vCenter and sysprep on windows 2008 server

[76dragon]

Ive setup the sysprep stuff on a windows 2003 system a few times now. Ive not installed a new vcenter 4 system on windows 2008 and im struggling to find documentation on where to put all the SYSPREP files for my windows 2003 templates.

The old locations are

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep\svr2003

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep\1.1

My VC server is 2008 and im trying to find where these files now reside, but im not having much luck, the admin guide just mentions "<ALLUSERSPROFILE"

Anyone done this ?

[RParker]

There is no more sysprep for Window 2008. It's built into the OS.

If you configure it, your customizations will work...

[Troy_Clavell]

check this thread

http://communities.vmware.com/thread/220992

[jbogardus]

New editions of Windows use a c:\users path rather than c:\documents and settings to store user account specific data. It's the same path for new editions of Windows desktop OSes.

[76dragon]

Ive found windows 2008 now uses "C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep"

Ive exported the 2003 files to the 2003 directory but when i "deploy virtual machine from template" VC givees me the error "Guest customization resourses were not found on the server"

[damiankarlson]

As an alternative -- you could not use vSphere Guest Customization, and instead use a "locked and loaded" template. That's what I do for our production 2008 VM's. I've got a base template that gets patched, etc, and every time I need to roll out those changes into the prod ready template, I clone the base template then run sysprep /shutdown (plus point to a local unattend, etc & etc).

[RParker]

I need to roll out those changes into the prod ready template, I clone the base template then run sysprep /shutdown (plus point to a local unattend, etc & etc).

Which requires more work, having pre configured answer files, configure switches AFTER the fact and this is no longer integrated with VM Ware (VM name, add to domain, etc..). That isn't much of an 'alternative' when it's basically a Windows deployment. For that matter why even use VM Ware at all just use Deployment Server, enable pxe boot and that would be a MUCH simpler and easier solution.

The VM Custom Configuration works fine. Something isn't configured correctly or the Manual was not consulted for it to function properly that is the problem.

[RParker]

New editions of Windows use a c:\users path rather than c:\documents and settings to store user account specific data.

Except we aren't doing account data, we are deploying a VM from template to configure the VM and apply appropriate settings (Windows key, Windows name, domain membership, etc..)