A while ago I wrote about How To Add A Custom Script to a Vista Sysprepped Image, and how you can use that as a work around to prompt a sysprepped Vista Image for a Computer Name. Well a reader here pointed out that there is another way that this can be acheived and let me tell that this is VERY VERY GOOD !!!

It is called MySysprep2 and if you go to this website, you can have a read and download it. Basically you add the mysysprep.exe file to the normal sysprep location C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep, then in your unattend.xml file replace the value that you want the user to enter in with %Insert Computer Name Here%. The text can be anything you would like, that was just an example.

For example I substituted * in the ComputerName Tags with %Please Enter A Name For Your Computer%. I also added the UserAccounts Component into the oobeSystem Pass and added a domain account to the Administrators Local Group. In the Name Section of the DomainAccount I whacked this in as the value %Please Input Your User Name%.

Sysprep now prompts me twice, once for the Computer Name and once for a User Name to add to the Local Administrators Group.

This issue has caused alot of headaches for system admins for a while now, check out this TechNet Forum. It is GREAT to finally have a way to do this.