BDD 2007 - Tips and Tricks - Using the Lite Touch wizard in Zero Touch

Many of my customers want to prompt information during a ZTI deployment. For example if for some reason the computer name is not available then they you like the user to be prompted for this information.

An elegant way to provide this information is by using the Lite Touch wizard within ZTI.

To do this you must copy the following files to your ZTI deployment point (\\<server>\zti$\BuildID):

  • BackButton.JPG
  • DeployWiz_Definition_ENU.xml
  • DeployWiz_Initialization.vbs
  • DeployWiz_Validation.vbs
  • Wizard.css
  • Wizard.hta
  • Wizard.ico
  • WizUtility.vbs

You then need to create a cut down version of the "DeployWiz_Definition_ENU.xml" file and place it in the same folder. To prompt for the computer name only you would simply remove all panes accept the computer naming pane (Notepad.xml is a good tool for editing this file).

Next you need to add a task to the task sequence in the "New Computers only" folder within the "Preinstall" phase.

mshta.exe "%SCRIPTROOT%\Wizard.hta" /definition:DeployWiz_Definition_ENU.xml

This should hopefully get you started, you could also add other screens to gather further information if required.

This process can be extended to capture any information you need for the build process. For example the computer role or the MachineObjectOU.

This script can also be called from "bootstrap.ini" using a user exit script. This way you could gather information from users and then update the database with this information. This approach is also popular with customers who are not able to pre-populate the database with computer details.

Disclaimer: The information on this site is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, confers no rights, and is not supported by the authors or Microsoft Corporation. Use of included script samples are subject to the terms specified in the Terms of Use .