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I have two computers which have the exact same hardware and I'm looking to install the exact same environment on each computers (Windows 7 Professional I will be using).

Obviously I need to change the computer name on each computer, as well as the username.

What is the best way to do this?

Use software such as vlite or RT Se7en Lite?

I feel like WAIK is too much overkill just for two machines.

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1 Answer

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  1. First setup Machine A and Machine B to have same hard disk partitions.
  2. Then setup Machine A.
  3. Take a Ghost image of the C: Partition or the entire disk using tool like Norton Ghost or freeware CloneZilla
  4. Apply the ghost on Machine B.
  5. Change the machine name on Machine B. Also apply new Windows license on Machine B.

OR

Setup machine A and Machine B to be Virtualization Host (Hyper-V or VMware ESXi) Create a VM and set it up. Copy the VMs on to the hosts and use it.

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Wouldn't this cause difficulty with manually having to alter the registry to change the current user etc...? – Mike Hagstrom Oct 26 '11 at 6:19
The two machines will have everything exactly the same. All you have to do is change the machine name in Control Panel. I assumed that both machines will have the same user. – Ganesh R. Oct 26 '11 at 6:37
Changing the user name is easy. Use a different account and go under "Manage User Accounts". Then change the User name. – surfasb Oct 27 '11 at 3:39
That only changes what the name looks like to the user, the underlying folder in C:/Users will still have the original username – Mike Hagstrom Oct 28 '11 at 2:01
@MikeHagstrom Can you please elaborate on your need? In case you want to set up each piece of software on the machine differently of different user, then the only way to go is install the softwares after you clone them. – Ganesh R. Oct 28 '11 at 4:19

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