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Sysprep OOBE generalize wipes all server configs

Anonymous
2023-08-17T11:24:44+00:00

Hi Everyone.

We have run Sysprep on a windows 2019 server, with the OOBE and generalize options.

However, the sysprep wiped ALL configs - network interface details, secpol configs, etc.

I have tried to use an unattend.xml file but am unable to get it to work.

Can someone please paste a minimal unattend.xml to avoid the wiping of these configs?

This is my current file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">

  <settings pass="generalize">

    <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup">

      <OOBE>

        <SkipMachineOOBE>true</SkipMachineOOBE>

        <SkipUserOOBE>true</SkipUserOOBE>

      </OOBE>

    </component>

    <component name="Microsoft-Windows-PnpSysprep">

      <PersistAllDeviceInstalls>true</PersistAllDeviceInstalls>

    </component>

  </settings>

</unattend>

Windows Server Devices and deployment Install Windows updates, features, or roles

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-08-18T08:34:25+00:00

    Hi.

    Sysprep is designed to generalize a Windows installation by removing specific computer information, which is crucial for creating images that can be deployed to different hardware. Therefore, preventing Sysprep from erasing computer information entirely would go against its purpose.

    While you can use settings like "PersistAllDeviceInstalls" in the unattend.xml to preserve device installations, it's important to understand that certain computer-specific settings, such as network configurations, security identifiers (SIDs), and computer names, will be reset during the Sysprep process.

    Please refer to :PersistAllDeviceInstalls | Microsoft Learn

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-08-18T08:46:36+00:00

    Thank you for that.

    Our image that we clone from in VMWare has many configurations that we would then have to apply to all new servers.

    Is there any other way to reset the SID of a Windows 2019 server?

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-08-22T08:07:20+00:00

    Hi.

    If you want to apply to all new servers, you must erase computer-specific information, including the SID.

    The SID cannot be customized and are automatically generated each time you log in to the computer.

    Best Regards,

    Hania Lian

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