1. Download Windows 10/11 ISO image

Download and run the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool to create the installation media in ISO format.

2. Extract files

Right-click the ISO file we just downloaded, and choose Mount to mount the image into a local drive.

Now let’s make a copy of the mounted drive to a folder. For me, I copied the whole drive into a Software folder on my computer.

3. Create install.wim from install.esd

Open an elevated Command Prompt window and run the DISM command to locate the right image to convert first.

DISM /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:sources\install.esd

Since I am preparing for the Pro version, index 6 is what I needed. Now run the following to create the install.wim file.

DISM /Export-Image /SourceImageFile:sources\install.esd /SourceIndex:6 /DestinationImageFile:sources\install.wim /compress:max /CheckIntegrity

This created the install.wim file in the same folder as install.esd.

4. MDT Setup 1 – Add Image

Now let’s open Deployment Workbench (MDT Console), right-click Operating System and choose Import Operating System.

Select the entire image folder that contains the install.wim file we just managed to create. Check the Move the files option if needed.

Given a unique name for the image, and done for the import.

That’s it. Now you can either create a new task sequence that uses the newly created image or modify an existing one.

Here is a checklist of things you need to know when it comes to syncing time in a Windows domain based network.

Firs of all, where to check to know what the exact time is right now?

Time.is is that place that tells you not only what the time is now but checks if your computer clock is off.

How to sync time for Domain Controller

Since my domain controller is virtualized, I don’t actually need to do anything on AD level. All I need is to make sure the host that all VMs rely on has an accurate time all the time. Basically, I can enable the NTP Client on the host and have it sync to specified NTP servers.

If setting up NTP on the host level isn’t an option, maybe because the host doesn’t have the access to the internet, here is what you can also do.

Open an elevated Command Prompted window on the domain controller and run the following command:

net stop w32time
w32tm /config /manualpeerlist:"0.uk.pool.ntp.org,0x1 1.uk.pool.ntp.org,0x1 2.uk.pool.ntp.org,0x1 3.uk.pool.ntp.org,0x1"
w32tm /config /reliable:yes
net start w32time

Now, running w32tm /resync should be completed successfully.

How to sync time on domain workstations

The quickest way to sync your computer with the domain time is to run the following command in an elevated Command Prompt window.

net time /domain

You can schedule it or put it as part of your login script so it runs frequently enough to keep the time synced with AD all the time. But obviously, it’s not ideal because it’s better done in Group Policy level if you are in an AD environment.

Open the Group Policy assigned to an OU that includes all the workstations on your network and then navigate to the following location:

Computer Configuration > Policies > Administrative Templates > System > Windows Time Service > Time Providers

Enable the Configure Windows NTP Client policy and set yourdc.yourdomain,0x1 as the NtpServer.

And enable the “Enable Windows NTP Client” policy afterwards.

To test it out, you can either reboot a workstation or run GPUpdate /Force to update the policy on the local computer and run the following to display the status of the time service.

w32tm /query /status

That’s about it. Here are a few w32tm command options that you use to find more information:

w32tm /query /configuration – check NTP configuration

w32tm /query /source – display time source

w32tm /query /peers – display the list of all configured NTP servers and their status

How to grant access to another computer’s Network Service account

1. Right-click the folder and choose Properties.

2. In Properties dialog box, switch to Security tab, and click Edit button.

3. Permission window pops up, click Add… button.

4. Click Object Types… button, check Computers option and click OK.

5. Type in the computer name, click Check Name and select the computer name from the search box. Note that it’s got a $ sign at the end.

6. Grant the necessary permission, such as Modify or even Full Control. Click OK and you are all set.

If you are granting access to multiple computers, consider using Group as computer resource for this role. Create a new Group in AD and add all computers that need to use Network Service account to access network resource to that Group. And grant the Group the access to the folder.

What about other local accounts?

By adding the Computer to the access, do I actually grant the access to all the local computer accounts as well? Rest assured, only the System and Network Service accounts will gain the access. The local accounts are different from these built-in accounts that could be brought over with the computer name context.

Windows Explorer

Supporting VMDK seems to be a feature built right into the Windows system. If you are using a system that runs Windows 7 or above, you may be able to map the image file right through Windows Explorer.

Navigate to the fold that hosts VMDK file in Windows Explorer, right-click the file and choose Map Virtual Disk.

Select the drive letter you want to map to, and click OK button on the Map Virtual Disk window.

To disconnect, right-click the mapped drive and choose Disconnect Virtual Disk.

It works beautifully when it works. When it’s not, it’s time to seek alternative options.

VMware Workstation

VMware Workstation is VMware’s desktop solution for virtualization. It has the “Map Virtual Disks” feature built in that opens VMDK in a wider format. If the method of using Windows Explorer doesn’t work out, VMware Workstation is next one in the line to try.

Go to File menu and select Map Virtual Disks… from the drop-down list to start the process.

vSphere Disk Development Kit

The  “VMware-mount” command line is the one you can use to mount a VMDK disk without a GUI interface. The tool is part of the vSphere Disk Development Kit, so you need to download and install the kit to use the tool.

To mount a VMDK file (saved at C:\temp) in read-only mode use the following command:

vmware-mount.exe X: “C:\Temp\TestVM.vmdk”

If the VMDK file contains more than one partition you can use the parameter /v:x to mount the other volumes:

vmware-mount.exe /v:2 X: “C:\Temp\TestVM.vmdk”

If you need a writeable access, just use the parameter “/m:w“. This is extremely helpful if you need to replace a broken system file.

vmware-mount.exe /m:w X: “C:\Temp\TestVM.vmdk”

If you want to list all the mounted virtual drives use /L:

vmware-mount.exe /L

The command line is easy to use and powerful, but I am finding it’s not so easy to get the Development Kit installed on my computer for some reason.

OSFMount

OSFMount is a 3rd party free image mounting tool that mounts not only ISO format images but also VMDK files in Windows with a drive letter. It works on pretty much all versions of Windows.

It’s fairly easy to use the tool. Click the Mount new… button at the bottom of the window and follow the instructions.

If you have other alternative options, feel free to share. It’s never enough to have a reliable tool that does the job well in hand.

/Update on July 8, 2020/

As some of the commenters pointed out, the open-source archiving tool 7-Zip does happen to be the easiest way to open the VMDK file for you. By all means, give 7-Zip a try first and if it failed, try something mentioned above.

Here is how you can get this sorted out:

Log on to the AD server (with PDC role) with administrator account and open elevated command prompt, and run the following commands:

net stop w32time
w32tm /config /manualpeerlist:"0.uk.pool.ntp.org,0x1 1.uk.pool.ntp.org,0x1 2.uk.pool.ntp.org,0x1 3.uk.pool.ntp.org,0x1"
w32tm /config /reliable:yes
net start w32time

If all went well, running w32tm /resync should get a successful message.

If not, go to Event Viewer to find out more details why it failed.

To force all domain computers to sync the time with the DC you just set up, run the following commands in the elevated command prompt window.

net stop w32time
w32tm /config /syncfromflags:domhier /update
net start w32time

That’s probably all you need to get your AD server to act as the NTP server in your domain.

Here are a few more useful w32tm commands that come handy:

w32tm /query /configuration – check NTP configuration

w32tm /query /source – display time source

w32tm /query /peers – display the list of all configured NTP servers and their status

w32tm /query /status – display time service status

Sometimes you may want to check for recently created or modified files because someone might have installed a third party software without your permission and you want to locate them quickly, or perhaps you’re trying to find a document that you modified a week back but cannot remember the file name or its location. Windows already possess some handy search tools to let you view recently created or modified files easily.

//see full article on HowToGeek

//via TheVerge