If you try and run sysprep.exe /oobe /generalize /shutdown on a Vista reference system and get the following error message:

“System Preparation Tool has stopped working A problem caused the program to stop working correctly. Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is available”

and the following event in your event logs:

Event ID 1000 Source: Application error Faulting application sysprep.exe

Then you’ve probably got a third-party driver issue. One case I heard of involved the SoundMax Audio Driver, which had to be uninstalled from the reference system before sysprep would work properly on the machine.

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