Posts made by ssx4life

Your speed of loading the .iso into memory is based off of your network, the hdd speed of your server, and the size of the file.

What I would suggest is use Hiren’s latest tool to “slim” down the tool to a smaller more manageable size, or even better add TWO options to the boot menu. One for a vanilla (untouched and larger) .iso and a slimmer, smaller one for what you want to do.

My best guess is you are on a 10/100 network (just a hunch).

As far as a password goes, you can add a password to the default file. Look here for an example of how - [url]http://www.syslinux.org/wiki/index.php/PXELINUX[/url]

No problem.

I’ll also point you to the updated version of oemscan which is just about perfect in my opinion - [url]http://siginetsoftware.com/forum/showthread.php?541-OEMSCAN_ADDON_MULTIOEM-v1.8[/url]

I’ve worked on that project with mr. Smartiepants to some degree testing it out. It works great as a batch script or an SFX package.

Good luck, and if you need more help let us know.

You actually can use OEM keys with sysprep. You need to make sure they are ROYALTY OEM KEYS, as shown here - [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Locked_Pre-installation[/url]

Your second task will be to use the runonce command and make a batch script for this following application below. It will auto insert the oemslp key based off of the hardware bios.

[url]http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/82638-oemscan-automated-multi-manufacture-pre-activation-utility/[/url]

Also to clarify further you want to use an OEM MEDIA DISK (a generic one from MSFN). A pressed dell / hp / etc. disk is not what you want. You want an un-edited oem disk for XP (one with a hologram for example). Use that media to build your image.

As for TRK look here - [url]http://www.technibble.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34477[/url]

p.s. google is your friend

I don’t have time to build and test these software packages due to my work schedule, but looking at the articles they seem rather cut+ dry and straight forward. Jump to part 3 of the guide for AV tools / etc.

i’ve personally never used hdat2, so I can’t say from experience.

But going off the .imz extension, it can be PXE booted ( as can .img) Look here for help - [url]http://www.symantec.com/connect/forums/one-pxe-menu-unite-them-all-dos-linux-winpe[/url]

edit - more default file examples here - [url]http://mrguitar.net/wiki/index.php/PXE_Menu[/url]

The default file shows the .imz file (which is uncompressed to my understanding).

Play around with the default file on this program, i’m sure you’ll find a way to make it work.

note
To quickly test changes and make new apps work with Fog on the PXE boot menu I suggest that you use a virtual machine to pxe boot the equipment as shown in my video. Just make sure you have the NIC’s set to linked / bridged using the actual device. If something doesn’t work just stop the VM, edit the default file right in the FTP client like shown in the video, upload the changes, and try again.

good luck, and if you get it to work [B]PLEASE[/B] humor us and document it on the wiki or a KB article!

@ Joshua thank you for the kind words, I’m glad the tutorial was easy to follow.

If you have trouble with TRK please try the new version. I’ve seen other users with FOG getting it to work fine (example - [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=B8q5NtXbBGA#t=238s[/url] )

Bruce there are lots of resources out there for creating snapins (more commonly known as unattended or “silent” installations of software.

One really helpful site I’ve found is appdeploy - [url]http://www.appdeploy.com/index.asp[/url] Check out their KB articles or search for the software package you are wanting to deploy and create a snapin for.

If you want we can help you with this process if the software in question is fairly commonplace (adobe / microsoft office / etc.). Can you please fill us in on what software you are wanting to use as snapins?

The default file looks fine to me. No stand out issues shown.

If you can “pxe boot” hirens and have it load into memory but then not load when you go to the files you have one of 2 problems.

#1. An .iso that doesn’t like this version of memdisk

or

#2. A version of memdisk that doesn’t like this .iso

I’ve had issues with this package in the past not working, and trying a different .iso version resolved it for me. I suggest that you try a different .iso first and see if this works for you (considering the dell diags work fine).

You can also customize the Hirens disk now, and strip some features out + add more. So it does give you some additional functionality if you choose to go that route.

I have given up on Hirens due to the copyright issues and moved over to UBCD for most of my stuff. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Also your ram settings are good, so no need to change anything there

Thanks.

I have run into issues with some .iso’s not liking to be PXE booted, and the above software is one of them.

If you haven’t yet, try a different version of the .iso in question and see if that works.

Also if you can, please paste your default file modifications in the forums, it might be a simple issue of you not loading it into memory (or having enough memory on the client side if your machines are thin clients)

Because you are dealing with various types of hardware it’s going to be hard for me to pin down a be-all end-all solution for you, but look into Etherboot - [url]http://etherboot.org/wiki/start[/url]

I’ve used it in the past for some of my earlier linux projects back in the early 2000’s when I was setting up a lab with K12LTSP - [url]http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r12120350-A-wounderful-expierence-with-K-12LTSP-good-read-[/url]

I’ve not seen too many computers that don’t allow PXE booting or doesn’t support PXE. The EARLIEST computers that don’t suport it would be Pentium III computers.

Are the computers in question that don’t PXE boot plane jane systems? If so check for a bios update, some times they add functionality on later bios revisions (including PXE)

My biggest frustrations with the snapin systems are 3 fold.

#1. The inability to upload folders to the snapin system, and then run a .exe or .msi directly from the uploaded folder.

I’d love to take an office install / Adobe Pro install / etc. and just upload the entire installer folder, and then have the client run the .msi / .exe of my choice. Currently I have to use SFX Maker or some other encapsulation software to package it as an .exe and then tell the software to run the file of my choice (seems like I’m duplicating work)

#2. The wait time of the snapin ins needs to be cut down… WAY down.

Currently the fog client waits I think 5 min’s when first checking in with the server to see if there are any tasks. I’d like to see this cut down to say 1 min at most, or even give us the option of changing it during the install on the client side.

I can edit the .ini file after the service has been installed to check in more rapidly AFTER the wait time. But why have it wait 5+ min’s before checking for a job? Is this due to the network traffic it would generate?

#3. Updating the snapin to play nicer with Windows 7.

I’d like to have the snapin play nicer with Windows 7 in regards to the UI, and perhaps have a simpler way to push the software out via GPO.

Check Brian Lee’s site for a great tutorial on doing this - [URL=‘http://brianleejackson.com/sysprep-a-windows-7-machine-start-to-finish’]http://brianleejackson.com/sysprep-a-windows-7-machine-–-start-to-finish-v2[/URL]

What is the make and model of the computers and laptops? How new are they?

In case anyone is running into trouble I’ve included a copy of my TFTPBOOT folder - [SIZE=4][B][url]http://www.mediafire.com/?1ps7ogj18abz93g[/url][/B][/SIZE] Feel free to play around with it and cut + paste items into your own fog server as you see fit. Just remember to back up your own files before hand!

Well I’m glad to hear you got it working!

We recently upgraded to a Dell server at work that is running ESXi and has NIC teaming. It’s a really great solution, so if you haven’t looked into virtualizing some of your equipment you may want to think about it down the road.

What kind of switches do you have deployed, and are they configured for a layer 2 or layer 3 network?

[LEFT]There are several ways around this if you are wanting to add more driver support. But one of the best ways to make your image more compatible with all systems is to have your unttended.xml support as many CPU types as possible.[/LEFT]
[LEFT] [/LEFT]
[LEFT]The other thing I’ve done is created a snapin for driverpacks that gets pushed on first reboot using the foservice (you could also script it into your image). Basically you take the driverpacks and make a standalone installer, and then use SFX Maker to encapsulate it and auto run the script in windows)[/LEFT]
[LEFT] [/LEFT]
[LEFT]Check it here - [URL=‘http://www.driverpacks.net’]www.driverpacks.net[/URL][/LEFT]
[LEFT] [/LEFT]
[LEFT]Stand Alone Installer - [URL=‘http://www.driverpacks.net’]http://forum.driverpacks.net/viewtopic.php?id=4954[/URL][/LEFT]
[LEFT] [/LEFT]
[LEFT] [/LEFT]

Have you thought about running an ESXi server on the hardware and virtualizing your installation? [url]http://www.vmware.com/products/vsphere-hypervisor/overview.html[/url]

There have been some really basic guides on the fog user guide, and some quick videos on youtube that show how to append the default file under the tftpboot folder in Linux so you can pxe boot your own .iso applications.

I just wanted to take the time and break down the instructions into a friendlier video that might help people a bit more.

To use this guide I’m assuming the following 6 things

1. You have a working version of Fog (obvious)
2. You have modified your TFTP password under the fog UI - [url]http://fogproject.org/wiki/index.php?title=Unable_to_connect_to_TFTP#For_Versions_.24_.2B[/url]
3. You have a copy of the .iso you wish to boot (example: Dell Diagnostics)
4. You have a copy of memdisk from kernel.org - [url]http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/boot/syslinux/[/url]
5. You have an FTP program such as filezilla that will allow you to copy / paste / and append files on your fog server
6. You can copy and paste + edit the following text below to meet your needs

[CODE]LABEL Dell Diagnostics
MENU MASTER PASSWD password
kernel fog/dell/memdisk
append iso initrd=fog/dell/delldiags.iso raw
MENU LABEL Dell Diagnostics
TEXT HELP
Dell Diagnostic software
ENDTEXT[/CODE]

Ok! Now watch the video for a quick overview on how to create a folder under tftpboot/fog, copy over your .iso and memdisk file to the new folder, append the default file with a text editor under tftpboot/default.cfg

[media=youtube]KYp-XVPxg3I[/media]

I just wanted to point out that the video also includes 720p so you can put it on high res and zoom in to see the detail, text if needed.

If you guys have any questions let me know.

Enjoy!