anyone using hardware independent images for nuke and paves?

[MobileTechie]

I personally don't use either of them; I use MDT. It requires a lot more set up, but there is greater customization options.

Did you receive any correspondence from them or is that just your perception of the verbiage?

Just looking around the web about it. Here for instance: http://www.devproconnections.com/article/product-review/3-disk-imaging-solutions.aspx - implies it costs per deployment, less for workstations, more for servers.

 

[MobileTechie]

I've been messing around with some of the imaging products and whilst impressive I'm not sure they are much quicker than a straight installation, for Vista at least, which only requires the key to be entered and thereafter there is no user interaction. If you slipstream the SPs and a load of drivers then this seems to need less interaction than messing around with pulling images down and making them work on the new h/w etc.

 

[dbdawn]

I've been messing around with some of the imaging products and whilst impressive I'm not sure they are much quicker than a straight installation, for Vista at least, which only requires the key to be entered and thereafter there is no user interaction. If you slipstream the SPs and a load of drivers then this seems to need less interaction than messing around with pulling images down and making them work on the new h/w etc.

In my experience imaging has been more helpful with XP, Vista and Win7 are so much easier since they have more drivers built in. I still do some images for businesses that want a standard computer build and for that I use MDT, makes it a piece of cake

 

[ATTech]

You should use Microsoft's ImageX Utility which is included in the WAIK/MDT for building deployable Windows Vista and Windows 7 images. Sysprep is used for preparing Windows XP based images.

ImageX can do everything related to building and applying Windows 7 images. It can also be used to apply a prepared image to a drive that still has data on it, which is extremely useful. Being able to reinstall Windows on a drive without having to copy off data, then copy it back on again is absolutely the single most timesaving technique you can use.

Anyways back on topic, ImageX is well worth learning to use and it doesn't cost anything.

You can also try GImageX which is a 3rd Party GUI version of ImageX, might be easier to figure out.

Brokenmachine

MDT is Microsoft's GUI for network deployments using the technology of the WAIK, as well as powerful scripting in the form of Powershell to provide better customization and more utilities.

 

[brokenmachine]

MDT is Microsoft's GUI for network deployments using the technology of the WAIK, as well as powerful scripting in the form of Powershell to provide better customization and more utilities.

I was just suggesting that ImageX might be an easier place to start for small scale image deployment. As well, there are also lots of step-by-step guides available online (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee523217(WS.10).aspx). MDT is the most powerful/customizable way I think we both agree on that.

Also I think the point is that the Microsoft provided tools are a more efficient solution than using consumer grade products which have their own supply of issues.

Brokenmachine

 

[ATTech]

I was just suggesting that ImageX might be an easier place to start for small scale image deployment. As well, there are also lots of step-by-step guides available online (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee523217(WS.10).aspx). MDT is the most powerful/customizable way I think we both agree on that.

Actually, SCCM is, but that's just MDT on steroids. But I would have to disagree with a starting point. I think ImageX and the WAIK isn't as user friendly as MDT. I think MDT just takes the WAIK and gives easier to use wizards and better representation on what the software is using.

I guess I can see your point,though, in that it may be better to start with sysprep and imagex to create an image, just to learn about the tools that Microsoft provides for doing image deployments.

 

[parker.casey]

If you need to install XP on a system with a need for SATA/RAID drivers, it's a good idea to use DriverPacks.net's system for just the mass storage text mode drivers, and go from there. Updates after the install will take longer than anything, so an Offline Update Disk is good to have on hand.

Unfortunately, replacing a motherboard (other than with the same motherboard) or a CPU pretty much means reinstalling ... so far, I haven't found a good way around it. It'd be nice, though.

 

[DCGPX]

If you need to install XP on a system with a need for SATA/RAID drivers, it's a good idea to use DriverPacks.net's system for just the mass storage text mode drivers, and go from there. Updates after the install will take longer than anything, so an Offline Update Disk is good to have on hand.

Unfortunately, replacing a motherboard (other than with the same motherboard) or a CPU pretty much means reinstalling ... so far, I haven't found a good way around it. It'd be nice, though.

Replacing a CPU shouldn't mean any updates??

As for MB as posted earlier I did one Saturday, MSI to Gigabytes using Paragon Adaptive Recovery, went extremely smooth, client very very happy to get PC back as it was before and I'm £200 better off. He had over 500GB of data and programs so it worked for me.

I have now started looking at images restorations more and whilst I use straight reinstall and WSUS offline CD normally, I can see benefits of using images already fully slipstreamed/updated for quick turn arounds.

I use sysprep if giving a new PC setup to a client then they get the ' ownership' feeling setting up their own names etc but without the 2 hours updating!

In end I guess its what works best for each given situation.

 

[seedubya]

Which products is Paragon Adaptive Restore included with?

 

[MobileTechie]

Actually, SCCM is, but that's just MDT on steroids. But I would have to disagree with a starting point. I think ImageX and the WAIK isn't as user friendly as MDT. I think MDT just takes the WAIK and gives easier to use wizards and better representation on what the software is using.

I guess I can see your point,though, in that it may be better to start with sysprep and imagex to create an image, just to learn about the tools that Microsoft provides for doing image deployments.

I've done image deployment on Server 2003/XP setups whilst working as a system admin - using sysprep and RIS etc. I never came across ImageX or MDT or if I did it wasn't called that. Is this a newer development or just something different?

 

[DCGPX]

Its with their Drive Backup 10 software, I think it also comes with there Backup/Restore Suite as well

 

[seedubya]

Its with their Drive Backup 10 software, I think it also comes with there Backup/Restore Suite as well

Thanks!!........................................

 

[dbdawn]

I've done image deployment on Server 2003/XP setups whilst working as a system admin - using sysprep and RIS etc. I never came across ImageX or MDT or if I did it wasn't called that. Is this a newer development or just something different?

Yes MDT and ImageX are newer.

 

[ATTech]

Unfortunately, replacing a motherboard (other than with the same motherboard) or a CPU pretty much means reinstalling ... so far, I haven't found a good way around it. It'd be nice, though.

Common mistake. If the new motherboard requires the same HAL or a backwards compatible one, and the mass storage drivers are available, then it will work; there are only a handful of HALs.

I've done image deployment on Server 2003/XP setups whilst working as a system admin - using sysprep and RIS etc. I never came across ImageX or MDT or if I did it wasn't called that. Is this a newer development or just something different?

MDT came out in 2008 and the released a new one, MDT 2010, recently. They are definetly newer implementations of Windows imaging and automated deployments, as the documentation I have come across pairs them with WDS, microsoft's evolved RIS.

 

[DCGPX]

Common mistake. If the new motherboard requires the same HAL or a backwards compatible one, and the mass storage drivers are available, then it will work; there are only a handful of HALs.


MDT came out in 2008 and the released a new one, MDT 2010, recently. They are definetly newer implementations of Windows imaging and automated deployments, as the documentation I have come across pairs them with WDS, microsoft's evolved RIS.

Little piece about HALs :

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309283

 

[MobileTechie]

MDT came out in 2008 and the released a new one, MDT 2010, recently. They are definetly newer implementations of Windows imaging and automated deployments, as the documentation I have come across pairs them with WDS, microsoft's evolved RIS.

And these newer implementations handle hardware independent image deployment better than the commercial products mentioned previously in the thread?

I'm not worried about enterprise image deployment over the network and I know the advantages of that from doing it. I'm more interested in working out the quickest and most convenient way of doing reinstalls on client h/w.

So far the best way for XP seems to be to use the Acronis/Paragon's special restore features to restore an image of XP which has been fully updated. The paragon one for instance allows for the restore system to refer to a driver database held in a folder on the network making it easy to add driverpacks or backed up drivers to it.

For Vista it seems quickest to use vlite to slipstream Vista with SPs and drivers and just use the install disk. Looking at the vista disks I see they use WIM files anyway so it would appear that it's using file-based imaging anyway but doing that way you get to enter a user name and it looks to install drivers.

I'm interested to know in which ways using MDS or imagex is superior for these tasks?

 

[16k_zx81]

<bump> interested to see continuation of this discussion...

 

[dbdawn]

Here is a pdf that shows how to setup MDT, pretty easy to follow.

http://download.microsoft.com/documents/France/TechNet/2009/WIN7/MDT_2010.pdf

 

[ATTech]

I'm interested to know in which ways using MDS or imagex is superior for these tasks?

Mainly in customization and flexibility. You can load drivers (such as driver packs) into MDT and create profiles to deploy to specific models. Granted, that's not as useful for a PC repair business versus a enterprise, but MDT allows for custom scripts, so you can handle drivers in a multitude of ways. You can also have it select from specific applications to install. So for example, if you know they had Chrome as their browser, Thunderbird as their email program and Avast as their Antivirus, you can select those in the walk-through.

I enjoyed MDT at first because it made it easy to deploy images, but lately I've found that just using the bare imageX and some scripting knowledge can provide some powerful, custom automated environments. For example, one of the PEs I've made it completly automated from start to finish which will create a full back-up that contains a text file of the inventory of software installed on the PC (Custom program), a USMT data back-up, an MBR back-up and a Full file-based WIM image. It will then shut the computer down. Eventually, I'll implement some sort of audio or textual notification. There is no framework for doing anything like this with any of the commercial software's available.

It does take quite a bit of time and knowledge to set-up and tweak, so if If you're not ready to commit a good deal of time to it, then the commercial software is a better bet. If you are up for it, then it's a very powerful and you're only limited by your imagination. (That sounded kindy of fruity, but meh)

 

[iisjman07]

I don't know if this software has been discussed before but O&O DiskImage can do hardware independant images: http://www.oo-software.com/home/en/products/oodiskimage/

Costs: £29.99