Windows Answer File Generator Windows 10
- Wds Example Unattend Xml File Windows 10
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Professional disk tools Windows 10 answer file generator download. This software tool consists of four modules: File Generator, Disk Drive Data Wipe, Disk Drive Speed, Free Disk Space. Windows 10 answer file generator download. Plain vanilla Windows 10. But, you want to do it without “click this“, “choose an option” and similar Windows Setup and OOBE dialogs. Luckily, this is easy with a simple answer file called autounattend.xml added to the root of the install media. In this post, I will give you a sample answer file ready for use. This sites Answer file generator has lot of bugs for latest 1511 release. Wish there was a simpler template we could just generate without heavy MS tools. PS: I need to deploy some Native Boot VHDs with Unattend answer file. Where should I keep/ insert the file in/ outside of VHD? Next Windows Setup sits on the 'Where do you want to install Windows?' Screen instead of creating the partitions from the unattend file which I can see at the following location X: sources wdsunattend wdsunattend.xml. I can't seem to get WDS to process the file even though it clearly downloads it from WDS. Any help is appreciated. Windows answer file with a custom locale. The following commands create a Windows answer file with a custom locale. When prompted to enter an administrator credential, specify the desired username and password. Use 'Administrator' for the username if you wish to configure the built-in Administrator account. In order to create an Answer File we are going need “ Windows System Image Manager ” (WSIM) and Windows 10 installation source files, such a disc-image ISO file or DVD. WSIM can be obtained by downloading the “ Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit ” (Windows ADK) for your version of Windows 10.
Answer files (or Unattend files) can be used to modify Windows settings in your images during Setup. You can also create settings that trigger scripts in your images that run after the first user creates their account and picks their default language.
Windows Setup will automatically search for answer files in certain locations, or you can specify an unattend file to use by using the /unattend: option when running Windows Setup (setup.exe).
Windows settings overview
While you can set many Windows settings in audit mode, some settings can only be set by using an answer file or Windows Configuration Designer, such as adding manufacturer’s support information. A full list of answer file settings (also known as Unattend settings) is in the Unattended Windows Setup Reference.
Enterprises can control other settings by using Group Policy. For more info, see Group Policy.
Answer file settings
You can specify which configuration pass to add new settings:
1 windowsPE: These settings are used by the Windows Setup installation program. If you’re modifying existing images, you can usually ignore these settings.
4 specialize: Most settings should be added here. These settings are triggered both at the beginning of audit mode and at the beginning of OOBE. If you need to make multiple updates or test settings, generalize the device again and add another batch of settings in the Specialize Configuration pass.
6 auditUser: Runs as soon as you start audit mode.
This is a great time to run a system test script - we'll add Microsoft-Windows-DeploymentRunAsynchronousCommand as our example. To learn more, see Add a Custom Script to Windows Setup.
7 oobeSystem: Use sparingly. Most of these settings run after the user completes OOBE. The exception is the Microsoft-Windows-DeploymentResealMode = Audit setting, which we’ll use to bypass OOBE and boot the PC into audit mode.
If your script relies on knowing which language the user selects during OOBE, you’d add it to the oobeSystem pass.
To learn more, see Windows Setup Configuration Passes.
Note
Wds Example Unattend Xml File Windows 10
These settings could be lost if the user resets their PC with the built-in recovery tools. To see how to make sure these settings stay on the device during a reset, see Sample scripts: Keeping Windows settings through a recovery.
Create and modify an answer file
Step 1: Create a catalog file
Start Windows System Image Manager.
Click File > Select Windows Image.
In Select a Windows Image, browse to and select the image file (D:install.wim). Next, select an edition of Windows, for example, Windows 10 Pro, and click OK. Click Yes to create the catalog file. Windows SIM creates the file based on the image file, and saves it to the same folder as the image file. This process can take several minutes.
The catalog file appears in the Windows Image pane. Windows SIM lists the configurable components and packages in that image.
Troubleshooting: If Windows SIM does not create the catalog file, try the following steps:
To create a catalog file for either 32-bit or ARM-based devices, use a 32-bit device.
Make sure the Windows base-image file (SourcesInstall.wim) is in a folder that has read-write privileges, such as a USB flash drive or on your hard drive.
Step 2: Create an answer file
Click File > New Answer File.
The new answer file appears in the Answer File pane.
Note If you open an existing answer file, you might be prompted to associate the answer file with the image. Click Yes.
Step 3: Add new answer file settings
Add OEM info:
In the Windows Image pane, expand Components, right-click amd64_Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup_(version), and then select Add Setting to Pass 4 specialize.
In the Answer File pane, select Components4 specializeamd64_Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup_neutralOEMInformation.
In the OEMInformation Properties pane, in the Settings section, select:
- Manufacturer=
Fabrikam - Model=
Notebook Model 1 - Logo=
C:FabrikamFabrikam.bmp
Create a 32-bit color with a maximum size of 120x120 pixels, save it as
D:AnswerFilesFabrikam.bmpfile on your local PC, or use the sample from the USB-B key:D:ConfigSet$OEM$$$System32OEMFabrikam.bmp.We'll copy the logo into the Windows image in a few steps.
- Manufacturer=
Set the device to automatically boot to audit mode:
In the Windows Image pane, expand Components, right-click amd64_Microsoft-Windows-Deployment_(version), and then select Add Setting to Pass 7 oobeSystem.
In the Answer File pane, select Components7 oobeSystemamd64_Microsoft-Windows-Deployment_neutralReseal.
In the Reseal Properties pane, in the Settings section, select Mode=
Audit.Prepare a script to run after Audit mode begins.
In the Windows Image pane, right-click amd64_ Microsoft-Windows-Deployment_(version) and then click Add Setting to Pass 6 auditUser.
In the Answer File pane, expand Components6 auditUseramd64_Microsoft-Windows-Deployment_neutralRunAsynchronous. Right-click RunAsynchronousCommand Properties and click Insert New AsynchronousCommand.
In the AsynchronousCommand Properties pane, in the Settings section, add the following values:
Path = C:FabrikamSampleCommand.cmdDescription = Sample command to run a system diagnostic check.Order = 1(Determines the order that commands are run, starting with 1.)Add a registry key. In this example, we add keys for the OEM Windows Store program. Use the same process as adding a script, using
CMD /c REG ADD.For Windows 10 Customer Systems, you may use the OEM Store ID alone or in combination with a Store Content Modifier (SCM) to identify an OEM brand for the OEM Store. By adding a SCM, you can target Customer Systems at a more granular level. For example, you may choose to target commercial devices separately from consumer devices by inserting unique SCMs for consumer and commercial brands into those devices.
Add RunAsynchronousCommands for each registry key to add. (Right-click RunAsynchronousCommand Properties and click Insert New AsynchronousCommand).
See the Unattended Windows Setup Reference for a full list of configuration options.
Step 4: Save the answer file
Save the answer file, for example: D:AnswerFilesBootToAudit-x64.xml.
Note Windows SIM will not allow you to save the answer file into the mounted image folders. Step 5: Create a script
Since we specified a script to run in Step 3, let's create that script now.
Copy the following sample script into Notepad, and save it as D:AnswerFilesSampleCommand.cmd.
Add the answer file and script to the image
Step 6: Mount an image and add the answer file
Use DISM to mount a Windows image. To learn how to mount an image, see Mount and modify a Windows image using DISM
Copy the answer file into the image into the WindowsPanther folder, and name it unattend.xml. The Panther folder is one of the folders where Windows searches for an answer file. Create the folder if it doesn’t exist. If there’s an existing answer file, replace it or use Windows System Image Manager to edit/combine settings if necessary.
Unmount the image, committing the changes. For example:
where C is the drive letter of the drive that contains the mounted image.
This process may take several minutes.
When you apply your image, Windows will process your unattend file and will configure your settings based on what you specified in the unattend.
Let’s face it, we all hate to format our computers and reinstall Windows even when we know, it’s the last resort to fix persistent problems. Some don’t like the aftermath of installing drivers and configuring software. But most of us don’t like to sit through the entire installation process and answer questions like your name, preferred language, installation drive, etc.
These answers are usually same all the time and if only there was a way to record your steps the first time you install Windows and replicate it in the future, it could really save a lot of productive time. Luckily, there’s a way out in such situations and that’s by creating an unattended installation disk. The process is fairly simple. So let’s have a look.
The Trick
We will be generating a file called Autounattend.xml that contains answers to all the questions Windows 10 installation asks the user and are going to save it to the installation disk. So the idea is, the file will auto-answer all these questions for the setup wizard and keep you free throughout the process.
There are a lot of online resources from where you can download these unattended XML files. But I would recommend you to create your own.
Creating the unattended.xml File
There’s an online tool called the Windows Answer File Generator which can help you with the task at hand. Basically, the web tool will ask you to answer all the questions you are asked while installing Windows and then generate the XML file based on it.
The first few sections i.e. the General and Regional settings are pretty easy to answer and the reason why I insist on creating a personal XML file.
Partition Settings is the module that you should be paying the entire attention to. If you are planning to wipe the entire HDD and start fresh, wipe the partition and install to disk 0. Select No Wipe if you wish to retain the data on your hard drive.
Warning: Please be very careful while dealing with Partition Settings. Always take backup of your data because we are not taking responsibility if something happens to it.Windows Answer File Generator Windows 10 Download
Finally, configure the user account settings and you are ready to download the XML file. All the changes you have made till now has been automatically configured in the XML file. The file name should be “Autounattend.xml” without the quotations.
Creating the Media
You can create the Windows 10 media using the Windows USB creator tool. You can take help from one of our previous articles. After you have created the USB for Windows 10 USB drive, just place the Autounattend.xml file to the root of the USB drive and you are done.
That’s All
All you need to do now is plug in the USB drive and boot from it. Windows 10 will be automatically installed on your computer while you take care of other important work. If you wish to create a bootable DVD, you will have to edit the ISO file using the tool which you would be using to burn it and sure it’s a bit complicated. But who uses a DVD these days? USB is way too flexible and faster.
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Did You Know
Windows 10 is the last Windows since Microsoft is changing the approach of building and delivering OS.