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February 15, 2007 at 9:08 am #2251565
The best way to create and store PC images which I can boot to
Lockedby niallf · about 17 years, 2 months ago
What’s the best way to backup and store images which colleagues can use to restore there machine when something does wrong with the OS or harddrive?
I’ve had to reinstall Windows a couple of times this year on my own machine. My machine and colleagues machines have very similar program files installed. What’s the best way to get machine back up with the complete configuration when the hard disk or OS goes bad?
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February 15, 2007 at 9:08 am #2511527
Clarifications
by niallf · about 17 years, 2 months ago
In reply to The best way to create and store PC images which I can boot to
Clarifications
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February 15, 2007 at 9:16 am #2511524
I use Ghost
by w2ktechman · about 17 years, 2 months ago
In reply to The best way to create and store PC images which I can boot to
it makes an exact copy of the entire drive, including the copy of ghost itself.
I keep the image file on a second HDD in my system, and also burn it to dvd
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February 15, 2007 at 9:19 am #2511521
Kudos
by statykserver · about 17 years, 2 months ago
In reply to I use Ghost
I agree with using Ghost as w2ktechman mentioned. It is really easy to use and the last time I used it it ran from a floppy.
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February 15, 2007 at 9:55 am #2511504
safemode
by niallf · about 17 years, 2 months ago
In reply to I use Ghost
Today my PC wouldn’t even boot in safemode, what could I do in this case.
Would the ghost’s image work on all users machines or would there be something else required.-
February 15, 2007 at 11:57 am #2511671
Not booting?
by statykserver · about 17 years, 2 months ago
In reply to safemode
Well Ghost will only be helpful to you if you make an image of the system while it is at the “perfect” state that you want it in. Otherwise ghosting a drive that is filled with problems will result in an exact duplicate of the problem system. Think mirror image. If your are ghosting several systems and the systems are identical it will work flawlessly and you will only be required to change the product key.
See: http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-1035_11-5034890.html
If you have different systems that are for example from Dell, Compaq, HP, and clones then it would be best to create an image for each. Taking the time to do it now will definitely relieve further headaches in the future.But since you can’t boot even into safe mode at the moment you could do a fresh install or try this alternative method. (second link has screenshots)
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm#How%20to%20Repair%20Windows%20XP%20by%20Installing%20Over%20top%20of%20Existing%20Setup: -
February 15, 2007 at 3:16 pm #2511420
One quibble
by charliespencer · about 17 years, 2 months ago
In reply to Not booting?
“If your are ghosting several systems and the systems are identical it will work flawlessly and you will only be required to change the product key.”
If the systems are on a domain you’ll also have to change the system names. If you aren’t using DHCP, you’ll also have to change the IP address on each.
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February 15, 2007 at 7:19 pm #2511336
Given
by statykserver · about 17 years, 2 months ago
In reply to One quibble
True but anyone on a domain that will be imaging hard drives that are attached to the domain should already know that all devices connected to the domain require different computer names and ip addresses if they are not using DHCP (if not then they probably shouldn’t be ghosting drives in the first place and will soon find out when ip address conflicts start popping up on all the screens). But since he didn’t specify that he was on a domain I assumed they were individual computers with similar software.
“I’ve had to reinstall Windows a couple of times this year on my own machine. My machine and colleagues machines have very similar program files installed.”
But thanks for watching out.
Cheers
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February 16, 2007 at 1:19 am #2490146
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February 16, 2007 at 2:28 am #2490128
Making the changes
by statykserver · about 17 years, 2 months ago
In reply to yes they’re on a domain
You will simply have to rename each pc accordingly and also set the ip address for each system.
Here are two MS articles that explain how to perform these actions.
changing computer name
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/295017changing ip address
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/expert/russel_02june17.mspxAlso I saw a post from HAL9000 about a program called the magic jelly bean which will show your current product license key and then you can also change it with the same program. (good if you are ghosting/changing a lot of systems)
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtmlHope this helps and my bad for not asking about the systems not being on the domain or not, I just “assumed” they weren’t.
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February 16, 2007 at 4:02 am #2490101
Sysprep
by charliespencer · about 17 years, 2 months ago
In reply to yes they’re on a domain
MS has a free tool called sysprep. You run it as the last thing you do before you cut the ghost image. It resets the system name, domain, and license key. Run it, reboot directly to your imaging tool boot disk, and cut the image. When you reboot after the imaging or after installing the image on another machine, you’ll be prompted for the relevent data.
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February 15, 2007 at 9:32 am #2511517
a couple options
by Anonymous · about 17 years, 2 months ago
In reply to The best way to create and store PC images which I can boot to
The easiest for a small number of users is Ghost
For a slightly more sophisitcated (business class) variant, take a look at Backup Exec System Recovery Desktop Edition (also a Symantec Product). It has added features for automation of recovery point creation, and the ability to recover to non-identical hardware.
The cheapest (Free) – Is DriveimageXML
http://www.runtime.org/dixml.htmTt works well, and is significantly lighter, but it doesn’t automate the process, and requires at least a touch of geekiness to do the bare-metal recovery.
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February 18, 2007 at 6:18 pm #2506124
USE This You might like it!
by juan18_c · about 17 years, 2 months ago
In reply to The best way to create and store PC images which I can boot to
Use “Clean slate” very nice program, I have it running in at least 50 machines with very good results. It will create an image of your system at boot time and when you or any user “logs off” the machine restores the image and creates a new one. You can even thawd folders or partitions for your users to save to. or if you have Net /maped drives even better! keep us up to date
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