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I have a custom wim file which I created after I ran sysprep /generalize /oobe /shutdown /unattend:e:\unattend.xml. In the unattend file, I have the copyprofile set to true. When I apply the wim file using imagex or wim2vhd, the default user profile behaves as I would expect it to. I can create a new local user and it uses the default user settings.

However when I use the deploy the wim file using windows setup and my autounattend.xml, the default user is no longer what I created. The theme is gone for one example. Maybe other items are gone, if not all.

So my question is: Do I need to have the copyprofile set to true in the specialize phase in both my unattend.xml file and my autounattend.xml file? I thought only in my unattend.xml file. Thanks!

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When you use Windows Setup to install a custom WIM that was sysprepped with an unattend.xml, Setup ignores that XML file in there. So if you are going to use an answer file with Setup, you'll need that info in your XML. The reason being is this:

When you run sysprep /unattend, sysprep takes your XML, parses it and saves it as C:\Windows\Panther\Unattend.xml.

When you run setup with an autounattend.xml, Setup parses the XML and saves it as C:\Windows\Panther\Unattend.xml. It does not check to see if there is one there already. So anything in your original XML that sysprep put there gets erased.

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When you use Windows Setup to install a custom WIM that was sysprepped with an unattend.xml, Setup ignores that XML file in there. So if you are going to use an answer file with Setup, you'll need that info in your XML. The reason being is this:

When you run sysprep /unattend, sysprep takes your XML, parses it and saves it as C:\Windows\Panther\Unattend.xml.

When you run setup with an autounattend.xml, Setup parses the XML and saves it as C:\Windows\Panther\Unattend.xml. It does not check to see if there is one there already. So anything in your original XML that sysprep put there gets erased.

Thanks for that! So would it work if I combined my autounattend and my unattend files?

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Yes, make sure not to have duplicate entries tho. I don't know how setup will react to that.

I combined my autounattend and unattend (no duplicate entries), went back to a previous version of my image, deleted the file C:\Windows\Panther\Unattend.xml, then ran sysprep /generalize /shutdown /oobe /unattend:d:\autounattend.xml. Didn't make a difference though.

However I just realized that maybe sysprep is copying the Administrator profile, rather than my standard local admin account, even though the administrator account is disabled. I'll try making all my customizations to the administrator account and then capture the image again and test.

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I combined my autounattend and unattend (no duplicate entries), went back to a previous version of my image, deleted the file C:\Windows\Panther\Unattend.xml, then ran sysprep /generalize /shutdown /oobe /unattend:d:\autounattend.xml. Didn't make a difference though.

Of course this won't make a difference if you are using an answer file with setup!

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