Creating the Template VM
Create a new VM, set the OS as Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit
CPU - 1
RAM - 1GB
Disk Type - LSI Logic SAS
Disk Size - 40GB - System
Disk Size - 10GB - Apps
Once completed, remove the Floppy Disk before switching on.
Select the tick box to easily access the VM's BIOS settings when next powered on.
Power on the VM
Configure the BIOS
VM > Edit Settings > Options > Advanced > Boot Options > Force BIOS Setup > The next time the virtual machine boots, force entry into the BIOS setup screen.
Main > Legacy Diskette A
Advanced > I/O Device Configuration
Install VMware Tools
Install VMware Tools from VM > Guest > Install/Upgrade VMware Tools
Choose Custom Install > VMware Device Drivers > and select 'This feature will not be available' for the following drivers;
- Thin Print
- Shared Folders
- Audio Drivers
Change Device driver to cure the jerky mouse
Device Manager > Display Adapters > Standard VGA Graphics Adapter
Right Click > Update Driver software > Browse my computer for driver software > Path:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\VMware\Drivers\Video
The display driver should be detected as a VMware SVGA II and Reboot
Right click on Desktop > Screen Resolution > Advanced Settings > Troubleshooting > Properties > set 'Hardware Acceleration' to Full
Disable Hibernation
Open a Command Prompt by typing POWERCFG -H OFF
Change the Power Profile
Control Panel > Power Options > Change Power Plan to 'High Performance'
Enable Remote Desktop
Right click 'My Computer' > Properties > Remote Settings > Remote tab and select 'Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop (less secure)'
Change Performance Options
Right click 'My Computer' > Properties >Advanced System Settings > Advanced tab > Performance settings and select 'Adjust for best performance'.
Set Screen saver to Blank
Control Panel > Display > Change Screen saver > Select 'Blank' from the drop down
Set Sounds to None
Control Panel > Sounds > Sound Tab and select 'No Sounds' from Sound Scheme drop down
Change Notification Area settings
Right click Taskbar > 'Properties' > Taskbar tab and Notification area > Customize
Disable Windows Firewall
Control Panel > Windows Firewall > Turn Windows Firewall on or off
Configure SNMP
Go to Server Manager and select 'Features' > Add Feature > SNMP
Sysprep Preparation
Place a file named 'SetupComplete.cmd' in C:\Windows\Setup and include the line
bcdedit /timeout 8
This will be automatically invoked after sysprep stage and change the OS selection time to 8 seconds upon start-up once the template has been deployed.
Finally place the unattend.xml into the C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep folder before initiating the sysprep process with the following command from a command prompt;
cd c:\windows\system32\sysprep\The resulting machine can then be shutdown and converted to a template in vCenter.
sysprep /generalize /oobe /shutdown /unattend:unattend.xml
