Create media for automated unattended install of Windows 10  

Hey Guys, been a long time since visited this forum. Been looking for some help with an unattend file for windows 10. I am using the built-in administrator account with autologon and it doesnt seem to be working. THe computer will reboot to login screen with the administrator account and then a password prompt. If i enter the credentials i supplied in the unattend file, it log me in, but never automatically. I am using a Hyper-V VM to test deployments, but for some reason, it seems to autologon when i use a physical machine. I did use Windows SIM to create the file. Here is my file contents:

Code:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
    <settings pass="auditSystem">
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-PnpCustomizationsNonWinPE" 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">
            <DriverPaths>
                <PathAndCredentials wcm:action="add" wcm:keyValue="1">
                    <Path>c:\windows\LDDriverStore</Path>
                </PathAndCredentials>
            </DriverPaths>
        </component>
    </settings>
    <settings pass="specialize">
        <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">
            <ComputerName>TEST001</ComputerName>
            <ProductKey>XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX</ProductKey>
        </component>
    </settings>
    <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">
            <AutoLogon>
                <Password>
                    <Value>Password1</Value>
                    <PlainText>true</PlainText>
                </Password>
                <Enabled>true</Enabled>
                <LogonCount>999</LogonCount>
                <Username>Administrator</Username>
            </AutoLogon>
            <OOBE>
                <HideEULAPage>true</HideEULAPage>
                <HideLocalAccountScreen>true</HideLocalAccountScreen>
                <HideOEMRegistrationScreen>true</HideOEMRegistrationScreen>
                <HideOnlineAccountScreens>true</HideOnlineAccountScreens>
                <HideWirelessSetupInOOBE>true</HideWirelessSetupInOOBE>
                <NetworkLocation>Work</NetworkLocation>
                <ProtectYourPC>1</ProtectYourPC>
                <SkipMachineOOBE>true</SkipMachineOOBE>
                <SkipUserOOBE>true</SkipUserOOBE>
            </OOBE>
            <UserAccounts>
                <AdministratorPassword>
                    <Value>Password1</Value>
                    <PlainText>true</PlainText>
                </AdministratorPassword>
            </UserAccounts>
        </component>
    </settings>
</unattend>

- - - Updated - - -

Well, after spending a long, long time on this, i finally figured it out. Just had to turn off Enhanced Session Mode. Sometimes its the simple things...

excellent guide, I've been looking for it for a long time. Unfortunately, I can't do Hyper-V, little virtual memory and in VMware Workstation Pro it gets stuck with this script:
Code:
dism / capture-image /imagefile:C:\Image\install.wim / capturedir: C: \ / ScratchDir: C: \ Scratch / name: "Win10" / description: "My Custom Win10 Image" / compress: maximum / checkintegrity / verify

The action cannot be completed when the file is in use by another process.

Sorry, I'm Czech and I don't speak English well. Thank you.

@RuLich, if you are really running the command exactly as you posted it here, then the syntax is incorrect. You have included spaces in many places where no space should exist.

It's not as easy to see in the text that you posted, but if you put it in a code block you should be able to see it more clearly. Below is an exact copy and paste from your post. It may be easier to see the errors here:

Code:

dism / capture-image /imagefile:C:\Image\install.wim / capturedir: C: \ / ScratchDir: C: \ Scratch / name: "Win10" / description: "My Custom Win10 Image" / compress: maximum / checkintegrity / verify

Try copying the corrected line below and see if that works:

Code:

dism /capture-image /imagefile:C:\Image\install.wim /capturedir:C:\ /ScratchDir:C:\Scratch /name:"Win10" /description:"My Custom Win10 Image" /compress:maximum /checkintegrity /verify

However, there is another possible issue here. Are you booting Windows VM from a Windows ISO image and then running command from a command prompt? It is important THAT YOU ARE NOT booting the actual Reference VM that you created. The fact that you are getting a message saying that there are files in use makes me think that you may be booting that VM.

Let me know if this helps. If you still have difficulties, do let us know. I guarantee that we can solve this!

Thank you very much for your willingness, but you really don't know how to boot after the second boot from Windows ISO. It always takes me to the "Admin" installation instead of "Administrator"
Thank you for your explanation and willingness.

The procedure that you need to follow varies slightly depending upon whether you created your VM to use a BIOS or a UEFI firmware.

IMPORTANT: If you have already booted the VM normally after sysprep was run, then it is too late. You cannot get a valid image now. You MUST either recreate the VM or restore a snapshot of the VM from before the boot that happened after the sysprep.

I strongly suggest creating a snapshot as Kari's tutorial notes. That way, if you accidentally miss the boot from the ISO image, you can simply restore the snapshot and try it again.

For both BIOS and UEFI, begin like this:

1) Select your VM from the list of Virtual Machines.
2) Go into the Virtual Machine Settings and make sure that the CD-ROM drive is set to point to your ISO image file like this:



3) On the VMware toolbar, click the arrow to the right of the power button like this:



4) Choose the option to "Power On to Firmware" like this:




5) What you see next will depend upon whether you created your Virtual Machine with a UEFI firmware or with BIOS firmware. If you used UEFI, then you will see the screen below. Select the CDROM as the device to boot from:



IMPORTANT: Once you select this and the system begins to boot make sure to click within the VM window to make it active AS SOON AS YOU CAN. Then, you should see a message to press any key to boot from the CD or DVD. Press a key. BE CAREFUL! You will not have long to press a key!

If you created your VM with BIOS firmware, then go to the "Boot" tab as shown in the image below. Move the CD-ROM Drive to the top of the boot list as shown below. Then, go to the "Exit" tab and select "Exit Saving Changes".



IMPORTANT: Once you select this and the system begins to boot make sure to click within the VM window to make it active AS SOON AS YOU CAN. Then, you should see a message to press any key to boot from the CD or DVD. Press a key. BE CAREFUL! You will not have long to press a key!

I hope that this helps. If you have any more questions, do let me know. I'm here to help!

Let me know how it goes.