brucekrymow Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Building 5 exact computers. We want to install and configure one hard drive and then clone it for the other 4.Question 1 - What is the best way to clone, image, copy or otherwise make duplicate hard drives?Question 2 - How would we accommodate the OS legally with the same version of XP Pro on all of them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricardo Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Question 1: I would recommend a disk image program such as Drive Image , Norton Ghost or BootitNTQuestion 2: Unless you have a Volume Licence version of XP I'm not sure how you'll get all the copies activated.If the computers are going to be networked together then they need non-identical SIDs. I don't know what the consequences would be with a network of machines with identical SIDs but I sure there'd be problems. Microsoft provide a free to download utility called Sysprep which you run on the test computer just before you take the image which, among other things, generates random SIDs. I suggest your next step would be to get the documentation for Sysprep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epp_b Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Question 1 - What is the best way to clone, image, copy or otherwise make duplicate hard drives?After the first machine is setup, you could... If you have a USB Hard Drive enclosure and PQ Drive Image, it will be a cynch. You can setup the first machine, and clone the hard drive to the drive in the USB enclosure 4 times I assume that you don't want to spend big bucks (as you would have to if you don't have the software and hardware as required for the first suggestion). You could borrow PartitionMagic version 8 for DOS from a friend. 1. Install the hard drive to clone the first drive to as the primary slave2. boot up to the PQPM disk3. copy all the partitions to it (from Disk 1 to Disk 2)4. remove the slave and repeat the process with the next 3 drives Or, if you don't have a copy of PQPM 8 for DOS and can't find someone who does to borrow it from, you could download BootIt NG (http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/). I think it has a trial version that you could use for this purpose. Question 2 - How would we accommodate the OS legally with the same version of XP Pro on all of them?You can probably just buy 5 Windows XP licenses (w/o the disc). I think it's legal then. Since these are identical computers, it shouldn't be a problem with product activation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucekrymow Posted February 18, 2004 Author Share Posted February 18, 2004 Hi, All ~Thanks for the suggestions.I have 5 different copies of XP Pro - one for each unit, but these computers are going to have the same custom applications & configuration for my industry for 5 different locations and thus no networking.I was wondering if I installed XP pro on one, cloned the HD to make exact dupes of the apps and config, then activate each OS with a new activation reg, from MS perhaps on the phone by providing the legit key from each? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epp_b Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 From what I've read and heard, if these are identical machines (including chipsets), you probably won't even have to re-activate each machine, because the ID of each machine that is sent to Microsoft will be the same.So you should probably just have to activate the first one, then dupe them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucekrymow Posted February 18, 2004 Author Share Posted February 18, 2004 All the hardware is exactly the same on each with the serial numbers on the mobo, HD, CD, DDR, & modem running consecutively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucekrymow Posted February 21, 2004 Author Share Posted February 21, 2004 Greets, Gentlemen ~Here is an update: this went from ridiculously tedious to ridiculously easy. It finished absoROOTry perfect & very, very fast! I am one happy camper. Here is what I did: Obtained latest ver. of True Image 7 after throwing my ver. 6 CD into oncoming traffic Installed XP Pro, unactivated, apps, config, cleanup, defrag, etc. Hooked up second new drive as primary slave Used the 'Clone' feature - took all of whopping 4 minutes on 40GB HD Disconnected new drive & connected to new unit - booted right up and all components worked flawlessly Used Jellybean Key Finder/Changer to change the key to one of the other 4 CD keys left Activated online - took all of a whopping 20 seconds tops Repeat 3 more times After confirming all units work, activate the source drive OS Sysprep is not necessary at all. I had all 5 drives finished and units reassembled inside of an hour. True Image 7 made this a breeeeeeze I love it! Thanks for all your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 Very cool Bruce ... and very slick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlinecomputers Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 That is one way to handle it. The legal way to do it is to use Sysprep. The System Preparation Tool.http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/usi...ntroduction.aspI use this all the time for such rollouts and for building systems. I can prebuild and install systems and don't have to worry about activation issues (like the 30 day post install count down) because the sysprep tool resets the counter and deletes all users. The machine boots up with the Welcome to XP OOBE (Out Of Box Experience). Very handy tool to have and it comes on every Windows 2000 or XP disk. OEM vendors(like me) can also get the OPK (OEM Preinstallation Kit) that allows you to build custom installs complete with custom branding. I can build boxes that have my logos and web links preloaded into Windows XP and Internet Explorer. I can then ghost the image and have a predone Model "XYZ" image. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucekrymow Posted February 21, 2004 Author Share Posted February 21, 2004 Hi, Nate ~The way I did it was legal. I called the MS activation line and explained what I was doing, read them the 5 keys I purchased and they said to move forward as planned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlinecomputers Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 I'll rephase. The "official" way to do that is with sysprep. Also FYI you can change your install key anytime before you activate the system if you start the activation applet and hit register by phone. A new screen pops up and one of the buttons says "Change Product Key". You can then enter the correct key and then activate the product.If you already have activated it then this link:http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?...b;en-us;Q328874Will help with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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