Install Operating System

This task sequence step installs an operating system on the target computer. MDT can deploy Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2008 using:

· setup.exe. This method is the traditional method used, initiated by running setup.exe from the installation media. MDT uses setup.exe by default.

· imagex.exe. This method installs the operating system image using imagex.exe with the /apply option. MDT uses this method when the setup.exe method cannot be used (i.e., it falls back to using imagex.exe).

Note Other operating systems, such as Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, can only use the setup.exe method.

You can control which of these methods is used by using the ForceApplyFallback property, which also affects which operating system task sequences are listed in the Deployment Wizard for a specific processor architecture boot image. For more information, see the ForceApplyFallback property.

The unique properties and settings for the Install Operating System task sequence step type are:

Properties

Name	Description
Type	Set this read-only type to Install Operating System.

Settings

Name	Description
Operating system to install	The name of the operating system to be installed on the target computer. You select the operating system from a drop-down list compiled from operating systems that have been configured in the Operating Systems node of the Deployment Workbench.
Disk	The disk on which to install the operating system.
Partition	The partition on which to install the operating system.