Joanne

Associate product marketing manager

General

SmartDeploy console showing Computer Management view on the dashboard

W11 computer mgt view-3

SmartDeploy console showing Windows 11 Readiness Status and Windows 11 Readiness Reason in Computer Management view

W11 columns-2

SmartDeploy console showing Windows 11 upgrade feature in Computer Management view

W11 select devices-3

Minimum supported version of Windows for W11 upgrade feature

W11 upgrades networks-3

W11 upgrades settings-3

W11 upgrades final screen-3

Upgrading W10 to W11 + Erik quote

Learn how to perform Windows 11 in-place upgrades on user devices quickly. See how SmartDeploy simplifies the upgrade process and device management tasks with one tool.

How to perform Windows 11 in-place upgrades

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How to perform Windows 11 upgrades

How to perform Windows 11 in-place upgrades on user devices

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SmartDeploy Reimage Devices dashboard with the Build Virtual Machine option highlighted for starting a new reference VM.

SmartDeploy: Getting Started: Build Virtual Machine

SmartDeploy Build Wizard showing virtualization software selection and Windows 11 x64 as the guest operating system.

Build settings

SmartDeploy Reimage Devices dashboard with the Capture Image option highlighted for capturing a reference OS image.

SmartDeploy: Menu: Capture Image

SmartDeploy Reimage Devices dashboard with the Download Platform Packs option highlighted for retrieving driver packages.

SmartDeploy menu: Download Platform Packs

SmartDeploy Platform Packs window displaying available driver packs and the menu for creating or importing a Platform Pack.

SmartDeploy: Download Platform Pack menu

SmartDeploy download window showing available Platform Packs searchable by manufacturer, model, and operating system.

SmartDeploy: Download Platform Packs menu

SmartDeploy download window listing available Application Packs with searchable publisher, title, and version details.

SmartDeploy Application Pack search menu

SmartDeploy Reimage Devices dashboard with the Create Answer File option highlighted for configuring automated deployment tasks.

SmartDeploy menu: Automate Deployment

SmartDeploy Answer File Wizard displaying the Application Packs list and install order controls for deployment automation.

Answer File Wizard App Packs

SmartDeploy Reimage Devices dashboard with the Create Media option highlighted for generating deployment media.

SmartDeploy menu: Create Media

SmartDeploy Media Wizard Create Media screen showing options to build boot media or offline deployment media.

SmartDeploy Create Media Wizard

SmartDeploy Media Wizard task selection page displaying boot media, offline deployment media, WDS boot media, and deployment package options.

SmartDeploy: Create Media Wizard: Choose media type

SmartDeploy All Computers management screen with the Image deployment action highlighted for selecting target devices.

Image deployment

SmartDeploy Deploy Wizard showing deployment package selection, reboot behavior, multicast option, and scheduled deployment date and time.

Deployment schedule

Want to know how to image computers for a Windows migration or to roll out new hardware? Learn how you can do it manually or with the right computer imaging software.

How to image a computer: Three common approaches

How to image computers: 3 ways to image

Toast Frame laptop

MOFU - SD blog

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TL;DR: how to reimage multiple machines

TL;DR How to reimage multiple computers

Learn how to build a reference VM in SmartDeploy.

 SmartDeploy – Getting Started Part 4: Build your reference VM

Why use virtual machines?

Don't install antivirus

Learn how to capture your system image with SmartDeploy.

 SmartDeploy – Getting Started Part 5: Capture your image

Sysprep

Learn how to download Platform Packs and Application Packs in SmartDeploy. 

Getting Started Part 6: Download Platform & Application Packs

How to update drivers or BIOS in Windows devices

Learn how to create an answer file with SmartDeploy.

Getting Started Part 7: Create your answer file

Reimaging devices over the cloud

Learn how to create boot media with SmartDeploy. 

Getting Started Part 8: Create your boot or deployment media

Learn how to deploy an image with SmartDeploy.

 Getting Started Part 9: Deploy your image

When reimaging computers, diverse hardware and the location of devices can make the job much harder. Learn how the right Windows imaging tool can simplify the process.

How to reimage multiple computers

How to reimage multiple computers: Best and easiest way

How to reimage multiple computers - social

SmartDeploy

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Learn how to reimage multiple computers with SmartDeploy, including planning for hardware differences, creating a reference image, adding drivers and applications, and deploying across multiple Windows devices.

Create a reference image, add drivers and applications, and deploy it across devices using SmartDeploy.

How to reimage multiple computers with SmartDeploy

Create your reference computer

Create a reference computer using a virtual machine like Oracle VM VirtualBox or VMware through SmartDeploy’s Build Wizard. In the SmartDeploy web console, go to Reference Machines > Actions > Create and follow the prompts. In the desktop console, go to Activities > Reimage Devices > Build Virtual Machine. If you use Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer, or VMware ESXi, build the reference computer in that virtualization platform.

Install Windows on your reference computer

Install Windows and run Windows updates on your virtual reference computer. Install the core applications you want on all target devices. When you are done, power down the virtual machine. Do not install antivirus software on the reference image because it can interfere with utilities like Sysprep.

Capture your system image

In the web console, go to Images > Actions > Capture. In the desktop console, go to Activities > Reimage Devices > Capture image. Select and scan the virtual hard disk, choose a name and location for the .wim file, and finish the capture. SmartDeploy runs Sysprep automatically at deployment time.

Download prebuilt driver packs

In the web console, go to Platform Packs > Actions > Download. In the desktop console, go to Activities > Reimage Devices > Download Platform Packs. Select the model-specific Platform Packs you need and download them so SmartDeploy can install the correct drivers during deployment.

Create your answer file

In the web console, go to Answer Files > Actions > Create. In the desktop console, go to Activities > Reimage Devices > Create Answer File. Launch the wizard, select the image source, provide network credentials, choose the .wim file and Platform Pack location, add any Application Packs, configure domain join settings, and finish the file.

Create your boot media

In the SmartDeploy web console, go to Deployment Packs > Actions > Create. In the desktop console, go to Activities > Reimage Devices > Create Media. Select the deployment media, choose the deployment package, Platform Packs, and answer files, then name the deployment package and finish.

Deploy your image

Go to Computer Management, select the target devices or device group, click Actions > Image, choose the deployment package, optionally set the deployment schedule, and click Deploy.

A factory reset restores a computer to its default OEM state or factory settings. In contrast, reimaging a computer means applying a custom operating system image with selected files, applications, and settings to the device.

What’s the difference between a factory reset and reimaging a computer?

A system backup is typically used in recovery scenarios, restoring a device to a particular state when the backup image was captured. A system image is more broadly defined as an operating system environment with specific configurations that you want to distribute to one or more devices.

What’s the difference between a system backup and a system image?

Learn how to build a reference virtual machine in SmartDeploy as the starting point for reimaging multiple computers.

SmartDeploy - Getting Started Part 4: Build your reference VM

Learn how to capture a SmartDeploy image from your reference virtual machine for deployment across multiple Windows devices.

SmartDeploy - Getting Started Part 5: Capture your image

Learn how to download Platform Packs and Application Packs in SmartDeploy to add drivers and applications to your deployment workflow.

SmartDeploy - Getting Started Part 6: Download Platform & Application Packs

Learn how to create a SmartDeploy answer file to define image source, package locations, and deployment settings.

SmartDeploy - Getting Started Part 7: Create your answer file

Learn how to create boot or deployment media in SmartDeploy for USB, network, or other imaging workflows.

SmartDeploy - Getting Started Part 8: Create your boot or deployment media

Learn how to deploy your SmartDeploy image to selected devices or device groups using a deployment package.

SmartDeploy - Getting Started Part 9: Deploy your image

Generic vs.OEM drivers

Tara quote

How to create a reference image

Computer imaging best practices apply no matter what imaging software you use. Learn what these best practices are and how they can improve your imaging process. 

Computer imaging best practices

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Computer imaging best practices social share

Autopilot-Intune: Josh quote 1

Autopilot-Intune webcast CTA

Fun fact - Intune suite

Sunk cost fallacy

Autopilot-Intune: Josh quote 2

What are Microsoft Intune and Windows Autopilot used for? Let’s talk pros and cons, how Intune and Autopilot are not imaging tools, and why imaging devices is important.

Windows Autopilot and Microsoft Intune: Pros & cons

What are Windows Autopilot & Microsoft Intune? Pros & cons

Windows Autopilot is a cloud service that configures new Windows devices using preset policies on the OEM-installed operating system. It automates enrollment, provisioning, and basic setup without creating or deploying custom images.

What is Windows Autopilot?

Windows Autopilot simplifies remote provisioning and integrates with Microsoft services, but it requires complex setup, provides limited deployment visibility, and relies on OEM-installed Windows builds that often include bloatware.

What are the pros and cons of Windows Autopilot?

No. Windows Autopilot cannot create or deploy operating system images. It applies configuration policies on top of the OEM-loaded Windows installation instead of deploying a custom OS image.

Is Windows Autopilot an imaging solution?

Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based endpoint management platform that applies security policies, manages applications, and monitors compliance across Windows and mobile devices. It centralizes configuration but does not perform imaging.

What is Microsoft Intune?

Intune provides centralized compliance management and unified endpoint control across diverse platforms, but it deploys changes asynchronously, offers inconsistent reporting visibility, and has limited flexibility for custom or immediate deployments.

What are the pros and cons of Microsoft Intune?

No. Microsoft Intune cannot create or deploy operating system images. It manages devices after the OS is installed, so separate imaging tools are still required for baseline deployment, rebuilds, and OS migration projects.

Can you image devices with Intune?

Computer imaging creates a clean, consistent baseline across devices, removes bloatware, ensures app and system compatibility, accelerates help desk recovery, and enables rapid restoration from malware or ransomware events.

Why is computer imaging important?

TL;DR Windows image

Brook quote

Physical vs. virtual reference computers

How to activate Hyper-V

Hyper-V Manager interface showing the New Virtual Machine option used to create a Windows 11 reference VM.

Hyper-V manager - new VM

Hyper-V New Virtual Machine Wizard summary showing configuration settings for a Windows 11 reference machine.

Hyper-V manager - summary

Hyper-V virtual machine security settings with Secure Boot and Trusted Platform Module enabled for a Windows 11 reference machine.

Hyper-V manager - TPM settings

Tips for creating reference computer

Windows 11 Setup screen displaying language, time, and keyboard options during installation on a reference VM.


Windows 11 setup screen

Windows Setup screen selecting Custom Install Windows only advanced for a clean Windows 11 installation.

Windows 11 setup - custom install

How to set up offline account

Windows 11 installation screen showing feature updates downloading during reference machine setup.

Windows 11 updates

Microsoft Edge Lets Surf game displayed while Windows 11 updates install on the reference virtual machine.

MSFT surf cat

SmartDeploy console showing the Capture Image option used to create a Windows 11 system image.

RD capture

SmartDeploy Capture Wizard selecting a virtual hard disk to create a Windows 11 image file.

Capture wizard - select virtual hard disk

SmartDeploy Application Packs interface showing prebuilt software packages for Windows image deployment.

SD application packs

SmartDeploy Platform Packs interface showing driver packages for different hardware models used with a Windows 11 image.

SD - platform packs

Jeff thanks

Learn how you can create Windows 11 images that can be applied to any device model in your fleet, best practices, and what to expect with a free tool, like MDT.

How to create a Windows 11 image

How to create a Windows system image

How to create a W11 image

Windows 11 imaging

System images

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit

The main difference between a system image and a backup is their intended purposes. A system image is an operating system environment with specific configurations to be distributed across devices. A backup image is used to restore a specific machine to a particular state at a specific point in time when the image was captured.

What’s the difference between a system image and a backup?

No. You cannot use Windows Autopilot or Microsoft Intune to create a Windows 11 image. You can use Autopilot to preconfigure the OEM operating system on new devices. Intune is a cloud-based endpoint management solution you can use to enforce policies and manage user devices and what they have access to.

Can you use Windows Autopilot or Microsoft Intune to create a Windows 11 image?

Windows 11

System imaging

Hyper-V

Learn how to create a Windows 11 image using MDT or SmartDeploy by building a clean reference PC or VM, installing Windows 11, applying updates, capturing the image, and attaching driver or application packages.

Build a clean reference computer, install and configure Windows 11, capture the image, and attach driver and application packages for deployment across devices.

How to create a Windows 11 image with SmartDeploy

Build your reference computer

Create a clean reference computer on physical hardware or a virtual machine. For a virtual machine, configure Windows 11 requirements such as Generation 2 firmware, Secure Boot, TPM, memory, storage, and installation media.

Install Windows 11 on the reference computer

Power on the reference machine, launch Windows Setup, choose a clean custom installation, select the target storage location, and install Windows 11 Pro.

Configure Windows 11 and install updates

Set regional preferences, create an offline account, complete setup, run Windows Update, and install baseline applications that should exist on all target devices.

Capture the Windows 11 image

Open SmartDeploy, go to Activities, choose Reimage Devices, select Capture Image, choose the Windows 11 virtual hard disk, and save the image as a WIM file.

Add driver and application packages

Attach application packs and platform packs to the captured Windows 11 image so you can deploy it across different hardware models with the required drivers and core software.

Hyper-V Manager

Looking for the best antivirus software for your company? Here’s a list of some important considerations, key features to look for, and our short list of popular options.

Joanne Yip

Stories by Joanne Yip

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