I am having a couple of problems setting up an Unattend.xml file for Vista Business. Specifically, there are two settings which are not taking:

1) NetworkLocation: the specialize phase seems to run fine, (prompting only for MachineName, as desired) but as soon as I log in for the first time, I am prompted to say whether the machine is on a Work or Home network.

2) NoCleanTaskbar: As you can see, I have invoked CopyProfile. As far as I can tell, all other profile settings from the pre-sysprep user (also WSAdmin) are being propagated fine -- Desktop layout and drive mappings, for example. However, the customization of the Quick Launch is being lost, and that toolbar only contains Computer and Show Desktop.

Any help would be appreciated!

NOTE 1: The machine in question is running in VMWare. I have not found any simple instructions for running Windows SIM against a VMWare image (I'll make that the topic of a separate post) so I decided to construct the Unattend.xml by hand from a combination of examples and MS documentation. Therefore, my Unattend has not been validated, although it generates no error messages during Sysprep or mini-setup.

NOTE 2: I do have a couple of suspicions which occurred to me as I was working to post this -- one is that the SkipUserOOBE true setting might be keeping one or more settings from taking. The other is that it might have to do with the way the Windows-Shell-Setup setting are split between the oobeSystem and specialize steps.

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">

<settings pass="generalize" wasPassProcessed="true">

<component name="Microsoft-Windows-PnpSysprep" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" processorArchitecture="x86">

<PersistAllDeviceInstalls>true</PersistAllDeviceInstalls>

</component>

</settings>

<settings pass="oobeSystem" wasPassProcessed="true">

<component name="Microsoft-Windows-International-Core" processorArchitecture="x86" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">

<InputLocale>en-us</InputLocale>

<SystemLocale>en-us</SystemLocale>

<UILanguage>en-us</UILanguage>

<UserLocale>en-us</UserLocale>

</component>

<component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="x86" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">

<OOBE>

<HideEULAPage>true</HideEULAPage>

<NetworkLocation>Work</NetworkLocation>

<ProtectYourPC>3</ProtectYourPC>

<SkipMachineOOBE>false</SkipMachineOOBE>

<SkipUserOOBE>true</SkipUserOOBE>

</OOBE>

<UserAccounts>

<LocalAccounts>

<LocalAccount wcm:action="add">

<Password>*SENSITIVE*DATA*DELETED*</Password>

<Description>WSAdmin Account</Description>

<DisplayName>WSAdmin</DisplayName>

<Group>Administrators</Group>

<Name>WSAdmin</Name>

</LocalAccount>

</LocalAccounts>

</UserAccounts>

</component>

</settings>

<settings pass="specialize" wasPassProcessed="true">

<component name="Microsoft-Windows-UnattendedJoin" processorArchitecture="x86" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">

<Identification>

<JoinWorkgroup>Dummy</JoinWorkgroup>

</Identification>

</component>

<component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="x86" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">

<CopyProfile>true</CopyProfile>

<DoNotCleanTaskbar>true</DoNotCleanTaskbar>

<ProductKey>*SENSITIVE*DATA*DELETED*</ProductKey>

<TimeZone>Eastern Standard Time</TimeZone>

</component>

<component name="Networking-MPSSVC-Svc" processorArchitecture="x86" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS">

<DomainProfile_EnableFirewall>false</DomainProfile_EnableFirewall>

<PrivateProfile_EnableFirewall>false</PrivateProfile_EnableFirewall>

<PublicProfile_EnableFirewall>false</PublicProfile_EnableFirewall>

</component>

</settings>

</unattend>

More info on the DoNotCleanTaskBar setting, which is being ignored:

1) It is available in the following passes:

auditSystem

generalize

offlineServicing

oobeSystem

specialize

I've got it in the specialize pass, along with CopyProfile.

2) The documentation notes that "This setting is available only to corporations," whatever that means. I suspect that means that it's only available if you're using some sort of a Volume License Key (I am using an MDSN Volume License key).

Not really all that helpful, but Im also haveing a problem getting the network location to stick. Theres no other pass to put it under other than OOBEsystem, so im stumped. Im going to try not skipping machineOOBE and see what that does. Ill let you know how it goes

I never had "skipMachineOobe", and I have now set "skipUserOobe" to false, as well. That didn't fix it.

Setting SkipmachineOOBE did fix one of my other problems, but it didnt fix the network location for me either. Not sure what else to try, since theres only one place to put it... If I ever do figure it out, ill make sure to post a reply

The network problem is a known ms bug & to my knowledge is still to be resolved. There is however a reg tweak to overcome this prob but doesn't work for all.

NoCleanTaskbar where did you get that at?

Ive looked through Unattend and waik.chm and don't see. I also Google it and only hit was your post here

Sorry -- I goofed in my title, although the code has the correct spelling. It's: <DoNotCleanTaskbar>