Statically-entered TCP/IP settings are not present after Sysprep

After you run the System Preparation tool (Sysprep.exe) mini-Setup Wizard, TCP/IP settings that were statically entered, such as DNS server settings, may be lost. Also, the computer configuration settings may return to obtaining an IP address automatically.

This behavior can occur because when the system preparation image is placed on another computer with a different network adapter, the new adapter is installed and defaults to DHCP-assigned IP information. This behavior is by design because the network setup defaults to obtaining an IP address automatically from DHCP.

To work around this issue, you can use the Netset.exe tool from the Microsoft Windows 2000 Resource Kit to reapply the network settings after Setup.

For more information about the Netset.exe tool, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

This behavior is by design.

Windows 2000 stores IP information on a per-network adapter basis. During the System Preparation mini-Setup Wizard, any network configuration changes are ignored (only the "InstallDefaultComponents = Yes" parameter in the [networking ] section is allowed ) so the parameters cannot be specified in the Sysprep.inf file.