Preparing machine for SYSPREP

[mikeprice]

I know I am missing something here but it is driving me mad

 

The problem is that I have a load of new machines. I can install Windows 7 Ent from scratch and load the relevant drivers and applications and it all works fine - but takes most of a day due to loads of old applications etc.

 

So next I obviously want to create an image load it to the server and then simply image the other machines.

 

So I run SYSPREP with generalize and OOB.

 

Then I should be able to create the image and restart the machine but this is where the problem arises.

When I try to restart the machine it goes into normal "windows first time start up" but stops when starting services. It insists on restarting saying that it will complete configuration on restart but it just stops when starting services again.

 

This also happens if I go direct to rebooting and don't create the image (I tried that to prove it was something to do with SYSPREP)

 

The same happens to a machine that I images using an image creating from this reference machine

 

I have used and created images many times before in many schools but I have never seen this - it could be due to never starting from a completely clean install before

 

I assume that there is a step that I have forgotten or possibly have never needed before?????

 

Any help would be welcome as at the moment I am having to set each machine up totally manually and it is taking ages and is very error prone!!

 

TIA

 

Mike

[AdonMalik]

I haven't seen that particular issue before with sysprep but your description of the steps you took prior to capturing the image seems correct. Typically I throw sysprep the direct path to the unattend file and the shutdown switch as well but that shouldn't be the cause of this problem. Make sure that you're throwing sysprep /OOBE though instead of /OOB; if not that's probably the issue right there.

 

If that's not it then you might try deploying the image to a virtual machine to see if you can reproduce the issue there as well. While it won't rule out hardware if it still fails it will at least give you a bit more info if it ends up succeeding.

[Cache]

If it's getting stuck at Starting Services, I would hazard a guess that one of them is perhaps failing to start and Sysprep is stripping out something that's needed.

 

I'd take a look at the log files on the HDD after it gets stuck (either plug the hdd in somewhere else or boot into WinPE using something and ead using notepad) in Windows\panther and windows\system32\sysprep\panther and see if anything jumps out.

 

If it helps I always follow this guide for doing Sysprep on Windows 7 from Install Windows 7 through to Capture the Image: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee523217%28v=ws.10%29.aspx

[disk]

How are you pulling up the image?

[mikeprice]

How are you pulling up the image?

 

I have tried writing the image direct to teh WDS server and writing it to a local disk - results are the same in both cases

 

I have also tried reimaging the same - and other - PCs using the images and it acts exactly the same as the source computer

 

I think it is the sysprep that is causing the problem