# Solved: Sysprep question



## mvirata (Feb 17, 2011)

I am in the process of testing out Windows 7 Deployments. Regarding syspep it says this in the official Technet (located here, http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd799240(WS.10).aspx):

"Resets Windows Product Activation. Sysprep can reset Windows Product Activation up to three times."

Further down it says this:

"The clock for activation begins its countdown the first time Windows starts. You can use Sysprep for a maximum of three times to reset the clock for Windows Product Activation. After the third time you run Sysprep, the clock can no longer be reset."

Does this mean that if I sysprep a machine, after the 3rd time, it is no longer activated? What happens if I sysprep it a 4th time, can I just activate it again? The reason I am asking this is because I am positive that I will making modifications to the image more than 3 times. If I have to reactivate it after 3 times, I am OK with that. I am just curious to what this actually means.


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## Rockn (Jul 29, 2001)

If your sysprep fails or you forget to add something to it you can only do it three times, that is what it is referring to.


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## mvirata (Feb 17, 2011)

OK that's what I thought. I guess I need to capture an image before and after the sysprep. Seems kind of pointless to keep two images, I thought the whole point of a hardware agnostic image is to minimize how many images you keep.


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## Rockn (Jul 29, 2001)

Why are you doing a sysprep? All of the computers you apply the image to will need to be the same make and model.


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## mvirata (Feb 17, 2011)

I'm making a reference image for Windows 7 containing all of the software we need for a standard user. By doing a sysprep /generalize /oobe i can apply this image to any computer, regardless of make or model. Drivers can get injected into the image by three methods:

1. DISM
2. Unattended answer file that points to a local or network Driver store
3. Reg entries that point to a local Driver store

If I could sysprep an unlimited number of times, then I could keep the reference image up to date. When I need to deploy an image I'll simply run sysprep, create a .wim file, and be done with it.

Since I can't, then I have to create a .wim file before I sysprep. Afterwards, I run sysprep, then I create another .wim file for deployment. Then revert the image back to before sysprep. This has to be done because if I keep syspreping, I'll be dead in the water after 3 times.

Actually some extra research has shown that it's best to make your reference machine a VM because you can create a snapshot prior to sysprep. This is probably the scenario I will go with.


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