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Article Number: 000152700


Microsoft System Preparation Tool (Sysprep), “ExtendOemPartition=1” and Imaging a 512e/4K Advanced Format Hard Drive

Summary: Users may use the Microsoft System Preparation Tool (Sysprep) to prepare an image for deployment.

Article Content


Symptoms


One rule for the use of Sysprep has been that the size of the destination computer’s hard disk must be at least the same size as the hard disk of the primary installation. If the destination computer has a larger hard disk, the difference is not included in the primary partition. However, the "ExtendOemPartition" entry in the Sysprep.inf file can be used to extend the primary partition on the destination computer if it was formatted to use the NTFS or FAT32 file system by using the following values.


Cause

 

Resolution


Modify the Sysprep.inf file to use the "ExtendOemPartition" key in the [Unattended] section to extend the partition to the full size of the target disk or the extra size (in megabytes) that you want. Values:

  • ExtendOemPartition = 0 (do not extend)
  • ExtendOemPartition = 1 (extend to the end of the disk)
  • ExtendOemPartition = number_in_megabytes (extend the volume this many megabytes in size)

The "ExtendOemPartition=1" entry has been known to cause a blue screen when used in combination with a 512e/4K Advanced Format hard drive. The problem arises when a Windows XP image is using Sysprep and has the entry "ExtendOemPartion=1" in the sysprep.inf file. That invokes XP's version of Diskpart to extend the XP partition (NTFS or FAT32) to use any unutilized disk space on the hard drive. When that happens, it extends the drive during sysprep and ends that partition extension on a boundary that is not aligned and compatible with the partition boundary that was set to be compatible with 512e/4k Advanced Format hard drives. This process creates a partition that is of an unrecognizable size and may result in a blue screen during the imaging process. To resolve this issue, please remove the "ExtendOemPartion=1"  line in Sysprep.

NOTE: Both legacy and 512e/4K Advanced Format hard drives can be affected by this issue if the partition alignment is done prior to imaging using the diskpart switch on a drive with unallocated free space. Microsoft does not support the use of Windows XP with 512e/4K Advanced Format hard drives.

***HELPFUL LINKS***

Microsoft TechNet - How to Prepare Images for Disk Duplication with Sysprep

Microsoft Support - Best Practices for Using Sysprep with NTFS Volumes

Microsoft Support - Information about Microsoft support policy for large sector drives in Windows


Article Properties


Last Published Date

01 Apr 2021

Version

4

Article Type

Solution