I want to install XP on around 50 Computers which are having identical hardware configuration. Since installing XP from start, partitioning & installing drivers will consume lot of time, I am planing to prepare one master Computer on which I will install XP & all drivers & other necessary s/w. Next using Norton Ghost to clone the hard disk of all 50 computers and then activating individual XP licenses on each computer. Please advice whether the above procedure will work properly and cloned XP will run properly & also license will be activated ? Ravi Modi Ravi Modi

If the PCs are running in a Microsoft Network (ADS or Workgroup environment), you will get in trouble, because the cloned PCs all have the same SID. So you may have to run SYSPREP before you'll start cloning the master pc. Please send a reply, if you solved the problem !!!

Ravi, You can successfully clone Windows systems as long as the hardware is identical (or very close to it). I used to do this every day in my corporate job however, there are a couple of things you may need to address separately. First, in a Domain or Workgroup, each system must have a unique SID (Security Identifier), or you will run into problems with resource permissions. Many cloning programs provide a way to address this issue. Some will handle it "on-the-fly" and some provide a separate utiltiy that you run at the end of the process to generate a random SID. If not, Microsoft provides a free utility for this purpose: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/... Second, each cloned system will now have the same Windows serial number. In my corporate job, we had an enterprise license for windows, so our Windows serial number was expected to show up on literally thousands of systems, but if you have individual licenses, you will need to update the registry on each system to ensure each has its own valid Windows license. -- OR -- You can use Microsoft's SysPrep utility which will address these and other issues. Here's a link detailing how to use SysPrep: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/302577 Here's the process we used: Finish setting up the first (Master) system. Once it's "perfect"... 1. Run Windows Defrag program to defragment the disk. 2. Run CHKDSK /F to clean up any minor disk errors that might interfere with the cloning process. 3. Re-boot and allow CHKDSK to complete. 4. Clean up any .CHK files from the root directory. 5. Run SysPrep. 6. Shutdown Windows Now, you can clone your master system to create the file you'll use to load the remaining systems. SysPrep will setup your cloned image so that it works like a preloaded system you might purchase at the local compouter store. When you boot up the cloned system, it'll even prompt you for the Windows serial number if you've set it up properly. Just remember... DON'T boot up the master system until after you've cloned it or you'll undo everything SysPrep has setup. If you need to make a change to the master system, you will need to repeat the above steps again before cloning. Hope you find this helpful...

All the PCs will be running seperately. (No Networking). I am mainly concerned about XP-activation. Whether Cloned PCs activation will work ok ? Ravi Modi

All the PCs will be running seperately. (No Networking). First you need to explain what you meant by the above. By running separately do you mean you are selling computers to individual users or are you setting up the 50 PCs in a corporate environment (one company). i_Xp/VistaUser

XpUser makes a good point. If you are deploying in an enterprise (one company), the best solution is to contact Microsoft to obtain a Volume License for the product. They provide media and a unique Volume License Media product key registered to your company. When you clone, every system will have your company's product key that won't require activation. (I don't even think you can get this for XP anymore.) In any case, the process is explained here: http://support.microsoft.com/defaul... If you're loading systems for resale to different customers, you'll need valid (legitimate) licenses for each system so you're customers can activate themselves. If you're trying to "get around" product activation, I don't think anyone here will help with that...

Dear XpUser/Kptech, First let me clarify that I have never mentioned that I want to install single copy of licence on 50 machines & do piracy. I want to install 50 seperate XP licenses on 50 standalone desktop machines which are to be used for some project for company. I have already procured 50 Nos of XP OEM licenses & just want to save time & convenience on installation. Instead of loading XP seperately on each system seperately, configuring, loading drivers, I want to do one Master installtion & clone the balance machines & then activate the licenses on individual machines Ravi, Ravi Modi