In short: If you are interested to architect a Private Cloud solution based on the above, the IaaS PLA is the place to start.

One of the interesting aspects of the PLA is that it offers precise guidance on how to deploy the various components forming your Private Cloud solution.

In this Blog Post I will focus on how to make an unattended installation of Virtual Machine Manager 2012 SP1 (along with its accompanying SQL Server 2012) in a way that is compliant with the IaaS PLA Fabric Management Architectural guidance.

Let's Start!

Part 1: Installing the SQL Server and the SCVMMDB database instance

The IaaS PLA provides the guidance below for the Virtual Machine Manager database instance:

We are going to deploy SQL Server 2012 on a highly-available Virtual Machine (not on a Guest Cluster). You can follow the guidance of the IaaS PLA on the VM specifications. In case you want to only host the VMM database instance then 4 GB of RAM and 4 vCPUs should be enough (unless you will manage more than 150 Physical Hosts, in which case you will need 8 GB of RAM and 8 vCPUs and also consider deploying a SQL Failover Cluster, see the IaaS PLA and here: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/library/gg610574.aspx). Do not use Dynamic Memory for this VM. The layout of the Virtual Hard Disks should be as follows:

• IDE Controller 0: Dynamically expanding or Static VHDX of 60 GBs (hosting the OS and the common components of the SQL Server).
• SCSI Controller: Dynamically expanding or Static VHDX of 6 GBs (hosting the VMM Database)
• SCSI Controller: Dynamically expanding or Static VHDX of 3 GBs (hosting the VMM Database Logs)

The recommended version is SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Edition with SP1 (or later).

To make an unattended installation of the SQL Server we can use a Configuration File like the following:

;SQL Server 2012 Configuration File
[OPTIONS]
IACCEPTSQLSERVERLICENSETERMS="True"
ACTION="Install"
ENU="True"
QUIET="True"
QUIETSIMPLE="False"
UpdateEnabled="True"
FEATURES=SQLENGINE,SSMS,ADV_SSMS
UpdateSource="MU"
HELP="False"
INDICATEPROGRESS="True"
X86="False"
INSTALLSHAREDDIR="C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server"
INSTALLSHAREDWOWDIR="C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server"
INSTANCENAME="SCVMMDB"
INSTANCEID="SCVMMDB"
SQMREPORTING="False"
ERRORREPORTING="False"
INSTANCEDIR="M:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server"
AGTSVCACCOUNT="DCS\SQLAgent"
AGTSVCPASSWORD=P@ssw0rd
AGTSVCSTARTUPTYPE="Manual"
COMMFABRICPORT="0"
COMMFABRICNETWORKLEVEL="0"
COMMFABRICENCRYPTION="0"
MATRIXCMBRICKCOMMPORT="0"
SQLSVCSTARTUPTYPE="Automatic"
FILESTREAMLEVEL="0"
ENABLERANU="False"
SQLCOLLATION="SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS"
SQLSVCACCOUNT="DCS\SQLDatabase"
SQLSVCPASSWORD=P@ssw0rd
SQLSYSADMINACCOUNTS="DCS\Domain Admins"
SQLUSERDBLOGDIR="N:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL11.SCVMMDB\MSSQL\Data"
SQLTEMPDBLOGDIR="N:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL11.SCVMMDB\MSSQL\Data"
ADDCURRENTUSERASSQLADMIN="False"
TCPENABLED="1"
NPENABLED="0"
BROWSERSVCSTARTUPTYPE="Automatic"

You can find more info about Configuration Files for SQL Server 2012 unattended installations, here: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd239405.aspx

The most important parameters, where a decision should be made, are the following:

• Name of Instance: You set this on the INSTANCENAME and INSTANCEID parameters. "SCVMMDB" is the name recommended by the PLA.
• Components: You should only select the Database Engine here (as per PLA). The Management Tools are also included for convenience.
• Collation: SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS
• Location of the Database LUN: Replace M: with the drive letter of the LUN where you wish to place the Database files.
• Location of the Logs LUN: Replace N: with the drive letter of the LUN where you wish to place the Database Log files.
• SQL Server Agent account name: Replace "DCS\SQLAgent" in the AGTSVCACCOUNT parameter with a Domain Account of your choice (you can also use a local system account).
• SQL Server Database Engine account name: Replace "DCS\SQLDatabase" in the SQLSVCACCOUNT parameter with a Domain Account of your choice (you can also use a local system account). If using a Domain Account also provide the password (in AGTSVCPASSWORD).
• SQL Server System Administrators: Replace "DCS\Domain Admins" in the SQLSYSADMINACCOUNTS parameter with a Domain Account or Security Group of your choice. If using a Domain Account also provide the password (in SQLSVCPASSWORD).

Replace the values above as you see fit and save the file as: C:\Config\SCVMMDB.ini

On the SQL Server from the SQL Server 2012 installation media execute the following command:

setup.exe /ConfigurationFile="C:\Config\SCVMMDB.ini"

During installation verbose output will be displayed in the command prompt (enable or disable this with the INDICATEPROGRESS parameter):

After successful installation we see the following:

We can verify successful installation by running SQL Server Management Studio and connecting to the Database Instance (SCVMMDB):

Part 2: Installing Virtual Machine Manager 2012 SP1

We are going to deploy VMM 2012 SP1 on a highly-available Virtual Machine (and not a VMM Failover Cluster). For managing less than 150 physical hosts create a VM with 4 GB of RAM and 4 vCPUs, for managing more consider creating a VMM Failover Cluster and follow the sizing guidance in the IaaS PLA and here: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg610562.aspx). The layout of the Virtual Hard Disks should be as follows:

• IDE Controller 0: Dynamically expanding or Static VHDX of 60 GBs (hosting the OS and the VMM installation).
• SCSI Controller: Dynamically expanding or Static VHDX with enough disk space to host your VMM Library (ISOs, VM Templates, VHDXs files, etc.). You can also utilize a pass-through disk for the VMM Library in which case you can enable Disk Deduplication (on the Storage System).

Before setup you need to open the Firewall to allow communication between the VMM server and the SQL server. There are various ways to achieve this. One of them is to create a custom rule which opens all communications between the two IP addresses.

The command to do that on the SQL Server is:

netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="SQL01-VMM01" dir=in action=allow enable=yes profile=domain localip=10.100.100.2 remoteip=10.100.100.3 interfacetype=any

The command to do that on the VMM Server is:

netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="VMM01-SQL01" dir=in action=allow enable=yes profile=domain localip=10.100.100.3 remoteip=10.100.100.2 interfacetype=any

Replace any of the values above as needed to reflect your IP configuration and the rule name you want to assign.

VMM has three prerequisites when installed on Windows Server 2012:

• Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit for Windows 8: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30652

Download the web installer (adksetup.exe) from the link above. Execute the web installer on your workstation (not the VMM server) and select "Download the Assessment and Deployment Kit for installation on a separate computer" and select a folder. Use the downloaded folder to install WADK to VMM by selecting the "Deployment Tools" and "Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE)" only.

• SQL Server 2012 Native Client: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=239648&clcid=0x409
• SQL Server 2012 Command Line Utilities: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=239650&clcid=0x409

You also need to add the VMM Domain Service account on the local admins group:

net localgroup administrators DCS\VMMService /add

Using a Domain Service account (vs. a local account) has several advantages one of them being that you can use sharing with ISO images (to attach them to VMs).

You can install VMM from the command prompt by using the guidance here: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh852761.aspx

We need a configuration file (VMM.ini) that is similar to the following:

[OPTIONS]
ProductKey=XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
SqlInstanceName=SCVMMDB
RemoteDatabaseImpersonation=1
SqlMachineName=SQL01
LibrarySharePath=E:\VMMLibrary
MUOptIn=1
VmmServiceLocalAccount=0

Provide your Product Key, configure the database details and set the location of your VMM Library. Save the file as: C:\Config\VMM.ini

On the Virtual Machine Manager server insert the media and execute the following command:

setup.exe /server /i /f c:\Config\VMM.ini /VmmServiceDomain DCS /VmmServiceUserName VMMService /VmmServiceUserPassword P@ssw0rd /SqlDBAdminDomain DCS /SqlDBAdminName Administrator /SqlDBAdminPassword P@ssw0rd /IACCEPTSCEULA

You need to provide credentials for the VMM Service (a Domain Account) and for a SQL Server Admin (from the group we configured earlier, for example the Domain Admins).

During installation observe (through Task Manager) the two processes running: "SetupVM" and "Virtual Machine Manager Setup".

You can troubleshoot setup by investigating the Log Files at: C:\ProgramData\VMMLogs

For example opening SetupWizard.log we observe the following:

Opening PrereqCheck.log we find the following issue:

In this case the solution is obvious: There is a pending restart prohibiting our installation. Restart the VM and retry.

If everything went ok, opening SetupWizard.log we would read the following:

Your installation of VMM is now finished successfully! Verify the installation by opening the VMM console:

Panos Macheras
Architect
Microsoft Consulting Services

Follow me on twitter: https://twitter.com/panosmacheras

Download: Windows 7 SteadyState Version 1.0 Setup Files and Step-By-Step Guide!

On my last Blog Post I described a procedure to implement a Windows 7 SteadyState by utilizing differencing VHD files and the "Boot from VHD" feature of Windows 7. It was great to see the enthusiastic response from the community and how much some of you desperately needed such a solution.

However the procedure to implement my solution had many drawbacks: It was difficult to implement all the steps as they required a LOT of manual work. For that same reason deploying the solution to more that 10 PCs was pretty much out of the question. Another drawback was that it required the use of WinPE to handle the VHD files.

I promised to implement a more straight-forward method by using the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) to deploy and configure the OS. So here it is! The solution in this Blog Post has many advantages over the old one:

• It is straightforward. Just a simple reboot will get you to the initial SteadyState.
• It is less prone to errors and faster. By avoiding the use of WinPE we return to the initial SteadyState after a single reboot.
• It is easy to install. Just follow the instructions below. You should be up and running in less than 20 minutes (with most of the steps automated).
• It is easy to deploy on several machines. We create a bootable media (DVDR) and use that to automatically install everywhere. MDT can also be used to install over the network.

I urge everyone needing to implement a Windows 7 SteadyState scenario to give it a try (Internet Cafes, Kiosks, etc.). I believe that you will find the solution clean and effective. As usual I am eager to receive your feedback on how this solution can be improved further or to address any specific scenarios that you have in mind.

Windows 7 SteadyState Step-By-Step guide:

We will need one PC where the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) and the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) will be installed. Both of these are free downloads from Microsoft. We will use these tools with AutoIt scripts to create a bootable ISO from which we will use to automatically install Windows 7 and the SteadyState solution.

Step 1: Install WAIK for Windows 7

Download the Windows Automated Installation Toolkit from here: https://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=5753. Run the installation. Choose "Windows AIK Setup":

Run the setup wizard and accept the defaults.

Step 2: Install MDT 2010 Update 1

Download the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit from here: https://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=25175. Select either the x86 or the x64 version (depending on the OS you are currently running). Run the setup file and select the defaults on the installation wizard.

Note: This solution was tested with the x86 version of MDT.

Step 3: Download the Windows 7 SteadyState setup files

Download the package containing the Windows 7 SteadyState solution files here.

Create a folder (for example: C:\SteadyState) and unzip the Win7SteadyState.zip files there.

Step 4: Copy the Windows 7 media to the hard disk

Copy all the files from your Windows 7 DVD to the WIN7CD subfolder.

IMPORTANT NOTE (updated!): ONLY use Windows 7 Enterprise or Windows 7 Ultimate edition media. Other editions or multi-edition DVDs (which include all editions) will not work! You can get a 90-day trial edition of the Windows 7 Enterprise Edition here: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/cc442495

Step 5: Run the setup script

UPDATE: Before running "SETUP.exe" make sure that you have set the execution policy in Powershell correctly. Open Powershell (as an administrator) and execute the following command:

set-executionpolicy unrestricted

Answer "Y" to the Execution Policy Change question and close Powershell. Thanks goes to Brendan for pointing this out!

To automatically create our Windows 7 SteadyState installation ISO we will run the setup.exe script. This script (written in AutoIT) will configure MDT and prepare a bootable ISO which we will use to deploy the solution.

Run the script as a local administrator and wait for it to prepare your bootable ISO file which you will use to install the Windows 7 SteadyState solution to your PCs.

You should see several Powershell scripts executing while the image is prepared.

If you get the following message, click "This program installed correctly":

At the end you should see a Windows Explorer window with the ISO file:

Burn the ISO file to a DVDR.

Step 6: Boot from the SteadyState ISO

Boot with your newly created DVDR on the computer you want to install the Windows 7 SteadyState solution.

WARNING: This procedure will completely format your hard disk so make sure you are prepared for this!

The bootable ISO will:

• Install Windows 7 on a VHD file
• Create and configure the use of differencing disks
• Configure Windows Boot Manager

When your PC boots from the ISO you will have to select either the x86 or the x64 installation of Windows 7. Choose whatever version of Windows 7 you used during the creation of the ISO (in Step 4 above):

WARNING: Choosing the wrong OS version here will cause the installation to fail! If that happens simply restart the procedure.

After selecting the proper OS version the install procedure will start automatically. Allow plenty of time for the installation to complete (usually 15-30 minutes).

At the end of the procedure you should see a message that the "Operating System deployment completed successfully". Do not proceed further if you have not received this message.

Click “Finish”. Windows 7 installation (configured for SteadyState) is complete:

Step 7: Configure your initial Windows 7 SteadyState

Proceed to install and configure whatever you want to be part of your initial Windows 7 SteadyState (install Office or run Windows Update for example).

After you are done simply reboot the machine.

After reboot you are given two options during the start procedure:

The first option (Windows 7) runs your initial State where you can configure it to your liking. Whatever changes you make will be permanent after your next reboot.

The second option (SteadyState) runs the initial SteadyState but any changes you make on it will be discarded on the next reboot.

This is basically it! In case you want to make changes that need to reboot your OS (installing Windows 7 SP1 for example) then simply select the first option after the first reboot. This will ensure that your changes are persistent in your SteadyState.

You can automate further the installation (for example by automating the Microsoft Office installation or a 3rd party program) by modifying the MDT 2010 Task Sequence which was created by the setup script. For further guidance on how to work with MDT 2010 look here: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/solutionaccelerators/dd407791

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. How do I change the size of win7.vhd on the OSDisk?
   
   Open the ZTIDiskpartVHD.wsf file in Notepad and look for the following line:
   
   DiskPartWrite oExec, "Create vdisk file='c:\win7.vhd' MAXIMUM=30000 type=expandable"
   
   We see here that we use an expandable VHD with a maximum size of 30000 MB (approximately 29 GBs). Edit the size to whatever you find more appropriate for your environment. Run SETUP.exe again to create a new ISO image with your change.
2. Can I use a bootable USB drive instead of an ISO?
   
   Yes you can! Copy and paste all the files contained in the c:\DeploymentShare\Media\Content folder, to your USB disk. Make the USB disk bootable by running the command: bootsect /nt60 f: /force
   
   The bootsect.exe utility is located in the Boot folder of your Windows 7 media. Replace f: with the drive letter of your USB disk.
3. I want to change the amount of seconds the boot screen is visible during boot or hide it altogether. How do I do that?
   
   Edit the BootScriptSteadyState.au3 and change the following line:
   
   RunWait('cmd /c bcdedit -timeout 5',"",@SW_HIDE)
   
   The default is 5 seconds. A value of zero means that you will not get the boot menu at all.
   
   Compile the script (you will need to download and install AutoIt to be able to do that). Run SETUP.exe again to create a new ISO image with your change or simply replace c:\windows\system\BootScriptSteadyState.exe of a current installation.
4. What does SETUP.exe do exactly?
   
   SETUP.exe is a script written in AutoIt. You can see the source code by opening the SETUP.au3 file. To make any changes download and install AutoIT (it is free!). This will allow you to compile a new SETUP.exe and use that to further customize the solution.
5. Are there any system requirements for your solution? Do I need to pay any licensing fees to use it?
   
   The system requirements are as follows:
   
   For the PC where you create the ISO image: Windows 7 must be installed. Creating the ISO file requires at least 10 GB on the C: drive.
   
   For the PCs where you will install the Windows 7 SteadyState solution: The PCs must be able to run Windows 7 (as defined by the Windows 7 System Requirements) with a hard disk of at least the amount of the Win7.vhd file when expanded to its maximum capacity (the default is 30 Gb but you can change it - see FAQ number 1) plus the size of your initial SteadyState (5 Gb for a bare minimum Windows 7 installation + whatever you install afterwards). The absolute minimum is 35 Gb but I would recommend using at least 50-60 Gb hard disks if not more. If you have smaller disks then lower the size of the initial VHD.
   
   Regarding licensing: You only need to have a valid Windows 7 license for the PC where you install the SteadyState solution. WAIK and MDT are both free tools governed by their own licensees for use which you can read into each product's documentation.You are free to customize any of the files I have provided as part of the solution (source code, configuration files, etc.). However I would humbly ask that you provide a reference back to this webpage if you intent to publish your changes on the web or elsewhere.
6. MDT 2010 is capable of doing advanced deployments by using PXE or even integrating with SCCM for ZTI scenarios. Is your solution compatible with these capabilities? 
   
   Of course! SETUP.exe will fully configure your MDT 2010 installation and produce an ISO file to use for the installation. However you can customize the MDT 2010 installation to support any kind of deployment that best fits your environment including installing with PXE boot or by using a CDROM to simply connect your PC back to the MDT 2010 PC. See here for guidance on how to take advantage of the advanced deployment features that MDT 2010 offers.
7. I have frequent problems with BSODs and system crashes during boot. What could be the cause?
   
   Make sure that you have enough free disk space on C:. If there is not enough free disk on C: to store the temporary state then you will get BSODs during boot. For estimates on free disk space see FAQ number 5. In case you are stuck in such a situation, either re-install the solution from the ISO file (by changing the size of your VHD file as described in FAQ number 1), or boot from your Windows 7 media, open a command prompt and delete any temp#######.vhd files you have found on your hard disks. Then reboot.
8. Will your solution work in an Active Directory environment?
   
   I cannot see why not, but please have in mind that including a domain-joined PC in a SteadyState means that the AD Computer Account password will be reset on each boot. While this should not be a problem you should make sure that you have no issues with Group Policy being applied or authenticating to other resources in the domain (i.e. File Servers).
9. I get several errors in the Boot Manager about improper configuration. What might be wrong?
   
   You probably restarted the PC while being in the configurable SteadyState by just turning the power off. This means that the differencing VHD cannot use the originating VHD to boot. If you are in this scenario simply boot to whichever boot option is available, reboot normally, go to the persistent changes state and reboot normally again. You can now continue to use the temporary state as you normally would.

A special thanks goes to The Deployment Guys for automating the deployment of Windows 7 to a VHD file. You can find their solution here.

Panos Macheras
Microsoft Infrastructure Consultant

.

Update (07/July/2011): This solution is now deprecated. To get a vastly-improved Windows 7 SteadyState solution please visit this page: https://blogs.technet.com/b/panosm/archive/2011/07/07/windows-7-steadystate-solution-simplified.aspx

Windows SteadyState was a tool that allowed administrators to revert a workstation running XP or Vista to a previously stored state every time it reboots, or on administrator’s request. This feature was extremely useful in scenarios where workstation consistency at the OS and application level is required and the User State (user profile, user files, application settings) is not stored locally. Typical implementations of Windows SteadyState were workstation installations at schools, libraries or internet cafes. However, a recent trend that has been steadily increasing on the enterprise space is the need to deploy stable, rarely-updated machines that maintain their consistency across user sessions (boots) while improving manageability by utilizing Application Virtualization technologies as well as Group Policy. The end result is an Enterprise Workstation that is consistent, requires minimum management and costs less to maintain. You can find more info about Windows SteadyState at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_SteadyState.

Windows SteadyState is now discontinued. The last supported operating system was Windows Vista and the version released for that OS (version 2.5) is incompatible with Windows 7. In it’s place Microsoft has released guidance on how to achieve a “SteadyState-like” functionality by using Group Policy (to restrict the level of changes that can be made to the OS by the end user) and MDT 2010 (to revert to a well-known initial condition). You can find more info here: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg176676(WS.10).aspx. Unfortunately using MDT 2010 to restore the OS to a well known initial state is sometimes not practical and can be time consuming.

A proposed alternative is the use of the a new Windows 7 feature called “Boot from VHD” or “Native VHD Boot”. This feature allows the usage of a VHD file (Virtual Hard Disk) to run the operating system instead of using a hard disk partition. It should not be confused with virtualization technologies like Hyper-V or Virtual PC. This feature does not use a hypervisor or virtual hardware. You should think of it as running your C: partition on a VHD file instead of a real hard disk partition. You can find more info about this feature here: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd440865(WS.10).aspx.

What is interesting about this feature is that it can work with a differencing VHD file. What is a differencing VHD file? A differencing VHD file is linked on a regular VHD file (called parent VHD) and only stores modified blocks of data in relation to its parent VHD. The result is that we can easily roll back changes by simply resetting this differencing VHD to its initial (empty) condition. This is a technique that is commonly used in Lab deployments where several virtual machines use differencing VHDs in order to test scenarios and then rollback changes. We can also use differencing disks to achieve the same result in a physical Windows 7 installation.

In this blog post we are going to describe a “step-by-step” guide on how to use this technique. In a second blog post we will describe how to automate the installation by using MDT 2010 so that we can leverage this capability at the enterprise level.

Step 1: Creating a WinPE ISO

WinPE is the Windows Preinstallation Environment used during the installation of Windows. It is also used for common maintenance tasks or for troubleshooting broken installations. It is included in Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 (Download). We will install and use WinPE in order to manage the differencing VHD of the Operating System either by discarding changes (to revert to our initial Steady State) or by committing the changes (by merging the differencing VHD to its parent VHD).

1. Download and install WAIK for Windows 7 (Link) on an existing Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 installation.
2. As Administrator run: Start –> All Programs –> Windows AIK –> Deployment Tools Command Prompt.
3. On the command prompt run the following commands:
   
   copype.cmd x86 c:\winpe_x86
   
   copy c:\winpe_x86\winpe.wim c:\winpe_x86\ISO\sources\boot.wim
   
   copy "c:\program files\Windows AIK\Tools\x86\ImageX.exe" c:\winpe_x86\iso\
   
   copy c:\windows\system32\bcdedit.exe c:\winpe_x86\iso\
   
   oscdimg.exe –bC:\winpe_x86\iso\boot\etfsboot.com –u2 –h -m -lWINPE C:\winpe_x86\iso\ C:\WINPE.iso
   
   (Note: Replace x86 with x64 if you are looking to install the x64 version of Windows 7)
4. Store the resulting WINPE.iso file. We will use it to install WinPE on our workstation later.

Step 2: Creating the VHD files

On Step 2 we are going to use the diskpart command line utility to format the physical hard disk and create 3 VHD files:

• c:\win7.vhd: The parent VHD file which will contain our “Steady State”.
• c:\temp.vhd: The differencing VHD file which will be used to store the changes.
• c:\winpe.vhd: The VHD file which will host WinPE.

The command below will create a parent VHD file of approximately 30 GB size and of type “expandable” (meaning that it will start from zero size and expand up to the 30 GB limit). Feel free to change the size according to your specifications. You can also use a type “fixed” vhd file which will pre-allocate the whole size of the VHD (by creating a big VHD file of the maximum size you specify). Using a “fixed” VHD file will give you a small performance improvement vs. using an “expandable” one. The last step will create a copy of the differencing VHD which we will use to quick revert our VHD to an initial “empty” state.

1. On the target workstation boot from your Windows 7 media.
2. On the Setup Screen click SHIFT-F10 to open the command prompt.
3. On the command prompt run the following commands:
   
   diskpart
   
   select disk 0
   
   clean
   
   create partition primary
   
   select partition 1
   
   active
   
   format fs=ntfs quick
   
   assign letter=C
   
   create vdisk file=”c:\win7.vhd” maximum=30000 type=expandable
   
   create vdisk file=”c:\temp.vhd” parent=”c:\win7.vhd”
   
   create vdisk file=”c:\winpe.vhd” maximum=2000 type=expandable
   
   select vdisk file=”c:\win7.vhd”
   
   attach vdisk
   
   exit
   
   copy c:\temp.vhd c:\temp.vhd.orig

Step 3: Installing Windows 7 on the parent VHD file

The next step is to use the win7.vhd file we created, to install Windows 7:

1. Close the command prompt and return to the Windows 7 setup. Click “Next” and proceed with the installation by selecting “Install Now”.
2. Select “Custom (Advanced)” installation.
3. Select the VHD file to install Windows 7 (you will notice which one it is by its size, in comparison to the physical hard disk).
   
   
4. Ignore the error “Windows cannot be installed to this disk.” and proceed with the setup by clicking “Next”.
5. Complete the OS setup and logon to your new Windows 7 installation.

Step 4: Installing WinPE on the winpe.vhd file

On your new Windows 7 installation perform the following to install WinPE on the winpe.vhd file.

1. Open the Command Prompt as Administrator.
2. Run the command:
   
   bcdedit –copy {current} /d “Windows 7 AVHD”
   
   This command will return a GUID in the form of {94bb083f-1f8f-11e0-8b9f-a1bc155f31e3}. Make a note of this GUID as you will use it in the commands that follow and also during Step 5. This is the GUID for the differencing VHD.
3. Run the commands:
   
   bcdedit –set GUID device vhd=[D:]\temp.vhd
   
   bcdedit –set GUID osdevice vhd=[D:]\temp.vhd
   
   Replace GUID with the one that you got from the bcdedit –copy command previously.
   Replace D: with the drive where your temp.vhd is located (if it is not on D:). Do not omit the brackets!
4. Run the following commands to format winpe.vhd and install WinPE in it:
   
   diskpart
   
   select vdisk file=”d:\winpe.vhd”
   
   attach vdisk
   
   clean
   
   create partition primary
   
   format fs=ntfs quick
   
   assign letter p
   
   exit
5. Insert the WINPE.iso you created on Step 1. Let’s say that you inserted it on E: (replace accordingly below – if different).
6. Run the commands:
   
   e:\imagex /apply e:\sources\boot.wim 1 p:
   
   xcopy e:\boot\*.* /e /f p:\boot\
   
   copy e:\bootmgr p:
   
   bcdedit -create /d "WinPE" -application osloader
   
   The last command will return a GUID in the form of {94bb083f-1f8f-11e0-8b9f-a1bc155f31e3}. Make a note of this GUID as you will use it in the commands that follow. This is the GUID for WinPE.
7. Run the commands:
   
   bcdedit -set GUID device vhd=[D:]\winpe.vhd
   
   bcdedit -set GUID osdevice vhd=[D:]\winpe.vhd
   
   bcdedit -set GUID path \windows\system32\boot\winload.exe
   
   bcdedit –set GUID systemroot \windows
   
   bcdedit -set GUID winpe yes
   
   bcdedit -set GUID nx OptIn
   
   bcdedit -set GUID detecthal yes
   
   bcdedit -displayorder GUID –addlast
   
   bcdedit -timeout 0
   
   Replace GUID with the one that you got from the bcdedit –create command.
   Replace D: with the drive where your winpe.vhd is located (if it is not on D:). Do not omit the brackets!

Step 5: Create the scripts to automate discarding and committing changes

We have created all the necessary VHD files. In the next step we need to provide the logic behind “discarding” and “committing” changes we have made in each session. As previously explained this is done by either resetting or merging the differencing VHD file temp.vhd. This procedure is done by booting into WinPE (through winpe.vhd which we created in Step 4), doing the change, and then rebooting to the differencing VHD. There are two options that we will configure:

• Discard the changes and revert to the “SteadyState”: This is done by simply rebooting or shutting down and restart the machine. We will place a script running during the shutdown which will configure an autorun script for WinPE to delete temp.vhd, replace it with a blank one and then change the default booting partition to the (now empty) differencing VHD (temp.vhd).
• Commit the changes permanently: This is done by running a script located in c:\windows\system32 called Commit.Bat. This script configures an autorun script for WinPE to merge temp.vhd with win7.vhd, create a new empty temp.vhd differencing disk and then change the default booting partition to the (now empty) differencing VHD (temp.vhd).

Additionally we will also configure a startup command to change the default booting partition to WinPE (winpe.vhd).

Here are the detailed steps on how to configure this:

1. First of we need two things: The 2 GUIDs we used during Step 4, the differencing VHD GUID and the WinPE GUID. We are going to use those to define the default booting partition (this is how bcdedit works).
2. Run: gpedit.msc to open to Local Group Policy Editor. Go to: Local Computer Policy –> Computer Configuration –> Windows Settings –> Scripts (Startup/Shutdown). Double-Click “Startup” to open the “Startup Properties” window and click “Add”. Enter the following:
   
   Script Name: c:\windows\system32\bcdedit.exe
   Script Parameters: –default GUID
   
   Replace GUID above with the WinPE GUID you noted in Step 4. Click “OK” and close Local Group Policy Editor.
   
   
   
   
3. Verify that winpe.vhd is still mounted as Drive P:. If this is not the case then use diskpart (or diskmgmt.msc) to attach it.
4. Go to: P:\windows\system32 and run:
   
   notepad winpeshl.ini
5. Add the following lines inside winpeshl.ini:
   
   [LaunchApps]
   %SYSTEMROOT%\system32\winpe.bat
   
   This file will autorun winpe.bat during WinPE boot. After completion WinPE will automatically reboot the computer. Save the file and close Notepad.
6. Again from: P:\windows\system32 run:
   
   notepad discard.bat
7. Add the following lines inside discard.bat:
   
   copy /y c:\temp.vhd.orig c:\temp.vhd
   
   bcdedit –default GUID
   
   Where GUID is the differencing VHD GUID you noted in Step 4. Save the file and close Notepad.
8. Again from: P:\windows\system32 run:
   
   notepad commit.bat
9. Add the following lines inside commit.bat:
   
   echo select vdisk file=c:\temp.vhd > vhdmerge.s
   
   echo merge vdisk depth=1 >> vhdmerge.s
   
   diskpart –s vhdmerge.s
   
   copy /y c:\temp.vhd.orig c:\temp.vhd
   
   bcdedit –default GUID
   
   copy /y discard.bat winpe.bat
   
   Where GUID is the differencing VHD GUID you noted in Step 4. Save the file and close Notepad.
10. Again from: P:\windows\system32\ run:
    
    copy discard.bat winpe.bat
11. Create a new bat file on c:\windows\system32 called commit.bat. In it add the following lines:
    
    echo select vdisk file=D:\winpe.vhd > winpe.s
    
    echo attach vdisk >> winpe.s
    
    diskpart –s winpe.s
    
    ping 127.0.0.1
    
    copy /y p:\windows\system32\commit.bat p:\windows\system32\winpe.bat
    
    Where D: is the drive where your VHD is stored. Save the file.
12. From the command prompt execute the following command:
    
    bcdedit –default GUID
    
    Where GUID is the WinPE GUID you noted in Step 4.

That’s it! You can proceed to configure Windows 7 exactly the way you want to appear in your initial “SteadyState” (even Windows Activation will work between sessions). Each time you restart WinPE will run and discard all the changes by resetting the differencing VHD and then reboot to Windows 7.

If you want to commit the changes you have made then you need to run: c:\windows\system32\commit.bat (of course as a local administrator!) and the changes will stay as WinPE will merge the differencing VHD to its parent after the first reboot.

Below is a flow chart detailing the procedure:

In a next blog post I will outline how you can automate this procedure by using MDT 2010 (Microsoft Deployment Toolkit) and AutoIT scripts.

Feel free to provide feedback on ways to improve this implementation either by contacting me or by commenting below.

Thanks,

Panos Macheras
Infrastructure Consultant