This article covers how to capture and deploy a Windows 7 (or later) image with the system partition intact. Note - Kace Best Practices recommends using a Single Partition Golden Image with Legacy Based BIOS and minimal partitions for UEFI systems.
Creating a Single Partition Golden Image for Legacy Enabled BIOS (KB187971)
There are a few things you should know about Windows first.
When you install Windows 7 or later from DVD on a clean drive with no format or partition information, Windows automatically installs a system partition and marks the volume as "System Reserved". This partition is not visible to the user in Explorer but is visible in Disk Manager and from within KBE.
Below is a visual example of what you drive letters you might see in Windows and KBE for the same system:
If, on the other hand, the hard drive already has a single partition before installation then this system partition is not created.
The below instructions assume that the Windows image is configured, includes the system partition, is prepared using sysprep if desired, and is ready for capture.
Image capture and deployment for BIOS/MBR systems (most systems)
Step 1 - Capture the Image:
NOTE: There is no need to swap partition letters before capture, just capture the partitions as they appear.
Step 2 - Preparing Pre- and Post Installation tasks:
select volume 0
remove all noerr
select disk 0
clean
create partition primary size=200
assign letter="C"
active
create partition primary
assign letter="D"
exit
NOTE: You may need to increase the size of C: depending on the contents of the system partition.
Deploy Image:
Image capture and deployment for UEFI/GPT systems
In versions 3.5.76460 and 3.5.80613, the UEFI system partition will not have a drive letter assigned to it in KBE, so only the OS partition will be listed in the image capture menu. In order for it to show up, it will need to be assigned a drive letter in DISKPART.
By default, the UEFI system partition does not have a drive letter in KBE
Capture the Image:
list volume
select volume 1
assign letter="S"
exit
NOTE: The UEFI system partition may have a different volume number depending on your hardware configuration. In the example screenshot, it is the 200MB FAT32 partition without a drive letter (Volume 1).
s
Now that the UEFI system partition has a drive letter, it can be captured from KBE
Deploy Image:
select volume 0
remove all noerr
select disk 1
clean
select disk 0
clean
create partition primary size=200
assign letter="C"
active
create partition primary
assign letter="D"
select disk 1
create partition primary
assign letter="E"
exit
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