Install on 20 PC's - ghost image and change product key?

[Guest]

Hi All

Wondering if anyone could help me here. I have 20 new PC's to roll out.
Could I load Vista and Office onto one machine, and then ghost (image) the
image over to the other 19 and then change the prodcut key on Vista AND
Office 2007?

It looks like I could this for Vista - not sure about Office.

ANy comments pelase?

TIA

Lewej

 

[Carl Farrington]

Just like before.. sysprep. You prepare a machine, load up all the software
and tools, and then run sysprep. After clicking "prepare" or whatever it is,
the machine shuts down. This is when you take your ghost/acronis/whatever
image, because on the next boot you would have the "Thanks for buying a
computer with Windows Vista" stuff and be asked to enter the product key,
username, join a domain etc.

You can automate much of it, even down to the product key, regional options,
joining a domain automatically (using Mini Setup instead of the standard
'Welcome' out-of-box-experience (oobe) stuff).

I haven't done this for Vista yet, but many times with XP. You could prepare
your image with some more-generic HDD Controller drivers (Standard PCI IDE
Controller, for example, instead of VIA/Intel/SiS IDE Controller), then the
image is more likely to boot on varying hardware. Alternatively you can
add-in third party driver support using INF files etc (that's the official
way, which I haven't done before).

I haven't deployed Office the official way either. You'd want to look at the
office deployment kit.

Read this for Vista:
http://technet2.microsoft.com/Windo...d44f-47f7-a10d-e23dd53bc3fa1033.mspx?mfr=true

 

[Carl Farrington]

Hi All

Wondering if anyone could help me here. I have 20 new PC's to roll out.
Could I load Vista and Office onto one machine, and then ghost (image) the
image over to the other 19 and then change the prodcut key on Vista AND
Office 2007?

It looks like I could this for Vista - not sure about Office.

ANy comments pelase?

TIA

Lewej

I forgot to say, regardless of deploying/sysprep'ing Office the proper way,
I would expect that if you cloned & sysprepped a machine with office already
installed, Office would be aware of this and prompt you to enter a new
product key for Office. Failing that, there is a Microsoft kb article which
tells you what registry keys to delete in order for Office to take you back
to the "please activate & enter your key" screen.

Can't you just install office without entering the product key at all, then
sysprep/ghost?

 

[Guest]

Nice one - thanks Carl.

I forgot to say, regardless of deploying/sysprep'ing Office the proper way,
I would expect that if you cloned & sysprepped a machine with office already
installed, Office would be aware of this and prompt you to enter a new
product key for Office. Failing that, there is a Microsoft kb article which
tells you what registry keys to delete in order for Office to take you back
to the "please activate & enter your key" screen.

Can't you just install office without entering the product key at all, then
sysprep/ghost?