[knowmad]

Well…..
try instead a different option….
create an image of each machine, then re-image it with your new instadmg update and use migration assistant to migrate the user form the old image to the newly created one.
Something tells me you are using InstaDMG for slightly different uses than the rest of us do.
another option. do a little scripting…. make a list of the login name/uid/computer name of all your people, then use a script to automate the creation of 200 createuser packages complete with username/password/uid etc…. you could even go so far as to use your list to create a script that names the machines for you on first boot….. This might be very useful, hell you could even share it afterword and earn eternal gratitude from those of us who might also need this script….
It will take you some time but far less time than doing 200 migrations and creatuser-script setups by hand.

knowmad

[knowmad]

you COULD use createuser to specifically create the users in questions after the restore of the data is done and just point it at the folder that was restored…..

[knowmad]

or, considering it really is harmless, ignoring it.

[knowmad]

Well, Larkost, you speak sense. From a testing only perspective your system works well.
From a building several flavors of image perspective… not so good.
I think I will settle for a cross between the two.
OR
I will spend a week mucking with your code to get it to do what I want and in the end go back to the original when I have broken it beyond use.
Whichever seems more fun 😉
Seriously though, I might just create variants of the script (Command line switches are a little more than I feel like tackling) for each purpose and just use the ones I need at the time I need it…..
We shall see.
Right now I have to go do administrative paperwork so this all gets shelved until next week anyway.
knowmad

[knowmad]

Thank you.
knowmad

[knowmad]

Ok, so
1) thank you larkost, you rock. I discovered what you did (by actually reading the script carefully instead of guessing my way through it, thanks to Sean and Pringles for their help) just seconds ago, of course long after you both wrote it and then explained it here.
2) I see your point regarding a) Space and b) Caching items of major change.
My reasoning is that I just spent how-many-months building images with 10.5.4, and how many before that with 10.5.3? I could, quite simply, have saved hours by having not had to install those major updates 20 or 30 times. I have changed venues since this has all started and honestly don’t expect to have more than one major build train, however while I am testing it out, I will build it ten or more times with tweaks. As a result, here is my new (temporary) plan.

I will now take my interim image (Base+Base Updates+Office) and (using basically your code, hope your cool with that) create a hash for it. Then dump it into the cached folder and let instadmg make the useful mistake of thinking it is the correct BaseCache.

two major questions are 1) Can I do this to a compacted DMG such as the one instadmg finally outputs? and 2) Will this work?

Thanks for taking the time to respond to all this.
knowmad

________
I think i will change my tag to ‘asking the dumb questions, so you don’t have to’
…..
maybe not

[knowmad]

ok, re-read what you said….
If I understand correctly you want to:
1) Boot from network and then
2) Install your instadmg created image over the network
in which case Bombich’s website is what you want to read.
otherwise, I don’t understand what you want.
Sorry,
knowmad

[knowmad]

Check out Mike Bombich’s page ( [url]http://www.bombich.com/[/url] ) and specifically Netrestore and Netresore-helper.
Much useful knowledge there on this subject.
Knowmad

(edit) oops, Patrick makes a good point, Netrestore is for netinstalls, not netboots.
Still useful to read through, just not what you were looking for.

[knowmad]

Mosen, Jason, you guys are awesome.
THANK YOU.
Much though I poo-poo-ed the efforts earlier, I have since seen the light.
Thank you.
knowmad

[knowmad]

so…. that applescript…. care to drop it someplace else until Josh finds the time to vet it?
Knowmad

[knowmad]

Thank you for the SVN link. As for the appfresh idea, it was more a way of automagically getting the correct download url than anything else.

[knowmad]

One more thing. I have been using appfresh to great effect in keeping specific machines up to date and getting current updates for my InstaDMG images. Anyway to incorporate some of that ability into InstaUp2Date?

[knowmad]

For the record, can you post the link to the SVN repository for instaup2date?

[knowmad]

well… what are you using to create your user accounts? If your using createuser, you can specify user account numbers….
If your using the server, I think you can do the same though it is a bit different.

[knowmad]

I have not yet worked with leopard server or augmented records, but you might be able to find some answers by reading this:
https://www.afp548.com/article.php?story=20080528204603120
and following up with any leads found in the comments thread.

[Author]

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