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Windows 7 Sysprep


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We keep a bunch of links in this sticky topic:

There are multiple ways to use sysprep. By "using" sysprep there is a switch to include an answer file. What exactly do you want to accomplish or think sysprep can do for you? Maybe if we know that we can give you a better answer.

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Hi Tripredacus.

Thank you for your reply. I am new to sysprep and if it does what i understand it does then it will be a better way of customizing my windows.

Im i right in thinking that with sysprep i can do a fresh install of windows, import all my tweaks, install my applications (small ones) and get windows setup as i want it and then use sysprep to create a .wim image which i can then replace it with the default Install.wim so that when i use that i install it on any machine it will install with all the tweaks, application ect?

I have found some tutorials on sysprep but in different ways, but i would like the some advice from you people who know more about and have use sysprep.

Many thanks for you help and any advice you can give.

Regards

Worf

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Yes there are multiple ways to use sysprep. What you will need to do is install Windows to Audit Mode using an answer file. Then in Audit Mode you can install programs and make changes.

When in Audit Mode, you are using a disabled Administrator account. So any programs you install, you need to make sure they install for All Users. After you get further along you can go find out how to enable that account after OOBE if you want. So you wouldn't want to set any Theme elements in Audit Mode either.

When all finished, you run sysprep /generalize /oobe /shutdown and then capture the image with Imagex or DISM.

If using the Setup DVD you should be able to install the image manually, and as long as it works you can make an Autounattend.xml to use with it.

Here is a sample Autounattend.xml I posted to get Windows to install into Audit Mode:

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The integrated Sysprep utility is perhaps one of the more commonly used options to automate a successful deployment. The official Sysprep utility is located in the folder C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep of the Windows 7 environment.

In addition to Sysprep there a few more tools you could use to create images and simplify your imaging and deployment process. Perhaps the best place to start would be on the Deliver and Deploy Windows 7 page on the Springboard site on TechNet so as to familiarize yourself with Windows 7 deployment. For now, there are some tips that I can give you to assist you both with the use of the Sysprep utility and creating unattend.xml files and then proceeding from there.

The first tip is to use the Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK), which includes WSIM (Windows System Image Manager) to create unattend.xml files, or an answer file. The Windows Automated Installation Kit or Windows AIK includes several utilities that can help make using the official Sysprep utility easier than ever. Windows AIK also includes ImageX, which is the Microsoft cloning utility that creates file-based images (.wim) allowing the images to be modified after their creation to apply updates, new drivers, or applications. You can even automate the process of joining a domain. For more specific assistance on domain joining, please use the steps outlined in “Automating the Domain Join” from the TechNet site.

The second tip is to use Audit Mode to customize the system as Tripredacus suggested and perform customizations to the default profile. By allowing you to log into the system as Administrator, Audit Mode can significantly simplify the customization process. In order to customize the default profile in both Windows Vista and Windows 7 you will need to make your customizations in Audit Mode, and then run Sysprep with an answer file that has the copyprofile setting enabled.

The final tip I will leave you with is to use the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) that combines all of the official tools above into a single workbench interface that can help automate the entirety of the process. Additionally, it is compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2003, 2008, and 2008 R2, which means learning one utility to do all of your deployments. Furthermore, it is exceptionally useful in creating “universal” images as it can easily add or remove drivers or applications from the deployment images.

For a step-by-step guide to deploying Windows 7 I recommend this step-by-step guide from the Springboard Series on TechNet and the Build a better desktop image resource as it is a great article with additional detailed information on desktop image management.

Jessica

Windows Outreach Team – IT Pro

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