SysPrep script

Organizations with virtual infrastructures, clone servers. If you clone servers, you are familiar with the need to run / use sysprep. 

It's all fine and dandy to use templates, and have sysprep run when you build your templates. But what happens when you clone a server, then need to clone your clone, and are then asked to create a clone of the clone of your original clone. You are pushing up against the Windows activation limit, and you may not be able to boot that final clone due to sysprep limitations built into windows. 

Microsoft's answer is to re-install your OS. 

I'm sorry Microsoft but that doesn't work so well in the business world. 

The following script will reset the 'counter' on sysprep. If you encounter the situation listed above where windows believes it's hit it's activation limit, this script will allow sysprep to complete successfully on the machine. 

The script should be saved as a a CMD file and run as administrator. 

-Begin Script-

@echo off

c:

cd\

Reg Delete "hklm\SYSTEM\Setup\Status\SysprepStatus" /v GeneralizationState /f

Reg Delete "hklm\Software\Microsoft\windows NT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform" /v SkipRearm /f

Timeout /t 3 /NoBreak

Reg Add "hklm\SYSTEM\Setup\Status\SysprepStatus" /v GeneralizationState /t Reg_dword /d 7

Reg Add "hklm\Software\Microsoft\windows NT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform" /v SkipRearm /t Reg_dword /d 1

Timeout /t 2 /NoBreak

MSDTC -Uninstall

Timeout /t 2 /NoBreak

MSDTC -Install

cd "Windows\system32\sysprep"

Start "sysprep" sysprep.exe /oobe /generalize /reboot

-End Script-