Configuring default settings for Windows image deployment

re: Configuring default settings for Windows image deployment

Michael Murgolo — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:32:42 GMT

Emilios ( Theori),

Unfortunately this blog is not a general MDT support forum. Unless it is a question directly related to the post, we don't really have the time to investigate every issue.

Please try asking your question at the Technet Forum for MDT: social.technet.microsoft.com/.../threads.

Thanks,

Michael Murgolo

re: Configuring default settings for Windows image deployment

Theori — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 05:57:30 GMT

Hi All

Sorry to mail you directly but I have just started having an issue with getting blank custom background bitmapfile even though the properties of the media deployment point in MDT 2010 states a bitmap and the location is accessible.

I look in the litetouch_x64.xml in the boot folder of the deployment point and the is a line saying the following

I then open the Litetouch_x64.wim file and look for the filename winpe.bmp and it does not exisit

Any ideas?

Thanks

Emilios

re: Configuring default settings for Windows image deployment

dg — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:57:19 GMT

Hi Michael,

I posted here, because

"New Comments to this post are disabled"

on the updated blog

I agree that I should not have to modify LTISysprep, but having run through this about 20 times this was the only way I could make copyprofile work with MDT2010, ignoring the user service problem.

I appreciate that the unattend.xml, associated with the deploy image TS, is copied in before the OS starts and that should contain copyprofile for the specialise phase.

To be clear

I do an unatteded install using MDT to create initial server. I read that the unattend.xml is cached so I put copyprofile=true in this xml file

Make my build changes

Run sysprep and capture task (with modified ltisysprep)

Deploy image

I make sure that copyprofile is in all three xml files involved.

This suggests to me that there is some sort of dependency on the genreralize and specialize phases.

I dunno - I'm still scuppered by the service user having the latest timestamp

Thansk for the response

re: Configuring default settings for Windows image deployment

Michael Murgolo — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:07:48 GMT

dg,

If you add CopyProfile to the unattend.xml associated with the task sequence (TS properties, OS Info tab, Edit Unattend.xml button), then those changes would not be necessary.

Yes, I agree having better contol over which profile is used for the copy would be nice. I'll try to feed this back to the product group.

Finally, since this post has been superseded by a newer one (see link at top), please post any new comments to that one.

Thanks,

Michael Murgolo

re: Configuring default settings for Windows image deployment

dg — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 09:32:57 GMT

I accept that copyprofile does work with W2k8R2, however I could not make this work with MDT until I modified the following line in LTISysprep.wsf to specify the unattend.xml file that gets copied in

ORIGINAL

' Run sysprep

sCmd = oEnv("SystemRoot") & "\system32\sysprep\sysprep.exe /quiet /generalize /oobe /quit"

MODIFIED

' Run sysprep

sCmd = oEnv("SystemRoot") & "\system32\sysprep\sysprep.exe /quiet /generalize /oobe /quit /unattend:" & oEnv("SystemRoot") & "\system32\sysprep\unattend.xml"

And there is at least one massive caveat to copyprofile in w2k8 - It would appear to copy the user profile with the latest timestamp, not the local administrator

So if you install some software in your basebuild that has a service running as a custom local user (in my case citrix offline plugin), even if you stop the service before running sysprep, it would seem that the service starts before copyprofile is run in the specialize phase, therefore as the service account profile was created from the original defaul profile, you have achieved nothing.

Would be better is sysprep always copied the local admin profile, or if you could specify in the unattend.xml which profile to copy

re: Configuring default settings for Windows image deployment

Michael Murgolo — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:58:49 GMT

Josh,

I have been using the CopyProfile setting with LTI and ZTI since Windows Vista shipped without a problem. I have never had it "ruin" an image or deployment.

And if you read the updated version of this post (see link at top), you will notice that I don't recommend that you use the setting when you run Sysprep. Since this is ZTI, use CopyProfile in the answer file used with the Apply Operating System step in the ConfigMgr task sequence.

Michael Murgolo

re: Configuring default settings for Windows image deployment

Josh — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:10:14 GMT

I am working on the windows 7 deployment for my company and this problem is seriously holding back my progress. I actually have nearly every part of a ZTI reinstall process working except copyprofile. It is extremely frustrating because when I run sysprep with copyprofile enabled, it completely ruins the image. Luckily I backed up the system before sysprep, but it is still extremely time consuming to test. Even if it doesn't completely copy all settings, it should at least run properly. The same xml file works with the option disabled. I also checked for the bad user accounts in the registry (which wouldn't have a reason to be there anyhow).

re: Configuring default settings for Windows image deployment

Dave — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 06:08:28 GMT

Attn: Ben

I have setup a Vista platform and have customized many settings within the Built-In Administrator account and have set the "copyprofile" command in the unattend.xml file to "True".

The Bottom Line:

The "copyprofile" setting in the unattend.xml has issues. The copyprofile setting DOES NOT work on some settings. When running the following command,there are "many" customizations that not copied to the "Default" profile:

"sysprep/generalize /oobe /shutdown /unattend:c:\windows\system32\sysprep\unattend.xml"

There are certain settings that DO work (ex: desktop icons that are setup on the Built-In Administrator accounts are transferred to a the "Default" profile), but there are many other settings that are not passed to the "Default" NTUSER.DAT file.

It almost seems like the "copyprofile" feature refuses to copy the Built-In Administrator's NTUSER.DAT file to the "Default" profile.

If I manually load the "Default" NTUSER.DAT hive, make the customizations, and unload the hive....then run sysprep...then all the settings stick and everything is customized the way it is suppose to be.

Quite frankly, I think the "copyprofile" setting is quite useless because it doesn't work. It's junk.

Frustrated to say the least...

Thanks, Dave

re: Configuring default settings for Windows image deployment

TechNet Archive — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:52:55 GMT

Hello Cusefan44,

These are 'normal' warnings. MDT is telling you that is has recognised that this entry is a password. Rather than write it out in plain text for all to see it has suppressed it.

This helps to preserve security.

regards,

Richard Trusson

Cusefan44 — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:43:58 GMT

I'm using MDT 2008. When performing a refresh of the OS I get the following warning in the deployment summary:

<Message containing password has been suppressed> Does anyone have any idea what might be going on? There are numerous entries throughout the log containing this message but I currently have 3 that show up as warnings.