Best Free Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) Alternative

Want to find a Microsoft Deployment Toolkit alternative to create a Windows 10 image for deployment? How to deploy Windows 10 image to multiple computers simultaneously? Just see the step-by-step guide.

Ivy

by Ivy Updated on November 14, 2022

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Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT)

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) is a free deployment tool released from Microsoft to automate Windows and Windows Server operating system deployment. And available in Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10 and Windows Server 2008 (R2), 2012 (R2), 2016, 2019. Windows users can use MDT make reference image (WIM files) and deploy it to multiple target computers.

After installing Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, run Deployment Workbench app in Microsoft Deployment Toolkit group to deploy Windows image to multiple computers. However, it’s difficult to deploy image even for IT Professionals due to the complex settings.

Deployment Workbench

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) Problems

Besides, you might encounter to the following image deployment fail situations:

▶ Windows 10 deployments fail.

When you use Microsoft Deployment Toolkit latest version 8456 with the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) for Windows 10, version 2004, the BIOS firmware type is incorrectly identified as UEFI. It will cause the Windows 10 image deployments failed when refreshing install a new version of Windows. Just install the MDT hotfix 4564442 to fix it.

▶ Microsoft Deployment Toolkit not loading.

Somtimes, you may find the MDT Wizard not loading and cannot select the task sequences and the images. Log in the administrator account if you just running the script from witin Windows; run the commands one by one if you PXE booting: diskpart, select disk 0, clean, exit, exit. Then restart the computer and try again.

Is there any free Microsoft Deploymemt Toolkit alternative to deploy image to multiple computers?

Best Free Microsoft Deployment Toolkit Alternative - AOMEI Image Deploy

Fortunately, there is an easy-to-use and free Microsoft Deployment Toolkit alternative - AOMEI Image Deploy, which allows you to deploy or restore an image to multiple computers over network. It supports all Windows operating systems, including Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP, and Windows Server 2003, 2008 (R2), 2011, 2012 (R2), 2016, 2019, and 2022.

Please download the AOMEI Image Deploy Free on the server computer to have a try. Note the standalone version of AOMEI Image Deploy only supports BIOS mode. If there are any client computers that require booting from UEFI, try integrated image deployment software in AOMEI Backupper Technician or TechPlus edition. 

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Easily Deploy Windows 10 Image to Multiple Computers

To show you how the Windows 10 deployment tool - AOMEI Image Deploy works, we will show you how to deploy Windows 10 image to multiple computers.  If you are concerned about SID conflict errors during deployment, you can deploy image without SID.

Step 1. Create a Windows 10 image for deployment

  1. Download free backup software - AOMEI Backupper Standard and install it on the computer with everything you want. Then, go to the Backup tab and choose System Backup.

System Backup

  1. Tape the inverted triangle icon and Select a network location.

Select A Network Location

  1. Click Add Share or NAS Devices, then input the Network Path (IP address of the NAS or network share) and choose a folder to save Windows 10 image file. Then click OK.

Add Network Drive

  1. Click Start Backup>> to create Windows 10 system image file.

Start Backup

Step 2. Windows 10 image deployment Configuration

  • Install AOMEI Image Deploy to a computer as a server computer, other destination computers as clients. Ensure all the computers stay in the same network segment within LAN.

  • Make sure all the destination computers connected a wired LAN and supports the Network Boot (PXE Boot). Set the PXE boot as the first boot order in BIOS for all destination computers.

Set PXE Boot (Network Boot)

  • Verify that the disk sequence number for system deployment in client computers are same (for example, install systems to disk 0). To avoid the data loss caused by installing system to other hard drive, it’s better to move out other disks and only keep the system disk.

  • Please install Windows AIK/ADK on the server computer if you are running previous version of Windows 7 or the Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) is missing, and then you could create WinPE successfully.

Step 3. How to deploy Windows image to Multiple Computers

  1. Install and perform AOMEI Image Deploy, choose Create WinPE automatically, and press Next.

Create WinPE

Tips:
✍ You should tick the Enable DHCP option if there is no DHCP server in your LAN.
✍ The Create bootable WinPE ISO manually option allows you to add custom drivers into WinPE.

  1. It will create a WinPE automatically. It will show you the message The service has started, waiting for connect... when the WinPE created complete.

Create WinPE Automatically

  1. Start all the clients computer, and it will boot into AOMEI Image Deploy recovery environment. Then show the following winodow and execute AOMEI Image Deploy Client stating: local IP, server IP and connection status.

Loading WinPE

Client Connection Status

  1. The clients boot into Windows PE successfully will be listed by IP address on AOMEI Image Deploy window on server computer. Tick I confirm all the client computers which need to be deployed are online when all clients connected and click Next.

Server Connection Status

  1. Click Browse button to select the Windows 10 image file from NAS or network share or just choose the Windows 10 ISO file as the source Windows 10 image file, and set up the settings for Windows 10 image deployment, and then press Start Deploy button.

Specify Windows 10 Image

Tips:
All: select all computers to deploy Windows 10 images at the same time. The more client computers, the slower speed the deployment will be due to the limited LAN bandwidth.
Destination disk: input the destination disk number (probably the disk 0) to specify the disk to deploy the Windows 10 backup image.
Deployed computers: input the number to configure how many computers will be deployed every time. It’s strongly recommended to deploy images to 3-5 computers every time.
Settings: you could Enable computer name settings, if you would like to preset IP address for clients, and prefer to deploy image to different hardware with Universal Restore, please upgrade to AOMEI Image Deploy Technician.

Settings

  1. Then you will see the Windows 10 image deployment process with percentage for each clients. And you could Restart PC or Shut Down the clients once the deployment completed.

Windows 10 Image Deloyment Progress

The Epilogue

Compared with Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, AOMEI Image Deploy is more easy to operate and relaible to use. This article tells you how to create a custom Windows 10 image for deployment with AOMEI Backupper Standard and use best free Microsoft Deployment Toolkit alternative - AOMEI Image Deploy Free to help you deploy Windows image to multiple computers simultaneously without efforts.

If you would like to create, manage and monitor backups for all clients withing your company from one central console, please try AOMEI Centralized Backupper.

Ivy
Ivy · Editor
Ivy is an editor of AOMEI Technology, she covers backup & restore,hard disk & partitions management and cloud files transfer and so on for AOMEI. She is an outgoing girl and enjoys helping people find solutions to their problems. She loves traveling, eating, reading and so on. She usually hangs out with friends at her leisure time.