[Noisebridge-discuss] Cloning 900 netbooks?

[T]

I use dd to clone identical computers.  It's on every linux bootable
usb stick, and will give you byte-for-byte identicalness, even cloning
the empty spaces (which is time consuming).

In microsoftland, however, you may have licensing issues, as in "i
cannot confirm that this image is different from all other images and
so will refuse to do anything because i believe you have stolen me"
even though you have an authenticity sticker on each one.

You might be able to poke around and find which file(s) get modified

Oop, noticing the timestamp now.  Am a month late to the discussion.
But since it stopped abruptly without resolution, perhaps my comments
will be helpful.  Not much hope of that, but pushing Send anyway.



On Mon, Apr 21, 2014 at 10:29 PM, girlgeek <girlgeek at wt.net> wrote:
> Hi Lane,
>
> I have Windows 8.1.  I'm underwhelmed by the start menu fix.  I'm going
> after something called Windows 8.1 update now.  But that is why I want to
> clone all these machines.  I have put in considerable work and made one
> machine usable.  Initially these people would turn on the machine and see
> the temperature in Washington DC flashing permanently before them.  Very
> useful in rural Rwanda.  They also got lovely things like recipes for baked
> halibut.  Rwanda is landlocked, equitorial (not halibut zone), and most
> people don't have ovens, oh and it has nothing to do with teaching English.
> Other than that....
>
> Actually, the biggest headache is the trackpad.  It is very sensitive and
> there is no adjustment for the sensitivity in Windows 8.1.  People are
> losing lessons and then finding grade 1 lessons have moved into grade 2 week
> 3 - because the trackpad slides things around so quickly.    Someone has
> written a little utility based on very obscure Windows  commands to change
> the track pad sensitivity.  It is one of the things that I want to get onto
> the cloned machines.
>
> Thank you all for the help.
>
> -Claudia
>
> On 4/21/2014 7:11 PM, Lane Copley wrote:
>
> You have my pity.  Be sure that your users have either the 8.1 which
> promises (I haven't seen it myself) the start menu fix, or the Shell program
> (freeware).  My sainted, white-haired mother is much less unhappy using it
> than windows 8 standard.
>
> Don't know what the hell MS thought they were doing, but people seem to rely
> on their start menu more than they thought.
>
>
> On Mon, Apr 21, 2014 at 4:10 AM, girlgeek <girlgeek at wt.net> wrote:
>>
>> Hi All,
>> I have 900 netbooks to set up with Windows 8.  Well actually, they already
>> have Windows 8 installed.  I have 900 netbooks to make usable since they are
>> Windows 8 and are being given to people, most of whom have never touched a
>> computer before.
>>
>> I have a vague memory that a company desktop technician did some manner of
>> cloning so that all company laptops were identical.  I also had the feeling
>> that this is what the techs at bigbox computer stores do when setting up a
>> newly purchased computer with all the official bloat ware.
>>
>> I would like to format these 900 machines and perform this manner of
>> cloning setup.  Is this something that someone at NB has done and can give
>> me some tips on?
>>
>> TYIA,
>> Claudia
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
>> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Lane
>
> Nobody listened to Cassandra, either.
>
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>
>
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-- 
Best Regards.
This is unedited.
P-)