This occurs when a Windows 7 system has been sysprepped three times -- KB929828. To overcome this, you will need to do the following:
1) Inside the Sysprep Unattend.xml file located at c:\windows\system32\sysprep, delete skiprearm=1 from the section. In order to edit the Unattend.xml file, you will need to slave the HDD onto a working machine in order to have access to a text editor for editing the file.
2) Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup\Status\SysprepStatus\, set GeneralizationState to 7
3) From an administrative command prompt, type the following
msdtc -uninstall
msdtc -install
4) Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform\, change SkipRearm to 1
5) disconnect the ethernet cable
6) Rerun the sysprep
1) Inside the Sysprep Unattend.xml file located at c:\windows\system32\sysprep, delete skiprearm=
2) Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup\Status\SysprepStatus\, set GeneralizationState to 7
3) From an administrative command prompt, type the following
msdtc -uninstall
msdtc -install
4) Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform\, change SkipRearm to 1
5) disconnect the ethernet cable
6) Rerun the sysprep
Thank you Mick!
ReplyDeleteCheers
Francisco
Very nice, thanks
ReplyDeleteGreat Post, do you have reset the reg key after creating the image?
ReplyDeleteNo, if it successfully sysprepped and you were able to capture an image, then there is nothing that has to be done with the reg key.
DeleteGreat - I have been looking for a successful resolution to this problem for a very long time!!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much.
I love you already.... Thanks a lot for this article.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Saved me the pain of rebuilding an image from scratch!
ReplyDeleteThanking you :) Worked a treat.
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Cananda
I'm a bit confused with "delete 1 from the section" in the Unattended.xml file. What section are we talking?
ReplyDeleteYes, I can't find that unattended.xml file either.
ReplyDeleteCordell, sorry about the mixup. I recently hired a developer to update my blogs here to a more professional look and this part accidentally got removed. I readded the skiprearm=1 back. That was the missing portion.
ReplyDeleteThanks a bunch!! This was preventing me from getting my image out to machines that needed it.
ReplyDeleteMinnesota
you will need to slave the HDD onto a working machine in order to have access to a text editor for editing the file.
ReplyDelete................How should i do this sir ??
It worked for me. Many Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteHere is a good tutorial on how to slave your HDD: http://www.ehow.com/how_6642534_install-slave-hard-drive.html
ReplyDeleteI am confused at the end, should i add skiprearm=1 or delete from Unattend.xml?
ReplyDeleteMy Unattend.xml file doesn't have line skiprearm=1.
what to do, help pls.
It should be there in the unattend.xml file. I would add it in
ReplyDeletethanks, works for me.
ReplyDeleteYou are a genious. THANKS!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks your solution worked like a charm
ReplyDeleteYou are a life saver, please take ALL the credits because you totally deserve it. Save me almost 4-5hours re-image task.Thanks.
ReplyDeleteDavid U- Great Britain.
Found this 2 years later in Oct. 2013.......THANKS !
ReplyDeleteThanks work for me. You are the best.
ReplyDeleteHow about if it's a virtual machine? How can I slave its hard disk? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHas anyone told you they love you today? Well I love you.
ReplyDeleteHey there, ok everything makes sense to me but I don't have the unnattend.xml file at all. In my sysprep folder I have the sysprep.exe file, en-US folder (which has sysprep.exe.mui) and then the Panther folder which has diaper.xml, diagnosis.xml, setupact.log, and setuperr.log as well as the IE folder with contents of the same name. I have done a sysprep before and it has always worked. When I did it this time to a rebuilt machine (Asus 1201N with Win 7 HP 32 bit) sysprep encountered a fatal error on the first reboot after installing drivers, etc. Now I know it would normally do this after the third reboot (I have read online and tested it myself) must I just scrap this install and reinstall the OS?
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like it may just need to be reinstalled
ReplyDeleteI cannot think of anyway to slave a VM. I would take this info and maybe ask in a microsoft forum. I don't use VMs a whole lot.
ReplyDeleteYou can "slave" the disk of a VM simply by taking the VM offline and mounting the VHD in the host OS.
DeleteFor non-virtual machines you don't even need to slave a disk, simply by booting to WindowsPE you can run notepad and edit the file from there.
You can also just take ownership over the file and just start notepad with elevated permissions.
You are great!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot!!! Gràcies
Pep
For those talking about not having an "Unattend.xml" file, I didn't have one either and just followed the rest of the steps and it worked just fine. Thanks a bunch for the steps!
ReplyDeletebest!!
ReplyDeleteSweet! Works for me, great job and thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteSteven
Got it to work without step one, thank you so much
ReplyDeleteJust did on Windows 2008 R2. Worked fine. My image didn't have an "Unattend.xml" file.
ReplyDeleteSadly, still does not work for me. Damn it.
ReplyDeleteThank You, works on Windows 10 too.....
ReplyDeleteThanks very much Mick, your post really helped pulled me out of a difficult situation.
ReplyDeletei dont have that unattended xml file. i didnt do the slave drive part because of that. i did follow the other steps, but im still getting the fatal error.
ReplyDeletethanks fam
ReplyDeletebtw it still works on Windows 10, just skip the first step.
Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteJankosoft
Ive done all the above - but still not working </3
ReplyDeleteMick, Brilliant fixing! I will try it. Great article thanks and keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteGreat thanks dear
ReplyDelete