On 09/04/2005 09:41 PM, Barry Roberts wrote:
...
I also plan to send everybody home with something like the OpenCD.
I was thinking of using Knoppix, and OpenCD, but I'm open to
suggestions and what applications would really impress Windows users.
I made a CD to hand out a while back and this is what I put on it:
audacity
blender
gimp
filezilla (http://filezilla.sourceforge.net/)
firefox
thunderbird
gaim
openoffice.org
screensavers from reallyslick.com (yes, they are _really_ slick)
7zip (http://www.7-zip.org/faq.html)
spybot (http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html)
mcafee stinger (http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/)
Other tips:
1. How far are you planning to go in the reinstall? I've seen times of
several hours work to move one person to a new computer, and though
doing several at once may take a while. Are you going to restore their
users? Their software? What versions of windows will you reinstall?
You may want to write up a page that says exactly what you plan to do
and have them agree to it (and maybe even sign it) before doing
anything. Include a disclaimer of future support as well.
2. Download common drivers beforehand - NVidia drivers, ATI drivers,
RealTek 8139, etc. Get to know driverguide.com - it's an ugly site but
sometimes it can't be avoided. I've spent too many hours searching for
strange drivers - the worst are those for on-board interfaces. You may
want to get a couple of people whose entire job during the reinstall
fest is to search for drivers. Also, before wiping their system, check
for drivers stored on the hard drive - it may save some time.
3. How many people do you plan on accommodating? I would plan on one
helper per 2-3 people. Make sure you have enough power plugs and
monitor space for everyone - blowing a breaker during an install isn't
fun :(. Plan for it as you would a lan party.
4. A USB HD could work well for backing up data; you may also want to
consider burning it onto a CD/DVD for them to take home.
5. If you have access to a compressor, you may want to set up a station
outside to blow dust out of their computers. An overheating computer is
a cranky computer.
6. Keep a phone ready to call MS and beg them to let you reinstall
windows. Make sure it has a speakerphone.
HTH,
--Tyler
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