Cloning Dell laptop

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KornFlake

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Hi Techies

Can I clone a Dell laptop and then restore it to other dell laptops?

Let me explain.

I have 300 Dell laptops to prep for users and must be done in a week :(

I have to do all the Windows updates and Office updates and some software (normally use Ninite)
Now I know dell has embedded Windows license key.

Now can I setup a laptop with all software and updates, Type in CMD "sysprep /oobe /shutdown" to clear all licenses then clone the HDD then restore the clone to the other Dell laptops?

Can this be Done?

All laptops are the same model. but I have noticed some of them have different WiFi adapters and Bluetooth adapters?

Thanks in advanced.
 
Yes you can do that, it take roughly 10 minutes per machine, and I would run the sysprep after the clone on each machine to reset the SIDs to a unique one per device
 
We do exactly that with our Dell workstations. Saves me days worth of work. I use clonezilla and deploy the image over network via the PXE boot option.

You will have to update the drivers for the ones with different adapters or you can manually add the adapter's driver to your image while doing your sysprep. Cant imagine too much of a problem.
 
Thanks man, only thing is we are a wireless infrastructure, so PXE boot wont work :(
 
KornFlake said:
Thanks man, only thing is we are a wireless infrastructure, so PXE boot wont work :(
Click to expand...

I have a 16 port switch I use just for deployment so I can do 15 at a time.

It takes me longer to disable the 15 onboard GFX cards on these damn rack mounts workstations than it does to deploy the image to 15 machines.
 
silly question,

was always wondering though

cant a clone of the HDD's work just as well?

I mean make 1 PC with everything on it, and clone to a .TIB file and restore that every time....

or am I mistaken? easier to do a deployment with sysprep and a network?
 
eg2505 said:
silly question,

was always wondering though

cant a clone of the HDD's work just as well?

I mean make 1 PC with everything on it, and clone to a .TIB file and restore that every time....

or am I mistaken? easier to do a deployment with sysprep and a network?
Click to expand...

The clone to tib works great, the question would be, are you joining these machines to the same AD server? If you do, machine 2 that you try to join would give you endless errors.

After you restored the image, run sysprep and you are sorted.

In Acronis you can conect over the network and restore images aswell!
 
If it's win 7 after syspreping its going to ask you for a activation key.
 
TheGuy said:
If it's win 7 after syspreping its going to ask you for a activation key.
Click to expand...

Not on Dell machines if you use their OEM windows installation. The key is linked to the service tag or something like that, I dont even pretend to understand exactly how this works but installing a standard windows 7 on it requires a license key but using the installation from the supplied installation disc, no license ever entered. I have about 30 laptops that have been active over a year using this method of deployment and havent entered a single key...

[Edit] For clarity, a laptop was re-partitioned to remove all the OEM partitions and recovery nonsense shipped with the laptop. Windows was installed from their OEM installation disc. Installation was Sysprepped and a disc image of that machine was created in Clonezilla. That disc image is then restored via network to every other laptop.
 
Last edited:
Werfetter said:
Not on Dell machines if you use their OEM windows installation. The key is linked to the service tag or something like that, I dont even pretend to understand exactly how this works but installing a standard windows 7 on it requires a license key but using the installation from the supplied installation disc, no license ever entered. I have about 30 laptops that have been active over a year using this method of deployment and havent entered a single key...
Click to expand...
Sysprep is recommended by Microsoft, but it is more appropriate for volume licensing - corporate customers. Dell and other Royalty OEM partners just insert OEM certificate to the installation media. If you install from such media, Windows will activate based on the certificate and SLIC entry in the BIOS. You can install Win7 from generic media (do not enter a key), and insert certificate after installation. Use standard Windows commands after opening cmd as administrator:

slmgr.vbs -ilc C:\DELL.xrm-ms
slmgr.vbs -ipk xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxx-xxxxx
(replace xxx's with Dell SLP key)

Now check your activation status by entering:
slmgr.vbs -dli

Google for Dell certificate and SLP key. These links might be outdated:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0Bxj5NEo7I3z9WE1NS2dVVjc4VEE
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0Bxj5NEo7I3z9djEzRVZyd1ljQ28
 
Last edited:
sajunky said:
Sysprep is recommended by Microsoft, but it is more appropriate for volume licensing - corporate customers. Dell and other Royalty OEM partners just insert OEM certificate to the installation media. If you install from such media, Windows will activate based on the certificate and SLIC entry in the BIOS. You can install Win7 from generic media (do not enter a key), and insert certificate after installation.

...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the explanation. Glad to learn how it works. Much appreciated!
 
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