How to SYSPREP a Windows 7 Pro corporate PC setup so you can image it for use on future PCs

Transcription

1 AnswesThatWok TM How to SYSPREP a Windows 7 Po copoate PC setup so you can image it fo use on futue PCs In a copoate envionment most PCs will usually have identical setups, with the same pogams installed (e.g. Micosoft Office, Open Office), the same netwok settings, the same antivius softwae, the same add-on utilities (e.g. Adobe Acobat Reade, Adobe Flash), etc... The long and [unbelievably] had way of matching the standad copoate setup wheneve you need to set up a new PC fo a new end-use, is to e-install eveything fom scatch evey time. This is most definitely not advisable as setting up a PC fom scatch popely and thooughly can take up to 4 to 8 hous. The Micosoft ecommended shot way is to use a combination of Micosoft s Windows System Image + WinPE + the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) tools. Micosoft s old SYSPREP (System Pepaation Tool) no longe exists fom Windows 7 onwads. A Windows 7 Syspep is theefoe a misnome these days, a moe appopiate desciption would be : Ceating a Windows 7 Image. As with a numbe of othe technical setup issues with Windows 7, the Micosoft ecommended way of Syspeping Windows 7 is, hmmmmm, convoluted, long winded, and time consuming, unlike what it was with Windows XP. This document details a much faste method of poducing a standad PC image so that all that is needed fo a new PC is to image it and ente a new Windows CD key fo the new use, but whee you Windows envionment is one which you have youself aleady fully configued, as opposed to a vigin envionment whee eveything needs to be installed and configued. This document descibes the steps you need to follow to achieve this and save youself countless hous. This document applies to PCs with the following hadwae : IDE o Seial-ATA (SATA) Had Disks Any type of gaphics cads Any type of motheboads Any type of netwok cads Laptop o PC Page 1 of 9 Copyight AnswesThatWok.com, 8-Aug-2010.

2 AnswesThatWok TM Configue you standad PC setup The fist step is obviously to configue you PC in you standad copoate mode. The moe thoough you ae at this stage, the least amount of wok you will need to do when you set up a new PC. Fist, do youself a favou and download the fee Classic Shell fo Windows 7 fom the following web page : While Windows 7 itself is excellent, afte the unbelievably teible Vista the wost opeating system eve invented the Windows 7 Stat Menu, on the othe hand, is teible, so make sue you install Classic Shell to bing back Stat Menu use fiendliness. Next, go back to ou Libay of Answes That Wok, Windows 7 Libay, and pick up ou ecommended configuation fo Classic Shell. Install all the pogams that will be needed on a standad use PC. Configue you netwok. Install netwok pintes. Choose you standad default pinte and configue the pinte defaults that you want you uses to have (e.g. Tay 2 as default tay, double-sided pinting, etc..). Map netwok shaes (unless this is done by seve-side login scipts o goup policies). Install all Windows Updates. Install all add-on utilities such as Adobe Acobat Reade, Flash, and Shockwave. Install you favouite pictue viewes. Install and configue you copoate antivius softwae. Configue you START menu. Configue toolbas (Quick Launch, Wod, Excel, etc...). Configue Intenet Exploe and othe web bowse defaults (we have excellent documents fo this on ou website in the Libay of Answes That Wok). Run TUT, a must, to optimize you Windows 7 setup. Install you copoate templates and point Wod, Excel, PowePoint to the default netwok dives and foldes. Open all pogams so that uses ae not faced with fist-un Licence Ageements and setup wizads the fist time they use a newly set-up PC (and that includes utilities like Acobat Reade, itunes, etc...)!!!! Disable automatic updates that you do not want uses to be faced with (e.g. Acobat Reade, Flash, Windows?,...). Page 2 of 9 Copyight AnswesThatWok.com, 8-Aug-2010.

3 AnswesThatWok TM Set up you copoate pefeed Taskba notification pefeences. Set up you copoate pefeed Auto-Play pefeences. Last, but not least, once you ve set up all the above, copy you setup to Default Use so that all uses of the PCs based on this Syspep will expeience the same defaults. Check ou Win7 Libay in ou Libay of Answes That Wok fo a document on how to do this. Pepae you PC fo the SYSPREP (Standad Contolles Standad ACPI fo laptops) This is the most cucial step in the whole pocess. If you do not follow the steps in this section then you will only eve be able to use the image of this SYSPREP onto PCs which have the exact same hadwae as the one you just configued. This is of couse unealistic since technology moves on and PC specs impove and change thus if you do not follow these steps you quite simply will NOT be able to eve use this SYSPREP again! Go into Administative Tools \ Compute Management. Click on Device Manage in the left pane. In the ight pane expand the IDE ATA/ATAPI contolles banch, exactly as shown below : Page 3 of 9 Copyight AnswesThatWok.com, 8-Aug-2010.

4 AnswesThatWok TM Ensue that all you Had Disk contolles ae standad : Pimay IDE Channel, Seconday IDE Channel, Standad Dual Channel PCI IDE Contolle, o anything that has the wod standad in it. If you have any contolle which is not standad, as pe the Intel ICH9M-E/M SATA AHCI Contolle above, then change it as follows : Double-click on the contolle which you want to change to a standad contolle. Choose the Dive tab. Click Update Dive. Choose Bowse my compute fo dive softwae on the sceen below : Page 4 of 9 Copyight AnswesThatWok.com, 8-Aug-2010.

5 AnswesThatWok TM Choose Let me pick fom a list of device dives : On the next sceen make sue you do as shown below so that you image is set up only with standad had disk contolles : Page 5 of 9 Copyight AnswesThatWok.com, 8-Aug-2010.

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7 AnswesThatWok TM On completion, and afte a estat of you PC, you should find youself with nothing but standad had disk contolles, simila to the sceen below : Close Device Manage and Compute Management. You e eady to go! Page 7 of 9 Copyight AnswesThatWok.com, 8-Aug-2010.

8 AnswesThatWok TM SYSPREP ing you PC This pat is a lot simple with Windows 7 than it used to be with Windows XP, and it is cetainly a lot simple than the Micosoft ecommended pocedues. In shot simply image you PC ight away! Thee ae many good poducts out thee that you can use to take images of a had disk afte thoough evaluation of many of those poducts, we ouselves pefe the low-cost yet compehensive poducts fom TeaByte Inc ( Image fo DOS, o Image fo Windows. We always use Image fo DOS with which you can backup any type of had disk (Windows, NetWae, Linux), but if you ae moe comfotable with a Windows inteface, then go fo Image fo Windows. Eithe way, ou ecommendation is that you should buy Image fo Windows which fo $39 gives you Image fo Windows, Image fo DOS, Image fo Linux, and a few othe goodies. The eason we use Image fo DOS is that it means you can do an image without installing any additional system dive-level softwae inside you newly ceated Win7 image (any dive has the potential, down the line, to ceate incompatibility issues, so if thee is a possibility not to install yet anothe dive, we use it!). With Image fo DOS you can ceate you image to an extenal USB had disk o to a DVD, the choice is yous. It is faste to image a new PC fom a USB had disk while, on the othe hand, an self-installing DVD is a lot moe potable. You decide. Note if you decide to follow ou ecommendation and use Image fo DOS, then always use the BIOS Diect mode. So, now that you e all set, ceate you image. To be safe, ceate two o thee DVD images, o two USB had dive images. Page 8 of 9 Copyight AnswesThatWok.com, 8-Aug-2010.

9 AnswesThatWok TM Using a SYSPREP setup on a band new PC Using you pefeed copoate disk imaging softwae, estoe you SYSPREP setup image onto the new PC s had disk. Stat the PC once you have finished the imaging. Wait patiently as this fist boot will be a long one while Windows 7 detects and installs the new PC s hadwae which may be diffeent fom the hadwae that you image was oiginally built on. If you setup is configued to have the use always login, login when you get the login sceen. Eventually, once the PC has fully booted up (and logged in), immediately go to the Contol Panel and click on the System icon. You will get the Basic Infomation about you Compute sceen, with, at the bottom of it, the Windows Activation Aea, as shown below. Because Windows 7 will have woked out that you ae unning this copy of Windows on a diffeent PC / laptop than it was ceated on, it will offe, you, on the ight hand-side of the Activation Section, a Change Poduct Key button. At this point simply click on Change Poduct Key and ente the Windows 7 License fo you new PC. Once you ente the new Win 7 Key, Windows 7 will simply e-geneate you PC / laptop SID and othe unique intenal identifies and... you e good to go!! All that is left fo you to do is change the Compute Name. That s it. You e done! ooooooooooooooooooooo Page 9 of 9 Copyight AnswesThatWok.com, 8-Aug-2010.