RIS naming

[Sidd]

When rising an existing computer that's already been rised, I'm getting this error half way through.

The name for this computer that you specified earlier in Setup, "........" is already assigne4d to another computer on the network. Please choose another name.

How can I avoid this problem without deleting the Computer name from ADS?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ReddLefty]

Here is how I do it, but it might not be "The Microsoft Way".

I setup my computer account BEFORE I launch the Remote Install of W2K. A quick way to do it: when you boot (either with the diskette or network services F12), it will list the MAC address of the network card. You need the MAC to complete the new entry when you create the computer account.

Create the computer account in your Active Directory accound and in the second prompt, you are asked if it's a managed computer. Add the check mark to say that it is and fill in the Computer's unique ID (GUID/UUID) with the MAC address, preceded with a bunch of zero's:

000000000000000000000050046670B4

I add zero's until the NEXT button becomes available (instead of trying to count them).

Once the computer added to your active directory, restart the computer that you are trying to remotely install and it should ID your computer. RIS will automatically reset the computer account from now on at every re-installation with RIS.

You can use the GUID address (the sticker that comes on the casings of OEM computers). I personally prefer the MAC address cause it's less complicated to enter.

Sometimes it may take time for the replication to occur on your servers so you may want to force a replication or wait 5-10 minutes before restarting your installation. Put it this way, you only need to do it once per computer, after that, RIS will always remember the computer account.

Hope this helps.

 

[Sidd]

Thanks for the reply ReddLefty,

I understand this is a quick fix but I'm looking for a fix that would help me in the long run.

Thanks

 

[ReddLefty]

Well, in order for RIS to recognize the computer, it has to know about it first. The way I do it might not be the best way in the MS book, but the fact that the GUID/UUID must be entered before or during the installation is a must.

I'll be looking in to see what other suggestion pop up here, as I would like to know of a better way myself. I spent 3 weeks trying to find a better way to fit it in to my environment and I found that one this one to be the best.