ImageX slow apply times

Question

I have been working on transitioning our company over to using ImageX to create and deploy images, however we recently ran into a snag. When we tested out the process on our Dell E6440 laptops, it took anywhere form 40 to 70 min to apply the image. The
WIM file is around 11 GB, so there is absolutely no reason is should take this long.
We have since tried imaging on several other models, and our E6410 laptop took just 20 min. Better, but still not down to where we would like. We then moved on to desktops. our new 7020 is taking 32 min, as is the 7010, but our old 790 finishes in under 10
min. The real kicker though is that we tested out applying an image using Symantec Ghost, and that finished in around 13 min for each system. So our issue doesn't seem to be network related. We have tried adjusting network drivers, and setting the NIC speed
to 1GB/full duplex, as well as all kinds of throttling adjustments. The apply process starts out very fast, but after 3 or 4 minutes it slows down significantly, eventually slowing to a crawl.
I have built a 32 and 64 bit version of WinPE 3.0, but they both seem to take the same amount of time. The only piece that affects how long it takes to apply an image seems to be the actual machine itself. Since I have the latest drivers I could find in my
WinPE image, I wouldn't think that would be the culprit, but at this point I am at a loss. Any thoughts on why ImageX is taking so long, or why it's so different for each model? If you need more info please let me know.

Answer 1

Hi,
I noticed that you have inject drivers in WinPE.
I considered whether this issue happened during installing drivers. As I known, if the drivers in PE failed to install on current PC, it will find proper drivers from Update.
Let's check the setupapi.setup.log under C:\Windows\Inf in your Dell E6440 laptops, to see the source of installing drivers.
You can also upload this log for our research.
Kate Li
TechNet Community Support