Creating and Modifying ghost boot images.

[Migration User]

Hi again:smileyhappy: Didn't do so well with my first post, so thought I'd try again with a slightly different topic.

 

I have been working with PXE boot with the help of 3com boot services on Windows server 2003 with symantec corporate ghost edition 8.

 

I have network boot working like a dream and have done away with the need for the boot cd every time one creates/restores an image to the clients' computers.

 

The person who created the boot cd's has left the company and no one has figured out how he did it. When I use the boot wizard I end up with an image with some small files plus the ghost.exe. The boot cd I have been looking at seems to have, not only ghost.exe, but ghstwalk as well?

 

What I would like to do is modify this boot image if poss (in case of problems with PXE boot) in the future. Is there software that would allow me to modify the original image? Can anyone tell me why I have ghstwalk on this image and not any that I create?

 

I can start over and create new images but would like to understand what is involved in the process from the beginning.

 

I would appreciate any help I can get on this matter:smileyhappy:

 

 

Thanks for your time.

 

bookie56

[Migration User]

Hello,

 

PXE boot does make life much more convenient and it's good to hear it's going well.

 

Ghost Walker is used to change the SID of a machine. When you restore an image the SID will remain the same as the original machine.

By boot image do you mean the boot cd?  If so then I'm afraid there's no way of modifying it once it's been created.  You'd have to recreate the boot cd from Ghost Boot Wizard.  Also pre-GSS 2.5 versions do not have an in built way of adding additional files to boot cds.  Meaning the other technician probably used a third party tool to add ghstwalk to the cd.  

 

What's your current process for creating new images of machines using the boot cd?

 

Cheers,

Jackson

[Migration User]

Hi Jackson Lai! Thanks for your reply Yes it was the boot cd I wanted to disect..LOL When the school created their boot cd they added extra drivers and quite a lot of text for their own purposes. They had compiled a general purpose boot cd to cover several of the school computers. I only really wanted to look at how they added their text to the script (tailored to suit themselves).

 

The creating image situation is OK! I haven't had any major problems with that - but have heard that Vista is a bit different when creating an image? What I heard was there is a problem with the activation key info being included in the image?

 

Will ghost corporate edition 8 cope with images for Vista - or do I need to upgrade to a later version.

 

I have used the boot cd several times even at home - but for the most part we are going to use the PXE boot using 3com boot services.

 

If you can suggest a link with good reading material for adding text to boot images, so that it looks more professional, then I would be very grateful. Not afraid of reading...LOL

 

Was there anything in particular  you wanted to know regarding creating images?

 

bookie32 

 

bookie32 

[Migration User]

Hello,

Vista is supported from GSS 2.0 onwards.  There are known problems when restoring Vista images with GSS 8.0.  This is because Vista has changed they way it boots up the operating system.  Previous versions Windows used the boot.ini, but in Vista this has been replaced with a Boot Configuration Data file.  The MBR disk signature now lays a part in volume assignment and problems occur when the disk signature is not preserved (although there has been some success in using the file preservation switch '-fdsp' in pre-GSS2.0 Ghost to restore Vista images.)

Vista activation is similar to XP activation and depends on the type of license you have with the OS - OEM, retail or volume licenses.

If you need to clone Vista machines then I would suggest upgrading to GSS 2.5.  As well as Vista support there has been a number of improvements such as adding files to a boot disk and modifying the configuration files which sounds like what you're after.  WinPE is integrated into GSS 2.5 and this pre-OS should contain most of the drivers already meaning the one boot cd can be used on most machines.  You can test using the trial version found at www.ghost.com

There's a link to GSS documentation and kb articles on the top of the main forums page.  I only found one kb article regarding how to add files to boot cd in pre-GSS 2.5 versions.

http://service1.symantec.com/support/on-technology.nsf/854fa02b4f5013678825731a007d06af/cd1df7f7974c0d7e88257435005aa19b?OpenDocument

Cheers,
Jackson

[Migration User]

Hi Jackson Lai! Thanks for all your help. It is much appreciated. Will download and test the latest ghost solution!

 

Thanks again!

 

bookie32