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I have cloned a computer using CloneZilla and the two computers has the same "Previous ConfigMgr UUID" but all other UUIDs SIDs and so on are different. Will this be an issue with updates and talking back to the server?

Thanks!

EDIT: I removed Sys Center 2012 Config manager and endpoint protection, removed from the domain then cloned computer without sysprep-ing. If I was to sysprep after following all of these steps will I still have the problems that was mentioned in the comments of this question?

alexander7567
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    Yes, it will be. Uninstall the SCCM client before cloning, and run sysprep after cloning. – HopelessN00b Oct 14 '14 at 21:57
  • I did uninstall it before cloning and it was pushed back via gpo by the sys admin. I am trying avoid sysprep if i can. Can you shed some light on what that uuid means if there is a systems center unique identification number and this one is called previous.. – alexander7567 Oct 14 '14 at 22:44
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    You need to sysprep. The two big things that break as a result of not sysprepping a cloned machine (duplicate SIDs) are WSUS updates and SCCM. If you don't sysprep, basically, SCCM will see the clones as the same machine, and it causes big headaches. – HopelessN00b Oct 14 '14 at 22:54
  • @HopelessN00b Hey, I updated my post with a second related question. If you answer that in an answer, I will accept it. Thanks for taking your time to help me! – alexander7567 Oct 14 '14 at 23:40
  • Why aren’t you using Sysprep? Is there an installed application with incompatibility? Many of the behaviors you might want to avoid with Sysprep can be worked around, usually with an answer file. For example, if you don’t want drivers to be removed because the target hardware is identical, you can configure PersistAllDeviceInstalls. – WinOutreach2 Oct 16 '14 at 18:25
  • @winoutreach2 i did not want to use sysprep because of the extra time it took. I'm building about 30 pcs off this image and with each sysprep it takes about 20 minites to setup devices, update reg and so on. Plus at the time i was under the impression that it was removing updates, but i found out imagex is removing the updates. So i am using clonezilla instead, but i still have to wait for all that other stuff. There is just no way around it though i see. – alexander7567 Oct 16 '14 at 22:33

2 Answers2

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Yes, having a cloned machine will cause problems with both SCCM and (WSUS) updating. The issue with duplicate client UUID/GUIDS is discussed in this technet blog here.

Because this is generated at install time, you should not clone a machine with an SCCM client installed, so uninstall it before cloning, and install it on the clone after completing a sysprep. (sysprep /genealize /oobe /reboot is usually what you want).

Likewise, you shouldn't clone a machine that's domain-joined, as this can cause problems with Active Directory. After your clone target is disjoined from the domain and the SCCM client is uninstalled, you should be able to clone it safely (though some 3rd party software doesn't handle cloning well either, so check with your vendors). Once the clone has finished, sysprep the source machine, then put it back on the domain and reinstall the SCCM client.

That sequence will properly create distinct the GUID, UUID and SID values, which will prevent the problems that arise from having [improperly] cloned machines in the same SCCM hierarchy or Active Directory domain.

HopelessN00b
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The only thing I'll add to Hopeless' answer is that if you sysprep w/ SCCM there's a task sequence step to prep the configMgr client for capture, which presumably handles clearing that stuff. This allows you to keep the client installing on your gold image which is MS best practice, that way if an image fails midway, at least the client is installed and the machine can pick up any outstanding mandatory advertisements still unresolved.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb633049.aspx

MDMoore313
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