Build my own XP install

[wags2272]

I work with approx 70 Windows XP machines. Some are HP, some are MPC. The difficulty with them is that when it comes to reloading the OS I'm stuck using the manufacturer's restore cd which wipes the entire hard drive rather than just a partition. Not very efficient when I have dual-boot systems. If I install from just the OS cd, then I have to re-register with MS and some of the drivers for the system don't get installed.

Can anyone lead me through building my own XP install that will include the proper drivers, give me partitioning options, as well as install the proper licensing?

Even better, can all this be done with one (or two) disks that will cover both systems?

Thanks,
Wags

 

[RMGBELGIUM]

here's a start :

http://www.svrops.com/svrops/documents/xpunattend.htm#installpoints

rgds,

R.

 

[wags2272]

Thanks,

But that's not quite what I'm looking for. Eventually I'd like to reach that point, but for now I want a cd installer.

 

[linney]

Not sure whether there is anything here that applies but it wont hurt to look at them.

Creating a Windows Installation CD from your Recovery Disk

http://www.easydesksoftware.com/recovery.htm

Wiping Out Special "Recovery" Partitions

http://langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-02-06.htm#1

 

[Rick998]

Instead of using 'Restore' CD's, you may find it easier to use something like 'Symantec Ghost' (

http://www.symantec.com/home_homeoffice/products/overview.jsp?pcid=br&pvid=ghost10)

to create and store images of partitions. Creating a partition image will include hardware drivers and the resultant partition image can be restored within minutes.

See thread779-1171402 for more info about partioning your hard disks and thread779-1113459 in the Win XP forum for more info. about using Ghost, especially in the environment you describe, i.e. multiple makes/models of PC.

Hope this info helps...

 

[lpblauen]

You could also try this product.

http://www.softotec.com/

asisbackup. Its 29.95 and looks good. Hope this helps.

Backup copies made with ASIS Backup are bootable. This means that you can boot your computer from a backup CD or DVD disk created by this program. ASIS Backup offers probably the easiest method of system restoration available anywhere.

What do you do when your hard disk crashes or your computer simply won't start? You could restore your files from a backup copy? But how can you restore anything if you can't even boot your computer? This is a real problem. You need to boot up your computer in order to restore your files, but you need to restore your files in order to boot up your computer! Re-installing Windows from a CD, re-downloading and re-installing all the service packs and security patches via the Microsoft Windows Update system, re-setting all your preferences (and more) is a hard and time-consuming task

 

[wags2272]

One more thing on this. The manufacturer's restore process is 2 cd's. The first cd formats the drive and loads drivers. It then asks for the operating system cd and copies all files from it. Then it reboots and does an automated OS install.

I would like to take the best of both cd's and make one simplified install that allows me to choose what partition to install on and have the drivers and licensing information already installed.

Thanks again,
Wags

 

[linney]

See if this has any possibilities.

nLite is a tool for permanent Windows components removal and pre-installation Windows setup.

http://www.nliteos.com/nlite.html