How to Install and Configure PING

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HOWTO -- Documentation
The documentation is simple and straight forward. Just start with the Introduction and follow the install steps. Make sure to read the Annex, where youll find a big FAQ section. I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. Introduction Overview of PING features Prerequisites Configuring a PC to serve as a host for your images Downloading and burning the PING ISO Installing your own PXE Server to allow network hosts to boot PING Using PING Storing an image on a bootable ISO Annex Exhaustive list of supported parameters + FAQ Support License

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Introduction
he following installation steps will let !ou to "ac#up and restore whole s!stems through !our networ# or remo$a"le media (e.g. C%s& %'%s& and ()* mass storage de$ices). +t the end of the installation& !ou should "e a"le to "oot an! computer on a C%/%'% or !our networ# and press the ,-. #e! during the "oot process to launch the PING software (P/0). (sing this tool& !ou should "e a"le either to "ac#up& or to restore s!stems and partitions. hin# of it as a Ghost1li#e process.

Overview of PING Features

PING is more than a Ghost2 alternati$e. PING is a highl!1customi3a"le cloning application& adapted to a wide range of hardware configurations& and it can also "e seen as a hand! tool"o4 for an! s!stem admin to ha$e. Here5s a "rief enumeration of PING5s most used features6: PING5s 7) is 8inu4. PING is often updated& and comes with a #ernel full of recent dri$ers. hus& PING should detect 99: of !our hardware (networ# adaptors& I%0/)+ +/)C)I dri$es). PING is a li$e 8inu4. )o& e$en if !ou "oot it from a C%& !ou still can use !our dri$e for an! other media. PING can "e "ooted from an! #ind of usual de$ice networ# (P/0)& C%& %'%& ()* dri$e& ()* #e!& flopp!& local hard dis# dri$e. ;ou can customi3e PING a num"er of wa!s. + config file ma#es it possi"le to ha$e all popup "o4es s#ipped& which means !ou can <ust "oot& and lea$e. PING is a scripta"le en$ironment. ;ou ma! add scripts to "e e4ecuted "efore& meanwhile and after PING5s e4ecution& or e$en modif! some parts of the 7) to suit !our needs. ;ou ma! e$en ship a computer with a restore partition ena"ling users to "oot a hidden partition& so to restore their s!stem (or update the image& if !ou allow them to). ,inall!& PING is small& and loads fast. ;et& it5s a full!1functional 7)& and !ou5ll find plent! of useful s!stem applications in it fdis#& parted& ntfstools& sam"a& cmospwd& partimage& partclone& 3split& testdis#6 0$er!thing an admin ma! need& and recent $ersions.

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Prerequisites
Using PING on a Directly Attached Hard Drive: Hard drive s ace! o store a full => G* hard dis#& !ou ma! need up to => G* (though compression ma! help). Using PING Over a Networ": A #AN $#ocal Area Networ"%. +t least two connected computers. 7ne of these computers is to "e copied or restored& and the other is supposed to store the images !ou?ll do with PING. A &hare. he computer used to store the images must "e a"le to share files (an! @icrosoft Aindows computer can). If !ou are a 8inu4 user& install )am"a. & ace. It5s almost nothing to prepare. ;et& ma#e sure to test !our share if !ou ma#e a new one& and ma#e sure the user !ou plan to use to map the share has sufficient rights.

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Configuring a PC to serve as a host for your images

SKIP this step if all you want is a locally-stored backup of your system. Directory names are given here as samples. Adapt the following according to your specific needs and configuration. -. 7pen C:B and ma#e a new director!& called PartI'age. .. Cight1clic# on the (:)PartI'age folder and share it. )et the permissions as suits !ou. Dust #eep in mind that !ou?ll ha$e to "e a"le to write on this shared folder from an! host on !our networ#. Create a user if necessar!& and6 test it

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Downloading and Burning the PING ISO

SKIP this step if you only want to setup a P ! server. -. Download PING!*!y+!iso (where 4.!3 is the $ersion num"er). Get all mentioned files on the PING download page (http://ping.windowsdream.com). .. ,urn it using !our fa$orite "urning software o -ith Nero: -. 7pen Nero *urning Com .. )elect Cecorder / *urn Image

E. ,rowse to PING.4.!3.iso
o

If you have no tool to .urn an I&O : -. Go to Ale* Fein'an/s we.site and download what Iso0ecorder $ersion suits !our configuration. It?s freeware& and it <ust wor#s "etter than a num"er of "urning apps. Install it! .. hen& open the folder containing the PING!*!y+!iso file& right1clic# on the I)7& and choose 1(o y I'age to (D1

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Installing your PXE Server to allow network hosts to boot PING (Optional step)
SKIP this step if you only want a backup of your system stored locally or on removable media. Directory names are given here as samples. Adapt the following according to your specific needs and configuration.

If you/ve got a wor"ing 0I& &erver $li"e 2& -indows &erver 3444 or 3445% : -. Ha$e Aindows 04plorer show files e4tensions& as this is a classical& well1 #nown ca$eat in this configuration step. .. ;ou pro"a"l! ha$e a ))server6na'e)0e'Inst)&etu )7nglish)I'ages) director!& used to share images for the CI) ser$er. E. (reate the following folders: BBser$erFnameBCemInstB)etupB0nglishBImagesBPINGB BBser$erFnameBCemInstB)etupB0nglishBImagesBPINGBi589B BBser$erFnameBCemInstB)etupB0nglishBImagesBPINGBiEGHBte' l atesB BBser$erFnameBCemInstB)etupB0nglishBImagesBPINGBiEGHBtempl atesB *elinu*!cfgB "yes# this is a folder# not a file$ =. In the ))server6na'e)0e'Inst)!!!)te' lates) following files: "ernel initrd!g+ *elinu*!4 director!& download the

I. In the ))server6na'e)0e'Inst)!!!)te' lates) director!& create a te4t file that !ou?ll name ing!sif& containing:
[OSChooser] Description = "PING X.YZ (Partimage Is Not Ghost)" Help = "" LaunchFile = "Setup\English\Images\PING\i386\templates\pxelinux.0" ImageType = Flat Version="X.YZ"

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H. In the ))server6na'e)0e'Inst)!!!)te' lates) *elinu*!cfg) director!& create a te4t file that !ou?ll name default (not default.t4t)& containing ("e careful that the +PP0N% line must not ha$e linefeedsJ It5s onl! one line) :
DEFAULT default PROMPT 1 TIMEOUT 26 DISPLAY boot.msg LABEL default KERNEL kernel APPEND vga=normal devfs=nomount pxe ramdisk_size=33000 load_ramdisk=1 init=/linuxrc prompt_ramdisk=0 initrd=initrd.gz root=/dev/ram0 rw noapic nolapic lba combined_mode=libata ide0=noprobe nomce pci=nommconf pci=nomsi irqpoll quiet LABEL dummy KERNEL kernel

If you have no wor"ing 0I& &erver and want to .uild your own easily : -. Install :F:PD53 from Ph! ;u'in/s we. site .. 7n !our future P/0 / CI) )er$er& create the following directories: %:BP<7B %:BP/0Bi589B %:BP/0BiEGHBte' latesB %:BP/0BiEGHBtemplatesB *elinu*!cfgB E. In the D:)P<7)i589)te' lates) director!& download the following files: "ernel initrd!g+ *elinu*!4 =. In the D:)P<7)i589)te' lates) *elinu*!cfg) director!& create a te4t file that !ou?ll name default (not default.t4t)& containing ("e careful that the +PP0N% line must not ha$e linefeedsJ It5s onl! one line) :

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DEFAULT default PROMPT 1 TIMEOUT 26 DISPLAY boot.msg LABEL default APPEND vga=normal devfs=nomount pxe ramdisk_size=33000 load_ramdisk=1 init=/linuxrc prompt_ramdisk=0 initrd=initrd.gz root=/dev/ram0 rw noapic nolapic lba combined_mode=libata ide0=noprobe nomce pci=nommconf pci=nomsi irqpoll quiet LABEL dummy KERNEL kernel

I. #aunch :F:PD and configure it the following wa!: If !ou?$e got se$eral networ# cards in !our computer& !ou?ll ha$e to choose in the server interface area the one that communicates with !our other 8+N hosts.

Configure !our DH(P &erver here. *ooting with P/0 is not possi"le unless !ou define it. + common networ# configuration is to ha$e addresses li#e -9..-HG.>.4 with -9..-HG.>.- as the router (often a wor#station connected "oth to the internet& "oth to the 8+N& and sharing the internet connection on the 8+N).

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Nothing special here.

H. :hat/s all = est !our P/0 )er$er: go to a 8+N wor#station& re"oot it& and press ,-. to "oot on the networ#. Note: if !ou don?t see the ,-. prompt& !ou might ha$e to modif! the *I7) setup and ena"le P/0.

In the following section& we?ll "e "ooting from a C%& made "! "urning the PING I)7. *ut this should gi$e e4actl! the same result. Please note that some screenshots might not "e up to date& for PING is freKuentl! impro$ed.

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Using PING
(hoose to .oot on the (D you/ve .urnt with the PING I&O! If !ou don?t see the option in !our "oot seKuence& !ou?ll pro"a"l! ha$e to modif! !our *I7) settings. Note that a P/0 )er$er is needed to "oot from the networ#.

he 8inu4 distri"ution is starting.

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Press 7N:70 to proceed. If !ou don?t want to use our menu1dri$en wi3ard& press * and 0N 0C to get a shell. he root user account has no password.

Cead the warnings carefull! and ress 7N:70 to proceed.

Choose what should happen at the end of the "ac#up or restoration process. ;ou might want to get a shell to access the log. he command line instruction is L$i /tmp/4.logM.

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;ou can "ac#up to and restore from a local partition or a networ# dri$e. :hese illustrations will start with a local .ac"u !

+ll a$aila"le partitions should "e enumerated here& with either a N ,) la"el or the first few directories. If !ou want to restore an image to the wor#station& select the first option.

7therwise& select all partitions !ou want to "ac#up. *e aware that !ou should lea$e at least one partition unselected& as PING won5t store a partition onto itself. +n 04ception: if !ou5$e got onl! one partition& !ou5ll "e a"le to select it& and the script will suggest splitting the partition into two partitions. +lthough this wor#s& !ou ma! want to repartition the dri$e "efore running PING. Now& choose where to store the image. In our e4ample& we had the C: part on /de$/hda- and a %: part on /de$/hdaI (which Aindows alwa!s stores in an e4tended /de$/hda. partition). Ae5ll store an image of C: on %:.

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If !ou5$e prepared a BPartimage director! on !our destination partition& enter it here. In our case& we had not& and so we entered the root director! (and our first image will "e stored on %:B). It5s a good idea to ha$e e$er!thing stored in a dedicated director!. Here& !ou?ll find the list of availa.le i'ages. he! are stored in the director! we5$e <ust chosen. Choosing one image will restore the computer with it& thus erasing all !our hard dis#. +part the images themsel$es& !ou5ll alwa!s find . special choices& o"$iousl! necessar! to let !ou as# for an image (or "lan# Aindows administrator password& if needed.) In our e4ample& we had chosen the %:B director!& and %:B was empt!. hat5s wh! !ou can see a L)!stem 'olume InformationM director!& present on an! N ,) partition. (Ae should ha$e created a %:BPartimage director! and chosen it for the e4ample to "e clearer sorr!.) Now, lets explain what should have happened if we had chosen to store the image onto a Network Share rather than a Local Partition

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Cemem"er where we were6 Ahen choosing this option& the script will tr! to get an IP through %HCP. If this fails& !ou5ll ha$e the possi"ilit! to gi$e manual parameters& as in ne4t screenshots.

Gi$e !our IP address.

6and !our netmas#6

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6and finall! !our gatewa!.

Note : the following shows accessing a S ! " icrosoft Net#ios$ network share% !ut P&N' has #een developed and now supports also N(S, ()P "and, somewhat, SS*$% Same idea% -e need to "now where to save the i'age! Gi$e the IP of the computer !ou?$e shared the PartI'age folder on (as e4plained in the prereKuisites).

Now& the na'e of the share. 04ample: BBm!domainBtemp NO the share is called temp.

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Now& the user na'e on the networ#. It might also "e a local account (eg.: administrator). (;ou?ll "e as#ed for the password afterwards& and it won5t "e displa!ed when t!ping it.)

+ll connected hard dis# dri$es& ()* mass storage de$ices included& will "e scanned and all a$aila"le partitions should "e enumerated here& with either a N ,) la"el& or first found directories. If !ou want to restore an image to the wor#station& chec# the first option. 0lsewhere& choose all the partitions !ou want to "ac#up. ;ou can choose all of them. Now& the directory ath& from the share to the PartImage director!. 7*a' le: if !ou created C:BPartImage on ser$er *ill!& and shared it& then !our resource should "e )).illy) arti'age. )o& IP is *ill!?s IP& share is partimage& and director! is nothing. 7*a' le: if !ou created C:BtempBPartImage on ser$er *ill!& "ut shared the temp director!& then !our resource should "e )).illy)te' ) arti'age. )o& IP is *ill!?s IP& share is temp& and
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the director! is Bpartimage. Here& !ou?ll find the list of availa.le i'ages. In the e4ample& L -M and L -F*isM are two a$aila"le images. he! are stored in the director! we5$e <ust chosen. Choosing one image will restore the computer with it& thus erasing part of or all !our hard dis#.

he (reate6New6I'age option is o"$iousl! not an image& "ut a choice permitting to create a new one out of the s!stem !ou5$e "ooted on. If !ou need to "lan# the password of !our local administrator& choose ,lan"6#ocal6Ad'in6Passwd. Note that artitionning can .e custo'i+ed through a HDD6:arget!t*t file. Go to the +nne4 for details. +ere #ack again to common trunk of the documentation, whether you chose to store the image onto a Network Share or onto a Local Partition% ,inall!& tell the wi3ard what to na'e your new i'age! In this e4ample& PING will create a new )PartI'age)&yste'6344>493? director! on the destination dri$e& and store the "ac#up in it.

+ screenshot is currentl! missing. ;ou should now "e as#ed if !ou would li#e another partition image recorder to "e used instead of Partimage. Ae propose Partclone& Psplit and the ma#ing of a ar"all. Please refer to the +nne4 (,+Q) as for the differences& pros and cons& and default choices. 2ost users should choose the first@ default@ choice@ i!e! Parti'age!
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:hat/s all! In this screenshot& *I7) settings are "eing sa$ed...

:hen@ the artitions!!!

Ahen the process is o$er& we get the shell we as#ed for.

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7n the director! we5$e stored the image into& !ou should get this #ind of director! listing if !ou use the dir command in the Aindows Command Prompt.

File Descri tions: .ios stores a cop! of !our "ios settings& and will "e restored too. If !ou don5t want to restore or store !our *I7) settings& delete this file. hda stores the first sector of the first hard dis# dri$e. he file might "e called sda if )C)I or )1+ +. he @aster *oot Cecord (@*C) should "e inside. hdaA!444 and hdaA!44A (or sda-.>>> if )C)I/)1+ +) are the partimage image files of the first partition of the first hard dis# dri$e. %elete these files if !ou don5t want this partition to "e restored. Notes: o If Partclone is used instead of Partimage& these files will "e called hdaA!i'g!g+!*aa& hdaA!i'g!g+!*a.& and so on. o If Psplit is used instead of Partimage& these files will "e called hdaA64!s l!+ & hdaA6A!s l!+ & and so on. hdaA!first6sectors (or sda-.firstFsectors if )C)I/)1+ +) stores the .> first sectors of the first partition of the first hard dis# dri$e. he! will "e restored "efore the partimaged image& to ensure an! "oot sector stored in a partition rather than in the @*C will "e restored. he 8'@ structure of a partition (8inu41conte4t onl!) is also stored here. HDD6#oo"!t*t stores the list of hard dis# dri$es and partitions that ha$e "een found on the "o4 !ou5$e written an image from. It5s not used at this time.

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Storing an image on a Bootable ISO

)toring an image on a 8+N computer is nice& "ut sometimes& !ou ma! want to "urn this image on a "oota"le %'%. It can "e useful to "ring such a media to a remote site& and regenerate a computer. It can also "e considered as a practical wa! to "ac#up a whole s!stem. Directory names are given here as samples. Adapt the following according to your specific needs and configuration. -. Ae suppose !ou?$e recorder an image within the (:)PartI'age) director!. he image is called 2y6I'age63448BA3B3C. .. Download initrd!g+@ "ernel@ isolinu*!.in@ logo!A9 and .oot!'sg and sa$e these files within the (:)PartI'age)2y6I'age6344CBA3B3C) director!. E. (reate a te*t file@ called isolinu*!cfg& within the (:)PartI'age)2y6I'age6344CBA3B 3C) director!& containing ("e careful that the +PP0N% line must not ha$e linefeedsJ It5s onl! one line) :
DEFAULT default PROMPT 1 TIMEOUT 26 DISPLAY boot.msg LABEL default KERNEL kernel APPEND vga=normal devfs=nomount pxe ramdisk_size=33000 load_ramdisk=1 init=/linuxrc prompt_ramdisk=0 initrd=initrd.gz root=/dev/ram0 rw noapic nolapic lba combined_mode=libata ide0=noprobe nomce pci=nommconf pci=nomsi irqpoll quiet LABEL dummy KERNEL kernel

=. Download (D0 :ools 3!4!A! Install the 0/0 (there5s an em"edded @)I) on !our computer. 5. 7pen a DO& Pro' t and go to !our image director!:

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H. Use '"isofs (from C%C ools) to generate a "oota"le I)7:

mkisofs -r -b isolinux.bin -boot-info-table -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -o ../BurnMe.iso . /!\ Dont forget the trailing dot. If youre not familiar with DOS, remember that mkisofs.exe has to be stored somewhere in your PATH for this command to work. Why not store it in your C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 directory ? R. he I&O generation should start...:

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G. +nd !ou should get a full wor#ing (:)PartI'age),urn2e!iso image.

9. ,urn the I&O! hat?s all. Note: ;ou might use +head Nero or an! third1part! software to generate a "oota"le I)7. ;our mileage might $ar!.

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Annex
Notes :
o suggest a new feature& please $isit the Foru' (PING section). :IP: if !ou?$e got to du licate an i'age over several co' uters within a #AN& !ou?ll ha$e to regenerate -indows/ &ID. o do so& use newsid!e*e from &ysInternals.

& ecial features D FAE :

:he PING!(ONF file $read the whole aragra h .efore doingF% If !ou5re "ored with alwa!s ha$ing to re1t!pe networ# and share settings6 ;ou can add an answers file to the 8inu4 image. Its path is /etc/ping.conf and it alread! contains all a$aila"le #e!s& in commented lines. o modif! it to suit !our needs& follow this procedure : "%ust read it to get the idea# don&t bother doing it' a second way is given# and it&s probably easier$.
1. 2. 3. 4. Boot PING on a machine that has at least 256 MB of RAM Get a shell when proposed to, by typing 'x' and Enter Login as root, no password Connect to your network: - If there's a DHCP server, type: dhcpcd eth0 - Else, type (adjust to your config): - ifconfig eth0 192.168.0.26 netmask 255.255.255.0 up - route add default gw 192.168.0.1 5. Mount a remote share (where your initrd.gz file can be found): - mount.smbfs //192.168.0.1/d\$ /mnt/smbfs o username=domain\\username (or just username=username if this is a local user) 6. Assuming both your initrd.gz and ping.conf files are located in the root of the share, type: - gzip -d /mnt/smbfs/initrd.gz - mount -o loop /mnt/smbfs/initrd /mnt/loop - mkdir /tmp/rootfs - cd /tmp/rootfs - bzip2 d -c /mnt/loop/rootfs.tar.bz2|tar xvf - cp /mnt/smbfs/ping.conf /tmp/rootfs/etc/ping.conf - tar cvf - * |bzip2 -9 - >/mnt/loop/rootfs.tar.bz2 - umount /mnt/loop - gzip -9 /mnt/smbfs/initrd Remember that Linux's shell is case-sensitive.

,rom PING ..>> CCG& it5s possi"le to a$oid ha$ing to modif! the image to get the same result. 0$er! key=value setting contained in the ping.conf file can "e passed
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directl! to the #ernel at "oot time. o do this& simpl! edit !our isolinu4.cfg file (if C%/%'%& p4elinu4.cfgB%0,+(8 if P/0)& and modif! the +PP0N% line accordingl!. *e careful that %7) linefeeds will cause pro"lems so& either edit the sample file a$aila"le from the download section of the PING we" site& or use a uni41 friendl! editor li#e (ltra10dit "tks (ubar )undy for the tip$. ,or e4ample& to ha$e PING lea$e !ou to a shell after <o" completion& !ou5d add the string After_Completion=Shell to the APPEND line. Note that the s!nta4 key=value is accepted& allowing space chars to "e passed too. Note also that "ac#slashes (i.e. B) are escaping charsS if !ou need it for a path& or a domainBusername com"o& use a slash rather. If !ou reall! need a "ac#slash& t!pe two "ac#slashes (the first one will escape the second one). 0.g.: User=mydomain\\john. 0.g.: User=mydomain/john. If the ping.conf file has "een customi3ed& !ou still can pass #e!s/$alues to the #ernel at "oot time. he!5ll "e gi$en priorit! o$er ping.conf5s data. #ist of currently su orted settings :

Gey na'e IP Client networ# configuration

Possi.le Halues D 7*a' les 04.: -9..-HG.>.04.: .II..II..II.> 04.: -9..-HG.>.04.: -I

Descri tion

Images location section

Netmas # Gatewa ! %HCPF imeou t )er$er

he IP address !ou want the client to "e assigned. Pass no IP if !ou5$e got a %HCP and want to use it. he netmas# corresponding to the IP. he gatewa! corresponding to the IP. If !ou need to set a non1default timeout for %HCP& set it here in seconds. he IP of the host where images made with PING are located. he images can also "e stored on a local partitionS in such a case& mention it. If the images can "e stored on different partitions& use commas to gi$e se$eral possi"le choices. Name of the @) )hare.

04.: -9..-HG.>.04.: /de$/hda.&/d e$/sda.

)hare

04.: @!)hare

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(ser

Passwd %irecto r!

04.: administrato r 04.: secret 04.: /Partimage

(ser to use (can "e domain/user).

Password to send. If !ou5$e made a director! in !our share& gi$e it here (in the e4ample& the complete path was BB-9..-HG.>.-B@!)hareBPartimage).

ImageF 04.: )pecif! here the name of the image to restore. oFCest @!FImageF. his means that in %irector! L/PartimageM& to ore >>R-..I "e found in share L//-9..-HG.>.-/@!)hareM& there will "e ha$e to "e su"folder called L@!FImageF.>>R-..IM. NewFI 04.: In the case !ou would li#e to automati3e the mageF @!F8ocalF* creation of a new image& set ImageF oFCestore Name ac#up to CreateFNewFImage. If !ou also want to force the name of that future image& use the NewFImageFName parameter. ;ou ma! also set now the names of the partitions !ou?ll want PING to store. PartsF 04.: If !ou set ImageF oFCestore to oF*ac# sda-&sda.&sd LCreateFNewFImageM& !ou can now define the up "partitions that will "e stored. Note that if !ou want the -st part to "e stored& and !ou don5t #now if the de$ice will "e I%0 or )+ +& !ou might set PartsF oF*ac#up to Lhda-&sda-M and nothing "ad will happen if /de$/sda- can5t "e found. +lread 04.: ,inall!& if there?s alread! an image in !our !F04isti (pdate&Cena %irector! called after the NewFImageFName ngFIma me !ou ha$e set& !ou might define here what ge PING should do with the +lread!F04istingFImage parameter. )et it either to TCeplaceT (old dir will "e remo$ed)& or to TCenameT (old dir will "e renamed to 444.78%.;;;;@@%%HH@@)))& or to T(pdateT. he (pdate choice is onl! possi"le when the pree4isting image has "een made with $ersion E.>> or greater of PING& and if a 4444.Cec,iles.t4t ha$e "een recorded (e4.: sda-.Cec,iles.t4t for partition /de$/sda-)&
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containing the si3es and chec#sums of all files found on the part?s files!stem. +nd if !ou set +lread!F04istingFImage to T(pdate&CeplaceT& PING will tr! to update& "ut Ceplace if there?s no 4444.Cec,iles.t4t. T(pdate&CenameT is the last possi"le choice. Cepart If Cepart is set to ;& and if !ou?$e got onl! one partition on !our local hard dis# dri$e and want to store an image of it locall!& then this uniKue partition will "e splitted for !ou. If set to N& PING will simpl! e4it. +nd if commented& !ou?ll "e as#ed for what to do. @a! we suggest !ou?d "etter partition !ourself for this #ind of situation. +fterFC )hell or Ahat will PING do after the <o" is finished U if ompleti Ce"oot or )hell& !ou5ll "e dropped to a 8inu4 shell. on )hutdown (seful if !ou want to chec# the /tmp/4.log log. Ceplace ; or N Aill we replace the *I7) if a T"iosT file is F*I7) found U Note that !ou can simpl! delete this T"iosT file "efore ma#ing !our restorations to a$oid ha$ing !our "ios params modified& "ut in some cases& !ou might want to ha$e the "ios settings recorded& and to restore them on a selection of target stations. CI,)FP ; or N o map a @) share& )+@*+ can use either referred )@*,) or CI,). ,or some reasons& it has "een constated that CI,) can "e much faster than )@*,) on some t!pes of networ#s. +nd the contrar! is true& tooJ N,)FPr ; or N Aill use )un5s N,) protocol instead of eferred @icrosoft5s )@* to mount the networ# share. Note that in this case& parameters (sername and Passwd are useless. , PFPr ; or N Aill use the , P protocol to map a distant eferred share. Parameters (sername& Passwd& )er$er and %irector! are used& "ut not the )hare parameter. Note that !ou can onl! restore an image "! , P& "ut not create one (!et). Partclo ; or N )et this to ; if !ou want Partclone to "e used neFPref instead of Partimage. Partclone is a new
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erred

PsplitF ; or N Preferre d ar"all ; or N FPreferr ed

NoF)he ll

; or N

@inimi 3eF*efo reF)tori ng

; or N

"ranch that is "eing de$eloped after Partimage seems to ha$e "een discontinued. It wor#s same as Partimage (it reads files!stems& no dis#1dumping)& and can handle newer files!stems ("trfs& reiser=& e4t=& $mfs6) It5s certainl! getting "etter than Partimage& "ut "e aware that we5$e found N7 wa! so far to ma#e %'%1spanning possi"le with Partclone1 made images. ;ou can let PING use Partimage "! default safel!S if the writing fails with Partimage& PING will automaticall! tr! Partclone& and finall! 3split. )et this to ; if !ou want 3split& which is a dd1 li#e utilit!& to "e used instead of Partimage. @ost users should use Partimage& and therefore set this param to N. In some situations& !ou might want a tar"all to "e preferred to partimage. Note that ma#ing such an archi$e is onl! useful when !ou want to store files for a "ac#up purpose. Cestoring a PING image with tar"alls will usuall! result in a s!stem una"le to "oot (unless !ou fi4 the "oot sector). *e aware also that N ,) +C8s cannot "e archi$ed "! PING (!et). @ost users should use partimage& and therefore set this param to N. )et this option to ; if !ou don5t want PING to propose the user to get a shell. Note that if !ou ha$e also set the +fterFCompletion #e! to )hell& the user will finall! "e gi$en a shell. If the +fterFCompletion #e! is not set at all& then the user won5t "e proposed to get a shell at the end of PING5s <o". It can "e interesting to reduce the si3e of the partition "efore storing it. hus& it?s possi"le to restore it later into a smaller partition. Note that e$en if we decide later to restore into a eKuall!1"ig or "igger partition& PING will alwa!s tr! to ma4imi3e the si3e of the files!stem at the end.
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+( 7

; or N

*ou are strongly advised to have a full working backup of your system before choosing this option. If !ou want N7 Q(0) I7N to "e raised& no popup at all& set this $alue to ;. It?s eKui$alent to creating an empt! +( 7 file on the root of a PING C%/%'% (which is now deprecated& !et still supported for "ac#wards compati"ilit!). N*: if !ou wish a restoration to "e automated& ma#e sure to set also CestoreF7nl!N; . CmdF- is a shell command for PING to e4ecute "efore the first "lue welcome screen.

CmdF-

CmdF.

CmdF. is a shell command for PING to e4ecute after the mounting of )@* shares.

CmdFE

CmdFE is a shell command for PING to e4ecute at the end ("efore gi$ing a shell or re"oot or shutdown).

,orceF %irt!F N ,)F @ount

; or N

If set to ;& we?ll mount C/A N ,) files!stems e$en if the! ha$e the dirt! flag set. It?s not recommended& of course& "ut it might help sometimes. If not set& the Kuestion will "e raised.

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ItsFH% +F)tup id

; or N

04tend ; or N FPartsF Ahene $erFPos si"le %ontF AarnF @e ; or N

Ahen tr!ing to restore an image made on a P+ + dri$e (called for e4ample "! linu4 hda) to a )+ + dri$e (called sda)& first $ersions of PING would complain and lea$e. Now& if the e4pected target de$ice cannot "e found& PING will propose to choose among detected H%%s. If there?s onl! one possi"le choice and !ou don?t want an! possi"le interaction to "e gi$en to the user& set this parameter to ;. )ometimes& !ou?ll restore images to a "igger dri$e. )ometimes& there will "e empt! space after or "etween parts. )et this parameter to ; if !ou want PING to e4tend partitions and contained files!stems each time it?s possi"le. If the param is not set& PING will as# the user. (sers will ha$e to $alidate a screen warning if there?s data on the dis# and it?s going to "e o$erwritten 11 e4cept if +( 7 mode is set on& or if the param %ontFAarnF@e is set on.

Compr essionF !pe

04.: g3ip

)et the compressor to "e used. 0lse& will "e as#ed. Can "e set to ?g3ip?& ?"3ip.? or ?no compression?.

)toreF @%I

; or N

;ou can ha$e PING store all names& si3es and @%I chec#sums of files contained in a partition !ou store. In this case& this information will "e stored in a file called sda.Cec,iles.t4t and stored in !our image director!. he presence of this file will ma#e it possi"le for !ou to ha$e PING update this image later. (Note: it5s not reall! an update& "ecause partimage and 3split1stored files cannot "e addressed& "ut modified or added files will "e stored in an archi$e& added to the
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partimage/3split files).

'er"osi t!

>& - or .

'er"osit!

%efines the $er"osit! le$el (still& e$er!thing stored in /tmp/4.log) > N no $er"osit! at all - N onl! warnings and errors . N e$er!thing (default) If 'er"osit! is set to >& it?s a good idea to tell users that PING is still wor#ing on the s!stem. Customi3e the message there.

(niKue F@essa ge

)ome te4t

-hat filesyste's can .e stored .y PING I o +ll files!stems are supported6 Aell & more or less. o Partimage can read e4t.& e4tE& fat-H& fatE.& ntfs& reiserE& 4fs. o Partclone can also support e4t=& "trfs& $mfs& and pro"a"l! reiser= (our self1 compiled $ersion of Partclone currentl! fails with reiser=S we5re aware of the pro"lem). o Psplit can handle all files!stems& "ecause it does not read them& and onl! dumps the sectors. ,or this reason& it5s slow and needs a lot of dis# space. PING will alwa!s tr! Partimage and Partclone "efore switching to 3split unless !ou send parameters to force the using of 3split "! default. (nused sectors are not necessaril! "lan#& and won5t necessaril! "e efficientl! compressed. If !ou ha$e no other choice than 3split& consider 3ero1ing the free space of !our partition (e4.: mount /de$/sda- /mnt/linu4S dd ifN/de$/3ero ofN/mnt/linu4/foo"ar "sN->>>>>> countN->>>>>>S rm /mnt/linu4/foo"arS umount /mnt/linu4).

(an I restore an i'age to a .igger hard dis" drive I

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o ;es. @oreo$er& if the file s!stem is N ,)& PING will alwa!s tr! to ma4imi3e its si3e& so !ou won5t end up with unallocated dis# space.

(an I restore an i'age to a s'aller hard dis" drive I o ;es& roughl!& starting with $ersion ..>-.-> of PING. o How does it wor# U at the recording of the image& !ou should choose to ha$e the files!stem minimi3ed as much as possi"le "efore "eing written. hen& it should "e eas! to restore it an!where& since !ou can restore an image to a "igger partition.

IJve 'ade a .oota.le DHD with 'y i'age and want no user interactivity at all! o *efore creating !our I)7 with m#isofs& add an empt! file to the director! containing !our image& and call it L+( 7M (no e4tention). Ahen seeing this file& PING will raise no Kuestion6 unless the answer is reall! needed. Com"ine the +( 7 file with a customi3ed /etc/ping.conf. o ;ou can also set the +( 7 parameter& either in the /etc/ping.conf file& or "! passing it to the #ernel. )ee the params section for more details. o 7f course& use at !our own ris#& as such a %'% will "oot and scratch e$er!thing

-hat ha ens if I use a filesyste' that is un"nown to arti'age I o hen PING will record the partition with 3split. It5s <ust li#e dd& !et faster. It will store !our partition as "!tes and not as files. herefore& it will "e much longer than what partimage would ha$e done& and use far more space. o If !ou5$e got to industriali3e the deplo!ment of such partitions& consider "lan#ing unused space (dd ifN/de$/3ero ofNfoo"ar S rm foo"ar)& and defragmenting. hen !ou should lose no space.

(an I .oot on a U&, flash drive I o ;es. han#s to *las and ,u"ar *und! for the research V testing. o @ount !our ()* dri$e on Aindows (sa! it5s ,: )& prefera"l! ,+ E.1formated. o Cop! the following PING files to it NO #ernel& initrd.g3& isolinu4.cfg . o 7n ,:& rename isolinu4.cfg to s!slinu4.cfg . o %ownload );)8IN(/ from http://s!slinu4.3!tor.com/download.php o 04tract the file s!slinu4.e4e from the file !ou5$e downloaded to !our ,: dri$e (it should "e found here in the archi$e: 4:Bs!slinu41E.I-BwinE.Bs!slinu4.e4e) o 7pen a %7) prompt& and t!pe: f:Bs!slinu4.e4e ma f:
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o It has also "een reported that (Net"ootin wor#s great with PING (than#s #en). Get it there: http://unet"ootin.sourceforge.net/ .

2y i'age is .igger than the ca acity of a DHD! (an I store it on several DHDs I o ;es. his is a prett! new feature. o his wor#s with images written using Partimage or 3split& "ut N7 Partclone. o )a! !ou5$e got a director! structure li#e this :
Directory of E:\Partimage\T1_Bis 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 06:38 06:38 06:55 660 06:56 32 06:38 06:56 06:56 10:43 09:30 660 09:38 660 09:45 660 09:53 660 10:05 310 13 File(s) 3 384 512 216 458 240 024 240 38 876 020 560 499 295 231 bios hda hda1.000 hda1.001 hda1.first_sectors hda2.first_sectors hda5.first_sectors hda2_0.spl.zp hda5_0.spl.zp hda5_1.spl.zp hda5_2.spl.zp hda5_3.spl.zp hda5_4.spl.zp 362 bytes

588 518 10 1 10 616 615 613 618 638 646

o +nd sa! !ou5d li#e to store it in H C%1Coms. o Create an empt! file in that director!& and call it L@(8 IM (no e4tention). o +dd PING files to ma#e the future I)7 "oota"le (initrd.g3& #ernel& isolinu4.cfg& and isolinu4."in). o ;ou should ha$e now :

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Directory of E:\Partimage\T1_Bis 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 12/06/2007 25/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 15/02/2007 22/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 25/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 06:38 06:38 10:37 4 19:46 06:55 660 06:56 06:56 32 11:44 20:33 06:38 06:56 06:56 14:10 22 10:43 09:30 660 09:38 660 09:45 660 09:53 660 10:05 310 19 File(s) 3 384 512 232 0 216 213 458 932 199 240 024 240 432 38 876 020 560 499 295 611 bios hda kernel MULTI hda1.000 hda5.000 hda1.001 isolinux.bin isolinux.cfg hda1.first_sectors hda2.first_sectors hda5.first_sectors initrd.gz hda2_0.spl.zp hda5_0.spl.zp hda5_1.spl.zp hda5_2.spl.zp hda5_3.spl.zp hda5_4.spl.zp 370 bytes

164 588 438 518 10 10 1 10 766 616 615 613 618 638 673

o First (D should contain the following files :

Directory of E:\Partimage\T1_Bis 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 12/06/2007 25/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 15/02/2007 22/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 25/06/2007 24/06/2007 06:38 06:38 10:37 4 19:46 06:55 660 06:56 32 11:44 20:33 06:38 06:56 14:10 22 10:43 12 File(s) 384 512 232 0 216 458 932 199 240 024 432 38 060 bios hda kernel MULTI hda1.000 hda1.001 isolinux.bin isolinux.cfg hda1.first_sectors hda2.first_sectors initrd.gz hda2_0.spl.zp 667 bytes

164 588 518 10 10 1 766 720

o &econd (D should contain the following files :

Directory of E:\Partimage\T1_Bis 25/06/2007 24/06/2007 24/06/2007 19:46 0 06:56 10 240 09:30 660 616 876 3 File(s) 660 627 MULTI hda5.first_sectors hda5_0.spl.zp 116 bytes

(Note: youll call mkisofs this way (no boot): mkisofs -r -o ../Image_2.iso .) o :hird (D should contain the following files :

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Directory of E:\Partimage\T1_Bis 25/06/2007 24/06/2007 19:46 0 MULTI 09:38 660 615 020 hda5_1.spl.zp 2 File(s) 660 615 020 bytes

o Forth (D should contain the following files :

Directory of E:\Partimage\T1_Bis 25/06/2007 24/06/2007 19:46 0 MULTI 09:45 660 613 560 hda5_2.spl.zp 2 File(s) 660 613 560 bytes

o Fifth (D should contain the following files :

Directory of E:\Partimage\T1_Bis 25/06/2007 24/06/2007 19:46 0 MULTI 09:53 660 618 499 hda5_3.spl.zp 2 File(s) 660 618 499 bytes

o ,inall!& si*th (D should contain the following files : (no more @(8 I).
Directory of E:\Partimage\T1_Bis 24/06/2007 10:05 310 638 295 hda5_4.spl.zp 1 File(s) 310 638 295 bytes

IJve got so'e ro.le's with the U& "ey.oardF o o gain space& PING has "een compiled with the () #e!"oard onl!. It5s Kwert!& and we don5t plan to add other fla$ors. o It might help !ou to #now that !ou can use +)CII codes. ,or instance& !ou can t!pe a "ac#slash (B) "! holding the +8 #e! down and t!p!ing 9. at the same time. he +)CII code for the pipe (W) is -.=.

How to create a custom boot image on a floppy drive for PING ? If you happen to get an error like "PXE-E32: TFTP open timeout", this may mean you need to create a custom boot disk for your NIC. Here are the steps... (Thanks Curtis & Bobmetelsky for the tip) o Identify the NIC type and model. Windows users, right click on my computer, manage, device manager, network adapters.

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o Go to http://rom-O-Matic.Net/5.4.3/ and download the image yournic###.zdsk that matches your NIC. o Download the Windows GUI of rawwrite http://www.chrysocome.net/rawwrite to write the image file into a floppy. (UNIX users will just cat the zdsk file to /dev/fd0). o Create the boot floppy. Rawwite wants the name of the yournic###.zdsk and an A:\. From there, rawwrite will do all the work of creatiing the boot floppy. You do NOT need to create a system disk or anyting like that. o Boot the PC from the A:\ and and answer (N)etwork when prompted. The PC will boot and then look for your PXE server. From there, follow the standard PING documentation. :he hard dis" drive of 'y D7## series 3844 and 38C4@ which uses the Perc ?eDDi (ontroller@ cannot .e seen! o he 8inu4 #ernel uses @egaC+I% dri$ers& and the! are correct. o ;et& !ou should enter !our @egaC+I% *I7) )et (p (tilit!. o 0nter the +dapter settings menu. o (nder 7ther +dapter 7ptions& select 0mulation and set it to @ass )torage. o If the adapter is incorrectl! set to TI.7T emulation& the s!stem will attempt to load the i.o dri$er. his will fail& and pre$ent the proper dri$er from "eing loaded.

How can I ut the PING I&O into 'y harddis" and .oot fro' it I o PING can "e used so to set up some #ind of utilit! partition. o here are se$eral wa!s to do it& and here?s one of them. I?$e chosen to use lilo as a "oot manager (either written in the @*C& or written into a file and called from the C:B"oot.ini file)& and to #eep unchanged the files shipped with PING releases (that is& T#ernelT and Tinitrd.g3T). hat?s the reason wh! there?s still a ramdis# in the method descri"ed "elow& and e$en the #e!word Tp4eT in an append line. Ceall!& other wa!s are possi"le. o +lso& don?t forget that !ou can ship !our computer with an image stored on a second partition& and a "oota"le C%Com configured to automaticall! restore that image. o First 'ethod K using lilo within the 2,0 : *oot a PING C%Com. Get a shell when proposed to (t!pe ?4?). In m! s!stem& there?s onl! one I%0 dis#& which name is /de$/had (tr! sda for )+ +/)C)I). )o& here?s the output of the Tfdis# 1l /de$/hdaT command :

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Disk /dev/hda: 8589 MB, 8589934592 bytes 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 1044 cylinders Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Device Boot /dev/hda1 * Start 1 End 1044 Blocks 8385898+ Id 7 System HPFS/NTFS

Ae?re going to store the restoration image and PING files in a second partition. Ae?ll use 0/ E as the files!stem& to ma#e the partition unreada"le from Aindows (well& difficult to read). Note that we could store the sole #ernel file in a small 0/ E partition& and the cloned images on an! files!stem. 8et5s #eep it simple one 0/ E part. In our e4ample& a .1G*1"ig partition is enough. ,irst& let?s resi3e our uniKue hda- partition with the Tntfsresi3e 1f 1s H>>>@ /de$/hda-T command. 7utput :
ntfsresize v2.0.0 (libntfs 10:0:0) Device name : /dev/hda1 NTFS volume version: 3.1 Cluster size : 4096 bytes Current volume size: 8587153920 bytes (8588 MB) Current device size: 8587160064 bytes (8588 MB) New volume size : 5999993344 bytes (6000 MB) Checking filesystem consistency ... 100.00 percent completed Accounting clusters ... Space in use : 1577 MB (18.4%) Collecting resizing constraints ... Needed relocations : 0 (0 MB) WARNING: Every sanity check passed and only the dangerous operations left. Make sure that important data has been backed up! Power outage or computer crash may result major data loss! Are you sure you want to proceed (y/[n])?

Now& using fdis#& we must resi3e hda- to H>>>@& and create a new partition. Command: Lfdis# /de$/hdaM. In our case& the fdis# commands are Lp d n p - - XH>>>@ t R a - n p . enter enter wM& resulting in this Lfdis# l /de$/hdaM output :
Disk /dev/hda: 8589 MB, 8589934592 bytes 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 1044 cylinders Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Device Boot /dev/hda1 * /dev/hda2 Start 1 731 End 730 1044 Blocks 5863693+ 2522205 Id 7 83 System HPFS/NTFS Linux 36 / 42

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,inall!& let?s format hda.: Lm#fs.e4tE /de$/hda.M. Now& let?s mount the two parts : mount 1t ntfs1Eg /de$/hda- /mnt/dos mount /de$/hda. /mnt/linu4 df should output something li#e :
Filesystem /dev/hdc /dev/hda1 /dev/hda2 1K-blocks 19582 5859368 2482556 Used Available Use% Mounted on 19582 0 100% /mnt/cdrom 1539268 4320100 27% /mnt/dos 69304 2287144 3% /mnt/linux

Ae?$e got to store PING?s files in our new linu4 partition : cp /mnt/cdrom/initrd.g3 /mnt/linu4 cp /mnt/cdrom/#ernel /mnt/linu4 8et?s now write a lilo.conf file for /s"in/lilo to rewrite our @*C. It must "e a"le to "oot Aindows on our hda- partition& and 8inu4 on the second one& with a (customi3a"le "ut not customi3ed here) te4t menu. Command: T$i /etc/lilo.confT (i to insert te4t& :wK to sa$e and e4it). @! lilo.conf file :
boot = /dev/hda map = /mnt/dos/map prompt timeout = 150 vga = normal lba32 delay = 30 read-only large-memory root = current other = /dev/hda1 label = windows image = /mnt/linux/kernel append=" vga=normal devfs=nomount pxe ramdisk_size=33000 load_ramdisk=1 init=/linuxrc prompt_ramdisk=0 initrd=initrd.gz root=/dev/ram0 rw noapic nolapic lba combined_mode=libata ide0=noprobe nomce pci=nommconf pci=nomsi irqpoll" label = restoration initrd = /mnt/linux/initrd.gz

Cewrite the @*C. Command: TliloT. It should output :

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Added windows * Added restoration

;ou should now "e a"le to "oot !our s!stem and access PING if needed. ;ou?ll do so at least once& so to write on the linu4 partition the image of !our windows s!stem. +fterwards& if !ou don?t want an! more users to "e a"le to "oot this linu4 partition and do whate$er the! want with it& !ou still can customi3e the appendNTT section of !our /etc/lilo.conf file (and rewrite the m"r). he optional parameters are descri"ed in the howto?s anne4. o &econd 'ethod K writing lilo to the linu* artition@ and having -indowsJs .oot sector .oot o tionally the linu* restoration artition through the edition of the (:).oot!ini file : he procedure is almost similar to the first method. he /etc/lilo.conf file will "e slightl! different : ,irst line will "e: "oot N /de$/hda. ;ou5ll ha$e to add a ignore1ta"le entr!. Ae5ll remo$e the Aindows entr!& and set the dela! to > second. )o& !our /etc/lilo.conf file should loo# li#e this :
boot = /dev/hda2 map = /mnt/dos/map prompt timeout = 150 vga = normal lba32 delay = 0 read-only large-memory root = current ignore-table image = /mnt/linux/kernel append=" vga=normal devfs=nomount pxe ramdisk_size=33000 load_ramdisk=1 init=/linuxrc prompt_ramdisk=0 initrd=initrd.gz root=/dev/ram0 rw noapic nolapic lba combined_mode=libata ide0=noprobe nomce pci=nommconf pci=nomsi irqpoll" label = restoration initrd = /mnt/linux/initrd.gz

Ahen running the LliloM command& !ou might get warnings& that can "e safel! ignored.

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+fter running LliloM& we5ll ha$e to e4tract the "oot sector that has "een written into the /de$/hda. partition& and store it as a file in our Aindows partition. Command: Ldd ifN/de$/hda. ofN/mnt/dos/"ootsect.ln4 "sNI-. countN-M. ,inall!& on our C:B"oot.ini& we5ll append a line to the Yoperating s!stemsZ paragraph so to call our new C:B"ootsect.ln4 sector : Lecho TC:BB*77 )0C .8N/NTCestorationT OO /mnt/dos/"oot.iniM.

How can I use PING with H2-areJs &(&I controllers I o ;ou5ll ha$e to chec# the 8)I "o4 (tks +ahussle).

How can I add co' onents to the PING i'age without 'odifying the initrd!g+ file I o ,rom $ersion ..>-.--& !ou can add or modif! files after the PING 7) has "ooted. o do so& simpl! add to the root of !our C%/%'% files called addon1 4444.tar.g3 or addon14444.3ip. +ll addon1[.tar.g3/.3ip found at this place will "e untarred to the root of the 7). o ,or e4ample& we ha$e used this feature to pro$ide the users with a PING I)7 which contains the C8+@ anti1$irus. he initrd.g3 file contained in the PING1..>-1Aith+ddons.iso image is e4actl! same as the one contained in the PING1..>-.iso image& "ut the file addon1clama$.tar.g3 has "een added to the Aith+ddons I)7. o If !ou plan to use this feature in a P/0 en$ironment& then the addon1 [.tar.g3/.3ip files should "e stored in the director! that contains !our image directories. 7"$iousl!& the! will onl! "e untarred after the networ# shares are mounted. o IP: !ou might want to com"ine this addon feature with parameters CmdF-& CmdF. and CmdFE.

I wanted to save an i'age to 'y 2a*tor U&,Bdrive@ .ut ing can only see the ordinary ID7 and the &A:A dis"s! I can see the U&, drive in the .ios! o If !our *I7) settings has an option for plug and pla! (PNP) operating s!stem& set it to disa"le or off (tks Ken).

I/' wor"ing on creating a &L&P07Ped i'age with a recovery artition on the hard drive that can .e used in the event of a catastro hic failure of windows $ -hich is a.out once every C B 9 'onths Hery Ha y !!!! or less %!
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However the eo le that will eventually .e using 'y i'aged 'achines are all .raindead and at so'e oint one of the' will want to choose the restore o tion which as we all "now will cause 'e 'aMor grief! I/' loo"ing to have a ro' t o u for a assword here! Does anyone "now if this can .e done!! o In the /etc/lilo.conf !ou need to add passwordN!ourFchosenFpassword into the entr! for which e$er image !ou want to password "tks laoistom aka +homas$.

(an I 'odify the contents of arti'aged files $sdaA!444 etc!% I o hese "inar! files cannot "e mounted. o Howe$er& !ou can add a file called sda-.3ip to !our image director!. +fter restoring the partimaged files& PING will mount the restored partition and un3ip this archi$e to the root of its files!stem. ;ou can also add se$eral archi$es& "! calling them sda-.>>>.3ip& sda-.>>-.3ip& and so on. o hin# of it as an eas! wa! to update Kuic#l! an image without ha$ing to restore it& modif! it& and re1"uild it.

(an I use sshfs to securely 'ount a re'ote share I o ;ou won5t see the sshfs option among the proposed protocols& "ecause ssh supports se$eral comple4 authentication wa!s. o Ne$ertheless& the possi"ilit! is gi$en to !ou to do it !ourself. o do so& add a addon1444.tar.g3/.3ip file to !our image director!& so to ha$e !our ssh #e!s added to the li$e files!stem& and use the CmdF- parameter to pass a shell command that will mount the share. he mount point must "e L/mnt/sm"fsM. o Note: all files called addon1444.tar.g3/.3ip and found on the root of a C%/%'%& or in the director! of an image& are untarred to the root of the li$e PING 7) as soon as possi"le& which means: immediatel! in the case of a C%/%'%& and <ust after the share is mounted and the image chosen in the other case. )o& o"$iousl!& !ou won5t "e a"le to use sshfs unless !ou deplo! with a C%/%'%6

IJve lost 'y artition ta.le= -hat can I do I o 8osing a partition ta"le does not mean data has "een lost. o If !ou #now precisel! what was !our partition ta"le loo#ing li#e& !ou can recreate it using fdis# from the PING shell (NO fdis# /de$/sda if !our de$ice was the first )+ +/)C)I dri$e& fdis# /de$/had if it was the first I%0/P+ +).

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o If !ou don5t ha$e this information& !ou can call testdis# from the shell. estdis# can scan a hard dri$e& and determine where partitions start& and what was their files!stem. It can also restore a "ootsector& if a cop! of it can "e found in the files!stem (which applies to N ,)). )ee http://www.cgsecurit!.org/wi#i/ est%is# for details. o If nothing can "e done regarding the partition ta"le& and !ou need to restore data& !ou might also use the photorec utilit!& which is also present on the PING image. +lthough the name of the tool might "e misleading& it does reco$er deleted files. @ore details are a$aila"le here: http://www.cgsecurit!.org/wi#i/PhotoCec .

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&u

ort

8i#e most admin tools& PING has "een made eas! enough to start with& "ut !ou might come across special& comple4 configurations and needs. Ae are committed to impro$ing PING as much as we can& and Kuestions from users are often a useful feed"ac# that ma#es it easier for us to find "ugs to fi4& or to de$elop smart new features. ,or this reason& support can often "e o"tained for free on the PING forum : http://www.windowsdream.com/forum/$iewforum.phpUfNR . ;et& in some cases& !ou might need dedicated su ort& which could "e consultanc! da!s or mail/telephone support. )uch a ser$ice is a$aila"le& !et not free. ,or more information& please contact us : 7FFI:7G &&II =1-> rue Henri @urger RI>-9 Paris& ,rance XEE H HII> .99. PINGF)upport\effite#.fr

#icense
PING is released under the same economic and licensing model as @!)Q8. Dust li#e @!)Q8& !ou ma! download and use for free the Communit! 'ersion of PING& released under the well1#nown GP8 license. ;et& if !ou own a "usiness and need to include PING in pa!ing software& !ou5ll ha$e to acKuire the 0nterprise 'ersion of PING. Included with this $ersion& !ou5ll "enefit from dedicated support from the de$5 team& and more information. @ost important& !ou5ll also show !our in$ol$ement for the communit!& "! supporting a great opensource pro<ect.

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