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Windows Setup Supported Platforms and Cross-Platform Deployments
Published: February 29, 2012
Updated: May 31, 2012
Applies To: Windows 8, Windows Server 2012
This topic describes the supported platforms and deployment scenarios for running for Windows® Setup. Windows Setup discussed in this topic refers to the executable file (setup.exe) that is located in the \sources directory of a Windows distribution.
In this topic:
A 64-bit (x64) version of Windows can only run on 64-bit computers. However, a 32-bit (x86) version of Windows can run on both 32-bit as well as 64-bit computers.
Running the 64-bit version of Windows Setup on a 32-bit operating system is not supported.
The 32-bit version of Windows Setup can run on either 32-bit or 64-bit operating systems.
The following table lists the supported Operating Systems for running Windows 8 Setup:
| Host Operating System | Windows 8 Setup Support |
|---|---|
|
Windows 8 |
Yes |
|
Windows Server 2012 |
Yes |
|
Windows 7 |
Yes |
|
Windows Server 2008 R2 |
Yes |
|
Windows Vista® |
Yes |
|
Windows Server 2008 |
Yes |
|
Windows XP with SP3 |
Yes |
|
Windows Server 2003 R2 and previous versions |
No |
|
Windows XP with SP2 and previous versions |
No |
You can also run Windows Setup from the Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE). The following table lists the supported Windows PE environments:
| Version of Windows Setup | Windows Vista® Windows PE (2.0) | Windows 7 Windows PE (3.0) | Windows 8 Windows PE (4.0) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Windows 8 Setup |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Cross-platform deployment is the process of installing a specific architecture of Windows from an environment of a different architecture. For example, you can deploy a 64-bit edition of Windows 8 from a 32-bit edition of the Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE). The benefit of using a cross-platform deployment solution is that you don't have to maintain multiple versions of Windows PE for installing different architecture editions of Windows. You can build a single Windows PE image that you can use to install both 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows.
When you install a 64-bit edition of Windows from a 32-bit version of Windows PE, you must use Windows PE 2.0 or a later version. For more information about Windows PE releases, see Windows PE Overview.
The following table lists the different architecture types of Windows images (32-bit or 64-bit) that a specific version of Windows 8 Setup is able to install.
| 32-Bit Windows 8 image | 64-bit Windows 8 image | 32-Bit Windows 7 image | 64-bit Windows 7 image | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
32-bit Windows 8 Setup |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
64-bit Windows 8 Setup |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
These are the available methods for installing Windows from a 32-bit host:
-
Use the Dism /Append-Image command to update an Install.wim file to include both 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows.
Change the default Install.wim file in the /Sources directory to include a 64-bit edition of Windows. When Windows Setup runs, the 64-bit edition of Windows is installed. If the file contains multiple Windows images of the same edition that apply to different architecture types, you must either select the correct Windows image when Windows Setup runs or specify the correctMetaDatasetting in an answer file. For more information, see Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) Command-Line Options. -
Use the command-line /InstallFrom option of the Setup.exe file.
When you use the /InstallFrom option of the Setup.exe file, you can specify the path of a different Install.wim file when Windows Setup runs. For example, you can use a 32-bit version of Windows 8 Setup to deploy a 64-bit Windows 8 image. You can also use the Setup /unattend command when you use a 32-bit version of Windows 8 Setup to specify an answer file that uses a Windows® 7 image. For more information, see Windows Setup Command-Line Options. -
Use an answer file for unattended installations.
When you use an answer file that includes theImageInstall | OSImage | InstallFrom | Pathsetting that the Microsoft-Windows-Setup component specifies, you can perform cross-platform deployments during unattended installations. For more information about Windows components and settings that you can add to an answer file, see the Unattended Windows Setup Reference Guide.
These cross-platform deployment scenarios aren't supported:
-
Installing a 64-bit Windows image on a 32-bit computer.
-
Deploying a 32-bit Windows image from a 64-bit preinstallation environment.
-
Using a 32-bit version of Windows Setup to upgrade a 64-bit operating system.
-
Using a 32-bit version of Windows 8 Setup to deploy a 64-bit version of the Windows 7 operating system.
For example, you must use a 64-bit version of Windows 8 Setup to deploy a 64-bit version of Windows 7. In previous releases, the version of Windows Setup version had to match the operating system that you would deploy. For example, you had to use the Windows 7 Setup.exe to install Windows 7. -
Using Microsoft Internet SCSI (iSCSI) boot disk in a cross-platform deployment scenario
For example, installing Windows (64-bit version) from cross-platform media, such as Windows PE (32-bit version), to an iSCSI boot disk is unsupported. You must use the same architecture for Windows PE as the target deployment architecture when you deploy Windows to an iSCSI boot disk. -
On Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), deploying a 64-bit edition of Windows from a 32-bit version of Windows PE. On some UEFI computers, you can't install Windows in BIOS-compatibility mode and must switch to UEFI-compatibility mode. For more information, see How to Switch from BIOS-Compatibility Mode to UEFI Mode.
-
On BIOS:
-
Performing cross-platform deployments, except as part of a clean installation, or performing a Windows Deployment Services deployment.
-
Providing cross-platform installation media to users for recovery.
To prevent users from installing the wrong edition of Windows for the architecture of their computer, don't provide cross-platform installation media to users for recovery or reinstallation. Also, the Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) feature that's included on the media applies only to 32-bit Windows installations.
-
Performing cross-platform deployments, except as part of a clean installation, or performing a Windows Deployment Services deployment.
If a .wim file contains both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows editions, you must select the Windows image that you want to install. Typically, Windows Setup uses the product key that you specify in the ProductKey setting to determine which Windows image to install. But if the file contains 2 editions of the same Windows version, like the 32-bit edition of Windows 7 Ultimate and the 64-bit edition of Windows 7 Ultimate, you must use the MetaData setting in an answer file to specify the edition to install.
When you use the MetaData setting to specify the image to install, you use the Microsoft-Windows-Setup | ImageInstall | OSImage | InstallFrom | Metadata |Key and Value settings. For example, if a Windows image contains 2 editions of Windows 7 for different architecture types, like the 32-bit edition of Windows 7 and the 64-bit edition of Windows 7, you must specify metadata that corresponds to the image index, name, description, or architecture type. For the metadata for architecture type, use 0 for 32-bit editions and 9 for 64-bit editions. For more information about the MetaData setting, see the Unattended Windows Setup Reference Guide.
The answer file must include processor-specific components. The answer-file settings in the windowsPE configuration pass must match the architecture type of the preinstallation environment. The settings that apply to the Windows image must match the architecture type of the image. For example, if you create an answer file that deploys 64-bit images from a 32-bit preinstallation environment, all components in the answer file for the windowsPE configuration pass must include the processor attribute type of x86. Settings to be applied in the specialize, oobeSystem, or other configuration passes must include the processor attribute type of amd64.
All drivers that are included with Windows are signed. In cross-architecture deployments, you can use an out-of-box device driver. But if you use an unsigned out-of-box device driver that's boot critical in a 64-bit installation, the installation may become unusable.
You can install 64-bit drivers for a Windows image during Windows Setup in either of these ways:
-
In attended installations, you can press F6 or click the Load Driver button on the Disk Configuration page of Windows Setup.
-
In unattended installations, you can use the Microsoft-Windows-PnpCustomizationsWinPE or Microsoft-Windows-PnpCustomizationsNonWinPE component in an answer file to specify a driver path. For more information about how to automate your installation, see Settings for Automating Windows Setup.
