Microsoft euthanizes ancient deployment toolkit

Microsoft has abruptly pulled the plug on the venerable Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT), sending any administrators still clinging to the platform scrambling for alternatives.

Redmond retired MDT with "immediate" notice. This means there won't be any more fixes, support, updates, security patches, or enhancements. Microsoft also warned that "MDT download packages might be removed or deprecated from official distribution channels."

It also means that any hope of future compatibility updates for new Windows releases are dashed, although existing deployments should continue to work for the time being.

MDT has survived for many years and is a set of free tools for deploying Windows operating systems and applications. It has, however, been on the chopping block for some time. Microsoft announced deprecation in December 2024, and many affected administrators will have already migrated to an alternative. The house that Gates built recommends Windows Autopilot or Configuration Manager Operating System Deployment ...