RE: Multiple deployment of Windows XP Professional
From: BAR (BAR_at_discussions.microsoft.com)
Date: 10/31/04
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Date: Sat, 30 Oct 2004 17:15:01 -0700
Microsoft support will provide all the information and product you require.
May I also warn you that; in order to ensure that an XP image will work on a
PC, then it must be made on a hardware configuration identical to the target
PC.
The process is complted this way using Sysprep.
Sysprep is a tool designed for corporate system administrators, OEMs, and
others who need to deploy the Windows® XP operating system on multiple
computers. After performing the initial setup steps on a single system, you
can run Sysprep to prepare the sample computer for cloning.
To use Sysprep as part of the disk duplication process, the following
requirements must be met:
• The master installation and the destination computers must have compatible
hardware abstraction layers (HALs). For example, HAL APIC and HAL MPs
(multiprocessor systems) are compatible, whereas HAL PIC (Programmable
Interrupt Controller) is not compatible with either HAL APIC or HAL MPs.
• The mass–storage controllers (IDE or SCSI) must be identical between the
reference and destination computers.
• Plug and Play devices such as modems, sound cards, network cards, video
cards, and so on, do not have to be the same. However, any device drivers not
included in Drivers.cab should be included in the master installation before
you run Sysprep. Alternatively, make sure the uninstalled drivers are
available on the destination computer at first run, so Plug and Play can
detect and install the drivers.
• Third–party software or disk–duplicating hardware devices are required.
These products create binary images of a computer’s hard disk, and they
either duplicate the image to another hard disk or store the image in a file
on a separate disk.
• The size of the destination computer’s hard disk must be at least the same
size as the hard disk of the master installation. If the destination computer
has a larger hard disk, the difference is not included in the primary
partition. However, you can use the ExtendOemPartition entry in the
Sysprep.inf file to extend the primary partition if it was formatted to use
the NTFS file system.
Note If the reference and destination computers have different BIOS
versions, you should test the process first to ensure success. When using
Sysprep for Disk Duplication, Sysprep modifies the local computer Security ID
(SID) so that it is unique to each computer.
How to prepare a master installation for cloning
1. Install Windows XP on a master computer. As a best practice, Microsoft
recommends that Windows XP be installed from a distribution folder by using
an answer file to help ensure consistency in configuring the master
installation, so that iterative builds can be created and tested more
readily. See Unattend.txt for information about automating Windows Setup
using an answer file.
2. Log on to the computer as an administrator.
3. (Optional) Install and customize applications, such as Microsoft Office,
Internet Explorer favorite items, and so on.
4. (Optional) Install any device drivers not included in Drivers.cab and not
installed by the answer file.
5. (Optional) Run audit tests.
6. (Optional) If you want, create a Sysprep.inf file manually or with the
aid of Setup Manager. This file is used to further customize each computer
for the user and helps to set the amount of information for which the user
will be prompted during Mini–Setup.
7. Run Sysprep.exe. Make sure that both the Sysprep.exe and Setupcl.exe
files exist together in the %systemdrive%\Sysprep folder on the local hard
disk. When used, the Sysprep.inf also needs to be in the same folder or on a
floppy disk that is inserted when the Windows boot menu appears.
Important If Setupcl.exe is not in the same directory as Sysprep.exe,
Sysprep will not work.
8. If the computer is ACPI–compliant, the computer will shut down by itself.
If not, a dialog box appears stating that it is safe to shut down the
computer.
9. Take out the system drive and follow the steps for duplicating the system
on other computers. You must have special equipment or software for
duplicating hard disks.
After a duplicated hard disk is inserted into a computer, when the user
turns the computer on, the following occurs:
1. Plug and Play detection occurs – this takes approximately three minutes.
2. Mini–Setup prompts users to:
• Accept the EULA.
• Specify their name and organization.
• Join a domain or a workgroup.
• Specify regional options information.
• Specify TAPI information.
• Specify the networking protocols and services to install.
Note If a Sysprep.inf file was used when running Sysprep.exe, only the
dialog boxes omitted in the .inf file are presented to the user. If display
settings are omitted, the default settings are used instead.
3. The local Sysprep folder containing Sysprep.exe and Sysprep.inf in
%systemdrive% is deleted.
4. The computer restarts and a logon prompt displays.
"Andrew E." wrote:
> To install multiple copys of xp on many diffrent machines,one can install the
> copy(s) useing XCOPY from run,it would be:XCOPY C:\*.* D:\ /c/h/e/k/r
> Then agree to all in the DOS window,the slave drive being D:,although another
> letter can be substituded.The 1 catch,you need to purchase such a copy from
> microsoft to enable multiple installations as a OEM.Call microsoft,800 936
> 4900
> Otherwise the copys would be illegal.
>
> "dihaase" wrote:
>
> > Our company typically uses Symantec's Norton Ghost to image a standard setup
> > from machine to machine. We purchase a computer and a operating system CD
> > from our computer OEM. We then load a standard ghost image to each computer
> > purchased so that they are all set up the same. However, it sounds like this
> > cannot be done legally with Windows XP. I know about Windows RIS, but setting
> > it up and getting it to work is probably a science project that I don't need
> > right now. Do you know of any experts in the field who could explain how a
> > OEM can legally purchase copies of XP and image them across multiple machines
> > legally using Norton Ghost? The bottom line is that each PC that we ship has
> > a legal copy of XP Professional media, but the installation was made at a
> > previous date from a different media copy. Licensing and the whole XP
> > internet registration is in question, and it seems like no one really knows
> > what is correct even when they talk like they do.
- Next message: BAR: "Re: Product ID vs. Product Key"
- Previous message: BAR: "Re: lost track of which serial# went with which cd"
- In reply to: Andrew E.: "RE: Multiple deployment of Windows XP Professional"
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