Preparing Windows Images for Mass Deployment - Sysprep in Action
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System Preparation Utility has a few requirements that should not be neglected when deciding whether it is the answer or not to our massive task. First off, the source sample computer must be from the same category as the destination systems in terms of HAL compatibility. The following list will enumerate the compatibilities.
- Non-ACPI PIC (Hal.dll) is only compatible with exactly the same HAL as itself.
- ACPI PIC (Halacpi.dll) is only compatible with exactly the same HAL as itself.
- Non-ACPI APIC UP (Halapic.dll) is compatible with both Non-ACPI APIC UP and MP.
- Non-ACPI APIC MP HAL (Halmps.dll) is compatible with both Non-ACPI APIC MP and UP.
- ACPI APIC UP (Halaacpi.dll) is compatible with both ACPI APIC UP and MP.
- ACPI APIC MP (Halmacpi.dll) is compatible with both ACPI APIC MP and UP.
Having compatible HALs (Hardware Abstraction Layer) is probably one of the most crucial requirements, but the list goes on. Plug and Play devices must include the necessary drives. Basically, all sorts of devices that may be used right away (and supposedly required for work purposes) should be supplied with their drivers; otherwise, the source reference operating system, which ends up cloned, won’t be ready for them.
The next requirement is a no-brainer: the hard drives of the destination computers must be of at least the size of the source reference computer’s. A larger size means more space, so this won’t cause any problems whatsoever. But without using the additional ExtendOemPartition key in the Sysprep.ini configuration file, the “leftover” space will be part of a separate second partition. That key expands the main partition.
Once the requirements are met, Sysprep can be used to prepare the current Windows installation from the source reference computer. This means that the utility brings that particular setup to the state that it would be in initially, right after a fresh installation and deleting system- and user-specific information such as the computer name, security identifier (SID), driver cache, and so forth.
There are numerous ways to grab a copy of Sysprep. Windows XP Service Pack 2 Deployment Tools [link] contains various other useful utilities along with Sysprep. Once you have the archive, extract its content to a folder called “sysprep” on the partition and/or hard drive on which the reference Windows can be found. This must be respected, otherwise Sysprep won't be able to find its configuration files.
Before starting the utility, you should prepare the reference Windows OS. Update the necessary hot-fixes, security patches, and even service packs if necessary. A new user template may be created, if that’s what you want, for default account settings. However, if the computers will join a domain right after they have received the deployment, then this part can be skipped. Otherwise, you should install applications in the template that will act as default account.
In general, it is advocated to configure that template account in great detail because it's going to be used as default user account later on. Therefore, settings regarding Internet Explorer, Windows Explorer, the Start menu, the desktop, and System settings (such as virtual memory, restore points, etc.) shouldn’t be forgotten. This step can be skipped, however, if computers will join a domain where policies are enforced.
Moreover, there’s an extra utility that does an amazing job of enumerating all of the drivers of an existing Windows OS. It’s called SysPrep Driver Scanner (1.3.1). It is a nifty free utility; it’s useful because you will know exactly the necessary drivers that should be incorporated into the sysprepped reference source Windows OS as well.
And even better, it does the job all by itself. It adds the necessary entries for those drivers into the registry so that Sysprep, using –mini-setup, will search for(and find) the drivers, and as a result, include them in the sysprepped installation. This eliminates the need for you to fiddle with OemPnPDriversPath in the Sysprep configuration file (sysprep.inf) that should be manually edited to add the path of drivers.
Next: Sysprep in Action, Continued >>
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