"Legacy" boot setting

[crasmithmba]

I have had problems with my NTLite installs in the past. I was given the advice to go to settings and turn on Boot/Setup - Legacy. For a while that worked but my problem has returned and the legacy switch isn't solving it. For background, I am not doing anything fancy with NTLite. I use the most current ISO of Windows 11 downloaded from MS as my base, install updates, install a few apps, set up unattended install and join the domain. When I use the created iso the PC seems to image correctly. When I try to logon I am greeted with "Administrator" being the only available user and the message "specified domain does not exist or could not be contacted" I removed the apps, the updates and the domain join but still get the same thing. I get the same message with the legacy setting on default or legacy. Literally I cannot get any image to install successfully at this point. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[garlin]

A friend of mine started his career working for MS professional support for businesses, he said 90% of simple Active Directory errors are caused by bad DNS setup. Try that first.

 

[crasmithmba]

The problem is that none of the unattended setup options are being used. Or I would at least have a local user to sign in to. I don't believe that DNS is the issue here. My DNS has been consistent for the past 3 years and NTLite has worked in the past.

 

[FTSWAW]

I have had problems with my NTLite installs in the past. I was given the advice to go to settings and turn on Boot/Setup - Legacy. For a while that worked but my problem has returned and the legacy switch isn't solving it. For background, I am not doing anything fancy with NTLite. I use the most current ISO of Windows 11 downloaded from MS as my base, install updates, install a few apps, set up unattended install and join the domain. When I use the created iso the PC seems to image correctly. When I try to logon I am greeted with "Administrator" being the only available user and the message "specified domain does not exist or could not be contacted" I removed the apps, the updates and the domain join but still get the same thing. I get the same message with the legacy setting on default or legacy. Literally I cannot get any image to install successfully at this point. Anyone have any suggestions?

I have used this product for 10 years. I do not post here often because there are too many people in this forum who only want to point fingers and get absolutely hateful for no reason. I will give you some advice to part of your problem which has certainly solved many of my own. In the last two years, I have made 900 custom images. The biggest mistake I used to make, was getting my ISO directly from Microsoft. Try a test image without the Domain Join part when doing this. Get your ISO from UUP Dump, and then your ISO is very up to date right away. Then try a test image with the Legacy Boot option and see how that goes. I can't use the Domain Join option in NTLite because you have to be on a VPN to Domain Join on our network, and all my images are created Offline. As I stated, I make all of my images completely Offline, and I use VMware Workstation Pro for my image creation process. I install all of my software completely Offline (No Internet), including the latest Microsoft 365, then I Sysprep and then capture the install.wim in VMware. This is the process I use and it has served me well. If you wish to speak to me privately, please reach out to me and we'll go from there. I love helping people who want to learn.

 

[crasmithmba]

If you have to do all of that to even start, why even use NTLite? I thought that is what it was supposed to do for you. I have a consistent set of applications and configurations. I just want to include latest Windows updates in my offline installer. So I start with the most current Microsoft ISO make sure to include the most current online updates. Then use my standard configuration. It has worked in the past, has NTLite broken something in their product?

 

[FTSWAW]

If you have to do all of that to even start, why even use NTLite? I thought that is what it was supposed to do for you. I have a consistent set of applications and configurations. I just want to include latest Windows updates in my offline installer. So I start with the most current Microsoft ISO make sure to include the most current online updates. Then use my standard configuration. It has worked in the past, has NTLite broken something in their product?

NTLite is an amazing program; however, there is no one size fits all when using it. The images I make are not for me. This is not what I do for a living; however, I do build many custom images for companies. Each company has different requirements and requests that only apply to them. No two images of mine are the same. I build them all in VMware, then Sysprep, and then capture the install.wim in VMware with DISM, and then go from there. I used to get my starting ISO from Microsoft; however, as of two days ago, the latest 25H2 from Microsoft was 26200.8037. That is quite a bit of updating to do that I simply do not have time for. So, my starting ISO is 25H2 26200.9267, which is the very latest update there is. I love NTLite as much as the next person I suppose; however, I do not use it for Windows Updates. I have many scripts baked into my images and they all work flawlessly. Just completed another image ten minutes before replying to this post. As far as the first sentence in your post, I have to use NTLite, as there is not another program that even comes close to it. Again, how one person uses it does not mean there way is wrong. My images never fail; never, and I've made almost 20 this week alone and just over 900 in the last two years. As far as NTLite breaking anything, I have yet to see anyone prove that comment with any evidence whatsoever. There have obviously been changes to their product, some I like quite a bit, perhaps others no so much; however, the product itself remains to be in a league of its own; no doubt. To give a little more detail, I start with the latest ISO within NTLite. So my process is NTLite > Pre-VM ISO > VMware > Sysprep > Capture install.wim > NTLite > Final ISO > Test on physical hardware. I have been using this product since 2016, and I learned a long time ago, to never test your final ISO in a Virtual Machine. It might pass in a VM, but still fail on physical hardware. The end result must pass on physical hardware.