Overview
OSBuilder has been replaced by OSDBuilder. This documentation is for reference only
OSBuilder is a PowerShell module to help you perform Offline Servicing to a Windows Operating System Image. By using an Offline method of configuring an Operating System, it can then be imported in MDT or SCCM and used like any other OS Deployment. This includes being able to use in an Upgrade Task Sequence, which you cannot do with a Captured Image.
The main difference between OSBuilder and other scripted methods for Servicing a Windows Image Offline is that OSBuilder creates an answer file called a Task (think Task Sequence). Since the Task has all the information it needs to update the Windows Image, there is no interaction necessary, and as long as the content (updates) are updated regularly, the Task can be repeated as needed.
Since the configuration is also saved in a Task, it is possible to select multiple tasks to run, and they will execute one right after another. This makes performing a monthly update take a few minutes to kick off. After a few hours, everything will be complete!
Most people are visual, so to help you understand how OSBuilder will work, here is the OSBuilder Lifecycle. So let's talk about how this works. The BLACK background one is the newer version, and the WHITE background one is kept for historical purposes (OSMedia Tasks don't exist anymore)
Before working with an Operating System, you must first Import it into OSBuilder. This will generate a full inventory of the Operating System so you can later make custom OSBuilds.
The second step is to Update the Imported Operating System. You should perform this step after you Import the Operating System and after every Patch Tuesday. This will perform the following actions
Media
Expand Setup Update
WinPE (WinPE.wim, WinRE.wim, Setup.wim)
Apply Servicing Stack
Apply Cumulative Update
Apply Dynamic Component Updates
OS
Apply Servicing Stack
Apply Cumulative Update
Apply Dynamic Component Updates
Apply Adobe Security Updates
If you want to customize the Operating System by removing Appx Packages or enable NetFX3, then you need to first create an OSBuild Task. The following options can be customized:
WinPE (WinPE.wim, WinRE.wim, Setup.wim)
Add ADK Packages
Add MS DaRT
Add Drivers
Add ExtraFiles
Execute custom PowerShell scripts
OS
Enable NetFX3
Remove Appx Provisioned Packages
Remove Windows Packages
Remove Windows Capabilities
Enable Windows Optional Features
Disable Windows Optional Features
Apply Features on Demand
Apply Language Packs
Apply Language Interface Packs
Apply Language Features on Demand
Apply Start Layout
Apply Unattend.xml
Add Drivers
Add ExtraFiles
Add Packages
Execute custom PowerShell scripts
Set International Settings
After the OSBuild Task is created, you can then create your OSBuild
Just like a you can customize your Operating System, you can also customize WinPE
After the PEBuild Task is created, you can create your PEBuild
You can create an ISO of any OSMedia, OSBuild, or PEBuild
You can create bootable USB of any OSMedia, OSBuild, or PEBuild
This is where your process repeats. When Microsoft releases a new round of updates, use Get-OSBuilderUpdates to download the updates you need, and remove the ones you don't from. This step is completely optional as OSBuilder can automatically download the updates as needed.
Use Update-OSMedia to get all your imported Operating Systems up to date. You can update all of them at the same time as this will take a while to process, typically 30 minutes per Operating System.
Once all the OSMedia is up to date, use New-OSBuild to regenerate all your customizations.
To keep things easy, OSBuilder is a PowerShell module and integrates well into PowerShell ISE