What's the best way to clone Windows 11?


Jeepers - all these posts about sysprep. Total overkill if all devices are same.

@Ghot has provided simplest solution.

You rarely need sysprep these days on W10 or W11.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ16 GB solderedIntegrated Intel Iris XE
OS
Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
ASUS Zenbook 14
CPU
I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ
Motherboard
Yep, Laptop has one.
Memory
16 GB soldered
Graphics Card(s)
Integrated Intel Iris XE
Sound Card
Realtek built in
Monitor(s) Displays
laptop OLED screen
Screen Resolution
2880x1800 touchscreen
Hard Drives
1 TB NVME SSD (only weakness is only one slot)
PSU
Internal + 65W thunderbolt USB4 charger
Case
Yep, got one
Cooling
Stella Artois (UK pint cans - 568 ml) - extra cost.
Keyboard
Built in UK keybd
Mouse
Bluetooth , wireless dongled, wired
Internet Speed
900 mbs (ethernet), wifi 6 typical 350-450 mb/s both up and down
Browser
Edge
Antivirus
Defender
Other Info
TPM 2.0, 2xUSB4 thunderbolt, 1xUsb3 (usb a), 1xUsb-c, hdmi out, 3.5 mm audio out/in combo, ASUS backlit trackpad (inc. switchable number pad)

Macrium Reflect Home V8
Office 365 Family (6 users each 1TB onedrive space)
Hyper-V (a vm runs almost as fast as my older laptop)
@cereberus Hi Bud, Ive only just starting getting into OS Builds for our organization and the previous methods were to use sysprep and answer file to pre-inject the KMS Volume Key's along with the driver injection via PNP so that the image covers a wide range of models. This means that when we deploy the image all we need to do is add it to the domain and do any post build actions depending upon final use of the device / which department etc.
Can I use the DISM method to do this and would it capture similar to sysprep as in generalized or if there are multiple models is it best to stick with sysprep ?
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
cereberus said:
Jeepers - all these posts about sysprep. Total overkill if all devices are same.

@Ghot has provided simplest solution.

You rarely need sysprep these days on W10 or W11.
Click to expand...
I've always just used Sysprep because it's quick, it's easy and it ensure that you don't have duplicate SID's. Duplicate SID's rarely do cause a problem, but this just helps ensure that they never exist to begin with.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel Core i5-8279u32GB DDR4 2666MhzIntel Iris Plus 655
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Beelink SEI8
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8279u
    Motherboard
    AZW SEI
    Memory
    32GB DDR4 2666Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Iris Plus 655
    Sound Card
    Intel SST
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Asus ProArt PA278QV
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    512GB NVMe
    PSU
    NA
    Case
    NA
    Cooling
    NA
    Keyboard
    NA
    Mouse
    NA
    Internet Speed
    500/50
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    Mini PC used for testing Windows 11.

  • At a glance

    Windows 10 ProRyzen 9 5900x64GB DDR4-3600EVGA GeForce 3080 FT3 Ultra
    Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Ryzen 9 5900x
    Motherboard
    Asus Rog Strix X570-E Gaming
    Memory
    64GB DDR4-3600
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA GeForce 3080 FT3 Ultra
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS TUF Gaming VG27AQ. ASUS ProArt Display PA278QV 27” WQHD
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    2TB WD SN850 PCI-E Gen 4 NVMe
    2TB Sandisk Ultra 2.5" SATA SSD
    PSU
    Seasonic Focus 850
    Case
    Fractal Meshify S2 in White
    Cooling
    Dark Rock Pro CPU cooler, 3 x 140mm case fans
    Keyboard
    Corsiar K65 RGB Lux
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    500/50
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Defender.
CartmansPiehole said:
I finally got a chance to look into some of the solutions posted and I've got at least one new issue. Basically, I'm unable to remove a hard drive. It looks like one of the screws are covered by a Warranty Void sticker. Secondly, I don't have access to the necessary screwdriver to remove the hard drive. It looks like it has a star key.
Click to expand...
My thought on this: The sticker on the drive is there for a purpose, don't take those Torx/star-socketed screws out, not necessary to change the drive, they hold on the cover of the drive's internal works and removal of it can cause damage and best done in a "clean-room" for the purpose. An HDD or SATA SSD uses only 1 to 4 screws to mount them, may be on each edge of the drive or on the bottom and use a standard Phillips driver, maybe a #2 or a #1 tip. Some will have 6 holes for flexibility in mounting.
Notebook 2.5" drives, one with the cover missing:
 

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My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz12GB
    OS
    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe M.2

  • At a glance

    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz16GBOnboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA a...
    Operating System
    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 4TB Seagate HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
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