RIS with Dell - Machine continually reboots after imaging

[Charles]

I am in the process of setting up RIS to image our desktops. We have a
Windows XP open license. I slipstreamed SP2 and the dell drivers for the
sata controller. The CD works great, have done a bunch of full installs. I
then created a my base image from this CD. I can do installs from this base
image using RIS.

So I RIS a new box, install the base set of drivers, create a new image,
deploy it on another box and the machine starts up detects new hardware
(Different HD), reboots and will not start windows, it just continually goes
to the XP splash screen and reboots. I have tried Safemode as well and it
does the same thing.

Any suggestions on making RIS work

Dell Precision 380
Windows XP SP2

 

[Guest]

There are a number of possible causes for continual rebooting.

One is that the partition-order on the cloned HD is not the same as on the
original. If so, you need to edit boot.ini to reflect the new situation.

Another is that the disk already had a signature in its MBR, and this
signatiure is redirecting the system-partition away from C: to some other
driveletter. If so, you need to use a hex-editor to zero the signature in
the MBR.

http://www.ntfs.com/mbr.htm (signature is at 1B8 Hex, here it's FD 4E F2 14)


The third possbility is that mobo hardware is actually different, even
though it's the same model. (Yes, manufacturers do things like that) In this
case you have two options: With the disk in the original PC, change the IDE
driver to "Standard PCI IDE Controller" and the display to standard VGA.
Now see if it will boot in the second PC. Or, do a repair install. (Which of
course will waste a good deal of rollout-time if you have to do this too
often.)

Hope this helps, Ian.

 

[Charles Spencer]

Hey Ian
I am a little confused and maybe I need to review boot sequences again,
but I was under the impression that once the XP splash screen with the
progress bar thing started, the boot.ini and MBR had already been executed.
If there were problems in eithor of these the XP splash screen wouldn't boot
would it?

I double checked the hardware. It is all the same, except for hte Hard
Drive. The one thing I should have mentioned is the HD are SATA drives.
They use the same controller though

Charles