theozmanbo

I'm pretty sure it doesn't activate. I use windows AIK to automate all of the installation stuff except for the product key. When it gets to the product key in windows welcome - I get prompted for a key. I suppose that because I'm using the OEM cd - then when installing it I HAVE to use the product key that matches with that computer??? What do you mean when I manually install from the CD and "enter the key"? I don't have to enter a key when I manually install - never do with an OEM CD.

oh, and the OEM is Dell. and the media I used to install windows was the Vista Business re installation disc from Dell.

anyweb, I won't be able to do it this way?? I don't really understand why this is happening still. I'm giving the installation the OEM product key (the one that's on the sticker) during Windows Setup (OOBE). Shouldn't it then use that valid product key for activation? Is it maybe because I'm specifying a product key in the autounattend.xml file under the Windows PE pass? There are TWO places where a product key can be entered in the configuration passes. One of them is in the Windows PE pass and MS says that this is to validate the INSTALLATION of Windows. I put one of the product keys from one of the machines in there and it's on all the images. But then theres another product key value - specified in the specialize phase - that MS says can be used to ACTIVATE windows. So I leave that blank and then Windows prompts me to enter it every time I run the image on a machine. Based on that information - it seems like everything should be okay doesn't it? Here is the excerpt from help article: There are two Product Key settings you can configure. But you're saying that because I'm using an OEM product key it won't work?

I have 20 Vista Business desktops here and I created an image from one of them using WAIK. I have a problem with the product keys though. There are two different product keys you can specify in the XML file. One of them sets during the WindowsPE phase and one of them during the specialize phase. For my scenario, I set one of the product keys that I have in for the WindowsPE pass. Doing this allows the installation of Vista. I leave the other product key (during specialize) blank. This prompts me to enter a key during windows setup. this is exactly what I want - I want to be able to specify what individual product key to use for the install. I can always enter the product key in fine during the windows setup. HOWEVER, once I go into windows and try to activate it - I run into issues. It seems I can activate about three computers - and then it won't let me anymore. It says I have an invalid product key entered. I try retyping it in (from the OEM sticker on the computer - its legit) but I still get its invalid when trying to activate it. I can call MS and have them activate it for me - but its a pain if I gotta do this for every computer. There has to be an easier way to do this. I think for some reason its using that product key that I specified during the windows PE pass and trying to activate it based on that - EVEN THO I'm telling it to use a different one. Any ideas?

I'm using SIM yes

Okay, I think I've determined that you NEED to indicate a user account besides the admin account. I set the AutoLogon in SPECIALIZE to admin with the proper password and set the admin password in OOBE. This will successfully login to the admin account at startup, but it still prompts to enter a user account at setup. I suppose that means that Windows forces you to create an account besides the Admin account. I just decided to keep the admin account disabled and create my own default admin account anyway. Much easier this way around. But I'd still like to figure out why I have to use a separate XML file for the OOBE stuff and manually specify it instead of having everything included in the Autounattend.xml file.

Hmm well I need the /generalize in there too don't i? I've tested the imaging and know it works. Right now I'm just trying to make sure the sysprep is working fine. So far it isn't though. For some reason it seems that once I get the system into the initial audit mode, make changes, and then do sysprep /oobe /generalize /shutdown, it doesn't perform any of the steps for the OOBE pass. Something I tried was making a seperate OOBE.xml file with just the stuff I want to automate the OOBE phase. Then I instead do sysprep /oobe /generalize /shutdown /unattend:OOBE.xml and that works. The admin account still doesn't seem to be created though. Still trying over here.

Okay I will try that. Once I get it in audit mode, what exactly should I do to get it to go into the normal mode after that? I know I have to select OOBE & generalize, but there is shutdown, restart, and quit. Do I need to shutdown the computer? Because it seems that even when I shutdown the computer the sysprep GUI still comes up when I reload it. Should I use quit instead?

Why didn't you indicate what configuration pass that belongs to? But anyway, I already have that included in my xml file. Once I get into the audit system and make changes, I command prompt and do sysprep /oobe /generalize /quiet /unattend:e:\Autounattend.xml Still no go with the admin account being created!

I’m trying to deploy Vista images on our network here – I want it so that when the image is done being applied to a machine, the only account on there is the administrator with a password that was set in the Autounattend.xml file. I really cannot seem to get this working. Since I don’t want any pointless accounts setup in the image (all the accounts will be setup manually after the computer is started), I set the SkipUserOOBE to true. I am under the belief that by doing this, I skip the welcome screen setup windows stuff (that asks to make user account and whatnot) – because I don’t want to setup any user accounts. I just want the administrator account pre-setup there with a password I give. In the oobeSystem phase, I have the AdministratorPassword field in Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup_nuetral | User Accounts set to the password I want. I read through some help articles that suggested that simply by doing that, the administrator account is enabled with that password. This doesn’t seem to be working though. I also am being brought to the welcome screen as well… Any ideas? I attached the XML file that I’ve been using. Thank you so much! P.S. – You’ll notice that I have info for a test account in there – I was just testing things. Once I’m in audit mode and I want to package it for the image, can I just do it from the sysprep GUI by chooing OOBE, Generalize, and shutdown? Or do I have to go it from the command prompt and specify the unattend:Autounattend.xml? Thanks again Autounattend.xml