I set up a Windows Server 2012 virtual machine exactly the way we want it. I shut down the instance, made a copy of the .vhdx virtual drive, then spun up a new VM and attached the copy of the drive.
I started up the new VM and everything worked properly. Then I proceeded to run SysPrep on the new VM so it wouldn't clash with the original and I could run them both at the same time.
After running Sysprep I had to enter a CD-Key when I powered up the instance (expected behavior) and had to create an account for the new VM.
SQL Server Express was still installed and I was able to connect. However, whenever I try to expand a database I get an error message The database [DbName] is not accessible. (Object Explorer)
I also noticed that the SQL users I had created are now gone.
Does anyone know why this happened or how to recover?