Hi, Firstly I will start off with what I am trying to accomplish. I am trying to create an XP SP2 image that will run on any machine, as well as rename according to and asset tag id set in the bios and join a domain. I have working scripts to handle the renaming and the joining the domain. I have tested these by putting them on and XP SP2 image, allowing the machine to automatically login as administrator, and then making an image. As soon as the image is uploaded to the machine it runs through the process and works like fine. Here is a link I found to help me with this. http://www.novell.com/coolsolutions... I though it would be even better if I only had to make one image rather than making an image for each type of machine in my organization. Sysprep seemed like the best tool for this. The test image I am working with is Windows XP Sp2 OS with Novell Client for Windows 4.91 SP2 and ZENWorks 7 installed. I am using the latest version of Sysprep that is for SP2. THE PROBLEM is that once I run Sysprep the machine won’t automatically login as administrator. I have tried many different ways to get this working and none seem to work. I have searched the net heaps to find an answer but couldn’t find much so I’m hoping I can find the answer here. I won’t write anymore because this is starting to look like an essay. I will provide additional information if needed. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks Gaza

if i recall rightly, this is a Microsoft issue, not a NetWare issue...i remember it being a question in the MCP XP Pro exam i took. Stupid me, i have forgotten the answer. Will look back over notes and get back to you. At any rate, it is a common problem with procedures such as you are doing. "If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure." - BILL CLINTON

okay, i'm not sure whether you haven't already tried this yourself, but you need to create a sysprep.inf file with certain parameters to specify auto administrator login: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pr... then you need to employ certain workarounds to make it work with ZEN: http://www.novell.com/coolsolutions... "People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought, which they avoid" - Soren Kierkegaard.

I have tried what both those links suggest. It’s a strange problem. Even if I have auto logon enabled prior to running sysprep, once I run sysprep it breaks it. A quick look in the registry and it has deleted some the values needed to do the auto logon. I found a link yesterday which is for a service that comes with the windows 2000 resource kit. It basically allows you to run batch files at startup before a user logs in. I tested it and it will even run a vbs from the batch file. So it looks like I will be able to accomplish what I want without having to login. I don't want to get to excited yet as I am still in the process of testing it. Thank for you help Gaza

Please report back on your findings! Thanks. "If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure." - BILL CLINTON

Just reporting back on my findings... With the use of autoexnt service I can get it to run batch files or scrips files before a logon occurs. more info on autoexnt here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/243486 I'm not sure if there is a autoexnt for XP the one I am using is for Windows 2000 but it seems to work fine with XP SP2. This enables me to run the scripts for renaming the workstation and joining it to a domain.