Vista RTM, Virtual Server, Sysprep... is there an easier way?

> Hi Joel,
> I'm in the same boat as you. We do the same thing with XP as you do,
> and want to set something up very similar for Vista.
>
> I hope we get an answer here.
>
> Dale
>
>
> On Jan 29, 11:45 am, "Shepp" <joel.shepp...@citrix.com> wrote:

>> Hello,
>>
>> I manage an R&D lab and we are moving into supporting Vista. The way
>> our Virtual Lab is setup I have done the following:
>>
>> Each OS we support (incl. languages) I have built out (over time) one
>> base VHD image and used sysprep to seal the VM and of course for it to
>> generate a new SID upon bootup. I have users go through the
>> mini-setup, and use an answer file to populate things like the License
>> Key (Volume Licenses from MSDN), admin password, etc. This has worked
>> wonderfully for our needs. We don't need user state migration,
>> packages, any of that. We just need base OS images and we then install
>> updates and any SW we need after (like SQL Server, IIS). Now MS drops
>> Vista and it's BDD/WAIK 'tools'...
>>
>> I've been working (I guess more like struggling) with the BDD and WAIK
>> (along with my Vista 'technician' computer/VM) going on 12 hours this
>> week with not much to show for it. Before I continue to pull my hair
>> out and waste way too much time on this I wanted to ask the community
>> if anyone else is in a similar position, and if anyone knows if there
>> is an easier way for someone like me who does not care to use BDD,
>> WAIK, SIM, all that stuff. I'd just like to be able to build out this
>> Vista VM image, run the 'new' sysprep 3.0 (/generalize /oobe I
>> believe), commit the undo disk (or just run without one until after
>> sysprep) and then just be able to copy this VHD/VMC to our SAN an then
>> copy it from Virtual Server host to host to host as we do now w/2000,
>> XP, 2003?'
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Joel

>

> Hello,
>
> I manage an R&D lab and we are moving into supporting Vista. The way
> our Virtual Lab is setup I have done the following:
>
>
> Each OS we support (incl. languages) I have built out (over time) one
> base VHD image and used sysprep to seal the VM and of course for it to
> generate a new SID upon bootup. I have users go through the
> mini-setup, and use an answer file to populate things like the License
> Key (Volume Licenses from MSDN), admin password, etc. This has worked
> wonderfully for our needs. We don't need user state migration,
> packages, any of that. We just need base OS images and we then install
> updates and any SW we need after (like SQL Server, IIS). Now MS drops
> Vista and it's BDD/WAIK 'tools'...
>
>
> I've been working (I guess more like struggling) with the BDD and WAIK
> (along with my Vista 'technician' computer/VM) going on 12 hours this
> week with not much to show for it. Before I continue to pull my hair
> out and waste way too much time on this I wanted to ask the community
> if anyone else is in a similar position, and if anyone knows if there
> is an easier way for someone like me who does not care to use BDD,
> WAIK, SIM, all that stuff. I'd just like to be able to build out this
> Vista VM image, run the 'new' sysprep 3.0 (/generalize /oobe I
> believe), commit the undo disk (or just run without one until after
> sysprep) and then just be able to copy this VHD/VMC to our SAN an then
> copy it from Virtual Server host to host to host as we do now w/2000,
> XP, 2003?'
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
> Joel
>
>
>

> You will get much better replies in the microsoft.public.windows.vista.setup newsgroup.
> That's where the deployment gurus hang out.

> "Shepp" <joel.sheppard@citrix.com> wrote in message
> news:eIPSN69QHHA.4448@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

>> Hello,
>>
>> I manage an R&D lab and we are moving into supporting Vista. The way
>> our Virtual Lab is setup I have done the following:
>>
>>
>> Each OS we support (incl. languages) I have built out (over time) one
>> base VHD image and used sysprep to seal the VM and of course for it to
>> generate a new SID upon bootup. I have users go through the
>> mini-setup, and use an answer file to populate things like the License
>> Key (Volume Licenses from MSDN), admin password, etc. This has worked
>> wonderfully for our needs. We don't need user state migration,
>> packages, any of that. We just need base OS images and we then install
>> updates and any SW we need after (like SQL Server, IIS). Now MS drops
>> Vista and it's BDD/WAIK 'tools'...
>>
>>
>> I've been working (I guess more like struggling) with the BDD and WAIK
>> (along with my Vista 'technician' computer/VM) going on 12 hours this
>> week with not much to show for it. Before I continue to pull my hair
>> out and waste way too much time on this I wanted to ask the community
>> if anyone else is in a similar position, and if anyone knows if there
>> is an easier way for someone like me who does not care to use BDD,
>> WAIK, SIM, all that stuff. I'd just like to be able to build out this
>> Vista VM image, run the 'new' sysprep 3.0 (/generalize /oobe I
>> believe), commit the undo disk (or just run without one until after
>> sysprep) and then just be able to copy this VHD/VMC to our SAN an then
>> copy it from Virtual Server host to host to host as we do now w/2000,
>> XP, 2003?'
>>
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>>
>> Joel
>>
>>
>>

>

>
>
>
> "Colin Barnhorst" <colinbarharst@msn.com> wrote in message
> news:exZOcZBRHHA.924@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

>> You will get much better replies in the
>> microsoft.public.windows.vista.setup newsgroup. That's where the
>> deployment gurus hang out.

>
> microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup
>

> Thanks for the catch, Michael.
>
> "MICHAEL" <u158627_emr@dslr.net> wrote in message
> news:uI5N8gBRHHA.4060@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>>
>>
>>
>> "Colin Barnhorst" <colinbarharst@msn.com> wrote in message
>> news:exZOcZBRHHA.924@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

>>> You will get much better replies in the microsoft.public.windows.vista.setup newsgroup.
>>> That's where the deployment gurus hang out.

>>
>> microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup
>>

>

> You will get much better replies in the
> microsoft.public.windows.vista.setup newsgroup. That's where the
> deployment gurus hang out.
>
> "Shepp" <joel.sheppard@citrix.com> wrote in message
> news:eIPSN69QHHA.4448@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

>> Hello,
>>
>> I manage an R&D lab and we are moving into supporting Vista. The way
>> our Virtual Lab is setup I have done the following:
>>
>>
>> Each OS we support (incl. languages) I have built out (over time) one
>> base VHD image and used sysprep to seal the VM and of course for it to
>> generate a new SID upon bootup. I have users go through the
>> mini-setup, and use an answer file to populate things like the License
>> Key (Volume Licenses from MSDN), admin password, etc. This has worked
>> wonderfully for our needs. We don't need user state migration,
>> packages, any of that. We just need base OS images and we then install
>> updates and any SW we need after (like SQL Server, IIS). Now MS drops
>> Vista and it's BDD/WAIK 'tools'...
>>
>>
>> I've been working (I guess more like struggling) with the BDD and WAIK
>> (along with my Vista 'technician' computer/VM) going on 12 hours this
>> week with not much to show for it. Before I continue to pull my hair
>> out and waste way too much time on this I wanted to ask the community
>> if anyone else is in a similar position, and if anyone knows if there
>> is an easier way for someone like me who does not care to use BDD,
>> WAIK, SIM, all that stuff. I'd just like to be able to build out this
>> Vista VM image, run the 'new' sysprep 3.0 (/generalize /oobe I
>> believe), commit the undo disk (or just run without one until after
>> sysprep) and then just be able to copy this VHD/VMC to our SAN an then
>> copy it from Virtual Server host to host to host as we do now w/2000,
>> XP, 2003?'
>>
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>>
>> Joel
>>
>>
>>

>

> Hello,
>
> I manage an R&D lab and we are moving into supporting Vista. The way
> our Virtual Lab is setup I have done the following:
>
>
> Each OS we support (incl. languages) I have built out (over time) one
> base VHD image and used sysprep to seal the VM and of course for it to
> generate a new SID upon bootup. I have users go through the
> mini-setup, and use an answer file to populate things like the License
> Key (Volume Licenses from MSDN), admin password, etc. This has worked
> wonderfully for our needs. We don't need user state migration,
> packages, any of that. We just need base OS images and we then install
> updates and any SW we need after (like SQL Server, IIS). Now MS drops
> Vista and it's BDD/WAIK 'tools'...
>
>
> I've been working (I guess more like struggling) with the BDD and WAIK
> (along with my Vista 'technician' computer/VM) going on 12 hours this
> week with not much to show for it. Before I continue to pull my hair
> out and waste way too much time on this I wanted to ask the community
> if anyone else is in a similar position, and if anyone knows if there
> is an easier way for someone like me who does not care to use BDD,
> WAIK, SIM, all that stuff. I'd just like to be able to build out this
> Vista VM image, run the 'new' sysprep 3.0 (/generalize /oobe I
> believe), commit the undo disk (or just run without one until after
> sysprep) and then just be able to copy this VHD/VMC to our SAN an then
> copy it from Virtual Server host to host to host as we do now w/2000,
> XP, 2003?'
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
> Joel
>
>
>

> Hello,
>
> I manage an R&D lab and we are moving into supporting Vista. The way
> our Virtual Lab is setup I have done the following:
>
>
> Each OS we support (incl. languages) I have built out (over time) one
> base VHD image and used sysprep to seal the VM and of course for it to
> generate a new SID upon bootup. I have users go through the
> mini-setup, and use an answer file to populate things like the License
> Key (Volume Licenses from MSDN), admin password, etc. This has worked
> wonderfully for our needs. We don't need user state migration,
> packages, any of that. We just need base OS images and we then install
> updates and any SW we need after (like SQL Server, IIS). Now MS drops
> Vista and it's BDD/WAIK 'tools'...
>
>
> I've been working (I guess more like struggling) with the BDD and WAIK
> (along with my Vista 'technician' computer/VM) going on 12 hours this
> week with not much to show for it. Before I continue to pull my hair
> out and waste way too much time on this I wanted to ask the community
> if anyone else is in a similar position, and if anyone knows if there
> is an easier way for someone like me who does not care to use BDD,
> WAIK, SIM, all that stuff. I'd just like to be able to build out this
> Vista VM image, run the 'new' sysprep 3.0 (/generalize /oobe I
> believe), commit the undo disk (or just run without one until after
> sysprep) and then just be able to copy this VHD/VMC to our SAN an then
> copy it from Virtual Server host to host to host as we do now w/2000,
> XP, 2003?'
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
> Joel
>
>
>