Generate autounattend.xml files for Windows 10/11

Re:Generate autounattend.xml files for Windows 10/11 by EvanAnderson on Tuesday April 01, 2025 @05:05PM (#43551327)

I just deployed three new Windows 11 Pro machines yesterday (two HP, one Dell) with local accounts. The HP OEM image was pre-24H2 so it doesn't count, but the Dell machine was 24H2.

I booted to the OOBE, hit <SHIFT>-<F10>, ran:

   REG ADD HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OOBE /v BypassNRO /t REG_DWORD /d 1

   shutdown -r -t 1 -f

Waited for the machine to reboot and ran thru the OOBE w/o connecting to a network. Once I got logged-on w/ my local account connected to the Wi-Fi and joined the Active Directory domain.

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Re:Generate autounattend.xml files for Windows 10/11 by easton on Tuesday April 01, 2025 @05:44PM (#43551648)

Does pro not have the “domain join instead” option in OOBE anymore? It definitely used to, and Enterprise does.

I don’t understand how you’d domain join otherwise.

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Re:Generate autounattend.xml files for Windows 10/11 by EvanAnderson on Tuesday April 01, 2025 @05:52PM (#43551704)

Pro doesn't have an option to join a domain in the default OOBE. I think that went away in some iteration of 10.

Pro definitely doesn't because the above procedure is what I always have to do to get joined to a domain without creating or using a Microsoft Account. (And then I've got a local account to clean up.)

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Re:Generate autounattend.xml files for Windows 10/11 by smileybarry on Friday April 04, 2025 @08:05AM (#43581040)

It does, I just made a Windows 11 Pro 24H2 VM for testing (with the stock ISO) and used the "domain join" option to make a local account.

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Re:Generate autounattend.xml files for Windows 10/11 by EvanAnderson on Monday April 07, 2025 @02:50AM (#43608541)

With an unattended install, sure. The OOBE doesn't give you that option by default.

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Re:Generate autounattend.xml files for Windows 10/11 by smileybarry on Monday April 07, 2025 @05:14AM (#43609409)

I got that option via OOBE, not automated install.

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Re:Generate autounattend.xml files for Windows 10/11 by thesuitonym on Wednesday April 02, 2025 @01:49PM (#43559299)

I don't think this is the way it should be, but just to answer your question, you'd go through the normal setup for a single user PC, then join AD in the Settings app.

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Re:Generate autounattend.xml files for Windows 10/11 by EvanAnderson on Wednesday April 02, 2025 @03:11PM (#43560377)

Older versions of Windows allowed domain join in the OOBE. It was handy.

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Re:Generate autounattend.xml files for Windows 10/11 by preciousoo on Tuesday April 01, 2025 @06:35PM (#43552005)

you can also do ipconfig /release in some contexts (works in hyperv but never in the real world for some reason sigh)

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Re:Generate autounattend.xml files for Windows 10/11 by bayindirh on Tuesday April 01, 2025 @05:29PM (#43551531)

Sorry to be blunt, but if this is not a workaround, then I don't know what is.

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Re:Generate autounattend.xml files for Windows 10/11 by EvanAnderson on Tuesday April 01, 2025 @05:53PM (#43551720)

Yes-- that particular procedure is a workaround. My first post was asking why unattended installation, arguably a feature, is some kind of "workaround".

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