Last year we bought eight laptop carts from Apple, and I've been
using one of them more or less continuously while preparing the others
for use. Before I got through the first time, our school network
changed proxy servers. So I started over, booting up each machine and
changing the proxies.
Before I got through that process, the network was rebuilt from
fixed IP addressing to DHCP, so I had to start over again.
In the meantime I went through about three iterations of deciding
whether to use Multiple Users or Foolproof to control network access on
the machines, and finally settled on Multiple Users.
Now I have laptops in four different partially configured setups and
no idea which one was where or what.
If you set up a "production line" to correct settings, inevitably
something gets done wrong or left out, because you only have a limited
amount of time to work on these laptops. The only solution remaining is
to create a "Master laptop" that is configured correctly and clone it
to all the others.
I tried this last year with Network Assistant over AppleTalk, and
not only was it slow as Christmas, it was also unreliable - dropping
out in mid-copy for no apparent reason, with no indication of what was
missing.
Finally, I learned about the best solution - using an iBook as an
external hard drive. Using FireWire, you can copy an entire iBook hard
drive in just a few (less than 10) minutes! FireWire is 400 Mb/s.
Compare that to 10Base-T ethernet, which is 10 Mb/s (depending on your
hubs and switches) - and LocalTalk (much as I love it) is even
slower.
Upon rebooting, you can rename the machine and do a couple of other
housekeeping things, and then be up and running in short order. Using
the process outlined below, we reset an entire cart of laptops in about
four hours including some setup time for the master computer.
Here then, is a step by step process for cloning an iBook. You will
need a 6-pin to 6-pin FireWire cable, which will set you back $20-30
depending on where you get it. (The cable that connects your computer
to a digital camera is 6 pin to 4 pin and won't work.)
Our iBooks all run OS 9, but I believe the process may
work for OS X based computers - attempt at your own risk.
- Set up a master computer just the way you want it. All proxies set
within browsers, TCP/IP configured to AirPort through DHCP networking,
desktop picture (ours has a mascot picture on the desktop), AppleTalk
set to AirPort, name for the computer set, file sharing off, multiple
user permissions and passwords set. Software installed. Netscape User
info entered. Norton AntiVirus set to something a little lower than
Insanely Secure.
- Take out the computer to be cloned. Connect both to power. Shut
down the master computer.
- Plug the FireWire cable into both computers.
- Start up the master computer while holding down the "T" key. A
floating FireWire icon will appear. You can let go of the T key. If all
is well, the drive will mount as an external hard drive on the clone
computer's desktop. Please note: There will be two "Macintosh HD" icons
on the desktop. The top one is the clone computer's, and the
bottom one is the master. Don't throw away anything from the
master computer's hard drive.
- Throw out everything on the clone computer's hard drive
except for the System Folder - but don't empty the Trash.
- Change the name of the clone computer's System Folder to "Old
System Folder." If File sharing is on, you will need to turn it
off.
- Copy everything from the master computer's hard drive to the clone
computer's hard drive. This will take about 5-10 minutes depending on
how much stuff you've installed. Note that you should have licenses for
all copied software.
- When the copy is complete, open the "Old System Folder" and throw
away the Finder and the System suitcase file. This de-blesses the old
System folder. Warning: at this moment you do not have a
functional System Folder on the clone computer. If it shuts down, it
may not restart.
- Open the new System Folder and close it. It should change from a
plain folder to a folder with the two-faced Mac OS logo on it. If that
happens, the folder is "blessed" (or bootable) and will operate your
computer.
- Unmount the master hard drive by dragging its icon to the
Trash.
- Unplug the FireWire cable, hand it to an assistant. (If you're
doing more than one, you can get the next computer you need to clone
connected to the master now.)
- Restart the clone.
- Set the clock on the clone. Make sure you set the time zone, too;
it defaults to Taipei.
- Change the name of the computer in the File Sharing control panel -
we use serial numbers as unique names.
- Test functions to see if they work properly.
- Empty the Trash while holding down the option key to delete locked
items.
You've just cloned an iBook!
Epilogue
I'm finally rolling carts into classrooms. In our first
installation, we had some weird problem with a bad port, so it didn't
go smoothly as I hoped. After a day of fiddling, we discovered a minor
error in the setup for the clones, so I have to tweak the master a
little more. Another cart rolls out this week, and we're planning to do
one cart per week until all are deployed. Wish us luck.
Interesting thing: This process did not work on my new Xserve - the
iBook master would not automount on the OS X desktop when I booted
it connected in this way. You'd think a server would be the logical
place to store the master disk image . . . I need to track
that down sometime.
Oh, there are one or two other things I've written about before, but
maybe you haven't been following the ongoing saga....
There's only one really bad thing about iBooks, and it's that they
don't have an internal battery. Thus, when you store them over the
summer and one of the plugs works loose - dead iBook. Two or three of
the ones I'm working with won't charge or start at all. And the plugs
are touchy. But remember, if you have a functional, charging iBook -
don't let it die, or woe unto you. This takes between five and
ten minutes at the end of each class as the iBooks are returned to the
laptop cart.
Oh, and while you're at it, make sure the plugs in the cart face the
doors, not the back of the cart. You will need to pull power
supplies out to keep laptops functional over the course of a long day.
Don't make it hard on yourself - like we did - by installing the power
panels backwards on the cart when the carts are delivered. Also,
there's a power switch on the bottom of the panel - it's hard to see,
so you might have to find it by feel. If everything's plugged in but
not charging, that switch might have been nudged off by a stray cord.
(That switch ought to be on the outside of the cart IMHO.)
Good luck and enjoy your laptops!
is a longtime Mac user. He was using digital sensors on Apple II computers in the 1980's and has networked computers in his classroom since before the internet existed. In 2006 he was selected at the California Computer Using Educator's teacher of the year. His students have used NASA space probes and regularly participate in piloting new materials for NASA. He is the author of two books and numerous articles and scientific papers. He currently teaches astronomy and physics in California, where he lives with his twin sons, Jony and Ben.< And there's still a Mac G3 in his classroom which finds occasional use.
