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Question: Is there a way to pre-configure the installation process of Windows 10, so that the installation will take e.g. a script file and just run through the installation without requiring the user to intervene?

With Red Hat or CentOS, you can use a so called Kickstart file:

Kickstart installations offer a means to automate the installation process, either partially or fully. Kickstart files contain answers to all questions normally asked by the installation program, such as what time zone you want the system to use, how the drives should be partitioned, or which packages should be installed. Providing a prepared Kickstart file when the installation begins therefore allows you to perform the installation automatically, without need for any intervention from the user. This is especially useful when deploying Red Hat Enterprise Linux on a large number of systems at once.

Kickstart files can be kept on a single server system and read by individual computers during the installation. This installation method can support the use of a single Kickstart file to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux on multiple machines, making it ideal for network and system administrators.

Please note: I would prefer not to set up a PXE server and I do not wish to use "ghosting" or "cloning".

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You can use a Autounattend.xml file, which can be generated using the Windows ADK (http://blogs.technet.com/b/yongrhee/archive/2015/08/11/download-windows-10-assessment-and-deployment-kit-adk.aspx) or you can use this website (for simple deployments): http://windowsafg.no-ip.org/win10x86_x64.html

Simply place the Autounattend.xml in the root of your install media.

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  • Very nice, will give this a try. Can the Autounattend.xml be located e.g. on a network share or web server - and if so, how can I tell the Windows installation where to find it?
    – fredrik
    Jan 6, 2016 at 12:10
  • As far as i know, it has to be in the root of your install media. If you are serving the install media via windows deployment services, you should be able to serve images with the Autounattend.xml file. Network shares may work if you start the setup while running a previous version of windows, but i'm guessing that's not your objective. I've never tried that though.
    – user329743
    Jan 6, 2016 at 22:55
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Fredrik, have you tried Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) yet? With that tool you can create a deployment share that will serve to distribute your image to clients.

With Windows System Image Manager (WSIM) you can edit your answer files like Autounattend.xml via graphical interface. The generated files can be used to be integrated in your Windows image distributed via deployment share. The deployment will be kicked off at the client through a so called Task Sequence that also can be created with MDT.

I hope that helps!

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  • This is the best way to generate a bootable deployment image. Along with windows you can add apps and download any windows updates at deploy time.
    – Jim B
    Apr 11, 2016 at 20:47

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