|  | Creating, Testing, and Deploying an Image Lesson Overview
| After the hard disk of the reference computer is prepared, an image of the computer is created, tested, and deployed. First, a third-party imaging tool is used to create an image, which is stored on a software distribution point, such as a compact disc or a network share. Next, the image is loaded from the software distribution point onto a "clean" test computer. Windows XP Professional and any applications included in the image are tested. If there are any problems with the image, such as a failure to start correctly, the source computer is reconfigured to eliminate the problems. Then a new image is saved to the distribution point, and loaded on the test computer. This is a recursive process that continues until the image on the test computer is perfected. After the image on the test computer passes all testing, that version of the image is deployed from the software distribution point to the target computers.