D.1 Image Explorer (zmgexp)

D.1.1 Starting Image Explorer on ZENworks Server

There are no command line parameters for the Image Explorer utility.

  1. To start Image Explorer, run the following file:

    Windows: C:\Novell\ZENworks\bin\preboot\zmgexp.bat

    Linux: /opt/novell/zenworks/preboot/bin/zmgexp

D.1.2 Installing and Starting the Image Explorer on a Standalone Device

You can run ZENworks Configuration Management Image Explorer as a standalone application on any device that has java installed.The standalone device need not have ZENworks Configuration Management installed.

To install and start the Image Explorer on a standalone device:

  1. Install Java JRE 1.5 or later by using one of the following ways:

    • ZENworks Installation DVD: Do the following:

      • On a 32-bit Windows device: Copy novell-zenworks-jre-x.x.x.msi from the \common\msi\ directory on the ZENworks installation DVD to the system drive, and subsequently run it.

        Ensure that Java is configured in the system path variable.

      • On a 64-bit Windows device: Copy novell-zenworks-jdk-x.x.x86_64.msi from the \common\msi\ directory on the ZENworks installation DVD to the system drive, and subsequently run it.

        Ensure that Java is configured in the system path variable.

      • On a 32-bit Linux device: Install the following RPM located in the \common\rpm directory on the ZENworks installation DVD:

        • novell-zenworks-jre-x.x.x.rpm
      • On a 64-bit Linux device: Install the following RPMs located in the \common\rpm directory on the ZENworks installation DVD:

        • novell-zenworks-jre-x.x.x.rpm

        In the above lines, x.x stands for java version.

    • Java Web site: Download and install Java JRE 1.5 or later from the Developer Resources for Java Technology Web site.

  2. Install the Image Explorer utility.

    • On Windows: Do one of the following:

      • Open a Web browser to the http://primary_server_IP_address_or_DNS_name/zenworks-setup address, click the Imaging Tools tab, download novell-zenworks-zmgexplorer-xxxxx.msi to the system drive.

        If you double-click the msi file, it gets installed in the Source Directory location.

      • Insert the appropriate ZENworks installation DVD, browse to the \common\msi\ directory, copy novell-zenworks-zmgexplorer-xxxxx.msi to the system drive, then double-click the installer.

    • On Linux: Insert the appropriate ZENworks installation DVD, browse to the \common\rpm\ directory, then double-click novell-zenworks-zmgexplorer-xxxxx.i586.rpm.

  3. Start the Image Explorer utility.

    Windows: Do the following if ZENworks agent is not installed:

    • Add an environment variable %ZENWORKS_HOME% pointing to C:\Novell\ZENworks.

    • Run the C:\Novell\ZENworks\bin\preboot\zmgexp.bat file.

    Run the following if ZENworks agent is installed:

    • For 32 bit: C:\Program Files\Novell\ZENworks\bin\preboot\zmgexp.bat file.

      For 64 bit: C:\Program Files(x86)\Novell\ZENworks\bin\preboot\zmgexp.bat file.

    Linux: Do the following:

    • If Java is installed from the ZENworks installation DVD, run the following command:

      /opt/novell/zenworks/preboot/bin/zmgexp

    • If Java is installed from the Java Web site, go to /opt/novell/zenworks/preboot/java/lib and run the following command:

      java -Djava.library.path=/opt/novell/zenworks/preboot/lib -Xmx256m -jar ./zmgexp.jar

      If the Java is not set in the System path, then you must enter the following command:

      /usr/java/jdk-1_5_0_11/bin/java -Djava.library.path=/opt/novell/zenworks/preboot/lib -Xmx256m -jar ./zmgexp.jar

D.1.3 Determining the Image Explorer Version

To determine which version of Image Explorer you are using:

  1. Click Help > About.

D.1.4 Image Explorer versus Windows Explorer

Although ZENworks Imaging Explorer looks and functions like Microsoft Windows Explorer in most situations, some functionality differences exist between the two programs. The following describes the key differences between ZENworks Image Explorer and Microsoft Windows Explorer:

  • Replacing Files in an Image: During the life cycle of an image, files might be deleted or updated through Image Explorer. When you replace an existing file in an image by using Image Explorer, the original file is not deleted from the image. Image Explorer purges only deleted files; it does not purge files that have been updated.

    When files are added to an image where the file already exists, Image Explorer appends the entry to the end of the image. When images are restored, all files that have been previously updated are sequentially restored.

    To avoid performance problems, you should delete and purge each instance of a duplicate file in order to have the duplicates purged from the image. In Windows Explorer, replaced files are automatically deleted.

  • Dragging Files from Image Explorer: You cannot drag files from Image Explorer in order to extract them, which you can do in Windows Explorer. However, you can drag and drop files and folders into an image by using Image Explorer.

D.1.5 Opening an Image

  1. Start Image Explorer.

  2. Click Open button. on the toolbar, browse for and select the image (.zmg) file, then click Open.

    For Windows, the default image location should open (...\content-repo\images).

    For Linux, the file browser opens to the .../content-repo directory; you need to click the /images directory to access the image file.

  3. Browse for and select the image file.

    Large image files might take a few moments to open.

D.1.6 Saving Image Changes and Exiting the Utility

To save your changes when exiting the utility:

  1. Click File > Save or Save As.

    For Windows, the default image location should open (...\content-repo\images).

    For Linux, the file browser opens to the .../content-repo directory; you need to click the /images directory for saving the file.

    If you have a subdirectory structure under images, browse for the location to save the image file.

  2. Click File > Exit to close the utility.

If you create a new image file in Image Explorer, then select a .lnk file for the image, instead of including the shortcut file, the file it points to is saved in the image.

For example, you open Image Explorer, click File > New, select a partition, click Image > Add Files, select a shortcut file that points to services.msc, then save the new image file. Instead of including the .lnk file that points to services.msc, services.msc itself is contained in the image.

D.1.7 Managing Image Properties

You can view the properties of an image file or any item in its content, including modifying some of the properties:

Viewing and Modifying the Properties of the Image File

  1. Click File > Open.

    For Windows, the default image location should open (...\content-repo\images).

    For Linux, the file browser opens to the .../content-repo directory; you need to click the /images directory to access the image file.

  2. Browse for and select the image file.

    Large image files might take a few moments to open.

  3. Select the top line of the opened image file.

    This is the line that displays the path to the .zmg file.

  4. Click File > Properties.

    You can also right-click the top line, then select Properties.

  5. (Optional) Fill in the fields:

    Description: Specify useful information, such as its purpose or its important content.

    Author: Specify the author of this version of the image.

    Comments: Specify any information that is helpful.

  6. Save the image file to save your properties changes.

  7. To close the properties dialog box, click OK.

Viewing the Properties of an Image File Item

  1. Click File > Open.

    For Windows, the default image location should open (...\content-repo\images).

    For Linux, the file browser opens to the .../content-repo directory; you need to click the /images directory to access the image file.

  2. Browse for and select the image file.

    Large image files might take a few moments to open.

  3. Select a partition, directory, or file in the image.

    For other information on a partition’s properties, see Changing a Partition’s Size.

  4. Click File > Properties.

    You can also right-click the item, then select Properties.

  5. To close the properties dialog box, click OK.

Changing a Partition’s Size

You can change a partition’s size for the next time the image is applied to a device. You can edit this value for base images only; you cannot edit this value for add-on images.

If the number that you specify in the Original Size text box exceeds the size of the target hard drive, ZENworks automatically uses the entire disk. Therefore, you can specify a value larger than exists on the target device.

However, if you specify a smaller disk space size than is on the target device, only that amount of disk space is used, so the remaining disk space is unused. For example, if you create a base image of a device with a 20 GB hard drive and you want to then place that image on a new device with a 60 GB hard drive, 40 GB of that drive is unused.

You cannot decrease the number in the Original Size text box to a smaller value that what is shown in the Minimum Size text box.

To modify the partition’s size:

  1. Click File > Open.

    For Windows, the default image location should open (...\content-repo\images).

    For Linux, the file browser opens to the .../content-repo directory; you need to click the /images directory to access the image file.

  2. Browse for and select the image file.

    Large image files might take a few moments to open.

  3. Select a partition.

  4. Click File > Properties.

    You can also right-click the partition, then select Properties.

  5. In the Original Size field, specify the new partition size.

  6. Click OK to save the change.

    This only saves the partition size change. You must save the image file for it to be in effect the next time the image is applied.

D.1.8 Image File Operations

You can do the following with an image file:

Compressing an Image File

You can compress an uncompressed image (including images created by previous versions of ZENworks) by 40 to 60 percent of the original file size.

You can compress an image in two ways:

Compressing an Opened Image File

Use this dialog box to set compression options so that it takes less time to restore the image file or less space to store the file on your Imaging server.

IMPORTANT:If you have used Delete to hide files in the image, they are removed from the image during compression.

To compress the image file:

  1. Click File > Open.

    For Windows, the default image location should open (...\content-repo\images).

    For Linux, the file browser opens to the .../content-repo directory; you need to click the /images directory to access the image file.

  2. Browse for and select the image file.

    Large image files might take a few moments to open.

  3. Click File > Compress Image.

  4. Fill in the fields:

    Image File to Compress: Specifies the name of the existing imaging file to compress.

    Save Compressed Image As: Click the browse button next to this field to specify the location and filename under which to save the image.

    Compression Level: Specify an image-compression level:

    • Compress for Speed: Takes the least amount of time to compress but creates the largest compressed image file.

    • Balanced Compression: Represents a compromise between compression time and image file size. This option is used by default when an image is created.

    • Compress for Size: Creates the smallest image file but takes longer to compress.

  5. Click Compress to compress the image file, using the settings you specified.

Compressing an Unopened Image File

Use this dialog box to set compression options to quickly compress an image file without waiting for the file to fully load into Image Explorer.

To quickly compress an image file:

  1. Click Tools > QuickCompress.

  2. Fill in the fields:

    Image File to Compress: Specify or browse to an existing imaging file to compress.

    Save Compressed Image As: Specify the location and filename under which to save the image, or click the browse button next to this field to locate and select it.

    Compression Level: Specify an image-compression level:

    • Compress for Speed: Takes the least amount of time to compress but creates the largest compressed image file.

    • Balanced Compression: Represents a compromise between compression time and image file size. This option is used by default when an image is created.

    • Compress for Size: Creates the smallest image file but takes longer to compress.

  3. Click Compress to compress the image file using the settings you specified.

Splitting an Image

You can split an image file into separate files so that you can span the entire image across several CDs or DVDs.

When you split a device image and span it across several CDs or DVDs, you are essentially creating a base image on the first CD, DVD or bootable USB. The remaining CDs or DVDs are add-on images.

Because images are split by placing individual files into different images, an image cannot be split if it contains any single file that is larger than the specified maximum file size.

To restore a device image that has been spanned across several CDs or DVDs you should restore the first CD, DVD or bootable USB before restoring the remaining CDs or DVDs containing the add-on images. For more information, see Manually Restoring an Image on a Device.

Restoring split Images is done using bundles, such as restoring a base plus add-ons. For more information, see Creating an Add-On Image from Files in a File System.

To split an image:

  1. Click Tools > Split Image.

  2. Fill in the fields:

    Image File to Split: Enter or browse to an existing base image file to split.

    Directory to Store Split Images: Specify the location and filename under which to save the split-image files, or click the browse button next to this field to locate and select it.

    The split-image files are named automatically. For example, if you enter image.zmg in the Image File to Split field, the first split-image file is named image_base.zmg, the second file is named image_a1.zmg, the third file is named image_a2.zmg, and so forth. The image_base.zmg file contains files that allow the device to boot to the operating system. The add-on images (image_a1.zmg, image_a2.zmg, etc.) contain additional files.

    Maximum Split File Size _ MB: Specify the maximum size of each split-image file. Depending on the size of the original image and the number you enter in this field, ZENworks creates as many files as necessary to split the entire image into separate split-image files.

  3. To split the image file into as many files as necessary, using the settings you specified, click Split.

Hiding and Removing Content in the Image File

You can hide a directory or file from being used when the image is applied to a device. You can also permanently remove hidden or excluded directories and files from an image file.

Hiding Directories or Files in the Image

You can hide directories or files so that they are not used when the image is applied to a device. This enables you save their existence so that you can later unhide them to be applied to the imaged device.

  1. Click File > Open.

    For Windows, the default image location should open (...\content-repo\images).

    For Linux, the file browser opens to the .../content-repo directory; you need to click the /images directory to access the image file.

  2. Browse for and select the image file.

    Large image files might take a few moments to open.

  3. Select the directories and files to be hidden.

    IMPORTANT:When editing a base image, do not hide BPB files or the device won’t be able to boot the new operating system after receiving the image.

  4. Click Image > Delete.

    You can also right-click the selected directories and files, then select Delete.

    Deleting a file in the Image Explorer merely marks it for deletion; it can still be retrieved. A file marked as deleted is not removed from the image until the image is purged; files and folders marked as deleted are not restored during imaging.

Unhiding Directories or Files in the Image

You can unhide directories or files so that they are available when the image is applied to a device.

  1. Click File > Open.

    For Windows, the default image location should open (...\content-repo\images).

    For Linux, the file browser opens to the .../content-repo directory; you need to click the /images directory to access the image file.

  2. Browse for and select the image file.

    Large image files might take a few moments to open.

  3. Select the directories and files that were previously hidden that you want to unhide.

  4. Click Image > Undelete.

    You can also right-click the selected directories and files, then select Undelete.

    This makes them available in the image when it is applied to a device.

Removing Hidden Directories and Files from the Image File

To permanently remove hidden directories and files from the open image in order to create a different version of the image file:

  1. Click File > Open.

    For Windows, the default image location should open (...\content-repo\images).

    For Linux, the file browser opens to the .../content-repo directory; you need to click the /images directory to access the image file.

  2. Browse for and select the image file.

    Large image files might take a few moments to open.

  3. Click File > Purge Files.

  4. Browse to the image filename or specify a new image filename, then click OK.

    You can save over the original image file to make this modification, or create another version of the image with the hidden directories and files removed.

    For Windows, the default image location should open (...\content-repo\images).

    For Linux, the file browser opens to the .../content-repo directory; you need to click the /images directory for saving the file.

    If you have a subdirectory structure under images, browse for the location to save the new image file.

Configuring File Sets

For information on file sets, see Section A.0, File Sets and Image Numbers.

To configure a file set:

  1. Click File > Open.

    For Windows, the default image location should open (...\content-repo\images).

    For Linux, the file browser opens to the .../content-repo directory; you need to click the /images directory to access the image file.

  2. Browse for and select the image file.

    Large image files might take a few moments to open.

  3. Select the directories and files in the image that you want excluded from the image.

    Ways that you can select content:

    • Click a single file in the right pane.

    • Use the Shift and Ctrl keys to select multiple files in the right pane.

    • Individually select partitions and directories in the left pane. Any partition or directory that you select includes everything under it.

    • Select a partition or directory in the left pane, then click Edit > Select All to select all files listed in the right pane. Subdirectories are not included.

  4. Do one of the following to exclude the selected files and directories from the image:

    • Click Edit > File Sets, then select one of the options from Exclude from Set 1 through Exclude from Set 10.

      You can also right-click your selection to access the File Sets menu options.

    • Click Edit > File Sets > Edit to open the File Sets dialog box, do the following as applicable, then click OK to exit the dialog box:

      • Exclude Specific Items: To exclude the selected directories and files from specific file set numbers, click the check box for each set number.

        This causes all selected directories and files to be excluded from the image for any Image bundle assigned to the specified file set numbers.

      • Exclude All Items: To exclude the selected directories and files from all file sets of this image, click Exclude All.

        This causes all selected directories and files to be excluded from the image for any Image bundle assigned to any file set number.

      • Include All Items: To clear all of the check boxes, click Exclude None.

        This allows all selected directories and files to be included in the image.

      You can also right-click your selection to access the File Sets menu options.

Extracting Content as Files

To extract a file or directory from the open image and copy it to a directory:

  1. Click File > Open.

    For Windows, the default image location should open (...\content-repo\images).

    For Linux, the file browser opens to the .../content-repo directory; you need to click the /images directory to access the image file.

  2. Browse for and select the image file.

    Large image files might take a few moments to open.

  3. Click File > Save.

    If any changes have been made, this must be done before you can extract the information.

  4. Click File > Extract > As Files.

  5. Browse to and select a directory for the files, then click OK.

Extracting Content as an Add-on Image

To extract a file or directory from the open image as an add-on image:

  1. Click File > Open.

    For Windows, the default image location should open (...\content-repo\images).

    For Linux, the file browser opens to the .../content-repo directory; you need to click the /images directory to access the image file.

  2. Browse for and select the image file.

    Large image files might take a few moments to open.

  3. Click File > Save.

    If any changes have been made, this must be done before you can extract the information.

  4. Click File > Extract > As Add-on Image.

  5. Specify the name and location of the new add-on image, then click OK.

Creating an Add-on Image

You can create an add-on image from existing directories and files on your system and add partitions to the new add-on image.

  1. Click File > New.

  2. To add a partition, click the root of the image, click Image, then click Create Partition.

    You cannot add a partition to an existing image.

  3. Do any of the following to add content:

    • Browse to the directories and files you want the add-on image to contain, then drag or copy the directories and files into the right pane from your file browser.

    • Click Image > Add Files and select the files to be added.

    • Click Image > Add Directory and select the directories to be added.

    • Click the Add Directory icon and select the directories to be added.

    • Click the Add File icon and select the files to be added.

  4. Click File > Save As, then specify the filename of the add-on image, including the .zmg filename extension.

    For Windows, the default image location should open (...\content-repo\images).

    For Linux, the file browser opens to the .../content-repo directory; you need to click the /images directory for saving the file.

    If you have a subdirectory structure under images, browse for where to save the new image file.

D.1.9 Modifying Image Content

You can modify the content of an image file in the following ways:

Adding Directories and Files

To add directories and files to the open image:

  1. Click File > Open.

    For Windows, the default image location should open (...\content-repo\images).

    For Linux, the file browser opens to the .../content-repo directory; you need to click the /images directory to access the image file.

  2. Browse for and select the image file.

    Large image files might take a few moments to open.

  3. Do any of the following to add content:

    • Browse to the directories and files you want the add-on image to contain, then drag or copy the directories and files into the right pane from your file browser.

    • Click Image > Add Files and select the files to be added.

    • Click Image > Add Directory and select the directories to be added.

    • Click the Add Directory icon and select the directories to be added.

    • Click the Add File icon and select the files to be added.

  4. Browse to and select the files or directory, then click Add or OK.

    You can select multiple files using the Shift and Ctrl keys.

  5. Repeat these steps as necessary.

Creating a New Directory

To create a directory in the open image:

  1. Click File > Open.

    For Windows, the default image location should open (...\content-repo\images).

    For Linux, the file browser opens to the .../content-repo directory; you need to click the /images directory to access the image file.

  2. Browse for and select the image file.

    Large image files might take a few moments to open.

  3. Browse to the partition or directory in the left pane where you want to create the directory, then click Image > Create Directory.

    You can also click the New Directory icon.

  4. Specify the name of the directory, then click OK.

Creating a New Partition

New partitions cannot be created in an existing base or add-on image that you opened for editing. You can only create a new partition in a new image file. For more information, see Adding Partitions.

Resizing a Partition

You can resize the partitions in a base image, but not an add-on image. For more information, see Changing a Partition’s Size.

Adding a Windows Registry File

(Windows only) To add specific Windows registry settings that are to be applied after the open image is laid down:

  1. Click File > Open.

    The default image location (...\content-repo\images) should open.

  2. Browse for and select the image file.

    Large image files might take a few moments to open.

  3. Select a partition.

  4. Click Image > Add Registry File.

  5. Select the registry (.reg) file that contains the settings, then click Add.

    The registry file is added to a fixed, known area of the partition and is applied by the ZENworks Imaging Windows Agent (ziswin) when the device reboots after receiving the image.

D.1.10 Creating a New Image File

Do the following to create a new image file:

Creating, Configuring, and Saving the New Image File

  1. Click File > New.

  2. Configure the new image file using the instructions in Selecting New Image File Options, then return to Step 3.

  3. To save the new image file, click Save As.

    For Windows, the default image location should open (...\content-repo\images).

    For Linux, the file browser opens to the .../content-repo directory; you need to click the /images directory for saving the file.

    If you have a subdirectory structure under images, browse for where to save the new image file.

  4. Specify an image filename, including the .zmg filename extension, then click Save.

Selecting New Image File Options

You can do the following in this new image file:

Adding Partitions

  1. Select the top line of the new image file.

    This is the line that will display the path to the new .zmg file when you save it.

  2. Click Image > Create Partition.

  3. Repeat Step 1 through Step 2 as necessary.

  4. To add content to the partitions, continue with Adding Content.

NOTE:While installing Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2, a hidden system partition with 100 MB disk space is created by default as the first disk partition. If you want to restore an add-on image on a Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 device that has a hidden partition, ensure to create adequate partitions from the Image Explorer and copy the image files to the appropriate partition where you want to restore the files. Lets assume that you want to restore the add-on images on a Windows 7 device that has two partitions, a hidden system partition and a disk partition (C:). You must create two partitions in the Image Explorer, and copy the add-on files to the second partition.

Adding Content

  1. See Section D.1.9, Modifying Image Content for instructions on adding new content.

  2. Continue with Configuring File Sets, or return to Step 3 in Creating, Configuring, and Saving the New Image File.

Configuring File Sets

  1. See Configuring File Sets for instructions on configuring file sets.

  2. Return to Step 3 in Creating, Configuring, and Saving the New Image File.