How to Capture and Deploy Image (.wim) Without Sysprep

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August 8, 2009
by Brian Jackson
Brian Jackson

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Tutorial
WinPE 3.0

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20 Comments

If you are using WinPE 2.0 or WinPE 3.0 to capture your PC images (.wim files) and deploy them you have probably run into a little problem when trying to deploy an image of Vista or Windows 7 when not first running sysprep. The problem is that if you try to re-deploy an image of a nonsysprepped image of Vista or 7 that the BootMGR will be broken. Follow the steps below to fix this problem.
Microsoft Windows 7

Step #1

I am assuming you have captured your image already and are ready for deployment. Go ahead and boot up your image deployment software (WinPE 2.0 or WinPE 3.0).

Step #2

In my other articles I describe how to use DiskPart and also avoiding the hidden partition before deploying a new image. I suggest reading them.

Step #3

After you have deployed your non-sysprepped image you need to run the following commands: (I have a batch file I use to do this).

bcdedit /set {default} device partition=c:
bcdedit /set {default} osdevice partition=c:
bcdedit /set {bootmgr} device partition=c:

Step #4

This will fix the BOOTMGR problem when deploying a non-syprepped image in Vista or 7. Enjoy!

  • Ted McCarty

    Hi Brian, my question is how do you change the SID when you use this process without Sysprep.

  • http://www.brianleejackson.com Brian Jackson

    There is an app here: http://www.brajkovic.info/virtualization/using-newsid-to-change-sid/ that might work for you. The article applies to Windows Server 2008, but should work fine for Windows 7. Let me know how it goes for you. Good luck!

  • Alan

    This is such great information. I love the scripts and have been using them for deploying our new systems. The WIM concept is so unique, and a little hard to get started, but the benefits of this technology are great. How has the progress gone with Sysprep with Vista/7? All the research I have done has not been very helpful as its just too much information. I am basically looking to setup a sysprep so that I can fill in a unique computer name and maybe setup the time-zone and that is it. All these other instructions online go into way too much detail that I will not use but adding a custom cumputer name/maybe even adding the computer to the domain would be huge help.

    Thanks in advance!!

    Alan

  • http://www.brianleejackson.com Brian Jackson

    I just wrote a tutorial on doing Windows 7 sysprep earlier this evening, from start to finish: (I also included fixes to bugs that some online websites don’t mention) http://blog.brianleejackson.com/sysprep-a-windows-7-machine-start-to-finish Hopefully its not too hard to understand. In that article there is a section where you can input the computer name. I think that is fixed in the Windows 7 sysprep and should work fine for custom name. I have yet to test auto joining to domain, although I know it is possible. I’ll try to keep updating my blog as I test out new things. Happy sysprepping!

    Brian

  • Jory

    Any tips on if your using Rdeploy within WinPe?

    The script doesn’t work for me, I have to pop in the Win7 disc, and run a repair before I can launch a deployed pre-sysprep image.

  • http://www.brianleejackson.com Brian Jackson

    @ Jory : So you did try running

    bcdedit /set {default} device partition=c:
    bcdedit /set {default} osdevice partition=c:
    bcdedit /set {bootmgr} device partition=c:

    ?? Cause basically those lines above is what the Windows 7 repair is doing from install disc. What did it say when you tried running the above lines?

    Also sorry, I have not had any experience with Rdeploy; although I might look into this now as I am curious.

  • Ted McCarty

    Hi Brian, I have been using NewSID for several years on XP. It does not work on Vista or Win7 and since Mark now is part of Microsoft it looks like there will be no updated version. My question is does the SID really do anything now. All the network looks at is the MAC address of the computer and a users SID is the same on any computer that you log on to so where does the computer SID come into play? I can Ghost a computer that I have set up to use as an image to my server and then Ghost it to another computer and it starts up just like I want it to and will authenticate to our KMS server the same as if I had used sysprep and spent the two or three hours fixing all the things that sysprep loused up on my image. Why would anyone want to waste all that time using sysprep? Does Bill Gates get a spiff everytime one of use poor IT folks uses sysprep?

  • http://www.brianleejackson.com Brian Jackson

    @ Ted McCarty: Haha, yes I totally agree with you. SID is pretty much useless now unless you are joining your computers to a domain. I am pretty sure that for a computer to join correctly it needs a new SID. (Might work with same SID after re-imaging) http://www.windowsvistaplace.com/sysprep-generalize-sid/windows-vista

    I do agree that sysprep is sometimes simply a waste of time. Some of my images I have found it much easier to use the default profile copy trick and then simply capturing the image and re-deploying while skipping sysprep altogether. Never had any issues. Yes Microsoft team never seems to commit fully to sysprep process. Just when XP’s sysprep process was just about 100% perfect, they unleash a new, very buggy sysprep.

  • John M

    Brian,

    We are working with Windows 7 Enterprise and I’m wondering what, if any, syspreping legacy from Vista will carry over to Windows 7.

    With Vista, I ran the slmgr.vbs -rearm command to reset the activation information and just prior to sysprep, I would go into the registry and change the value for SkipRearm to 1. This gave me an unlimited amount of syspreps before the system would basically shut down. Is there a similar method with Windows 7 Enterprise or are we limited to a set number of “Syspreps” with Win7 Enterprise?

    Thanks very much.

    John

  • http://www.brianleejackson.com Brian Jackson

    @John M : As far as I know I think the -rearm command now only allows for 3 resets. I have yet to test this though. I guess it’s time to install a new virtual machine :)

  • Chris

    Brian,

    Your site has been a tremendous help. Thanks alot.
    You said to do this:
    After you have deployed your non-sysprepped image you need to run the following commands: (I have a batch file I use to do this).

    bcdedit /set {default} device partition=c:
    bcdedit /set {default} osdevice partition=c:
    bcdedit /set {bootmgr} device partition=c:

    Do I run it while the machine is still in WinPE after applying? I do see it says “after you have deployed…” but want to make sure I’m right about when to run it.
    I have spent days trying to get around the bootmgr missing issue. Looked at every article and rebuilt bcd manually, etc.

  • http://www.brianleejackson.com Brian Jackson

    Yes I always run these commands right after deploying the image; while still in the WinPE 3.0 boot environment.

  • http://advlist.info/ Keejy

    I’d be hung up on to ascertain that too!

  • MSV

    Hi Brian,

    I have a fully sysprepped image of Windows 7 and it works absolutely fine with Symantec Ghost v11.5.

    However, I would like to implement WDS using Server 2008. What i want to do is to capture the image of the Hard Disk into a .wim file (As WDS usese only .wim file) and then deploy it through network.

    I am lost as i am unable to go any further with creating a .wim image file from my customized image of Windows 7.

    Please help and let me know the detailed process of how to create the image of my Hard drive as a .wim file and implement it with WDS.

    if possible, Please post a complete procedure regarding the same..

    Thanks

  • http://None Felipe M

    Brian Thank you so much for your blog it is awesome! I have a question, I created a custom nonsysprep image using Gimagex and it was saved as a .wim file. I converted it to a .iso but was wondering if I could fix my image so that it boots. Currently, I am unable to use the iso to load windows. Any suggestions?

  • Chad S

    Where can i find the Diskpart commands described in this article? i already have everything else setup.

  • August A

    Hi Brian,

    Just wondering can WDS capture images without SYSPrep? I realised this is not possible and the image has to be sysprep’d. How do i go about capturing an image without using sysprep? I have a few images that i do not want sysprep’d for backup purposes.
    I have server 2k8 R2

    Cheers

  • David S

    I captured a VM using ImageX under WinPE 3.0. I named it install.wim and stuck it under sources folder of the Windows 7 iso. I can install that captured image inside a new VM and it works perfectly like I never even reinstalled. My question is can I deploy this image to new hardware without it being sysprep?
    @August A
    Boot into WinPE
    imagex /capture s:\ s:\my-system-partition.wim “My system partition”
    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd744320(WS.10).aspx

  • Steve

    Does this fix also apply to non-syprepped .wim images captured using imagex?

  • http://www.brianleejackson.com Brian Jackson

    Please post your question on the new version of our blog here –> http://theitbros.com/capture-and-deploy-image-without-sysprep. Thank you.

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