When running sysprep tool with the /generalize switch on Windows Server 2008 Standard, I received the following errors (viewable in C:\Windows\System32\sysprep\panther\setupact.log):
Error [0x0f0082] SYSPRP LaunchDll:Failure occurred while executing ‘C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer returned error code 2
Error [0x0f0070] SYSPRP RunExternalDlls:An error occurred while running registry sysprep DLLs, halting sysprep
execution. dwRet = 2
Error [0x0f00a8] SYSPRP WinMain:Hit failure while processing sysprep cleanup providers; hr = 0x80070002
The problem is that there is not a “RunOnce” key in the following registry location:
hklm\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
To resolve, simply add this key to the CurrentVersion folder and run sysprep again. Worked for me.