Windows XP Hardware Independent Image/Clone XP

[DigitalDoctorTech01]

Greetings,

I work for a computer repair company in Tullahoma TN. We often deal with customers who come in for virus/spyware removal, system cleanup, data recovery, and hardware upgrades.

Sometimes it is necessary for us to perform a system re-installation before we can continue installing our software, service pack 2, Microsoft update etc...

We have been experimenting with hardware independent images for WinXP with all of our software and updates, even though vista is HII compatable, most of our customer base will be using xp for some time to come.

We have been using Sysprep, Norton Ghost, and an Image server with multiple hardrives/partitions with each individual OS. The Master Image is being built on an ACPI PIC PC HAL. We have only had success with computers of the same HAL type, but have removed all other hardware issues using Sysprep. PC's with ACPI APIC Uniprocessor PC HAL or ACPI APIC Multiprocessor PC HAL error with the following message before making it to mini-setup:

“The system was not fully installed, please run setup again”

I have used the registry fix given on MS's website, but that does not allow the mini setup to run allowing us to change the key, computer name. We need to use the customers windows key in order to keep it legal. It also causes some XP components not to look right like the start menu and cannot revert to XP classic mode.

Our Sysprep.inf file looks like this so far:

;SetupMgrTag

[Unattended]

InstallFilesPath=C:\sysprep\i386
ComputerType="Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) PC", "OEM"
DriverSigningPolicy=Ignore
UpdateInstalledDrivers=Yes OemPNPDriversPath=drivers\hardware_cat\driver_dir\driver_inf;
(repeat);

[GuiUnattended]

EncryptedAdminPassword=NO
OEMSkipRegional=1

[UserData]

FullName=""
OrgName=""

[SetupMgr]

DistFolder=C:\sysprep\i386
DistShare=windist

[Identification]

JoinWorkgroup=WORKGROUP

[Networking]

InstallDefaultComponents=Yes

[Sysprep]
BuildMassStorageSection=Yes

[Unattended]
UpdateInstalledDrivers=yes
DriverSigningPolicy=Ignore

[sysprepcleanup]
Service=isapnp
Service=pci
Service=ftdisk
Service=swenum
Service=update
Service=dmio
Service=rdpdr
Upperfilter=mouclass
Service=TermDD
Upperfilter=kbdclass
Upperfilter=ALIM1541
Upperfilter=AMDAGP
Upperfilter=AGP440
Upperfilter=AGPCPQ
Upperfilter=SISAGP
Upperfilter=VIAAGP
Service=pciide
Service=intelide
Service=atapi
Service=aliide
Service=cmdide
Service=viaide
Service=toside
Service=mssmbios
Service=aha154x
Service=sparrow
Service=adpu160m
Service=aic78u2
Service=aic78xx
Service=dpti2o
Service=cpqarray
Service=sym_hi
Service=mraid35x
Service=perc2
Lowerfilter=perc2hib
Service=hpn
Service=symc8xx
Service=sym_u3
Service=symc810
Service=ql10wnt
Service=ql1080
Service=ql1240
Service=ql1280
Service=ql12160
Service=i2omp
Service=cd20xrnt
Service=cbidf
Service=dac2w2k
Service=dac960nt
Service=asc3550
Service=asc
Service=asc3350P
Service=ABP480N5
Service=amsint
Service=ini910u
Service=ultra

[SysPrep]

BuildMassStorageSection=Yes

[SysprepMassStorage]
***I have excluded the following data placed in this Section for the forum post, when i use sysprep it will include all the mass storage drivers compiled by sysprep when we ran C:\sysprep\sysprep -bmsd

Before we run sysprep we revert the IDE controller drivers to the windows generic

Any advice for making the image installable over the other two HAL's would be greatly appreciated. I know it can be done because I have seen it done before with DVD images, however I am no longer in contact with the person who did it to ask him.

 

[DigitalDoctorTech01]

Holy Grail

For those of you still on the quest I have found the answer!
I found out about a nice little backup recovery cloning imaging software program called Acronis True Image Workstation 9.1 with an add-on called Universal Restore. I contacted their company by e-mail to request a trial version of universal restore to use on the trial version of True Image workstation since you could not use Universal restore without the true image workstation and their was no trial version of the add-on universal restore. The called my workplace within minutes, gave me an english speaking (with mainland USA accent) representative who hooked me up with an evaluation license for both applications. I tried it out, made the master image on an old single processor Hal Dell pc IDE Hard Drive with all of my software updates and options installed and configured. Made a backup copy archive file of the old disk from the old dell onto my image server's hard drive using Acronis' software, took a harddrive out of a newer HP multiprocessor HAL pc using SATA HDD, restored to the new disk using Universal restore, replaced the new hard drive into the new system and WHAM! it WORKED!!!! %$@& Yes!!!!~

 

[DigitalDoctorTech01]

oh and for legal purposes i used a keyfinder to change the xp key to the customer's provided key and an sid changer to change sid and computer name. I then procede to activate the installation. After that i changed the registered owner in the registry and made a new user account to get the customer's name instead of Owner and to have the right folder name for their data recovery, and deleted the owner account