diff --git a/template/Prepare-LinuxBuild2404.ps1 b/template/Prepare-LinuxBuild2404.ps1
index 599dc0c..c37c480 100644
--- a/template/Prepare-LinuxBuild2404.ps1
+++ b/template/Prepare-LinuxBuild2404.ps1
@@ -374,6 +374,20 @@ if ($failures.Count -gt 0) {
 }
 Write-Host "[Prepare] All post-setup checks passed." -ForegroundColor Green
 
+# ── Step 7b — Clear machine-id (DHCP uniqueness for clones) ──────────────────
+# Each clone boots with an empty machine-id; systemd generates a fresh one from
+# /dev/urandom on first boot. Without this, all clones share the same DHCP
+# client-id and receive the same IP from VMware DHCP — causing IP collisions.
+Write-Host "[Prepare] Step 7b — Clearing machine-id for DHCP uniqueness..."
+Invoke-SshCommand -IP $VMIPAddress -User $CloudUser -KeyPath $SshKeyPath `
+    -Command 'sudo truncate -s 0 /etc/machine-id && sudo rm -f /var/lib/dbus/machine-id'
+Assert-Step 'MachineId' '/etc/machine-id is empty' {
+    $size = (Invoke-SshCommand -IP $VMIPAddress -User $CloudUser -KeyPath $SshKeyPath `
+        -Command 'stat -c %s /etc/machine-id' -PassThru).Trim()
+    $size -eq '0'
+}
+Write-Host "[Prepare] machine-id cleared — each clone will generate a unique ID on first boot." -ForegroundColor Green
+
 # ── Step 8 — Shutdown + snapshot ─────────────────────────────────────────────
 if ($TakeSnapshot -or $VMXPath -ne '') {
     Write-Host "[Prepare] Step 8 — Sending graceful shutdown to guest..."
@@ -435,4 +449,4 @@ if ($TakeSnapshot -or $VMXPath -ne '') {
 } else {
     Write-Host "  Snapshot:  not taken — run manually then use -SnapshotName '$SnapshotName'"
 }
-
+