Problem with Unattended is that if you enter it once, and when you load it again, it will be default

[Lumicade]

The problem with Unattended is that if you enter it once and load it, then when you load it again, it will be default! Why?

 

[nuhi]

It does not read existing settings from the image, because unattended file cannot contain extra info needed.
But Default means keep as is.

Load last preset to continue, will think about this, thanks for the feedback.

 

[tired-it]

It does not read existing settings from the image, because unattended file cannot contain extra info needed.
But Default means keep as is.

Load last preset to continue, will think about this, thanks for the feedback.

I understand the reasoning, though I do wish NTLite can read unattended files that it created.

For instance, sometimes I create a test ISO entirely within NTLite, deploy it and realize it needs some changes. When I load the image back up, I see the Unattended section set to default. I get that it means to keep the file unchanged, but if I want to make a quick edit, loading a preset is possible, but not always convenient depending on the number of ISOs I am working with.

Furthermore, I have encountered errors in the past where redoing the unattended file or overwriting it by loading a preset led to Windows not booting properly (though I admit this issue may be unrelated). In the end, it's mainly a quality of life feature. Similar to how a preset, in recent versions, now shows how many changes are being made per section in NTLite.

Not to hijack the original post, but I do have a question, does NTLite have a quick way to tell what changes have been made to an ISO? For example, when changes are initially being made, they are bolded. After the image is processed and then reloaded, those changes are no longer bolded, therefore it is possible to overlook extraneous changes.

 

[garlin]

Honestly, unless you're constantly testing something new, you make an unattended file once or twice and just hang on to it.

I copy the same unattended file on every ISO I'm working on. The only exceptions are when I'm trying to use WinPE or specialize pass commands that NTLite doesn't support. Unattended files are universal across different Windows versions and editions, and if you need a dual-mode file for both 32-bit and 64-bit platforms, then it's trivial to copy/paste those XML blocks.

Other than looking for changes in the \sources\$OEM$\$$ folder, NTLite doesn't inspect for modifications to the ISO folder.

NTLite is only concerned about:

- boot file folder​

- sources\boot.wim​

- sources\install.wim​

- sources\$OEM$\$$​

- autounattend.xml​

Unlike a mounted image, there is no official roadmap of what folders & files should exist on an ISO. Windows images are managed by package manifests and WinSxS components, but none of that exists for an ISO. For a clean install, only the two image files and a copy of setup.exe is needed for the sources folder. Everything is a helper resource for the in-place upgrade version of Setup.exe.

When NTLite creates a ISO, it sweeps everything under the mount point into the new ISO file.

 

[tired-it]

Right. I appreciate the clarifications. It's a very niche use-case, but still potentially helpful.

 

[francis11]

The problem with Unattended is that if you enter it once and load it, then when you load it again, it will be default! Why?

Coz it's already in the image when you load it second time. It's hidden in panther folder ie. if auditing for capture.