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Building a Technician Computer

  • Article

Applies To: Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2

Note

This content applies to Windows 7. For Windows 8 content, see Windows Deployment with the Windows ADK.

The technician computer is the computer in your lab on which you install the Windows® OEM Preinstallation Kit (OPK) or Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK). You use a technician computer to create answer files, build configuration sets, and build custom Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) images. Windows System Image Manager (Windows SIM) is the primary tool you use to create and modify answer files and configuration sets.

The technician computer typically contains your distribution share, a folder structure that contains the source files necessary to install your Windows installation. You can host your distribution share on a network share so multiple technician computers can share the same resources.

System Requirements

To build a technician computer, you need:

  • An x86-based or x64-based computer running Windows® 7, Windows Server® 2008 R2, Windows Server® 2008, Windows Vista®, or a Windows Server® 2003 operating system.

  • Windows OPK or Windows AIK.

  • A CD or DVD burner to create portable media.

  • Image-burning software, such as the built-in CD and DVD burning software in Windows 7.

  • .NET Framework 2.0 (provided with the tools during Setup).

  • Network access, to download the latest updates (if you plan to use the technician computer as a network share).

Installing Windows OPK or Windows AIK Tools

  • For Windows OPK customers, insert the Windows OPK DVD, and the Setup program will automatically install tools and documentation on your local computer under C:\Program Files\Windows OPK\.

  • For Windows AIK customers, download and run the Windows Installer package. The Setup program will automatically install tools and documentation on your local computer under C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\.

Default Installation Directories

By default, Setup creates the following directory structure:

C:\Program Files\<version>\Docs\
C:\Program Files\<version>\Recovery\
C:\Program Files\<version>\Samples\
C:\Program Files\<version>\SDKs\
C:\Program Files\<version>\Tools\

The value of <version> can be either Windows OPK or Windows AIK. The following table describes each of the available folders created by Setup.

Term Definition

\Docs

Contains online Help (.chm) files and white papers.

\Recovery

Contains Windows Recovery-specific files.

\Samples

Contains all Windows OPK or Windows AIK samples.

\SDKs

Contains software development kit (SDK) resources.

\Tools

Contains all deployment tools, including Windows SIM, Windows PE, and ImageX.

See Also

Concepts

Building a Lab Environment
Deployment Network Considerations