Using GUID to apply a computer name to a new computer

[Richard Balsley]

I've got a network of about 250 PCs and we're looking to move from
2000 to XP. We're going to use RIS to deploy XP and wipe the current
2000 installs.

The problem I forsee with this is computer naming. What we would like
is one vanilla RIS image and then to use the GPOs we have defined for
each OU to push down specific applications to our users.

I've done research on how to do this, and the GUID seems like the best
case. The problem I am running into is that when I go to the AD and
specify the GUID to my test PC, and then go to the PC itself and type
in username/password and select the RIS image, the computer account
name shows up just like in AD, however a random computer name is put
in place once the install is completed (the random name is based off
of our Org name and has a - followed by random letters at the end).
The computer is then placed in the computer OU and not in the
prestaged OU that I had defined the computer and GUID in the AD.

From what I thought, the GUID would give me the computer name and have
the computer reside in the OU that it was originally created in.
Instead, I get that computer I originally made in the OU I had
created, and then a second computer is placed in the computers OU (to
me, this seems like it would create duplicate GUIDs and error
somewhere).

Anyone have some suggestion to help with this?

Thanks
Richard

 

[Richard Balsley]

Solved my own issue. Apparently my .sif file was set to ComputerName=*
instead of ComputerName=%MACHINENAME%

Richard