You may improve the processing. Here is what we did at work.

To get a universal pre-install image of win98SE:
run the MS pre-install kit (should come from your win98 package, one in
every box), create an image, but right after the first reboot (after copying
files process, before win98 detect hardware), break it (turn the machine
off), copy (ghost) the half done image to a CD. Now you should have a
pre-installation CD that does not contain any hardware configuration
(because windows hasn't done it yet).
whenever you need to pre-install win98, just ghost the image to hard drive,
and it should start from the point that detect PnP hardware, none PnP,
install windows components, start menu items ...

after you tested everything, just remove all test software, and click
"shutdown" to clean audit session.

pre-install NT4 and win2k is nightmare.

however, pre-install winXP is so far the best thing MS every done, very
simple, just setup XP pre-install tool, and build the image on a machine on
LAN, it will create a floppy disk that contain info (needed for pre-install,
eg. location of machine that contains the image, configuration set, it is
only a 1.8k file), and just boot new PC from XP pre-install tool kit CD,
make sure the floppy disk is in (best way to do it, is to change to boot
from CD first, HDD 2nd, floppy 3rd), and a XP build-in supportted NIC is
installed (linked to LAN). turn on the machine - job done!

Jun Qian

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ian" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2002 3:10 PM
Subject: [PCBUILD] Switching host machines


Hi all.
This is my first post here.  The subject matter was prompted by a post I saw
a few days back, while I was still getting the digest version.

I build computers, and for the last 20 or so, I've adopted a new system to
save a bit of effort.

Instead of assembling the computer and then programming it, I've started
pre-programming the HDD in my main office W98SE machine. (This is mainly
inspired by laziness, as I can do it sitting down in my soft office chair,
instead of in my less comfortable workshop :--)))

My main machine runs in the nude (no sides on the case) so I just switch
off, pull the ribbon cable out of the main HDD and connect up the new,
unformatted drive. Then reboot, go to the BIOS and do an autodetect of the
new drive.

My boot floppy has universal CD drive software, as well as fdisk and all the
usual stuff, so I set up the drive with that, then use xcopy32 to copy the
entire Windows CD to a new c: folder I call 'Winstart'.  Then I set up
Windows from there.

When I've finished, I disconnect the drive, throw it into the new computer
case and let it recognise all of it's new hardware, which usually takes
about 5 minutes.  I've never bothered to remove the existing hardware
configurations before relocating it, maybe it'd be a good idea to do so.
However, I've never had any problems using this method.

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