Windows Imaging - Capture Image

Before you begin: This is an optional Windows-imaging lab, not a prerequisite for normal Windows enrollment or software deployment. Use an approved disposable image-building VM and expendable test hardware, with backups and a recovery plan. The preparation below can remove applications, retain an administrator account in the image, change security settings, and restart the machine. Never run it on a working user device or store real production credentials in an image or a public answer-file generator. Validate the Windows version, image size, drivers, firmware mode, and security requirements with your FileWave representative before capture.

Start with Set Up the FileWave Imaging Virtual Server (IVS) and complete the version-specific and hosted-server checks. Agree on the Windows image-preparation procedure with your image administrator and FileWave representative before capture. If you only need ordinary Windows management, return to Inventory Reports.

Before deleting a Client record or creating an imaging association, confirm the exact disposable build-machine identity and its assignments. Each required Update Model publishes shared pending work from all administrators; review it beforehand, not in the confirmation dialog. Do not PXE boot until the intended association and IVS Model are confirmed. Verify in a monitor is not a passive screen refresh and may process work.

The images below illustrate the capture controls in an older interface. Use the installed version’s matching controls and your approved lab settings; screenshots do not establish hardware compatibility or a secure connection.

Use a thin, generalized image

A thin image contains Windows and the components needed to start management, rather than every application a user might need. Sysprep generalizes Windows by removing machine-specific information and prepares the next startup for the Windows Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE). This can reduce the number of images you maintain, but it does not make one image compatible with every computer. Validate the Windows release, architecture, hardware, firmware mode, drivers, and security requirements for each intended target. Windows Driver Filesets supply model-specific drivers during imaging, before Windows boots; ordinary applications can be delivered afterward.

Preparing your build machine

Use a disposable build VM for this evaluation. Keep it on the same approved VLAN/subnet as the IVS: by default, the IVS listens to DHCP traffic on its own subnet. A network administrator must validate any later multi-subnet or IP-helper design. Complete the following preparation with the Windows image administrator before creating the capture association.

1. Create a blank build VM using the approved firmware mode, architecture, and Windows installation media. Size its disk for the selected Windows release and content, and confirm that the image will fit the smallest approved target disk. Do not use a generic disk-size baseline.
2. Connect the VM to the approved IVS subnet. Confirm the hardware, drivers, firmware, and security plan. Do not disable Secure Boot as a routine preparation step; stop if the workflow requires a security change that has not been approved.
3. Install the selected Windows release using your organization’s licensed media and image-building procedure. Follow Microsoft’s Sysprep and generalization guidance for Audit Mode, customization, and the intended next boot.
4. Prepare the correct FileWave Client MSI using Windows Client Pre-Requisites, then install it on the build VM as required by the approved imaging design. Use the version-matched Central package-building route rather than assuming an old external generator is required.
5. Have the image administrator prepare and validate any unattended answer file for this Windows build and deployment design. Review account creation, activation, domain-join behavior, and disk settings. Do not enter production passwords or keys into a public generator. Any administrator account or secret retained in the image needs an approved post-deployment handling plan.
6. Check the image for unwanted software, user data, and secrets. Do not remove all built-in Appx packages or run disk repair and immediate-restart commands as universal Sysprep preparation. If Sysprep reports an error, stop and have the image administrator diagnose that specific error using Microsoft’s guidance.
7. Use the approved Sysprep procedure to generalize the image, configure the intended OOBE behavior, and shut down. Confirm the actual executable and answer-file path in that procedure; do not guess a working directory or reuse commands from another Windows build.
8. Confirm Sysprep completed successfully and the build VM is powered off. Leave it off until the capture association and IVS Model checks below are complete. An error or unexpected restart is a stop point, not a reason to capture the VM anyway.

Create a placeholder for Master Image association

To capture an image from your build machine, add it as a Placeholder in FileWave using its desired Windows Hostname and Ethernet MAC address.

1. Open FileWave Central and navigate to "Clients".
2. If the disposable build machine checked in during preparation, have the owner confirm that its existing Client record and assignments may be removed before deleting that exact record. Review shared pending work before the required Update Model. Do not delete an existing production record to practice placeholder creation.
3. Click the "New Client" button in the black menu bar and select "Enter Name" from the "Desktop device placeholders" section.
4. Enter in a generic name for the placeholder and optionally add a "Comment".
5. Obtain the build VM’s Ethernet MAC address from its settings and enter it in the placeholder’s MAC address (for Microsoft Windows imaging) or Serial Number (for Apple Mac imaging) field. Check that it identifies only the intended Windows build machine.
6. Click "OK" to finish adding the Placeholder.
7. Navigate to "Imaging".
8. Drag-n-drop the "Master Image" item from the right-hand pane to the newly added Placeholder.
9. Review the exact build-machine association and shared pending work, then select Update Model to publish the capture association.
10. Navigate to "Preferences > Imaging", select your FileWave IVS, and click "Monitor".
11. Wait for the IVS to receive the current Model and compare its Model number with the Server’s. Elapsed time alone does not prove synchronization. Find the current Server Model Number in the lower-right corner of FileWave Central.
12. Once the FileWave IVS is fully checking in and getting the latest Model, proceed to capturing the Master Image.

In Preferences → Imaging → Monitor, compare the IVS Model with the Server Model before capture. Resolve connection or credentials errors first. Keep the Shared Key private when sharing this view.

Capture Master Image

Once the intended Master Image association and IVS Model are confirmed, PXE boot the disposable build machine to capture the image.

1. Verify that your build machine is set to Network Boot and is on the same subnet as the FileWave IVS.
2. PXE boot your build machine.
   • If using Legacy BIOS, you will see progress text as the PXELinux environment is loading.
   • If using UEFI, please be patient as no boot progress will be shown, only a black screen.
3. After successful PXE, name your Windows image.
   • It is recommended to include the Windows build version, architecture, and BIOS type in the image name.
   • Ex: Windows_BUILD_x64_UEFI
4. You should now see a blue screen showing progress as it captures each partition and uploads it to the FileWave IVS.
5. After the capture, you will see a black screen with white text.
6. Wait for the Master Image to finish uploading to the FileWave Server for permanent storage before continuing.
7. At the "Press any key to continue" prompt, press a key, then shut down the build machine.
8. You should see your newly captured image in FileWave Central.
   • If the image is missing, stop and contact your FileWave SE. Do not recapture the image or boot the build machine.

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5	6 After capture, wait for upload to the FileWave Server to finish. Stop on a connection or certificate error; do not bypass verification.
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Troubleshooting

If you receive the error “Filenames are invalid for imaging” when associating a placeholder with your Master Image, the issue is typically related to the placeholder’s name.

To resolve this:

• Rename the placeholder to remove special characters, symbols, and spaces.

• Ensure the placeholder’s client name is 15 characters or fewer, as Windows imaging enforces this limit.

After renaming, try the association again.

Post Imaging Content

If BitLocker reports the specific BCD path error after imaging, review the reference below with the image administrator. Before applying any repair, confirm the affected device’s partition mapping and recovery plan. This repair is not a routine post-imaging step.

• BitLocker Activation Issues on Windows 11 Post-Imaging

Next: deploy only to the approved test target

When the captured image is visible in FileWave and its build, drivers, firmware/security requirements, and target disk have been checked, continue to Deploy a Windows Image with FileWave IVS. That lesson requires a separate safety check for data-loss risks before PXE boot. If the image is missing, stop: do not recapture or boot the build machine to investigate without your FileWave representative. Return to IVS setup for readiness checks, or Inventory Reports to finish the ordinary evaluation.