Customization of VM's not working

[sbeaver]

I must be missing something stupid but I am unable to customize a XP-pro template and or VM clone. It seems to go through all the steps but no information on the VM changes. I also notice that once the deploy from template and or clone is done the new deployed VM's nic is not connected

Anyone seen someting like this?

Steve Beaver

VMware Communities User Moderator

Orlando Area VMware User Group Leader

====

Co-Author of "VMware ESX Essentials in the Virtual Data Center"

(ISBN:1420070274) from Auerbach

*Virtualization is a journey, not a project.*

[Jasemccarty]

What VC build are you using?

Many people have had issues with customizations and VC 2.5 Update 2.

Look here for a workaround.

http://communities.vmware.com/thread/161596

Jase

[Troy_Clavell]

I may be pointing out some steps here that are pretty straight forward and you have already tried, but this caught us too when we went from 2.0.x to 2.5

We had to create all new customization specs, the 2.0 ones did not work. Also, you cannot microsoft sysprep your templates any longer they won't work in combination with the 2.5 VMware Customization process. Upon completion, just shut them down and convert to template.

All sysprep files are in there correct folders, right?

On the networking side, does your template/clone have a checkmark next to connected/connect at power on

[TCronin]

Hey Steve, we got bit by this on our VDI guests also. What it turned out to be for us was the tools in the template had to be updated to the current version, and the server service has to be set to automatically start (ours wasn't for security reasons).

There may be other things also depending on your original build.

[sbeaver]

All good replies from you guys, Thanks!!!

Jase switching the exe did not help still getting the same error. I did upgrade the tools on the template VM and no change. Update 3 for VC just came up so I am going to give that a shot and see what happens

Steve Beaver

VMware Communities User Moderator

Orlando Area VMware User Group Leader

====

Co-Author of "VMware ESX Essentials in the Virtual Data Center"

(ISBN:1420070274) from Auerbach

*Virtualization is a journey, not a project.*

[chouse]

I had this problem with a fresh install of VC2.5 U2 deploying a Win2k3 Enterprise R2 SP2 template - nothing would happen after it booted, just a clone of the template. Upgrading to U3 fixed the problem and guest customization works properly once again.

[sbeaver]

Yeah I updated to U3 last night and my servers will clone no problem but my XP image will not. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I converted the a physical desktop to get this image.

This is what I got from support so far

With regards to your issue where Sysprep is not running after deploying a Virtual Machine, there are a few things we can check. First and foremost, I typically see this issue if there are VPN clients, Anti-Virus software or 3rd party Firewall applications installed on the VM/Template you're cloning. Please confirm whether or not any of these applications are on the source VM/Template, and if removing them causes sysprep to function as normal.

A few other cases where sysprep may not run:

1. Is the source of the clone Windows XP with Service Pack 3? You may need an updated deploy.cab for this to work correctly.

2. Have you recently upgraded to VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 2? If so, you may need another version of 'guestcust.exe' on your VirtualCenter server. I can provide you with a Knowledge Base solution if this is the case for you.

Further to that, below are some of the troubleshooting steps we can take to determine your issue:

1. Is the correct Guest OS selected in VMX? (eg, "Windows XP")

2. Try with the deploy.cab file of the Windows Installation ISO/CD for Windows XP.

3. Eliminate if the issue is due to VMWare Tools:

a. Convert template to VM

b. Uninstall VMware Tools, reboot, reinstall VMware Tools (If there is a newer version of ESX host available in cluster, install VMware Tools from there) c. Convert to template and try again

4. Uninstall any VPN clients, Antivirus scanners, firewall software, registry monitors completely then try again.

5. Does it work with a "Plain Vanilla" (unmodified) installation of the guest?

Please let me know if the above information helps to resolve your issue. Should you require further information or assistance with any of the items I mentioned above, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Steve Beaver

VMware Communities User Moderator

Orlando Area VMware User Group Leader

====

Co-Author of "VMware ESX Essentials in the Virtual Data Center"

(ISBN:1420070274) from Auerbach

*Virtualization is a journey, not a project.*

[sbeaver]

This turned out to be the virus software that was the culprit

Steve Beaver

VMware Communities User Moderator

Orlando Area VMware User Group Leader

====

Co-Author of "VMware ESX Essentials in the Virtual Data Center"

(ISBN:1420070274) from Auerbach

*Virtualization is a journey, not a project.*

[khughes]

Yay for anti-virus software. I sware for the adverage user (not downloading off of peer-to-peer or looking at adult sites) AV causes more problems than does good. =/

• Kyle