Self Imaging

I know this isn't an Altiris answer, but some laptops now come with Intel Rapid Restore Technology (IRRT) which is like a hybr  of RAID and System Restore. This technology can be used to create snapshots of the disk, and allow your students to restore to previous states.

If that's not an option, then you can dump the laptop image to a hidden partition. A USB Key (or CD boot) could then look for this file, and run the rdeploy restore command....

Kind Regards,
Ian./

How about setting the PXE menu with WinPE to let the students select the image job?

Is this possible? I never knew that you can setup Altiris PXE / WinPE and enable students to choose the image they want.

I will do more research on this.

Cheers,
Mark

It's actually rather simple.  Enable Initial Deployment and set up specific jobs that you want your students to have access to.  The only problem I see is Initial Deployment only works if the computer is not in the DS console (which won't be the case if you imaged the machine already, or have AClient/DAgent installed).  And it doesn't have to be restricted to WinPE, if you prefer Linux or DOS, those are options as well.

I would almost say that Ian's idea is probably more of a safe bet.  Either by putting a hiddent partition with a restore image or providing bootable DVD's (similar to what manufacturers do).

Hi,

Initial deployment is a pain -you can *force* all computers booting to move into initial deployment, but this has the disadvantage that the computers are pushed back into the root of the console.

When you've got a lot of computers this gets really, really messy.... 

I think that for student scenario's a USB boot key is likely the way forward, but just in case you are interested I am working on a way now to provide a way to allow users to self-image. I'll be updating the thread below as i work on this,

http://www.symantec.com/connect/forums/client-initiated-imaging-deployment-solution

Kind Regards,
Ian./