TechAgility

So while attending Citrix’s iForum I had the opportunity to examine
XenServer in more detail at one of the booths and I was pleasantly surprised as to the level of detail and how it appeared to be pretty straight forward. However the main issue would appear to be that there is no equivalent to VMware’s Workstation that makes it possible to run Demo’s and the like directly from a Laptop.

So in chatting to one of the freshly minted "Citrix" Xen Tech’s looking after the booth he did confirm that there is currently no "Workstation" alternative, however one of the Citrix SE’s that I chatted to did mention that the alternative at the moment (leaving room for a Workstation edition soon no doubt?) is to either use a separate Laptop that has Xen Server installed or they use Virtual PC as a host for the Xen Server.

So seeing as I received a XenExpress Demo in the goodies bag I have taken the liberty of installing Xen on a VM inside VMware Workstation 6, and even though Xen insists on being installed on x64 hardware it was pretty easy - I just selected Other Linux 2.6.x Kernel 64-bit and away we went - the only other caveats that I discovered (without reading any of the docs) was it really wanted to see a min. of 16Gb of HDD and at least  1Gb of RAM, but other than that it was a piece of cake.

Once the Server has been built it will return with the IP address listed in the console, at this point you simply need to install the Console and then point it at the Server’s IP address and you are good to go?

I would suggest that looking through the install screenshot’s that choosing RedHat would be equally valid?

I’m sure this would install just as easily on Virtual PC or Virtual Server, but the main issue will be the extra resources needed to run a Virtual Host as well as Xen before actually being in the position to run anything meaningful?

written by dcaddick

In one of those typical Internet moments when "it wasn’t what I was looking for - but it looked like some very useful information that I would like the time to implement"?

I have been thinking of getting this working correctly at home based on some virtual machines, but as it’s not something that has a burning need to get done it probably won’t get done anytime soon - but I’m sure this will come up somewhere so thought it useful to point out that there is this comprehensive guide from Novell as well as the one at the Ubuntu Wiki site: ActiveDirectoryHowto 

HOWTO: Configure Ubuntu for Active Directory Authentication

Introduction

There are two important concepts for users: authentication, and accounts. With Active Directory authentication uses the Kerberos 5 protocol, and account information uses LDAP. Therefore we need to configure Kerberos 5 and LDAP on Ubuntu in order to manage users in an Active Directory.

Throughout this article the following IP addresses are going to be used, adjust appropriately for your network.

IP address Description 10.30.2.1 Router and DNS server or proxy 10.30.2.2 DHCP and TFTP server 10.30.2.10 NFS server 10.30.2.20 LTSP server 10.30.2.100-200 LTSP clients

It is assumed Active Directory is configured with an AD realm of EXAMPLE.COM and we will create one user:

account name: wendy UID: 1002 GID: 1002 home directory: /home/wendy shell: /bin/bash

[edit]

Accounts

For LDAP accounts the software package libnss-ldap is required, in Ubuntu Dapper CD this is not in the main repository it is part of the universe repository, however if you are using an internet repository it is part of the main repository and you can skip to the next stage. In order to access to the universe repository edit the file /etc/apt/sources.list and uncomment the universe lines.

## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from the 'universe' ## repository. ## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu ## team, and may not be under a free licence. Please satisfy yourself as to ## your rights to use the software. Also, please note that software in ## universe WILL NOT receive any review or updates from the Ubuntu security ## team. deb http://hk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper universe main restricted multiverse deb-src http://hk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper universe main restricted

Then update the package list and install.

$ sudo apt-get update $ sudo apt-get install libnss-ldap

Enter the address of the Active Directory server.

The Active Directory is accessed with the LDAP protocol

Specify the LDAP search basedn

The LDAP search base DN is where to search for user account information

more at source… HOWTO: Configure Ubuntu for Active Directory Authentication - DeveloperNet

written by dcaddick

So Wyse have recently announced the G90, and although some might argue that a 1Ghz AMD would trump a 1.2Ghz Via, what I find somewhat surprising is that the Mobile Thin Client’s they have on display for use here at the iForum are very neat and tidy 12.1" wide screens with a tiny footprint - and these are also using the 1.2Ghz processor.

The reason why I discovered this was not because I was reading the specs sheet, but more because I thought it was so warm to the touch, I would imagine that this would be somewhat uncomfortable on your lap after a certain amount of time?

Still, I have to give kudos to Wyse for a very neat form factor with a very nice screen, a very nice Thin Client notebook at only 1.7Kg - perfect for road warriors.

Powerful" thin client supports dual displays, expansion

Oct. 22, 2007
Wyse has announced what it is touting as "the industry’s most powerful thin computer." The G90, based on a 1.2GHz Via C7 processor, includes dual-monitor support and runs Windows XP Embedded, according to the company.
(Click here for a larger view of the Wyse G90)
In many ways, the G90 blurs the lines between what is expected in a thin client and a standard desktop PC. This is because the device includes such features as a PCI expansion slot, plus bays that can accept both an optional CD/DVD-ROM drive and a hard drive.
Wyse has for some months promoted dual-monitor support in its thin clients. The V-Class L (formerly V Class Dual-Video) devices, for example, support dual screens via a special cable that splits the devices’ DVI-I port into one DVI-D port and one VGA port.
According to the company, the new G90 continues that capability, but can support up to four additional displays (for a total of six) when a third-party graphics adapter is installed in its PCI slot. The unit’s resident capabilities are supplied by Via’s UniChrome Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder, said to deliver resolution up to 1680 x 1050 pixels per screen.
The G90 is based on Via’s C7 processor clocked at 1.2 GHz. Its standard memory complement is 512 MB of RAM and 512 MB of flash, which, as per Wyse’s previous thin clients, can likely be expanded, although the product’s data sheet provided no information about this point.

more at source… "Powerful" thin client supports dual displays, expansion

written by dcaddick

It would appear that Martin is getting a hard time from the Oracle regarding the Licensing element. Is this just me, or does this seem like Oracle is sticking their head in the sand?

I find it incredibly hard to understand that in the latter part of 2007 Oracle finds it difficult to accept or accommodate the concept of Virtualization.

Oracle licensing: not OK

We have received word on our Oracle licensing problem. Unfortunately the word from Oracle HQ in The States was not good.

They still will not budge on the licensing issue and state that we have to license the entire cluster (24 CPU’s) in stead of just the box that is running the Oracle VM’s (4 CPU’s). The other option that they propose is to make a dedicated, separate cluster from the production cluster with (in our case) two hosts to keep our failover capacity. But that would still mean doubling our Oracle licensing in stead of maintaining our existing fee.

A scenario where we would put the Oracle VM’s in a separate VMware DRS resource pool with only manual failover so we can prove the VM’s all reside on the same box and do not leave the box unless they all failover to another single box (through the Virtual Center logs) has been rejected and Oracle has restated that they do not acknowledge VMware as a valid means of partitioning a server/cluster with regards to licensing.

The third option (and the most likely in our case) is that we will probably go back to physical for our entire Oracle environment. If it was only a support issue we would remain on VM’s and probably only use a physical box to prove an issue to get support for it but with this kind of inflexibility it is hard to justify putting Oracle in a VM unless you already have enough current Oracle CPU licenses to be able to license a dedicated Oracle cluster of VM hosts.

On a sidenote: I never would have guessed that I would commend Microsoft on their positive stance with regards to virtualization but the difference between them and Oracle with regards to licensing their database products can be measured in light years.

Oracle licensing: not OK « Documenting a virtualization project

written by dcaddick

I’m afraid I haven’t had time to actually download the docs and read them through as there are other things I need to get done before heading over to Vegas for Citrix’s Application Delivery Expo next week.

But it would appear that the Guide for Softgrid has come at a very opportune time as I’ve been contacted a couple of times now in the last few weeks by recruiters looking for people here in Australia with experience in Softgrid, in fact a few weeks ago I was contacted by a recruiting firm in Hong Kong who was looking further after they had received little response locally

Beta Solution Accelerators for Virtualization

The Infrastructure Planning and Design series is the next version of Windows Server System Reference Architecture. The guides in this series help clarify and streamline design processes for Microsoft infrastructure technologies; each guide addresses a unique infrastructure technology or scenario. All guides share a common structure including:

· Definition of the technical decision flow through the planning process.

· Listing of decisions to be made and the commonly available options and considerations.

· Relating the decisions and options to the business in terms of cost, complexity, and other characteristics.

· Framing decisions in terms of additional questions to the business to ensure a comprehensive alignment with the appropriate business landscape.

These guides complement product documentation by exposing and focusing on infrastructure design options.

  Guides Available in This Release

SoftGrid Application Virtualization Guide

Microsoft SoftGrid® Application Virtualization is the only virtualization solution on the market to deliver applications that are never installed, yet securely follow users anywhere, on demand. It dramatically improves IT efficiencies, enables much greater business agility, and provides a superior end-user desktop experience. The Infrastructure Planning and Design Series: SoftGrid Application Virtualization assists designers in the infrastructure planning process for SoftGrid by providing a clear and concise workflow of the decisions and tasks required for each method. This guide enables you to plan the infrastructure required for meeting your application virtualization service goals.

Windows Server Virtualization Guide

A virtualized computing environment can improve the efficiency of your computing resources by utilizing more of your hardware resources. Windows Server virtualization enables you to create a virtualized server computing environment using a technology that is part of Windows Server 2008. The Infrastructure Planning and Design Series: Windows Server Virtualization guide discusses Microsoft virtualization options using Windows Server virtualization in Windows Server 2008 and Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1. The guide explains design considerations at critical decision points and helps with plans for an optimized server virtualization architecture to meet organizational goals for performance and consolidation.

  Where to Find the Beta Program

The Infrastructure Planning and Design Series beta releases for SoftGrid Application Virtualization and Windows Server Virtualization are available as open beta downloads.

To join the Infrastructure Planning and Design beta, follow these steps:
1) Visit the Microsoft Connect Web site (http://connect.microsoft.com).
2) Click Invitations on the Connect menu.
3) Sign in using a valid Windows Live ID to continue to the Invitations page.
4) Enter your Invitation ID in the box. Your invitation ID is: IPDM-QX6H-7TTV
5) Click Go.

If you have not previously registered with Microsoft Connect, you might be required to register before continuing with the invitation process.

If the link in step 1 does not work for you, copy the full link and paste it into the Web browser address bar.

The World Simplified is a Virtual World : Beta Solution Accelerators for Virtualization

written by dcaddick

Well it’s not much of a surprise that we’re not likely to see a replacement for Windows XPe any time soon? Well apart from an update based on SP3, but clearly it’s going to be some time before we see Vista based version of embedded? But I must confess that while reading through some of the details I was starting to get concerned that we are almost mimicking the bloatware that is afflicting the regular PC’s, Laptop’s and Servers?

Microsoft plots embedded OS futures

Oct. 09, 2007
In his keynote at the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) last month, Kevin Dallas, GM of Microsoft’s Windows Embedded unit, tipped some of his group’s future product plans. Included are new versions of Windows CE 6.0 and Windows XP Embedded, plus the arrival of "Windows Vista Embedded."

Before detailing these, Dallas began his talk by providing "examples of where we could improve as an industry." Devices need to be service-aware, he said, citing telephony and navigation as examples.
It should be possible to use a mobile device to receive a phone call at home via VoIP (voice over IP), have it automatically switch to a WAN (and hands-free operation) when moved to a car, then seamlessly switch over to a corporate WLAN at the office, said Dallas. Similarly, he added, navigation devices ought to move information from a PC, to a mobile device, to an in-car system automatically.
Dallas noted four key trends that Microsoft is trying to develop its embedded technologies around, according to Dallas. These are:

• The "Software Plus Service" concept. "We can no longer build software that just sits on a device," he said. "Instead, we have to build software plus a service."
• Next, is a move away from just ramping up clock speed, and toward having multiple heterogeneous cores on a single chip — an applications processor, a graphics processor, and a radio processor.
• Then there’s the trend toward loosely-coupled services. Today, a device such as the Zune portable music player (PMP) is tied to a single music store, while a set-top box might be tightly coupled to a specific video-on-demand service. "In the future, these devices will be able to discover and connect to other services," Dallas said.
• "Finally, of course, there’s service-oriented development," Dallas continued. A service that a device is connecting to "may be on the same device in another core, it could be on the circuit board, it could be on the premises where the device sits, or it could be connecting out … to a web service that’s, frankly, on the other side of the world."

Visual Programming Language (VPL)
Dallas continued his keynote by revealing a new tool called the Visual Programming Language (VPL), with demos by Windows Embedded software architect Mike Hall. "Many developers think of building embedded operating systems in terms of technology stacks … What we’re suggesting is that you start to think at a much higher level," he said.
VPL will allow developers to use a graphical user interface to link services together, explained Hall. It will then be possible to determine at build time whether these services are going to run on a single device or on distributed devices, he said.
Hall added that, "As you start to link the inputs and outputs of services together, you are dynamically prompted for the inputs and the outputs that you want to match … The tools will be smart about determining the matchup between the output of one service and the input of another."

Windows Embedded Roadmap

Windows CE 6.0 Release 2 — Nov. 15, 2007, with Web Services on Devices (WSD), enhanced VoIP, and AJAX support

Windows XP Embedded — sometime in 2008, based on Windows XP Service Pack 3, including .NET Framework 3.0, an updated Media Player, and an RDP (remote desktop protocol) 6 client

Windows Vista Embedded — in 2009 or 2010, a componentized version of Windows Vista

New versions of Windows Embedded
Dallas then detailed future releases of Microsoft’s embedded operating systems. First among these will be Windows CE 6.0 Release 2, scheduled for release on Nov. 15, he said.
According to Dallas, this release will add AJAX (asynchronous Javascript and XML) and "heavy data entry" support in the browser. It also will include enhanced VoIP functionality, such as three-way audio and video conferencing.
The most key feature, according to Dallas, is Web Services on Devices (WSD). This is already included in Windows Vista as a native stack; it’s said the addition of it to Windows CE 6.0 Release 2 will allow communication between the two.
A manage code runtime environment, such as .NET Compact Framework, is no longer required, according to Hall, who also provided a "bubble" demo of graphics on a Vista machine being controlled by a Windows CE device. Instead, Hall said, WSD applications can be written in C or C++.
The second OS update, scheduled for "2008" according to Dallas, will be an enhancement to Windows XP Embedded based on the forthcoming Windows XP Service Pack 3. It will include .NET Framework 3.0, an updated Media Player, and version 6 of the Remote Desktop Client (RDP), he said.
Finally, "Windows Vista Embedded," a componentized version of Windows Vista, akin to Windows XP Embedded, will appear in "2009 or 2010."
Dallas concluded by saying, "You’ll see this common theme of new releases every two years. In between, you’ll see updates in components to drive differentiation, and updates in tools."
"We’re going to continue our ongoing investment [in embedded]," he promised. "We realize what our role is going to be around platform tools and services that enable these smart, connected service-oriented devices. So we’re going to continue to drive leadership in that area."
Further reading
For more details of the keynote, you can download a complete transcript of Kevin Dallas’s ESC Boston 2007 speech (PDF format). For Mike Hall’s account of his demos during Dallas’s keynote, go here.

Microsoft plots embedded OS futures

written by dcaddick

So it was quite some time ago that I was messing around with SmartPhones, and then I finally moved on to the Orange C600 running WM5 and I was quite satisfied with that for some time.

Then I moved back to Australia and found that there was something quite different about trying to get GPRS working reliably down here with Optus on a PrePay plan. So eventually I managed to contact someone in Melbourne who was prepared to help me get access to a copy of the Australian ROM for the i-Mate SP5, and after applying that all seemed pretty good with the GPRS working straight out of the box via a cab file that was supplied.

But after a while the SmartPhone started locking or freezing after about a day to a day and a half and would require a reboot to get going again - So I started looking at a replacement, and while I was in Singapore recently I caught up with an old work mate from Citrix and he had one of the new HTC Touch mobiles that looked really nice and I was then starting to seriously think about seeing if I could get one here in Sydney?

Then my thoughts turned to whether or not it might be possible to upgrade the ROM image on my current C600 (Tornado) to WM6 and it didn’t take too much digging around before I discovered this information.

in the past I have found the MoDaCo site to contain quite good info, but Paul as an MVP clearly needs to keep things above board with Microsoft, so you will probably not find much in the way of links there and more over at xda-developers.

!!!!WARNING!!!!
Do not attempt any of this unless you either A: know what you are doing, OR B: are prepared to turn your handset in to a very expensive paperweight?

I will not be answering questions if you get into trouble, this post is simply meant to highlight what is possible and provide a convenient place to group the information to get you started. 

NOTE:
The first image that I used was missing the t9, so try the first link under extras to get that back in and then you should be good to go?

BTW performance on this now is noticeably quicker than with the old iMate SP5 ROM

WM6 on C600

Tornado forum at xda developers(10 Viewing)
The Tornado will also probably be sold as SP5, SPV C600, etc

The image I used was "UPDATED!!! [[V6]] Windows Mobile 6 for Tornado Perfect English Edition Released!"
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=321665

or you might want to try:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=335067&highlight=live+messenger+download

or you might want to try:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=326312

or you might want to try:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=332097

Extras:

T9 from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=322950

Crossbow Skin:
http://www.nectun.com/details_skin.php?id_menu=2&langue=en&id_skin=4186&id_type_tel=2

MS Office 2007 CAB - only for WM6
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=310832

written by dcaddick

This has been posted at James O’Neill’s blog regarding Viridian. This is quite a neat balancing act where it would appear that on the surface of it Microsoft are prepared to seriously back this and throw some heavy support behind anyone signing up for this, but at the same time they will be expected commit full time resources, participate in conference calls, pay for consulting AND run pre-release code in Production !!!!

Well if that doesn’t put you off, I’m sure it will put your Boss/CIO off? but if you still have a green light, read on…

Windows Server Virtualization (2008) Rapid Deployment Programme (RDP)

We are getting ready to take nominations for this programme: It’s not an open beta program (it is expected to have only about 40 places) so most people will be turned away. There is a second programme called the Momentum programme which provides a lower level of support. If you’re looking to evaluate Virtualization on Windows Server 2008 either programme may be of interest, so please send me a mail. If you are in the UK I will help the process along for you. If you are located somewhere else I’ll try to put you in contact with someone local that can help. Please note that nominations  close on November 16, please don’t ask after then.

Here’s a summary of what the RDP is about.

Our Goals

• Build closer relationship with customers to get deployment feedback
• Understand and document best practices
• Develop Case study evidence and customer references for the product launch

We will provide

• Early Access to Pre-Release Code and information
• Technical Support - providing an escalation contact and access to Premier support 
• Access to application compatibility and test teams
• Part payment of consulting costs associated with the project

Customer Requirements:

• Commit to deploying Windows Server Virtualization and / or System Center Virtual Machine Manager (we expect to see Executive sponsoring participation, a project manager and other staff allocated to the programme)
• Participate in regular status conference calls and training, and provide Provide ongoing status updates and surveys 
• Pay part of consulting costs (Yes. You have to spend money to be on this programme)
• Install pre-release code into a production environment (unlike most beta programmes, we will support RDP participants running pre-release code in production)

more at source… James O’Neill’s blog

written by dcaddick

So from Alessandro comes news of a review of the Virtualization platforms and it’s going to come as no surprise that VMware tops the bill? But what is surprising is the kudos they give XenSource? Easy to use, feature rich offering is quickly catching up to its main rival - that would have to be good news to Citrix? especially seeing as XenSource was listed as being the easier of the two to deploy?

To be honest I think there is a lot to be said about familiarity with a product, if you are familiar with it and can be up to speed quickly in any organization then this will clearly be a benefit? So the fact that VMware has so market share will work in it’s favor - for now at least?

I wonder how this review might have turned out if Viridian was also listed? Probably not too well at this early stage, but it would be interesting to know how far it has to catch up?

Review: CRN compares most popular virtualization platforms

Monday, October 08, 2007   |   0 Comments

CRN published a basic review of most popular virtualization platforms on the market today, assigning a rating to each one:

• 1st - VMware Infrastructure 3
• 2nd - XenSource XenEnterprise 4
• 3rd - SWsoft Virtuozzo 3.5.1
• 4th - Virtual Iron 4.0

Reviewer provided following conclusion:

While all four virtualization solutions accommodate the needs of IT development, VMware stood above the others for providing the best end-to-end virtualized environment specifically designed for development.

The biggest challenge for IT is to build communications between a large team working on the same development project. VMware’s ESX server is built for that, including the most features by far. XenSource’s XenServer is the simplest product to use and has new features that enable it to compete on a more level playing field with VMware and SWsoft. XenEnterprise is price-competitive and also scales higher than VMware’s enterprise solution.

SWsoft offers an interface that’s easy to understand, but its capabilities don’t rise to the level many development teams would require. Virtual Iron’s interface just wasn’t friendly enough for engineers to build simple workflows.

Simply put, systems integrators and application providers can certainly use all four products to develop and test systems but on more complex distributed infrastructures, they will be hard-pressed to meet deadlines without VMware’s Lab Manager to monitor workflow, integration schedules and code assets.

Read the whole comparison at the source.

virtualization.info: Review: CRN compares most popular virtualization platforms

written by dcaddick

Quite a few manufacturers and vendors of Laptops these days incorporate some kind of roll back, recovery or backup system that allows you to effectively reset the Laptop back to default - this is all well and good, IF, you have really trashed it to the point that it won’t boot at all - but if you want to get back to the way it was after the Corporate SOE was applied or back to the way it was when you had just finished adding all the Apps and had it running just nicely, well that’s a whole other ball game?

Well is it? It’s nice of IBM to provide a nice blue ThinkVantage button - but unless I’ve misread the details in the docs - this will set my Laptop back to a factory default - hardly conducive to productivity?

So what I have done in the past is cobbled together a few tools to enable me to save an image (Ghost, whatever…) of the laptop to a Local partition so that in an event that leaves me unable to get the beast working correctly, missing System Restore Point, too many installed apps, too many apps being uninstalled, etc. I can simply reboot, pause and choose the E drive and then from there restore using ghost back to a known point.

So how easy is this? Relatively simple.

Grab an Eval of a Partitioning tool and first of all create a D and an E drive. D is where all the Data is going to live so this will typically be the rest of what you have spare, E drive will contain the Ghosted image of C drive so it typically only needs 10Gb or less.
(So on an 80Gb drive you would typically have 15 - 20Gb for C, 10Gb for E drive and D Drive will have 50 - 55Gb)

Now to make it easy we’re not even going to re-install the OS, you don’t need to, but if you do want to make sure you find where all the drivers are before starting because this will save you having to download them from the web later. You will probably find them on the Recovery CD or hidden away in the C drive somewhere?

So essentially the main steps are:

• Partition the disk into 3 drives (C, D and E)
• Format E drive as FAT32 (only needed for DOS version of Ghost32)
• Use a Win98 Bootable CD to SYS E Drive and make it bootable
• Install Ghost (or your choice of Image Utility) in E Drive
• Install a Boot Loader/Switcher Utility (or get funky with Boot.ini?)
• You’re done

I have just followed this method for some time and because it works, it’s simple and it is reasonably fast I haven’t bothered changing my approach for some time - but I’m sure there are a huge number of different ways to do this, and I’m sure there are some who would insist on installing BartPE or similar in the E drive as the bootable system to enable the imaging process - but my point would be that simply using the DOS components of Win98 are far quicker and use less resources - besides, it’s not like we should need the networking - this is essentially a disk-to-disk job?

Others might also want to use Acronis or some other tool, but again, I’m familiar with ghost and at least for me “it does what it says on the tin!”
If you really want to get carried away it’s always possible that you could make this a whole lot simpler if you have an imaging tool like Symantec’s Live State Recovery because then you do away with the whole need to reboot to image - but some while back this product was around the 500 pound mark so it’s a bit serious when all you want to do is image a Laptop?

So - get the partitions sorted, make E Drive bootable, then install the Imaging tool on E drive.

Now continue to “tweak” your laptop for the next few weeks as you install all those tools that you’ve remembered that are absolutely must haves, then when you are happy with it - reboot and redirect the boot to E Drive, image C Drive and store the image on E Drive remembering to set compression on high to save on space.

MAKE SURE YOU NOW STORE ALL YOUR DATA ON D DRIVE!!!!! - this is the whole point of this. Make sure that every time you install an application that the data or output is stored in D Drive - THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR OUTLOOK ETC. MAKE SURE THE *.PST FILES ARE IN D DRIVE!!

You’re done

I have in the past even had a laptop play up on a return from a customer and reflashed the laptop while on the train - I was done and back up and working inside 10 minutes

Please feel free to drop me a note if you have any other ideas or alternatives?

Links to tools:

Tighten up Windows XP (or Vista) and remove all that resource hungry bloat ware? Then build it in to your custom Bootable ISO. XP SP2 can be made as small as 250Mb installed - seriously!!
http://www.nliteos.com/nlite.html and http://www.vlite.net/

As it says, find all those tools that deserve a home on your Hard Drive? You can find a few Partitioning Tools here.
http://www.pricelesswarehome.org/

Multiboot tool
http://www.faqs.org/docs/Linux-mini/Multiboot-with-GRUB.html

Boot Loader and Imaging software
http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/products/diskdirectorsuite/multibooting.html

My personal choice of bootloader
http://www.osloader.com/

written by dcaddick