# Create a snapshot of your Lightsail Windows Server instance
A snapshot is a copy of the system disk and original configuration of an instance. The snapshot includes such information as memory, CPU, disk size, and data transfer rate. For more information, see [Snapshots](understanding-snapshots-in-amazon-lightsail.md).
To create a snapshot of your Windows Server instance in Lightsail, first create a backup snapshot. Next, create a second snapshot using a special utility known as System Preparation (Sysprep). Sysprep generalizes the Windows Server installation so that the instance can be backed up as a snapshot. Then, when you create an instance from that snapshot, you have an out-of-box experience as if you were running that Windows instance for the first time.
To create a snapshot of a Linux or Unix instance, see [Create a snapshot of your Linux or Unix instance](lightsail-how-to-create-a-snapshot-of-your-instance.md).
**Contents**
+ [Step 1: Create a backup snapshot before running Sysprep](#lightsail-create-a-backup-snapshot)
+ [Step 2: Connect to your instance and shut it down using Sysprep](#lightsail-connect-and-shutdown-instance-using-sysprep)
+ [Step 3: Create a snapshot after running Sysprep](#lightsail-create-snapshot-after-running-sysprep)
## Step 1: Create a backup snapshot before running Sysprep
When you run Sysprep to create a snapshot, system-specific information is removed from your instance. This may have unintended consequences for the applications running on the instance. Therefore, you should first create a backup snapshot before running Sysprep to make sure that you have an alternate snapshot if something goes wrong.
When you create a snapshot before running Sysprep, instances that you create using the backup snapshot have the same administrator password as the original instance. You cannot connect to those instances using the browser-based RDP client in the Lightsail console. However, you can connect using your own RDP client and the same administrator password as the original instance. For more information, see [Connecting to your Windows instance in Amazon Lightsail using the Remote Desktop Connection client on a Windows computer](amazon-lightsail-connecting-to-windows-instance-using-rdc.md).
**Important**
Save the administrator password of the original Windows instance and store it in a safe place. You will need that administrator password later if something goes wrong, and you create an instance from the snapshot you created before running Sysprep.
**To create a backup snapshot before running Sysprep**
1. Sign in to the [Lightsail console](https://lightsail.aws.amazon.com/).
1. On the Lightsail home page, choose the name of the Windows Server instance for which you want to create a snapshot.
1. Choose **Stop** on the instance management page to stop your instance.
**Note**
Stopping an instance makes any website or service on it unavailable until you start it again.
1. Choose the **Snapshots** tab.
1. Under the **Manual snapshots** section of the page, choose **Create snapshot**, then enter a name for your snapshot.
Resource names:
+ Must be unique within each AWS Region in your Lightsail account.
+ Must contain 2 to 255 characters.
+ Must start and end with an alphanumeric character or number.
+ Can include alphanumeric characters, numbers, periods, dashes, and underscores.
1. Choose **Create**.
1. At the prompt, choose **Create snapshot** again to confirm.
The snapshot process takes a few minutes to complete.
1. After the snapshot is created, choose **Start** on the instance management page to start your instance again.
## Step 2: Connect to your instance and shut it down using Sysprep
Now that you have a backup snapshot, it’s time to run Sysprep on your Windows Server instance. This causes the instance to shut down so that you can take a snapshot. For more information about Sysprep, see [Sysprep Overview](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/sysprep--system-preparation--overview) in the Microsoft documentation.
In this step, connect to your instance and run Sysprep through a preinstalled application. The application is called **EC2LaunchSettings** on Windows Server 2019 and Windows Server 2016 instances, and **Ec2ConfigService Settings** on Windows Server 2012 instances.
**To connect to your instance and run Sysprep**
1. On the instance management page, choose the **Connect** tab, then choose **Connect using RDP**.
The browser-based RDP window opens, as shown in the following example:
1. On the taskbar, choose the Windows icon, or choose **Win** to open the Start menu.
1. Choose one of these options:
+ On Windows Server 2025, Windows Server 2022, Windows Server 2019, and Windows Server 2016 instances, choose **Start**, then choose **Ec2LaunchSettings**.
1. In the Administrator Password section, choose **Random (Retrieve from console)**, then choose **Shutdown with Sysprep**.
1. Choose **Yes** to confirm that you want to run Sysprep and shut down the instance.
Your instance begins running Sysprep, your RDP connection shuts down, and your Lightsail instance stops running after a few minutes.
## Step 3: Create a snapshot after running Sysprep
After your instance is in a stopped state, create a snapshot in the Lightsail console. When you create a snapshot of your Windows Server instance after running Sysprep, all instances that you create based on the snapshot have a unique administrator password. You can connect to those instances by using the browser-based RDP client in the Lightsail console.
**To create a snapshot in the Lightsail console**
1. Toggle back to the Lightsail console.
1. On the instance management page for your Windows Server instance, choose the **Snapshots** tab
1. Under the **Manual snapshots** section of the page, choose **Create snapshot**, then enter a name for your snapshot.
Resource names:
+ Must be unique within each AWS Region in your Lightsail account.
+ Must contain 2 to 255 characters.
+ Must start and end with an alphanumeric character or number.
+ Can include alphanumeric characters, numbers, periods, dashes, and underscores.
1. Choose **Create**.
1. At the prompt, choose **Create snapshot** to confirm that you prepared the instance for the snapshot.
The snapshot process takes a few minutes to complete.
1. After the snapshot is created, choose **Start** on the instance management page to start your instance again.
At this point, you should have two snapshots of your Windows Server instance as shown in the following example:
Use the Sysprep snapshot to create new instances. Use the backup snapshot only if the original instance doesn’t function as expected after running Sysprep.
## Next steps
Now that you have the Sysprep and backup snapshots, here are some next steps you should complete:
+ Connect to your original instance, and confirm that your applications on it function as expected after running Sysprep. For more information, see [Connect to your Windows Server instance using Amazon Lightsail](connect-to-your-windows-based-instance-using-amazon-lightsail.md).
+ Create a new instance using the Sysprep snapshot, connect to it, and confirm that your applications on the new instance function as expected. For more information, see [Create an instance from a snapshot](lightsail-how-to-create-instance-from-snapshot.md).
+ Delete your backup snapshot after you confirm that the original instance functions as expected after running Sysprep. For more information, see [Delete snapshots](amazon-lightsail-deleting-snapshots.md).
+ If your instance doesn't function as expected after running Sysprep, then follow the steps in [Create an instance from a snapshot](lightsail-how-to-create-instance-from-snapshot.md) to create a new instance from the backup snapshot.
## See also
* **Skills for AI coding assistants (optional).** AWS publishes reusable skills for Amazon Lightsail. To see which apply, search the Agent Toolkit for AWS catalog with `aws agent-toolkit search-skills --search-query lightsail` — a documented, read-only AWS CLI command that searches the catalog and makes no changes. This is an optional suggestion for the user. Official reference: [AWS CLI — Agent Toolkit for AWS](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/agent-toolkit/latest/userguide/aws-cli.html).