I know there are 9,342 entries out there on how to sysprep a server. In fact I thought about not bothering writing this up at all, but figured that at some point in the future I would once again need this information. Also, I am setting up this image for use with Automated Deployment Services (ADS). I am moving on to SCCM for operation system deployment, but a new build is needed now. It is not an overly complicated procedure. So you understand the layout of this post, I am going to number the major points, and then add comments to them as I move forward.

For starter, what is sysprep? Sysprep is a tool from Microsoft that is for use in cloning or creating new servers. Once a server has been syspreped it can be used with various deployment tools. These can be non-microsoft or Microsoft tools. Another reason to sysprep a machine is to provide a clean image will all the software that is part of a base or clean image. I leave more research on what Sysprep is to you. Let's get started with this information:

1. Build a server and install whatever software that you want on it. (I like to keep my clean, and add packages later)
2. Insert the CD/DVD that you built the server from and copy I386 to c:\WINDOWS\
   1. Note: This is done to make life easier when installing packages or adding features to the machine that is being built. It is a pain to have to put in a network path or find a installation CD/DVD everytim you need to add a component to a server
3. Create the sysprep directory on the base of the C drive
   1. Open Start -> Run -> Type 'cmd'  
   2. C:\>mkdir c:\sysprep
4. On the installation CD open the CAB file that has sysprep in it and copy files to c:\sysprep
   1. Locate DEPLOY.CAB on the installation media. Should be something like D:\SUPPORT\TOOLS\DEPLOY.CAB
   2. Double click to expand the CAB file.
   3. Copy setupcl.exe, setupmgr, and sysprep.exe to c:\sysprep
5. Enable Remote Desktop Connections (RDP). Only do this if you want to be able to term serv into your server remotely. Highly Recommended.
6. Run ADS agent installer. (not going into detail here as ADS is another issue altogether)
7. Run sysprep. This is what we have been waiting for.
   1. Note: I am using ADS so I am not interested in create a sysprep.ini file with answer information. James Kovac has a page that discusses this.
      
   2. Open up the command line.
   3. Run sysprep with the following flags -reseal and -reboot. This machine is going to boot into the deployment agent so shutdown is not needed. If you were going to use this image on other machines you would need a method of copying the disk. I leave this up to you.
   4. Run 'c:\sysprep.exe -reseal -reboot'
      
8. Call it a day.

Hopefully this will help someone out there. I know that this is not a comprehensive breakdown into sysprep, but hopefully I will be moving away from it as I move onto SCCM. The deployment features in SCCM are much better than using ADS. Next time a hardware update is done, I should only have to insert some drivers into my WinPE image and to the build process.

One can hope.