Apologize in advance if this is not the right/best forum.I'm trying to use WS2008 WDS to deploy XP images. I have .iso images that work just fine, but apparently WDS only accepts .WIM images. Is there a way to get WDS to import iso images?I've also tried to create .wim files from my existing XP image folders (specifically a PE image), but the resulting image doesn't boot - apparently imagex adds folders or links to files that exist in Vista, but not XP. I have a PE image as an iso that boots just fine, but the wim image fails.Is it possible to use these tools to deploy XP images?Thanks,Dean

Hi Dean, We cannot use iso images in the Windows Server 2008 WDS server. The WDS server can only use .wim boot images and install images. We can use the WDS server to deploy Windows XP/2000/2003 as well as Windows Vista/Server 2008. I suggest using the boot.wim file from the Windows Server 2008 installation disk as the boot image as it supports multicasting. If necessary, you can customize this boot.wim file. If anything is unclear, please let me know. Tim Quan - MSFT

Tim,Thanks for the response. I tried that, but the computer I'm trying to initialize is an older Dell laptop (Latitude LS) with only 128 mb of RAM. Boot.wim complains that there's not enough RAM to define a RAMdrive and quits (error 0xc0000017).So my next thought was to create a .wim of an existing XP SP2 WinPE image I have. I used imagex to create a .wim of my WimPE folder, and WDS imported the resulting .wim with no errors.But when I try to boot the image the laptop reports:"Windows failed to start. A recent hardware software change might be thecause. To fix the problem :1: insert your widows installation disc and restart your compute.2. Choose your language petting and then click next.3 Click "repair your computer"If you do not have this disc, contact your system administratorFile: \windows\system32\boot\winload.exeStatus: 0xc0000001Info: the selected entry could not be loaded because the application ismissing or corrupt."Now, what's puzzling is that there is no \windows\system32\boot\ folder in the WinPE image.Did imagex add stuff it thought would be in a Vista image?I'm stuck at this point: I can't boot the new boot images, and I can't seem to create my own. What do you suggest as my next step? Are there any other tools that will create .wim images?Thanks,Dean

Hi Dean, As I know, to use WDS, the client computer must have at least 512 MB of RAM, which is the minimum amount of RAM for using Windows PE. I am afraid we cannot create a boot image specially for Windows XP. We need to use the boot.wim file from a Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 disk. NowI suggestadding your RAM to 512MB. If it is inconvenient for you to add the RAM, you may need to use Remote Installation Services in Windows Server 2003 to deploy Windows XP. Tim Quan - MSFT

Tim,RIS is where I ended up. It seemed to do exactly what I wanted.BTW, I tried to use imagex to create a .wim of a XP installation disk, but WDS refused to import it. Do you know why?I don't know, Tim - RIS just seems intuitively "right", and WDS feels cranky and difficult. What am I missing here?Thanks,Dean

Hi, We cannot use ImageX to create a boot image based on a Windows XP installation disk. We should use the boot.wim file in a Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 disk. To create and deploy a install Windows XP image, please refer to the following steps: 1. Install and configure WDS Server. 2. Add the default Windows 2008 boot image to WDS. 3. Create Capture Boot Image and add it to boot image. 4. Create a reference computer (install the operating system, applications, and make any other changes). 5. Sysprep. 6. PXE boot the reference computer into capture image on the boot screen and then capture the image (If non-PXE supported, use a discover image to boot). 7. Upload the image to WDS server. 8. Clients can PXE boot and install Windows (If non-PXE supported, use a discover image to boot). For more information, please refer to the following article: Windows Deployment Services Step-by-Step Guide http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc771670.aspx Windows Deployment Services includes changes to the RIS feature set, including the following: 1. Ability to deploy Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. 2. Windows PE is the boot operating system. 3. Image-based installation, using Windows image (.wim) files. 4. An extensible and higher-performing PXE server component. 5. A new boot menu format for selecting boot operating systems. 6. A new graphical user interface on the client computer that you use to select images. 7. The Windows Deployment Services Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in and the WDSUTIL command-line tool, which enable you to configure and manage Windows Deployment Services. Windows Deployment Services provides organizations with the following benefits: 1. Allows network-based installation of Windows operating systems, which reduces the complexity and cost when compared to manual installations. 2. Deploys Windows images to computers without operating systems. 3. Supports mixed environments that include Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Windows Server 2003. 4. Built on standard Windows Vista setup technologies including Windows PE, .wim files, and image-based setup. Based on the current situation, I suggest using RIS to deploy Windows XP. For more information about RIS, please refer to the following article: Remote Installation Services http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc786442.aspx Hope it helps. Tim Quan - MSFT