If you’re looking to install Vista on one computer, just put the DVD in and follow the prompts. If you need to deploy a dozen or a thousand computers, you’ll need to put a little more thought into it. First, download and install the Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK, or WAIK, pronounced “wake”). WAIK includes tools for managing Windows Vista images and allows you to configure languages, drivers, applications, and settings before deployment.

Dario Airoldi has a couple of very useful how-tos related to WAIK:

• Steps to prepare lab machines with Windows Vista AIK.
• Steps to create a bootable Windows PE RAM CD/DVD.

Don’t spend too much time mastering WAIK, though. There’s a layer of tools that runs above WAIK that makes life easier: Microsoft Solution Accelerator for Business Desktop Deployment (BDD 2007). I’m the author of a couple of the BDD documents, including the current version of the Security Feature Team Guide and the Plan, Build, and Deploy Guide. It’s at RC1 now, but it’s going to be released real soon now. Promise. There’s an awful lot of documentation accompanying BDD, but it’s a worthwhile read because it’ll save you time in the long-run.