"How to set up multiple computers with identical configurations"

The Difficulty of Identical Computers

Time and labor costs
Provisioning many computers is a time- and labor-intensive process. Each must be configured individually – with an operating system installed, software set up, network connections established, and system parameters adjusted.

Maintenance and updates
Once computers are set up, maintaining and updating them becomes challenging. Installing new software or updating the operating system, for example, must be done on each device individually.

Different hardware requirements
Because most hardware requires drivers to function, users cannot simply move a system to a new machine with a different hardware configuration and expect it to work as before, due to the lack of drivers for the new hardware.

Synchronization Issues
Configuration changes can occur for many reasons, such as machine failures or personnel changes. It is crucial to keep the configurations of multiple machines in sync for consistency.

To resolve these difficulties, it is recommended to use powerful software to simplify the configuration process. For instance, you can employ tools like Todo Backup Enterprise to create identical configurations on multiple computers.

A reliable software for applying the same settings on multiple computers.

With Todo Backup Enterprise, the System Transfer feature allows you to easily back up a host computer and restore it to another machine, even if the new one has a different brand, model, or hardware configuration. Follow the steps outlined below for a detailed walkthrough of this process. The procedure involves three steps.

Supported Systems
Windows XP®/Vista®/7/8/8.1/10/11
Windows Server® 2003/2008/2008 R2/2012/2012 R2/2016/2019
Windows Small Business Server 2003/2008/2011

Step 1
Create a backup image of the current system partition and boot partition (drive C:) using System Backup or Disk/Volume Backup.

**Step 2**
**Create Emergency Disk.** To find the **Create Emergency Disk** feature, navigate to the **Tools** section on the left side of the main interface. From there, select your preferred **Boot Disk Location** and remember to enable the **Add Drive** option to include it.

Step 3: System Transfer 1. Insert the emergency boot disk into the new computer. 2. Restart the computer. 3. Enter the BIOS settings. 4. Change the boot order in the BIOS settings. 5. Set the emergency boot disk as the first item in the boot sequence. 6. Save the changes and exit the BIOS settings. 7. The software will boot and load the WinPE environment from the emergency boot disk. 8. Locate the backup image and initiate the restoration process.

After the recovery process completes successfully, you can restart your computer, disconnect the WinPE boot media, and configure the computer to boot from the required drive. If you need to perform this task on multiple computers, you can use a Todo Backup Enterprise Technician license to create one backup, generate an emergency disk, and use that disk to restore the image to all computers.

Conclusions

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

**1. Can I use my Windows license on multiple computers?** You can reuse this kind of key on different machines. (But you can't use the same license on more than one PC at a time.) So if you build a new PC, you can easily transfer your license to it.

**2. How do I transfer Windows updates from one computer to another?** Windows updates cannot be transferred from one computer to another. You can download and install available updates by checking for them on the respective computer under "Updates & Security."

**3. If I want to install the Windows operating system on another computer, do I need to purchase another copy?** No. You can use the Todo Backup Enterprise tool for universal recovery, and there's no need to purchase the Windows operating system again.

4. How do I deploy the system on multiple computers simultaneously?
You can use a tool like Disk Copy Server to create a clone image and then deploy it to multiple computers via PXE service. This technique saves a significant amount of time and eliminates the need for repetitive configuration on each individual machine.