Suggestions for deploying xp sp2 to 25 pc's

[Thinkster]

Here's the Scenario: (25) Gateway All-In-One PC's (Windows XP Pro), (1) Gateway Server (Windows 2000 Server). Active Directory & Server controls DHCP to client machines. Client Machines have machine names of 'station01' 'station02' and so on.. Out of the 25 machines, about half are newer Profile 5.5 models and the other half I'm assuming are older Profile models.

What I need to do is to create a "model" image on one of the new machines and one for the older machines for approval and then create an unattended install with source being a directory on the server rather then a CD. I've never done it this way, so I'm not sure how you would get the PC to boot and goto the server, but I would imagine I need some sort of boot disk with server path in it...

Now the tricky part is can I somehow create (25) winnt.sif's each with a different computer name and different XP Product key and get it to choose the correct winnt.sif depending on which PC the installation is going to?

Or the other option I have is to create the two model images and ghost them, but the problem I see with that is that each half the machines will all have the same Computer name & same XP product key.

Ideas please??

[arry]

Either use this project: http://unattended.sourceforge.net/ which I used to use and is very good although it takes some time to set up and get your head around it or what I would do is:

Build one pc, image it and then SYSPREP it so that you need to enter the key.

[Martin Zugec]

I am using small BootP database for this purposes... In dos you detect the MAC address, find the corresponding PC name in DB and then rewrite the winnt.sif, so it is unstalled under correct name since beginning...

[Thinkster]

I am using small BootP database for this purposes... In dos you detect the MAC address, find the corresponding PC name in DB and then rewrite the winnt.sif, so it is unstalled under correct name since beginning...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That sound like a good idea (ID the MAC address).. Do you have an example or more info as to how you do this?

[Thinkster]

I just found out that all 25 machines will be replaced with new ones which I'm assuming are identical models. That being the case, maybe I might be better off creating a ghost image and somehow get a script to change the PC name and product key depending on MAC ID??

Or I could still do unattended and maybe be lucky enough to find or get someone to make a script to do the machine name/product key change based on MAC ID (like put a table/database file with MAC ID, MACHINE NAME, PRODUCT KEY)..

Anyone do anything like this??

[Jito463]

Or if you could get access to an OPK disc (some places sell them on pricewatch.com) you could do an unnattended network install. Mind you, the OPK is explicitly for OEM system builders, so I don't know of the legalities involved in a non-system builder using it.

[Martin Zugec]

2Thinkster: Give me few days, I will try to create some small universal program for this...

[midiboy]

Hey Martin,

I would also be very interested in your solution ! Thanks for sharing it !!

Bye,

Alex

[Thinkster]

2Thinkster: Give me few days, I will try to create some small universal program for this...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks, it looks like some of your code from the Protect your CD thread could be used along with a "database" or lookup table of MAC ID's containing the equivalent product key and machine name to use. I've seen some .exe files out there that allow you to change the product key on a system that already has one, except that they are interactive.

So it would probably be easier then to use a master product key for the initial installation and then during the post install, have it change the machine name and product key according to which MAC ID it detects..

[Martin Zugec]

Nope, it should work differently. Ideal case is to define computer name directly in winnt.sif instead of renaming computer after installation. So I would like to create it for dos

[mls15000]

Martin,

Would like to see what you have too. I am starting a roll out and your idea would sve me tons of extra work.

Mike

[Thinkster]

Monday is the day. that I have to implement this. Currently they have two Ghost images on the server from the older PC's. I don't really want to go the Ghost way since I'm used to creating my ow UA CD's, but not to deploy to 25 machines!

I'm really interested in this boot from network card method or even boot from CD that referes the path to the server.

I didn't realize there were many different options (like RIS) to do this. But Martin's method sounds the most promising if it can assign a machine name & product key based on MAC ID.

[Thinkster]

Been doing some more reading and It sounds like RIS may actually be usefull here evn though I've never tried it before. Also, the following sounds utilizeable, but I just don't know how to do it:

"Answer Files are only useful for installing one machine at a time. If you’re installing 50 machines in one go and you want each one to have a unique identity on the network, you will have to create fifty separate Answer Files – that’s a lot of work.

Instead of creating a separate Answer File for each installation, an easier way to go about things it to create a Uniqueness Database File (UDF). The UDF file is used in conjunction with the Answer File and can provide multiple answers for installations done from a single Answer File."

I have already created a database with something like the following: Machine-01 | AAAAA-BBBBB-CCCCC-DDDDD-EEEEE (Machine name | Corresponding product key). I still have to add MAC ID's to each of these as well.

Any idea how to do this using UDF?