Really need help with Windows 7 unattend.xml file for Windows 7 deploy

   Note

I asked moderators to merge two of your other threads here as they are about the same deployment issue. Your threads have disappeared but the questions and responses are here.

computergal said:

Hi,
For a Windows 7 company deployment - I know that before I sysprep an image, I want to boot into Audit mode to customize it. When I am ready to generalize the image, do I stay in Audit mode and check the 'Generalize' box or do I select OOBE instead of Audit mode? I don't want the end user to have to go through making all the choices such as Language, accept Eula, Time Zone, etc. I just want the end users to be able to boot to the desktop.

Any help is much appreciated!

If you have finished the customization in Audit Mode and shutdown the reference PC to capture the image, you must of course select OOBE and GENERALIZE. If you select Audit Mode instead of OOBE, when the end user boots the PC first time it would go to Audit Mode for no reason. Most normal users would not even know what Audit Mode is and how to exit from it to get a normal OOBE boot.

About your PM to me, I think it's better I quote it here first:

computergal - Sun, 20 Jul 2014 20:44:20 -0600 said:

Hi Kari,
Thanks for giving me some input on my question about deploying Windows 7. I read the link you referred to, and I am still not sure what to do from this point. After I sysprepped and generalized the image, it created a myimage.wim which I copied and pasted to my flash drive. I need to be able to deploy Windows 7 to about 150 computers without using the network, so I want to have all the files be on the flashdrive. Is there a way to do this without using the network? I also used an autounattend.xml answer file to create the windows 7 installation that I sysprepped. Do I need to have that answer file on the flash drive in order to install the .wim?
I have spent a lot of time on this and I feel like I am getting close but just not sure what to do with my .wim in order to deploy it.
Thanks in advance for any help you might be able to give me.

When responding to your original question I did not know that you don't have network access on those 150 PCs you told you need to deploy your image.

See this post at Microsoft TechNet for how to deploy from a flash drive: How to Deploy Windows 7 from a USB Drive - TechNet Articles - United States (English) - TechNet Wiki

The same in a MSDN support article: Deploy an Image from a USB Flash Drive Using ImageX (Standard 8) (this article is for Windows 8 Embedded but same principles apply for all post XP versions).

Kari

Remember these rules:

• Enter Audit Mode to prepare you image to be captured
• When ready, sysprep with OOBE to give a ready to use Windows for end users

Kari

computergal said:

Although I have already generalized in Audit mode, shutdown, and captured that image, would I be able to just restart and run sysprep/generalize again but in OOBE this time?

In case my previous posts did not make this point clear, let's be sure you have understood. First a reminder, what have we been talking about previously:

First, your earlier question and my answer:

Kari said:

computergal said:

Hi,
For a Windows 7 company deployment - I know that before I sysprep an image, I want to boot into Audit mode to customize it. When I am ready to generalize the image, do I stay in Audit mode and check the 'Generalize' box or do I select OOBE instead of Audit mode? I don't want the end user to have to go through making all the choices such as Language, accept Eula, Time Zone, etc. I just want the end users to be able to boot to the desktop.

Any help is much appreciated!

If you have finished the customization in Audit Mode and shutdown the reference PC to capture the image, you must of course select OOBE and GENERALIZE. If you select Audit Mode instead of OOBE, when the end user boots the PC first time it would go to Audit Mode for no reason. Most normal users would not even know what Audit Mode is and how to exit from it to get a normal OOBE boot.

Then I repeated the same:

Kari said:

Remember these rules:

• Enter Audit Mode to prepare you image to be captured
• When ready, sysprep with OOBE to give a ready to use Windows for end users

Kari

So, final try:

Assuming you are talking about selecting System Cleanup Action: Audit Mode as shown in the screenshot below, the image is worthless to you. If you have it on DVD, the best use for the disk would be to use it as shotgun practicing target. You cannot deploy an Audit Mode image to users who have no idea what to do with it, how to exit Audit Mode and use Windows normally.

Two options:

1. Deploy that image to one PC, boot to OOBE, enter Audit mode, Sysprep with generalize & OOBE, capture the new image
   
   -- OR --
   
   
2. Start from scratch, enter Audit mode, install your stuff, customize the image as you want to, Sysprep with generalize & OOBE, capture the new image

Kari

Honestly, I am not sure I understand your question.

There's not much Sysprep can do without an answer file. It can generalize a Windows image to prepare it for hardware independent deployment but that's it.

The purpose of image deployment is to install Windows to a computer as the creator of the image wants. This includes partitioning, customizing default use profile, IE favorites, preinstalled software, drivers and updates and so on. All this must be told to Sysprep, the method to tell it is called unattended answer file. I often talk about script because that's what it is, a script containing batch of commands written in XML.

Answer file is needed on your reference computer, the one you are using to create the image. The Sysprep GUI cannot handle answer files so you need to use Command Prompt or PowerShell to run Sysprep command and add an Unattend switch, together with other required switches.

Following command would run Sysprep, generalize and prepare the image for an OOBE boot, quit when ready to allow image capture, getting its instructions from an answer file called MyAnswerFile.xml which is located on root of the drive X:

Code:

%windir%\system32\sysprep\sysprep.exe /generalize /oobe /quit /unattend:X:\MyAnswerFile.xml

When Sysprep has finished you can capture the install.wim file, or you can shutdown the computer and use WinPE and external imaging tool to capture a system image. This image does no longer need nor does it contain the answer file used for Sysprep.

I have one suggestion for you: Make a pot of coffee or get a few beers (I prefer the latter ), sit down, relax and read this tutorial through once: Windows 7 Image - Customize in Audit Mode with Sysprep. Check the included videos, too, at least the shorter one.

The tut is made for private users but the process is about the same even with you, preparing 150 computers as you have told us. The difference is that the tut uses a third party imaging tool to capture a system image whereas you are using the more traditional method, ImageX to create and capture your own install.wim file and deploy using it. Other than that the tut will give you a bit more in-depth idea of Sysprep and Audit Mode.

Notice that I only suggest you using the tutorial as a reference in familiarizing yourself a bit more with the process; you should not use it as step by step guide because as I mentioned before, your case differs from that of a normal private user preparing a customized system image for his / her own use.

Kari