Problem activating Windows XP after reapplying disk image created with Ghost and Sysprep

enGardeTech,

Did you use the procedure described here to prepare images for disk duplication?  http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/deploy/duplication.mspx

In step 9 of these instructions, I remove the drive from my Master Installation computer, connect it as a secondary drive on the target computer's primary controller.  I then boot using a bootable Ghost 7.5 CD to clone my Master Installation system's hard drive to the duplicate system's hard drive.  I power down the system, disconnect the Master Installation hard drive, power up that system and let Mini-Setup run.  If all goes well with Mini-Setup, including activation, I repeat the procedure on the next target computer.   I suspect your case revolves around Sysprep's creation of a unique SID (Security ID).  I note that you are using a DELL Windows XP Reinstallation CD and not a Volume License Kit (VLK) CD.  

If the GX60's have identical configurations, my suggestion would be to dispense with Sysprep and Mini-Setup altogether.  Simply do a clean install of XP using the Dell XP Reinstallation CD on one computer, including activation.  Then clone that drive to the other 59 hard drives using Ghost or preferably Acronis TrueImage8.  When you set up the first computer, don't be creative with user names.  Use something like Owner or Default.  After you start up each system, you can change the logon name and password and run %windir%\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe /a to check each machine's activation.  Not fancy like using Sysprep and Mini-Setup, but it works.

enGardeTech,

Yep.  I started to mention that as a possible cause, but I just activated two Dell Optiplex GX240s and two emachines S2690s this week.  Of course those systems shipped before February 28, 2005 and were XP SP1a systems.  What surprised me was that I had replaced the eMachines motherboards with non-OEM replacements and they still activated.

Glad you found the solution to your problem.

Tony 

I can understand why it worked on the Dell CPUs.  If you used a Dell reinstallation CD to reinstall XP it will completly bypass Windows Activation [since it checks for a Dell BIOS and uses a SLP product key to install XP].

I am really surprised that it worked on the eMachines especially considering you put non OEM motherboards into those machines.  That's real Cool! 

Thanks for your suggestions,

-enGardTech

 

That's interesting.  Are you using the Microsoft Sysprep utility as part of your image creation process?  I've found that we only have problems activating XP when we use that tool.

-enGardeTech

I'm having a similar problem. We recently purchased some GX620's and I used the XP cd that came with these systems setup an image for these computers. I also used this cd to create images for our GX260's, GX270's, and GX280's. I noticed that I only have problems with activation on the other systems, but the GX620's activate fine. I used the GX620 cd because I figured it's the lastest version so why not.

I'm using the sysprep utility but it's intergrated into the ghost enterprise solution 1.0, so I don't think it's quite the same as the full version. I say that because when I run through the mini-setup and after pushing the image to a machine and input a different admin password it doesn't take. So I have to use the old one to log in and change the admin password manually.