Have Win 7 VM but how should I prep it?

[Jirv311]

I've built a Windows 7 32 bit VM with all my apps installed and I'm trying to find the best way to prep it for deployment in pools. Should I run sysprep on these or just shut them down?

[mittim12]

It depends on what kind of pool you are doing but either way vCenter can handle the sysprep.  If it's a linked clone pool you can utilize sysprep or quick prep.  Quick prep is faster but doesn't change the sid which shouldn't cause any issues.  You can also do sysprep in a linked clone pool but it will take a bit longer to deploy.

If it's a non linked clone pool you can utilize guest customization which will require you to have the sysprep files on the vCenter server.   

[VMMikeC]

Hello,  Just wanted to mention that Windows 7 schedules some tasks to run by default, such as disk degrag and registry backup. If you are using linked-clones, it is important to disable these tasks. In the view admin guide, you can read all about vm optimization , starting on page 54.  Hope this helps.  Mike