Install Windows like a PRO! Windows Deployment Services Tutorial

Installing Windows is boring and tedious. And if you need to customize installs across multiple machines, often rife with mistakes. Today I'm going to show you how businesses deploy Windows over the network, saving time, money, and most of the headache that goes with that process.

But first... What am I drinking???

I picked up a bottle of Kirkland Egg Nog Wine Cocktail just to give it a shot. Aaaaaaaand it's gone. BRB, going to buy more. But please, be careful, it is 13.9%.

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Music:
Shades of Spring by Kevin MacLeod

[daviddelgado]

I have been in the IT Industry for over 25 years now, and this is the best tutorial I have ever seen, if Microsoft Trainings were like this I am sure there will be more and better prepared professionals in the industry. Thank you for making this soooo simple!!!

[rickvath]

This is the most concise and approachable way of explaining WDS I've ever seen. I'm going to send this to all of the newer IT techs at my company. Nice work and I'm looking forward to your MDT video.

[JohnPamplin]

Definitely want to see the follow-up video about customizing the build with apps, drivers, settings, and removal of cruft.

[KayJay]

This couldn't have been timed better. I'm an apprentice at an IT company and just got some homework to setup a deployment server like this. This guide was super helpful, thanks a lot!

[flying_rabbi]

Jeff, you are a legend. I've been watching for a while, but this one got my subscription! I've been toying with the idea of remote deployment for a while, but this has sealed the deal. Thanks mate!

[razvantehnic]

i have watch the entire week to the movies about WDS and i did not understand a thing, and your tutorial brings the light in my frustration . Thank you.

[Fishbait]

A windows 10 install imagine where you dont have to spend 10 minutes clicking "no" to all the various spy/tracking crap that 99.99% of people turn off on install. Would be great.

[ChubiChan]

Literally the best WDS tutorial I've ever seen. Thank you for making this more accessible!
Definitely would love to see custom images, or creating an image for install from an existing PC

[dustojnikhummer]

Finally an up to date and understandable guide. Windows documentation and tutorials are a mess. Highly appreciated!

[jakejones]

Great video man, would love to see a guide on how to setup a Linux PXE server! Gonna use this in my lab but I deploy Linux machines more often! :)

[sergio_ra]

I've been using Hyper-V and Macrium for this. Make a reference image every half a year (Home & Pro), sysprep it, capture with Macrium, then deploy. Works for both BIOS and UEFI, takes about 2-5 minutes to deploy. Also works with laptops and I don't bother with drivers - have seen very few computers that need drive controller drivers. Then, Windows takes care of all updates. Total time is usually about 20 minutes, with about three minutes of work

[tylerlindberg]

Ayyye, awesome. Next integrate MDT with it (it's free), and be amazed at the automation. :-)

[salazul]

I needed this. Thanks for taking the time to make this easy to follow tutorial!

[noja]

I am so excited for the custom image image option! I spent about a week banging my head against the wall on that and I’m ready to see it done! Thank you!!

[michaelbailey]

This is great. You just made something that can be so mind-numbing into something I feel comfortable doing.

I have a major deployment to do and you’ve given me a fantastic starting point.

Thank you!

[markharby]

Excellent intro to WDS. Can't wait for the customized images follow-up.

[bighairycomputers]

"I can't drink beer all the time"

And that's where you're wrong.

[TheProph]

Thanks for this tutorial Jeff! I've been wanting to do something like this for awhile and this video finally got me to do it! This was super easy to follow, and I really appreciate the explanations of some of the pitfalls like not grouping unlike builds. Well done!

[tm]

To get a iso of windows 10 with an install.wim instead of install.esd: make the site believe you are using a tablet/smartphone to download the iso.

chrome: open devtools(F12), toggle device toolbar and load the page (or reload)
firefox: open devtools(F12), toggle reponsive design mode and load the page (or reload)

[fordsrmaster]

I just went through the video step by step and learned how to set up WDS. I can't say thank you enough. Great video. Everything worked perfectly.