SYSPREP

[jimmyj68]

In a few weeks I'll be booting up and getting going my new DP965LT board with an E6600 CD2.

I intend to get the board fully up to speed on the bench using an extra power supply hard drive and CD-ROM, video card and memory. After I get the board fully up to speed with all current board drivers, bios upgrades etc, I want to remove the D945PSN board from my main computer (the one I'm using now), and drop in the new DP965LT board usng the video card now in the D945PSN and the sound card now in the 945.

According to what I've read, If I sysprep the 945 system (running XP Pro), dropping in the new mobo, cpu and Ram will be a piece of cake - no XP reinstall or repair required - is this really so or can I look forward to some heavy finagling to get my system up and running again?

 

[Smilin]

yes it works just as easy as it sounds.

don't forget to backup first.

don't try to jump hals.

 

[Robor]

I've used sysprep to clone desktops and laptops before. It works fine as long as I was putting the image created on like systems. If I tried putting it in different systems I would get a BSOD.

 

[gsellis]

965 is ICH5, right? And a new 945 is ICH6 or 7? The mass storage section may be your sticky wicket. You may need pointers to the correct and current INFs with the right PNP IDs.

 

[jimmyj68]

965 is ICH8, 945 is ICH6 I believe). Was under the impression that the major function of sysprep was to compensate for the changes in northbridge and southbridge variants and associated board drivers and operating files- is this wrong?

Oh, and "smilin", what exactly are hals and why should I not jump them. In my limited experience I've never encountered hal in any adjustments or changes I've made to a system?

 

[QueZart]

Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) its the base componant of WinNT,2K,XP, basically its the layer that comunicates Directly with the Hardware

There used to be a really good guide here on the forums for using Sysprep, There is sometimes a problem with the storage controller drivers tho, there was awork around for that cant remember exactly. But I believe B4 Sysprep shuts down you computer you have to manually remove the Storage drives. then let it shutdown swap your MB's.

And since your changign MB's you may run into re-activation problem, Call tell em the old board died whatnot shouldn't be a problem

 

[jimmyj68]

Well lokks like hassles will be minimized so I'm going to go the sysprep route. Thanks for the encouragement. I think at one time I downloaded/printed out the sysprep guide here on Anandtech. Just to find it on/in my cluttered computer desk.

 

[Phoenix86]

Originally posted by: Robor
I've used sysprep to clone desktops and laptops before. It works fine as long as I was putting the image created on like systems. If I tried putting it in different systems I would get a BSOD.

Probably a drive controller, that is correctable. 0x7b?

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: Phoenix86

Originally posted by: Robor
I've used sysprep to clone desktops and laptops before. It works fine as long as I was putting the image created on like systems. If I tried putting it in different systems I would get a BSOD.

Probably a drive controller, that is correctable. 0x7b?

Yep, I'm thinking controller as well. I never investigated why though and don't remember the BSOD stop error. This was years ago. Now we use a hardware drive duplicator.

 

[Ryuson99]

Sysprep setup
Window XP Professional
Yes, fully automate the installation
Fill in General, Network & Advanced Settings
Finish
Path& File name (C:\sysprep\sysprep.inf)
Press OK, Then Cancel
Enter sysprep.inf
In the notepad add entries under Unattended add:
DriveSigningPolicy = Ignore
Update Installed Drive = Yes
Add [Sysprep Mass Storage]
Save, Close

Press Start on the task bar > Run (in the cmd type ?sysprep-bmsd?
A Sysprep should pop up state its working
Now go to C:\sysprep\i386\$0em$
Create a text file name: cmdlines.txt
In the file place:
[Commands]
?C:\sysprep\sysprep-clean?
Save
Click on sysprep.exe
System Preparation Tool 2.0 will appear
Check off: Use Mini-Setup
Shut down Mode: shutdown
Press reseal
Then Ok


The above will install all windows mass storage devices for you. The cmdlines.txt will clean this up when you start the machine up.

You should also add under Unattended: OemPNDrivers Path = "this path should point to your windows default location for drivers (%systemroot%\inf).

When you use sysprep it automatically removes the driver locatation from the registry, that is why we are adding it.

Also if this doesn't work then it's your HAL. In which case I recommend a repair. You can change your HAL to the most compatible, but you will lose processor speed if a better HAL could be used. like Uniprocessor or Multiprocessor, the most common is the "Advanced Configure & Power Interface (ACPI)", but again this one will gimp your processor speed as it can only work with single processor machines, meaning HT won't work and your brand new dual core will run as a single CPU. If you still inclined to use this HAL instead of doing a system repair all I can say is enjoy your benchmarks.

If you have any other questions please ask.


EDIT: FYI - After you sysprep a system on first boot your sysprep folder will be deleted, you may want to create a backup of this folder and rename it in case you need to do any changes to your sysprep.

 

[Solema]

Definitely DO NOT run Sysprep with its standard config. Do as Ryuson says. Sysprep in its default config is NOT meant for cross-platform deployment. It is meant for same-platform deployment with Sysprep mainly handling individual computer-naming and SID generation.

 

[jimmyj68]

Ryuson99 ----- thanks for the guide but it looks scary to me. I was trying to avoid the chore of reinstalling winXP Pro and hasseling with Microsoft about another activation. I've reinstalled this same winCD about four times. But if a repair doesn't get it that's what I'll have to do. The only thing I stand to loose that is not retreivable is my Itunes music. Rhapsody lets you reload/recover your music but ITunes won't. A backup to drive D is in order.

So - when I get my back problems straightend out, however long that takes, I'll tackle the problem one way or the other. Right now I couldn't move that Antec Solo case if I was offered a million dollars.

 

[Ryuson99]

Jimmy -- Sysprep is not that hard once you understand it. Below I have linked some guides that should be of great help to you and the rest of the AT community.

Flash Instructional Video on Sysprep

How-To: Image Windows XP with Ghost and Sysprep (Even if you don't plan on using Ghost read this)

No Mouse or Keyboard response during SysPrep mini-Setup

Above should be all the documentation needed for you to create your own image. Do not use each document on their own. Watch the video and read the instructions on how to create and image with Ghost. When you read them both you will come out with a better understanding of SysPrep and how you would like your image to turn out.

Here is another link to the program discussed in the video which makes it easy to insert driver locations to the registry: SysPrep Driver Scanner

Remember if you use the "SysPrep Driver Scanner" software to insert driver locations into SysPrep you must remove the "OemPNDrivers Path =" from your SysPrep.ini file.


Edit -- Because I won a spelling bee.