Solved Clean install probs with preview release 26100.560 unless I use "Previous Version of Setup". How to do that in unattended setup?

hsehestedt · May 26, 2024

Tagging @garlin on this post. Garlin, I suspect that you are one of the few who may have some insight this with your unattended installation experience.

I'm experiencing some odd difficulties with both manual and unattended setup on Windows 11 24H2.

Let me give you all the symptoms and information that I have thus far to see if any of this gives you any ideas.

First, let's put unattended setup aside because I suspect that this symptom has something to do with the problem.

If I attempt to install Windows 24H2 manually, without unattended setup by booting from my USB Flash Drive, I will see the first screen that asks for the language and the time and currency format. The second screen asks for keyboard settings. On the third screen I have to select whether I want to install Windows or repair my PC. Also on that same screen is an option "Previous Version of Setup". The next screen asks for the product key (I select "I don't have a product key"), I select Windows 11 Pro as the edition to be installed, accept the license key, and finally select the disk to install to. A recap screen is shown, and I click on "Install".

At this point I get a couple of messages such as one telling me to wait while setup gets everything ready. Finally, the screen where files start getting copied pops up for a fraction of second and I get a popup that simply says that installation failed.

Remember that option that says "Previous Version of Setup"? If I select that, then installation proceeds just fine with no problem whatsoever.

Now let's add unattended setup to the mix...

If I try to use unattended setup on a physical machine, it won't work. I get the "installation failed" message.

On a VM, I also get the that message but I did find a workaround.

To explain this, you need to know that I use two different options.

<InstallTo>
<DiskID>0</DiskID>
<PartitionID>3</PartitionID>
</InstallTo>

OR

<InstallFrom>
<MetaData wcm:action="add">
<Key>/IMAGE/INDEX</Key>
<Value>6</Value>
</MetaData>
</InstallFrom>

If I specify an "InstallTo" it will fail. It works on 23H2. If I leave that off and use the "InstallFrom" by itself, I am prompted to select the disk to install to (I want this to happen), then unattended setup will proceed fine. On a physical machine (tried 3 machines), even this option fails.

Note first that this only works in a VM, not on a physical machine. Second, I have 100% verified that disk 0 is the correct disk in each of these scenarios.

Any thoughts on this?

I still plan to do additional testing so if that yields any new info I'll add it to this thread.

garlin · May 26, 2024

I haven't tried installing any of the 24H2 images, but my experience is a bare-bones XML which uses InstallTo / InstallFrom, requires a blank or populated ProductKey to pass Setup's muster.

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">
                        <ImageInstall>
                                <OSImage>
                                        <InstallTo>
                                                <DiskID>0</DiskID>
                                                <PartitionID>3</PartitionID>
                                        </InstallTo>
                                </OSImage>
                        </ImageInstall>
                        <UserData>
                                <ProductKey>
                                        <Key></Key>
                                </ProductKey>
                        </UserData>
                </component>
        </settings>
</unattend>

If Setup failed, you can still open a CMD window and browse the X:\Windows\Panther and Panther\UnattendGC logs. Sometimes it's just easier to copy those logs from X: back to the USB drive, and read them in a normal Windows environment.

hsehestedt · May 26, 2024

Ah, yes. I wasn't sure where logs were located. I'll take a look at that.

BTW, I do have the key in my answer file. Bear in mind that the exact same answer file works fine in 23H2.

Thanks for the suggestion.

hsehestedt · May 26, 2024

Garlin, this is very interesting.

Nothing useful there, but I did find another log file, X:\Windows\setupact.log. This is the entire contents of that log:

2024-05-26 19:23:10, Info UI Determining whether we should run ConX or legacy setup
2024-05-26 19:23:10, Info UI Will launch ConX setup experience
2024-05-26 19:23:11, Info [setup.exe] UnattendSearchExplicitPath: Found unattend file at [D:\autounattend.xml]; examining for applicability.
2024-05-26 19:23:11, Info [setup.exe] UnattendSearchExplicitPath: Found usable unattend file for pass [windowsPE] at [D:\autounattend.xml].
2024-05-26 19:23:11, Info UI Initializing Media class driver for audio support
2024-05-26 19:23:12, Info UI Initializing media class driver status: 0
2024-05-26 19:23:12, Info UI Launching ConX setup experience
2024-05-26 19:23:12, Info UI Inspecting ConX Setup Cmdline
2024-05-26 19:23:12, Info UI Launching X:\Sources\SetupPrep.exe /boot

So, I'm starting to think that I am correct. Remember how I said that even a manual install fails if I use that new setup experience? Apparently, unattended setup is using that experience. I would imagine that the new ADK must have a switch to tell it to use "legacy setup". Now I just have to figure out if this exists somewhere and what it is.

hsehestedt · May 26, 2024

Follow up: Looks like I may be wrong. Found logs on the internet way back in 2015 with Windows 10 where it also references this ConX setup experience.

I may just have to be patient and wait for final release as I'm sure other people will eventually run into this issue as well.

garlin · May 26, 2024

ConX is some Compatibility mode, for running Setup.exe as an in-place upgrade.

Log files and resolving upgrade errors

Learn how to interpret and analyze the log files that are generated during the Windows upgrade process.

learn.microsoft.com

hsehestedt · May 26, 2024

Thanks Garlin. Only problem is that all f those logs, except the setupact.log, are specifically related to upgrades, not clean install, so I don't have those log files.

hsehestedt · May 26, 2024

Okay, I'm going wrap this up and wait until final release to see if anything changes. In the meantime, two more interesting pieces of info to share before I wrap up:

1) I just performed a clean install of Windows 11 24H2 26100.560 preview release on a machine that does not meet Win 11 requirements. I did this as a normal install (not unattended) by booting from a USB flash drive and choosing that option called "Previous Version of Setup". The part that is interesting is that it never complained that I am running on unsupported hardware. I'm sure that will change by the time we hit final release, but for now, no need to work around unsupported hardware.

NOTE: In my case the only thing non-compliant about my system is that it uses a 7th gen Intel CPU rather than the minimum requirement of 8th gen.

2) I have more info about what ConX is. Conx is short for the "Connected Experience" during OOBE. So, when you create a local user account by running "oobe\bypassnro", you are effectively bypassing ConX (at least partially) by running that command.

garlin · May 26, 2024

I think Connected Experience refers to the Connected Devices Platform (CDP), which is required for OOBE. The bypass code probably lives somewhere inside that OOBE workflow.

Maidenless · Jul 15, 2024

hsehestedt said:
NOTE: In my case the only thing non-compliant about my system is that it uses a 7th gen Intel CPU rather than the minimum requirement of 8th gen.

7th Gen is the minimum for Win11, not 8th.

hsehestedt · Jul 15, 2024

Maidenless said:
7th Gen is the minimum for Win11, not 8th.

Wrong.

Note that there are a very select few Gen 7 CPUs that make the cut, but they tend to be Xeon CPUs and such. In general, it is Gen 8. Very few in the consumer market will have one of these CPUs.

I can easily prove this by trying to install Win 11 on my 7th gen Intel i7 laptop. Without using the workarounds for unsupported systems, Win 11 will not install even though it meets the requirements in every regard EXCEPT that it has a 7th gen Intel i7.

Windows processor requirements Windows 11, version 22H2 & 23H2 supported Intel processors

This specification details the Intel processors that can be used with Windows 11, version 22H2 & 23H2 customer systems that include Windows products, including custom images.

learn.microsoft.com

Also, if you run the PC Health Check on a 7th gen based system (other than the very few CPUs that are supported) you will be informed that your system does not meet minimum requirements.

Télécharger Windows 11

However, as noted, this is easy to workaround, but it does not change the fact that 7th gen CPUs are not generally supported.

garlin · Aug 23, 2024

You're correct about Setup halting over specific elements in the answer file. I had the same problems in testing 24H2.

After reading a Super User question about 24H2 ignoring the ei.cfg & pid.txt files, the answer became really obvious. Because WinPE 24H2 is always performing an upgrade.

What happens when you're perform an upgrade?

- <InstallTo> doesn't apply, because Setup knows where the Windows partition lives

- ei.cfg doesn't apply, because you're only allowed to upgrade to the same Edition

- pid.txt doesn't apply, for the same reasons

Unless MS makes a change right before RTM (or releases an updated Setup doc), you'll need to change the CmdLine value in boot.wim's registry. Which is a pain, because it requires a ADK-based tool. And most casual users can't be bothered to go that far. Unless you emulate UUP dump's habit of downloading copies of the same tools when building a new ISO.

I don't understand why MS has elected to treat every 24H2 install as an "upgrade". Unless it's to defeat some hacks used to get past Setup's logic.

hsehestedt · Aug 23, 2024

garlin said:
You're correct about Setup halting over specific elements in the answer file. I had the same problems in testing 24H2.

After reading a Super User question about 24H2 ignoring the ei.cfg & pid.txt files, the answer became really obvious. Because WinPE 24H2 is always performing an upgrade.

What happens when you're perform an upgrade?

- <InstallTo> doesn't apply, because Setup knows where the Windows partition lives
- ei.cfg doesn't apply, because you're only allowed to upgrade to the same Edition
- pid.txt doesn't apply, for the same reasons

Unless MS makes a change right before RTM (or releases an updated Setup doc), you'll need to change the CmdLine value in boot.wim's registry. Which is a pain, because it requires a ADK-based tool. And most casual users can't be bothered to go that far. Unless you emulate UUP dump's habit of downloading copies of the same tools when building a new ISO.

I don't understand why MS has elected to treat every 24H2 install as an "upgrade". Unless it's to defeat some hacks used to get past Setup's logic.

Garlin,

I understand what you are saying, but at least part of it does not match my experience.

ei.cfg - Ei.cfg works perfectly for me with 24H2. I have several machines that originally shipped with Home edition but ei.cfg is working as it should and allows me to install the Pro edition instead.

<InstallTo> - I have this working just fine in my answer files now. I can provide a sample answer file to prove it if that helps.

pid.txt - I cannot comment on this file as I don't use it.

garlin · Aug 23, 2024

How did you solve <InstallTo>, since that can't be faked by any other methods? The real problem AFAIK is new Setup doesn't bother writing any log data. Old Setup will at least point to some part of the XML, or hint at your error ("cannot deserialize").

hsehestedt · Aug 23, 2024

Follow-up:

ei.cfg

Just tested it a few minutes ago and it works perfectly. I tested on an HP Spectre x360 laptop model 15-BL012DX (7th gen Intel i7 CPU). Originally shipped with Home edition. With the ei.cfg in place it presents the screen to me allowing selection of the edition to be installed.

Answer File <InstallTo> Block

I checked my notes. I initially had difficulties with 24H2 where all my answer files would no longer work. I had to perform some testing and tweaking but got my entire library of answer files working now.

Most notably, it used to be that I had to have an <InstallTo> block but NOT an <InstallFrom> block. Likewise, if I did have an <InstallFrom> block then I would NOT have an <InstallTo> block. Put another way, I would have one or the other, but not both.

With 24H2 I found it necessary to have both blocks.

I just tested the answer file below to illustrate this and it works flawlessly.

Test Scenario:

ISO image is 24H2 26100.1150
Setup a VM with 3 HDDs (disks 0, 1, 2)
The answer file below is set to install to disk 2 so that we can prove that it reads the disk number from the answer file and installs to the correct disk.
Test results: Worked perfectly.

XML:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!--
************
* WARNING! *
************

This answer file will cause Windows setup to WIPE disk 2 without any warning and to begin installation
to that disk. Change the disk number if installing to a disk other than disk 2. The disk number needs to
be changed both in the <InstallTo> block as well as the diskpart script that prepares the disk. You will
also need to change the index number of the Windows edition to install in the <InstallFrom> block.

******************
* END OF WARNING *
******************

Notes about this answer file:

This answer file is for UEFI based systems only.

It includes a Windows 10 / 11 Pro key.

It creates an Admin level user named "WinUser", full name "Windows User" with an initial password of "Password1".

Locale settings are set to United States English.

Time zone is set to US Central Time. Change this if needed.

It includes settings to bypass Windows 11 system requirements.

The size of the Recovery Tools partition created by this answer will be larger than normal at 2 GB. Change this if you are very short on space or prefer a smaller Recovery Tools partition.

It will install automatically to disk 2 and creates the recovery partition last, as Microsoft recommends. To accomplish this,
we do not use the standard method of specifying the disk configuration information, but we create a diskpart script to
configure the disk.

This answer file can be used with both Windows 10 and 11. The settings to bypass
Windows 11 system requirement checks will have no effect on Windows 10.

END OF NOTES
-->
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
    <settings pass="windowsPE">
        <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>en-US</UILanguage>
            </SetupUILanguage>
            <InputLocale>en-US</InputLocale>
            <SystemLocale>en-US</SystemLocale>
            <UILanguage>en-US</UILanguage>
            <UILanguageFallback>en-US</UILanguageFallback>
            <UserLocale>en-US</UserLocale>
        </component>
        <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">
            <ImageInstall>
                <OSImage>
                    <InstallTo>
                        <DiskID>2</DiskID>
                        <PartitionID>3</PartitionID>
                    </InstallTo>
<!--
In the <InstallFrom> block below, note that you can also change the value for "key"  to /IMAGE/NAME or
/IMAGE/DESCRIPTION to specify the edition to be installed by NAME or DESCRIPTION rather than by index number.
-->
                    <InstallFrom>
                        <MetaData wcm:action="add">
                            <Key>/IMAGE/INDEX</Key>
                            <Value>6</Value>
                        </MetaData>
                    </InstallFrom>
                </OSImage>
            </ImageInstall>
            <UserData>
                <ProductKey>
                    <Key>VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T</Key>
                </ProductKey>
                <AcceptEula>true</AcceptEula>
            </UserData>
<!--
The first 3 Synchronous Commands below bypass the Windows 11 system requirement checks. The checks that are bypassed are:

TPM Check
Secure Boot Check
RAM Check

The remaining Synchronous Commands will partition the hard disk with the following settings:

NOTE: Synchronous Command #4 selects disk 2. If disk 2 is not the disk you need to use, change this to the correct disk number.

Partion Type   |     Size (in MB)      |  Format
================================================
    EFI        |         260           |  FAT32
    MSR        |         128           |  NONE
  Windows      | Remaining Space - 2GB |  NTFS
  Recovery     |        2,048          |  NTFS
===============================================
-->

            <RunSynchronous>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>1</Order>
                    <Path>reg add HKLM\System\Setup\LabConfig /v BypassTPMCheck /t reg_dword /d 0x00000001 /f</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>2</Order>
                    <Path>reg add HKLM\System\Setup\LabConfig /v BypassSecureBootCheck /t reg_dword /d 0x00000001 /f</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>3</Order>
                    <Path>reg add HKLM\System\Setup\LabConfig /v BypassRAMCheck /t reg_dword /d 0x00000001 /f</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>4</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo select disk 2 &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>5</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo clean &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>6</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo convert gpt &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>7</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo create partition efi size=260 &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>8</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo format fs=fat32 quick label=&quot;System&quot; &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>9</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo create partition msr size=128 &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>10</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo create partition primary &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>11</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo shrink desired=2048 minimum=2048  &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>12</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo format fs=ntfs quick label=&quot;Windows&quot; &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>13</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo assign letter=W &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>14</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo create partition primary &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>15</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo format fs=ntfs quick label=&quot;Recovery&quot; &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>16</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo set id=&quot;de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac&quot; &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>17</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001 &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>18</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo exit &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>19</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c diskpart.exe /s X:\DiskPartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
            </RunSynchronous>
        </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>en-US</InputLocale>
            <SystemLocale>en-US</SystemLocale>
            <UILanguage>en-US</UILanguage>
            <UILanguageFallback>en-US</UILanguageFallback>
            <UserLocale>en-US</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>
                <HideOEMRegistrationScreen>true</HideOEMRegistrationScreen>
                <HideOnlineAccountScreens>true</HideOnlineAccountScreens>
                <HideWirelessSetupInOOBE>true</HideWirelessSetupInOOBE>
                <ProtectYourPC>1</ProtectYourPC>
                <UnattendEnableRetailDemo>false</UnattendEnableRetailDemo>
            </OOBE>
            <UserAccounts>
                <LocalAccounts>
                    <LocalAccount wcm:action="add">
                        <Password>
                            <Value>UABhAHMAcwB3AG8AcgBkADEAUABhAHMAcwB3AG8AcgBkAA==</Value>
                            <PlainText>false</PlainText>
                        </Password>
                        <DisplayName>Windows User</DisplayName>
                        <Group>Administrators</Group>
                        <Name>WinUser</Name>
                    </LocalAccount>
                </LocalAccounts>
            </UserAccounts>
            <TimeZone>Central Standard Time</TimeZone>
            <FirstLogonCommands>
                <SynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <CommandLine>reg add &quot;HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon&quot; /v AutoLogonCount /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f</CommandLine>
                    <Order>1</Order>
                </SynchronousCommand>
            </FirstLogonCommands>
            <AutoLogon>
                <Password>
                    <Value>UABhAHMAcwB3AG8AcgBkADEAUABhAHMAcwB3AG8AcgBkAA==</Value>
                    <PlainText>false</PlainText>
                </Password>
                <Username>WinUser</Username>
                <Enabled>true</Enabled>
                <LogonCount>1</LogonCount>
            </AutoLogon>
        </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">
            <OEMInformation>
                <Manufacturer></Manufacturer>
                <SupportHours></SupportHours>
                <SupportPhone></SupportPhone>
                <SupportURL></SupportURL>
            </OEMInformation>
            <OEMName></OEMName>
            <TimeZone>Central Standard Time</TimeZone>
        </component>
    </settings>
    <cpi:offlineImage cpi:source="catalog:c:/data/windows/windows tools and deployment apps/assets and tools for deployment/catalog files for windows sim/windows 11 22h2 catalog files/install_windows 11 pro.clg" xmlns:cpi="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:cpi" />
</unattend>

hsehestedt · Aug 23, 2024

@garlin,

You inspired me to test further. I modified the above answer file and I now have <InstallTo> working flawlessly without the need for an <InstallFrom> block.

I need to test further, but here's what I have now noticed:

I commented out the <InstallFrom> block previously and my answer file would then fail. However, I have found that if I actually REMOVE the <InstallFrom> block (not commenting it out) and also remove the comment just before the <InstallFrom> block, then my answer file works.

As I said, I need to test further, but there is something odd happening here.

hsehestedt · Aug 23, 2024

Okay, I have it all worked out. Tested every one of my answer files and now have ALL of them working with 24H2.

For the final test, to make sure that <InstallFrom> works correctly I did this series of tests:

1) Create a Windows ISO image that contains exactly 2 images of 24H2, but I made both editions Pro.

2) Try to install both with and without unattended installation. For the unattended installation I did NOT include an <InstallFrom> block.

RESULT: Setup shows me a screen with both editions of Windows and I have to select the one that I want to install. This is true both for a manual installation as well as unattended.

3) I then add the <InstallFrom> block to my answer file specifying that I want to install image #1.

RESULT: Works exactly as expected installing the first image.

4) To take this a step further, I use the same answer file but I place a fictitious index number in the <InstallFrom> block (I specified index #3 which does not exist).

RESULT: This causes setup to again display the screen shown above since index 3 is not valid. Exactly as expected.

Below is my tested answer file.

NOTE: Rather than use the generic username "WinUser / Windows User" in this answer file I used "HannesS / Hannes Sehestedt". I wanted to post here exactly as I tested it with zero modifications.

I hope that this is in some small way helpful!

XML:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<!--
Last updated on Aug 23, 2024

This answer file is intended to be used when there is more than one edition of the same kind in the
Windows image. For example, if you have 3 Windows Pro editions in your image, you need to specify
the index of the edition to be installed because just having a Pro edition key is not enough to
determine which one of those Pro editions to install. If only one edition matches the key type
specified, then the index number will be ignored.

************
* WARNING! *
************

This answer file will cause Windows setup to WIPE disk 0 without any warning and to begin installation
to that disk. Change the disk number if installing to a disk other than disk 0. The disk number needs to
be changed both in the <InstallTo> block as well as the diskpart script that prepares the disk. You will
also need to change the index number of the Windows edition to install in the <InstallFrom> block.

******************
* END OF WARNING *
******************

This answer file is for UEFI based systems only.

It includes a Windows 10 / 11 Pro key.

It creates an Admin level user named "HannesS", full name "Hannes Sehestedt" with an initial password of "Password1".

Locale settings are set to United States English.

Time zone is set to US Central Time. Change this if needed.

It includes settings to bypass Windows 11 system requirements.

The size of the Recovery Tools partition created by this answer will be larger than normal at 2 GB. Change this if you are very short on space or prefer a smaller Recovery Tools partition.

It will install automatically to disk 0 and creates the recovery partition last, as Microsoft recommends. To accomplish this,
we do not use the standard method of specifying the disk configuration information, but we create a diskpart script to
configure the disk.

This answer file can be used with both Windows 10 and 11. The settings to bypass
Windows 11 system requirement checks will have no effect on Windows 10.

END OF NOTES
-->

<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
    <settings pass="windowsPE">
        <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>en-US</UILanguage>
            </SetupUILanguage>
            <InputLocale>en-US</InputLocale>
            <SystemLocale>en-US</SystemLocale>
            <UILanguage>en-US</UILanguage>
            <UILanguageFallback>en-US</UILanguageFallback>
            <UserLocale>en-US</UserLocale>
        </component>
        <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">
            <ImageInstall>
                <OSImage>
                    <InstallTo>
                        <DiskID>0</DiskID>
                        <PartitionID>3</PartitionID>
                    </InstallTo>
                    <InstallFrom>
                        <MetaData wcm:action="add">
                            <Key>/IMAGE/INDEX</Key>
                            <Value>1</Value>
                        </MetaData>
                    </InstallFrom>
                </OSImage>
            </ImageInstall>
            <UserData>
                <ProductKey>
                    <Key>VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T</Key>
                </ProductKey>
                <AcceptEula>true</AcceptEula>
            </UserData>
<!--
The first 3 Synchronous Commands below bypass the Windows 11 system requirement checks. The checks that are bypassed are:

TPM Check
Secure Boot Check
RAM Check

The remaining Synchronous Commands will partition the hard disk with the following settings:

NOTE: Synchronous Command #4 selects disk 0. If disk 0 is not the disk you need to use, change this to the correct disk number.

Partion Type   |     Size (in MB)      |  Format
================================================
    EFI        |         260           |  FAT32
    MSR        |         128           |  NONE
  Windows      | Remaining Space - 2GB |  NTFS
  Recovery     |        2,048          |  NTFS
===============================================
-->

            <RunSynchronous>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>1</Order>
                    <Path>reg add HKLM\System\Setup\LabConfig /v BypassTPMCheck /t reg_dword /d 0x00000001 /f</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>2</Order>
                    <Path>reg add HKLM\System\Setup\LabConfig /v BypassSecureBootCheck /t reg_dword /d 0x00000001 /f</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>3</Order>
                    <Path>reg add HKLM\System\Setup\LabConfig /v BypassRAMCheck /t reg_dword /d 0x00000001 /f</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>4</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo select disk 0 &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>5</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo clean &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>6</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo convert gpt &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>7</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo create partition efi size=260 &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>8</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo format fs=fat32 quick label=&quot;System&quot; &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>9</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo create partition msr size=128 &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>10</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo create partition primary &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>11</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo shrink desired=2048 minimum=2048  &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>12</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo format fs=ntfs quick label=&quot;Windows&quot; &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>13</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo assign letter=W &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>14</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo create partition primary &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>15</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo format fs=ntfs quick label=&quot;Recovery&quot; &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>16</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo set id=&quot;de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac&quot; &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>17</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001 &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>18</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo exit &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>19</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c diskpart.exe /s X:\DiskPartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
            </RunSynchronous>
        </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>en-US</InputLocale>
            <SystemLocale>en-US</SystemLocale>
            <UILanguage>en-US</UILanguage>
            <UILanguageFallback>en-US</UILanguageFallback>
            <UserLocale>en-US</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>
                <HideOEMRegistrationScreen>true</HideOEMRegistrationScreen>
                <HideOnlineAccountScreens>true</HideOnlineAccountScreens>
                <HideWirelessSetupInOOBE>true</HideWirelessSetupInOOBE>
                <ProtectYourPC>1</ProtectYourPC>
                <UnattendEnableRetailDemo>false</UnattendEnableRetailDemo>
            </OOBE>
            <UserAccounts>
                <LocalAccounts>
                    <LocalAccount wcm:action="add">
                        <Password>
                            <Value>UABhAHMAcwB3AG8AcgBkADEAUABhAHMAcwB3AG8AcgBkAA==</Value>
                            <PlainText>false</PlainText>
                        </Password>
                        <DisplayName>Hannes Sehestedt</DisplayName>
                        <Group>Administrators</Group>
                        <Name>HannesS</Name>
                    </LocalAccount>
                </LocalAccounts>
            </UserAccounts>
            <TimeZone>Central Standard Time</TimeZone>
            <FirstLogonCommands>
                <SynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <CommandLine>reg add &quot;HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon&quot; /v AutoLogonCount /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f</CommandLine>
                    <Order>1</Order>
                </SynchronousCommand>
            </FirstLogonCommands>
            <AutoLogon>
                <Password>
                    <Value>UABhAHMAcwB3AG8AcgBkADEAUABhAHMAcwB3AG8AcgBkAA==</Value>
                    <PlainText>false</PlainText>
                </Password>
                <Username>HannesS</Username>
                <Enabled>true</Enabled>
                <LogonCount>1</LogonCount>
            </AutoLogon>
        </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">
            <OEMInformation>
                <Manufacturer></Manufacturer>
                <SupportHours></SupportHours>
                <SupportPhone></SupportPhone>
                <SupportURL></SupportURL>
            </OEMInformation>
            <OEMName></OEMName>
            <TimeZone>Central Standard Time</TimeZone>
        </component>
    </settings>
</unattend>

hsehestedt · Aug 23, 2024

One additional observation:

I used my answer file with a standard 24H2 ISO image from Microsoft, meaning that it has only one copy of Pro, Home, etc.

No matter what value I put in the <InstallFrom> block, that value gets ignored. It seems that it only pays attention to the <InstallFrom> block if there is more than one image of the same edition, for example, if you have 2 Pro editions. Otherwise the <ProductKey> takes precedence.

suatcini54 · Aug 23, 2024

hsehestedt said:
I commented out the <InstallFrom> block previously and my answer file would then fail. However, I have found that if I actually REMOVE the <InstallFrom> block (not commenting it out) and also remove the comment just before the <InstallFrom> block, then my answer file works.

As I said, I need to test further, but there is something odd happening here.

Hi.
You did not comment out the <InstallFrom> block. Your comment-out end point is placed incorrectly. So your <InstallFrom> block is not included in the comment out section. You only commented out the real comment. And removing of the block helped.

Your <InstallFrom> block did not include the path to install.wim file. It could be the reason why <InstallFrom> block did not work. It should include the line <path>location of the install.wim file (maybe something like .\sources\install.wim)</path> before the image index line.

Hope this helps.

hsehestedt · Aug 23, 2024

suatcini54 said:
Hi.
You did not comment out the <InstallFrom> block. Your comment-out end point is placed incorrectly. So your <InstallFrom> block is not included in the comment out section. You only commented out the real comment. And removing of the block helped.

Your <InstallFrom> block did not include the path to install.wim file. It could be the reason why <InstallFrom> block did not work. It should include the line <path>location of the install.wim file (maybe something like .\sources\install.wim)</path> before the image index line.

Hope this helps.

Thanks. Yeah, I had to examine it further but got it worked out. As you can see from the later posts, I got it all sorted. But thank you so much for taking the time to look at it.

Solved Clean install probs with preview release 26100.560 unless I use "Previous Version of Setup". How to do that in unattended setup?

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