Preparing for Duplication in Visual Studio .NET

Encoder ECC200 in Visual Studio .NET Preparing for Duplication

You're almost done; now you must prepare the sample computer's hard disk for duplication. On the surface, this is the easy part but, as I sometimes do, I'm going to throw a curveball. To prepare for duplication, create %SYSTEMDRIVE%\Sysprep and copy Sysprep.exe, Setupcl.exe, and the Sysprep.inf file you created to it. That's it now for the curveball: Fully automated disk image production is the ideal. It enables regression testing. If you can swing it (and you can with a good bit of work), you'll want to modify your Windows XP answer file so that it runs Sysprep after it installs all the applications. Here's how: 1. Create a Sysprep folder in the Windows XP distribution folder under $OEM$\$1 so that the setup program creates %SYSTEMDRIVE%\Sysprep for you during installation. This prevents you from having to interact with the disk image at all. 2. Add the following to the answer file you're using to build the disk image. This installs each application. The placeholders setup1 and setup2 are the commands necessary to install the applications you want to include on the disk image. If you prefer, you can run a batch file from the [GuiRunOnce] section, and install all the applications from that batch file. Running each setup program with no user interaction is preferable. This script quietly runs Sysprep configured to use Mini Setup Wizard, which prepares the disk for duplication:

[GuiRunOnce] "setup1" "setup2" "%SYSTEMDRIVE%\Sysprep\Sysprep.exe mini quiet reseal forceshutdown"

3. Add the following to the answer file you're using to build the disk image. This automatically logs the local Administrator on to Windows XP to run the programs in [GuiRunOnce] (set AutoLogonCount to the number of times you need to log on to Windows XP to complete the installation process in [GuiRunOnce]):

4. In the answer file you're using to install Windows XP on the sample computer, leave the local Administrator password null: AdminPassword=*. Doing so ensures that you can change the local Administrator password in Sysprep.inf.

The last step is to run Sysprep and clone the disk to an image file. If you're fully automating disk image production, this occurs automatically. Otherwise, run Sysprep manually. The following steps describe how to run Sysprep so that it prepares the disk for duplication and configures it to automate Mini Setup Wizard: 1. Run %SYSTEMDRIVE%\Sysprep.exe. You see the Sysprep window shown in Figure 13 2.

Figure 13 2: Earlier versions of Sysprep had no user interface, so this look and feel is truly new. 2. Select the MiniSetup check box. This causes Sysprep to use Mini Setup Wizard as the first run experience instead of Windows Welcome, which is the default. Mini Setup Wizard is the first run experience that you customize with Sysprep.inf. 3. Optionally, select the PnP check box. Do this only if you want Mini Setup Wizard to detect legacy devices during hardware detection, which adds about 10 minutes to the installation process. 4. Click Reseal to prepare the disk for duplication, and shut down the computer. I'm not a fan of graphical user interfaces when there is a perfectly good command I can type at the MS DOS command prompt. As a result, I almost always use Sysprep's command line options instead:

sysprep {[ clean] | [ activated] [ audit] [ factory] [ forceshutdown] [ mini] [ noreboot] [ nosidgen] [ pnp] [ quiet] [ reboot] [ reseal]}

Does not reset the grace period for Windows Product Activation. Use this option only if you have activated Windows XP in Factory mode. The product key you use to activate Windows XP must match the product key located on the COA sticker attached to that particular computer. Reboots the computer into Factory mode without generating new SIDs or processing any items in the [OEMRunOnce] section of Winbom.ini. Use this command line option only if the computer is already in Factory mode. Clears the critical devices database used by the [SysprepMassStorage] section in Sysprep.inf. You learn about this setting in the section titled, "Reducing Image Count," later in this chapter. Restarts in a network enabled state without displaying Windows Welcome or Mini Setup Wizard. This option is useful for updating drivers, running Plug and Play enumeration, installing applications, testing, configuring the computer with 273

customer data, and making other configuration changes in your factory environment. For companies that use disk imaging, Factory mode can reduce the number of images required. When you have finished your desired set of tasks in Factory mode, run Sysprep with the reseal option selected to prepare the computer for end user delivery. forceshutdown Shuts down the computer after Sysprep is complete. Use this option with a computer that has ACPI BIOS and that does not shut down properly with Sysprep's default behavior. mini Configures Windows XP Professional to use Mini Setup Wizard rather than Windows Welcome. This option has no effect on Windows XP Home Edition, in which the first run experience is always Windows Welcome. noreboot Modifies registry keys (SID, OemDuplicatorString, and so on) without the system rebooting or preparing for duplication. This option is used mainly for testing, specifically to see if the registry is modified properly. This option is not recommended because making changes to a computer after Sysprep has run can invalidate the preparation done by Sysprep. Do not use this option in a production environment. nosidgen Runs Sysprep without generating new SIDs. You must use this option if you are not duplicating the computer on which you are running Sysprep or if you are pre installing domain controllers. pnp Runs the full Plug and Play device enumeration and installation during Mini Setup Wizard. This command line option has no effect if the first run experience is Windows Welcome. Use pnp only when you need to detect and install legacy, non Plug and Play devices. Do not use sysprep pnp on computer systems that use only Plug and Play devices. If you do, you will increase the time required for the first run experience without providing any additional benefit to the user. quiet Runs Sysprep without displaying onscreen confirmation messages. This is useful if you are automating Sysprep. Select this option if you plan to run Sysprep immediately following installation, for example. reboot Forces the computer to automatically reboot and then start Windows Welcome, Mini Setup Wizard, or Factory mode. This is useful when you want to audit the system and verify that the first run experience is operating correctly. reseal Clears the Event Viewer logs and prepares the computer for delivery to the customer. Windows Welcome or Mini Setup Wizard is set to start at the next boot. If you run the command sysprep factory, you must seal the installation as the last step in your pre installation process, either by running the command sysprep reseal or by clicking Reseal in the Sysprep window. After you've prepared the disk for duplication, use your third party disk imaging product to clone the disk to an image file. For example, with Symantec Ghost, the product I know and love, you run the Ghost Multicast client on the sample computer to transfer the disk image to the Ghost Multicast server on another computer. This is the simplistic way to clone a disk image, though. The product gets more complicated when you configure disk images so that you can deploy them remotely. In the case of Symantec Ghost, you use the Ghost Enterprise Console to manage and deploy images. For more information, see your vendor's documentation. Tip Sysprep doesn't always shut down the computer properly. Sometimes it just reboots the computer. If Mini Setup Wizard starts, however, you can't use the image. To prevent a surprise reboot, stick a blank floppy disk in drive A before running Sysprep so if the computer does restart, the computer will boot from the floppy disk and Mini Setup Wizard won't run.