Generate new SID in Windows Server 2012

Today I had to deploy a new Windows Server 2012 VM. Because In VMware you can Clone a VM I used this option. But when it comes to Server 2010, the cloned VM will have a duplicate copy of the SID of the machine from which it was cloned.

This duplicate SID can cause a lot of issues so each machine must have an unique SID. In this post I will show you the steps to generate a new SID in Windows Server 2012.

First log on to the Windows Server 2012 VM. Now open Windows Explorer, and browse to C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep

Right-click sysprep application and click Run as Administrator

No the sysprep (System Preparation) tool will open as shown below. Choose Enter System Out-of-the-box Experience (OOBE) option, check Generalize option, choose Reboot as shutdown options and click OK.

For more information about the different switches see (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc721973(WS.10).aspx )

When you click OK, the application will generate new SID and perform all the required actions and will reboot.

After the reboot is complete, you will be asked to enter the product key, accept License terms, and enter a new Administrator password.

This is how you can generate a new SID on Windows Server 2012.