Replacement for a Windows Deploy CD?

Hi, I'm hoping someone can help with this as I've tried talking with Live Chat pre sales and it's been suggested Acronis Workstation might be the best solution for my needs. Now I looked at the trial version but can't figure it out.

This is what I would like to do but I don't know which product would be best or how to do it.

Currently I maintain a small network of 5 computers plus some laptops. I use a custom Windows CD which has hotfixes and a few other things slipstreamed so when it's necessary to do a reinstall or add a new machine I just put the CD in and it auto deploys everything, using an answerfile.

How best can I replicate this approach using an Acronis product? The advantage I see is that I could set up a master computer layout including applications and then deploy that image to different hardware using Universal Restore so it works similar to a custom Windows Install but is much faster? This is my understanding of how the process would work anyway.

From my understanding of reading the manual One Click restore actually restores the entire hard disk and removes any existing partitions. This is not what I'd like as sometimes I need to deploy/restore just the System partition and leave other (Data) partitions alone.

Now some of the laptops and desktops can NOT be accessed via the network or are not attached for security reasons so something like Snap Deploy or a centralised network install is not possible. I need to be able to create a CD which behaves like an automatic Windows install i.e. just insert CD and it does the rest, on a freshly formatted computer. Same for a computer which has existing partitions (but I don't want to delete all the partitions, only the one Windows is in)

What is my best option and how can it be done? I understand there are some command line tools and also some script I could use? Do they support Universal Restore? Is it possible to get a trial version of any of this? Is there a video or other presentation which shows what I want to achieve? I really want to be sure of the right one before purchase as buying licenses for each computer will add up if I get the wrong product and it doesn't do what I want!

 

Hello xheffalumpx,

Thank you for your interest in Acronis Remote Workstation Disk Backup Software.

We are sorry for the delayed response.

Acronis True Image Echo Workstation does indeed have command line scripting tools, and they allow Acronis Universal Restore usage.

We recommend you to download and install the free trial version of Acronis True Image 9.1 Workstation to see how the software works on your computer. With the trial version of the product you will be able to fully use the Windows version for 15 days and manage up to 5 remote computers. The bootable rescue media will be limited to restore function.

You can find the detailed instructions on how to use Acronis True Image Echo Workstation in the respective User's Guide.

Please also be aware that the trial version of Acronis Universal Restore is not available on Acronis web site. In order to obtain the trial version of Acronis Universal Restore please contact Acronis Support Team. Explain your wish to obtain the free trial version of Acronis Universal Restore and provide your personal information (full name; phone number along with the area code; company name, if any) along with the link to this thread. We'll provide you with the free trial version of Acronis Universal Restore as soon as possible.

Thank you.
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Marat Setdikov