Ghosting an X40 laptop

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angus001 · #1 Post by **angus001** » Mon Nov 15, 2004 5:37 am

Hi

Purchased a number of X40s as part if a company upgrade. Quickest deployment method would be to set up one machine and ghost it.

Just wondering what the easiest/best method is to ghost laptops. Ghosting desktops is not a problem as you can just whip out the hard disk but Im thinking that this is not very practical on a laptop.

Thanks in advance

MichaelMeier · #2 Post by **MichaelMeier** » Mon Nov 15, 2004 8:58 am

angus001 · #3 Post by **angus001** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 5:51 am

pk, I had thought of that....however, don't have acces to an external DVD writer

Leeper · #4 Post by **Leeper** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 5:42 pm

Why not just blast away the hard disk? We ghost 10-15 X40s a day following the same procedure as we do for a PC.

If you are running an Enterprise version of ghost you can image a large number of machines at the same time.

angus001 · #5 Post by **angus001** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 8:01 am

That sounds interesting.

Been getting quotes today actually for Symantec Ghost Solution Suite (out on the 22nd).

Could you possibly describe the physical method that you use to ghost the X40 images as I might have to buy additional adaptrs/cables.

Thanks.

sbddude · #6 Post by **sbddude** » Mon Nov 22, 2004 12:30 pm

Ghost has had capabilities to do multicasting since about version 6 at least if my memory is correct. Basically you boot each recipient machine with a flopy that loads network drivers, and then there is a host machine with the ghost image on it. The host then sends the image over the network to all the recipients at once.

angus001 · #7 Post by **angus001** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 5:14 am

Quick overview: trying to pull an image from the Ghost Console server off of a laptop with the Ghost Client console installed.

Hardware: IBM Thinkpad X40

Network adapters:

Bluetooth Device (personal area network)
Bluetooth device (RFCOMM protocol tdi)
Intel pro 1000/m mobile connection*
Intel pro/wireless lan 2100 3b mini pci adapter (currently disabled, as requested)

* The Intel pro 1000/m mobile connection card has the following properties: Location: PCI Bus 3, device 1, function 0

I have installed the Symantec Ghost Console Client on the laptop as the laptop has no floppy drive. During installation I receive an error message saying: "Installer detected multiple network drivers on this machine. Only one network driver will be used".

On the server with the Symantec Ghost Console, in the Default computer group, the laptop appears as "gcpc93"; however, there are no details recorded about the laptop's settings, e.g. IP address MAC Address, etc.

Upon commencing the task to pull the image off of the client (laptop) machine, the client reboots and the "Starting PC-DOS" command appears and then a window full of text briefly appears with the following:

"Network initialization failed: the dos-mode client cannot proceed
No packet drivers present."

Anyone who has successfully ghosted an X40 using the above method and encountered this problem or knows a workaround, please help!

angus001 · #8 Post by **angus001** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 5:37 am

A quick and relatively unfriendly call to IBM support informs me that I cannot disable the Wi-Fi card

Nebelfelsen · #9 Post by **Nebelfelsen** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 9:22 am

angus001 wrote:A quick and relatively unfriendly call to IBM support informs me that I cannot disable the Wi-Fi card

Do you want to deactivate it case by case (e.g. in an airplane) or all the time?

On the X31 there is a function key for switching of the WiFi-Function. It should be on X40 to (just look for a WirelessLAN-Icon printed in blue color on one of the keys).

If you want to deactivate it completely there is perhaps a possibility to open the back of the thinkpad and to remove the MiniPCI-card (if WiFI is on such a card on the X40).

For imaging/ghosting: I've heard about special IBM software thats helps to manage hard disk images in big companies. Perhaps you search the IBM website or ask the support if this software can help to solve your difficulties.

JohnDrake · #10 Post by **JohnDrake** » Sat Dec 11, 2004 9:13 pm

Try replacing the E1000.DOS driver with the one from the IBM website...this is the ethernet driver.

Drivers (including ethernet) for the X40 are here:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-54078

Also, since BIOS ver 1.42 for the X40, the internal wireless adapter can be disabled in the CMOS. You should update the BIOS and the embedded controller firmware as part of your imaging procedure, since you have to "touch" the systems anyway.

Be sure to use the Ghost -ib parameter when picking up the image from the "donor" system. That will avoid Master Boot Record (MBR) issues...

Ghosting an X40 laptop

Ghosting an X40 laptop

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