Windows Deployment Platform Components - Windows Setup

Windows Setup (Setup.exe) is the program that installs Windows 7. It uses image-based setup (IBS) to provide a single, unified process with which all customers can install Windows. IBS performs clean installations and upgrades of Windows. Windows Setup and IBS allow you to deploy Windows 7 in your organization easily and cost effectively.

Windows Setup includes several new features that facilitate installations that are faster and more consistent than Windows XP, including the following:

• Improved image management. Windows 7 images are stored in a single .wim file. A .wim file can store multiple instances of the operating system in a single, highly compressed file. The install file, Install.wim, is located in the Sources folder on the Windows 7 media.

• Streamlined installation. Windows Setup is optimized to enable the deployment scenarios used by most organizations. Installation takes less time and provides a more consistent configuration and deployment process, resulting in lower deployment costs.

• Faster installations and upgrades. Because Windows Setup is now image based, installing and upgrading Windows 7 is faster and easier. You can perform clean installations of Windows 7 by deploying the Windows image to destination computers; you perform upgrades by installing a new image onto an existing installation of Windows. Windows Setup protects the previous Windows settings during the installation.

Windows Setup improves the installation experience over Windows Vista. For example, Windows Setup moves the license key to the Windows Welcome page, allowing users to type a product key after completing installation. Windows Setup also automatically creates a small, hidden partition for BitLocker Drive Encryption. This makes it easier to enable BitLocker Drive Encryption later, because users don’t have to prepare the drive. Additionally, the last phase of Windows Setup, Windows Welcome, is faster and gives more feedback on the progress of the setup process.

Source of Information : Windows 7 Resource Kit 2009 Microsoft Press