Imaging for multiple identical workstations

Banzai_Joe · 24 Apr 2012 at 11:30

Hi all,
some urgent advice required please.
I have to rebuild our design dept with new cad workstations.
2 for now, but possibly another 3 or 4 in the near future. Regardless of whether i buy and build or buy off the shelf, all will have the following installed:
- Win7 Pro x64
- Office 2010 H&B
- Autocad 2013
- Adobe CS5.5 Design Standard

It seems to make sense to do one, image it and then apply that image to the other workstations. But i've never done it, so how do i do it please?

Is it sysprep'd without serial/activation codes?
I say that but i'm not terribly sure how to do that either. I had a go once by deploying from WDS but it didn't seem to work.

Any quick pointers on the easiest and quickest way to do this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

edit: for any cad IT type users out there, i'm thinking of using the Xeon E3-1240 cpu as opposed to the i7 range. Your opinions on this please? (i know the Xeon won't overclock, but i'm thinking 'stability'?)

Banzai_Joe · 24 Apr 2012 at 12:50

It's the prepping that i need help with.
Do i install windows and all the software but without activating/cdkeys, then simply follow a sysprep tut for win7?
Or is there something more to it than that?

Banzai_Joe · 24 Apr 2012 at 14:27

Thanks guys, and yes it is win7 pro x64 as groen pointed out.
I did go through a few days of playing with WDS and SCCM on our domain (on a virtual server), but i felt a little overwhelmed with it, and i've forgotten it all now anyway as it was last year.
I'm now buying the workstsations with Win7 and office preinstalled, so no need to image, but i would like to get to grips with imaging in this way.
Guess i'll have another look at it soon.

Thanks again fellas.

Banzai_Joe · 27 Apr 2012 at 08:28

winoutreach5, many thanks for your advice.
I pretty much went through most of everything you said about a year ago, but never managed to get a full run at it as my job entails other things and i was trying to 'fit it in' so to speak. I installed WDS on a server, went through the AIK etc.
Sadly i can't remember a thing about it, but as i still have it all, i may just create a new hyp-v guest, install WDS and have another play.

Thanks to everyone else for your input too.