Sys Admin
Windows Deployment – Sysprep and the Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE)
Objectives
After completing this lab you will be:
Able to run Sysprep and have an understanding of required switches and optional switches
Familiar with Windows PE
Familiar with diskpart and format use within Windows PE
Able to launch an unattended setup from within Windows PE
Able to run third-party imaging applications to install a disk image from within Windows PE
Prerequisite
Before working on this lab, you may find it useful to have basic familiarity with unattended setup.
Lab Setup
Before working on this lab, you will need to have a properly configured VMWare virtual machine, with a partition to install to, the preconfigured partition to install from, and the Windows PE ISO image.
Estimated time to complete this lab: 50 minutes
Exercise 1
Running Sysprep
Scenario
You have decided to use disk-based duplication, often referred to as “imaging” or “cloning”, to distribute Windows XP to within your enterprise. To do so is a multi-step process, beginning with configuring the source system, including installing applications and configuring system settings, and running Sysprep on it. Sysprep prepares a Windows system for disk-based duplication, and needs to be run from within Windows every time it is going to be imaged. Sysprep configures the operating system to use Windows Welcome (Windows XP only – Windows Server 2003 does not have this functionality) or Mini-Setup to run the first time the end user starts the newly imaged computer. This shortened form of GUI-mode Setup takes five or six minutes instead of the usual 45 to 60 minutes, and it prompts the end user only for required and user-specific information, such as accepting the End-User License Agreement (EULA) and entering the Product Key, user name, and company name. Rather than having a user click through each screen, you can use a Sysprep.inf file, an optional answer file that you can use to automate Mini-Setup. If a Sysprep.inf is present in the Sysprep directory, the information in it will be used to automate Mini-Setup. By using Sysprep.inf, you can have Mini-Setup prompt the end user for certain information, or you can create a completely automated installation that does not prompt the end user for any information at all. Now let’s learn to use Sysprep when running it.
Goal
From within Windows XP, launch Sysprep to prepare Windows for disk-based duplication (imaging).
From Here
