Hard Disk Copying

Hi,

I have 4 computers and want all of them to be exactly the same, same software, OS ect… I am wondering if this is possible. This is my plan; I want to load all the software I need into one machine then make copies of that setup. Then copy it to the other 3 pc’s. This will save me from having to load all the same software into all the other computers.

All the pc’s have just about the same exact setup. Now I am guessing I can setup a primary hard drive which will be the one I will mirror to all the other pc’s, then put a second hard drive in as a slave and copy the primary hard drive to the secondary hard drive. Then take the secondary drive and use it to copy it to all the other pc’s. Will this work?

If it can, can you tell me what steps I need to take? I read somewhere that this can be done with Norton Ghost. Btw, I am running windows XP

Thanks! I really appreciate it!
John

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You can copy disk using software (such as Northon Ghost) whereby you boot off a CD or floopy and then copy one disk to another via the inbuilt menu system

or

Some had disk manufacturers offer disk copying software (free)
Good example is the Data Lifeguard toolset by Western Digital
Make sure you only use the software from the manufacturer of your disks :wink:

Regards,

Reply to hubbardt

Er, here you go, a comparison of the top disk imaging software:

http://disk-imaging-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

Reply to qwertycopter

Symantec's Ghost is very good with this type of project.As long as the pc's are very close to identical load Ghost onto the first machine after it is up and running the way you want it. Then Ghost it into dvd size segmnents. Put a dvd into each succesive pc and do a complete restore.

Reply to mikey159b

Quote :

Hi,

I have 4 computers and want all of them to be exactly the same, same software, OS ect… I am wondering if this is possible. This is my plan; I want to load all the software I need into one machine then make copies of that setup. Then copy it to the other 3 pc’s. This will save me from having to load all the same software into all the other computers.

All the pc’s have just about the same exact setup. Now I am guessing I can setup a primary hard drive which will be the one I will mirror to all the other pc’s, then put a second hard drive in as a slave and copy the primary hard drive to the secondary hard drive. Then take the secondary drive and use it to copy it to all the other pc’s. Will this work?

If it can, can you tell me what steps I need to take? I read somewhere that this can be done with Norton Ghost. Btw, I am running windows XP

Thanks! I really appreciate it!
John

All this can be done, using a variety of imaging software that's out there. Keep in mind though, you'll need to purchase multiple licences to do this, unless you want to go pirate. The windows XP OS will be especially sensitive, because if you don't buy the multiple licence, someone at Microsoft will figure out pretty fast that you're using the same OS on different computers and they will object highly, maybe even send police to your door or a lawsuit or something else.

Reply to Sailer

Forum Storage : General Storage - Hard Disk Copying

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