottom line is there's a "servicing layer" in Vista that allows for easier application of most updates, but SP1 includes updates to this layer that prevent a WIM image from being updated offline.  The solution is to build a Vista image, apply the new service pack, sysprep the machine, then take a new WIM image.

That or wait for Microsoft to release a new DVD with the SP1 bits already added...

Also note that a new version of the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) is available for Vista SP1 and Server 2008 here.

Update 18:25MST - WinBeta.org has an interesting write-up of an unsupported but potentially workable SP1 slipstream using SysPrep in their Vista SP1 Reverse Integration Guide.

We got our hands on the Vista Service Pack 1 RTM bits today...  Took about 30 minutes to install from start to finish on my Dell OptiPlex 745 with 4GB of memory.  My cubicle-mate's PC took just over an hour on a Dell Dimension 9200 with 2GB.  So far I notice a definitely performance uptick, especially on boot and logon.  I'm also seeing better performance from small things like thumbnail views for minimized windows on the taskbar, pulling up the Start menu, and of course the obvious file copy speed increases.

All of this was present in the SP1 RC, but having removed the RC to get back to RTM in preparation for SP1 RTM, this is all a very welcome change.  Just proves once again that at Microsoft, Quality is SP1.

ImageX is Microsoft’s image creation and application tool included with Windows Vista.  It is also capable of creating images of Windows XP machines.  Images can be applied from a large flash drive, or over the network using WinPE.

First, prepare your system for disk cloning using SysPrep.exe (located at c:\Windows\System32\Sysprep on all installations of Vista).  Vista’s SysPrep has the following options:

-          Out-of-Box-Experience: Normal SysPrep – resets system to setup state, will boot to setup wizard on next boot

-          Audit Mode: Similar to XP SysPrep “Factory Mode”, configures computer to boot directly to an Administrator log-in on next boot, allowing you to “edit” the image after restore without going through the final stages of Windows Setup.

-          Generalize: Resets Vista’s driver configuration and performs full device detection after image restore.

-          If you have not removed the computer from any domain prior to executing SysPrep, SysPrep will do this automatically.

SysPrep executes in GUI mode by default.  You must provide command-line arguments to use an unattended setup file (use /? for assistance).  Microsoft recommends that you use Windows System Image Manager, part of the Windows Automated Installation Kit, to create unattended setup files for use with Vista.

Note: To create ImageX image files for Windows XP, simply run XP SysPrep as you normally would.  ImageX simply replaces any other disk cloning software in such a case.

Image Creation

Once SysPrep completes, boot off of your flash drive and connect to a network drive to store the image (using net use).  Next, you’ll need to locate and switch to your flash drive, as you’ll need to run ImageX from there (this is usually the E: drive in single partition scenarios). 

Next, use ImageX.exe to create the Windows Image file (WIM):

imagex /capture c: x:\YourImage.wim “Descriptive text can go here”Where c: is the source drive for the image, and x: is the network drive.  The description is optional.  Also, you can optionally specify the type of compression used for the initial capture operation, as follows:/compress [maximum | fast | none]

Image Application

Images are easily applied after booting from your WinPE flash drive.  First, prepare the system drive for Windows.  Next, connect to the network using net use if necessary.  Finally, the basic command is:

Where 1 indicates the image within the WIM file to apply (1 in most cases), and where c: is the system volume on the destination computer.

Insert your USB flash drive (at least 256MB) into a Vista or Windows 7 workstation, and ensure that the disk is empty.

Open a Command Prompt and enter the following commands:

diskpart

list disk     (note the disk number that corresponds to your flash drive)

select disk x

clean

create partition primary

active              (flags the partition as bootable from BIOS)

format quick fs=ntfs

exit

Note: This post was edited 2010-01-07 to mention Windows 7 as a potential OS on which to perform the above actions. Edited 2010-03-15 to use NTFS instead of FAT32.

1. Download the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=94BB6E34-D890-4932-81A5-5B50C657DE08&displaylang=en (Note - as of 2008-02-18 this version has been updated for Vista SP1 and Server 2008)

2. Start | All Programs | Microsoft Windows AIK | Windows PE Tools Command Prompt -> This command prompt preloads the necessary folders into the path variable for easy image editing.

3. copype.cmd <x86 | amd64 | ia64> <destination folder to create, ex: z:\PEBuild> In Vista, right click and Run As Administrator -> This script creates a workspace for manipulating WinPE images prior to burning a CD or copying to a flash drive.  The ISO folder contains the files used for both.  ..\PEBuild\ISO\Sources\boot.wim is the actual WinPE image that the bootloader extracts to a RAMDisk.  The copype.cmd also creates a second copy of the WIM called winpe.wim in the root of the PEBuild folder - I assume this is to provide you with an easy way to "start fresh".

4. To place tools or files within the ISO (on CD) or on the flash drive you will boot from, copy the files to the z:\PEBuild\ISO folder.

5. To place tools or files within the RAMDisk that WinPE boots from (useful to retain access to your tools when you pull the flash drive or CD), use this command: imagex /mountrw ISO\Sources\boot.wim 1 mount  ->  This mounts the WIM file to the mount folder within your PEBuild workspace.

6. To load additional drivers into a your WinPE image, use the following command: peimg /inf=<complete path to driver inf file> mount\Windows -> This points to the Windows folder within the WIM file mounted to the mount folder within your PEBuild workspace.  Note this command must be run against a mounted WIM file.

7. When you are finished editing the WIM file, do this: imagex /unmount /commit mount

8. Make sure to copy ImageX to your ISO folder so you can apply the image to your hard drive.  Use this command: copy "c:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\x86\imagex.exe" z:\PEBuild\ISO

8. WinPE is now ready to go.  Either burn the entire contents of the ISO folder to a CD marked as bootable (step 9), or copy the entire contents to a flash drive (follow the steps listed here to prepare your flash drive).

9. If you intend to create a bootable CD, you'll need to use the following command to create an ISO from the files in the ISO folder (using the PE Tools Command Prompt): oscdimg -n –bz:\PEBuild\etfsboot.com z:\PEBuild\ISO Z:\PEBuild\winpe_x86.iso  You can then burn the resulting ISO to disk.

This screenshot came from my first test installation of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise.  Right-clicking on Computer and going to Properties usually yields your current Windows version - not what version you'll be at in 18 months...  Is this the first bug in Server 2008?  BTW - the install bits were RTM and originated from MSDN.