Drive Cloning

[slaughteredlamb]

I'm about to rebuild 8 audio PC's using exactly the same hardware and software which will also require a complete reinstall of Windows.

Is there some software that will enable to me to rebuild one system, update it with the latest Windows updates, drivers, install all the software we use and configure it and then make a disk image of it but that when I copy that image onto another computers drive it allows me to enter the Windows license and any other software licenses that is unique to that machine? We don't have a multi user Win XP license for these machines but instead they each have their own XP license and the same goes for other software we run (although if these had to be installed manually it would only be a 5 minute job so not the end of the world).

[Matt]

Norton Ghost would be the software

[slaughteredlamb]

Aha, cheers

[keri]

Norton Ghost is the main player in the field, but i think Acronis also make a solution

[Rosco]

I use the open-source Clonezilla at work for imaging machines.  I keep images for each PC model on a network (NAS) drive and retrieve them using a Clonezilla Live CD at the workstation I want to restore.  Any individual license details wouldn't take long after restoring a particular model from a stored image. I generally never have to enter a Windows license key, or re-activate the OS, after putting an image on another PC of the same model (mostly Dells).

[slaughteredlamb]

I use the open-source Clonezilla at work for imaging machines.  I keep images for each PC model on a network (NAS) drive and retrieve them using a Clonezilla Live CD at the workstation I want to restore.  Any individual license details wouldn't take long after restoring a particular model from a stored image. I generally never have to enter a Windows license key, or re-activate the OS, after putting an image on another PC of the same model (mostly Dells).

Like the sound of Clonezilla! Is there a way of changing a Windows serial number afterwards i.e. if I use a serial to create my image but once I've added the image to another drive I want to change the serial? It's just that our I.T. department are somewhat paranoid about licensing and every now and then we have an audit of the computers checking licenses and I imagine they would have a heart attack if they found the same license in use on more than one machine.

[Mr Anderson]

We didn't get on with NG when we used it to ghost our office file server as it got mixed up with where it was supposed to write to, knackered the configuration of the boot disk resulting in it needing an FDisk to be able to start again. Costing a couple of days of time. I vowed never to use any version of it again.

[Rosco]

I use the open-source Clonezilla at work for imaging machines.  I keep images for each PC model on a network (NAS) drive and retrieve them using a Clonezilla Live CD at the workstation I want to restore.  Any individual license details wouldn't take long after restoring a particular model from a stored image. I generally never have to enter a Windows license key, or re-activate the OS, after putting an image on another PC of the same model (mostly Dells).

Like the sound of Clonezilla! Is there a way of changing a Windows serial number afterwards i.e. if I use a serial to create my image but once I've added the image to another drive I want to change the serial? It's just that our I.T. department are somewhat paranoid about licensing and every now and then we have an audit of the computers checking licenses and I imagine they would have a heart attack if they found the same license in use on more than one machine.

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/get-it-done-change-the-product-key-on-windows-xp/5034890