Compaq dx2400 HP Compaq Business Desktop PCs - Developing a Common Windows XP - Page 2

Purpose This goal of this document is to guide the IT professional through the process of creating a Windows XP image that can be deployed across the various platforms within an HP product family. Due to the high level of testing and qualification that goes into the image preinstalled on HP products, HP recommends: • Begin with the preinstalled image as a base on which to build a customized common image. • If the preinstalled image has been modified since delivery, use the provided Restore Plus! CD solution to restore the factory image to the hard drive. • If the first two options are not possible or preferable, a clean installation may be performed using the method and media of choice. This white paper will not guide you through the process of creating a new operating system (OS) installation; instead, you should refer to Microsoft documentation. This information can be obtained from the appropriate Microsoft Windows operating system Resource Kit, the Microsoft Web site, or other Microsoft subscriptions. Windows Licensing Note This document does not provide a license to create and/or distribute an operating system image. This document is intended to be a technical resource for those who have the proper license to deploy Microsoft Windows 2000 or Windows XP operating systems. The operating system license shipped with HP PCs does not grant re-imaging and deployment rights. Before using the document to deploy an image, please contact your Microsoft licensing representative to obtain the proper license agreements. HP cannot be held liable if a customer uses this document to create or deploy an image that violates Microsoft license agreements. Definition of terms This document will detail processes that use the following terms. Product Family-A product family is defined as a set of form-factor types within a numerically-defined series. For example, the HP Compaq dc7100 product family consists of the dc7100 convertible minitower, small form factor and ultra-slim desktop. While the ultra-slim form factor machines are considered to be within a product family, their size usually dictates some hardware differences, including chipset components. Common Image-For the purposes of this paper, a common image is defined as an operating system image that works across multiple hardware platforms such as the HP Compaq dc7100. For details on extending your image beyond product family, please see the Extending the process section in this document. Identical Image-An identical image is defined as an operating system image that is deployed across machines of a single product line, all using the exact same hardware options, or configuration. If you are creating an identical image, you can disregard the Obtaining drivers for the product family section in this document. Driver Support-Driver support in a common image includes the functionality that can be obtained via a .infbased install of the driver by the operating system. This includes device recognition and basic functionality; however, any functionality that is normally achieved by running a setup program will not be available. For information on adding setup application processing, please see the Extending the process section in this document. 2