Thinkpads Forum

Hi,
I am not much of a hardware guy, but I do tend to rebuild my machine every 6 - 12 months. So I am seeking a ghosting solution whereby I can create the DVDs one time and pop them into the drive without having to go thru updates and patches everytime I build the machine.

My primary preference is (non techie) User friendly process
Second on the list would be free (if possible)

Thanks for your advice.

audiudew wrote:Hi,
I am not much of a hardware guy, but I do tend to rebuild my machine every 6 - 12 months. So I am seeking a ghosting solution whereby I can create the DVDs one time and pop them into the drive without having to go thru updates and patches everytime I build the machine.

My primary preference is (non techie) User friendly process
Second on the list would be free (if possible)

Thanks for your advice.

I haven't used DVD backups in years so I am not too familiar with those but you may want to consider CloneZilla or PING (the former is easier). These programs can make an image of your computer at the time of a fresh install with all updates. You can then always revert to that image (stored on an external hard drive). Any programs/musics/etc on the image will be restored. You will still have to do updates if any were released since you made your image.

Alternatively, you can make a custom Windows install CD using nLite. In essence you can create a slipstreamed install DVD. This isn't too hard. The DVD will have the latest service packs and updates included as long as you have them included in the appropriate DVD location. You can setup windows with an unattended install. http://www.nliteos.com/ There are tons of walkthroughs online.

Bonus: checkout http://www.ninite.com

Hope that helps.

Second the Clonezilla recommendation. They are also working on a DVD based backup, but it's not ready yet. The back up to external disk via clone works nicely.

audiudew wrote:Hi,
So I am seeking a ghosting solution whereby I can create the DVDs one time and pop them into the drive without having to go thru updates and patches everytime I build the machine.

Thanks for your advice.

I don't re-build machines, but...

Search these forums for "Acronis" (Acronis True Image Home), and you will find many recommendations.

Search these forums for "slip" (slipstream) and author "TuuS", and you will learn his many tips on re-building machines.

Thanks very much everyone for your advice. I will give the suggestions a try and hope all goes well.