Sysprep.....just to sell a pc on

Banzai_Joe

Banzai_Joe

Banzai_Joe

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Guys,
i've got 24 old desktops to get rid of.
They all have Xp Pro SP3 (most have COA), but they also have some residual stuff that 'may' point to our company (non-important stuff btw).

Can i effectively sysprep each pc with the option of keeping existing drivers on each pc.
i wouldn't be usng the same image for each pc as they're all different.
I just thought it might be easier than manually stripping out all the user profiles and any existing data left on the pc.

What do you think, viable option?

Cheers :)

edit: possible if i have the mobo drivers disk i reckon?
 
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Sysprep won't clear out any of your company data, it just resets the SID and makes the PC go into the Windows Welcome mini-setup when it next boots. I don't think it even removes user profiles.

I would just wipe the drives with a secure erase utility and let the new owner deal with installing Windows again.
 
If all 24 are the same model then take an image with something like ghost after you install drivers etc. Will save you loads of time.
 
If he sells them with blank erased drives... he will get significantly less money. People want ease and convenience. They don't want to sit through 24 XP installs, plus drivers!

Just delete any important info from the drives... it can't be too difficult surely. Never mind reinstalling or any of that faff.

Orrrr... You could backup the drivers, reinstall Windows using an automated install CD so it requires no interaction... reload drivers back on. Should be the easiest most convenient way of doing it. Still a lot of hassle though.
 
blank image on one machine
sysprep it
deploy image with your imaging programme of choice.

sysprep does the opposite of what you want.

There's probably not going to be an easy way of doing it. I'd certainly nuke the drives first though as you can't be too careful with corporate data
 
Guys, thanks.
But i did mention in my OP that they were all different so a generic image is no good.
They are only going to be sold for between £20-£80 to our employees, and they are as thick as they come when it comes to computers, so no one would buy a blank pc.
Might break some of them and put em on MM. :)
 
It is possible to create an image that supports multiple hardware types but it's a lot of work. I think if they're going to employees you should probably just bite the bullet and reinstall XP yourself on them all. If you get a bunch of them hooked up on a bench it shouldn't take too long.
 
Banzai_Joe said:
Guys, thanks.
But i did mention in my OP that they were all different so a generic image is no good.
They are only going to be sold for between £20-£80 to our employees, and they are as thick as they come when it comes to computers, so no one would buy a blank pc.
Might break some of them and put em on MM. :)
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You did indeed mention it... hence my response. Your right... no one will buy a machine with no OS... unless they're all like us!

The last guy has a point. Just bite the bullet and do a reinstall on them all... hook them all up if you can. Ask some friends to help. Use unattended discs for them all. Job done.
 
RobK said:
It is possible to create an image that supports multiple hardware types but it's a lot of work. I think if they're going to employees you should probably just bite the bullet and reinstall XP yourself on them all. If you get a bunch of them hooked up on a bench it shouldn't take too long.
Click to expand...

Lol, i ought to take a pic of my I.T. room and post it.
Sadly it's not possible as i already have about 12 pc's hooked up to kvm's taking up all the remaining space.

For the low price, it simply isn't worth my time, i may as well either rip out the hdd and get a computer recycling company in to take them away.

I desparately need the space that 26 (it's gone up) desktops take up in a pile back, as i have a new ML370 being delivered today and i can hardly see the server cab for scrap computers.

Thanks for the advice though guys, appreciate it.

You may see some bundles on MM soon. ;)
 
Banzai_Joe said:
Lol, i ought to take a pic of my I.T. room and post it.
Sadly it's not possible as i already have about 12 pc's hooked up to kvm's taking up all the remaining space.

For the low price, it simply isn't worth my time, i may as well either rip out the hdd and get a computer recycling company in to take them away.

I desparately need the space that 26 (it's gone up) desktops take up in a pile back, as i have a new ML370 being delivered today and i can hardly see the server cab for scrap computers.

Thanks for the advice though guys, appreciate it.

You may see some bundles on MM soon. ;)
Click to expand...

Is the data really that important that you have to format it all. Could you not just delete some stuff the traditional way?
 
Surely you have to wipe the drives, doesnt the data protection act come into effect if it's a company computer?

I guess it depends on the spec of the machines. You could come up with a price which included your labour for installing an OS in their name. Even if you did a hand full that's some beer money in your pocket. How you dispose of the rest is your call i suppose.

P.s I feel your pain! I'm currently sat on (not literally obviously) 5 xbox's, 4 laptops, a server tower and 3 phones waiting for people to sort their lives out and collect them.......i'm running out of room to breathe lol
 
There's actually very little data on any of them as they were essentially used as thin clients for RDS, but i still have to check them all out.
However i've deleted the profiles of each pc, leaving just the admin one intact. That should actually suffice. I also uninstall things like SOPHOS which is our business AV solution and is updated from our central server, and any other business apps that relate to our company for updates etc.
It's just a ball-ache extra job i've got to do, but when a pc with a sempron 2800+, 512mb ram, 40gb hdd, dvdrw and Xp Pro SP3 is only going for £20, then i really don't want to spend too much time on them.
Having the space back is more important than the pittance of cash we'll raise from trying to sell them tbh.
 
After 2 x desktops for my little kiddies (7 and 6). One's they can learn with and/or trash.

After systems with OS and able to play MoH Breakthrough online (little boy loves it!)

Want to get rid of a couple of those systems?
 
Serisouly guys, i've only gotten rid of 2 of them so far.
If anyone with a van wants to roll up to our doors they can take whatever they want at the prices marked on the towers.
Some have Office installed, most don't. ALL have XP Pro SP3, one or 2 have vista home or business. I'm guessing about half (maybe) have COA's on them too.
Thing is for £20 plus p+p, which will probably be over £10, it's hardly worth me tootling off to the post office with a big box, especially if i have to do them all this way.

They're all offered with mouse, keybaord and kettle lead. NO MONITOR.
 
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