the only difference and why you need a volume and not a retail office is for activation using MS Toolkit.
tool kit is made for Volume Office and Windows volume/retail. Toolkit is 100% safe. that is why I said "the only difference and why you need a volume and not a retail office is for activation using MS Toolkit" don't over think it, its straight forward. install run toolkit, activated. literally that simple.
You need to have an Office Volume version. For Windows, only the gVLK is important (switches RETAIL to Volume and is inserted automatically by MTK). Microsoft Toolkit can only activate Volume versions.
We are talking about the MS Deployment Toolkit and update from the MS Website, correct? Am I in the right place?
If Windows 8, what is the version most often pre-installed on new consumers PCs for each? I'd like to have it ready with Office, Avast, SpybotS&D, and Chrome among other configuration items that I could update regularly in a VM. Can I build that? If so, is it possible for it to take less time than it took for me to install Windows 8?
#1. Only matters in case you plan to buy a license. Would go for Pro Retail and activate via KMS. Do you use WMC? #2. + #3. Not shure whether i get you right here, Do you plan to create an updated ISO that comes with Win Updates and Tools already installed during Windows Setup later on?
I'm a PC Tech. I'm trying to making a FASTER process of installing Windows complete with software and settings that are good for them.
In an ideal world I would walk in the home or business, press a button and start the process immediately without conversation. While talking to them and while the process was running, I could explain that we are installing a cleaner copy of Windows than the day they bought it, and that their old files will be saved in an image that can be accessed from the new build. In an ideal world, I'd walk out within 30 minutes.
Unfortunately this isn't an ideal world! And 30min with ALL required and wished Apps, is also just a dream! Good things will need their time to be finish (correctly)!
Still possible. Created my own ProWMC with all updates and a load of programs already installed. Setup did run only marginally longer than vanilla one, but 8´s Setup is pretty fast by default and never was my problem. Most you gain from having nearly all needed stuff already installed. At least the damn Updates can last annoyingly long, after a vanilla Setup. As i´m using snapshots here, i can go back to a moment where all completed the last time (before sysprep generalize) and continue from there, so no need to repeat the whole thing every time. And the system is still thinking it never performed a sysprep before .
Perfect! Sounds like under an hour is realistic. So how do I prep one? Is VMWare Player the best place for the master copy? Please guide me if possible. Thank you again for all your help.
Could be if that is an "normal" installation with just normal used apps. All depend on how many apps, data and Updates need to be installed, the time of installation could increase quite a bit! The installation we use in my company are sized (after installation) 210GB and need 2½h but using sysprep. For to be able to even just do minor changes on our installation unit, we using Macros for to do the job. That gives use thye ability just to changes what we need incl. the Macro settings and didn't need to go to the whole process again. We doing that since years and there isn't any reason for to change.