Systems Deployment

Chaudry,

Have a look at:

OneForTheLittleGuy

We've been using this premise to create a universal HP Dekstop Image, by including the drivers required for various models.

Laptops tend to be trickier, because they come with all sorts of useful/useless utilities, but dekstops for a Corp build tend to have no such utilities.

Hope this helps,

Dunnpy

I can't speak for your brands because we're a full Dell shop but we have one image that supports about 25 models of laptops and desktops. I built the image process about 7 years ago and it's stayed largely the same since.

the hardest part is identification of the machine. We got a utilitiy from Dell that checks the bios and identifies the machine type and returns the value to an environment variable. We run this in the initial setup phase when we're going through the presetup which is just a questionaire that identifies machine name, site name etc and when its done, the sysprep.inf file is modified and hte machine joins the correct ou.

After the gui runs, we run the tool again to identify the machine and then we run what we call driver packs which is specific to each model and installs any drivers that don't install through native inf setup and anyting associated with that model like touchpads etc.

you might want to check with your toshiba rep to see if they have a similar tool that you can use to identify the hardware.

guys i m having trouble in creating the registry entries for the drivers [:(]


is there any other way to complete this proces. Or can you plz help me out in the registry settings for the drivers

I will appreciate your help very much ! [:)]

Chaudry,

The MS KB Article on the One For The Little Guy page identifies further the registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DevicePath: REG_EXPAND_SZ:%SystemRoot%\Inf

So your reg key should look something like:

%SystemRoot%\Inf;%SystemRoot%\D;%SystemRoot%\D\A;%SystemRoot%\D\B

I've added the colour to show each device path being included - separated by a ;

Hope this makes things clearer,

Dunnpy

There is also this alternate guide.

http://www.bighatgroup.com/images/stories/bhg-commonwindowsimage.pdf

Hey there. I am the fellow that wrote that article. It is the same one - it's being migrated away from OFTLG to BHG. So, follow KKaminski's link to the PDF as the OFTLG artilcle will be going away shortly.

If you have any questions just ask...

And for laptops, you are correct. I wrote an application to read the bios model of the PC and perform activities (like install further utilities / applications) dependent on that PC model. I can post source to that (its an autoit script) if there is enough demand...

<shameless plug>And as always, I am available for consultation!</shameless plug> [:D]

Hi

I am working in a domain environment that has mostly IBM pc's in it. The environment has approx 12 different models of pc which are used in the main stream and I have created a universal image for these. I then use scripts to install the correct drivers based on model number etc. I have just updated the image and tested it and it has caused all pcs, apart from the model I made it on to blue screen at start up with an error relating to inaccessible boot device. I am therefore not certain which drivers exactly are causing the issue. Could anyone help with this?
many thanks
Chris

Hi everyone
Now it is really possible. You can make generic WDS image from XP. Please check my guide: http://koti.mbnet.fi/olljanat/guides/generic_wds_image_from_xp.php

Best regards
Olli Janatuinen

Chrisr,

You ought to check into IBM's IUB software. It is a great deployment tool that we use at our office, 1500 PCs and laptops. http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=MIGR-44316 IUB allows you to maintain one image for multi machines and you import drivers from a hidden partition of the laptop or PC.

I have a process of my own I've been doing for years. It's a little hacky but once you do it, its very easy to update. The key is that the HAL must match the system's compatibility. This is easy with XP as most systems now are at least Hyperthreaded or Multi cored, so you can use the Multi Processor HAL to accomplish this.

In a nutshell this is what I do. Choose a machine preferably a desktop as your "base" machine. Desktops have less devices like modems, wireless, touchpads, smart card readers etc. Make sure it has PS2 K&M.

1. Load the OS and configure to your liking. The key is to leave out Apps.Using the highest lvl HAL possible. You can always downgrade to a lower grade HAL like a single cpu HAL.

2. Get drivers for ALL devices and load them into a driver folder on your C drive. Some drivers may need to be unpacked as to use the .inf files during a plug n play installation or mini setup. This may take some testing time, but once you have them you dont have to touch it again. Just add more drivers for new models etc.

3. Create your sysprep answer file and make sure to specify the folders for your drivers.

4. Back this machine up as a PRE sysprep machine. You can then load this onto your base machine to make updates before sysprepping.

5. Open up Device Manager. Remove ALL machine specific devices and choose NO to reboot when prompted.
- Remove any device that is specific to that model machine: Including the IDE controllers, Disc drives, Modems, Processors, NICs, Audio cards, Display Devices, USB Hubs and controllers, All MOBO specific system devices like "Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Root Port - 27D0" or "Intel(R) 82801 PCI Bridge -2448"
- Do NOT remove the LPC Interface as this will kick off plug and play on your devices again and reinstall everything.

Make sure to click NO when prompted to reboot.

6. Run sysprep, select reseal and use mini setup.
7. Ghost it.

_______________________________________________________

The key here is that you're more or less creating an image of XP without any specific hardware installed in it. What this does is creates a generic image you can use on ANY machine, even ones you dont have drivers for. I've used this image on my machine at home, friends, other businesses etc. If the HAL matches it'll work. What you're doing is ripping out the hardware right before you sysprep the machine. Choosing NO to reboot since if you reboot it will just install the hardware again.

I can go into more detail if you have questions, just writing this real quick to give you the jist. We have a single image working over 15+ machines at work, and I also use the image for personal use as well on hardware that isn't remotely the same.

Please tell me whats the difference between building a PC, creating a folder on the root with the drivers it. Update the registry with the driver location, Ghost the machine to a memory stick. Boot from memory stick run the Ghost image and .....Viola!

And following the process in "One For The Little Guy".
Sorry if I sound a bit slow, but I did this and its working quite well.
Carlo