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Windows Server 2012 Unattended Installation

July 7, 2012 by Derek Seaman Comments (71)

One of the common tasks that you may do on a regular basis is installing Windows Server 2012 and you want to automate it as much as possible. Using similar tools to those used with Windows Server 2008 R2, you can create an autounattend.xml file that you inject into the Windows Server 2012 installation ISO for a hands-free install.

The same set of instructions would also work for Windows 8 as well, but you will need to use the Windows 8 install.wim image, and also pay attention to whether yo want to automate a 32-bit or 64-bit installation. The autounattend.xml can contain configuration data for both, so only one xml file is needed. If you want to download a pre-configured autounattend.xml file, you can find it here on my Skydrive folder.

1. Download the Windows ADK (Assessment and Deployment Kit) from this link. Never mind that it says Windows 8, as it will work with Windows Server 2012 since th are the same code base. 2. Start the installation process and after a long download select the two options below (Deployment Tools and Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE WinPE is technically optional, but in case you need it in the future, Id install it anyway.

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3. After the installation completes go to the Start Menu and select Windows Kits > Windows ADK > Windows System Image Manager. 4. Mount the ISO image of Windows Server 2012, go to the sources directory and copy install.wim to a local drive, such as D. 5. From the File menu click on Select Windows Image, find the install.wim you copied, then select the edition that you want to build an answer file for. I selected SERVERSTANDARD.

6. Next it will complain that a catalog cannot be found, so it will build one for you, taking a few minutes. After the catalog is built, from the file menu select New Answ File.

7. Scroll through the Components pane and select amd64_Microsoft-Windows-International-Core-WinPE-_6.2.9200.0_neutral, as shown below, right click, and add to Pass 1.

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8. In the Answer File pane click on the component, and fill in the language settings as appropriate. In this case it is configured for US English. You can find a list of th codes here. You also need to configure the SetupUILanguage too.

9. Configuring the disk partitions is tedious, but required. To do that, find amd64_Microsoft-Windows-Setup_6.2.9200.0_neutral and add it to Pass 1 as well.

10. In the Answer File pane right click DiskConfiguration and select Insert New Disk. Right click on CreatePartitions and select Insert New CreatePartition. Configure t partition as shown below. This will create a 100MB primary boot partition. Note: The default in 2008 R2 was 100MB, but in 2012 this is now 350MB. I would suggest using 350MB instead of the 100MB in the screenshot.

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11. Create a second partition, but this time set Extend to true, and dont configure a size. This will use the remainder of the disk size.

12. In the Answer File pane click on Disk and change the ID to 0 and WillWipeDisk to true.

13. Right click on ModifyPartition and select Insert New ModifyPartition. Configure the partition as shown below.

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14. Add a second ModifyPartitions and configure as shown below:

15. Drill down to the OSImage option and configure as shown below:

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16. Right click InstallFrom and select Insert New Metadata. Configure the metadata as shown below. To determine the proper label just think back to when you opened the Windows image (step 5) and enter the image name exactly as it is listed.

17. Configure the InstallTo and use DiskID 0 and PartitionID 2.

18. Configure the UserData options as shown below.

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19. Configure the UserDataProductKey option. The key you use will vary depending on how you are going to activate it (KMS or MAK). You should use the GVLK (generic volume license key) that Microsoft publishes here if you use a KMS server, or your MAK key.

20. Add the amd64_Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup_6.2.9200.0_neutral component to Pass 4 specialize.

21. In the Answer File pane click on amd64_Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup_6.2.9200.0_neutral and configure the highlighted items below (use the same key as before). You can change the computer name, or leave it blank and it will create a random name upon installation. For a list of timezone values, click here.

22. Add the amd64_Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup_6.2.9200.0_neutral component to Pass 7 oobesystem. In the Answer File pane click on amd64_Microsoft-Window Shell-Setup_6.2.9200.0_neutral and configure the highlighted items below.

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23. Normally I configure autologon for a count of 2, so my image build process goes quicker and in case I forget the administrator password I configured in the answer file I can reset it during the first two reboots. You will also need to configure the password. Enter a password, and when the answer file is written it will be encrypted.

24. Under UserAccounts, configure the AdministratorPassword with the same password you entered for the AutoLogon information. 25. Save the file as autounattend.xml and verify that no errors are shown in the validation pane. You will see a lot of warnings, but that is normal. 26. Open the Windows Server 2012 ISO image in an ISO editor, like UltraISO. Add the autounattend.xml file to the ROOT of the ISO image. Save the ISO, and then configure a VM or physical server to boot from it and verify that there are no prompts or errors during the installation process. Note that the disk configuration and data will be wiped during the installation process.

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Filed Under: Microsoft, Windows Server 2012

Comments (71)
Sort by: Date Rating Last Activity Unknown 55 weeks ago Well written. Thank you for taking the time to put this all together. 0

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Unknown 55 weeks ago Well written. Thank you for taking the time to put this all together. 0

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Tommy 55 weeks ago Thanks, great post for a newbie on this like me ;) 0

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Tommy 55 weeks ago Thanks, great post for a newbie on this like me ;) 0

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Tommy 55 weeks ago 0
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Thanks, great post for a newbie on this like me ;)

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Anonymous 53 weeks ago Finally a great guide on how to do Windows 2012 unattended installs! Thank you! 0

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Anonymous 53 weeks ago Finally a great guide on how to do Windows 2012 unattended installs! Thank you! 0

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Anonymous 53 weeks ago Finally a great guide on how to do Windows 2012 unattended installs! Thank you! 0

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Anonymous 47 weeks ago 0

Hmmmm... when I boot to my newly created .iso, I get an error message "No images are available." Any clue to where I might be making my mistake? Great writeup by the way!!

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1 reply active 12 weeks ago 0

Derek Seaman, vExpert, VCP5, MCITP:EA, CISSP 47 weeks ago

Anonymous! Sounds like in step 16 you didn't enter exactly the name of the "image" you wanted to install. Double check your spelling.

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Stephen Edworthy 43 weeks ago 0

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Adding RDP Access for Headless server install would be a great addition.

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Stephen Edworthy 43 weeks ago Adding RDP Access for Headless server install would be a great addition. 0

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Jerry 42 weeks ago 0

hmmm... my W2012 server boots up, but stops on the Settings: Country/Region page waiting for me to press 'next'. Any way to skip this page? Thanks Derek!

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Jerry 42 weeks ago 0

hmmm... my W2012 server boots up, but stops on the Settings: Country/Region page waiting for me to press 'next'. Any way to skip this page? Thanks Derek!

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Derek Seaman, vExpert, VCP5, MCITP:EA, CISSP 42 weeks ago Yes, a properly configured file will not prompt for country/region. Double check all the settings. 0

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2 replies active 17 weeks ago 0

Derek Seaman, vExpert, VCP5, MCITP:EA, CISSP 42 weeks ago Yes, a properly configured file will not prompt for country/region. Double check all the settings.

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Derek Seaman, vExpert, VCP5, MCITP:EA, CISSP 42 weeks ago Odd..works for me

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3 replies active 17 weeks ago 0

Derek Seaman, vExpert, VCP5, MCITP:EA, CISSP 42 weeks ago Odd..works for me

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Derek Seaman, vExpert, VCP5, MCITP:EA, CISSP 42 weeks ago Odd..works for me 0

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Jeffry A. Spain 41 weeks ago 0

When installing Windows Server 2012 on VMware ESXi, virtual EFI firmware appears to be a requirement. In place of steps 9 - 14 and 17 above, which are for BIOS firmware, see "Sample: Configure UEFI/GPT-Based Hard Drive Partitions by Using Windows Setup" at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh825702.aspx. I used the "Default UEFI/GTP drive partitions" successfully on ESXi 5.0 U1 (821926). Thanks. Jeff.

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4 replies active 17 weeks ago 0

Jeffry A. Spain 41 weeks ago

The hang issue I found with ESX 5.0 b821926 and Windows Server 2012 RTM was with the use of a VMXNET3 NIC. While this is said in the compatibility guide to be supported, KB 2006859 states that it is not, and recommends the E1000E as a workaround. My testing confirms this. Anyway I imagine that many of these kinks are worked out in ESX 5.1, which I will be able to test once a compatible version of View is available.

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2 replies active 17 weeks ago 0

Jeffry A. Spain 41 weeks ago

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Using the above info from 10/21, confirmed that Windows Server 2012 RTM Datacenter Core installs successfully on ESXi 5.0 b821926 with EFI firmware, GPT disk, pvscsi disk controller, and vmxnet3 NIC.

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Anonymous 39 weeks ago 0

Hi! we tried to follow your guide but in USB(UFD). but we are stuck on "no image are available". we already followed the step 5&16. and even used your answerfile but still the same.

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1 reply active 17 weeks ago 0

Joseph Imusago 36 weeks ago

I have not had any luck with Win8 installation. It stops at "Windows cannot parse the unattend answer file's DiskConfiguration setting. I think I have it correct. Thanks in advance.....Joe

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2 replies active 17 weeks ago 0

Joseph Imusago 36 weeks ago

I have not had any luck with Win8 installation. It stops at "Windows cannot parse the unattend answer file's DiskConfiguration setting. I think I have it correct. Thanks in advance.....Joe

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