How other shops do reinstallations

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ITTech

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I am curious to know what other shops do when they get a computers with nasty rootkits and hard to get rid of viruses. I know I can spend hours on a computer and probably get rid of the virus but its usually faster and easier to do a reinstallation of the system and ensure that the computer is running like a new system again.

Does any other shop have automated systems setup to do reintallations. I have spent days on trying to work on a universal XP image so I dont have to reinstalls over and over again. I was not able to get one image working for xp. I know vista and windows 7 is suppose to be hardware independent but I have not setup WAIK and WDS to deploy images for vista yet.

So what are you guys doing with reinstallations? Do you have a CD or DVD with answer file or what are you doing to streamline the process?
 
Well for enw builds and formats we have a norton image that we made (for vista & 7) that we just copy (quicker than reinstalling) and then add the data, problem with xp is you have to do a repair if it's not on the same hardware, that being said becuase all our stock builds are the same mobo we have a clean image for those.

Should note that when i mention images it also has the software we load by default like adobe reader & flash and nero essentials
 
imaging

What I did start doing in early 2009 is that after installing Windows XP to a certain point and loading out base software apps (adobe reader, java, flash) I started uploading the images up on a NAS drive based on the chipset. I then have the folder sturucture orgranized like this

Chipset -> Desktop -> Brand ->Model -> OS

Intel 945GV ->Desktop -> Dell -> Dimenstion 2600 - XPhome.gho

I started up with a 1tb drive and last week just upgraded it to 2tb drive because I ran out of space. The NAS is setup as Raid 1.

What I noticed in my shop was that we are getting similar computers which require reinstalls and we spend about 2 hours with the os install all the latest updates and then installing the same base apps. I can now do a reinstall from an image within 4 - 10 minutes. I have a checklist for my techs to follow and they upload the image at a certain point of the reinstall package. This way over the year I have built up a huge storage of XP images based on the chipset.

During our diagnostics phase we use a tool to write down the chipset of the computer. IF the system requires a reinstall we image down the chipset if we have it and are up and running in 10 mins all we have to do after that is scanning and copying data back.

The investment in the NAS drive has easily paid for the amount i save in labor in one week alone.
 
iisjman07 said:
We usually use nlite to do unattended installs, as well as slipstream updates into the cd
Click to expand...

This is what I have been doing too.

ITTech said:
What I did start doing in early 2009 is that after installing Windows XP to a certain point and loading out base software apps (adobe reader, java, flash) I started uploading the images up on a NAS drive based on the chipset. I then have the folder sturucture orgranized like this

Chipset -> Desktop -> Brand ->Model -> OS

Intel 945GV ->Desktop -> Dell -> Dimenstion 2600 - XPhome.gho
Click to expand...

....... but this is very sweet, I want those images too.
 
We only do a re-format as an absolute last resort. No matter how good you are at copying files and documenting settings, there will ALWAYS be a handful of things different for the customer when they get the computer back and customers generally don't like it different from what they were familiar with.

I've heard this time and time again from customers that bring in their computer after having it at one of our competitors and they come in and say "nothing is working right ... everything is different" and I can tell that it was a reformat job. To someone technical, it's not that different, but to the end user, just having icons in different places, desktop background different, IE home page different is a major problem to many of them.

Besides, those times that you struggle through to fix a difficult problem (instead of reformatting) just makes you a better technician. Charge the customer a fee more in line with how long it SHOULD have taken you and chalk it up to a learning experience. This is the approach we've taken and we reformat less than 5% of our jobs, and even those few are usually due to a failed hard drive where we have no choice but to do a clean install. I don't remember the last time I reformatted due to a virus or an un-solvable Windows problem.

It takes a little more time (especially in the beginning when you still have a lot to learn), but it's worth it in the long run because it makes you a better tech and reduces customer headaches involved with a reformat.
 
I just do it by hand I only do it every couple of months or so there is no point on having automated systems. If I do have to to this I also finish it of in the clients home to ensure things like home page, printer, ipod, office etc are all installed.

I try to get it back how it was for them :)
 
mmanna said:
We only do a re-format as an absolute last resort. No matter how good you are at copying files and documenting settings, there will ALWAYS be a handful of things different for the customer when they get the computer back and customers generally don't like it different from what they were familiar with.




It takes a little more time (especially in the beginning when you still have a lot to learn), but it's worth it in the long run because it makes you a better tech and reduces customer headaches involved with a reformat.
Click to expand...


I agree with you to a certain point. As a tech and I have been doing this professionally since 1997 and as a hobby since 1993. The reason I love this field is because there are always new challenges and something new to learn everyday. As a tech i would love to solve a problem and take the challenge of repairing every installation but it is not realistic for most businesses. I could never afford to hire another thech with 10 years of experience in the chicago market. As a small repair shop I would not be able to make any profit! I would have to do every computer job on my own espeically when it comes to cleaning computers for viruses / spyware since new threats come out on daily basis.

It is very important you explaiin to the customer what has happened to their computer and sometime the damage is not worth risking their personal information for. In 5 years i've had the repair shop most customers did not care and just wanted the virus to go away and make sure their system is 100% clean so they feel comfortable enteiring their personal information into it (banking online, email passwords, quickbook, etc). I would never tell a customer that 100% of all viruses/spyware are gone from their computer after a virus removal service. We rely on tools to tell us that the computer is clean. There are threats that can go un detected for months because the usual tools dont pick it up. The only way to 100% tell a customer everthing is gone is by doing a fresh install. I mean 100% in 100% of the cases of all repair jobs. I personally could not tell a customer that 100% every single threat on your computer is gone by our removal service and that your computer is running at the best performance it can. (if they have had their computer for 5 years and never got their system tuned up) A virus removal and tuneup will not give you the same performance as a fresh install. This is my opinion.

We do our best to write everything down for the customer and demo each computer when the customer comes to pick up their system. We change their homepage to whatever they want since we show them that the internet is working (so they dont go home and blame us no internet connection especially when they are hooking up something wrong) We also document when possible what printers they have and load the printer drivers for them so when they go home and hook everything up their printers will also work.

Then I tell the customer "your computer is running like a new computer with the advantage of all the latest security udpates and patches, internet security, and all your old data). This is like buying a new computer and your computer will run like when you purchased it only better due to the tweaks that we do during the install also.

Customers are not afraid of changes you just have to do a good job in explaining it to them. Eventually customers go out and buy a new computer and they have to make changes based on their preferences when they buy a new computer. So it is not a bad thing from a business point to reimage their systems.

Bottom line of any business is to lower overhead, streamline processes, provide great service, and improve profits where prossible. I promise to my customers turn around in 24-48 hours and I can usually do it within the same day with my images now. They love it! I have managed to compete with bestbuy, staples, officemax for the last 5 years. It makes sense to me why would I spent 2 hours on a process I can do in 10 minutes? I am giving the customer a clean system, which will run faster and better.

I also tell the customer if you have any problems what so ever when you take your computer home call us and we have the ability to log on to your computer remotely to help you with everything you need. They leave the store happy and yes I use logmein to help them sometimes if they cant figure out something.

I take care of the customers no matter what!
 
mmanna said:
We only do a re-format as an absolute last resort. No matter how good you are at copying files and documenting settings, there will ALWAYS be a handful of things different for the customer when they get the computer back and customers generally don't like it different from what they were familiar with.

I've heard this time and time again from customers that bring in their computer after having it at one of our competitors and they come in and say "nothing is working right ... everything is different" and I can tell that it was a reformat job. To someone technical, it's not that different, but to the end user, just having icons in different places, desktop background different, IE home page different is a major problem to many of them.

Besides, those times that you struggle through to fix a difficult problem (instead of reformatting) just makes you a better technician. Charge the customer a fee more in line with how long it SHOULD have taken you and chalk it up to a learning experience. This is the approach we've taken and we reformat less than 5% of our jobs, and even those few are usually due to a failed hard drive where we have no choice but to do a clean install. I don't remember the last time I reformatted due to a virus or an un-solvable Windows problem.

It takes a little more time (especially in the beginning when you still have a lot to learn), but it's worth it in the long run because it makes you a better tech and reduces customer headaches involved with a reformat.
Click to expand...

+1
Reformatting is last resort. Over the past 6 months, after hundreds of boxes, we've reformated maybe 3-4 computers. We hear the same customer complaints about "the other guy" wiping the system. (although they usually refer to their loss of data that wasn't restored)

My question to those that do a lot of reformats is how do you deal with reinstalling all the customers apps? Of course I understand that you couldn't get all their little games and "crap" back on there but man, that's what they are wanting back more than anything. I can hear it now "Where's my deluxe solitare ^&*(^!!"?
 
sostechs said:
+1
Reformatting is last resort. Over the past 6 months, after hundreds of boxes, we've reformated maybe 3-4 computers. We hear the same customer complaints about "the other guy" wiping the system. (although they usually refer to their loss of data that wasn't restored)

My question to those that do a lot of reformats is how do you deal with reinstalling all the customers apps? Of course I understand that you couldn't get all their little games and "crap" back on there but man, that's what they are wanting back more than anything. I can hear it now "Where's my deluxe solitare ^&*(^!!"?
Click to expand...

I also take a ghost image of their system before I do any other work. We do ask the customer what they want backed up and sometimes customers forget to tell us or just assume we will know that they use some random software. The ghost image ensures that we can bring their system back to the way they brought it in and we keep the backup for 2 weeks in case they call back.

We get the basics for them (Office, adobe, java,flash) and we ask them to bring all the CDs they would want us to install and we install it for them and usually its not much.

I also have a lot of onsite with small businesses that I do so its not possible for me to be in the shop all the time. Most of the techs I have are very knowledgeable but I see them getting stuck and I just dont have the time to babysit them I can provide faster service and make sure that the customer is taken care of and HAPPY when they leave with the system. I do tell them upfront about backing up data means we can backup data but not applicaitons.
 
atlanticjim said:
This is what I have been doing too.



....... but this is very sweet, I want those images too.
Click to expand...

yeah 10 minutes to bring down a 3gb xp image is nice the 10 minute includes the time it takes me to hookup the drive bring the image down and then connect the drive back to orignal pc.

I can have the computer turned around withn 24 hours. Data is what takes time but we just scan and then use robocopy to copy it over.
 
Copying chipsets? Multiple XP images? I don't see a point to that. What I do is if the system will be reinstalled from scratch, I'll try to copy all the drivers from the machine first, then install them after the automated nlight xp install. Use their xp id and you're good. Aside from that, I install the following:

  • Firefox
  • A/V
  • Adobe
  • Open Office (sometimes skipped)
  • Few other apps slipstreamed

No peripherals installed, unless they bring it in and pay extra for that. The OS install fee is primarily just for that. Look at it this way - they get a new PC, none of that crap is installed, if they wanted their printer installed, they'd have to do it themselves, or call you to do it.

I won't even copy over their old data w/o an extra fee (unless it's just a copy files or something). I'll ask about this before hand though, lots of times they tell me they don't care and say just wipe everything.

I've found that going that extra mile isn't appreciated and takes too long anyhow. They've been happy with just the little extra OS tweaks and apps I throw in. I've done the extra like a lot of you have said though, but just found it isn't worth the extra effort. It'd be like taking your car in to a garage and getting a $150 detailing package free every time. I'll do the basic rinse and throw in an air freshener, but that's it!

Layoric
 
We compete with Best Buy which is about a mile away from us. We also have a staples about a block away and office Depot as well. We have to offer similar services to what Best Buy charges in order to compete. Luckly their prices are high enough for us to compete with them. The pricing in my store is very similar to theirs but with the advantage of quick service (24 - 48) hour turn around on almost all jobs. Then we do a lot of extras for the customers.

I am always looking for ways to streamline our processes here and figure out better ways to do the job and provide better / faster service for our clients. This is main thing that sets us apart from Best Buy and other big guys out there. If noticed that we were getting the same computers in the shop every month (model wise) and we were spending alot of time on those computers to reinstall the os and then isntall our base applications (we do this on all of our reinstalls) I Got a 1tb raid1 nas drive and started backing up every image. I have a checklist for my techs to follow and it goes in sequence so once they get the install done and all the drivers loaded, all the base apps done, the checklist requires them to backup the image on the nas drive. It takes about 20 extra minutes to disconnect the drive and backup the image. Most xp images are only 3 - 5gigs compressed with latest service packs and udpates. Just last week I did about 7 computers this way. It took me no more tehn 10 mins to get the system up and running to new state.

I pay my techs by the hour so Why would I want to pay for 2 hours of labor on something I can get done in 10 minutes? It improves my bottom line and at the same time i provide a way faster service then Best Buy which at times is usually (5 -7 days)

So speaking from experience you are doing the work anyways just takes another 20 minutes to do the backups why not do it?
 
I always find reformatting to be "the easy way out"...and whenever I've been forced to do it customers don't like it, as (as already has been mentioned) things are different....no matter how well you try to restore it. It can be something silly like the control panel having category view instead of small icons, the customer can't find the exact option in the control panel and they ring up not too happy...
 
I realize I'm a bit late but I have been thinking of this for a while and am just going to test it out. What I propose is creating a virtual machine which you configure exactly as you want it, then use sysprep and driverpacks to make it into a universal image. Sysprep w/ driverpack should allow you to image it onto any computer. You can even configure it to load mass storage drivers on boot and select alternative hals. This way you run your VM, update whatever you need, reseal and image again... nothing to juggle besides 32 or 64 bit.

http://www.vernalex.com/guides/sysprep/
I personally have a Windows XP SP2 image that works on most, if not all, computers. It was specifically designed to operate on Dell business computers (OptiPlex GX1, GXa, GX1p, GX200, GX300, GX400, GX240, GX260, GX270, SX270, GX280, SX280, GX520, GX620, 745, 755 and many Dell laptops), but also works well on Dell Dimensions, Dell Precisions, HP, IBM, Compaq, Sony and other desktops and laptops. It works cleanly for computers I deal with on a day-to-day basis, and on computers less common to me I need to install a few drivers after imaging them. But, the image includes not only the Windows installation but also Microsoft Office, CD burning software, DVD movie playback software, decompression software, Spybot, lots of administration and diagnostic tools, media players, all of the latest patches, etc. plus it has been configured for maximum performance and security. Needless to say that this saves me a lot of time in deployment and it provides a great deal of standardization.
Click to expand...

I intend on trying it shortly.
 
No matter how good you are at copying files and documenting settings, there will ALWAYS be a handful of things different for the customer when they get the computer back and customers generally don't like it different from what they were familiar with.
Click to expand...
Why not use the Files & Settings Transfer Wizard? I definitely don't trust it 100% to backup people's data; I also back up "documents and settings" after I make sure they didn't save anything outside. I've got it down to a science as far as how to migrate and import Firefox settings and Thunderbird emails and settings if they happen to use those programs.

I gotta build a database of Windows images. How many different variations of images do you need to have to cover most situations?

And what is the basic process for using nLite for reinstalls? Can it be done using Windows from the recovery partition on their drive? Or are you using your own Windows CD then changing the product key? I've used nLite to create slip stream CD's before.
 
Last edited:
Files & Settings Transfer Wizard is good, we use it because it copies settings a lot of other software misses. Word of warning though, you must use the same version of Files & Settings Transfer Wizard when backing up as when you restore, otherwise it won't work. I advise using the copy on an XP cd
 
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