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Server Deployment: Autounattend.xml Windows Server 2008 R2

Posted by Ivan

/ March 13, 2010 / 1 Comment

Windows Setup allows you to provide an answer file for a unattended install. Windows 2000/Windows XP had the winnt.sif but Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 allow you to provide a Autounattend.xml file. If you follow the right steps with SIM (Windows System Image Manager) and add the components the setup needs you can build a file which perform a automatic installation without any input during the setup phase.

Well I build such a Autounattend.xml file I run into the problem when the Windows Setup started I needed to choose which version of Windows Server 2008 R2 I wanted to install. This step I wanted to skip and really have automatic installation. To make that happen you need to add InstallFrom into the XML file.

<ImageInstall>
               <OSImage>
                    <InstallFrom>
                        <MetaData wcm:action="add">
                            <Key>/IMAGE/NAME</Key>
                            <Value>Windows Server 2008 R2 SERVERSTANDARD</Value>
                        </MetaData>
                    </InstallFrom>

                    <InstallTo>
                        <DiskID>0</DiskID>
                        <PartitionID>1</PartitionID>
                    </InstallTo>
                    <WillShowUI>OnError</WillShowUI>
                </OSImage>

</ImageInstall>

Make sure you query the WIM file with imagex.exe /info d:\sources\install.wim and insert that for MetaData Value (marked in RED).

October 8, 2010
Mahomed

Hi. I just wanted to say thanks for this. I first tried entering it manually but it didn’t work. I then tried entering it through WAIK but I couldn’t quite find it. So for everyone else, you need to expand/Add *_Microsoft-Windows-Setup_neutral > ImageInstall > OSImage > InstallFrom > MetaData

Set the action to AddListItem
Set the Key to /IMAGE/NAME
Set the Value to the name as explained in the article.

I hope that helps someone.
May 22, 2011
Zbig0

Hi, wanted to thank for this site 😀 helped me a lot I have had got same issue and it got me half way…only problem I have now is when I put product key xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx… for Enterprise edition its accepting it in WSIM but later its telling me when installing that product key is invalid(I have removed the object containing product code in Win SIM and it installed fine unattended but later on after its installed have to put it but… thats not that big deal after all)
May 22, 2011
Zbig0

another way of checking what versions of win 2008 u have in ur image is to add image to Windows deployment services and after u can check in image detail name of all images in this one DVD image 😉
I gues using imagex is quicker but more chaotic way of doing it…