[mdt] HELP!!! Sysprep is driving me mad

[fiza]

I have set up MDT and have a reference machine ready.

 

I am trying to follow MS instructions on setting up a Default User Profile. The instructions say to remove all accounts except the built in administrator. Login as administrator (we have set an administrator password) and set your profile up as you want it. Log off and then open a session to the MDT server run the litetouch.vbs from within windows. MDT Captures the image and the result i get is it finished with 0 errors and the machine can be rebooted. Once the reference machine reboots and I try to login the administrator account has been disabled and I have no way of logging into my reference machine!!!

 

I havent tried deploying the image yet to see if the admin account gets re-enabled by MDT on the deployed machine.

 

How are you supposed to login to the reference machine again if you need to make changes?

 

where have I gone wrong?

[Valyyn]

Ah yeah, I found that quite annoying - Sysprep does disable the local Admin account unless you enable it in your sysprep answer file.

 

From what I remember, you have to add it in two places:

 

In the oobeSystem pass you set the password and tell it to auto-logon:

     
        
           [b]SecurePasswd123[/b] 
           true 
        
        Administrator 
        true 
        5 
     
     
        
            [b]SecurePasswd123[/b] 
           true 
        
     
  

 

and then in the specialize pass you have to set it back to active:

       
           
               
                   1
                   net user administrator /active:yes
               
           
       

[fiza]

@Valyyn - Im new to MDT and havent used sysprep since XP. Is the answer file you mention the same as the unattend.xml that is found when you go into the task sequence and click on osinfo?

[Valyyn]

I'm the other way and I've not really used MDT! It is the unattend.xml though, yes

 

It's the one you call with Sysprep

(e.g. C:\Windows\System32\sysprep\sysprep.exe /oobe /generalize /shutdown /unattend:unattend.xml)

[free780]

As long as you set the admin password in the ts. It should add it to the answer file. I prefer seperate ts for capture and deploy.

[fiza]

As long as you set the admin password in the ts. It should add it to the answer file. I prefer seperate ts for capture and deploy.

 

I do have a separate task sequence for capture & separate one for deploy

Where do you set it for the capture ts?

Edited July 18, 2013 by fiza

[fiza]

just checked my answer file.

For my Capture task I have ;

amd-64_Microsoft-Windows-Deployment_Neutral

RunSynchronous

RunSynchronousCommoand[Order=1]

 

Under this setting I have "Path cmd /c net user Administrator /active:yes"

 

Under the Ooobe Autologon

Enabled true

Logoncount 999

Username Administrator

 

Under password I have set my own password

Under UserAccounts I have matched the AdministratorPassword to be the same

 

 

So in theory this should capture my image and then when I reboot my reference machine the answer file should enable the admin account? But it didnt!

Edited July 18, 2013 by fiza

[Vasriel]

I found this webpage useful when setting up a sysprep unattend.xml file

 

Sysprep a Windows 7 Machine

[fiza]

@Vasriel

 

According to that article I should have

 

UserAccounts

1. Password: Administrator Password

 

Action: AddListItem

Description: Local Administrator

DisplayName: Administrator

Group: Administrators

Name: Administrator

 

LocalAccount[Name=Administrator]

 

AdministratorPassword: Administrator Password

LocalAccounts

 

 

Which I didnt but have now added. Will see how it goes and let you know.

[SHimmer45]

i had issue with this so didnt set the password for the local admin and do that manually at the moment as i had an attack of "omg the password is in plain text in the answer file"

[steewy]

You do not need to edit your sysprep or the unattended file.

 

So i had exactly the same error a while ago.

Did you use an original windows seven DVD to install your reference machine ?

Did you at some point modify the original windows 7 with RT Lite Touch or something similar ?

 

My reference machine was fine and I could run the sysprep and capture with no error but I was block on the admin logon as soon as the computer was restarting.

 

My W7 was a W7 that I modified myself using RT7 lite touch.

 

To solve the problem I had to star all over with W7 pro original, and install all the updates manually.

I also had to make sure that the administrator password was the same on my local machine and also my task sequence (even if the sysprep gets ride of it).

 

Hope that helps

Edited July 18, 2013 by steewy

[fiza]

You do not need to edit your sysprep or the unattended file.

 

So i had exactly the same error a while ago.

Did you use an original windows seven DVD to install your reference machine ?

Did you at some point modify the original windows 7 with RT Lite Touch or something similar ?

 

My reference machine was fine and I could run the sysprep and capture with no error but I was block on the admin logon as soon as the computer was restarting.

 

My W7 was a W7 that I modified myself using RT7 lite touch.

 

To solve the problem I had to star all over with W7 pro original, and install all the updates manually.

I also had to make sure that the administrator password was the same on my local machine and also my task sequence (even if the sysprep gets ride of it).

 

Hope that helps

 

I started from scratch with W7 volume Licence (EES) version. I didnt use RT Lite. The password is the same in the ts and the reference machine.

[steewy]

I started from scratch with W7 volume Licence (EES) version. I didnt use RT Lite. The password is the same in the ts and the reference machine.

 

I never activated my refrerence machine. I leave the activation blank.

You might need to try an other ISO. It's a pain but it fixed the problem for me.

To do so I had a virtual machine with snapshots. Just install the machine with admin account same password as the TS and Deployment task.

Capture the image without any software or updates.

Also to know if your windows is "OK" you can run the sysprep manually without using MDT.

If it fails you know that your issues comes from your windows and not your server.

Take a snapshot of your virtual machine and run C:\Windows\System32\sysprep.

Does it work without getting any errors ?

[steewy]

One extra thing not sure it helps but every time I capture an image I change the MDT rules and bootstrap to keep it simple without affecting the image and since I do that no more admin login isues.

 

MDT RULES:

[settings]

Priority=Default

Properties=MyCustomProperty

 

[Default]

OSInstall=Y

SkipAppsOnUpgrade=YES

SkipCapture=NO

SkipAdminPassword=YES

SkipProductKey=YES

 

It might look short but it's all you need.

 

BOOTSTRAP:

 

[settings]

Priority=Default

 

[Default]

DeployRoot=\\mydeploymentshare$

SkipBDDWelcome=YES

 

 

UserDomain=school

UserID=MDT

UserPassword=password

 

Could you show me your rules and bootstrap ?

[fiza]

MDT Rules

 

Settings]

Priority=Default

Properties=MyCustomProperty

 

[Default]

OSInstall=Y

SkipCapture=NO

SkipProductKey=YES

SkipComputerBackup=YES

SkipBitLocker=YES

EvenService=http://MDT@9800

 

 

Bootstrap

 

[settings]

Priority=Default

 

[Default]

DeployRoot=\\MDT\CaptureShare$

Edited July 18, 2013 by fiza

[steewy]

MDT Rules

 

Settings]

Priority=Default

Properties=MyCustomProperty

 

[Default]

OSInstall=Y

SkipCapture=NO

SkipProductKey=YES

SkipComputerBackup=YES

SkipBitLocker=YES

EvenService=http://MDT@9800

 

 

Bootstrap

 

[settings]

Priority=Default

 

[Default]

DeployRoot=\\MDT\CaptureShare$

 

That should be fine. Did you try to run the sysprep manually ?

[Duke5A]

I can't speak for MDT as I only use WDS, but this is what I do to get Windows to set the default user profile: create a second local admin account to work out of, enable the stock local admin account and only use this for setting options I want to be present in default user, and set the appropriate option in sysprep.

 

       
           true
           true
           xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
           *
       

 

The CopyProfile option is what tells it to copy the stock local admin account over top of default user.

[steewy]

I can't speak for MDT as I only use WDS, but this is what I do to get Windows to set the default user profile: create a second local admin account to work out of, enable the stock local admin account and only use this for setting options I want to be present in default user, and set the appropriate option in sysprep.

 

       
           true
           true
           xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
           *
       

 

The CopyProfile option is what tells it to copy the stock local admin account over top of default user.

 

That will work as well. But i still think that your windows is "corrupted"