RE: Image and MSI packages

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Hello,

Thank you for posting here.

According to your description, I understand that:

You want to know the best practice to deploy Windows XP SP3 clients with
Office 2007, Adobe reader, MacAfee and so on.

If I have misunderstood the problem, please don't hesitate to let me know.

Suggestions:
======================
Yes, you can first install the 8 MSI packages on one client, sysprep the
system and create a image from this template, and then distribute the image
to domain clients as needed. From the performance point of view, it demands
a lot of network and I/O load to deploy some clients whose size is large,
such as Office. For a SBS network that has dozens of clients, you can
deployment the image as the following:

1. Create a default XP SP3 installation on a PC
2. Manually install the MSI packages (Office 2007, Adobe reader, MacAfee
and so on.) and do other customization.
3. Sysprep the system to the factory mode.
4. Create an image of the system.
5. Deploy the image on the rest of the computers.
6. Use "Connect Computer Wizard" to add these computer to the domain.

Moreover, if you can count on the WDS (Windows Deployment Services) to
distribute the image over network instead of configure clients one by one.
For detailed information, you may refer to:

How to Deploy Windows XP Professional Using Windows Deployment Services
(WDS)
http://datanotes.wordpress.com/2007/11/26/how-to-deploy-xp-using-windows-dep
loyment-services-wds-2/

More Information
==============
Imaging
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb878149.aspx

How to use the Sysprep tool to automate successful deployment of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/302577

Hope it helps. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not
hesitate to let me know.


Best regards,
Miles Li

Microsoft Online Partner Support
Microsoft Global Technical Support Center

Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
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