Preparing Windows Images for Mass Deployment - Sysprep in Action, Continued
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Now it’s time to configure Sysprep before the process, because the reference OS is ready. You should have the “sysprep.inf” answer file located in the Sysprep folder. That is a sample answer file, which is going to serve as a configuration file, in a sort of INI-like fashion, containing headers and keys with values. You can either modify the sample file or create your own with “setupmgr.exe” (Windows Setup Manager Wizard).
There are various ways to launch sysprep; it supports a lot of parameters with which you can alter its behavior. Each is thoroughly documented by Microsoft. But an amazing batch file can be found at the Vernalex website. You may check it out here. This batch file automates useful tasks such as cleaning up driver cache, flushing data to disk, closing SMB connections, and terminating unneeded processes and services.
Once everything is completed, Sysprep is executed in the following fashion.
start sysprep -reseal -mini –quiet
It should be noted that this process can take from 5-10 minutes up to 30 minutes and even more. You will surely notice this as the computer starts to work hard. After sysprep finishes its activity, the computer will shut down. This is when you need to create an image with your favorite disk- / partition-cloning utility. You just boot up with that utility, such as Clonezilla (read the article published at DevShed) and get the job done.
This is critical: you should not let the computer boot up in Windows before you have created the clone image, otherwise that half an hour (or more) of work becomes worthless, because the mini-setup will begin (which takes barely a few minutes) by asking the user those “user-specific” details, and then the Windows OS will be ready to use.
And no, you don’t want this to happen. You want to clone before this happens—because you want this aforementioned mini-setup to start for each user after you have massively deployed the clones. You see, that’s the entire process in a nutshell.
On this page we are going to mention some practical guidelines along with details on how to use and work with Sysprep. But we must admit that Microsoft has done an extremely good job documenting these deployment tools. You should definitely read this official documentation before moving further. It explains the entire process again.
Deploying Windows Vista (via this Sysprep technique) isn’t that different and can be easily understood by reading this step-by-step guide. A major distinctive difference is that answer files can be created with a wizard called Windows SIM (System Image Manager) under Vista just as you could with SetupMgr with Windows XP. Configuration files use .xml extensions (i.e.; sysprep.xml).
Moreover, with Vista there’s an additional imaging utility called ImageX. You should read its user guide too. Hopefully you understand by now that preparing Windows installations to be massively deployed later on isn’t such a tough task; it is just pretty detail-centric. Everything lies in those details. Understanding the process isn’t hard because it clearly makes sense. However, applying them can become tricky.
Each tiny little parameter can totally alter the behavior (and therefore, the end result) of each process. So ultimately, you may want to research, study, and then practice a lot until you finally figure out a routine that works for your own needs. As well, it may be helpful if you experiment a bit with different options, even if you succeed right from the beginning. Who knows?—another option might be even better…
Next: Final Thoughts >>
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