Should I enter my Office product key before running sysprep?

Question

I'm planning on cloning a Windows XP install, and am a little confused about sysprep. I know that it blanks out the XP product key, but what about other software?

If I install Office 2007 and enter a product key, then use sysprep and create an image, will I be able to enter a new product key in clones I create from the image? Or will they all have duplicate product keys?

Answer 1

The correct answer is no, don't enter Microsoft Office product keys. They don't get blanked out by sysprep and you'll end up with every clone having the same product key.

However, it is fairly trivial (minor regedit session) to remove the product key so that you get prompted for another one when you start Office.