New Features in the Windows AIK

This topic describes some of the new features available in the Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK) 1.1.

Supported Operating Systems

The following operating systems can be configured and deployed by using AIK 1.1:

  • Windows Vista®
  • Windows Vista® Service Pack 1 (SP1)
  • Windows Server® 2008

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Deployment

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) must be installed on a running Windows installation. You can recreate custom Windows images with Windows Vista SP1 slipstream media or update existing Windows Vista RTM images online with the Windows Vista SP1 stand-alone package.

Before deploying Windows Vista SP1, be aware of the requirements, procedures, and limitations. For more information, see Install Windows Vista Service Pack 1.

Server Manager

Server Manager Command-Line Tool can now be used to install and to remove Windows Server 2008 roles, role services, and features. For more information, see Server Manager Command-Line Tool.

Initial Configuration Extensibility and Server Manager

Schema definitions are now available that describe how you can add tasks, links, and branding material to the out-of-box experience. For more information, see Server Manager Extension Schema

Cross-Platform Deployment

Windows Setup now supports cross-platform deployment. You can install 64-bit version of Windows from a 32-bit preinstallation environment. For more information, see Deploy to Different Architecture Types.

UEFI Deployment

Information is now available on how to apply a Windows image to a UEFI-enabled computer. For more information, see Deploy to UEFI-based Computers.

Driver Package Installer (DPInst)

You can now add non-boot critical drivers during Windows Setup using the Driver Package Installer (DPInst) available in the Windows Driver Kit (WDK). For more information, see Add Device Drivers During Windows Setup.

Boot critical driver projection tool (PostReflect.exe)

The boot critical driver projection tool (PostReflect.exe) is used to reflect all boot critical device drivers out of the driver store in an offline Windows image. If all of the boot critical drivers are reflected in a Windows image, it can be deployed to various hardware configurations. For more information, see PostReflect Command-Line Options.

Windows Vista SP1 Files Removal Tool (VSP1Cln.exe)

The Windows Vista SP1 Files Removal Tool (VSP1Cln.exe) is an optional tool that can be used after Windows Vista SP1 is applied to remove archived RTM files and reclaim disk space. If you use this tool to remove archived RTM files, you can not uninstall SP1. For more information, see VSP1CLN Command-Line Options.

Windows PE

Windows PE 2.1 contains several new features, including:

  • Boot from Hard Disk. Support for booting directly from the hard disk, not into RAM Disk. For more information, see Walkthrough: Boot Windows PE from Hard Disk.
  • Oscdimg tool. Updated features including support for larger images. For more information, see Oscdimg Command-Line Options.
  • Writable RAM drive. When booting from read-only media, Windows PE automatically creates a writable RAM disk (drive X) and allocates 32 megabytes (MB) of the RAM disk for general-purpose storage. You can customize the size, in megabytes, using PEImg /scratchspace. Valid values are 32, 64, 128, 256 and 512. For more information, see PEImg Command-Line Options.

Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE)

Information is now available on how to build recovery media using Windows PE 2.1 and Windows RE technology. For more information, see Windows PE Walkthroughs.

Windows Imaging

Technical information is now available on the Windows Imaging format (.wim). Windows Imaging Interface Reference now includes updated code samples.

Server Manager

Server Manager Command-Line Tool can now be used to install and to remove Windows Server® 2008 roles, role services, and features. For more information, see Server Manager Command-Line Tool.

Windows Vista SP1 Deployment

Windows Vista SP1 must be installed on a running Windows installation. You can recreate Custom Windows images with Windows Vista SP1 slipstream media or update existing Windows Vista RTM images online with the Windows Vista SP1 stand-alone package. For more information, see Install Windows Vista Service Pack 1.

See Also

Concepts

Getting Started with the Windows AIK
Preinstallation Concepts
Comparing Windows XP and Windows Vista Deployment Technologies