SYSPREP no longer runs on template after upgrading to VC2.5 Update2

[NJKwork]

We just upgraded to Virtual Center 2.5 Update 2 and now Sysprep no longer runs on our templates. This worked fine on Update 1:

1) Deploy template

2) Select customization script

3) Pick customization script

4) Provide a host name of the VM

5) Template deploys but SYSPREP never runs - you get a clone of the template with the same NETBIOS name as the original VM used to create the template and it does not join the domain or run any other parts of the customization script

All the sysprep files are there - I verified this. Plus, in the past, the customization option would be disabled if the sysprep files were not there. This is not the case - it lets you conintue with a customization so I know it is seeing the sysprep files correctly.

Any suggestions?

SB

[digitalex]

Do you have to use SYSPREP on all VM templates before deployment?

[NJKwork]

Yes, I have tried running sysprep manually and actually added it to our image as a temp solution. The sysprep works, but then something goes really wrong and the whole VM is horribly slow. It takes forever to boot up, takes forever to login, the mouse in the virtual center console is totally eratic and moves all over the place, and normal server operations such as open "Computer Management" or "My Computer" just sit the hang for long periods of time. I have tried this on several VMs deployed this way.

I don't get it - why would running sysprep slow down a machine?

Its gone from bad to worse - we are completely unable to deploy any new VMs at this time.

SB

[NJKwork]

Sorry, I think I misunderstood the question the first time. Yes, I believe you have to run some sort of utility to change the name of the server and create new SIDs on any machine you deploy from a template (whether phyiscal or virtual). I am not sure the "technical" reasons for this, I just know it is not a good idea to have a bunch of identical machines floating around (even if they do have different NETBIOS machine names).

I think there are other tools other there other than sysprep, I just have no experience with them. I cut my teeth on sysprep with physical machines and have years of experience with it - but I have never seen it cause the problems I am seeing now with the slowness.

SB

[trurodh]

Hello everyone. This is a very annoying issue. This does not fix the fact that it does not customize, but if you want to get rid of the customization message that shows up upon boot, go to

\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager and delete sysprepDecrypter.exe and anything else after the autochk* and you will no longer see the

" vmware image customization is in progress" message at boot.

Not a fix for the customization, but it at least removes the confusion (and annoyance for the admins) from the users who may be using virtual center. My apologies if this was already mentioned in the many threads, my eyes start to go cross when I read the posts from time to time.

Thanks!

Rod

[NJKwork]

Thanks! I was wondering what that was.

SB

[einstein-a-go-g · Accepted solution]

I may have a workaround for this issue. The success rate is high.

We will roll back a customization file to an older version. If you have VC

2.5 or VC 2.5u1 install media available. If not you can download from here:

http://www.vmware.com/download/download.do?downloadGroup=VC250U1

1. Rename VC 2.5 U2 version of "guestcustutil.exe" (428KB) to

"guestcustutil.exe.old".

2. Copy a VC 2.5 GA version "guestcustutil.exe" (408KB) in "C:\Program

Files\VMware\Infrastructure\VirtualCenter Server" to the same location on

the VC 2.5 U2 server.

So if you just extract the install media and the only file you need is

"guestcustutil.exe". Then customization should be working again.

Thanks to Dan@VMware for this one!

I've tested and it works fine!

Andrew

[NJKwork]

Thanks! I will check it out shortly.

SB

[NJKwork]

That did not work for me. My version is "6.0.0.60308" and the size is 408K. Do i need to restart VC services or something?

SB

[smithers0105]

Replacing the guestcustutil.exe on the VC 3.5 Update 2 server with the 408KB exe from Update 1 install causes Sysprep to work again for me. Full Sysprep is running (on the first clone I created anyway) including the machine name change, although I'm back to US keyboard layout instead of UK (I think I need to recopy my custom vbs file back in to the VirtualCenter Server folder). No restart of the VC required, it just worked.

[NJKwork]

Thanks. I must be having a completely different issue, as this still does not work for me.

DB

[NJKwork]

You are using guest customization, correct?

SB

[NJKwork]

Problem solved - paritally. Apparently it reboots twice after a deployment. The sysprep runs after the second reboot. During the test, I was not waiting long enough for the second reboot to happen and just assumed it was failing. I them immediately destroyed my test machine and started over.

The problem however, is that it no longer joins the domain like it did in the past. I renames the server and creates new SIDS, and runs my "run once" customization scripts, but fails to join the domain.

Any thoughts?

SB

[einstein-a-go-g]

just as a test, complete a Guest Customization via the wizard, and then Save

it!

Try not to use an existing Customization Specification.

It's paobably the password in the *.xml which is encoded differently.

Andrew

[einstein-a-go-g]

I just extracted it from the vpx.cab, and copied into directory as per

email.

it worked.

Didn't restart VC or anything.

Andrew

[NJKwork]

This is really wierd, but the deployment now takes two additional reboots - maybe it has always done this, but I just noticed it now.

1) Deploy and server boots up. After a minute or so, it reboots again.

2) After reboot sysprep runs and server is renamed, it reboots again.

3) After reboot, it joins the domain and reboot again.

4) After reboot, server is ready.

I just needed to be patient I guess.

SB

[Jewdave]

I had to update VMTools on the template to get this WORK AROUND to work...

David Harr

[einstein-a-go-g]

what version of tools?

[Jewdave]

In my test case I used 3.0.2

I tried the guestcust.exe replacement and it still did not work, I then

updated the tools on a 3.0.2 GA server and it customized fine.

David Harr

Systems Administrator, MIS - Engineering

Univision Communications Inc.

[tomaddox]

I found that, after updating my sysprep files, I also had to create a new customization specification from scratch. I was able to use the same VM template (Windows 2003 R2 SP2) just fine with the new customization spec.

[hamiltrj]

Some info from VMWare Tech Support -

"The issue regarding guestcustutil.exe is also a PR and the bug ID for this is 313435 and I have no estimation of a fix at this time as the bug has just been opened."

They also confirmed that my issue with the drive letters being reassigned is also a bug (ID 282361) with no current ETA for a fix, and the keyboard regional settings being lost (our template has English UK standard - it now gets reverted to English US) is a RESOLVED bug ID (282361) and will be released as part of 2.5 Update 3.

I can, at least, get customisations to run now (using the Update 1 guestcustutil.exe), I just have to manually fix the drive letters and regional settings afterwards.

I'm seriously considering binning the VC customisation wizard process though and instead just cloning our 2003 template and incorporating a computer account rename and newsid into the post-clone configuration script I run afterwards, as this has lost me a fair bit of time in testing/troubleshooting, which I can't afford to lose every time a new VC version comes out (and I only chose to use the process anyway because of Microsoft's "we only officially support sysprep to generate new SIDs" stance). Literally half of my post-configuration script is now just fixing issues that sysprep introduces ! (e.g. boot.ini timeout reverting back to 30 seconds)