Prerequisites for OS Image Configuration

This topic outlines the necessary prerequisites for configuring the OS image for your Windows Modern devices. Additionally, it includes important notes and observations to consider during the OS image configuration process.

Make sure the following configurations are in place when using Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) server option for OS image configuration:
  • Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) server
  • Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server
  • WinPE image
  • Shared network drive/ distribution server
  • Windows Modern enrollment PPKG file
Windows OS imaging is supported on:
  • Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) and Legacy BIOS
  • Disks using Master Boot Record (MBR) and GUID Partition Table (GPT) partition mechanisms
  • Solid State Drive (SSD), Hard Disk Drive (HDD), and Solid State Hybrid Drive (SSHD)
  • Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) supported devices
Note: One device can act as PXE server (to load the WinPE image), DHCP server and a distribution server/ network drive (to load the OS image).

Notes and Considerations

Review the following important notes and observations regarding OS image configuration:
  • Devices used to create a golden image should not have user-provisioned packages.
  • Only “provisioning package” enrollments are supported after the image creation or image deployment process has completed.
  • BitLocker disables on Windows Modern devices during image creation and image deployment.
  • Devices unenroll during the image creation and deployment process, and will be re-enrolled into SOTI MobiControl using the provisioning package method.
  • GETAC devices require user intervention of the “F12” key during the image creation and deployment process to set the device to PXE boot when using PXE server.
  • Devices require a specific network driver to enter WinPE mode. Place the network drivers in the OSI folder while creating the WinPE image.
  • Legacy BIOS requires user intervention of the “F12” key during the image creation and deployment process to set the device to PXE boot when using PXE server.
  • If machines have Non-enterprise versions of Windows with an OEM bound activation key, the device will not be able to re-enroll itself. This requires a manual intervention as the machine is not be able to run the %WINDIR%\Setup\Scripts\SetupComplete.cmd file required to configure re-enrollment. See Windows setup scripts for more details.
  • All user-related packages will be deleted after image creation and deployment.
  • User credentials are saved, and any other user with permission to deploy an image will be able to use those credentials.

OS Image Configuration Recommendation

Consider the following recommendations when setting up the OS image configuration:
  • Make sure only one user is on the device when the image creation process triggers.
  • For a device partitioned using the GPT disk partitioning method, do not deploy an MBR image on that device, as it will cause a deployment failure.
  • Update the boot file name per required architecture when setting up the DHCP server (for example \EFI\Boot\bootx64.efi for amd64).
  • Disable secure boot and fast start-up before the imaging process.
  • Enable the "Re-enrollment rule" toggle in Global Settings to avoid duplicate entries of devices with the same MAC address and hardware ID but different device IDs.
Set up the Windows OS image configuration. See Creating Windows OS Image for instructions.