How to XP-REPAIR a GHOST Image

[jetman]

I've figured out how to setup my BOOTP server, found a PXE

boot image and adapted it, have my PC-under-test talking to

my server, so today I was successful in blasting a GHOST image

to a diskless PC. YAY !!!!

I tried to launch the DOS WINNT installer and it seemed to work as

expected. Unfortunately, after the obligatory reboot, XP SETUP

resumed normally, but XP SETUP didn't see the XP installation from

the GHOST image. Normally (that is, when I install via CD/DVD),

one reboots from the XP CD and SETUP detects the existing

installation and offers to REPAIR the existing installation. (Before

proceeding, a caveat: one must use a std XP disc, NOT an

unattended XP DISC, ie. w/o the WINNT.SIF answer file, otherwise NO

repair is possible.) When things are working correctly, at the

Welcome screen, one presses Enter, then F8 (accepting the EULA),

then R to repair the existing installation. Not today.

I'm wondering if ANYONE does installs like this and so may have

figured this out. *IF* I could get Windows into Safe mode, I'd be

home free, since I could boot the Win32-hosted SETUP (WINNT32)

and that would probably do the trick. So far, no joy, but it's the end

of the day (in NYC), so I'll try again bright-and-early tomorrow.

Worst case scenario: I can always install from a server-based

unattended image, but REPAIRing a GHOST is by far much faster

and efficient.

TIA....Jet

[brainstane]

I store ghost copies of unattended installs on a network drive and then pxe/cd boot the target machine with bart and load the desired ghost image. If you want to do this, all you need to do is kick off a winnt32.exe network/usb install from bart and grab a ghost image of the hard drive, before you reboot the computer to let the normal windows installation take place.

When this "pre-install" ghost image is loaded onto another machine and rebooted, a normal unattended windows will install will take place. I have a couple 2k builds that I use this exclusively for as it only takes about 2-3 minutes to copy the setup files to HD using ghost.