Sorry Richard - it's not difficult to get XP to clone to similar PCs, I do
it frequently. Here is a copy of a document I created that works for me
(watch for line wraps!):
Setting up a Windows XP image
Install XP with an enterprise license on a PC that is a clone of the
ones your image will be going on (it can be modified later). After the base
image is set up, add any software that is common to all users, set default
views, and change the display and interfaces to the style you want to
present for your company.
Now would be a good time to kill the time-wasters that MS installs by
default. In order to do that, save a copy of C:\Windows\Inf\sysoc.inf,
modify the original by doing a search and replace - every instance of ,hide,
change to ,, (get rid of the word "hide") - save the file, and run
"Add/Remove Programs", "Windows Setup". You can now uninstall games, MSN,
messenger, and whatever else that is not needed. Again edit sysoc.inf,
change all but 3 of the ,, to ,hide, - don't hide "NtComponents", "Display",
and "AccessUtil" - and save the file. Make a directory either in the root
of the drive or else in C:\Windows called Options, make sure that security
is set to allow your support group full rights, and "Everyone" read rights.
This directory will hold installation files and Office XP installation, and
needs to be readable by everyone.
Update all the patches and service packs that are available, make sure
that all security patches are applied. Delete temporary files, clean out
temp folders, and generally clean up the drive. Run "Defrag" a couple of
times, "Checkdisk" at least once. This image MUST be as good as possible -
all the rest of your images will start with this one! If you can't do it
right, you will have problems later.
Log in as a common user; make sure everything is set as needed including
"Quick Launch" and desktop shortcuts. Set the screensaver and desktop
picture (use a .BMP file.) Log out, back in as Administrator, copy the last
user's profile to "Default Profile", setting read-rights for "Everyone". If
you want a "Quick Launch" toolbar set with defaults for all users, create
"C:\Documents and Settings\Default User\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet
Explorer\Quick Launch" and populate it as needed.
Windows XP likes to wipe a new desktop clean after running sysprep. In
order to stop this cleanup, modify the registry as follows before you run
Sysprep:
1. Start Registry Editor (Regedit.exe).
2. Locate and click the following key in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
3. On the Edit menu, point to New, click Key, and then type
OemStartMenuData in the Key name box.
4. Click the OemStartMenuData key that you made, point to New on the
Edit menu, click DWORD Value, and then add the following registry value:
Value name: OemDesktopCleanupDisable
Value data: 1 (decimal)
5. Quit Registry Editor.
There are several things to put in the SYSPREP.INF file to make it easier.
An example (Carlson Craft):
;SetupMgrTag
[Unattended]
OemSkipEula=Yes
ExtendOemPartition=1
[GuiUnattended]
OEMSkipRegional=1
TimeZone=20
OemSkipWelcome=1
[UserData]
ProductKey=xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx ;(use your license)
FullName="Carlson Craft" ; suggest company name?
OrgName="North Mankato, MN" ; suggest address?
[Display]
BitsPerPel=24
Xresolution=800
YResolution=600
Vrefresh=75
[TapiLocation]
CountryCode=1
Dialing=Tone
AreaCode=507
LongDistanceAccess="9"
[SetupMgr]
DistFolder=C:\sysprep\i386
DistShare=whistlerdist
[Identification]
JoinDomain=Carlson ; use your domain
[Networking]
InstallDefaultComponents=No
[NetServices]
[NetClients]
Some explanations:
OemSkipEula=Yes Skips the license agreement
ExtendOemPartition=1 Helps the NTFS filesystem
maintain integrity, may be unnecessary
[GuiUnattended] Sets timezone, skips
"Welcome Screen"
[UserData] Presets license and
names
[Display] May not be necessary
[TapiLocation] Presets for modems - not
usually needed
[SetupMgr] Probably needed
[Identification] Fills in the blanks for
domain
[Networking] the [Net.. items should
be like this, else Windows reinstalls QOS and
file/printer sharing. Does NOT uninstall them, just leaves everything the
way you set them.
We also preset some registry entries that otherwise get reset during
Sysprep. The way to make sure that the registry entries are modified is to
have a text file in the C:\Sysprep\i386\$oem$ directory called cmdlines.txt,
that looks like:
[Commands]
"reg import c:\sysprep\DefaultsCC.reg"
Any commands put there will try to run at the very end of the sysprep
sequence, while joining the domain on the first boot.
These are the registry entries we want changed (or to keep) for
everyone:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SeCEdit\Reg
Values\MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Policies/System/Dis
ableCAD]
"ValueType"=dword:00000004
"DisplayType"=dword:00000000
"DisplayName"="Interactive logon: Do not require CTRL+ALT+DEL"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\syste
m]
"DisableCAD"=dword:00000001
[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Group Policy
Objects\LocalUser\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explore
r]
"NoSMMyPictures"=dword:00000001
"NoStartMenuMyMusic"=dword:00000001
"Intellimenus"=dword:00000001
"NoInstrumentation"=dword:00000001
"NoSMBalloonTip"=dword:00000001
"NoStartMenuMFUprogramsList"=dword:00000001
[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Group Policy
Objects\LocalUser\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum
]
"{450D8FBA-AD25-11D0-98A8-0800361B1103}"=dword:00000001
Getting ready to copy the drive to a network storage
This is the way to make a "universal" Windows XP image that works with
all our desktops (all Dell models, but it works for other brands too.)
Change the Hard Drive Controller to the basic PCI IDE Dual Controller,
reboot, and then delete the hard Drive Controller from device manager. (Do
not reboot yet or Windows XP will find the correct controller during PnP and
you will have to start again.) Run sysprep (which MUST reside in the
C:\sysprep directory), using the Mini-setup option, Reseal, and allow the
system to shutdown the system. Reboot with a DOS diskette and run a suitable
DOS based imaging tool and save a copy of the hard drive image to a network
share. You can then reimage other PC's with the template image. The freshly
imaged PC's will run the XP Mini-setup at the first boot, discover all the
unique hardware during Plug and Play, delete the sysprep directory, and will
then reboot again. After reboot, the machine will be ready for use.
If the image is to be used on identical hardware, such as the Dell GX1xx
series, it should work fine and you are done. If you are going to be
putting this image on other hardware that is not very similar, such as Dell
GX150 and GX260, or others that have dissimilar chipsets, you have a few
more steps. The next steps will be to copy the image down to the other PC,
restarting and detecting the new hardware, updating the drivers, and going
back to paragraph 3. It would also be a good idea to repeat this with any
dissimilar hardware, such as sound cards, I/O cards, and USB devices. When
you are done again, repeat the trick with the Hard Drive Controller and
sysprep. Test the system - in our case, XP finds all the hardware without
problems on the Dell GX100, GX110, GX150, and GX260 PCs. I have found that
it works best is I start with the GX100, then GX110,... last is the GX270.
It doesn't work if I start with the GX270 first, then go to the GX100.
If there are several flavors of images you want to make, such as an
image with Office XP, start up with the base image, install the software
needed, and repeat the steps with the HDC and sysprep. There is no need to
copy the image to all types of hardware again as XP will remember the
different systems.
Hope this helps!
