Unattended
Create fully automated Windows installations.
This page automates setup choices for an image, so that the installation can be fully or partially automated.
First pick the unattended mode in the toolbar, check the extra options, then set the remaining options on the main list. All options are queued to be executed on deployment of the loaded image.
Unattended Mode
- Default - leaves current unattended settings on the selected image intact
- Enable - overwrites any existing unattended settings with the ones set on this page
- Disable - removes any existing unattended settings
Autofill
Set and overwrite available entries with the host machine data where available, speeding up the process of setting up full automation.
- All - fills the entire page and prompts for the first user creation
- Windows PE (boot.wim) - fills just the boot portion of setup, leaving OOBE prompts as set
- Reset - resets the whole page back to defaults
The toolbar also offers Remove - clearing all unattended data from the page - and Expand all / Collapse all for the option list.
Add Local Account
Create a local user account. The dialog takes the name, password with confirmation, display name, description, and the group - Administrators, Users, or a custom group name.
- Auto-logon this user - logs the account in automatically after setup; a Logon count option controls how many logons stay automatic
- Enable built-in Administrator - activates the hidden Administrator account using the entered credentials
Join Network
Join a workgroup or a domain. Domain join takes the domain name and credentials; Unsecure join switches to a pre-provisioned machine password instead of user credentials.
Configure Disk
Easily setup disk partition layout with the recommended BIOS and UEFI presets with templates, or setup individual disk partitions. Scenario walkthrough in the Disk Partitioning guide.
Disk Template
When wiping an entire disk, it is recommended to use the disk templates. Select disk type by clicking on that row, depending if using a UEFI or BIOS machine.
If using a specific disk size (in gigabytes), move the recovery image before or after it using the green arrow button on the right. Disk size can also be extended to use all available space with the yellow extend button on the right of the “Operating system” partition - size 0 means maximum extend.
Type 0 for size to remove a recovery partition.
Individual Partition
To format or only automatically install to a particular partition without wiping the entire drive, use the “Individual partition” option.
Make sure “Wipe disk” is unchecked, set Partition mode to “Modify” instead of “Create”. Under “Format” choose if you want to format it, and check “Install to this partition” if you want to deploy to that one.
Be very careful when configuring formatting or wiping; ensure disk and partition IDs are correct. Consider pre-testing in a virtual machine configured with the same disk layout.
Extra Options
On Apply, the answer file is written to the standard setup locations automatically (autounattend.xml at the media root). On multi-edition images, the edition index is injected automatically and kept in sync when other editions are removed, so setup installs the edition you configured. The options below change where the file lands.
Copy to Install Image
Copy the answer file directly to the final image location (%WINDIR%\Panther\unattend.xml). Use only if directly deploying an image to a partition, without Windows setup.
Copy to Boot Image
Copy the answer file directly to the setup boot image (autounattend.xml at the boot image root). Can help machines which otherwise do not apply Unattended settings on booting up this image.
Dual Architecture
If using a 64-bit image, this also saves the 32-bit automation entries, and vice-versa. Helpful when building multiple-architecture, All-In-One images.
Prompt Edition Selection
Disables automatic image edition selection if more than one edition is present, so setup asks which edition to install.
Option List by Setup Pass
The main list groups options by the Windows setup pass they execute in.
Generalize
PnP Sysprep options: Keep all PnP devices installed and Don't clean non-present devices - control whether device drivers survive image generalization.
Windows PE (Setup Options)
Windows localization - system locale, user locale, input locale (keyboard), and UI language. All options must be set to automate the language page. The Copy OOBE toggle (on by default) uses the same localization for Windows Setup as for the installed Windows; turn it off to configure the Setup-phase language separately.
Windows setup options:
- Product key (Setup) - the key entered at the setup phase; select
[KEY]to use the image's inbuilt key. A Show setting controls whether the key page appears: Always, On error, or Never - Skip EULA page - accepts the license terms automatically
- Full Name (Computer name prefix) - registered name, also used as prefix
- Compress Windows (Compact OS) - installs with system compression (Windows 10 and later)
- Send report to Microsoft - installation statistics opt-in
- Dynamic Update - whether setup downloads updates during installation
OOBE (Final Install Options)
Reseal - Mode - Default, OOBE, or Audit; Audit boots the deployed system directly to Audit mode for further customization.
Windows localization - the installed system's locales, separate from the Setup-phase ones: system and user locale set the regional format, UI language sets the display language.
Shell options:
- Time zone - picked from the full Windows time-zone list
- OEM information - support URL, support app URL and provider (Windows 10 1703+), trade-in and recycle URLs (Windows 11 22H2+), plus logo, manufacturer, model, support hours and phone - the latter fields are marked deprecated on Windows 11 22H2 and later
- Out-of-box experience - skip individual OOBE screens: EULA page, wireless setup, online account setup (Microsoft account), local account setup, Windows Welcome (SkipMachineOOBE), Welcome Center (SkipUserOOBE), network location, and the “Get going fast” privacy/express-settings page
- Users (Profiles) directory - relocate the user-profile folder
On Windows 11 22H2 and later, configuring a local account or skipping online account setup also applies the BypassNRO registry setting automatically, so setup does not force an internet connection and Microsoft account. See the Local Account (BypassNRO) guide.
Specialize
- Product key (Activation) - the key used for activation of the deployed system, separate from the setup-phase key
- Computer name - see the dynamic values below
- Registered Owner and Registered Organization
- Copy Profile (Sysprep) - copies the customized default profile to new users
- Skip auto activation - prevents automatic activation attempts
Dynamic Values
Computer Name
Type or select [Prompt] to enable changing the computer name through a prompt during Windows setup. Note that the prompt option is applied only to the loaded/configured image edition.
Type or select %SERIAL% to dynamically insert a computer serial number in its name during install. It can be combined with other letters, e.g., PREFIXHERE-%SERIAL%
Product Key
In the Setup product key entry, select [KEY] to reuse the key already embedded in the image (Windows 8 and later).