UIU Blog

The UIU 4.x, a.k.a. the UIU Classic has reached the end of the line. Originally developed in 2004 and continuously updated through 2017, the UIU Classic (4.x) will not function with UIU License Keys that expire after the end of 2019. The UIU Classic has been replaced by the UIU Classic Mode.

The UIU Classic Mode product, built on UIU 5 technology, will allow users to install device drivers in an online Master Image prior to Sysprep and prior to capture by an OS deployment solution that is presumably not based in WinPE technology. Big Bang has taken steps to preserve the flow of the UIU 4.x product’s GUI and has streamlined the process in the context of the operating system versions still supported today.

The UIU Classic (4.x) was developed to universalize Windows OS images by providing a set of applicable drivers, installed on a live operating system or “Master Image” prior to the execution of Microsoft Sysprep and subsequent capture for later deployment. This method was proven effective for many iterations of the Windows OS.

After the 2012 release of the fully-integrated UIU plug-ins for SCCM and MDT, Big Bang released UIU Classic’s successor, the “UIU 5” in 2013. Instead of installing drivers in an online OS prior to Sysprep, (which had some interesting difficulties with more modern operating systems), the UIU 5 applies only the relevant drivers for any specific target PC as discovered during a WinPE stage of Windows OS Deployment Solutions. The drivers are staged in the Windows Driver Store and are then accessed by the OS, during mini-setup’s enumeration process.

This improved process allows for:

More accurate assessment of required drivers

More robust application of those drivers

Smaller UIU footprint in deployable images

More successful deployment experience

Whenever possible, Big Bang encourages all of its customers who have employed the UIU Classic (4.x) product to give the UIU 5 version an opportunity to make Windows OS deployments better. That said, Big Bang realizes that some customers have chosen OS deployment solutions that are not based in WinPE technology. It is with the intent to support those users that Big Bang has created the UIU Classic Mode product, initially released in January of 2019.