Ghost - Windows XP, 2K

[JoshFink]

OK.. Need some help here. We currently have about 40 machines at work that come in with Windows XP (not a corporate version or bulk license version). We tend the load the exact same applications on them each time and send them out.

I would like a way to automate loading of this software on each machine as it gets tedious.

I wanted to set up a machine the way I wanted it and then Ghost it and put it back on all these other machines. The problem I have is that each machine will have the same XP key and also I believe there is a SYSID in XP and 2K.

Any thoughts on how I can do this?

Thanks for your help.

Josh

 

[JackBurton]

Very easy man. Set up a 2K Server (just use a desktop machine) with RIS and Ghost 7.5 (7.0 will be fine too). Integrate Ghost with RIS so you can pull and push images. Now get a machine and configure it the way you want. After you have everything set up to your liking, sysprep (you can find it on your XP/2000 CD) it and shut it down. Now just connect the PC to the 2K Server (Ghost server), boot up the PC and boot from the NIC. If you done everything right you will be able to upload the image to the server. Now whenever you want a PC ghosted, just connect the machine (or machines) to the Ghost server and push the image out to the PCs. I've ghosted 10 at a time with no problem.

You can also use Ghost Console to push images out too.

 

[JoshFink]

Ok.. I've already got Ghost 7.5 Corporate set up and can push and pull images (we use it for Win98 right now).

The only thing I was missing was the exact usage of SysPrep. This will take care of anything? What will it prompt for when it reboots the other computer? Will it ask for a serial and will it require activation (they come from IBM already activated).

Thanks a lot for the help

Josh

 

[JackBurton]

Hopefully you have a corp copy of XP Pro which does not require activation. If you don't...well you need to get the corp version of XP Pro. Sysprep shouldn't ask you for the serial, and you can have it prompt you for whatever you'd like (computer name, user name, etc.). The main thing is that it will create a unique SID for each machine.

 

[Useful0ne]

Ghost it after activation if the machines are simular it should work. I had to do this on some laptops (C610's) that I had to setup before our corp. media had arrived. It worked like a champ.

U-1