Hdd Imaging

Alright, this begs explanation…

So part of my job is setting up new computers. Naturally, we want the ability to restore those computers to their “factory” state. When I started, we were using a program called DriveImage from a company called PowerQuest to accomplish this. Unfortunately, they are no longer making their products. So we needed a new drive imaging tool.

After some research, I found a Microsoft product called ImageX. It was much faster than DriveImage and produced smaller images, which was great. Of course, it was a CLI (command line interface) tool. This meant that in order to use it, you had to type in arcane commands like:

imagex /capture /compress maximum /check c: d:\initial.wim "Image" "Made with"

to produce an image. Now, I wanted something that we could continue to use after I no longer worked at my job, and something that I wouldn’t have to write reams of documentation on. Clearly, there was work to be done.

Skip ahead a few months, and I have created a fairly effective (and no longer CLI) imaging program. Here’s the tricks:

1. you need a Windows PE 2.0 bootable CD with the Windows AIK Tools added to it.
2. you need the actual code I wrote: here
3. you need a tool to combine all those elements into one disk. But I wrote one already! here
4. if you want to add your own code, you need AutoIT to write the stuff.