Windows Server 2019 vs. VMware Snapshots with quiescing: an elegant solution to the problem

Who's guilty?

• Secure Boot - protection against booting from extraneous media.
• Encryption support (requires TPM support, but in ESXi 6.7 the same trouble).
• Support for drives over 2TB (doubtful, but it happens).
• Support for a large number of processors.

What to do?

Driver extraction

1. Download the image from the repository .
2. Mount the image.
   
   
3. Run cmd.exe and go to the root of the mounted image
4. Run the installer with the keys:
   

   setup64.exe /A /P <  >

5. In the second step of the wizard, we repeat the path for unpacking:
   
   
6. The drivers are here: VMWToolsExtract \ VMware \ VMware Tools \ VMware \ Drivers

Windows Server 2019

1. . , .
2. : Servicing Stack Update. How to get this update , MS update catalog:
   
   
3. Windows Server 2019 Cumulative Update Servicing Stack Update.
   
   
   
   
4. CAB- :
   
   

1. PowerShell .
2. 
   

   Install-Module -Name Convert-WindowsImage

3. - Convert-WindowsImage:
   

   $ConvertWindowsImageParam = @{
   	#    Windows Server 2019
   	SourcePath = "C:\work\en_windows_server_2019.iso"
   	#   
   	VHDFormat = "VHD"
   	#   
   	SizeBytes = 40GB
   	#   - GPT
   	DiskLayout = "UEFI"
   	BCDinVHD = "VirtualMachine"
   	#   
   	DiskType = "Fixed"
   	#  - Windows Server 2019 Standard (Desktop Expirience)
   	<#
   	 :
   	1 - Windows Server 2019 Standard (Core)
   	2 - Windows Server 2019 Standard (Desktop Expirience)
   	3 - Windows Server 2019 Datacenter (Core)
   	4 - Windows Server 2019 Datacenter (Desktop Expirience)
   	#>
   	Edition = @("2")
   	#  Remote Desktop
   	RemoteDesktopEnable = $True
   	#   
   	Feature = @("TelnetClient","WindowsServerBackup","NetFx3")
   	#   (     CAB)
   	#       :  SSU,  
   	Package = @("C:\work\Windows10.0-KB4523204-x64.cab","C:\work\Windows10.0-KB4534321-x64_PSFX.cab")
   	#     
   	Driver = @("C:\work\VMWToolsExtract\VMware\VMware Tools\VMware\Drivers")
   	}

4. Windows Server 2019 :
   

   Convert-WindowsImage @ConvertWindowsImageParam

   
   
   
   
   

But what if there is already a “defective” template?

1. We start cmd.exe.
2. We start diskpart.
3. Get the list of drives:
   

   list disk

4. Select a disk:
   

   select disk n

   
   where n is the disk number.
5. We list the sections:
   

   list partition

6. We look at the Recovery (n) partition number and select it:
   

   select partition n

7. Remove protection from the section:
   

   gpt attributes=0x8000000000000000

8. Delete:
   

   delete partition

9. Profit!

Instead of a conclusion