During our Windows 10 testing with ImageAssist, we discovered that Microsoft is forcing automatic driver updates. If you’re interested in knowing more, there are quite a few articles on the internet about this.
For ImageAssist, if you’re build base is not a virtual environment – these driver updates can be problematic, causing churn during the ImageAssist process. Microsoft foresaw this and since the introduction of Windows 8 has recommended using a virtual platform as a build base. Below is wording specifically from Microsoft on why they recommend using a virtual platform as a build base to prepare your reference image.
The reference image
The reference image described in this documentation is designed primarily for deployment to physical machines. However, the reference image is created on a virtual platform, before being automatically run through the System Preparation (Sysprep) tool process and captured to a Windows Imaging (WIM) file. The reasons for creating the reference image on a virtual platform are the following:
- You reduce development time and can use snapshots to test different configurations quickly.
- You rule out hardware issues. You simply get the best possible image, and if you have a problem, it’s not likely to be hardware related.
- It ensures that you won’t have unwanted applications that could be installed as part of a driver install but not removed by the Sysprep process.
- It’s easy to move between lab, test, and production.
The above wording was taken from the following two Microsoft articles:
In lieu of this, we have updated our documentation and processes and recommend the use of virtual platforms a best practice for build base. If you do not wish to use a virtual platform as your build base, this article at the webpage below makes use of some tips and tricks to attempt to route around the auto-updates.
http://www.howtogeek.com/224471/how-to-prevent-windows-10-from-automatically-downloading-updates/
