• When attempting to customize the deployment of a virtual machine, the radio buttons are disabled (grayed out)
• When a virtual machine is deployed from a template, the SID is always the same, despite the fact that you chose the option to generate a new SID during template deployment and guest operating system customization
• When attempting to create a new virtual machine from a template in vCenter Server, you see the error:
  
  Warning: Windows customization resources were not found on this server
   
• In the guestcust.log file, you see the error:
   
  deploy doesn't contain known sysprep files
   
• When you ignore the errors, the virtual machine deployment does not get customized

For Windows XP, Server 2003, and earlier operating systems, Microsoft has a different version of Sysprep for each release and service pack of Windows. You must use the version of Sysprep specific to the operating system you are deploying. The differences are not immediately visible in the packaging and documentation of the service packs, so it is necessary to manually investigate.

Note: For Microsoft Vista, Server 2008, and later operating systems, the System Preparation tools are built into the Windows operating system and do not have to be downloaded or have the version checked.

vCenter Server Sysprep Directory locations:

• C:\ProgramData may be a hidden folder.
• If Sysprep\ directory does not exist by default, you must manually create it.

1. Open a Windows commandprompt. For more information, see Opening a command or shell prompt (1003892).
2. Change to the directory where the .exe file is saved.
3. Enter the name of the .exe file with the /x switch to extract the files. For example:
   
   WindowsServer2003-KB926028-v2-x86-ENU.exe /x
4. When prompted, choose a directory for the extracted files.
5. Browse the directory and double-click the deploy.cab file.
   
   Note: In some cases, the deploy.cab file may be located within one of the subfolders created in Step 3.
    
6. Select and copy all the files to the Sysprep Directory and insert them into the correct folder. For example, if you are using Windows 2003, insert the files to the Windows 2003 folder found located at directory_path\svr2003.

1. Log in to the vCenter Server as anAdministrator.
2. Click Start > Programs > Accessories > Windows Explorer.
3. Navigate to the Sysprep Directory as listed in the following table.
4. Right-click on the Sysprep.exe file and choose Properties.
5. Click the Version tab. Record the number at the top, next to File Version.

• For more information regarding the installation of SysPrep tools, see the Basic System Administration guide.
• For more information regarding supported operating systems for virtual image customization, see the Operating System Compatibility for vSphere Client, vCenter Server, and VMware vCenter Update Manager table in the vSphere Compatibility Matrixes .
• For more information regarding troubleshooting information for template deployment or cloning, see Troubleshooting template deployment or cloning when it fails (1004050) .
• For more information, see VMware VirtualCenter Templates Usage and Best Practices which provides for best practices on creating templates for vCenter Server .
• For more information regardingtroubleshooting customization issues with Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, see Guest OS customization of Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 may not complete (2037366).