ImageX for deploying XP embedded?

[Gert Leunen]

Any chance the ImageX tool (created for deploying Windows Vista from Windows
Image Format files) may be used for capturing and deploying Windows XP
embedded images? This would be a major and long awaited help in deploying
Windows XP embedded (from recovery CD/DVD, for example). I kind of hoped it
would be part of the Feature Pack 2007, but no such luck :-(

Currently, I use SDI files (which are giant due to lack of compression: I
could use NTFS compression, but then the files would stay compressed on the
target partition, which isn't my intention), which I need to copy to a
temporary partition (since I can't mount it while it resides on a CD/DVD as
they are read-only devices), then mount it (I simply can't have the SDI file
hold the same partition sizes as the target partitions, as required by the
writepart/writedisk commands on sdimgr) and finally copy off the files using
xcopy.

Best regards,

Gert Leunen
R&D International NV

 

[KM]

I agree and add my vote here. Adding WIM support to XPe would be a big win.

 

[PJC]

Where can we get a look at ImageX to give it a try? Is it in the Vista
beta?

SDI files don't work for me due to the size of the image uncompressed.

We install the image from a USB CD Rom and use ghost to deploy. Are
there any other options?

 

[KM]

Where can we get a look at ImageX to give it a try? Is it in the Vista

beta?

Yes, it is.
Some docs were posted though:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsvista/expert/imagex.mspx

SDI files don't work for me due to the size of the image uncompressed.

We install the image from a USB CD Rom and use ghost to deploy. Are
there any other options?

Sure. But options totally depend on your system specs and what you've got on the deployment side. E.g.:
- Regular CD or DVD (you can make it bootable) with your image on that CD
- Use other cloning software (although I personally like ghost more)
- Just use xcopy (you can even zip all the files)
- Cut the zero-endded SDI file to reduce it size (would require some custom code to be written first to deal with the custom
SDI format)
- etc.

 

[Guest]

KM,

Is there a whitepaper on MSDN that details how to use ghost system image
cloning software to reimage a deployed Windows XP Embedded device from a
bootable media like CD, DVD or USB mass storage device?

If so, could you provide me the link to the whitepaper?

Thanks,

ECB

 

[KM]

ECB,

I don't recall seeing such whitepaper on the Web or MSDN.

Quite frankly, ghost is very intuitive to use in automated scripts (especially ghost 7 or 8) and relatively easy to use to deploy XP
or XPe images. Making the media bootable is more dependent on the OS you want to run from it. If XPe, it is well described in XPe
docs for CD and USB devices.