A Computer Naming Hack for Sysprep
One of the things I have come to notice in my dealings with making images is that the Microsoft Sysprep utility is sometimes not as flexible as you need it to be. In my case for example, I like to run fully automated installations. However, I want the person pushing the image to be prompted to enter a computer name during the mini-setup process. This is so that after the image has been pushed, you don’t have to deal with renaming the computer and then joining it to the domain.
The current problem is that when you do a fully automated installation you can either specify a computer name or allow sysprep to generate one automatically. Neither of these options provide the solution I am wanting. What I have determined to be the best route is to go ahead and specify a computer name with the scheme that I plan on using. For instance, “GCHS-LAB-”, where the dash would typically followed by a number which specifies each individual computer in the lab.
The trick to this is to open the sysprep file back up after you have finished creating it with setup manager and finding the field that specifies the computer name to be used. When you find this area, simply put a asterisk at the end of the computer name. This will effectively make the name specified to use for the image “GCHS-LAB-*”. The thing you may recognize about this character is that it is not supported for use in a computer name. This being the case, the mini-setup will give an error about this when it is running. From here you can simply click ok, give the computer the name you want it to have, and click next and the mini-setup will complete.
Just leave it blank after the = sign. You’ll be prompted for a computer name without getting the error message beforehand.
Hey Mike,
That would seem like it is a pretty good option, but when you do things that will it will force the person entering the computer name to also re-enter the administrator password for the computer on the same screen. In some cases this may be fine, but there are also cases where you do not want this person knowing the local administrator password to a workstation.
If you specify a password in the Administrator account, you cannot use the AdminPassword entry in the Sysprep.inf file to change it. The Administrator password remains the same. However, if the Administrator password was initially blank (either manually or through an unattended Setup), you can use the AdminPassword entry to change it to a non-blank password.
All previous comments are helpfull. Is it possible to prestage the deployment of XP thru WDS SRV 2008 specifying the computer name in Active Directory with the correct GUID? I have tried but the sysprep.inf seems to overide that AD entry. Do any of you know a work around for that?