Windows 10: Consensus- deploy OEM imaged machine or Fresh Install

So I have a freshly minted Tier1 who is 6 months into her "new" IT career(never worked in IT previously) who is arguing that taking a new system out of the box and doing an Upgrade from Win 10 Home to Pro is the more expedited and in her words, "less redundant" method to deploy, than to take the time to create a USB installer and build the image from scratch, despite my instructing otherwise(Tier2/Admin in current role myself).

I have been at this for a couple of decades, and i have always recommended in an enterprise environment to create new images for deployed systems.

Lets hear your thoughts, those who do this for a living.

New image or upgrade from an OEM image?*Cool


:)

 

Possible to sysprep an upgraded Windows 10 image, on an OEM machine?

Previously, I have been able to install the OEM build of Windows 8.1 on an OEM system (in this case a Lenovo laptop) and then sysprep and capture the image in order to use it as a base image for deployment on other similarly licensed OEM laptops in my enterprise
environment.

However, if I perform an upgrade to Windows 10, sysprep the machine, and then capture and try to redeploy the image to another machine in a clean zero-state (or even the same machine), the post-deploy process prompts me to enter the license key for Windows
10, rather than reading the system motherboard to identify that the system is a qualifying OEM upgradable to Windows 10 system.

So is it possible to perform a sysprep of an upgraded Windows 10 system, or do I need to have new base install media from the OEM that contains a valid activation key?

 

Can an OEM license key for Win 10 Pro be changed to a Campus Volume license key for Win 10 Pro for mass imaging?

I think there is a misunderstanding of how imaging works. Reimaging rights are based on the machine being properly licensed to allow the volume license upgrade to be installed. The machines don't have to be upgraded with a volume license key, if they are
already licensed with the proper premium business sku (in your case Windows 10 Pro OEM). What you should be doing is have your Volume License reference deployment image with the key already embedded and whatever software you want to deploy, then reimage the
machine using something like deployment kit.

 

New image. You have total control of what is installed, no typical OEM crapware.
Always make an image backup of the system before you nuke it though, just in case something goes wrong.

Win 10 Home to Pro is just a install key change I believe so it's definitely the faster method.

How to Upgrade Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro

 

New install, always. Windows 10 finds almost all hardware without any extra drivers these days. And it only takes about 10-15 minutes. Might as well keep it clean.

 

I boot a new computer from a Macrium Reflect rescue drive - do an image backup of the hard drive/SSD, then do a clean install. Sometimes, but not often, you might need a manufacturer specific driver that you can retrieve from the backup image. With one cheap tablet from WalMart, I had to go back to the backup image and look in the original registry to find the setting to make the screen rotate in the right direction.

 

I find this thread strange.

Rather than soliciting consensus on deployment, what's your enterprise's policy regarding purchase and deployment?

In an enterprise environment, I doubt if purchasing OEM-installed Windows Home Edition would be considered, except for very much smaller businesses.

Your young colleague is probably right in the practicalities of upgrading OEM machines, but does this aid the continuing software audit responsibilities your organization has?

It would certainly be less cost effective to order Core units and then upgrade to Pro licenses than to order OEM Pro in the first place.

It's also the sort of practice that encourages misuse of licenses, and does not help in the event of theft or disaster recovery management when it's essential to get up and running again quickly.

Even so, Microsoft will be happy to direct you to one of their Partners to discuss the costs of enterprise-wide deployment at whatever scale your organization requires.

Microsoft has been at this business for many decades now, and Windows10 offers different opportunities than earlier versions with a changed licensing approach for home users. However, the business licensing approach is pretty much the same for Windows10 Enterprise as some of its predecessors, and allows for growth of the business in a controlled manner, unlike the practice of adding OEM home PCs ad-lib and having a bunch of separate upgrade licenses to look after.

 

Same question posted and answered on sevenforums.com

 

Thank you, poster!

"Same question posted and answered on sevenforums.com"

Yes it is, not all users browse both forums, we are introducing 10 to a 7 Pro environment. Its a poll-ish question, 2 answers don't mean=the masses of IT pros in my opinion. I hope more pros chime in, kinda the point.

"I find this thread strange."

Please re-read the question , this isnt an infrastructure policies debate, but more simply a best practices imaging in an enterprise domain. It is my hope to simply focus on that, thanks in advance!

Home version OS can come in on 1-off purchases as we sometimes see when the boss pulls the trigger on an impulse system purchase for his CFO pal, sidestepping SOP within the IT department for purchases, that point is moot. IT still has to image and deploy correctly. Every IT shop I have had the pleasure of working in has dealt with this sort of thing, so about a dozen. Kind of a PIA but CIO wants, CIO gets.
This isnt a licensing matter either, we have that covered.

 

Most business set a number of group policies eg to limit access to control panel.

This it only makes sense to create a standard image which has bwen sysprepped to remove hardware drivers or use a tool like Macrium Reflect (commercial version) with licences to redeploy images to multiple pcs.

It makes no sense to clean install each time as labour cost would be too high to customise each install to company requirements.