I'm using VMWare converter to virtualize an existing Windows XP Pro SP3 partition to run in Windows 7.
At the end of the Converter process, it warns "Unable to locate the required Sysprep files…".
I went looking for these and found the VMWare KB on Sysprep file locations and versions.
This page provides a link for Windows XP Pro SP2, but nothing for SP3. The KB pages shows a date of 17 Dec 2009, so they should be aware that SP3 is out there.
To further confuse matters, Microsoft has a specific download page for Windows XP Service Pack 3 Deployment Tools
Should I assume that VMWare knows what their product needs, and I should use their link to the SP2 Sysprep for any Windows XP service pack level? Or should I use Microsoft's sysprep for SP3 if I have SP3? Or does it matter at all?
For that matter, are sysprep files required if all I want to do is clone a running partition to run as a VM? When I see a yellow exclamation, I assume it is a problem that needs to be fixed, but maybe not in this case? Will VMWare Converter run correctly if there are no sysprep files provided?
Best Answer
Since I know what sysprep is supposed to do, and I didn't need to do those things, I ignored the warning and went ahead and created the virtual image without sysprep. It seems to work just fine, so I can say, at least in my one specific case, that the sysprep warning can be ignored without any apparent problems.