Deploy a Windows 7 Image Containing the 100 MB System Partition

This article only applies to 3.3 and lower. All issues have been resolved in 3.4 and partitions do not need to be switched, but partitions still need to be created as they were captured.

Here is how to capture and deploy a Windows 7 image with the 100 MB system partition in tact. There are a few things you should know about Windows 7 first.

When you install Windows 7 from from DVD on a clean drive with no format or partition information, Windows automatically install the system partition and marks the volume as "System Reserved". This partition is not viewable to the user in Explorer but is visible in Disk Manager.

If, on the other hand, the hard drive already has a single partition then this partition is not created.

Below instruction assume that the Windows 7 image is configured, includes the system partition, is prepared using sysprep if desired, and is ready for capture.

Capture the Image:

• Boot the computer to the KACE boot environment. Once booted to the Main Menu, enter the Recovery page, and the Command Prompt.
• At the command prompt enter "diskpart". A diskart prompt should appear. Enter the following commands to change the drive letter of C and D.
  

  select volume C
  assign letter="W"
  select volume D
  assign letter="C"
  select volume W
  assign letter="D"
  exit

• Once complete, go Back to the main menu, and select Imaging, then Capture this image to the K2000 appliance. Name the image, select both drives from the windows, and start the capture.

• On your K2000 appliance webpage, enter the Library and then the Preinstallation Tasks tab.
• From the Choose Action drop down select "New Diskpart Item". Name the item "Windows 7 - Create Two Partitions (3.1)".
• Enter the following lines to the window and save:

  select volume 0
  remove all noerr
  select disk 0
  clean
  create partition primary size=100
  assign letter="D"
  active
  create partition primary
  assign letter="C"
  exit

• Enter the Preinstallation Tasks tab again and from the Choose action drop down select "New BAT Script Item". Name this task "Windows 7 - Format Disks (3.1)". In the command window, enter the following and save:
  

  format /q /y /fs:ntfs /v:Windows C:
  bootsect.exe /NT60 C:
  format /q /y /fs:ntfs /v:System D:
  bootsect.exe /NT60 D:

• Return the the Library and the Postinstallation Tasks Tab.
• From the Choose action drop down, select New BAT script Item. Name the tasks "Windows 7 - Two Partition BCD Fix (3.1)". Select "KPE" as the operating system. This is a key step!
• Enter the following into the command window:

  bcdedit /store D:\boot\bcd /set {bootmgr} device partition=D:
  bcdedit /store D:\boot\bcd /set {default} device partition=C:
  bcdedit /store D:\boot\bcd /set {default} OSdevice partition=C:

Deploy Image:

• Enter the image you captured and go to the bottom of the page under the heading Preinstallation Tasks.
• Add "Windows 7 - Create Two Partitions (3.1)" and "Windows 7 - Format Disks (3.1)" in that order by dragging the task from the right to the left.
• On the first Postinstall task section, enable "Windows 7 - Two Partition BCD Fix (3.1)" by dragging it from the right to the left.
• Save and Deploy the image.

You can download jobs by clicking here. 

Then import them into your own K2000 appliance using the Package Management tab under Settings and Maintenance.

To maintain the Dell diagnostic partition when imaging or scripting see these import files.  http://downloads.kace.com/support/downloads/faq/DellPart.zip