Posts made by Alistair

Very helpful comments. Thanks.

For the sake of clarity:

Windows Image Component Path = Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup
Configuration Pass = [B][FONT=Liberation Serif]4 specialize[/FONT][/B]
Setting and Value = CopyProfile=[B][FONT=Liberation Serif]True[/FONT][/B]

I’m doing exactly the same as you: 2 images for 2 hardware platforms. (4 images - no driverpacks) One audit and one after sysprep. That’s why I’m keen to use your files as a guide. And you’re right of course, you’ll never run out of rearms because the base image never gets rearmed.

It’s strange that sysprep only resets identifiers in Microsofts Windows and not their Office. I suppose there’s a good reason.

Now I’ll have to bite the bullet on these scripts. They need to be Norwegianised too.

By the way I have discovered the following answer file command which looks very interesting. I haven’t noticed any references to this in the FOG forum:

Create an answer file to customize the default user profile

1. Create a second answer file to use when you run Sysprep to generalize the Windows installation. This answer file contains the CopyProfile setting and is used to copy the customizations that you make in audit mode to the default user profile.
   In Windows SIM, create a new answer file. To do this, click [B][FONT=Liberation Serif]File[/FONT][/B], and then click [B][FONT=Liberation Serif]New Answer File[/FONT][/B].
2. Add the following setting to your answer file:
   [SIZE=4][B] [/B][/SIZE]

Windows Image Component Path
Configuration Pass
Setting and Value
Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup
[B][FONT=Liberation Serif]4 specialize[/FONT][/B]
CopyProfile=[B][FONT=Liberation Serif]True[/FONT][/B]

3. Save the answer file as CopyProfileunattend.xml on the USB flash drive.

Thanks so much Chad. Apparently with win 8, Microsoft recommends use of ADK which contains VAMT, WSIM (Windows system image manager), and other tools. So yes I have installed this package and have already checked out WSIM.

One remaining question which will sound strange: Your script includes:
“%programfiles%\Microsoft Office\Office15\ospprearm.exe”

I know about the need to rearm Office in many situations, but is it really necessary here?
The reason I ask is because volume license versions of Win 8.1 and Office 2013 activated themselves on my new PC without me doing anything. The only thing I had done was install ADBA on my new Server 2012, and created activation objects for both Windows 8.1 and Office 2013. When my PC joined the domain, bingo! Will the same thing happen to the final Sysprepped teacher image when it is deployed to all the clients?

I only ask because Office can only be rearmed, is it 5 times, so why do it if not necessary.
Have I missed something here? I’m not trying to be difficult, but I do like to understand why I need to do something in a certain way.
But if I don’t include the script, and they don’t activate, then I’ll be kicking myself.

Chad I’m scrutinising with great interest your December 19 post and files you provided for me then.
You mentioned you had files for Win8x32.
Do you now have files for Win8.1x64 ?
I’m hopeless with scripting and need working files that I can modify.
I need to deploy in the next few days.
I have installed ADBA on server 2012-R2 and have activation objects for both Windows 8.1 and Office 2013. I will not be using a KMS host as I only have win 8.1 clients. Even if you have a Win8.1x64 unattend.xml, I may still have to make my own, but at least I can see what you have included or excluded.

Grateful for anything you can provide and practical tips.

Have now connected everything to the school VLAN again.

Rebooted after fixing sleep 30.
Checked multicast log - no log for the last 3 hours
Multicast to 2 HP
TFTP is now running after reboot (problem fixed)
Multicast failed as expected
Stop and start multicast
Multicast to 2 HP
Multicast worked as expected
Checked multicast log - it is running now, BUT, the log shows 7:30 PM when it is actually 9:30 PM on the Ubuntu clock as it is in reality here in Norway. I just mention it in case it has significance.

This multicast problem is now predictable and fixable for me. I’m heading home.

Very helpful explanation.

Actually I haven’t given up. It’s just that I MUST get the staff system running in 2 days time. And that’s impossible. That’s the real source of my frustration. I’m happy to keep working at this for the sake of others in the future who might have similar problems and helping with 0.33b, but not for at least a week until I’ve got the school system up and running. I will keep you very briefly updated on anything I discover, but nothing time-consuming for the time being. I’m in the middle of what is, for me, a big migration and huge learning curve. All new PCs, Server, printers, VLANS, Firewall, multimedia systems. Going from XP to Win 8.1 is a big jump. I’ll be using SYSPREP for the first time and answer files, ADBA etc…

Ohhh

I’ve fixed the sleep 30 syntax.

Yes every 10 seconds there are 6 items/lines

But the log stopped for 1 hour from 1230 to 13:30.
It also stopped 2 hours ago and has not recorded anything since then.

The following is Chinese to me. I know nothing about kernels.
[I]Errors with units normally leads to kernel issues, you can try one of the updated kernels Tom provides, or you can build your own, there is a fabulous guide on the forums that will walk you through creating a kernel with specific drivers, but the ones Tom puts out are normally all inclusive.[/I]

Are you saying that a part of the OS is corrupted and needs fixing? Or can I use the system temporarily as it is and just stop and start the FOGMulticastManager if I want to multicast?

[I][/I]

It’s obvious now that there is something wrong in my fogserver. Either firmware, hardware, linux, fog or a combination.

I have spent weeks trying to sort out issues with these new HP PCs.
I’ve tried to get photos of the old HP PC screen output but school camera batteries go flat. Forget to take my camera with me.
The relevant error messages go by really fast. Cannot read them to write them down. I have been trying.
I have teachers coming in 3 days and no system ready. I have a crisis. I must move on.
I’m also not getting paid for my time here at all. I have done hundreds of hours in extra voluntary hours.

Firewall is now disabled.

How do I access the sleep timer details to see if they are 10 seconds?

Jaymes has found the problem!

sudo /etc/init.d/FOGMulticastManager stop
Stopping fog imaging solution: FOGMulticastManager
start-stop-daemon: warning: Failed to kill 1157: no such process

sudo /etc/init.d/FOGMulticastManager start
Starting FOG solution: FOGMulticastManager

Multicast worked !!!

“no such process” !!!
It wasn’t running.

Jaymes - Thanks for those final tips on stopping and starting multicast.
I’ll try that. I’m not going back to 10.04.

[FONT=Times New Roman]I can’t spend any more time on this. I’m kicking a dead horse. I’m running with unicast. I know it’s slower and only 10 at a time. I have no more time to use on this multicast problem. I’m usually good at fault finding, but here I have failed to find any pattern of success and failure. One time in another school I had 50% of students who could print to a particular printer and 50% who could not. I eventually discovered that all those who had domain user names longer than 15 characters, could not print out on that particular printer. No problem in printing to other printers. Go figure. Over 20 years I’ve seen [U]many[/U] examples of 1 program creating a problem in another on various platforms. Drivers for smartboards screw up LibreOffice. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]I suspect there is a problem in fog, maybe connected with firmware on my new HP Elite 8300 SFF and USDT clients.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]I’m running fog 33b on one of the new SFF. But I also think it is strange and disappointing that I cannot unicast or multicast to my old HP DC7100 clients that I imaged many times from my old fogserver version 0.32.[/FONT]

Thank you Tom, Jaymes and JunkHacker for all your input and time.
I will only give further comments in this thread if I discover something significant that you should know about.

[FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT]

[I]now we are trying to eliminate it as a possibility of the errors, so eliminate extra switch gear use only the router.[/I]
I have been ONLY using one router, no other switches or firewall.

[I]if the router worked yesterday for multicast, then it will work today, we just have to figure out what is failing and why.[/I]
It is totally unpredictable. This is the problem.

[I]Why are you rebooting the server after you get it working are you a glutton for punishment?[/I]
This is an important principle of technical fault finding. Always try to reproduce exactly the same circumstances under which something happened or didn’t happen. A fresh reboot gives you that.

With firewall off:

“Transfer successfull”

tftp client is now installed on win 8.1 client in Audit mode (one of the PCs that has been receiving the images)

tftp 10.0.1.40 get undionly.kpxe
flashing cursor…
“Connect request failed”

I’ll try turning off firewall

This simple network router is a domestic wireless router that I have lying around.
My main system router is a new expensive PaloAlto Firewall which is the gateway for 6 vlans.
But as I said earlier, all of these new and old HP PCs, server, fogserver etc are on only 1 vlan.
There is no cross vlan interaction. There are no multiple systems that concern us here. Just one.
The PaloAlto should have no problem at all in handling multicast.
The simple domestic router I’m using right now did in fact work with multicast yesterday after I rebooted fogserver.
My central switch is a Cisco SG-300-52 port gigabit.

When multicast is working, [U]it appears to keep on working for multiple jobs until I reboot fogserver.[/U]
When multicast is not working, it never works again without rebooting.

Still on the simple 1 router network.

A unicast to a group of 2 PCs has worked.

tftp 10.0.1.40 get undionly.kpxe
“tftp not recognised as an internal command”

[U]I am back on the simple one 4port router network with:[/U]
Server 2012 (for DHCP)
fogserver (I am running management console here)
2 clients
I pinged router and server - both respond.

Rebooted fogserver
stop start tftpd
Multicast to 2 PCs
Multicast not work
Cancel tasks
Unicast to 1 PC
Worked.
Multicast to 2 PCs
Multicast not work

Thanks Tom for the typo correction - To avoid a typo I copied the syntax directly from:
[url]http://fogproject.org/forum/threads/ubuntu-11-04-distro-that-just-works-heres-how.4378/#post-12571[/url]
I just cannot win here.