Image software

[Newton]

What disk imaging software do you use?

I currently use Ghost, with ghost cast server etc, but am looking for a (free) aulternative, must be reliable easy to use and have similar functionality to ghost cast server.

 

Thanks

[rush_tech]

Clonezilla

[Newton]

Just been looking at that, but as far as I can tell its Linux based, Ideally I like something that runs stright on Windows,

 

BUT, saything Im woundering about using a Vitual PC running a Linux OS to do the imaging etc,

 

One of the problems being, that I work in a number of schools and would liek on solution that I could take easily and run on the school servers. Is any of this even posible??

[Bezwick]

Dont know of any free ones that are not linux based, but why not just use Windows Deployment Services, it works well for us. Bit more fiddly to setup than Ghost, but shouldnt take you more than a few hours, and its part of Windows Server 2003 SP2 and above. If you have server 2008 it will also do multicasting?

 

Just been looking at that, but as far as I can tell its Linux based, Ideally I like something that runs stright on Windows,

 

BUT, saything Im woundering about using a Vitual PC running a Linux OS to do the imaging etc,

 

One of the problems being, that I work in a number of schools and would liek on solution that I could take easily and run on the school servers. Is any of this even posible??

[Newton]

There is a reson why WDS is being avoided at the moment, not sure why??

[Bezwick]

Lol cant really say much to that can I, apart from saying we have been using it here since about a month after it was released (we were using RIS before that). We can do a class of 30 PC's with 10Gig images in an hour, which is probably slightly slower than Ghost, but still well within reason. Plus WDS has the added bonus of automatically naming the machine and adding it to the network.

this is particularly useful if you have one pc not working in a full classroom. You can set that machine running, walk away and say to the teacher in about 20mins the logon screen will be back and your kids can logon. As a technician you dont have to go back to it, and disturb the lesson again. Very handy.

 

Think you need to ask the powers at be why they wont use it, my guess is the real reason will be they don't know how. Its harder to setup than ghost.

 

Good luck

 

There is a reson why WDS is being avoided at the moment, not sure why??

[EduTech]

We currently use NetRunna Works a treat never have any problems with it

 

http://www.net-runna.com/

 

I know there is a major version upgrade soon containing loads of new features

 

James.

Edited April 30, 2009 by EduTech

[jmcdermott]

We use free open ghost but yet again it is a linux system, but all it needs is to be set up on a old bit of kit which only needs the network card and power connected, all the management can be done via the built in web server so any windows machine can use it, it also has a nice mobile access site which works nice from any pda with wireless access.

[Newton]

Think you need to ask the powers at be why they wont use it, my guess is the real reason will be they don't know how. Its harder to setup than ghost.

 

Good luck

 

 

They pull their face when the word "script" or the pharse "depliy software via group policy"

 

They seam to like people to go manually form pc to pc installing printers etc..... I like to automate things,

 

Forced my way though with printer scripts though.

 

just having a play with Winpe.....

[Tom]

WDS is very easy to use once you have got the initial tricky setup done and got your head round how it works.

[irsprint84]

PING (Partimage Is Not Ghost)

[mac_shinobi]

I don't use any as of yet but I know of this list here :

 

Free Hard Disk Backup and Restore, Hard Disk Image and Cloning Utilities (thefreecountry.com)