I am looking for a way to create a universal image of a computer install (Windows, Office, few other programs) and be able to deploy this on computers that need a fresh install.
Currently I am backing up the computer and manually installing Windows, Drivers, Office. I would like a way to make this a bit faster. We get different makes and brands of computer and it would be great to have a image with Windows, Office and a few other programs to streamline this. Then I can just install the drivers and be on the way.
What do I need to do this? I looked into Acronis Snap Deploy but its priced per license and would get pricey as each time you deploy the image thats a license. I saw that you can do Sysprep and MySysprep but I dont know where to go from there to deploy the image.
My concerns are (not in any particular order):
- Speed - if this will take longer to deploy a image then to do it manaully well no point
- Reliability - I use to use ghost but I remember having to always Repair install Windows to fix some errors
- CD Keys - I would like to be able to make this image ask for the CD Key of Windows. Reason being is because I would have an image for XP Pro Retail, XP Pro OEM, Home OEM, Home Retail and I would like to be able to enter the key manually and then the rest goes in.
As far as hardware goes, our NAS is a Windows 2003 server handling DHCP for the 192.168.2.x network which is for the client machines.
Thanks,
Fluid
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