Other Software > Developer's Corner

Windows Activation - When installing from an image

<< < (2/3) > >>

JoTo:
Wow, sorry for producing so much noise on the forum, but thank you both so much for your time and replies.

1. Corporate licenses
That wouldnt work, because each order/customer only have, say 5-20 Windows-PCs. That is too low for a corporate license, and we aren't free enought when the customer wants to exchange one PC later and then maybe with Vista a.s.o. I think we must stay with OEM Windows.

2. Called Bill
No app, not yet. :-) I thought DC is better than MS. So i asked here first. Only if i get desperate i'll give MS a chance.  ;D

3. HP + Dell
But they install an pre-installed empty windows. Without any setup preferences. And you need IIRC a special Windows Toolkit/Version and a contract with MS (was it VAR - Value added Reseller???) to get this to do this. And for that you must sell much more Windows than 100/Month or so.

4. Installing with no serial and Activation on Homepage
That both I'll try. Thanks for the hint! And, as i said in my first post, different hardware is no problem, because all our pc's are the same hardwareware components for mostly longer time periods. As we are working in the healthcare in germany there are laws that every device has to be proofed by law before its allowed to get involved in the healthcare business. And so every hardware change takes a lot of time, testing and money. So we only change the hardware when there is really a need for. And so all our pc's within this timeperiod are built with the same components.

5. Activate the Master and use Key Changer later
Hmmmm...maybe worth a try...but i hope i dont get in another hazzle later with that when the customer uses Windows Genuine Update Test or sth. like that. We'll try and see.

Thanks so far again. If there are other advices that would help, i am still looking forward to them.

TIA
JoTo

f0dder:
For an imaging solution, I think you need some specific imaging software that supports changing the key - I wouldn't make an image of a windows that was already activated, and then try to change key after that, MS might think you're up to no good and eventually block keys >_<

If you were doing unattended setups instead of restoring from an image, I believe there's some kind of "answers file" where you can provide a list of {MAC, CDKEY} pairs (or something similar to that).

Alternatively, look up "deploy.chm" and "sysprep", which might be a viable solution. Never tried sysprep myself, but it supposedly works without corporate versions.

JoTo:
Thanks f0dder!

Of course we dont activate the master! We only install it and our apps and setup preferences. Then image it and after the image is on the right pc we activate it. But nevertheless the 4-activation problem occurs.

I'll google for your suggested thingies and study them. Hope unattended setup is as fast as writing an image and also so easy to build the setup as configuring the windows for the image.

CU
JoTo

tinjaw:
JoTo,

I'm pretty sure I know how to do this, but before I send you astray, I am going to check with my sysadmin buddy here at work. They do this all the time. Let me see how they do it. I do believe they use Ghost and that Ghost has the functionality built in to it.

f0dder:
Of course we dont activate the master! We only install it and our apps and setup preferences. Then image it and after the image is on the right pc we activate it. But nevertheless the 4-activation problem occurs.
-JoTo (April 23, 2007, 07:37 AM)
--- End quote ---
That might have something to do with the SID of the windows install, not being unique and all. Perhaps this tool will solve all your worries.

I'll google for your suggested thingies and study them. Hope unattended setup is as fast as writing an image and also so easy to build the setup as configuring the windows for the image.
-JoTo (April 23, 2007, 07:37 AM)
--- End quote ---
Unattended installs are nice, especially if you got varying hardware, but you don't get any apps installed... sysprep should be nice though, I think it's what Dell and friends use where you're prompted for user details (and possibly serial number) on first login, but then have a full working windows with preinstalled apps etc.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page