Help Center/ Image Management Service/ FAQs/ Image Creation/ How Do I Handle the Startup Failure of a Windows ECS Created from a Windows Image Generalized by Sysprep?
Updated on 2024-07-12 GMT+08:00
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How Do I Handle the Startup Failure of a Windows ECS Created from a Windows Image Generalized by Sysprep?

Symptom

  1. When you start the ECS, information similar to the following is displayed.
    Figure 1 Message displayed

    Then, the following information is displayed in the dialog box:

    Windows could not parse or process the unattend answer file for pass [specialize]. A component or setting specified in the answer file does not exist. The error was detected while processing settings for component [Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup].
  2. Click OK. The following information is displayed in the dialog box: 
    The computer accidentally restarts or encounters an error. Windows installation cannot continue. Click OK to restart the computer and restart the installation.
  3. Open setupact.log in C:\Windows\Panther. The log contains the following information.
    Figure 2 Viewing ECS logs

Solution

  1. Create an ECS from a public image. (You are advised to use a public image to create another ECS because Sysprep can be executed only for certain times.)
  2. Create an Unattend.xml file or modify the Unattend.xml file provided by the system.
  3. Run Sysprep. For details, see Running Sysprep.

    If you use the Unattend.xml file created by yourself, check the Unattend.xml path when running Sysprep to ensure that the newly created Unattend.xml file is used.

  4. Create an image from the ECS where Sysprep has been executed.
Parent topic: Image Creation