Installing 300 machines with original copies of Windows XP

[tripex]

Hey you guys, whats happening?

So, one project that i have coming up the pipe very very soon is delivering around 300 Hewlett-Packard pc's to a client.

They all come pre-installed with Windows XP Pro. It's just a matter of pressing a couple of "next, next, next" and also activate Windows via internet.

After that, i have to install an original copy of Office XP on each pc, and activate it!


Now, as you can imagine, this is a pain in the ass.
Obviously, i wont be doing this alone, but its still a very slow and boring process.

Last times the rest of the team did this kind of operation, it was all manual. This time i'm coordinating and would prefer to use some kind of unattended installation. Basically, i want to do it "the right way".

I just don't know how. I'm open to your professional ideas, tips, suggestions, HELP!!

 

[Order]

It is definately possible although I do not know the expact process.
I know, however, that the O'Reilly book on Windows Server 2003 Hacks details it beautifully. Good luck .

 

[-Sean Casey]

If they are identical machines and will all have similar setups then I would look into getting a volume program with MS and them using one machine to make a master image. You shuld be able to get provide them with all of those serial numbers and for a fee convert it to a "corporate" edition with one master serial. However if these machines have OEM licences you might not be able to.

As for office... For 300 systems get the volume lincense. No activation and a single media. You probably can get a nice price break if you order 300 units.

If you already have single linceses for Office and you are seeking a quicker way for it to work... I would try converting all of the Office and Windows licences to a volume agreement and making an image one one machine after it is setup, then put the image on a server that supports loading the image during boot and then image the machines that way. It might cost a little up front, but it will save quite a bit of money in man hours.

 

[SJConsultant]

You shouldn't have to do any manual install of the OS or Office for a client delivery of that size.

Check and see if they can setup Remote Installation Services on their Windows Server. RIS can deploy an XP image onto a computer that does not have any OS installed. Basically you plug in the computer, turn it on, boot from the network and the OS gets installed.

You can also deploy a Volume Licensed copy of MS Office through Group Policies which is far easier than manual installation.

Just be sure that the client has purchased all of the appropriate licenses for the OS and Office.

 

[leeroy]

if ur activating 300 ,machines im sure u are doing it thru the itnernet and not thru phone?
therefore u prob sset up your network connection

mebe u can do a network install or copy files to one server and all access them files oe copy over from server and install and configure the CFG files with the settings ie.cdkeys , etc to install all coponenents without having to enter all the exact packages to select to install

ok ok well u prob can leave out the cd key in the CFG so u can enter it on all macines during install of MSO

 

[tripex]

If they are identical machines and will all have similar setups then I would look into getting a volume program with MS and them using one machine to make a master image. You shuld be able to get provide them with all of those serial numbers and for a fee convert it to a "corporate" edition with one master serial. However if these machines have OEM licences you might not be able to.

- The HP computers are all the same model.
- Each computer already comes preinstalled with Windows XP Pro
- Each computer comes with a sticker that says the serial number. I'm pretty sure its OEM licenses.
- This is not for internal use, we are selling these computers for a client. Can we still do as you say and convert all the 300 "Windows XP Pro licenses" to "one corporate license", make one master installation with it, and clone like crazy to the other computers? That would be great!

As for office... For 300 systems get the volume lincense. No activation and a single media. You probably can get a nice price break if you order 300 units.

Excuse me, im not into the details of volume license. Do we specifically ask Microsoft for a volume license of 300 units?
Would it be illegal to use said license after 300 installations?



And thanks for the suggestions. This is opening my brain to something i hadnt thought before.

 

[tripex]

Check and see if they can setup Remote Installation Services on their Windows Server. RIS can deploy an XP image onto a computer that does not have any OS installed. Basically you plug in the computer, turn it on, boot from the network and the OS gets installed.

There's no RIS on their side that i know of, and theres no RIS on our side (but i could try setting one up). But there is a problem, the computers come pre-installed.

You can also deploy a Volume Licensed copy of MS Office through Group Policies which is far easier than manual installation.

Right now, we dont have any VLK's for this project.
But if i follow Sean Casey's suggestion and get successful with Microsoft on converting all the single keys on a unique volume key, would it be ok to install both Windows and Office on one "master machine" and then clone directly to the other 299 computers?

Are there any technical issues with doing this?


We usually work with Powerquest Drive Image 2002 when doing drive clones.

 

[nomak]

if your going to use RIS then just create a .msi file for the office package (and possibly .mst file for custom settings,upgrades,etc....) and push it down through group policy... lot easier than creating a image and installing over previous OS's that reside on client computers...

 

[Atherton213]

if he has a volume licenec for both xp and office couldnt he just install xp and office on 1 then ghost it to all the others?

 

[djnes]

RIS absolutely blows. We're pulling it from the Postal Service now as one of our projects. Run Sysprep and create a master ghost image, then push it down to each machine. And yes, for that many machines you should be using a VLK.

 

[Met-AL]

RIS absolutely blows. We're pulling it from the Postal Service now as one of our projects. Run Sysprep and create a master ghost image, then push it down to each machine. And yes, for that many machines you should be using a VLK.

QFT.