You might not need to wait. I think I found the culprit, please give me a few minutes to confirm my findings and post them.
I am so confident that I found the real culprit that I suggest you to cancel the download for now. If I am wrong you can always restart it.
Stay tuned...
I'll keep the download going. This is some good stuff! Your tutorials are fantastic.
By the way, I forgot to stop the Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service (WMPNetworkSvc) on the last two attempts. I won't make that mistake again.
Regards
OK, this is weird!
This is what I did just now:
- I set up a Hyper-V virtual machine on my Windows 10 host, installed Windows 7 Professional on it with C: and D: HD partitions and E: optical drive
- Entered Audit Mode
- Copied your answer file from this post, pasted it in Notepad on my virtual machine, saved it on D: as relocate.xml
- Visually inspected the file, it was absolutely correct
- Stopped the WMPNetwork Service
- Sysprepped, got the same error than you!
- Opened Notepad, this time I wrote the same answer file in a new file manually, character by character copying your answer file from the same post I had first copy & pasted it
- Saved it again as D:\relocate.xml, overwriting the failing one
- Stopped the WMPNetwork Service
- Sysprepped, this time sysprep worked as it should without an issue and the folders were relocated to D: drive
What this means is that somehow, accidentally of course, your answer file had a hidden character. Visual inspection revealed nothing, the answer file is and was 100% correctly written, apart that hidden character which could not be found by visual inspection. I have no idea where or what it is and how it got there when you copied the text from the PDF, but that's the only explanation.
See it by yourself: the below answer file is visually exactly the same you used, character by character, but this one worked for me after I had manually rewritten it, whereas the one I copy & pasted from your post caused an error.
A bit ridiculous, I've searched the culprit everywhere else, even blaming RAID (I still don't like it!) but never ever had I thought there might be something invisible!Code:<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend"> <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"> <FolderLocations> <ProfilesDirectory>D:\Users</ProfilesDirectory> <ProgramData>D:\ProgramData</ProgramData> </FolderLocations> </component> </settings> <cpi:offlineImage cpi:source="wim:E:/sources/install.wim#Windows 7 Professional" xmlns:cpi="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:cpi" /> </unattend>
Anyway, copy the above answer file code and use it, it should now work for you :)
Kari
I notice that you've got "Windows 8 Pro" on line 10. Does that make a difference? Will it work if I change that to "Windows 7 Professional?"
The indents are different too. Does that make a difference?
I suspected something hidden in that original answer file.
No, that just means that as I have my drives full with various answer files I accidentally (I blame the whisky!) first inserted the wrong one in my post, an older one, not the one I just used in my test.
I have since edited my previous post and inserted the correct answer file, the working one, copied by manually writing it character by character. Sorry the confusion.
Do I use the same commands with the unattend switch?
You are free to choose:
- Save the answer file as C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep\unattend.xml
- Sysprep with sysprep.exe /oobe /reboot
--OR --
- Save the the answer file naming and locating it as you wish, for instance D:\relocate.xml
- Sysprep with sysprep.exe /oobe /reboot /unattend:D:\relocate.xml
Don't take this wrong but this your case is driving me nuts! Please come back to tell how it went as soon as you have done it.
I ran the file named unattend in the sysprep directory and I didn't get the error. However, when I arrived at the screen where you input your user name, etc..., I did ctrl shift F3 to go back into Audit Mode. Once in Audit Mode, it appears the Users folder is still on C:. Is that just how it appears in Audit Mode, but the Users folder will be on D: in OOBE Mode?
When you boot to Audit Mode from OOBE before any user accounts are created, you sign in using the build-in administrator account which needs to activated for this purpose and system therefore needs to create the C:\Users\Administrator folder.
When you Sysprep and enter OOBE, this account will automatically be disabled again and the need for the C:\Users no longer exists if the Users have been relocated.
However, both Users and ProgramData may remain also on C:, doing no harm and never getting bigger than a few kilobytes. See this post for one explanation: User Profiles - Create and Move During Windows 7 Installation
I'm in OOBE Mode and the folders didn't move. I need to get back into Audit Mode and run the file again, this time as relocate with the switches as indicated in the tutorial.
I'll follow the instructions in the tutorial for going back into Audit Mode and start from there with the new answer file.
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