Customize Windows 10 Image in Audit Mode with Sysprep  

Kari said:

I have now removed the warnings from the tutorial and added this note instead:

   Note

Please notice before proceeding!

Since the launch, I have now (August 17th 2015) tested various Sysprep scenarios quite extensively. Customizing Windows with the CopyProfile component set to True (Parts Three, Four and Five in this tutorial) was causing issues in earlier builds of Windows 10. Either the Sysprep failed directly, or it caused an endless reboot loop when in OOBE (Part Nine), or it disabled the Start and Search / Cortana when done.

I now get 100% success rate and can replicate a successful Sysprep run with this simple workaround, Sysprep working perfectly every time and customization / generalization with CopyProfile set to True working perfectly:

• Disconnect your technician machine used for customizing the Windows image completely from all networks before starting the installation
• Be sure that you install Windows 10 without entering the product key and without any whatsoever network connection
• When booted to Audit Mode desktop (Part Two), you can connect the machine to the network to download and install Windows ADK and software
• As Windows is not activated when booted to Audit Mode when following these guidelines you cannot customize the theme. Use a Windows themepack file instead, for instance creating the theme (colors, backgrounds, sounds, screensaver) you'd like to use for the default user profile on another computer and applying the themepack file on the technician machine before the Sysprep

You can now run Sysprep normally and without issues.

Kari

Whit this procedure OneDrive still not working and the Desktop link in the quick access of my pc not working to.
I use windows 10 pro build 10240!

nicelife90 said:

Whit this procedure OneDrive still not working and the Desktop link in the quick access of my pc not working to.
I use windows 10 pro build 10240!

Kari,
Maybe you are doing something in your procedure that I have not yet tested: you are not activating the windows with the built-in administrator account! Perhaps the windows activation with the built-in administrator account is the reason for the decline in the search bar.
Without my computer and I cannot test at the time. I ask the Kari and the others that are running sysprep without activating the windows with the built-in administrator account and verify that the bar search will work.
To activate the Windows after OOBE to add the product key in your answer files in step specialize and run it with sysprep.

Example:

Obs.: with the settings below in OOBE is necessary enter only with the name of the user. I've added some links to the taskbar.
I have copied the shortcut windows defender to %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\System Tools\

HTML Code:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
    <settings pass="generalize">
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-PnpSysprep" 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">
            <DoNotCleanUpNonPresentDevices>false</DoNotCleanUpNonPresentDevices>
            <PersistAllDeviceInstalls>true</PersistAllDeviceInstalls>
        </component>
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Security-SPP" 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">
            <SkipRearm>0</SkipRearm>
        </component>
    </settings>
    <settings pass="specialize">
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Security-SPP-UX" 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">
            <SkipAutoActivation>false</SkipAutoActivation>
        </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">
            <CopyProfile>true</CopyProfile>
            <ProductKey>XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX</ProductKey>
        </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>0416:00010416</InputLocale>
            <SystemLocale>00000416</SystemLocale>
            <UILanguage>00000416</UILanguage>
            <UserLocale>00000416</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">
            <OOBE>
                <HideEULAPage>true</HideEULAPage>
                <ProtectYourPC>1</ProtectYourPC>
            </OOBE>
            <TaskbarLinks>
                <Link0>%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\System Tools\Windows Defender.lnk</Link0>
                <Link1>%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\CyberLink Power2Go 9\CyberLink Power2Go 9.lnk</Link1>
                <Link2>%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Google Chrome\Google Chrome.lnk</Link2>
            </TaskbarLinks>
            <TimeZone>E. South America Standard Time</TimeZone>
        </component>
    </settings>
    <cpi:offlineImage cpi:source="wim:e:/operating_systems/win10pro_x64/install.wim#Windows 10 Pro" xmlns:cpi="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:cpi" />
</unattend>

Hi Kari.
Thank you for a great guide, I seem to run into problems.
I created the answer file and also deployed a win 10 through my deployment server but if I put in the licence key the local user admin account is disabled and also the account that i created when I installed the image, how to go around that, I have around 150 computers so I really try to make the installation as automaticlly as possible.


Kind regards Lars

I'm setting up an image for my office and the higher up's have requested that Edge not be available on the Taskbar. How do I get it off of the default profiles taskbar so that any other user account logins will not have it either? I've already figured out how to add additional taskbar icons via the unattend.xml file during sysprep, but that has no effect on the Edge links availability.

Kari, if you go into Audit Mode like you always do, create a new user account, log out of the Administrator account, login to that new user account, customize the account, and then Sysprep it like you always do, do you have the Start and Search problem?

Kari said:

To be honest, I have never even tried that. I really see no point in it. Anyway, I do not have any Start and Search issues when customizing the default profile in Audit Mode, creating users in answer file and sysprepping, or create the user in OOBE.

When I customize the default user profile, I want to do it once for all future user accounts created on any system I deploy that image to, regardless of the the name of the user.

How can you say there is no point in it? You would do it because the method you are describing is only good in a simple office. In public/kiosk computers where there will be no other user accounts, creating a user account before Sysprep is important. Making a user after Sysprep is no good for those computers...

I will test later if making the user in Audit Mode fixes the issue and report back.I will be using 10532 because it is the newest.

Kari said:

How can I say that? Like this, read my lips : It is totally absolutely most profoundly extremely pointless!


In that case create the user in answer file. Creating a user in Audit Mode, then signing out from the built-in admin account to customize that account, and only then sysprep, I would never do that in any circumstances. The correct procedure is to use the sysprep and answer file to create users if they are needed in the image, or if a no users image is needed forget it.

Kari


EDIT:

Like this, creating a password protected local admin and a standard guest user without password:

Extract from the answer file:

Code:

<settings pass="oobeSystem">
<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>
                <LocalAccounts>
                    <LocalAccount wcm:action="add">
                        <Password>
                            <Value>VABpAHQAeQBzAG8AZgB0ADEAUABhAHMAcwB3AG8AcgBkAA==</Value>
                            <PlainText>false</PlainText>
                        </Password>
                        <Description>Main user</Description>
                        <DisplayName>Admin</DisplayName>
                        <Group>Administrators</Group>
                        <Name>Admin</Name>
                    </LocalAccount>
                    <LocalAccount wcm:action="add">
                        <Description>Kiosk user</Description>
                        <DisplayName>Guest User</DisplayName>
                        <Group>Users</Group>
                        <Name>Guest User</Name>
                    </LocalAccount>
                </LocalAccounts>
            </UserAccounts>
        </component>
    </settings>

That won't work. If you need programs to be set a certain way, you can't do that because you are not supposed to open programs in Audit Mode. If you open some programs in Audit Mode and it copies those settings to default profile, you are going to have problems. We tried your method with Illustrator CS6, and we had a TON of problems because the settings are for Administrator account and not the new user.

So we started to create the user before Sysprep, make customizations, then Sysprep. Tada! No problems. Works in WinXP/Vista/7/8/8.1. Also worked with RTM 10240 Win10, but I have not tried recent builds. I suspect an update is causing the Search and Start problem.