Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit

Last updated

Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit
Developer(s) Microsoft
Initial release13 February 2007;17 years ago (2007-02-13)
Stable release
for Windows 11, v.24H2 / May 2024;5 months ago (2024-05) [1]
Operating system Windows 8.1 and later
Platform x64, ARM64 (exclusively)
Size 32 MB ~ 3.48 GB
Available inArabic, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish
Type Utility software
License Freeware
Website docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/get-started/adk-install   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK), formerly Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK or WAIK), is a collection of tools and technologies produced by Microsoft designed to help deploy Microsoft Windows operating system images to target computers or to a virtual hard disk image in VHD format. It was first introduced with Windows Vista. WAIK is a required component of Microsoft Deployment Toolkit. [2] [3]

Contents

History

Windows AIK Version 1.0 was released with Windows Vista. New or redesigned tools and technologies included Windows System Image Manager (Windows SIM), Sysprep, ImageX, and Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE) v2.0. [4]

Windows AIK Version 1.1 was released with Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008. A number of new tools were introduced, including PostReflect and VSP1Cln. WinPE 2.1 could be more customized. [5] Supported operating systems include Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 SP1, Windows Server 2003 SP2 and Windows XP SP2.

Windows AIK Version 2.0 was released with Windows 7 beta. Significantly, a single new tool, DISM, replaced several earlier tools including PEImg and IntlCfg, which were deprecated. User State Migration Tool (USMT) was added to this version of WAIK. [6] Supported operating systems include Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2, Windows Vista SP1, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

Windows AIK version 3.0 is exactly the same as 2.0; the version number has only been updated to correspond with the release of Service Pack 1 for Windows 7. [7] Microsoft has also released a WAIK supplement for Windows 7 SP1. WAIK readme [8] references the WAIK supplement, [9] which optionally adds WinPE v3.1 to a previously installed, compatible WAIK. Sysprep is included with the operating system rather than included in WAIK.

AIK was renamed The Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) for Windows 8, and includes Windows OEM Preinstallation Kit. [10] ImageX was removed from this version, as DISM supports all its features. [11]

Components

Application compatibility tools

This toolset consists of Compatibility Administrator and Standard User Analyzer.

Configuration Designer

DISM

Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) is a command-line tool that can perform a large number of servicing tasks. It can query, configure, install and uninstall Windows features such as locale settings, language packs, optional components, device drivers, UWP apps, or Windows updates. DISM can perform these tasks on the live (running) Windows instance, an offline instance in another partition, or a Windows installation image inside a WIM file. [12] [13] [14] Starting with Windows Server 2012, it can repair damaged or corrupt Windows files by downloading a fresh copy from the Internet. [15]

DISM has been part of Windows since Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. [12] Before Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8, DISM had incorporated the majority of ImageX functions but not all; ImageX was still needed to capture the disk image for deployment. [12] However, DISM deprecated ImageX in Windows 8. [11] In addition, Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 expose DISM services in PowerShell through 22 cmdlets for object-oriented scripting. [16] This number has reached 62 in Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016. [17]

Imaging and Configuration Designer

Preinstallation environment

WAIK includes Windows Preinstallation Environment, a lightweight version of Windows that can be booted via PXE, CD-ROM, USB flash drive or external hard disk drive and is used to deploy, troubleshoot or recover Windows environments. It replaces MS-DOS boot disks, Emergency Repair Disk, Recovery Console and Automated System Recovery boot disks. Traditionally used by large corporations and OEMs (to preinstall Windows client operating systems to PCs during manufacturing), WinPE is now available free of charge via WAIK.

User state migration

WAIK for Windows 7 includes User State Migration Tool v4.0, a command-line interface tool for transferring Windows user settings from one installation to another as part of an operating system upgrade or wipe-and-reload recovery, for example, to clean out a rootkit. USMT v4.0 can transfer the settings from Microsoft Windows XP or later to Microsoft Windows Vista and later. [18] Versions of the USMT are included in the Windows ADKs for Windows 10, versions 1511 and 1607. [19]

Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT)

Windows Assessment Toolkit

Described in Microsoft documents. [20]

Windows Performance Toolkit

Described in Microsoft documents. [21]

Former components

ImageX

ImageX is the command-line tool used to create, edit and deploy Windows disk images in the Windows Imaging Format. Starting with Windows Vista, Windows Setup uses the WAIK API to install Windows.

The first distributed prototype of ImageX was build 6.0.4007.0 (main.030212-2037). It allowed Microsoft OEM partners to experiment with the imaging technology and was developed in parallel with Longhorn alpha prototypes. It was first introduced in Milestone 4 into the Longhorn project, and used in later builds of Longhorn. Build 6.0.5384.4 (Beta 2) added significant advantages over previous versions, like read-only and read/write folder mounting capabilities, splitting to multiple image files (SWM), a WIM filter driver and the latest LZX compression algorithms. It has been used since pre-RC (release candidates) of Windows Vista.

Related Research Articles

Virtual PC is a discontinued x86 emulator for PowerPC Mac hosts and a hypervisor for Microsoft Windows hosts. It was created by Connectix in 1997 and acquired by Microsoft in 2003. The Mac version was discontinued in 2006 following the Mac transition to Intel, while the Windows version was discontinued in 2011 in favour of Hyper-V.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Service pack</span> Single installable package of software updates

In computing, a service pack comprises a collection of updates, fixes, or enhancements to a software program delivered in the form of a single installable package. Companies often release a service pack when the number of individual patches to a given program reaches a certain (arbitrary) limit, or the software release has shown to be stabilized with a limited number of remaining issues based on users' feedback and bug reports. In large software applications such as office suites, operating systems, database software, or network management, it is not uncommon to have a service pack issued within the first year or two of a product's release. Installing a service pack is easier and less error-prone than installing many individual patches, even more so when updating multiple computers over a network, where service packs are common.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sysprep</span> Microsoft tool for Windows deployment

Sysprep is Microsoft's System Preparation Tool for Microsoft Windows operating system deployment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows Vista</span> Seventh major release of Windows NT

Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, released five years earlier, which was then the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft Windows. It was released to manufacturing on November 8, 2006, and over the following two months, it was released in stages to business customers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and retail channels. On January 30, 2007, it was released internationally and was made available for purchase and download from the Windows Marketplace; it is the first release of Windows to be made available through a digital distribution platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows Server 2008</span> Fourth version of Windows Server, released in 2008

Windows Server 2008, codenamed "Longhorn Server", is the eighth release of the Windows Server operating system produced by Microsoft as part of the Windows NT family of the operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on February 4, 2008, and generally to retail on February 27, 2008. Derived from Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 is the successor of Windows Server 2003 and the predecessor to Windows Server 2008 R2. It removed support for processors without ACPI, and is the first version that includes Hyper-V.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows Preinstallation Environment</span> Lightweight version of Microsoft Windows for deployment

Windows Preinstallation Environment is a lightweight version of Windows used for the deployment of PCs, workstations, and servers, or troubleshooting an operating system while it is offline. It is intended to replace MS-DOS boot disks and can be booted via USB flash drive, PXE, iPXE, CD, DVD, or hard disk. Traditionally used by large corporations and OEMs, it is now widely available free of charge via Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (WADK).

Microsoft Windows SDK, and its predecessors Platform SDK, and .NET Framework SDK, are software development kits (SDKs) from Microsoft that contain documentation, header files, libraries, samples and tools required to develop applications for Microsoft Windows and .NET Framework. Platform SDK specializes in developing applications for Windows 2000, XP and Windows Server 2003. .NET Framework SDK is dedicated to developing applications for .NET Framework 1.1 and .NET Framework 2.0. Windows SDK is the successor of the two and supports developing applications for Windows XP and later, as well as .NET Framework 3.0 and later.

Microsoft Virtual Server was a virtualization solution that facilitated the creation of virtual machines on the Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2003 operating systems. Originally developed by Connectix, it was acquired by Microsoft prior to release. Virtual PC is Microsoft's related desktop virtualization software package.

The Windows Imaging Format (WIM) is a file-based disk image format. It was developed by Microsoft to help deploy Windows Vista and subsequent versions of the Windows operating system family, as well as Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microsoft Management Console</span> Component of Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Management Console (MMC) is a component of Microsoft Windows that provides system administrators and advanced users an interface for configuring and monitoring the system. It was first introduced in 1998 with the Option Pack for Windows NT 4.0 and later came pre-bundled with Windows 2000 and its successors.

Resource Kit is a term used by Microsoft for a set of software resources and documentation released for their software products, but which is not part of that product. Resource kits offer supplementary resources such as technical guidance, compatibility and troubleshooting information, management, support, maintenance and deployment guides and multipurpose useful administrative utilities, which are available separately.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Software remastering</span>

Software remastering is software development that recreates system software and applications while incorporating customizations, with the intent that it is copied and run elsewhere for "off-label" usage. The term comes from remastering in media production, where it is similarly distinguished from mere copying.

Windows Vista contains a range of new technologies and features that are intended to help network administrators and power users better manage their systems. Notable changes include a complete replacement of both the Windows Setup and the Windows startup processes, completely rewritten deployment mechanisms, new diagnostic and health monitoring tools such as random access memory diagnostic program, support for per-application Remote Desktop sessions, a completely new Task Scheduler, and a range of new Group Policy settings covering many of the features new to Windows Vista. Subsystem for UNIX Applications, which provides a POSIX-compatible environment is also introduced.

Windows Deployment Services (WDS) is a deprecated component of the Windows Server operating system that enables centralized, network-based deployment of operating systems to bare-metal computers. It is the successor to Remote Installation Services (RIS). WDS officially supports remote deployment of Windows Vista and later, as well as Windows Server 2008 and later. However, because WDS uses disk imaging, in particular the Windows Imaging Format (WIM), it could deploy virtually any operating system. This is in contrast with its predecessor, RIS, which was a method of automating the installation process.

Windows XP, which is the next version of Windows NT after Windows 2000 and the successor to the consumer-oriented Windows Me, has been released in several editions since its original release in 2001.

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit is a free software package from Microsoft for automating the deployment of Windows 10, Server 2019 and older Windows Server and desktop operating systems.

Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995.

The User State Migration Tool (USMT) is a command line utility program developed by Microsoft that allows users comfortable with scripting languages to transfer files and settings between Windows PCs. This task is also performed by Windows Easy Transfer, which was designed for general users but then discontinued with the release of Windows 10, where they instead partnered with Laplink. Starting with Windows 8, many settings and data are now being synchronized in cloud services via a Microsoft Account and OneDrive. USMT allows a high-volume, automated deployment of files and settings, and is also useful in migrating user settings and files during OS upgrades. Because USMT has high complexity and a command line interface, there have been several attempts to provide access to its useful functionality by creating GUI wrappers for it. 32-bit to 64-bit migrations are supported, but 64-bit to 32-bit are not.

Side-by-side assembly technology is a standard for executable files in Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows 2000, and later versions of Windows that attempts to alleviate problems that arise from the use of dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) in Microsoft Windows. Such problems include version conflicts, missing DLLs, duplicate DLLs, and incorrect or missing registration. In side-by-side, Windows stores multiple versions of a DLL in the %systemroot%\WinSxS directory, and loads them on demand. This reduces dependency problems for applications that include a side-by-side manifest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.NET Framework version history</span>

Microsoft started development on the .NET Framework in the late 1990s originally under the name of Next Generation Windows Services (NGWS). By late 2001 the first beta versions of .NET Framework 1.0 were released. The first version of .NET Framework was released on 13 February 2002, bringing managed code to Windows NT 4.0, 98, 2000, ME and XP.

References

  1. ↑ "Download and install the Windows ADK". Windows Hardware Developer. Microsoft. 22 May 2024 – via Microsoft Docs.
  2. ↑ Czechowski, Aaron (17 August 2015). "MDT 2013 Update 1 Now Available". Microsoft Deployment Toolkit Team Blog. Microsoft.
  3. ↑ "Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2012 Update 1 Release Notes" (Office Open XML). microsoft.com. Microsoft. September 2012.
  4. ↑ "Download Details: Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK)". Microsoft Download Center. Microsoft Corporation. 13 February 2007. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
  5. ↑ "Download Details: Automated Installation Kit (AIK) for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008". Microsoft Download Center. Microsoft Corporation. 9 April 2008. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
  6. ↑ "Download Details: The Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK) for Windows 7". Microsoft Download Center. Microsoft Corporation. 6 August 2008. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
  7. ↑ "bink.nu".
  8. ↑ "Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 Readme". TechNet Library . Microsoft. 22 February 2011.
  9. ↑ "Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK) Supplement for Windows 7 SP1". Download Center. Microsoft. 21 February 2011.
  10. ↑ "Windows ADK Overview". microsoft.com. Microsoft.
  11. 1 2 "What is DISM?". Windows 8.1 and Windows 8 Technical Library. Microsoft. 18 April 2014.
  12. 1 2 3 Savill, John (29 January 2010). "Q. What's Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM)?". Windows IT Pro. Penton.
  13. ↑ "DISM - Deployment Image Servicing and Management Technical Reference for Windows". Windows 8.1 and Windows 8 Technical Library. Microsoft. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  14. ↑ "What Is Deployment Image Servicing and Management?". Windows 7 Technical Library. Microsoft. 22 October 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  15. ↑ "Repair a Windows Image". Windows 8.1 and Windows 8 Technical Library. Microsoft. 10 February 2014.
  16. ↑ "Dism (Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012)". TechNet . Microsoft. 28 July 2016.
  17. ↑ "DISM (Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016)". TechNet . Microsoft. 28 July 2016.
  18. ↑ "Download Details: Windows 7 Walkthrough: User State Migration Tool". Microsoft. 9 January 2009.
  19. ↑ "User State Migration Tool (USMT) Technical Reference (Windows 10) - Windows Deployment". Microsoft Learn. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  20. ↑ "Windows Assessment Toolkit". Microsoft. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  21. ↑ "Windows Performance Toolkit". Microsoft. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.