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Questions tagged [sysprep]

Sysprep is the name of Microsoft's System Preparation Utility for Microsoft Windows operating system deployment.

History

Sysprep was originally introduced for use with Windows NT 4.0. Later versions introduced for Windows 2000 and Windows XP are available for download from Microsoft and included in the Windows CD. Windows Vista marks the first version of Microsoft's NT operating system to include a hardware abstraction layer (HAL) independent version of Sysprep in the "out of box" installation.

Purpose

Desktop deployment is typically performed via disk cloning applications. Sysprep can be used to prepare an operating system for disk cloning and restoration via a disk image.

Windows operating system installations include many unique elements per installation that need to be "generalized" before capturing and deploying a disk image to multiple computers. Some of these elements include:

  • Computer name
  • Security Identifier (SID)
  • Driver Cache

Sysprep seeks to solve these issues by allowing for the generation of new computer names, unique SIDs, and custom driver cache databases during the Sysprep process.

Administrators can use tools such as SetupMgr.exe (Windows XP) or the Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows Vista/7/Server 2008) to generate answer files that Sysprep will process on new computer deployments.

Screenshot

enter image description here

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How to fix 7B stop errors when cloning Windows images to different HBA types

When Windows is installed it searches it's driver database and installs the appropriate HBA driver so the boot loader can access the drive and boot the system. When an image is taken and cloned to a machine of an incompatible HBA type, Windows will…
Andy Arismendi
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Sysprep vs cloning or a mixture of the two?

I have fifty computers (not the same) and the boss wants a new identical Windows 7 image on all of them. Unfortunately it's not just a Windows 7 / Office 2010 image but one with a load of other programs and customisations. Should I do this using…
Mich
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SharePoint crashed after sysprep

We have a Windows Server 2008 R2 machine that ends up being replicated multiple times a week for development purposes. Each time the server is replicated, the machine name changes. This completely kills SharePoint, and since the alternate access…
Brad
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Joining an Active Directory domain in the middle of a sysprep auditing?

Is it possible to sysprep a Windows 7 image by installing it on a reference machine, then after entering audit mode, joining the computer to the domain. Then after I finish sysprepping, it will generalize and all specific services I've assigned to…
johansson
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Windows 7 Sysprep Default User

I seem to be having a problem with implementing my sysprep. I have been playing with Windows 7, WAIK, Server 2008 R2 and various other things. I managed to create a WIM with everything I need installed and I have worked out the autounattend.xml. I…
Demonwolf
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Determine WIM's Sysprep State

I'm looking for a/the way to tell if a given WIM was captured from a machine that was sysprep'd with the (equivalent of the) /generalize parameter. Interested in Server 2003 R2 as the source platform (x86 and amd64 architectures). Server 2008…
joebalt
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SysPrep'ing a cloned AD member server

We had a request to clone a Windows 2008 R2 virtual server that's already a member of Active Directory. Obviously we have no way to remove this server gracefully to reset it to standalone mode from AD because the server being cloned is still an…
Kev
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Are there cumulative driver additions from repeated syspreps on different PCs?

e.g. I have a master PC, install drivers and sysprep and take image. On PC 2 I installed that image, update any drivers, sysprep and take image. Move to PC 3, install the image, update drivers, sysprep and take image. Now will this final image…
Hax
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Windows 2008 R2 Pre-Activated Template (SYSPREP)

I am trying to configure a template image for Windows 2008 R2 that is pre-activated. I have read through numerous sources that say to use the Microsoft-Windows-Security-SPP\SkipRearm option, however even when using this, it does not seem to work: I…
upnover
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Is it possible to restore a backup of a physical machine to a machine with disparate hardware?

I have seen some backup software advertise the ability to restore an image of a physical machine to completely different hardware. Is this really possible? Also, is this easily done with sysprep? Thanks
GurdeepS
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Forcing Windows 2008 Server sysprep to ask for a new product key

I'm trying to create a Windows Server 2008 Image that will prompt for a new product ID on startup. Is there a way to force 'sysprep' to clear the current product key and require the user to enter a new product key? Unfortunately we don't know the…
watsonmw
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Virtual PC duplication process

This is the process I use for duplicating a Virtual PC (on Windows 7): 1 - Create a new VPC. 2 - Install Windows 7 on the new VPC. 3 - Configure the new Windows 7 installation (install Windows updates, install applications, etc). 4 - Run Sysprep on…
Sabuncu
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Windows 7 deployment thru WDS

I am deploying new systems on my network and I built my reference computer by installing the OS the manufacturers (Dell and a custom built system from some local business) gave with all drivers, installed all the desired applications. As for the…
vn.
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why windows sysprep is failing

I am seeing that windows sysprep process is failing for windows 10 1909 VMs. The VMs are cloned from a parent VM using Vmware cloning technology and then sysprep is invoked on these clones. I can see that sysprep starts correctly -- 2020-07-16…
user496934
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Sysprep: Does it remove Windows Credentials from an user account?

I have an automated process that's supposed to build out an image and have that image deployed with a user that is setup to run a service. The user needs access to an azure network file share. In order to provide the credentials to access the file…
Mike
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