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On Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2012 R2 machines, disable the
scheduled maintenance task that recovers disk space by removing unused features.
For example: Schtasks.exe /change /disable /tn "\Microsoft\Windows\AppxDeploymentClient\Pre-
staged app cleanup"
For example, in the case of View Composer linked clones, this maintenance task can, remove the
Sysprep customization script after the linked clones are created, which would cause subsequent
recompose operations to fail with customization operation timeout errors. For more information, see
the Microsoft KB article available at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2928948.
What to do next
Use vSphere Client or vSphere Web Client to take a snapshot of the parent virtual machine in its powered-
down state. This snapshot is provides the base image for the clones.
IMPORTANT Before you take a snapshot, shut down the parent virtual machine.
Activating Windows on Instant Clones and View Composer Linked Clones
To make sure that Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 10, and Windows Server clones are properly
activated when the clones are created, you must use Microsoft volume activation on the parent virtual
machine. The volume-activation technology requires a volume license key.
To activate Windows with volume activation, you use Key Management Service (KMS), which requires a
KMS license key. See your Microsoft dealer to acquire a volume license key and configure volume
activation.
NOTE Multiple Activation Key (MAK) licensing is not supported.
Before you create an instant-clone or View Composer linked-clone desktop pool, you must use volume
activation to activate Windows on the parent virtual machine.
The following steps describe how activation takes place:
1 Invoke a script to remove the existing license.
2 Restart Windows.
3 Invoke a script that uses KMS licensing to activate Windows.
KMS treats each activated clone as a computer with a newly issued license.
Disable Windows Hibernation in the Parent Virtual Machine
The Windows hibernation feature creates a hidden system file, Hiberfil.sys and uses this file to store
information that is needed for hybrid sleep. Disabling hibernation reduces the size of an instant clone's or a
View Composer linked clone's virtual disk.
CAUTION When you make hibernation unavailable, hybrid sleep does not work. Users can lose data if a
power loss occurs.
Procedure
1 In vSphere Client, select the parent virtual machine and select Open Console.
2 Log in as an administrator.
3 Disable the hibernation option.
a Click Start and type cmd in the Start Search box.
b In the search results list, right-click Command Prompt and click Run as Administrator.
Chapter 3 Creating and Preparing a Parent Virtual Machine for Cloning
VMware, Inc. 47