Sysprep problem

[FN-GM]

Hi,

 

I have run Sysprep on Windows 7 Enterprise x86. I use out of the box experience and generalize. I then uploaded to image to ghost. When the machine boots i am getting the following message:

 

windows could not finish configuring the system. To attempt to resum e congiuration, restart the computer

 

I hope im not screwed it took a while to get this image ready. Does anyone have any pointers please? I am doing some googling found plenty of people with the problem but no solutions.

 

Thanks

[DMcCoy]

Hi,

 

I have run Sysprep on Windows 7 Enterprise x86. I use out of the box experience and generalize. I then uploaded to image to ghost. When the machine boots i am getting the following message:

 

 

 

I hope im not screwed it took a while to get this image ready. Does anyone have any pointers please? I am doing some googling found plenty of people with the problem but no solutions.

 

Thanks

 

You will need to take the image again with a corrected unattended.xml file, this one is broken. I always take an image pre-sysprep in case of any errors.

 

This will be an error in the xml file, you can use notepad on the broken image to open the log files for sysprep. I had this error when I configured options for Vista for components that didn't exist on it (such as disabling WMP shaing - not installed so you get the error).

[FN-GM]

I didnt use an XML file, i didnt with Vista and it worked fine. I just presumed it would be the same

[DMcCoy]

Wel you can try again, but I suspect you will find that the machine that run sysprep is now stuck in a reboot loop where it will say the same thing each time. You will have to go back to the last running version before sysprep run.

 

Your only hope for diagnosis is to check the logs produced by sysprep. You can run notepad.exe from the cmd prompt then open them from within that. C:\Windows\Panther is where they are located iirc

[powdarrmonkey]

IIRC sysprep has to be updated each release - has a Win 7 version been published? (and are you using it?)

[DMcCoy]

Sysprep is now distributed with the OS in Vista/2008/7/R2.

 

C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep\

[powdarrmonkey]

Excellent, I didn't know that magic. Thanks.

[FN-GM]

I ended up starting again and it worked this time. I have learnt my lesson to take an image before Syspreping

[SYNACK]

As another consideration if you are doing a universal (generalized) image it is a good idea to do it in a VM, that way it has all generic hardware which sysprep handles nicely and you can snapshot just before sysprep so that any incremental changes or updates are really quick to do.

[DMcCoy]

As another consideration if you are doing a universal (generalized) image it is a good idea to do it in a VM.

 

I usually do, but you can't test things like media player as vmware at least doesn't have enough hardware acceleration for the gaphics (even with the new 3d features turned on). You just get an error from media player instead

 

Using one of our lowest spec machines now to build a Vista image.

[SYNACK]

I usually do, but you can't test things like media player as vmware at least doesn't have enough hardware acceleration for the gaphics (even with the new 3d features turned on). You just get an error from media player instead

 

Using one of our lowest spec machines now to build a Vista image.

 

Virtualbox has 3D support, I usually do it under Hyper-V anyhow why do you need to test mediaplayer, have you customized it in some way? I set it up under hyper-V with the legacy NIC to avoid another driver and do not install the extentions. Then I use the keyboard (as the mouse is not captured) to allow rdp and then build and test over RDP.

 

Be exceptionally carefull with drivers on your Vista image, certain drivers (Intel) leave a huge mess about on the system and sysprep cannot clean it up. This is assuming a generalized image. Anyway when this occours it can completely trach the image for use on other computers as the intel drivers can assosiate themselves to the wrong hardware ie GPUs that will not install the correct drivers due to corruption of the chipset drivers. I have had this cause machines fail to build too - again intel chipset stuff.

 

This was highlighted when Vista SP1 was released and killed off lots of hps as their image was built on an AMD and the cool and quiet drivers were not quite completely disposed of by sysprep.

 

Given the mechanisums involved I doubt that 7 would have been able to solve this so I would heavily recommend doing any generalized image on a VM. This issue has caused days of diagnostics and irritation for me which I hope everyone else can avoid.

[DMcCoy]

While I've not actually deployed Vista yet (the Naming then joining domain MS insanity), I have been testing sysprep with a custom unattend file, with generalize and oobe.

 

I am only using the built in Windows drivers for Nvidia and intel hardware, I usually customise all the additional infs in the sysprep folder to remove and startup utils etc.

 

From a nvidia/other junk standpoint, it's not an issue. All machines now have 7300 or 8400 cards Intel boards, Core2 duo cpus.

[SYNACK]

While I've not actually deployed Vista yet (the Naming then joining domain MS insanity), I have been testing sysprep with a custom unattend file, with generalize and oobe.

 

I am only using the built in Windows drivers for Nvidia and intel hardware, I usually customise all the additional infs in the sysprep folder to remove and startup utils etc.

 

From a nvidia/other junk standpoint, it's not an issue. All machines now have 7300 or 8400 cards Intel boards, Core2 duo cpus.

 

Sounds like it will probably be ok as long as it is using the integrated drivers on the imageing computer, be sure not to let it download any other drivers off Windows update either as some of these are just repackaged from the vendors which is fine for anything but a base image.

 

Just because they are all intel boards does not mean that you wouldn't have trouble with the problems outlined above unless they all have an identical chipset level. Their smarmy drivers if included in the image can latch on to certain bits of hardware even if they are not the correct drivers which was an issue I had with laptops containing a slightly newer intel chipset which caused the install to fail before completion. Integrated only is the key with any newer drivers or odd drivers as you say added with infs in the sysprep folder.

 

EDIT: Oh and I can't recommend MDT highly enough for automating the process of building, renaming, joining etc.

Edited August 19, 2009 by SYNACK