[charm_quark]

hi, I'm managing an internet cafe 10 thin clients, and 10 stand alones, the thin clients have their usb ports disabled, so any person that has to print documents etc use the stand alone's ...

the problem is that even with having downloaded latest updates for different AV they do not offer complete protection.. so the system's get infected......

i end up formatting 3 systems in every 2 days time frame to keep them in good shape . Which i have to do at night, as i cant disturb normal function [loss of income for the cafe] , taking away my sleep ,,

do you guys know any solution were automatically at night (at a pre-determined time) all the hard drive's would restore themselves to a previously recorded state,,.... for all 10 stand alone's ????????????

Note: all stand are not the same in specs, but all run xp (sp3),

[comp_ali]

Use Norton Ghost , it will save you much time rather than 45 minutes installing windows + dricers + softwares , it takes 15 minutes here to restore my system with ghost , it will take image of your partion and you will able to restore it when a problem happens.

[Mac Daddy]

Norton Ghost works good actually one of the few Norton's products I will touch now. The free key deal from last weekend is over but I have been playing around with this one there is a trial version and it seems solid so far.

Paragon Drive Backup - disk and data backup, hard disk imaging

[comp_ali]

Yes paragon seems better as you can make bootable recovery CD/DVD/BD unlike Ghost.

[charm_quark]

thanks I'll definitely try it,,

[charm_quark]

i got an idea,... is it not possible to set up a server that holds the drive images, then upload them automatically

[Judas]

yes you can setup a server which isn't accessable buy any machine when in windows.. but is a bootable source allowing you to choose which installation to proceed with or ghost for that matter.... provided the machines support it and you can figure out how to set one up (i've seen it work, boot from network, and then it'd basically restore a preset installation to the client machine.)

as i said.. not sure how it's done.. i know it works really good if you want to do a bunch of machines all at once. Lets say if you close up shop, and before going home, go to each machine, start the network boot, pick the image you want to restore for the system, and then walk away to come back the next day and find every machine up and running (although i'd trial it on only a few machines to make sure it's working)

[Mac Daddy]

Not sure how thats done either but a great idea guys. If I am talking to my buddy Grambo I will mention this to him he was senior systems analyst at the Royal Military College here for years.

Originally Posted by comp_ali

Yes paragon seems better as you can make bootable recovery CD/DVD/BD unlike Ghost.

Originally Posted by charm_quark

thanks I'll definitely try it,,

Only been using it about a week works great here so far

[GigaWatt]

try out Deep Freeze, it helped me out a lot when i used to work in a cafe...

[Chaos]

Originally Posted by GigaWatt

try out Deep Freeze, it helped me out a lot when i used to work in a cafe...

It works well but can be a pain because any time you want to allow an install you have to log into deep freeze, I dont know how many times it got me on that one

[Tipstaff]

I'd go with Deep Freeze as well, or Drive Vaccine (I love this one due to it's restore options, such having it restore on logouts, when idle, or scheduling restores for different times/days/weeks). Free wise, look into Microsoft's SteadyState (free for legit users), Returnnil (Personal Edition is free), and Sandboxie (haven't used it myself, but it's been getting great reviews.. and it's free).

Another suggestion instead of Ghost, look into Acronis True Image Home 11. It allows you to create a hidden secured partition to dump an image of the drive to. Along with that you can install the boot loader that allows you to simply hit F11 during bootup to bring up the software to backup/restore the system with ease. With the new version you can even reboot the machine automatically after it's done restoring/backing up, so you get your machines up and running that much faster. I use this on every machine I have, and every machine I sell. Saves me a crap load of time. You only need to install the software on one machine, and create the boot cd to use on all the rest (the boot cd is used to create the secured partition, and install the boot loader, or you can use it to make the backup just in case you don't want people to have access to the software, if you want to make a physical CD/DVD backup, or if you want to clone drives).

[GigaWatt]

Originally Posted by Chaos

It works well but can be a pain because any time you want to allow an install you have to log into deep freeze, I dont know how many times it got me on that one

yeah, that was a little bit annoying... but hey, it's a lot less annoying than having to reinstall any kind of an OS every 3 days... LOL

besides... you could install everything that your regular internet user needs before installing Deep Freeze (at least that is what i used to do when i worked in the cafe)... if someone requires something special, you could always install it later...

the only thing that bugged me about Deep Freeze was that once installed, there was no way to get rid of it (at least in the older versions, don't know about the new ones, haven't used it in a long time)... it bonds with the kernel of the OS and basically there is no way to get rid of it except to reformat... :S

[Chaos]

I have not used it in some time but it was guaranteed to destroy an XP install if you tried to remove it

[GigaWatt]

Originally Posted by Chaos

I have not used it in some time but it was guaranteed to destroy an XP install if you tried to remove it

yep, that's true...

anyway, i have never used Norton Ghost or Drive Vaccine, or anything else other than Deep Freeze, so i can't recommend you anything else than Deep Freeze...

in any case, you don't have to remove Deep Freeze... if you don't want it to run during boot, just disable it and that's it...

[charm_quark]

Originally Posted by Chaos

I have not used it in some time but it was guaranteed to destroy an XP install if you tried to remove it

Originally Posted by GigaWatt

yeah, that was a little bit annoying... but hey, it's a lot less annoying than having to reinstall any kind of an OS every 3 days... LOL

besides... you could install everything that your regular internet user needs before installing Deep Freeze (at least that is what i used to do when i worked in the cafe)... if someone requires something special, you could always install it later...

the only thing that bugged me about Deep Freeze was that once installed, there was no way to get rid of it (at least in the older versions, don't know about the new ones, haven't used it in a long time)... it bonds with the kernel of the OS and basically there is no way to get rid of it except to reformat... :S

well if anything happens i can just format it like always... but thanks a lot you guys, i'm having final exams till Wednesday evening... so ill give you guys a feed back on thursday,, thanks a looooooootttttt..

[dawgXdenta]

The other solution is to have Linux run a virtual windows environment and have that environment with its settings saved on the Linux system. If you encounter any problem in any of the virtual systems/environments just delete and replace it. That might mean writing a few batches to automate the whole process and make everything well..... automatic.

Sounds good , i know its possible only I've never tried it. I'll look into it and see if any one has ever done it and how to make the whole thing work

[charm_quark]

well guys did over time last night, installed deep freeze, so for the moment no virus problems so i just have to wait and watch!

[GigaWatt]

great... glad you had that sorted out...

try loading some trojan on purpose... see if deep freeze really works.... LOL

[Mac Daddy]

Good stuff man !!

[charm_quark]

Originally Posted by GigaWatt

great... glad you had that sorted out...

try loading some trojan on purpose... see if deep freeze really works.... LOL

i'm a smart ass all right, but i'm not gonna push my luck

[Gooey0037]

Could you not just have a main server running win xp server edition then say 10 wyse terminals hooked up to it then dissallow all access to the C:\ Drive and install a good Av, and just set up a restore point as soon as youve set them up so you can just go back to then l8tr

[Gooey0037]

sorry i forgot to add this you could use,

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...5-9d770ccdb431 Microsoft SteadyState

"Whether you manage computers in a school computer lab or an Internet cafe, a library, or even in your home, Windows SteadyState helps make it easy for you to keep your computers running the way you want them to, no matter who uses them."

Brief Description
Windows® SteadyState™ 2.5 is now available on Windows XP and Windows Vista. Whether you manage computers in a school computer lab or an Internet café, a library, or even in your home, Windows SteadyState helps make it easy for you to keep your computers running the way you want them to, no matter who uses them.

Windows SteadyState runs on genuine copies of Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium, and Windows Vista Starter. And, Windows SteadyState is offered free of charge to Windows Genuine Advantage customers!

[supafly]

so get your hands on clonezilla and make an immage on the server, then restore immage to the computers via network. it only takes a max of 30 min and you dont have to reinstallall the apps on each pc separately. i find that kespesky woks best as an antivirus in these kinds of situations.