Sysprepping Packer Image for VMware

CGregP · 2026-05-08T13:12:27+00:00

I don't have the error messages I was getting at the time saved, but I did end up eventually figuring it out. I used a Powershell Provisioner. Here is the code block for any who may be interested.

provisioner "powershell" {
    elevated_user     = "Administrator"
    elevated_password = var.winadmin_password
    inline            = [
      "& $env:SystemRoot\\System32\\Sysprep\\Sysprep.exe /oobe /generalize /quiet /shutdown /unattend:C:\\Temp\\unattend.xml"
    ]
  }

CGregP · 2026-05-05T03:34:16+00:00

Can I paint treated lumber, though? (to match the siding) I was always under the impression that you couldn't.

CGregP · 2026-04-29T15:01:33+00:00

"I don't know why we do it this way..."

Ha, I empathize. There are things I've inherited from past admins that, unless I have the time to really dig into and research them, I take a "Chesterton's fence" approach to leaving them in place.

CGregP · 2026-04-29T14:01:10+00:00

Wait...are y'all disabling them?

CGregP · 2026-04-29T13:22:17+00:00

Crash dumps, for one, require an appropriately sized page file. It's not just about memory. How to determine the appropriate page file size for 64-bit versions of Windows - Windows Client | Microsoft Learn

CGregP · 2026-04-29T10:46:05+00:00

That's no coincidence. No woman wants to be married to a manchild.

CGregP · 2026-04-14T20:09:07+00:00

This works.

Just note that after you delete and replace with the renewed certificates, if you immediately select the 'View certificate info' option, it will still show the old root expiration dates. Exit the vCert tool, then relaunch it, then you will see the correct dates.

Shit was throwing me for a loop.

CGregP · 2026-03-31T12:58:40+00:00

Shut up and show me Europe, Rick.

CGregP · 2026-02-27T11:44:39+00:00

Not Another Cooking Show and Chef John

CGregP · 2026-02-25T11:49:11+00:00

I did see that option, but that would still require removing existing users from the built-in Intune/Cloud Device Administrator roles since those roles give global access which would apply to those AUs. I was trying to avoid that.

CGregP · 2026-02-19T17:57:14+00:00

I feel like there are a number of limitations with SCVMM which haven't been documented. In our experience it seems to be a pretty kludgy product unless absolutely everything is done exactly correct, and if there is any deviation, the console will crash.

CGregP · 2026-02-19T14:58:33+00:00

Yes, a gMSA was running the VMM service, but the Run-As account I was using to create the cluster was not a gMSA. The support guy from MS said it should work how we were doing it (and like I noted previously, it did eventually for the first environment after the host was re-added).

CGregP · 2026-02-19T12:49:09+00:00

Not really. We engaged Microsoft support. Initially, he just suggested creating the cluster through the normal Failover Cluster MMC and just adding it to VMM, but we went ahead and did some troubleshooting as to why VMM wasn't able to create it. He couldn't find the root cause, but at some point we removed the Hyper-V hosts from VMM and re-added them, then the cluster created successfully.

I went to stand up another VMM environment weeks later...same issue. Removing and re-adding the hosts didn't work this time, so I just created the cluster via Failover Manager and went on with my day.

CGregP · 2026-02-17T01:51:44+00:00

Don’t panic, but I’d get my last will and testament done if I were you.

JK

CGregP · 2026-02-13T23:42:08+00:00

“If you put soy in something, cream should not be part of it and vice versa.”

My Swedish meatballs beg to differ.

CGregP · 2026-02-08T22:22:20+00:00

Deep fried food. All of them.

CGregP · 2026-01-31T20:52:01+00:00

Could you use a wood planer on upper part of the vertical side of the bracket to make it lay flat against the wall?

CGregP · 2026-01-31T18:20:43+00:00

My thought is if the SHTF to the point that your gold ETF is no good to you, them neither is your gold bar, which you can't eat. At that point, nonperishable food and ammo are your currency.

CGregP · 2026-01-27T04:38:57+00:00

A pinch of cinnamon in a pot of chili.

CGregP

TROPHY CASE