Sysprep Dell Latitude E6x20/E6x10 and the fix for the Free Fall Sensor Driver

OK, since I have tested this for a week now I decided to go ahead and post the fix for the Free Fall Sensor "Error Handle" message.  In short, you need to include the "amd64_Microsoft-Windows-PnpSysprep_6.1.7600.16385_neutral" component for the "Generalize Pass" in your XML answer file and set the "PersistAllDeviceInstalls" setting to True.  This is assuming that you are running Win7 Enterprise 64x without Service Pack 1, I would assume the version you are running is irrelevant.  Also, I have just realized that the second generation (E6x10) is also having this problem.  I applied the same fix as above and all is well.

My next post will contain the information for building an XML answer file.

Dell Latitude E Series: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Generations

I have decided to start this blog as a way for me to keep track of my notes and help out the IT community who face the same problems as I do. I am mainly talking about Dell Latitude E series family laptops with Window 7 64 bit and the use of Sysprep.

I am currently working on a E6410, E6420, and an Optiplex 745/755.

I need to start off by saying the E series 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generations do NOT have the same chipset, therefore they are not compatible and you will need to create 3 different images for deployment. Since the 3rd gen has the 2nd generation Core i5/i7 processors I am hoping the 4th generation will have the same chipset.

E6x20:

For those of you who have been forced to implement the E6x20 due to Dell discontinuing the E6x10 and are having Sysprep fatal errors I have two important issues you may want to consider looking at.

The first one is "Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service" in Services, for some reason Sysprep was failing due to this service, disable it! In your Sysprep log you will see that it failed while trying to execute "drmv2clt.dll" during sysprep cleanup. This dll belongs to Digital Rights Management, but I don't know whom to blame.

The next issue in Syspreping an E6x20 is the "Free Fall Sensor". The machine appears to have syspreped just fine until you un-mount it. When you do, you receive an "Error Handle" message. This message belongs to the Free Fall Sensor driver. While the "Error handle" message is open you can use Task Manager to show you the process it is running (FF_Protection), next use the Command Line column to show you the executable it is using. Once you follow the path and run the "FF_Protection.exe" you will see that the settings are set to "Temporarily Disable (until next reboot)", but when you reboot you keep receiving the same "Error handle" message. For some reason sysprep has removed the driver for the Free Fall Sensor (From Dell R294986), but it will still remain in the Drivers folder (C:\dell\drivers). I am not going to post the fix for it just yet because it is only a patch and you will not be able to use that image on any other E6x20 unless it has the Exact same hardware.

Concerning the E6410, I have been having issues with Sysprep failing due to the REARMS. I have rebuilt the image from scratch and I am going to proceed with sysprep soon. The same goes for an Optiplex 745, I will post my results when I have them.