Boot Images
Boot Images are preconfigured images of an operating system that can be launched directly from the boot loader or script loader without requiring the full installation media.
A Boot Image is one of the four required components that must be stored for a full Rollout in ACMP OS Deployment.
Note:
When performing a Rollout (setup/image), always use the Boot Image that corresponds to your operating system.
Add Boot Image
The boot image is a required component for a rollout using ACMP and must therefore always be added.
To do so, navigate to OS Deployment > Windows Deployment > Boot Image. In the ribbon bar, select Boot Image > Add.
A wizard will open where you can specify the output directory, name, and description of the boot image. Click Next.
On the second page, select the source for the boot image. You can upload either a .wim file (boot.wim or winpe.wim) or an ISO file.
Note:
The boot.wim file is located in the Sources folder of the Windows installation media, and the winpe.wim file is located within the WADK installation files at C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\version number\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Windows Preinstallation Environment\Architecture\en-us\winpe.wim.
Once you have selected the source, it will be loaded. The file details will be displayed at the bottom of the window.
Select Boot Image
Click Next >.
On the third page of the wizard, you can use DISM to integrate individual drivers or entire driver packages directly into Boot.wim. Since WinPE requires access to the network and the disk, network card and mass storage drivers must be integrated at this point if necessary. When integrating, you can access previously created drivers.
If no drivers have been stored yet, you can perform this step later if necessary.
Before selecting the final tasks on the next page, specify whether the boot image should be synchronized directly with a file repository.
Finish the Boot Image
On the last page of the wizard, you can select which tasks should be executed after adding the boot image by checking the appropriate boxes.
Selecting the Save and Transfer to ACMP Server option will transfer the boot image to the server and automatically create a local copy of the boot image. If you frequently change the boot image, the local copy will allow you to minimize network traffic. If another user has changed the boot image or if you do not have a local copy, you will receive a note before making a change to the boot image informing you that the current version will first be loaded from the server.
Select the Share option to distribute the boot image to your file repositories.
Note:
You can complete all disabled tasks at any time directly in the ACMP Console.
Click Done to finish adding the Boot Image.
Boot Image has been added
Note:
DISM may display errors when adding the Boot Image. These errors are caused by an incompatible version of DISM.
Once the data has been processed, you will see the added Boot Image in the workspace, including its name, description, architecture, version, and file size.
You can also view its properties. The following details are available:
| The Boot Image is not synchronized with the ACMP Server. |
Synchronization with the ACMP Server is finished. | |
| The Boot Image has not been transferred to the file repositories. |
| The Boot Image has been released and uploaded to the file repositories. |
| A local copy of the Boot Image was found. No icon is displayed. |
| A local copy of the Boot Image was found, but it is deprecated. |
Note:
Please note that a new image will be created if you change servers (new installation, different location, new ServerID as part of Support). Alternatively, you can customize the ServerID directly in the Settings.ini file. You can retrieve the ServerID from the database or the server registry.
Local Copies of Boot Images
Every time you create a Boot Image, you will be asked if you want to create a local copy. This local copy reduces network traffic when you repeatedly customize the Boot Image.
The local copies of the Boot Images are stored in the following path: %ProgramData%\Aagon\acmp\Console\LocalStorage\BootImages.
In the Boot Images overview, you can use the “Copy exists in local storage” icon to see if a local copy is available.
If you select the Boot Image stored in the ACMP Console and a local copy of the Boot Image exists, you have the following options.
| This process overwrites the locally stored Boot Image with the one from the Server |
| This will delete the local Boot Image and free up local storage space |
| Open the directory where the local copy of the Boot Image is located |
Adding a Network Card Driver Later
If you have already added a Boot Image to your ACMP Console and want to integrate a network card driver later, navigate to OS Deployment > Boot Images. Select a Boot Image from the list of items and then click the Integrate Driver button on the ribbon bar.
This option is only available if a Boot Image is already present in the system.
Integrate Drivers
Follow the steps displayed in the wizard.
Add Another Boot Image
A single Boot Image cannot always be used for all devices. For example, drivers may be incompatible with one another, or you may want to minimize the file size per Boot Image. In this case, you can add a new Boot Image for a new device, for example.
Navigate to OS Deployment > Boot Images. Next, click Add in the ribbon bar and select the desired ISO or image. You will be guided through the Boot Image wizard. Fill in the missing information and exit the process to add the driver.
Note:
Only integrate drivers into the Boot Image that you actually need. If you add unnecessary drivers, the Boot Image will take up more storage space and result in longer load times.
If too many drivers are integrated, the system may find multiple compatible drivers for a single network card, which could result in the wrong driver being used. We therefore recommend keeping the Boot Image as small as possible.
We also recommend that you initially perform the Rollout without integrating a network card driver. By default, it is not absolutely necessary to include the driver right at the start of a Rollout. However, if that does not work, you can download the appropriate drivers from the manufacturer and integrate them into the Boot Image. Ideally, you should only integrate network card drivers and hard drive drivers into the Boot Image.
All other drivers, such as HDAudio or Bluetooth, should always be installed afterward. To do this, store them as a driver package in the driver plugin and add it to the Rollout Template. These will then be offered to Windows Setup as a source and, if recognized as necessary by Setup, will be installed.