Hello all,

I need help!!  I'm beginning to think this is beyond my capabilities.  LOL

I have tried, over the past years, to learn how to make my own "restore disks" so that I can just throw in the disk and let it restore to a custom designed computer.  I would like this restore disk to install a custom list of software as well as Windows XP.  If at all possible I would like it to register Windows XP as well as my custom software, although this is not a necessity.  I would also like to include the updates for Windows XP (and my other software, if possible) that are out at the time I make the disk.
A buddy gave me his old system, but didn’t have any of the disks, other than an OEM Windows XP disk.  This is another reason why I would like to create this disk.  The system has the following software that seems to be relevant to this:

1) Windows XP OEM that the computer store gave me, but I have put my license # in and then click generate to get new # and then call phone number to register
2) PEBuilder, which I downloaded and tried running but I get 1 warning and 4 errors, I'll try to attach the log file to this post (not that I would know what to do with it anyway) lol
3) DriveImage XML

(software only, as it came with the computer that a friend gave me and he can't find any of the disks or manuals)
Nero 7 Ultra
Norton Ghost 9
And a multitude of other software that I have tried over the years. 

I'm assuming that since I would like to include much of my personal software on this "restore disk" I will probably need to use a DVD, which I have a burner and blank disks.

I would also like to somehow make a "Master folder" so that as I buy new software, download updates, etc, I can create a more up-to-date "restore disk" by coping the files and their updates to this folder.

I have 4 computers that I would like to do this to. 
1)  HP Laptop
2)  New Lenovo
3)  Old Compaq
4) A pieced together (from an old Dell, this is the one with the Windows XP SP2 OEM Disk)

My hard drive is a SATA drive, if that matters.

I'm not sure if I'm asking the correct people the correct questions, and if this is even possible.  I greatly appreciate any and all help with this.

DragonPuff

Quote:

Yes, this very doable--and we are the *correct people*--but, the task is not a simple *point and click* procedure--you are going to have to do some *heavy lifting* to learn how to put something like this together--first stop would be to read Rad's Original Guide to DOS based Ghost:  Guide to Norton Ghost

You will need an imaging program that can be run from a command line--Ghost 9 and other newer Windows based Ghost do not offer that type of flexibility.  Ghost 2003 was the last version of Ghost that was a retail product that offers this ability.  But, Symantec abandoned the retail market with this ability after Ghost 2003.  You can still get the Corp. Ghost in the form of Ghost Solution Suite (GSS) that has this ability, but you're looking at a min. of 5 licenses at approx. $35-40 each--so pretty expensive option.

TeraByte's imaging programs have the ability to run from a command line, and can be configured to do what you want:  TeraByte's Image for DOS, Windows, and Linux

Basically, you would create a baseline system--add all the programs you want installed, all the Windows updates current to the date you create the backup image, and your system will already be *registered* with Microsoft.  You would create a backup image of the system.  Then create a restore disc with the necessary commands added to the boot files to start and run the image program from the bootable optical disc.  You could then restore that image at any time going forward--but that will always take you back to where you were when you first created that backup image--you loose any changes, updates, or additions that you have made since then, and have to start over as of that date and add them back. 

Most folks prefer to create ongoing new image backups rather than wanting to go back in time by months or years!

Often, backup images become larger than a single DVD disc--so you will have to have multiple discs--or use a HDD to hold larger image sizes--some folks are able to use flashdrives and those have 16 and 32 GB sizes available--but expensive for those sizes--and you have to have a system that supports booting from a flashdrive of that size--older systems can not!