Change a Default Client Application

  • Article

When OEMs use the unattended setup settings under Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup | ClientApplications | to install default applications to be invoked, under equivalent circumstances, instead of Internet Explorer, Windows Mail, Windows Media Center, or the Windows Media Player, these applications become available to the user when the user elects to restore Computer Manufacturer defaults through the Set Default Programs user interface.

These settings do not set the Start Menu default programs icons for Mail and Internet Browser applications. Setting these Default Programs is not a fully automated process and requires booting into Audit mode and manually setting the application.

For more information about the settings under Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup | ClientApplications |, see "ClientApplications" in the Unattended Windows Setup Reference.

For more information about Audit mode, see, Customize Windows in Audit Mode.

To Set Default Programs

  1. On the destination computer, install Windows Vista.
  2. Verify that you can open Internet Explorer or Windows Mail.
  3. Install the new client browser or the mail application, but do not open or launch it.
  4. On your technician computer, open Windows System Image Manager (Windows SIM).
  5. Open a Windows image.
    For more information, see Open a Windows Image or Catalog File.
  6. Create an answer file.
    For more information, see Create an Answer File.
  7. In the Windows Image pane, locate Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup | ClientApplications and right-click the component.
  8. Select the auditUser configuration pass.
  9. In the Properties pane, in the Settings section, specify the canonical name of the application that you intend to be the default.
    For more information about canonical names, see this MSDN Web site.
  10. Validate your answer file.
    For more information, see Validate an Answer File.
  11. Save your answer file to removable media, such as a USB flash device. For example, name the file DefaultClient.xml.
  12. Insert the removable media into the destination computer.
  13. On the destination computer, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Command Prompt.
  14. At the command prompt, type:
    c:\windows\system32\sysprep\sysprep.exe /audit /reboot``/unattend:defaultclient.xml
    Make sure that the path to the DefaultClient.xml file is complete and correct.
    The destination computer reboots into Audit mode.

Note

If you install Windows by using an answer file, that answer file is cached to the system, so when subsequent configuration passes run, settings in the cached answer file are applied to the system. Because you are specifying a new answer file when you run Sysprep, the cached file will be overwritten with the default client answer file. If there are any unprocessed settings in the cached answer file, add those settings to the new, default client answer file. For example, if you have settings in the oobeSystem configuration pass in your cached answer file and the oobeSystem configuration pass has not yet run, then the settings in that pass must be added to the DefaultClient answer file as well.

For more information, see [Sysprep Command-Line Syntax](cc721973\(v=ws.10\).md) and [Methods for Running Windows Setup](cc749415\(v=ws.10\).md) in the OEM Preinstallation Kit User’s Guide.
  1. In Audit mode, click Start, click Default Programs, click Set Program Access and Computer Defaults and then click Computer Manufacturer.

To Verify New Default Programs

  1. On the destination computer, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Command Prompt.

  2. At the command prompt, type:

    c:\windows\system32\sysprep\sysprep.exe /reboot /oobe

  3. In Windows Welcome, create a new user account and then log on as that user.

  4. Verify that the client applications that you chose as defaults are there and functioning as expected.

Next Steps

After you have verified that the new applications are present and functional, you should either reseal the computer for distribution to an end user or capture the new image for deployment. For more information about capturing the image for future deployment, see Phase 4: Image Deployment. For a more thorough discussion of the various factors to consider in your deployment of Windows, see Phase 1: Preinstallation Planning.

To Reseal the Destination Computer

  1. On the destination computer, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Command Prompt.

  2. At the command prompt, type:

    c:\windows\system32\sysprep\sysprep.exe /generalize /oobe

Sysprep removes unique system information from the Windows installation. The security ID is reset. Any restore points are cleared and the event logs are deleted. Windows Welcome runs the next time the computer is started.

Note

You must use Sysprep to ensure that Windows Welcome runs the first time that the end user uses the computer. End users must be able to accept the License Terms. Additionally, end users use Windows Welcome to set up user accounts and to see all the Windows first tasks.

See Also

Concepts

Customization How-To Topics