Questions about my first full clone...

[th30m]

I did a bit of reading on various blogs etc about the ways in which you can clone an OS, and have a couple of questions that Im unable to find answers for.

Im a Vmware WS Pro 12 user, and am trying to simply clone Windows 7 x64. 

Ive installed, activated and updated the OS, and want to use it as a base OS from which I can spin up a couple of other VMs. 

The guides i followed advised to run sysprep, select Template mode from within the VM settings, then do a full clone... which I have done.  The clone then boots fine, as expected, and I was able to complete OS setup.

What I cant find out is what exactly this Template option actually does, as I have read that this only needs to be done if using linked clones, which I am not.

Also, looking within the Virtual Machine's directories, specifically the cloned VM, I have a couple of files that reference back to the VM that the clone was taken from.  I could understand this if it was a linked clone, but as its a full clone, surely all files should bear reference to the newly created and named vm?

Thanks in advance for any clarification on the above!

[th30m]

Anyone?

[th30m]

So I decided to remove the tick from the Template option, then completed a full clone.. and it works fine, so whats the point of this Template feature?

I do notice that in any of the clones, there is always a file thats named after the original system the clone was taken from, so assume this is normal behaviour, regardless of how the clone is performed.  I would have like them all to reflect the new vm name, but not a biggie...

[vcallaway]

The way I've always done it was to prep my VM, run sysprep w/ shutdown and then just full clone it every time I need a new VM. Sounds like you've figured that part out.