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Windows installation image with third party software?

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8 replies

by powerit

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Is it possible to create a DVD image containing Windows XP/2000 with additional software such as MS Office, Adobe,Winzip, etc. In essence it would be similar to the Sysprep solution that deals with different hardware setups within a corporation.

In my case I intend to roll out very similar spec PCs, but need to automate an installation with extra software. If such a solution exists, how do I enter the product keys of all the software?

Thanks in advance.

8 replies

by lowlands

There are quite a few programs that can do this for yu. Ghost, Altiris, Microsoft RIS (remote installation services).

Since you create an image after all software has been installed, you don't need to enter the keys.

Granted, the more software you intend to install, the more tricky it gets.

by powerit

I appreciate what Ghost and other similar imaging utilities can offer in terms of restoring an image to a single client, but I am after a generic image of OS, office software and other third party software to be installed on subsequent clients accross the business - be it 60 or 600.

The required "image" utility would possibly look in a .txt, .csv file or similar which would hold program name and license key information so as to comply with company and MS licening policies.

I will investigate RIS further though; thanks for the input.

by georgeou

RIS stinks, and it's extremely time consuming and complex. Just ghost the perfect image as I described in my other post.

Don?t worry about licensing if you?re using the Enterprise copy of WinXP and Office. Just make sure you have enough to cover everyone.

by georgeou

It's called a standardized enterprise desktop image. It has everything you list and then some including Trend OfficeScan which will automatically connect to the Trend central server and re-register as a fresh station. I've used both PowerQuest (owned by Symantec now) or Ghost and they both work well. Your motherboard and harddrive controller need to match for the same image though if you want the cloned WinXP box to boot.

You don't need sysprep because you take the image with the computer set up on a work group. When you rename the computer and join it to a domain, it will automatically generate a new SID.

by jsullo

I think you are looking at this the wrong way. Best option do an unattended install, then add the final application install using wininstall. Create a menu of wininstall applications (install packages), select the apps to install and away it goes. No need to worry about hardware or licenses as you build them into the packages. Just maintain proper levels of purchased licenses and you're ok.

Good Luck.

by jtienson

The reason not to use image solutions like Ghost is because you'll be using various hardware/software combinations. If you have 10 different hardware setups, you would need to configure and MAINTAIN 10 different builds. The ability to have an unattended Windows install then install the applications via Wininstall gives you the added flexibility of configuring the install of software automatically based upon any number of variables available at install time to WinInstall. For instance, if users in the Accounting dept need to have a default template directory on a network share that only Accounting users have access to, one would configure that to happen in the WinInstall package, which would check for Accounting group membership. This becomes a huge time saver since you don't need to have a IT guy go over there and manually configure the install options for different users and departments in your company.

by faradhi

I use just a base image with windows installed. For applications I use a couple of diffrent methods. For MS Office I use MST files. You can create a custom mst with the office resource kit then copy the administrative install to the DVD. You can then use the command line to launch and automagically install Office without additional input.

For non MS apps, I use a program called Prism Pack. (Wise makes another similar program.) This basically scans the system before and after the install and creates a diffrence file. This allows me to make all the customizations I want and then apply the package to any computer (NOT hardware specific). This particular program will also create exe's for installation. You can copy the exe file to the dvd.

This method provide more flexability. It makes my ghost images smaller and quicker to deploy. It also means you do not have to install each application for every diffrent PC configuration you have and thus makes the process of creating the ghost images faster.

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