Deploy to a Remotely Controlled Computer
A remotely controlled computer is a computer without a monitor, a keyboard, or a mouse (also called a headless computer). Because remotely controlled computers must be connected to a network, there are additional networking configurations that you must enable, such as enabling ports in the firewall and enabling remote desktop connections. Unattended installations are required for this type of computer configuration.
The instructions in this topic do not display Windows Welcome user interface pages in Windows Server® 2008. If you want to prevent Windows Welcome user interface screens in Windows Vista®, see "Settings to Use for Automating Windows Welcome" in the Windows Unattended Setup Reference.
To Create an Answer File for a Remotely Controlled Computer
Create a new answer file or update your existing answer file.
For more information about creating or updating an answer file, see Work with Answer Files in Windows SIM.
If you are creating an answer file for a Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)-based computer, you must create additional partitions in your answer file. For more information, see Create an Answer File for UEFI-based Computers. You must also ensure that the firmware of your EFI-based computer is configured to boot to EFI mode, and not to BIOS mode. Consult your firmware documentation for more information.Add the following settings to your answer file in the listed configuration pass.
| Component | Configuration Pass |
|---|---|
Microsoft-Windows-International-Core-WinPE |
windowsPE |
Microsoft-Windows-Setup/DiskConfiguration |
windowsPE |
Microsoft-Windows-Setup/UserData |
windowsPE |
Microsoft-Windows-Setup/ImageInstall |
windowsPE |
Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup |
specialize |
Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-LocalSessionManager |
specialize |
Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-RDP-WinStationExtensions |
specialize |
Networking-MPSSVC-Svc\FirewallGroup |
specialize |
Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup/OOBE |
oobeSystem |
Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup/UserAccounts/AdministratorPassword |
oobeSystem |
Microsoft-Windows-International-Core |
oobeSystem |
Configure the windowsPE Settings
- Configure the language setting in the Microsoft-Windows-International-Core-WinPE component.
| Component Path | Setting and Value |
|---|---|
Microsoft-Windows-International-Core-WinPE/SetupUILanguage |
UILanguage=language |
Microsoft-Windows-International-Core-WinPE |
UILanguage=language |
- Configure the Microsoft-Windows-Setup node with the following setting.
| Component Path | Setting and Value |
|---|---|
Microsoft-Windows-Setup |
EnableNetwork=false Set this value to True if you are using a network share during unattended installation. |
Configure the disk partitions by using the Microsoft-Windows-Setup component. Right-click DiskConfiguration, and then select Insert New Disk.
In the DiskConfiguration node, right-click CreatePartitions, and then select Create new Partition.
Configure the Microsoft-Windows-Setup/DiskConfiguration node with the following settings.
| Component Path | Setting and Value |
|---|---|
Microsoft-Windows-Setup/DiskConfiguration/Disk |
WillWipeDisk=true DiskID=0 Modify these values if you are deploying to a different hard disk configuration. |
Microsoft-Windows-Setup/DiskConfiguration/Disk/CreatePartitions/CreatePartition |
Order=1 Extend=true Type=Primary Modify these values if you are deploying to a different hard disk configuration. |
Note
If you are creating an answer file for a Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)-based computer, you must create additional partitions in your answer file. For more information, see Create an Answer File for UEFI-based Computers.
In the Microsoft-Windows-Setup component, expand the ImageInstall, and then expand the OSImage node.
Configure the Microsoft-Windows-Setup/ImageInstall/OSImage node with the following settings.
| Component Path | Setting and Value |
|---|---|
Microsoft-Windows-Setup/ImageInstall/OSImage/InstallTo |
DiskID=disk PartitionID=partition |
Right-click InstallFrom, and then select Insert New MetaData.
Configure the Microsoft-Windows-Setup/ImageInstall/OSImage/InstallFrom/MetaData node with the following settings.
| Component Path | Setting and Value |
|---|---|
Microsoft-Windows-Setup/ImageInstall/OSImage/InstallFrom/MetaData |
Key=image metadata identifier Value=image metadata value For example, Key=/IMAGE/INDEX Value=2 |
- Configure the Microsoft-Windows-Setup/UserData node with the following settings.
| Component Path | Setting and Value |
|---|---|
Microsoft-Windows-Setup/UserData/ProductKey |
ProductKey/Key=product_key ProductKey/WillShowUI=Never |
Microsoft-Windows-Setup/UserData |
AcceptEula=true |
Configure the specialize Settings
- Configure Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup with the following settings.
| Component Path | Setting and Value |
|---|---|
Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup |
ComputerName=computername |
- Configure the Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-LocalSessionManager component with the following settings.
| Component Path | Setting and Value |
|---|---|
Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-LocalSessionManager |
fDenyTSConnections=false |
- Configure the Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-RDP-WinStationExtensions component with the following settings.
| Component Path | Setting and Value |
|---|---|
Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-RDP-WinStationExtensions |
UserAuthentication=0 |
In the answer file pane, right-click FirewallGroups, and then select Insert new Firewall Group.
Configure the Firewall Group with the following settings.
| Component Path | Setting and Value |
|---|---|
Networking-MPSSVC-Svc\FirewallGroups\FirewallGroup |
Active=true Group=Remote Desktop Key=EnableRemoteDesktop Profile=all |
Configure the oobeSystem Settings
- Configure Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup with the following settings.
| Component Path | Setting and Value |
|---|---|
Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup/UserAccounts/AdministratorPassword |
Value=password |
Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup/OOBE |
HideEULAPage=true |
- Configure Microsoft-Windows-International-Core with the following settings.
| Component Path | Setting and Value |
|---|---|
Microsoft-Windows-International-Core |
InputLocale=language SystemLocale= language UILanguage= language UserLocale=language |
You are now ready to install your Windows image.
Note
If you run Sysprep /generalize on your Windows image, some settings that are required to prevent user interface pages from displaying might be reset. When the computer boots after the generalize process, the installation might display Windows Welcome user interface pages. To prevent the user interface pages from displaying, use an answer file with Sysprep to hide the user interface pages during Windows Welcome. For more information, see "Settings to Use for Automating Windows Welcome" in the Unattended Windows Setup Reference. For more information about using an answer file with Sysprep, see How Sysprep Works.