Hello everybody,
we routinely deployed Windows Server 2016 terminal servers by cloning and sysprepping them from a template (using a PowerShell script). The very same with Windows Server 2019 fails, and even if we manually just clone the template VM, start it (disconnected from the network), sysprep it (OOBE, generalize, reboot), the following symptoms occur:
1) Sysprep takes 15 - 20 minutes (compared to, say, 5 minutes normally)
2) Sysprep does not ask for a new local Administrator password.
3) The machine boots, but we cannot log on a s a local Administrator. This is regardless of whether we
- clone and sysprep manually,
- include a C:\Windows\Setup\Scripts\SetupComplete.cmd with "net user administrator /active:yes" in the template (see https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2034622), or
- use our PowerShell script which normally injects a fixed Administrator password via the sysprep answer file.
Has something changed in sysprep's behaviour between Windows Server 2016 and 2019?
Best Regards,
Stefan Falk