Right now, when my company receives a new type of computer to ship out, we format the HD, install windows xp, then install and customize all of our software. This is getting old since we have to do it EVERY TIME a new model is shipped. Within the same model, we just make a ghost image. The problem is that a ghost image for a Dell xps 200 wont work on an xps 400 because of the hardware differences. Is there a program that would allow us to install an image with all of our software and customizations on every model computer we get regardless of hardware? This would prevent the need to install all of our software every time we get a new model pc.

Thanks
Jason

Where to begin...

Ghost + sysprep. This is very primative, and will only work for same types of HAls and chipsets. You'll have massive driver problems if you try doing a single ghosted image for every piece of hardware

There are alot of tools and guides out there for doing unattended install...



Like this one:

Unattended Installation guide including slipstreaming service packs



And try this thread:

Useful Info. for the Windows OS, Tips, tweaks, slipstreaming, etc

This is THE biggest thing in Vista that IT folks like us are looking forward to: HAL-independant imaging. Any hard drive with vista installed on it will boot in any machine, so you just configure an image on one box and clone it to whatever other box you want.

This is thanks to the new image (.wim) format right?

Apparantly, they're redoing the whole process. I'm not up to speed on it, since ive been pre-occupied..


I haven't had much of a problem with HALs to be honest..... drivers moreso than HALS

let me just add by saying that

I made an image of the Dell factory image in my Dell OptiPlex GX280 (i915)

I deployed that image to an OptiPlex GX270 (i865) and OptiPlex GX260 (i845) and it worked fine

so it is technically possible

I was thinking of this two days ago, why they dont make an option that can replace the HAL without doing full Windows XP Repair?!.

Yea, but you're talking about 2 VERY similiar machines. Your image wouldn't work on an HP desktop and a IBM laptop. (Although I made one that does




Again, I ask, how often is the HAL touched. I've made a couple different images on all different types of machines, and they've all had the same basic HAL.

Hm...sounds like vista will make it SOO much easier...does anyone know anything about the new command shell? I hear its drastically improved

Well you're treading into new & offtopic territory now GB86, but the new & improved command shell (a.k.a. Windows PowerShell) is no longer gonna be shipped with the Vista RTM.

Instead, it's been switched to its own project, on its own timeline, and supporting both XP, Vista, and presumably 2K3.

Yep. You can get the Release Candidate here. It's really intended as a suport interface for Exchange 2007 more than anything else at this point.