OSDCloud is a free PowerShell framework for deploying Windows 10 and Windows 11. The tool provides simple methods for adding drivers and configuring settings in an image. After booting from a customized WinPE, either the OSDCloudGUI or an automated script initiates the installation.

After capturing an image from a reference installation, you can deploy it to as many computers as needed. Multiple methods are available for this task. A common approach involves booting the target PCs from WinPE using a USB drive or PXE, and then applying the image with DISM or PowerShell.

In professional environments, most store apps delivered with Windows are of little value, prompting admins to remove them from the image before deployment. However, you should avoid indiscriminately deleting them, as some system-relevant apps may be among them. PowerShell can be used to remove the crapware selectively.

Many admins prefer to use a customized image rather than Microsoft's standard image for deploying Windows 11. This involves creating a reference installation of the OS tailored to their specific needs. After generalizing it with Sysprep, the image is written to a WIM archive using DISM or PowerShell.

Lens is an open-source desktop application aimed at managing Kubernetes clusters. It offers a graphical user interface as an alternative to working directly with the Kubernetes command-line interface (kubectl). Lens includes features for monitoring cluster resources, viewing logs, and accessing a built-in terminal. The new Lens 2024 Early Access version introduces a completely redesigned user interface with a more streamlined and intuitive layout, tabbed navigation, and a unified navigator for managing all clusters and resources.

There are several reasons why Windows Update may fail or not work, including malfunctioning services, damaged Windows updates, insufficient free disk space, or faulty Windows devices. This article will walk you through seven methods to troubleshoot Windows Update.

The Kubernetes project recently announced the release of version 1.30, named Uwubernetes. The name "Uwubernetes" is a portmanteau of "Kubernetes" and the "UwU" emoticon, which indicates happiness or cuteness. In this article, I’ll discuss the new key features.

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Long Term Support), codenamed "Noble Numbat," was released in April 2024 and introduced several new features across various aspects of the operating system.

An essential step towards automating the Windows setup process is replacing the system drive's interactive partitioning with a script. Microsoft's examples for this purpose rely on batch files and Diskpart. However, installing PowerShell in Windows PE allows for a much more elegant solution.

The instructions in this post outline how to execute arbitrary code with administrator privileges on the Windows logon screen before the user signs in.

PowerApps is a low-code platform from Microsoft that enables businesses and individuals to quickly build custom applications for web and mobile, connecting to various data sources without extensive coding experience. I'm new to PowerApps and initially relied on guides on the internet to build my first app. The app was simple: collect user input and send it to Power Automate for processing. However, online guides can sometimes be outdated, and I ran into trouble with a deprecated Power Automate trigger called 'Ask in PowerApps.' The recommended solution is to use the newer PowerApps V2 trigger; this guide will show you how.

The Windows setup goes through several phases, with the last one being the Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE). It presents users with multiple dialogs for system configuration. Some settings are security-related, while others may be unclear to many users. Using an answer file, they can be automatically customized.

Ansible Vault allows you to encrypt sensitive data such as passwords, keys, and other secrets rather than storing them as plaintext in your playbooks or roles. In this tutorial, I will explain how to use Ansible Vault to encrypt and decrypt data during playbook runtime.

iVentory allows for easy Windows 11 deployment using a PXE server. The solution includes a DHCP server, provides image management, including automation through answer files, and can be managed via a web console. It's free for private and 49 USD per server for commercial use.

Ansible Facts are essential system information gathered from remote hosts during playbook execution. This information is crucial for making informed decisions before executing any actions. In this tutorial, I will demonstrate how to use Ansible Facts to retrieve system information and make deployment decisions using the when conditional statement.

If you want to pin the same program icons to the Start menu of many computers, you can export a reference configuration in JSON format and distribute it to the target PCs on the network. However, in Windows 11, this method no longer works when using Group Policy. If you don't have an MDM solution, two workarounds exist.

An Ansible loop allows you to repeat a task or a set of tasks multiple times with different values, reducing code duplication and making playbooks more concise and maintainable. Instead of writing the same task multiple times with slight variations, you can use loops to iterate over a list of items and perform the task(s) accordingly. A conditional controls the flow of tasks based on specific conditions or criteria within playbooks. Sometimes, you must install software only on specific operating systems or if certain dependencies are met. Conditionals allow you to control the execution of tasks based on these conditions, ensuring your playbooks adapt to different environments and avoid unnecessary actions. In this tutorial, I will provide simple examples of using loops and conditionals in Ansible.

In this post, you will learn what to do when Sysprep fails and how to fix the error: Sysprep was not able to validate your Windows installation.

If you want to deploy a web server like Apache or Nginx with Ansible, you can create a playbook outlining the installation and configuration steps. This approach works well for a single web server but can become repetitive and time-consuming if you need to deploy many servers. To streamline the process, you can use Ansible roles to avoid duplicating tasks and make deployment more efficient. To introduce the concept, this post provides a simple example of using Ansible roles.