Image of my harddisk
-
Hi ! I'd like to make an image of my hard disk (where Windows 2000 is installed) and use this image to install a dozen of other computers. Problem : the hard disk controller is not the same on every machines, I have 3 different controllers. I tried to use Ghost, and to restore the image on a computer with a different controller as the one which has been used for the image, and as soon as Windows starts booting, it crashes. Do you know of a tool like Ghost which is able to restore the same image on different hard disk controller ? Thanks ! Jerome
-
Hi ! I'd like to make an image of my hard disk (where Windows 2000 is installed) and use this image to install a dozen of other computers. Problem : the hard disk controller is not the same on every machines, I have 3 different controllers. I tried to use Ghost, and to restore the image on a computer with a different controller as the one which has been used for the image, and as soon as Windows starts booting, it crashes. Do you know of a tool like Ghost which is able to restore the same image on different hard disk controller ? Thanks ! Jerome
Nothing to do with Ghost, everything to do with Windows. The registry lists which drivers the system needs in order to boot. This can include chipset, processor, disk controller and disk drivers. The very first stage of booting uses the BIOS interrupts, except if the disk controller the boot disk is connected to isn't supported by the BIOS, in which case, an NTBOOTDD.SYS is copied to the root of the boot volume. This is a copy of the real disk controller driver which is renamed so that NTLDR can find it, and is copied by setup. Typically this is needed if you're using an add-in disk controller card. The set of drivers in the registry marked as boot-start must be right for the hardware. If not, you simply get an 'inaccessible boot device' error when NTLDR hands control over to NTOSKRNL.EXE and the kernel tries to continue booting. You can repair the problem by booting from the CD and following the steps in http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=315341[^]. This details the steps for Windows XP, but similar steps should work for Windows 2000 (IIRC). Fundamentally, you can only expect a restored disk image to work correctly on systems with exactly the same hardware. Stability. What an interesting concept. -- Chris Maunder
-
Nothing to do with Ghost, everything to do with Windows. The registry lists which drivers the system needs in order to boot. This can include chipset, processor, disk controller and disk drivers. The very first stage of booting uses the BIOS interrupts, except if the disk controller the boot disk is connected to isn't supported by the BIOS, in which case, an NTBOOTDD.SYS is copied to the root of the boot volume. This is a copy of the real disk controller driver which is renamed so that NTLDR can find it, and is copied by setup. Typically this is needed if you're using an add-in disk controller card. The set of drivers in the registry marked as boot-start must be right for the hardware. If not, you simply get an 'inaccessible boot device' error when NTLDR hands control over to NTOSKRNL.EXE and the kernel tries to continue booting. You can repair the problem by booting from the CD and following the steps in http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=315341[^]. This details the steps for Windows XP, but similar steps should work for Windows 2000 (IIRC). Fundamentally, you can only expect a restored disk image to work correctly on systems with exactly the same hardware. Stability. What an interesting concept. -- Chris Maunder
Thank you Mike for your explaination. I'll have a look at the microsoft page you mentioned and give it a try. But I think I've see somewhere and some time ago a image-tool which was supposed to be able to handle this problem.....Maybe I'm wrong. Jerome
-
Thank you Mike for your explaination. I'll have a look at the microsoft page you mentioned and give it a try. But I think I've see somewhere and some time ago a image-tool which was supposed to be able to handle this problem.....Maybe I'm wrong. Jerome
Jerome Conus wrote: a image-tool which was supposed to be able to handle this If your hard drive does not have the drivers coping an image will not add them to the copy. I did succussfully load drivers for a second MB with the master still on the original machine. I do not think this works 100% but does part of the time. I do not mind getting old. It beats all the other options that can think of.
-
Hi ! I'd like to make an image of my hard disk (where Windows 2000 is installed) and use this image to install a dozen of other computers. Problem : the hard disk controller is not the same on every machines, I have 3 different controllers. I tried to use Ghost, and to restore the image on a computer with a different controller as the one which has been used for the image, and as soon as Windows starts booting, it crashes. Do you know of a tool like Ghost which is able to restore the same image on different hard disk controller ? Thanks ! Jerome
There is a tool provided by Microsoft for remotely installing Win2K on multiple machine from one clean image. I believe it's detailed in the Resource Kit online. IIRC, it involves processing the installation to strip out hardware details and SIDs before storing it in a network-accessible location. A response file must be created for each machine configuration targeted, and the machines must be either capable of BOOTP startup, or use a floppy disk to boot up. The image is then copied to each hard drive, NTDETECT runs to check each configuration, and responses normally entered by the user during installation are provided by the response file. Microsoft made much of the process at the TechEd event where Win2K Beta 3 was distributed, but having never needed it I've forgotten the details.:-O Poke around in TechNet for more info. Some people think of it as a six-pack; I consider it more of a support group.
-
Hi ! I'd like to make an image of my hard disk (where Windows 2000 is installed) and use this image to install a dozen of other computers. Problem : the hard disk controller is not the same on every machines, I have 3 different controllers. I tried to use Ghost, and to restore the image on a computer with a different controller as the one which has been used for the image, and as soon as Windows starts booting, it crashes. Do you know of a tool like Ghost which is able to restore the same image on different hard disk controller ? Thanks ! Jerome
You're not thinking this through logically... Ghost really doesnt care what controller is being used. I've sucessfully restored from one computer to a completely different one many times, as long as there is space on the hard drive and the hardware is working correctly it's not an issue. It sounds as though you restored the image sucessfully, so why are you thinking Ghost has a problem? It's job is done at that point; you are then on to a different problem entirely: Windows registry was set to use one brand of hardware and you are attempting to do it with another brand of hardware.
An election is nothing more than the advanced auction of stolen goods. - Ambrose Bierce -
There is a tool provided by Microsoft for remotely installing Win2K on multiple machine from one clean image. I believe it's detailed in the Resource Kit online. IIRC, it involves processing the installation to strip out hardware details and SIDs before storing it in a network-accessible location. A response file must be created for each machine configuration targeted, and the machines must be either capable of BOOTP startup, or use a floppy disk to boot up. The image is then copied to each hard drive, NTDETECT runs to check each configuration, and responses normally entered by the user during installation are provided by the response file. Microsoft made much of the process at the TechEd event where Win2K Beta 3 was distributed, but having never needed it I've forgotten the details.:-O Poke around in TechNet for more info. Some people think of it as a six-pack; I consider it more of a support group.
Sounds a lot like Remote OS Installation[^]. [Edit: removed anchor reference in link.] Stability. What an interesting concept. -- Chris Maunder
-
Thank you Mike for your explaination. I'll have a look at the microsoft page you mentioned and give it a try. But I think I've see somewhere and some time ago a image-tool which was supposed to be able to handle this problem.....Maybe I'm wrong. Jerome
While not exactly what you are looking for... if it is acceptable to run the "image" in a VM, VMWare has a tool that may work for you. Take a look at VMware P2V Assistant 2[^]. This tool allows you to image your physical machine and run it in a VM. I have never used it but I am intrigued by the possibilities. Hope this helps!
-
Hi ! I'd like to make an image of my hard disk (where Windows 2000 is installed) and use this image to install a dozen of other computers. Problem : the hard disk controller is not the same on every machines, I have 3 different controllers. I tried to use Ghost, and to restore the image on a computer with a different controller as the one which has been used for the image, and as soon as Windows starts booting, it crashes. Do you know of a tool like Ghost which is able to restore the same image on different hard disk controller ? Thanks ! Jerome
Me thinks you might be going about this wrong. Ghost generally won't help you. It can't change the drivers that are loaded as Ring 0 and 1 come up. You may be better off getting the "image" system setup the way you want it, then using sysprep to initiate minisetup on next boot. Minisetup is a quick XP setup where it can rename the machine do hardware detection and the like. It is what you walk through typically when you buy a new machine and turn it on first time (or it could be the OOBE which is similar but prettier to minisetup.) As long as you have the drivers properly embedded for the platforms you're going to use, they'll get detected going through minisetup. BTW, toss sysprep into google and you'll find it and instructions on how to use it all over the place. It's not real hard. Mark Conger Sonork:100.28396
-
Hi ! I'd like to make an image of my hard disk (where Windows 2000 is installed) and use this image to install a dozen of other computers. Problem : the hard disk controller is not the same on every machines, I have 3 different controllers. I tried to use Ghost, and to restore the image on a computer with a different controller as the one which has been used for the image, and as soon as Windows starts booting, it crashes. Do you know of a tool like Ghost which is able to restore the same image on different hard disk controller ? Thanks ! Jerome
I had a somewhat similar problem when trying to use the factory OS restore CDs that came with a computer that had an IDE hard disk. The restore CDs did not work when the IDE drive was replaced with a SCSI drive and controller, or even when the SCSI controller was present without any SCSI disks. I got around the problem by removing the SCSI drive and controller and then using the factory restore CDs to get a bootable image on to the IDE drive. I then installed the SCSI controller (but no SCSI disks) and booted up and installed the SCSI controller driver. I was then able to Ghost the IDE drive, remove the IDE drive, install the SCSI drive, and Ghost image to the SCSI disk. The system was then able to boot from the SCSI drive using the image originally created on the IDE drive.