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I've already installed Windows, installed all the required applications and device drivers, set all my required settings, etc.

I want to create an answer file that reflects all of the current settings for use with Sysprep.

However, any resources I look for show how to create the answer file from the Windows Installation media, and configure from there. Is it possible to create an answer file using what's already installed and take the configuration settings that have already been set?

Edit (in response to comment)

When I run sysprep without the unattend file,

sysprep /generalize /oobe /shutdown

When I next restart the computer, I'm asked to enter all the PC setup options again. I'm trying to avoid this. So in answer to the question as to why I'm running sysprep at all since I'll be deploying on PCs with the same hardware, I've read in various places I need to do this to "generalize" as otherwise the image I'm cloning from will have info specific to the PC (e.g. PC ID) I created the image on. Am I misunderstanding this?

Also I've found that when I use the above command line, after entering all the setup options, I get stuck on the "Just a moment..." screen forever.

komodosp
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  • It is possible to inject all your drivers using dism into the install.wim file without the need for sysprep, but that doesn't resolve applications or settings – cybernard Apr 30 '20 at 13:13
  • @Furty that's what I've been doing, all target machines should be pretty much the same. but I was reading that I need to run a sysprep before distributing the image to generalise (not specific to this PC) but need the unattend to prevent sysprep from removing the drivers. Or am I misunderstanding? – komodosp Apr 30 '20 at 20:18
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    @colmde what do you mean by "need the unattend"? If you look for example at [this article](https://thesolving.com/server-room/when-and-how-to-use-sysprep/) it does not mention it as requirement. Where you need an answer file with the Windows installation media: for automated installation from scratch, but that's something completely different than disk cloning. So please edit your question including subject to clarify which sysprep command line produced which undesired result. – Furty Apr 30 '20 at 20:41
  • @Furty - I've edited my question as you said... – komodosp May 05 '20 at 08:23
  • For the "Just a moment..." I would try to boot into safe mode in the clone and temporarily remove 3rd party software that installed drivers like AntiVirus. Probably you could try to enter [audit mode](https://superuser.com/questions/1460351/install-windows-using-built-in-administrator/1460361#1460361) to check Windows event logs. Because of [this post](https://superuser.com/questions/826178/sysprep-is-removing-all-updates) I suggest to also add infos how you do the cloning. – Furty May 06 '20 at 07:46
  • It is normal that after /oobe the machine has the "out of the box experience". I found an example XML in [this post](https://superuser.com/questions/1438854/default-users-start-layout-not-applying-after-audit-mode) - for more infos you should check the Microsoft documentation [here](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/customize/desktop/customize-oobe) and [here](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/customize/desktop/automate-oobe). – Furty May 06 '20 at 07:47

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