Ghost machines without...Ghost...

[Oakie]

Maybe something here can be of use to you:


How to clone computers across the network using FREE software BartPE and SelfImage.


This is a youtube video tutorial that I made for elementary school computer teachers and entry level techs. The cloning / imaging program is a freeware solution called "SelfImage" available at excelcia.org. They have a BartPE plugin available on the site.

It is about 7 1/2 minutes long and provides a hands-on overview of the process involved in cloning computers across the local area network.
It is not intended to be encylopedic or exhaustive of every technical concern that affects duplicating machines. Hence, topics such as O/S licensing issues, sysprep, DHCP servers, etc.. are not covered.

How to clone computers across the network

How to Build a BartPE CD

From downloading to burning the the final CD. Another short youtube video I made for beginners.

Build a BartPE bootable CD


How to add SelfImage cloning plugin to BartPE

Again, for newcomers demonstrating how to add the plugin to the BartPE CD.

Add free cloning / disk imaging plugin to BartPE


There is an extra video there detailing how to add additional network driver packs to BartPE as well.

I have used BartPE with the SelfImage plugin to image computers across the network in my computer lab and it works fine.

I made the videos for a very small website I am building for k-5 computer teachers and entry level techs in my area. I present them here in the interest that someone here might find them useful, particulary those who need need minimal cost network imaging solutions .

[srochford]

We use the BartPE disk quite a lot at our work. But its just as easy if the floppy drives are working to make a boot disk then run a mult-cast and pick up all the clients.

Floppy drive? What is this? Some old technology I suppose :-)

More seriously, if you have Windows Server 2003 then install SP2 and use WDS, WinPE and ImageX.

ImageX creates images which are smaller than Ghost (50% to 75% in our experience) and cope with smaller and bigger discs without problem (because it really copies files rather than an image).

Doesn't have the multicast features of Ghost but that's coming in Server 2008 this blog - http://blogs.technet.com/keithcombs/...rn-server.aspx - has details. If I get time over the summer I'll install the beta to have a play with it; if it's good as this suggests then I think it will be far better than ghost and for far less money.

[bensewell]

We have made a USB pen drive boot jobby too. It boots up into the Win98 select a CDROM / Floppy type page then we have a list of our most used ghost drivers.

This saves time messing with floppy disks. Weve not wrote the good old floppys off yet we still use a USB drive with disks sometimes. You can boot some computers from a network card with ghost but i've not tried this yet?

[PiqueABoo]

More seriously, if you have Windows Server 2003 then install SP2 and use WDS, WinPE and ImageX.

Seconded. If you're going to play with something new then it ought to be this, even imageX run from bartpe would be useful experience of WIM.

(Multicast is in 2K8 beta 3 - haven't played with it yet coz it's non-trivial to test)

[selu]

I use this device on the older non networked machines

The PC Reset Card
If you want to stop others changing your PC settings now you can.


Has a free ghosting feature also resets pc every week every day or every reboot. no user intervention required very fast unoticable in fact
Licence + hardware no updates required for win2000 or xp
£5 each based on 10

Documentation not so good but its easy to use and it works you can even run it with no virus checker like a virtual pc
Here are some of the very broken English instructions

Chapter 1 Introduction



Preface

With the popularization of computers, all kinds of virus emerge day by day; meanwhile, hackers are quickly increasing, which brings us a great deal of vexations. Simultaneously, if you use application software incautiously, computer may cease to function and data will be destroyed. To guard the data on HD or of CMOS, Recovery Card comes out and solves the problems above efficiently, and ensures the security of PCs.



1-1 Function

1. Play & Plug, quick and easy installation with default configuration.

No loss of system resources such as Hard Drive space, memory, IRO interrupt, or I/O addressing.



2. Protection for your computer loyally; 101% secure and dependability. PC will have a “ robust body � protecting your system and data from unexpected wrong operation and viruses. It averts virus, DM tools, lower format automatically, data loss and boot failure caused by unstable OS, injection of virus, hackers or incautious operation will be recovered. Provide CMOS save & recover function.



3. Various recovery mode and interval. You can set protected partitions freely, and you can set recovery interval from 0-30 DAYS,auto model or manually model

4. Excellent system efficiency, dynamic administration for HD space. There is no influence on the work speed of your computer after installing our recovery Card, you can execute defragging and 1 dumpling under protected mode.



5. You can enjoy HD quarantining technology by presetting multi-boot. Four boot options can be set,

6. You can use dumping to save data which you want to be protected permanently. The data on your HD will not be destroyed after removing the recovery Card Data will return to the last configuration that was protected by the recovery card, so users do not have to worry about potential damages.



7. Super network clone technology: It can transmit to as many as 100 PCs with the speed which reaches to 250MB/min. It is also has the function of remote turn on or turn off, simultaneous transmission, automatically setting IP address, and user’s name.



8. Good compatibility with Hardware and software.

ô€‚—ï€*Support system commander, PQ magic, boot magic, and various administer software for cyber café;

ô€‚—ï€*Can install, set and use various large-scale application and game software normally;

ô€‚—ï€*Support Window9X/ME/NT/XP/2000/2003, FAT16/32/ NTFS file format,;

ô€‚—ï€*Solve the potential danger of blue screens or dead when the third, fourth generation Recovery Card was used under Windows 95/98/me, and it does not need to set virtual internal memory for Windows;

ô€‚—ï€*Support IDE and SCSI hard disks, also PIO, DMA33, DMA66, Ultra DMA66, ATA-100 .SATA are supported, support 160GB HD at most,in near future,it would support 512G,ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS TO UPGRADE THE LATEST SOFTWARE just support the first HD, doesn’t affect the second or followed HD;





1-2 Scope of application

1. Education Market:

ô€‚¾ï€*School computer labs;

ô€‚¾ï€*Teaching computers;

ô€‚¾ï€*Computer classrooms;

ô€‚¾ï€*Electronic reading labs;



2. Enterprise Market:

ô€‚¾ï€*Enterprises training classrooms;

ô€‚¾ï€*Industry computers;

ô€‚¾ï€*Intranet in offices;

ô€‚¾ï€*Tax administration computers;



3. Public Market:

ô€‚¾ï€*Computer training centers;

ô€‚¾ï€*Cyber cafés;

ô€‚¾ï€*Public computer labs;

ô€‚¾ï€*Information inquiry computers in public



4. Family Market:

ô€‚¾ï€*Novices of computer;

ô€‚¾ï€*Game fans;

ô€‚¾ï€*Master-hands;

ô€‚¾ï€*Common computer users;





5. Service Market:

ô€‚¾ï€*Amusement computers;

ô€‚¾ï€*Service terminals;

more info on my site

[Sirbendy]

We always use ghostcaster and Ghost 8.x corporate for DOS, on the "MS Universal network bootdisk" bootable CD. Loads in seconds, runs perfectly. DOS based, so no memory issues either.

[interele]

G4U is a great option - it's free, it runs on a huge range of hardware and you can upload and download any combination at once

M