autounattend.xml AutoDeploy Stuck at OS Selection

Hello all!
I am trying to create an automated install iso for my colleages here in our IT department.
I am using an autounattend.xml and a custom install.wim created from a preinstalled VM.
I am currently stuck at the WinPE part.

The .iso boots until the window where it prompts me to Choose an OS, but the window is empty.
(Sorry for it is hungarian)
And if I try to continue manually, it give me an error message saying: "Windows could not display the images available for installation"

How can I circumvent this?

Thank you very much in advance!

I am attaching my autounattend.xml file here autounattend.zip

I'm 99% sure that I know what the problem is, and I can provide a solution to you. I think that the problem is that you are missing the "NAME" and "DESCRIPTION" metadata for the Windows edition(s) in your ISO image. That is the information that would be displayed in the screenshot that you provided but is missing here. That information is required for proper operation. The screenshot below illustrates this:



To fix this, I need to ask a few questions so that I can provide good instructions for you.

1) In your ISO image, how many editions for Windows do you have? As an example, if you download a Windows ISO image from Microsoft, that image has Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Professional, Windows 10 Pro Education, etc. Each one of those is an "edition". Does your Windows ISO image have just one edition, or more than one?

2) Since you created a custom ISO image, I assume that you already have the Windows ADK installed on a system. Is that correct or do you not have it installed anywhere?

I can provide two ways of fixing this. I can show you how to manually fix the issue by mounting your image and running a number of commands from the command line or I can provide a program that I have written that will do this all automatically for you. Just answer the above questions and let me know what method you want me to provide to you. If you want both, I can certainly do that.

EDIT: Just noticed that this was your first post. Welcome to TenForums!

EDIT 2: Sorry for all the edits. I also noticed that your profile notes "Windows 11". The information that we are discussing here is the same for Windows 10 and 11, but you may also want to consider join joining the Windows 11 Forum which you can find here:

Windows 11 Forum (elevenforum.com)

Looks like we are in quite different parts of the world. I see that your time is currently showing as being about 0500 but for me it is 2200. I'll be retiring for the evening soon, so I'm going to go ahead and already post the manual steps to correct the situation for you below. If you should still want my program that automates this for you, do let me know and I'll get it to you.

-----------------
First, let's find out if the problem is even a result of you missing the "NAME" and "DESCRIPTION" information.

Start by making sure you are at a system where you have the Windows ADK installed.

Double-click on your ISO image and note the drive letter to which it is mounted. I'll assume E: in the example below.

Go to Start and locate Windows Kits > Deployment and imaging tools environment. Right-click on this and run it as administrator.

When the prompt opens run this command:

Code:

CD \

This just puts us at the root of the drive, so we don't have that long prompt on every line.

Run this command:

Code:

dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:E:\Sources\install.wim

Normally, you should see something like this....

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.22000.1

Details for image : D:\sources\install.wim

Index : 1
Name : Windows 10 Home
Description : Windows 10 Home
Size : 14,826,317,709 bytes

Index : 2
Name : Windows 10 Home N
Description : Windows 10 Home N
Size : 14,047,483,249 bytes

Note that for both the editions of Windows shown above (Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Home N), a NAME and DESCRIPTION are shown. This is necessary for proper operation. If you are missing either, you will see the symptoms that you described.

In addition, take note of how many indices you see. In the clip above I show 2 of them (Index 1 and Index 2).

Here is how to fix it if NAME and / or DESCRIPTION are missing:

NOTE: All commands below should be run while still in the Deployment and imaging tools environment.

Create the following folders:

C:\ISO_Files < Used to store base image
C:\WIM < Will hold WIM with all editions of Windows in image

NOTE: You can use any folders you want on any drive, just be sure to replace the names I use above in all the commands that follow below.

Extract the contents of your Windows ISO image to the C:\ISO_Files folder. You should still have that ISO image mounted. From File Explorer, copy all files and folders from the ISO image to C:\ISO_Files.

You will now extract all Windows editions and copy them into a single install.wim file located in C:\WIM.

Run the following command:

Code:

DISM /Export-Image /SourceImageFile:E:\Sources\install.wim /SourceIndex:1 /DestinationImageFile:C:\WIM\install.wim

Add a NAME and DESCRIPTION like this (Use whatever NAME and DESCRIPTION you want):

Code:

ImageX /info C:\WIM\Sources\Install.wim 1 "Name" "Description" /check

NOTES:

1) For any editions of Windows that already have a valid NAME and DESCRIPTION, you can skip the ImageX command. The existing NAME and DESCRIPTION will be kept.

2) The "SourceIndex:1" matches the index numbers you saw when you ran the "dism /Get-WimInfo" command earlier. Start with number 1. The number 1 in the ImageX command is the same index number that you use in the DISM command.

3) Repeat both the DISM and ImageX commands for each index. The first time you would use index number "1" in both commands, the next time, use index number "2", etc. until you have completed them all. Again, you can skip the ImageX command for anywhere the NAME and DESCRIPTION are already good, if you wish. If you only have one Windows edition, then you will use only index 1.

When done, the new install.wim file located in C:\WIM will have all the same Windows editions that the original file had, but the NAME and DESCRIPTION will be updated.

Copy the install.wim file to C:\ISO_Files\sources, overwriting any install.wim file located there.

Creating the Final ISO image:

Run the following command to create the final ISO image. Be careful! There are spots in this command where you may expect a space, but no space is present:

Code:

oscdimg.exe -m -o -u2 -udfver102 -l"VolumeName" -bootdata:2#p0,e,b"c:\iso_files\boot\etfsboot.com"#pEF,e,b"c:\iso_files\efi\microsoft\boot\efisys.bin" "c:\iso_files" "C:\My Image.iso"

In the above example, VolumeName is the optional name to give the volume. Just specify "" if you want no volume name or leave off the -l parameter. "C:\My Image.iso" is the name of the new ISO image. Use any location and file name you wish.

Firstly, glad to be here, thanks for the welcome! :)
Oh my god thank you for your detailed and thoughtful answer!
The window now is not there at all.
But I have encountered an another problem.
Now the iso starts, the "Installer is starting..." message is in the bottom, and suddenly the computer restarts
and the process starts all over again.
What did I mess up with the autounattend?
If I take out the xml and just use the custom .iso, even though I have to manually click all the install options, it works with all the preinstalled programs and settings.

Thank you again for your help!

Glad to hear that you got past that first issue. Would it be possible for you to post a copy of the autounattend.xml answer file here so that I can try to see what is wrong?

Use the "#" on the tool bar to enclose the text of your answer file in a CODE block.

Wow, thank you for the quick answer.
Up at 01:30? Sleep is for the weak as I can see

Code:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
    <settings pass="windowsPE">
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <UserData>
                <AcceptEula>true</AcceptEula>
                <Organization>Leier</Organization>
                <ProductKey>
                    <Key>W269N-WFGWX-YVC9B-4J6C9-T83GX</Key>
                    <WillShowUI>OnError</WillShowUI>
                </ProductKey>
            </UserData>
            <ImageInstall>
                <OSImage>
                    <InstallFrom>
                        <MetaData wcm:action="add">
                            <Key>/install/index</Key>
                            <Value>1</Value>
                        </MetaData>
                    </InstallFrom>
                    <WillShowUI>OnError</WillShowUI>
                </OSImage>
            </ImageInstall>
        </component>
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-International-Core-WinPE" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <SetupUILanguage>
                <UILanguage>hu-HU</UILanguage>
            </SetupUILanguage>
            <InputLocale>hu-HU</InputLocale>
            <SystemLocale>hu-HU</SystemLocale>
            <UILanguage>hu-HU</UILanguage>
            <UserLocale>hu-HU</UserLocale>
        </component>
    </settings>
    <settings pass="oobeSystem">
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-International-Core" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <InputLocale>hu-HU</InputLocale>
            <SystemLocale>hu-HU</SystemLocale>
            <UILanguage>hu-HU</UILanguage>
            <UserLocale>hu-HU</UserLocale>
        </component>
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <UserAccounts>
                <AdministratorPassword>
                    <Value>QQBkAG0AaQBuAGkAcwB0AHIAYQB0AG8AcgBQAGEAcwBzAHcAbwByAGQA</Value>
                    <PlainText>false</PlainText>
                </AdministratorPassword>
            </UserAccounts>
            <AutoLogon>
                <Username>Administrator</Username>
            </AutoLogon>
            <OOBE>
                <HideEULAPage>true</HideEULAPage>
                <HideLocalAccountScreen>true</HideLocalAccountScreen>
                <HideOEMRegistrationScreen>true</HideOEMRegistrationScreen>
                <HideOnlineAccountScreens>true</HideOnlineAccountScreens>
                <HideWirelessSetupInOOBE>true</HideWirelessSetupInOOBE>
                <ProtectYourPC>3</ProtectYourPC>
            </OOBE>
        </component>
    </settings>
    <cpi:offlineImage cpi:source="wim:c:/win10custom/sources/install.wim#DepTest" xmlns:cpi="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:cpi" />
</unattend>

Was trying to sleep but it just wasn't happening .

Give me a little whil. I'll look through this to see if I can find anything.

I see several things that look different to me than what I would expect to see. First, the product key that you use in the answer file should be a "Generic Product Key". This is a key used only for installation, not for activation. For example, for Windows 10 PRO you would use VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T.

With that key properly in place, you can get rid of the "InstallFrom" because the purpose of that key is to tell setup that you are installing the "Windows 10 Pro" edition of Windows.

NOTE: If the key you posted is a real product activation key you might want to edit your post to remove it.

Second, I don't see anything that tells setup what disk to install onto and how to partition and format the disk.

There may be other items as well, but those stand out to me right away.

There is a tutorial here on TenForums that seems very well suited for what you are trying to do. Take a look at this:

Create media for automated unattended install of Windows 10

This tutorial is written to do exactly what you are doing by deploying a customized image.

I know that it's pretty long, but this is a really great tutorial. There may be much of this that you can skip through pretty quickly since you already have your custom install.wim file, but it still might be worth at the very least looking at "Part 3" of the tutorial for creating the answer file.

Before you even start going through all of Part 3, take a look at item 3.22 in that section. That shows you basically what the end result looks like. notice that there are some big differences from what you have.

Let me know how this works out for you.

I'll be happy to help you until you get this resolved! When I started down this road it took me a LONG time to work through all the issues I encountered. I hope I can make this a little easier for you .

The installation key I got is from a Microsoft site telling it is a "KMS Generic activation key", so that's why I used that.
I'll look into your suggestions.
The main point of us is we don't format each computer the same, that's why I didn't input the formatting options.
I want that only the formatting window pops-up during the install, so we can do it manually.
Then it continues the automated install.
Or is that not possible to select parts of the install to be automated or be manual?

And I am really thankful.
It is really awesome to see such helpful people on this forum.
I can't comprehend how was I not registered for such a long time to this forum.
This whole SysPrep/Unattend stuff is awesome, I just need to study and experiment a lot.
But it help tremendously to have an experienced fellow IT enthusiast to help!

Ah yes, that makes perfect sense. You can omit the disk information and then you will be prompted for the location to which Windows should be installed. The rest of the installation will still be fully automated.

I didn't realize that the key you were using was a generic KMS key. For that work, make sure that your original source ISO is a KMS ISO image and not a standard consumer retail ISO image.

Let me know how it goes.

I'm going to make an attempt to get some sleep now, so if I'm unresponsive for a while it's not because I'm ignoring you!