Overview

Symantec Ghost is used to create an image of the hard drive of a master computer and then restore it to one or more computers of the exact same type. Ghosting is often referred to generically as system ‘imaging’ or ‘cloning’. There are many ways to use Ghost, depending on how you want to restore images. This tutorial is focused on using Symantec Ghost version 8.2 on a LAN with Windows XP SP2 as the desktop operating system. Topics covered:

1. Master computer preparation
2. Sysprep for unattended install
3. Using Ghostcast Server

 

Master Computer Preparation

Setup a Windows XP SP2 “master” computer with all of the software that will be required. Install all Windows security updates. Optionally, join the master computer to your domain, and login to each of the user profiles on the system. Open all of the programs in each user profile, and configure them. Pay special attention to using the web browser(s) to do a few routine searches, so that the initial browser security messages are answered.

 

If you want each new user to begin with a common configuration (desktop settings, screen saver, etc), then you should create a custom default user profile. More information on custom default user profiles can be found in Microsoft support article KB319974.

 

Sysprep for unattended install

Sysprep (‘System Preparation’) is a deployment tool for installing Windows on multiple systems with a minimum amount of intervention. Sysprep has two main purposes. First, it ‘disconnects’ the copy of Windows from the specific machine that it was originally running on. (This is the master computer).  Second, it is part of the process of running an “unattended install.” It is important to use the correct version of Sysprep.  There is a version for Windows 2000, and different versions for Windows XP SP1 and SP2.  The version for XP SP2 is “Version 2.0”.See Microsoft support article KB838080 for additional information.

 

Before running Sysprep, insert the CLAN Ghost boot CD into the drive.  This bootable CD supports the special network connections that Ghost uses for unicasting or multicasting from and to all Dell Optiplex machines.  The Ghost boot CD is available from CLAN Support.  (If you prefer to use floppy disks, use the Ghost Boot Wizard to create a Network Book Disk [2^nd option on first screen] set. Use the Multicard template to select a number of network cards from the list.)

Prior to creating a Ghost image of the master computer, you must run the Sysprep utility. If you don’t Sysprep a machine, a computer receiving the image will have problems connecting to the network.  When you use a sysprep.inf answer file with Sysprep.exe, the ghosted (destination) computer will automatically run through an un-attended mini-setup. Fully configured sysprep.inf files are available from CLAN Support.

 

Using Sysprep

1)     Copy SYSPREP folder to C:\ (note: make sure you copy folder to the root of the C: drive)

2)     Run sysprep.exe in C:\SYSPREP

3)     At the first screen, "Windows System Preparation Tool 2.0", click OK.

4)     In the next screen ,“System Preparation Tool”, select MiniSetup and Don’t reset grace period for activation

5)     Click the Reseal button.

6)     Click OK

 

When Sysprep finishes, it will automatically shut down the master computer.

 

Using Ghostcast Server

Symantec Ghostcast Server is a program for receiving and sending ghost images on a network.  It can be found on the system that you installed Symantec Ghost. The best system to install Symantec Ghost on is a server or a computer that has plenty of free hard drive space. Create a folder to store the images. There is no need to share this folder, because Ghostcast Server accesses it directly.

 

Creating a Ghost Image

1. Start Ghostcast Server
2. Boot the master computer with the CLAN Ghost boot CD.
3. In Ghostcast Server, select Create Image and enter a session name, e.g., public
4. In Ghostcast Server, click the Browse button and enter a filename.
5. In Ghostcast Server, click Accept Clients.
6. On the master computer, select GhostCast, then Unicast
7. On the master computer, enter the session name, e.g., public
8. On the master computer, click OK, then click OK again,  click either “Fast” or “High” Compression, click Yes (in response to ‘Proceed with Image File Creation?’).
9. The Ghostcast session will start.  On the Ghostcast Server, you can monitor progress of the session.

 

Restoring a Ghost Image

1. Start Ghostcast server. Select Restore Image.
2. Click Browse and locate the image file that you will restore.
3. Enter a Session name. (Keep it simple, something like ‘lab’ or ‘public’).
4. Click Accept Clients.
5. Start up the destination computer with the CLAN Ghost boot CD.
6. On the destination computer, after Ghost starts, select Ghostcast and then select Multicast if you are restoring to more than one destination computer.  If you are restoring to only one computer, select Unicast.
7. Enter the Ghostcast session name you chose in Step #2 and click OK
8. When you see “Select Local Destination drive by clicking on the drive number”, click OK.  The next screen will be “Destination drive details”. Click OK.
9. The next screen will have a text box titled “Question”, and a warning that “destination drive will be permanently overwritten.”  Click Yes.
10. If you have more than one computer to restore the image to, repeat steps 5 through 9.
11. In Ghostcast server, click Send.  The image will be sent to the destination computer(s)
12. When the restore image session is complete, Ghostcast server will display the “Transfer Complete” message. Remove the floppy disk(s) from the destination computer(s), and click Reset Computer. The destination computer(s) will reboot.
13. If you have correctly used Sysprep.exe with a Sysprep.inf answer file, the destination computer(s) will automatically go through Windows Mini Setup and login to Local Administrator.  Once the computer boots and logs in to Administrator, you must restart the computer before doing anything else.