Question : Desktops/laptop rebuild solutions

So I got a call from one form today.  They got hit by a recent virus few weeks ago.  Their IT guys called Symantec support and got a wrong remedy.  Things got worse and they had to rebuild all computer that took a week.
Small CPA firm 14-15 stations.  Data is safe so backups are indeed working.

The question for proactive solution is what to do next time if this happens.  That shouldnt take a week. I am thinking creating one standart image using (acronis or symantec ghost) and rebuild.  However, each want to have their own configurations back.  No wonder it took a week to adjust each computer's personal settings.  So each computer image would require.

Any more advice/options here?

Thanks in advance

Answer : Desktops/laptop rebuild solutions

http://www.revision3.com/systm/backups

See if this helps....there are two topics they discuss, one is creating a custom installation CD that you can include drivers, service packs, Windows CD Keys, etc... for an unattended install. If you have several machines that are the same, or close enough to the same to need the same drivers, this could help speed up the process.

Secondly, if you have the storage capacity, do the imaging these guys talk about first after the apps are installed, updated, and tweaked. Again if several PCs are similar enough in both hardware, and the apps they get, you might be able to have just one set of images for several machines.