MDT sysprep limit?

[SHimmer45]

Hi all,

been having some odd behaviour with testing sysprepped images and after 3 preps it locks out the local admin account and doesnt put the drivers in correctly.
so is there a limit which isnt documented that has a limit set when making changed to an image?

[tmcd35]

AFAIK yes the limit is on sysprep itself regardless of whether it's used with MDT or other whys. It was introduced with Vista, I think. As I recall it's to prevent image corruptions that can occur with the change of SID? Can't remember all the details but, yes it's can be a real PITA!

[SHimmer45]

/sigh. well thats going to cause a problem..
so if you are continual making changes you are going to hit a wall then?

[localzuk]

Not really, I use a virtual machine, and snapshot pre-sysprep. That image is maintained, and sysprep is only ran once I'm happy with the changes. And then when I want to do more changes in future, I revert to the pre-sysprep snapshot.

[SHimmer45]

Not really, I use a virtual machine, and snapshot pre-sysprep. That image is maintained, and sysprep is only ran once I'm happy with the changes. And then when I want to do more changes in future, I revert to the pre-sysprep snapshot.

ahh this is a different way of work with it to what im doing as im changing options then recapturing and deploying to see how it reacts with option changes.
i havent used a VM just working on a "real" pc

[sparkeh]

From How Sysprep Works
Particular interest is

There is no limit to the number of times Sysprep can run on a computer

(emphasis my own).

Perhaps people are thinking of the activation limit?

Resetting Windows Activation

When you install Windows with a single license product key, you have 30 days during which you must activate that installation of Windows. If you do not activate Windows within the 30 day period and do not reset the activation clock, Windows will enter RFM (Reduced Functionality Mode). This mode prevents users from logging on to the computer until Windows is activated.
There is no limit to the number of times Sysprep can run on a computer. However, the clock for Windows Product Activation begins its countdown the first time Windows starts. You can use the sysprep /generalize command to reset Windows Product Activation a maximum of three times. After the third time you run the sysprep /generalize command, the clock can no longer be reset.
When you run the sysprep /generalize command, the activation clock will automatically reset. You can bypass resetting the activation clock by using the SkipRearm setting in the Microsoft-Windows-Security-Licensing-SLC component. This enables you to run Sysprep multiple times without resetting the activation clock. For more information about this setting, see the Unattended Windows Setup Reference.

Important

If you anticipate running Sysprep multiple times on a single computer, you must use the SkipRearm setting in the Microsoft-Windows-Security-Licensing-SLC component to postpone resetting the activation clock. Because you can reset the activation clock only three times, if you run Sysprep multiple times on a computer, you might run out of activation clock resets. Microsoft recommends that you use the SkipRearm setting if you plan on running Sysprep multiple times on a computer.

[SHimmer45]

i thought i had a good handle on how it works (i created a reference image/customised it/captured it/deployed to a pc creating the default profile/drivers installing ok)
but then just started locking me out going to check my .xml files to see if something is odd and add in the skip activation timers etc, the test pc had been contacting the KMS host we have ok.

[localzuk]

ahh this is a different way of work with it to what im doing as im changing options then recapturing and deploying to see how it reacts with option changes.
i havent used a VM just working on a "real" pc

I would advise switching to a VM to do it. I use the guide here to do it - Installing FOG

Makes life so simple, 1 image for everywhere, no issues with sysprepping or activation etc...

[SHimmer45]

right ok, just using a pc i had around as the idea is that it shouldnt matter what its installed on as drivers and the like are removed as the image is captured.
but will look at that as well.

As my base image is taken from MDT customised and recaptured

[SHimmer45]

I would advise switching to a VM to do it. I use the guide here to do it - Installing FOG

Makes life so simple, 1 image for everywhere, no issues with sysprepping or activation etc...

been prepping a building using VMplayer and it appears to be behaving better (shame no support for snapshot, just manual copy the files instead)
Still wanting to use the MS tools for deploying at this stage (still swearing at it slightly but progress being made)

[sted]

if you want free vm that does so snapshotting try vbox

[SHimmer45]

ive used virtual box at home, i think we have a running VMware server which can do the snapshotting which a co worker has just reminded me about so will most likely import the image into there.