I'm managing a small office with just five computers. Occasionally, they ask me to do fresh installs of Windows, which isn't a big deal. The real challenge comes with reinstalling all the necessary software (like Adobe, Corel, printer drivers, etc.) and reconfiguring everything—this takes up a lot of time and effort. I've thought about using MDT, but that feels like overkill, plus by the time I've created a complete image, it's often outdated and needs a bunch of updates. I'm considering just creating an image of the entire system partition instead. Is that still a good approach these days, and what methods are others using for this process? I've tried making images using Windows' own tools, but both attempts failed to restore. Any advice would be appreciated!
5 Answers
Why not create a full disk image once your setup is the way you want it? Then, restore from that image when needed. After restoration, you can just run updates for the programs to keep everything fresh.
For small offices, imaging can become outdated really fast. Consider using tools like Chocolatey to automate software reinstalls. You might also find using a service like Siit.io helpful to keep track of reinstall requests and keep your workflow organized without making things too complex.
Learning to script software installs in PowerShell can be a game changer. You can run those scripts with tools like Active Directory and Intune, or even simplify it with RMM systems that can automatically install apps as part of their patch management. For example, just ticking a box can install something like Adobe Reader for you.
If you're using Intune, that could really streamline your process. Pckgr works well with Intune, making it easier to manage software packages.
PatchMyPC is a great tool! It takes away the hassle of managing app packaging altogether, so you can focus on other things without worrying about software installations.
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