Add a Windows 8.1 Operating System Image Using Configuration Manager

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Applies To: Windows 8.1

Operating system images are typically the production image used for deployment throughout the organization. This topic will show you how to add a Windows 8.1 operating system image created using Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager and distribute it to the a distribution point.

For the purposes of this topic, we will use CM01, a machine running Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard, as the distribution point. CM01 is a member of the domain contoso.com for the fictitious Contoso Corporation. For more details on the setup for this topic, please see Proof-Of-Concept Environment. Our image is named REFW81-X64-001.wim. For details on building this image, please see Create a Windows 8.1 Reference Image.

  1. Using File Explorer, in the E:\Sources\OSD\OS folder, create a subfolder named Windows 8.1 Enterprise x64 RTM.

  2. Copy the REFW81-X64-001.wim file to the E:\Sources\OSD\OS\Windows 8.1 Enterprise x64 RTM folder.

    Figure 18. The Windows 8.1 image copied to the Sources folder structure.

  3. Using the Configuration Manager Console, in the Software Library workspace, right-click Operating System Images, and select Add Operating System Image.

  4. On the Data Source page, in the Path: text box, browse to \\CM01\Sources$\OSD\OS\Windows 8.1 Enterprise x64 RTM\REFW81-X64-001.wim and click Next.

  5. On the General page, assign the name Windows 8.1 Enterprise x64 RTM and click Next twice, and then click Close.

  6. Distribute the operating system image to the CM01 distribution point by right-clicking the Windows 8.1 Enterprise x64 RTM operating system image and selecting Distribute Content.

  7. In the Distribute Content Wizard, add the CM01 distribution point.

  8. View the content status for the Windows 8.1 Enterprise x64 RTM package. Do not continue until the distribution is completed. You also can review the E:\Program Files\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Logs\distmgr.log file and look for the STATMSG: ID=2301 line.

Figure 19. The distributed Windows 8.1 Enterprise x64 RTM package.

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