send an image to client using ghost server

What you need:

• A network =) and a computer in the network with enough space to host the ghost image (~6GB or ~3 with max compression)
• Norton GhostCast [download] - Comes with Symantec Ghost Corporate Edition 2003
• Windows Deployment Tools (SYSPREP) - Located In your Windows XP Cd under SUPPORT>Tools>DEPLOY.CAB or, [download here]
• Hiren's BootCD [download] (and an empty CD to burn it to) or Network Boot Disk.

Here are the steps:

1. Install your OS, Drivers, Apps on a computer.
2. Extract the contents of Deploy.CAB or SYSPREP.ZIP on a folder on your image computer.
3. Run the Setup Manager(setupmgr.exe) and Create a new answer file.
4. Select Sysprep Setup and your desired OS
5. Fully automated.. - Change the desired settings and make sure to add a computer name
   
6. Finish and Create your sysprep.inf file.
7. If you want to fix the Computer name set up error, open the sysprep inf file you just created with a text editor (ie. notepad) and look for the line that contains ComputerName=[yourvalue], edit it and add a asterisk to the end of it. Save It(What this is doing is automating the whole set up but then the asterisk is going to cause an error, allowing us to input the desired computer name, and after that it is fully automated again!).
   
8. Open Sysprep.exe and press Ok
9. Check the "Use the Mini-Set Up" Option, Insert your Hirens Boot CD into your CD drive, and press the Reseal Option (caution: It shuts down your computer).
   
10. Set up your BIOS to boot from your CD drive and start your computer from the cd.
    
11. Select Disc Clone tools & Then Norton Ghost > Ghost with network support.
    
    >
    >
12. You dont need to add a cd, and you dont need to log on to your domain either.. actually I recommend not doing it, because of the "^{multiple connections to a server or shared resource by the same user, using more than one user name, are not allowed}" error.
13. Start GhostCast Server on the computer you will be having the computer image stored.
14. Set your session name, set the create image option, browse where your image is going to be stored and press Accept Clients.
    
15. Back on the other computer;press Ok, select Ghostcast>Multicast
    (If you dont see this, is because the BootCD couln't detect your network card.. try restarting or good luck on making your network floppy !! )
16. Join the session you created in Step 14.
    
17. Select the drive to create the Image, Press Ok
18. Select Compression and Proceed with Image Creation.
    
19. Once your image file is stored on your computer, start the computers you want this image to be replicated into and boot to Hiren's BootCD (Repeat steps 10-12 on all the computers).
20. Repeat step 14, but this time select Restore Image and browse the image file you created in step 17.
    
21. Join the Session in all of your computers and then; on your computer running ghostcast server, Press the [Send] Button.
22. Once the image restore is complete you can go ahead and restart the computers and this will set up the computers automatically and ask you for the computer name(Ignore step 7 if you don't want the set up to do that)

Answered Jul, 12 2010

If you want to create an image of your hard disk it can be done in several ways. A way to do this is to boot the computer from a Symantec Ghost floppy disk and to create the image by multicasting, unicasting, disk to disk or peer to peer.

So if you want to create an image the first thing you have to do is to create a Symantec Ghost boot disk. This boot disk doesn't boot to Windows but boots the Symantec Ghost utility in DOS.

How to create an image using GhostCast server?

GhostCast server is a utility of the Symantec Ghost software. Using GhostCast server you can create images of computers in the network or you can restore an image to several connected clients at the same time. The only thing you have to do is to boot all the clients with a Symantec Ghost boot disk, then you accept all the connected clients in the GhostCast server utility and then you simply send the image to all connected clients.

First you have to make sure that the computer of which you want to create an image of, is connected to the network. Of course the GhostCast server computer has to be connected as well.

Boot the client from the Symantec Ghost boot disk.

Now return to your GhostCast server computer and start the GhostCast server utility by clicking Start -> Programs -> Symantec Ghost -> GhostCast server.

Here you have to enter a session name in the Session Name box.

Then you enable the 'Create Image' option to create an image from the clients.

Then you click the 'Browse' button to browse for a place where the image must be stored.

If you want to create an image of the entire hard disk of the client you select the 'Disk' option. Do you want to create an image of a particular partition you select the 'Partition' option. (In this example I describe how to create an image of a disk).

Then you click the 'Accept Clients' button.

Now GhostCast server waits for the clients to connect.

You can see that there are no clients connected until now.

Now you go to the client which is booted in Symantec Ghost and you click (or by keyboard) 'GhostCast' -> 'Unicast'.

You enter the session name exactly the same as given in GhostCast Server.

Leave the option 'Discovery Method' to 'Automatic' and click 'Ok'.

The next thing you do is, you select the drive of which an image must be made of.
and click 'Ok'.

Here you can choose if the image must be compressed to safe disk space. The options are 'No', 'Fast' or 'High' compression.

I recommend you choose 'Fast' compression.

The next thing you need to do is to confirm the image creation by clicking 'Yes'.

Now Symantec Ghost is waiting for you to click the 'Send' button in GhostCast Server.

So, return to the GhostCast Server computer and click the 'Send' button.

After you clicked 'Send' the image will be created and stored at the location you chose in GhostCast Server.

You can see the details in GhostCast Server.

After the GhostCast progress is 100 % your image is created and you can close GhostCast Server.

You have successful created your Ghost image using GhostCast Server!!

Article Source: http://www.abcarticledirectory.com

Dave is the webmaster of www.about-your-computer.com which is made to help people with their computer. This website is a perfect guide to help you understand how your computer works, a description of the hardware components and how you can setup and configure software using Windows XP and Windows Vista. Here you can find also many free to download tools. Furhtermore you can advertise your website very cheap - only $5 a year! www.about-your-computer.com

Note: The content of this article solely conveys the opinion of its author, Dave Kierkels

The source:http://www.abcarticledirectory.com/Article/How-To-Create-An-Image-Using-Symantec-Ghost--Ghostcast-Server-/115475 Answered Aug, 09 2011

GhostCast server is a utility of the Symantec Ghost software. Using GhostCast server you can create images of computers in the network or you can restore an image to several connected clients at the same time. The only thing you have to do is to boot all the clients with a Symantec Ghost boot disk, then you accept all the connected clients in the GhostCast server utility and then you simply send the image to all connected clients.

First you have to make sure that the computer of which you want to create an image of, is connected to the network. Of course the GhostCast server computer has to be connected as well.

Boot the client from the Symantec Ghost boot disk.

Now return to your GhostCast server computer and start the GhostCast server utility by clicking Start -> Programs -> Symantec Ghost -> GhostCast server.

Here you have to enter a session name in the Session Name box.

Then you enable the 'Create Image' option to create an image from the clients.

Then you click the 'Browse' button to browse for a place where the image must be stored.

If you want to create an image of the entire hard disk of the client you select the 'Disk' option. Do you want to create an image of a particular partition you select the 'Partition' option. (In this example I describe how to create an image of a disk).

Then you click the 'Accept Clients' button.

Now GhostCast server waits for the clients to connect.

You can see that there are no clients connected until now.

Now you go to the client which is booted in Symantec Ghost and you click (or by keyboard) 'GhostCast' -> 'Unicast'.

You enter the session name exactly the same as given in GhostCast Server.

Leave the option 'Discovery Method' to 'Automatic' and click 'Ok'.

The next thing you do is, you select the drive of which an image must be made of.
and click 'Ok'.

Here you can choose if the image must be compressed to safe disk space. The options are 'No', 'Fast' or 'High' compression.

I recommend you choose 'Fast' compression.

The next thing you need to do is to confirm the image creation by clicking 'Yes'.

Now Symantec Ghost is waiting for you to click the 'Send' button in GhostCast Server.

So, return to the GhostCast Server computer and click the 'Send' button.

After you clicked 'Send' the image will be created and stored at the location you chose in GhostCast Server.

You can see the details in GhostCast Server.

After the GhostCast progress is 100 % your image is created and you can close GhostCast Server.

You have successful created your Ghost image using GhostCast Server!!

Dave is the webmaster of [http://www.about-your-computer.com] which is made to help people with their computer.

This website is a perfect guide to help you understand how your computer works, a description of the hardware components and how you can setup and configure software using Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Here you can find also many free to download tools. Furhtermore you can advertise your website very cheap - only $5 a year!

[http://www.about-your-computer.com]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dave_Kierkels Answered Mar, 10 2011