Sysprep Tool

Sysprep (System Preparation Tool) is Microsoft's Tool for operating system deployment used to generalize the windows installations.  When you clone a server or deploy from a template, Sysprep needs to be executed to remove the unique identifiers duplicated from the base server/template.  With Sysprep we configure Windows to boot to the Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE).

Windows operating system installations include many unique elements per installation that need to be "generalized" before capturing and deploying a disk image to multiple computers. Some of these elements include:

• Computer name
• Security Identifier (SID)
• Driver Cache
• GUID

To Run Sysprep via GUI:

• Navigate to C:\windows\system32\sysprep folder and click on Sysprep.exe

• Select the Out of Box Experience and check the Generalize option.
• Choose the Shutdown Option to Reboot (always).

• Wait for the process to complete and the Windows will reboot.
• Now select the Win Location/Keyboards defaults and Accept the license Agreement.
• Once the Windows boots, the ServerName will be reset.  You need to change it to the required name and join the server to your domain.
• RE-IP your NIC cards.
• The disks might go offline (if you have other partitions than C:).  Go to the disk management > right click on each disk > click online.

To Run Sysprep via command line:
Open a Command Prompt window as an administrator. Change to the C:\windows\system32\sysprep directory. Type:

Command	Description
Sysprep /generalize /shutdown /oobe	Standard command for real hardware
Sysprep /generalize /shutdown /oobe /mode:vm	Command for a Virtual Machine