Is it important to have an individual disc for each PC?

[GLO]

and should that disc be made up on the machine its being prepared for?

[exrcizn]

We only use one CD on all PCs where I work. We have a Microsoft Select licensing program so we don't have to be concerned about the PID.

As far as drivers are concerned they can all be added to the same CD using any of the methods described in the forums. You do not have to make the CD on the PC you're planning to use it on.

Does this answer your question?

[mmarable]

Yes, you can create a master CD and do all your installs with that. That's what we have done before. If I remember correctly, if you leave the machine name line blank in the SIF file, the install will stop at that point and allow you to manually name each machine. This is the simplest way of doing it. There are all sorts of ways to auto-magically name your computers as you build them.

[exrcizn]

I use compname.exe to pull the service tag ID out of the BIOS then use this as the computer name.

[GLO]

We only use one CD on all PCs where I work. We have a Microsoft Select licensing program so we don't have to be concerned about the PID.

As far as drivers are concerned they can all be added to the same CD using any of the methods described in the forums. You do not have to make the CD on the PC you're planning to use it on.

Does this answer your question?

Currently I use a slipstreamed and unattended CD i made about the time when XP sp2 was released.

I have used the master CD for each install, but i suspected only recently that it has attempted to load drivers not relevant to a desktop! ie laptop rechargeable battereies

Yes, you can create a master CD and do all your installs with that. That's what we have done before. If I remember correctly, if you leave the machine name line blank in the SIF file, the install will stop at that point and allow you to manually name each machine. This is the simplest way of doing it. There are all sorts of ways to auto-magically name your computers as you build them.

I have done this and named all the PCs GLO then the install automatically assigned some sequence of numbers behind it ie GLO-123388

I use compname.exe to pull the service tag ID out of the BIOS then use this as the computer name.

I will give that a try.

BTW it seems to now only create an administrator account, and only opens up in the admin account even after adding users after the instal

[Gast]

sorry but i'm interested too about this question

installing win on more than one pc, can i use the same cd, and, after insert the pc serial? or must i create a different unattend cd for every pc (using the cd given with the machine)??

ty

[Bezalel]

sorry but i'm interested too about this question

installing win on more than one pc, can i use the same cd, and, after insert the pc serial? or must i create a different unattend cd for every pc (using the cd given with the machine)??

ty

The question you should be asking is: Do I need to use a different CD-Key for each computer? Normally you need a unique key for each computer but there are 2 major exceptions, if you have a volume license you can use the VL Key for every PC covered under the license agreement, and you can use the same key for all Royalty OEM Preactivated installations.

If your cd does not contain the CD-Key you can use it for all your PCs. If your CD contains the CD-Key see the previous paragraph.

[Gast]

If your cd does not contain the CD-Key you can use it for all your PCs. If your CD contains the CD-Key see the previous paragraph.

so i can use the same cd (not a "real" unattended one, but only a sp update and some driverpacks) for all the pc: obviously any install has its own serial number and its related version (home/pro)

ty

[exrcizn]

I haven't tried this because it doesn't apply to my situation - we use volume licensing so we use the same CD key for all PCs - but can you create an uninstall CD without a key and have it prompt you for one? If so, you can use it on any PC. Just remember to include the drivers on the CD.

[Gast]

sorry i have some prob with the language

for key did you mean the key on the "pc sticker"?

this key is the lonely difference from two installations?

Edited March 8, 2006 by Gast

[exrcizn]

Yes I do mean that.

[Gast]

all clear now

so no "personal code" is contained in an original cd

ty again