Vista capture fails. Registry says "image state undeployable" and setuperr.log says the system is in an invalid state

Products

• Deployment Solution

Issue/Introduction

When you attempt to capture a Vista or Windows 7 image, Sysprep fails.  The registry reads "Image State Undeployable" and setuperr.log indicates the system is in an invalid state, similar to this:

2009-08-05 09:42:56, Error      [0x0f005d] SYSPRP ScreenSaver:Was unable to disable screen saver for sysprep[gle=0x000005b3]
2009-08-05 09:42:58, Error      [0x0f0073] SYSPRP RunExternalDlls:Not running DLLs; either the machine is in an invalid state or we couldn't update the recorded state, dwRet = 31
2009-08-05 09:42:58, Error      [0x0f00a8] SYSPRP WinMain:Hit failure while processing sysprep cleanup providers; hr = 0x8007001f
2009-08-05 09:42:58, Error      [0x0f0058] SYSPRP ScreenSaver:Screen saver was originally enabled, but re-enabling it failed[gle=0x000005b3]

Cause

This is actually a problem with Vista or Windows 7 and Sysprep.  It may be related to a licensing limitation in the OS that allows an OS to only be registered 3times prior to failing to register, but we're not 100% sure yet.  That particular "3 strikes you're out" issue is related to the use of the /rearm switch with Sysprep - a default with DS.  Using that 3 times on a specific build fails the last time and leaves the system in an unusable state until rebuilt.  We're not sure though if this is THIS error.

Resolution

For most, rebuilding the vista image from scratch (not from a previously captured image, but literally from the source Vista or Windows 7 CD) has resolved the issue.

Follow KB 51957 to create a windows 7 image after rebuilding the computer.

Applies To
DS 6.9 sp1, sp2, sp3

Windows Vista
Windows 7