Boot.wim & install.wim separate Answer files

[malcolmx]

HI guys

anyone of you played with win7 image prepare methods – I have one problem here I am struggling with. Namely it’s about separating boot.wim’s answer file from affecting install.wim’s answer file. I got swift install if I use imagex /apply method (since it works uses only install.wim) that after install does exatly what I planned but when I use classic win7 install method from USB – boot.wim’s answer file messes my OOBE phase.

Hope this is all clear enough

Maybe some of you run across that topic in the past and could have some advice  ?  

[Tripredacus]

Things to remember with the XML is that the boot.wim only uses the two windowsPE passes. And then, if you are using Setup to do the install, and use an answer file, it will only use that one. So say you have an XML with just the windowsPE passees in it and nothing else, then no other actions will be taken. Setup will ignore any XML that is in the image itself because you specified it to use another. But Setup always uses an answer file even if you don't specify the /unattend option. So installing using Setup will never use an answer file that already exists within an image.

So you can do these two methods.
1. deploy with imagex/DISM, the answer file in the image (c:\windows\system32\sysprep\unattend.xml) is read on first boot after imaging. This XML does not have windowsPE phases.
2. deploy using Setup, the answer file has the windowsPE phases as well as the other things from the XML inside of the image.

The other option of using WDS, you can specify a separate answer file for boot.wim and install.wim. This is the only method I know where you can use the two files like that.