Disk Imaging

[netadmin06]

Hello to all, I usually have to install Windows and all my programs on multiple computers which takes a while. Is there a way to keep a "master image drive" which has windows and all of my programs and then simply copy that image into 10 or more hard drives?? that way I dont have to install and configure each system one by one form scratch?? Do I need an imaging program?? what would be the best way to do this??

 

[nsantin]

Lots of products out there, Ghost is one of the more popular ones as it is pretty cheap. Imaging works best if you have the same hardware, if not then you will need to reinstall drivers after every image. Also, you need to reset the SID of the imaged PCs.

 

[netadmin06]

Will ghost work work with both identical and not -indentical hardware?? what is their website?

 

[steevej]

Use Ghost.

http://www dot

symantec dot com
I have been using it since the early 80's when it was a DOS only product and the guy in Belgium that invented it had not yet sold out to Big Business.
You can set up a Ghost image server on any machine in your network, with disparate images of every diff hardware type, or you can build up one 2000Std, One 2000 Adv, one 2003Std and one 2003Ent servers and grab those images, along with folders containing the SP and HBA/LAN drivers for each. These are then copied/transferred to the Ghost Server and used to 'blow' images to any of your machines, at any time, anywhere on the network.
Ghost Console which installs with the Ghost Server kit, allows you to create bootable client CD or Floppy disks, and with a bit of creativity you can do Ghost client USB sticks too.
These are simply inserted into the target machine, which is then rebooted (or powered off and back on in extreme cases) This process then boots a mini-OS, loads NIC, USB, SCSI and IDE drivers needed, launches Ghost and you simply select your Ghost Server from a GUI list, pick the image you want on that box, and away you go.

We re-image Bare OS - which takes 5-6minutes, Complete 10, 20, 30, 70 and 144Gb HDD - which take 20min to several hours... BUT the end result is a clean, bootable OS complete with all the bells whistles and user accounts/settings and programs that were on the box when the 'image' was grabbed (also done from the Client)

The Floppies, CDs and USB sticks can also be equipped with a batch file that runs all steps automagically for the user, then issued to folks that need a rebuild and they can DIY without your help.

Check it out!

 

[netadmin06]

steevej wow thanks, great info!

 

[steevej]

One more thing... If you use it to clone more than 1 image, you will need to run NewSID on each copy to ensure acceptance by the Domain controller(s) as these use SID (System Identification Designators) for this purpose. You can do a flood of boxes using a milti-port hub or switch (better) but all will be EXACTLY the same - and NewSID fixes that including re-naming the box(es) at the same time

Cheers!

 

[netadmin06]

Got it, thanks so much for your help