System Preparation Tool - Use to Customize Windows

Hi everybody! this is my second post :) I wanted to Thank you a lot, Kari, coz your tutorials are being super for me now! I'm studying a lot about sysprepping, and I think it will let me have a big step in the pc production here where I work!

I'm working on win 7 pro x86, I've prepared an answer file, and I added the partitioning part in the beginning...Now, my question:
I want to create 3 partition (1: only boot partition-2: C for windows-3: D for data and backups, etc)
About the boot partition: is it enough to indicate it as a FAT32, 300mb, primary and active partition for Windows to copy the boot files inside?
In my master image, which I'm preparing now, I must have the 3 partition already, before sysprepping/OOBEing? Now I'm working with the Boot one and C only...

ahelton said:

Does that effectively append my answer file to the sysprepped image? So when imaging my other computers I don't need to reference my answer file any longer?

I'm asking myself, too!

I use win pe with IMAGEX and I guess I must do this, tell me if i'm wrong please:
- launch sysprep with generalize and oobe and reboot/shutdown whatever
- before OS reboot I capture the image with IMAGEX
- After saving the image I let the OS to boot to complete installation
- When I need to install another computer with the same image I just APPLY it on an empty hdd with IMAGEX, right? no more answer files needed right?

Thanks!

soleliquido said:

ahelton said:

Does that effectively append my answer file to the sysprepped image? So when imaging my other computers I don't need to reference my answer file any longer?

I'm asking myself, too!

I use win pe with IMAGEX and I guess I must do this, tell me if i'm wrong please:
- launch sysprep with generalize and oobe and reboot/shutdown whatever
- before OS reboot I capture the image with IMAGEX
- After saving the image I let the OS to boot to complete installation
- When I need to install another computer with the same image I just APPLY it on an empty hdd with IMAGEX, right? no more answer files needed right?

Thanks!

I'm using WinPE and DISM to capture my images. I would think the answer file is appended to the image once you run the Sysprep command with the /Shutdown switch. I'm sure someone will let use know, but I'm just going to test it on a computer and see what happens when I apply the image.

HI Kari!
I've tried my unattended.xml and everything worked fine I couldn't believe it, except for the disk partitioning, as you described in your tutorial.
After the setup I only find the boot (disk 0 partition 1) partition and C (disk 0 partition 2), but not the third partition (data, disk 0 partition 3). All exactly as before oobe.

What should I do to obtain this?
Creating the partitions BEFORE sysprepping is the solution? Or there's something wrong in xml?

Here's the part regarding this:

<DiskConfiguration>
<Disk wcm:action="add">
<CreatePartitions>
<CreatePartition wcm:action="add">
<Order>1</Order>
<Size>300</Size>
<Type>Primary</Type>
</CreatePartition>
<CreatePartition wcm:action="add">
<Order>2</Order>
<Size>276638</Size>
<Type>Primary</Type>
</CreatePartition>
<CreatePartition wcm:action="add">
<Order>3</Order>
<Size>200000</Size>
<Type>Primary</Type>
</CreatePartition>
</CreatePartitions>
<ModifyPartitions>
<ModifyPartition wcm:action="add">
<Active>true</Active>
<Extend>false</Extend>
<Format>FAT32</Format>
<Label>Boot</Label>
<Order>1</Order>
<PartitionID>1</PartitionID>
<TypeID />
</ModifyPartition>
<ModifyPartition wcm:action="add">
<Order>2</Order>
<Active>false</Active>
<Extend>false</Extend>
<Format>NTFS</Format>
<Label>System</Label>
<Letter>C</Letter>
<PartitionID>2</PartitionID>
</ModifyPartition>
<ModifyPartition wcm:action="add">
<Order>3</Order>
<Letter>D</Letter>
<Active>false</Active>
<Extend>false</Extend>
<Format>NTFS</Format>
<Label>Data</Label>
<PartitionID>3</PartitionID>
</ModifyPartition>
</ModifyPartitions>
<DiskID>0</DiskID>
<WillWipeDisk>true</WillWipeDisk>
</Disk>
</DiskConfiguration>

I'm having some problems applying my sysprepped imaged to a new computer. I keep getting a message similar to this: "Image can't be applied because hardware note supported."

I'm confused by this because I thought the whole purpose of sysprepping was to make a hardware independent image. Also, the hardware in this case is the exact same as the computer I sysprepped anyway, so I would think it should definitely work.

I used WinPE 10 to capture my image since I already had a bootable USB with it installed. Is it ok to use it for W7 deployment? I read this on the TechNet blog, so I thought it would be no problem:

Any existing Windows PE 3.1 or Windows PE 5 boot images can still be used, but are no longer customizable from the Configuration Manager console. You can create new boot images which will now be using Windows PE 10. Windows PE 10 boot images support deployments of Windows 7 through Windows 10.

Lastly, when I apply the sysprepped image to another computer which already has Windows 7 installed on it, do I just tell the image to be applied to the C: drive? I followed the instructions on disc partitioning listed in the tutorial and it seems to me that it should wipe the disc first and then apply the image, but I wasn't sure where I should tell the image to be applied.

Thanks.

Hi Kari

Followed your brilliant tutorial on doing a Custom Windows 7 installation.

I have now got the system up and running and activated online.

After I activated, I wondered if I had done the right thing because I want to be able to build on the reference image and create a library of different configurations.

Am I able to recreate a new image at any point if I run the sysprep /audit /generalize /shutdown from elevated command line after stopping Windows Media Player Network service?

Presumably this would take be back to a certain Step (Step 6?) in your original tutorial?

This is something I have been meaning to do for years. Having read and followed your tutorial, I feel like I have been freed of the shackles of the limitation of a long reinstall prison sentence!

Also, I want to create another image from the original image for my partner's computer because she wants different things on hers and is more likely to download nasties as she is not as savvy at times.

Presumably I just create another Unattended Answer File for her PC with her Product Activation Key populated and I can enjoy doing reinstalls on her machine far quicker than I have ever done.

Thanks in advance. I appreciate you are a busy man.

Thanks man

Great tutorial. I have one question how change desktop, start menu and taskbar layout using this tutorial? Thanks