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Title
Configure disks and partitions using the unattend.xml file -
Description
This article describes how to use the unattend.xml file in order to configure disks and partitions during a Scripted Installation of Microsoft Windows. There is no need for any Pre-Installation tasks if you delegate the setup and configuration of the disk to Windows Setup, however, most of the time diskpart scripts which are used most commonly are easier to read and the K2000 appliance ships with built-in Pre-Installation tasks to create and configure one or multiple Windows partitions.
NOTE: The information in this article can be used to deploy System Images however the sample unattend.xml file is designed to work with a Scripted Installation. An unattend.xml file for System Images (prepared with sysprep.exe) looks slightly different but the DiskConfiguration part can be obtained from here.
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Resolution
The below unattend.xml file is an example from a Windows 10 Scripted Installation. It has been created using the Scripted Installation Wizard in the K2000 web interface. Later the Windows System Image Manager (WSIM) from the Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) has been used to extend the unattend.xml. At the same time WSIM validates the unattend.xml.
NOTE: We recommend in every case to validate your unattend.xml file using WSIM.The below sample unattend.xml creates three drives (C, E, and G) using a primary and one extended partition. The extended partition holds two logical partitions.
=== START ===<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"><settings pass="windowsPE"><component name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS"><UseConfigurationSet>true</UseConfigurationSet><UserData><AcceptEula>true</AcceptEula><FullName>###REGISTRATION_FULL_NAME</FullName><Organization>###REGISTRATION_ORGANIZATION</Organization><ProductKey><Key>###WINDOWS_PRODUCT_KEY</Key><WillShowUI>OnError</WillShowUI></ProductKey></UserData><ImageInstall><OSImage><InstallToAvailablePartition>true</InstallToAvailablePartition></OSImage></ImageInstall><DiskConfiguration><Disk wcm:action="add"><CreatePartitions><CreatePartition wcm:action="add"><Extend>false</Extend><Type>Primary</Type><Order>1</Order><Size>15000</Size></CreatePartition><CreatePartition wcm:action="add"><Order>2</Order><Type>Extended</Type><Extend>true</Extend></CreatePartition><CreatePartition wcm:action="add"><Order>3</Order><Type>Logical</Type><Size>1000</Size></CreatePartition><CreatePartition wcm:action="add"><Order>4</Order><Type>Logical</Type><Size>1000</Size></CreatePartition></CreatePartitions><ModifyPartitions><ModifyPartition wcm:action="modify"><Active>true</Active><Format>NTFS</Format><Label>System</Label><Letter>C</Letter><Order>1</Order><PartitionID>1</PartitionID></ModifyPartition><ModifyPartition wcm:action="modify"><Format>NTFS</Format><Label>Databases</Label><Letter>G</Letter><Order>2</Order><PartitionID>2</PartitionID></ModifyPartition><ModifyPartition wcm:action="modify"><Order>3</Order><Letter>E</Letter><Label>UserData</Label><Format>NTFS</Format><Extend>true</Extend><PartitionID>3</PartitionID></ModifyPartition></ModifyPartitions><DiskID>0</DiskID><WillWipeDisk>true</WillWipeDisk></Disk></DiskConfiguration></component><component name="Microsoft-Windows-International-Core-WinPE" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS"><UILanguage>en-GB</UILanguage><SetupUILanguage><UILanguage>en-GB</UILanguage></SetupUILanguage><InputLocale>en-ie</InputLocale><SystemLocale>en-ie</SystemLocale><UserLocale>en-ie</UserLocale></component><component name="Microsoft-Windows-PnpCustomizationsWinPE" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS"><DriverPaths><PathAndCredentials wcm:action="add" wcm:keyValue="1"><Path>Y:\drivers\windows_10_x64</Path></PathAndCredentials></DriverPaths></component></settings><settings pass="specialize"><component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS"><RegisteredOwner>Rootdom Admin</RegisteredOwner><RegisteredOrganization>Rootdom Lab</RegisteredOrganization><ProductKey>###WINDOWS_PRODUCT_KEY</ProductKey><TimeZone>GMT Standard Time</TimeZone><AutoLogon><Enabled>true</Enabled><Username>###LOCAL_ADMIN_USER</Username><Password><PlainText>true</PlainText><Value>###LOCAL_ADMIN_PASSWORD</Value></Password><LogonCount>2</LogonCount></AutoLogon><ComputerName>*</ComputerName></component><component name="Microsoft-Windows-UnattendedJoin" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS"><Identification><JoinWorkgroup>WORKGROUP</JoinWorkgroup></Identification></component><component name="Microsoft-Windows-Deployment" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS"><RunSynchronous><RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add"><Path>reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList\Signatures\FirstNetwork" /v Category /t REG_DWORD /d 00000000 /f</Path><Description>Setting Network Location</Description><Order>1</Order><WillReboot>OnRequest</WillReboot></RunSynchronousCommand></RunSynchronous></component></settings><settings pass="oobeSystem"><component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS"><OOBE><HideEULAPage>true</HideEULAPage><NetworkLocation>Work</NetworkLocation><SkipMachineOOBE>false</SkipMachineOOBE><SkipUserOOBE>false</SkipUserOOBE><ProtectYourPC>3</ProtectYourPC></OOBE><UserAccounts><LocalAccounts><LocalAccount wcm:action="add"><Name>###LOCAL_ADMIN_USER</Name><Group>Administrators</Group><Password><Value>###LOCAL_ADMIN_PASSWORD</Value><PlainText>true</PlainText></Password></LocalAccount></LocalAccounts></UserAccounts><FirstLogonCommands><SynchronousCommand wcm:action="add"><CommandLine>REG ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /v Shell /t REG_SZ /d explorer.exe,explorer.exe /f</CommandLine><Description>Show Desktop</Description><Order>1</Order></SynchronousCommand><SynchronousCommand wcm:action="add"><CommandLine>%systemdrive%\KACE\engine\kaceengine.exe</CommandLine><Description>KACE Engine</Description><Order>2</Order><RequiresUserInput>true</RequiresUserInput></SynchronousCommand></FirstLogonCommands></component><component name="Microsoft-Windows-International-Core" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS"><InputLocale>en-ie</InputLocale><SystemLocale>en-ie</SystemLocale><UILanguage>en-ie</UILanguage><UserLocale>en-ie</UserLocale></component></settings><cpi:offlineImage xmlns:cpi="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:cpi" cpi:source="wim:c:/users/rskotnik/downloads/en-gb_windows_10_n_multiple_editions_version_1511_x64_dvd_7223843/sources/install.wim#Windows 10 Pro N Technical Preview"/></unattend>
=== END ===NOTE: You must change every value which starts with "###". Just search for "###" inside the unattend.xml after saving the file to disk using Notepad or your preferred text editor. Furthermore, validate the file inside WSIM and select the appropriate install.wim file to update the unattend.xml with the correct image. As you can see above, the last part of the unattend.xml references the ISO file used and the selected image from the install.wim file which should correspond to the source media information you are using and which are loaded into WSIM before opening the unattend.xml file. Last thing to note is that above unattend.xml uses an English (Ireland) input layout and system locale plus timezone. Please change the values as desired.
Eventually, feel free to adjust the <DiskConfigration> section as required. If you would like to read further about the CreatePartition section or the DiskConfiguration section inside the unattend.xml, please refer to the below links. More resources can be found online.
CreatePartition (TechNet)
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc709648(v=ws.10).aspxDiskConfiguration (TechNet)
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc722040(v=ws.10).aspx