Sysprep an Upgrade Windows 7 Machine

If you are looking to use Sysprep.exe to generalize and move a windows installation from one machine to another you may run into a problem with a machine that has been upgraded in the past.  You can actually get around this hurdle by just deleting a couple registry keys and running a single command. 

***Error message you get running Sysprep on a machine that was Upgraded.

To Fix:

Remove this KEY from the Registry:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup\Upgrade

 

Set this REG_DWORD from the Registry:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup\Status\SysprepStatus\CleanupState 

—Set this Value to 7  (will likely be 2)

Run this command as Administrator:

Open the Command Prompt as Administrator and then run.
slmgr /dli

 

Thats it now when you run Sysprep.exe you will see the normal menu without any errors 🙂