PersistAllDeviceInstalls
Applies To: Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Vista
The PersistAllDeviceInstalls setting indicates whether all plug and play devices on the destination computer remain installed during the generalize configuration pass.
To speed up the deployment of a group of computers that have identical hardware configurations, you can instruct Windows® Setup to maintain the driver settings from the reference computer when you capture a Windows image. When you apply the image to identical destination computers, the drivers are correctly configured.
To instruct Windows Setup to maintain the driver settings, prepare the computer for image capture by generalizing the computer with an answer file that includes the Microsoft-Windows-PnpSysPrep\PersistAllDeviceInstalls setting.
The hardware must be connected to identical locations and must use the same drivers, and the drivers must have a consistent, unique naming scheme. If the hardware is not identical, severe system problems may result.
To avoid driver conflicts, each device should have driver files associated with it that include unique service names, registry key values, and binary filenames.
Warning
Avoid using the PersistAllDeviceInstalls setting when the hardware and the hardware configuration on the reference computer are not identical to the destination computers. Even seemingly minor changes to the hardware or hardware configuration can cause severe or easily overlooked problems.
For more information on maintaining driver configurations when capturing a Windows image, see this Microsoft website.
Values
true |
Specifies that plug and play devices remain installed on the destination computer during the generalize configuration pass. The devices then do not need to be reinstalled during the specialize configuration pass. |
false |
Specifies that plug and play devices are uninstalled during the generalize configuration pass. If the devices are on the computer during the next specialize configuration pass, they are reinstalled. This is the default value. |
Valid Configuration Passes
generalize
Parent Hierarchy
Microsoft-Windows-PnpSysprep | PersistAllDeviceInstalls
Applies To
For a list of the Windows editions and architectures that this component supports, see Microsoft-Windows-PnpSysprep.
XML Example
The following XML output specifies that device drivers remain be installed on the destination computer during the generalize configuration pass.
<PersistAllDeviceInstalls>true</PersistAllDeviceInstalls>
See Also
Concepts
DoNotCleanUpNonPresentDevices
Microsoft-Windows-PnpSysprep
Other Resources
Maintain Driver Configurations When Capturing a Windows Image