Cloning without Sysprep and deploy it on multiple non-joined-domain devices with similar hardware specs
I am wondering if I can install windows 10 on a PC with a master key (Vol key) and then install the software, create the users, configure the local group policies and finally CLONE it without Sysprep (I believe Sysprep removes some local user group policies and registry settings) and deploy it on multiple non-joined-domain devices with similar hardware specs?
Steve, thanks for your reply. Before going to see which product might be a good fit for my scenario, I want to know if the scenario itself is correct or not. If so, then which Acronis product is a right fit for it. If not, why and what are the risks?
Since some people say Sysprep is a MUST for all scenarios (doesn't matter if the device is a DC-joined-device or not) but others have a different idea. I am really confused and I would be appreciated if you help me to get the right answer.
Thanks.
Sorry but I have no direct experience of this type of deployment other than when migrating from one computer to a new one (which used to require use of Acronis Universal Restore but no longer does for Windows 10 due to better hardware support).
MVP Bobbo may be better placed to advise on sysprep and use of snap deploy, so hopefully he will see this forum topic and add his comments, otherwise you could try sending him a private message to do so.
There is debate about the need for sysprep at all in Windows 10. Honestly, I don't think it's needed on Windows 10 either, and especially not in this case if they are not ever going to be domain joined. You just don't want to have the same computer name in use when you're done as you'll have DNS issues if you still try to connect to remote shares or RDP to systems on the same subnet, if they share the same computer name.
So, yeah, technically, I think True Image could do what you want it to in this case. Not only is Windows 10 really good at handling new hardware (great drivers out of the box without needing to apply Universal Restore), but again, since you're not planning to use an image on the domain, that makes things simple.
Where you run into issues with True Image, is that you're legally required to have a license for each physical machine you use it on, even if just using the rescue media. There really are no checks in place that will prevent this though.
Snap Deploy is designed for image deployment in an environment. It can be used to auotmate deployments across the network, but can also be done with rescue media (like True Image). It's biggest setback, compared to True Image is that you must have a license for each deployment. You can get generic deployment licenses, 1 per machine (at a slightly cheaper cost), or you can spend a little more and get a system deployment license, that associates itself with a single computer so that you can re-deploy to that hardware over and over and over, but only to that one machine. Where Snap Deploy is also handy, is that it has the option to do a sysprep in the deployment (which is handy for domain joined machines).
And yea, I do believe sysprep will wipe out some of the local domain policies if you make those tweaks first.
So, regardless of the product you decide to go with, if you decide to sysprep anyway, then you might be better off making a .bat file or script that can be run automatically after the image deploys to then enable those configurations on the machine (you could put the script in the image already and run it once or as a logon script or something).
The good news too, is that there are free trials for both products so you should play with both of them and see which one works best in your environment. There are limitations in the trial, but you will be able to make a local system image with the trial version (through the Acronis Windows GUI) and you can restore them using the offline rescue media.