Server Template Preparation Script

Template Information

Setting	Value
VM ID	390
Name	srv-template-2025
OS	Windows Server 2025 (Desktop Experience)

Complete Script

<#
.SYNOPSIS
    Windows Server 2025 Template Preparation Script
.AUTHOR
    Maurice Suter
.DATE
    2025-12-22
.NOTES
    - Run as Administrator
    - RDP should be enabled manually before running
    - VirtIO drivers should be installed before running
    - Run Sysprep command separately via noVNC console
#>

#Requires -RunAsAdministrator

$ErrorActionPreference = "Continue"
Write-Host "Starting Windows Server 2025 Template Preparation..." -ForegroundColor Green

# ============================================================
# 1. REMOTE DESKTOP (Manual - Already Done)
# ============================================================
# Set-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server' -Name "fDenyTSConnections" -Value 0
# Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "Remote Desktop"
Write-Host "[1/10] Remote Desktop: Skipped (enable manually)" -ForegroundColor Yellow

# ============================================================
# 2. FIREWALL - PING (ICMP)
# ============================================================
Write-Host "[2/10] Configuring Firewall - ICMP..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
netsh advfirewall firewall set rule name="File and Printer Sharing (Echo Request - ICMPv4-In)" new enable=yes profile=any

# ============================================================
# 3. TIMEZONE
# ============================================================
Write-Host "[3/10] Setting Timezone..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
Set-TimeZone -Id "W. Europe Standard Time"

# ============================================================
# 4. LANGUAGE & REGIONAL SETTINGS
# ============================================================
Write-Host "[4/10] Configuring Language Settings..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
Set-WinUILanguageOverride en-US
Set-WinSystemLocale -SystemLocale en-US
Set-Culture de-CH
Set-WinUserLanguageList de-CH -Force
$1 = Get-WinUserLanguageList
$1.RemoveAll( { $args[0].LanguageTag -clike '' } )
$1.Add('de-CH')
Set-WinUserLanguageList $1 -Force

# ============================================================
# 5. POWER SETTINGS
# ============================================================
Write-Host "[5/10] Configuring Power Settings..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
powercfg /change monitor-timeout-ac 0

# ============================================================
# 6. SYSPREP COUNTER RESET
# ============================================================
Write-Host "[6/10] Resetting Sysprep Counter..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\Setup\Status\SysprepStatus" -Name "CleanupState" -Value 2
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\Setup\Status\SysprepStatus" -Name "GeneralizationState" -Value 7

# ============================================================
# 7. CLEANUP - TEMP FILES
# ============================================================
Write-Host "[7/10] Cleaning Temp Files..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
Remove-Item -Path "$env:TEMP\*" -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-Item -Path "C:\Windows\Temp\*" -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

# ============================================================
# 8. CLEANUP - EVENT LOGS
# ============================================================
Write-Host "[8/10] Clearing Event Logs..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
wevtutil cl System
wevtutil cl Application
wevtutil cl Security

# ============================================================
# 9. WINDOWS UPDATE CLEANUP (Optional)
# ============================================================
Write-Host "[9/10] Windows Update Cleanup..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
# Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase

Write-Host "[10/10] Preparation Complete!" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "NEXT STEPS:" -ForegroundColor Yellow
Write-Host "1. Open noVNC Console (NOT RDP!)" -ForegroundColor Yellow
Write-Host "2. Run the Sysprep command below" -ForegroundColor Yellow
Write-Host ""

Sysprep Command (run via noVNC)

Set-NetIPInterface -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -Dhcp Enabled; Set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -ResetServerAddresses; Remove-Item -Path "$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\Windows\PowerShell\PSReadLine\*" -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep\sysprep.exe /oobe /generalize /shutdown

Post-Sysprep

1. Remove ISOs from VM
2. Right-click VM → Convert to Template