Previous Table of Contents Next Workshop Q&A Q I've read terrible things about what happens when Windows NT is duplicated. I've heard that Microsoft will no longer support you if you use disk duplication. What gives? A Welcome, gentle reader, to the "pragma versus dogma" argument. It's true that Microsoft will not support disk duplication done to a workstation after the character mode of Windows NT setup completes. However, this doesn't mean it doesn't work in practice. Microsoft's concerns are mostly due to two things: o A special, unique security ID (SID) is created for each workstation. Straight duplication will result in each of your workstations having the same SID, which can conceivably cause problems with your network. o NT doesn't have a chance to query your hardware if you don't run Setup, which can lead to problems. You should definitely take the SID issue seriously; fortunately, most duplication software vendors provide a SID changer that runs either during the duplication process or following the duplication process, thus getting rid of the first concern. The concern about NT not querying your hardware if you don't run Setup is also valid, but if you follow good duplication practices and duplicate only between sets of identical hardware, you should not have a problem. Therefore, you've got to make a choice between what works and what's forbidden. It's your call, of course, and you should definitely research and pilot-test further if you're concerned. The good news is that Microsoft recently announced that future versions of Windows will be designed with increased support for disk-image copying. Q I've got a special workstation-based Registry setting for a network card that I need to set one time on a bunch of workstations I'm about to roll out. How do I use the policy editor to do this? A Unless you want to dive into one of the Microsoft Windows Resource Kits and figure out how to add your own policy editor templates and custom Registry settings, I'd apply any workstation-based Registry settings by using the REGEDIT tool right before drive duplication. This will ensure that all your users get the settings. However, there's more than one way to skin a cat, of course. Q Which duplication software is right for me? A Duplication software has matured tremendously. There are now a half dozen vendors who offer it. Just surf the Web for the right solution for you. Here are a few options: o Symantec (Ghost) www.ghost.com o Key Labs (ImageBlaster, Lab Expert, and RapiDeploy) www.keylabs.com o PowerQuest (DriveImage) www.powerquest.com o Microhouse (ImageCast) www.imagecast.com Quiz 1. You discover, halfway through a departmental rollout of workstations, that although the file and print client that you've been using is working fine, it's not the latest and greatest. A prudent consistency technique would dictate that you do what? A. You start using the latest and greatest client on the rest of the machines. B. You start using the latest and greatest client on power users' machines. C. You keep rolling out the same client on power users' machines and the latest and greatest on others. D. You keep rolling out the same client on the rest of the machines. 2. True or false? It's a good idea, whether or not you opt to use disk duplication, to advise users not to rely on their hard drive as a permanent storage medium. 3. Which of the following statements is true concerning user templates? A. They're available on all operating systems, making user copies undesirable. B. They're not available on any operating systems, making user copies mandatory. C. They're not available on some operating systems, but user copies are possible. D. None of the above. 4. For consistency's sake, it's best to ______________________. A. use as many individual login scripts as possible B. use system- or group-oriented login scripts C. Both A and B D. Neither A nor B 5. When copying a Joe User, what should you remember to do? A. Copy the user object, the system login script, and home directory files B. Copy the user object, home directory files, and login script if necessary C. Copy the home template D. Copy the login template 6. True or false? There are tricks that allow you to perform group-oriented login scripts, even if the operating system does not directly support login scripts for groups. 7. True or false? Disk duplication is appropriate for every workstation installation. 8. A user of yours keeps accidentally changing her display driver settings, leading you to repeatedly troubleshoot a terminal emulation problem. Which action should you take to stop this nonsense? A. Edit her Registry B. Create a policy file C. Neither A nor B D. Both A and B 9. When creating any type of application deployment snapshot, you should be certain to do what? A. Use a workstation that already has the application installed on it B. Use a typical user's workstation C. Use a clean workstation, without any installed components already on it D. None of the above Answers to Quiz Questions 1. D 2. True 3. C 4. B 5. B 6. True 7. False. It's only appropriate for installation of groups of similar hardware. 8. B 9. C Previous Table of Contents Next