Automated System Installations

[Silmeron]

Hi there,

Pretty much every week, I have to rebuild a system from scratch, including installing Windows XP, Office 2003 Basic, and a number of other apps like WinZip and Photoshop.

Each system I set up generally uses the same hardware and software.

Has anyone found a good unattended/automated method for installing systems that might fit something like this? I've found way to automate Windows nicely, but I'd like a solution that'll do all the other misc too.

Thanks,
-S-

 

[johnodq]

You could try the information at this site for ideas and solutions.

http://unattended.sourceforge.net/

(Thanks to bcastner for this link!)





---------------
Johnodq
---------------
Please let me know if the advice I give is of help.
Feedback will benefit all

Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[FROGGYJ]

Personally I would use Norton Ghost. Install everything the way you want and then burn an image onto cd or dvd (very simple to do) and then when you want to reinstall it only takes like 10 minutes and you have everything back to the way it was including office etc...

FROGGYJ
A+,N+,CST,CNCT,MCP

http://www.BackupYourPC.com

 

[FROGGYJ]

By the way if you have a server then you can use ghost over the network if you don't want to go around to each machine with a cd/dvd.

FROGGYJ
A+,N+,CST,CNCT,MCP

http://www.BackupYourPC.com

 

[johnodq]

Ghost, Acronis True Image or ImageCast would be fine if all the hardware is identical, but if not then you will have to either Sysprep the image before hand or over install XP afterwards so that the HAL is rebuilt for the different hardware configurations.

---------------
Johnodq
---------------
Please let me know if the advice I give is of help.
Feedback will benefit all

Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[ifix1]

hi
i'm just about finished my unattended install cd, what i mean is the os (XP pro) installes fine,now i'm working on getting the registry setting i like to install along with the os install.i tried ALOT of tuts on the subject and the one that helped me best understand was the one johnodq suggested

http://unattended.sourceforge.net/

It seems alot if not all the tuts i read mentioned about a batch file, i didn't use one and everything worked fine ( i'm just being stubburn about the reg settings!)

just create a winnt.txt file ad your settings and and then rename it winnt.sif and put it in the i386 folder..

and don't forget to slipsteam sp1..

hope this helps! GL

1 more thing: Ghosting is nice but from what i understall the nt file system puts the mbr in the middle of the drive so there is less chance of corruption, with ghosting it doesn't go in the middle, wheather it matters or not i don't know but i like the thinking behind away from other stuff!!