Installing FFS for Use with Sysprep

[hsehestedt]

I like to create customized Sysprep images of Windows for my PCs at home. For programs, I install them but do not run after installation.

As an example, if I install Microsoft 365 and then Sysprep the system, if I later install Windows from that Sysprep image, the first time that I run Microsoft 365 it will ask me to activate it and I'm good to go.

For programs that do not require activation, the same still applies insofar as I install them, but do not run the program until after the system is syspreped and imaged.

With FreeFileSync, this does not work. If I run FFS after deploying a Sysprep image, FFS will not run. I apologize for not having the exact error message, it would take quite a while to create a new image and deploy it at this point, but the message basically says something to the effect that FFS was installed on a different system. This results in me having to install FFS after installing Windows and makes it impossible for me to include in my Sysprep image.

Is there any workaround for this?

NOTE: I have contributed toward the Donation Edition, but for this purpose the free version would work just fine.

[therube]

Did you try the free version?
If not, I would.
(Actually since it's a timely operation, I'd wait for those who actually know to respond ;-).)

Donation uses a "license file", & I'll suspect it's tied to some "hardware id".
And when you Sysprep, I'll suspect that a different "hardware id" is generated, hence the "license" fails?

[hsehestedt]

Actually, all my testing was done with the free version. As I noted in my original post, the free version is fine for this purpose, but it exhibits the described issue.

But thank you for the suggestion.