Hey everyone! I'm in charge of getting laptops ready for our employees at my company, and I'm looking for tips on how to make the process easier and more automated. Every couple of months, I need to set up about 15 laptops, which takes a lot of time when I do it all by hand. I've tried creating a system image on a USB stick, but that ended up taking even longer than a manual setup, especially until I get them joined to the domain, and after that, there's still plenty left to do.
We don't have Intune, SCCM, or anything pricey like that, and my boss isn't keen on spending money unless it's absolutely necessary. I wouldn't consider myself an IT automation expert, so I'm hoping for some straightforward solutions.
I'd love to know:
- Are there any free tools for automating Windows laptop deployments?
- Is there a better method than using a USB for imaging?
- Any advice for making the domain join process and basic app installations smoother without needing Intune or SCCM?
How do others tackle laptop setups in budget-constrained situations?
5 Answers
You might want to check out some community-driven automation scripts as well. There are quite a few open-source projects that many in the sysadmin community have used successfully. Might save you some headaches!
FOG Project could be a solid alternative for you. It’s open-source and can help with imaging and deployment. I’ve seen it work wonders in smaller setups, especially for teams that don't have access to the full suite of enterprise tools.
Have you looked into configuration designer or provisioning packages? They can simplify the setup a lot without needing any costly tools.
You mentioned that there's still a bunch of manual work after joining the domain. Have you thought about using Group Policy Objects (GPOs) for some of that configuration? It might help cut down on the repetitive tasks.
You might want to check out using `autounattend.xml` for automating the installation process. It's a pretty handy way to streamline Windows deployment. There’s a tool online called the Unattend Generator that helps you create this file easily!
This sounds really helpful, thanks for the tip!
We do use GPOs, but there are still some things that need to be handled manually.