OEM SetupComplete failing

BarryBurton

New Member
Hello all,

First, I want to express how great NTLite is. It's made imaging a breeze mostly and for the most part is easy to use. However, I'm running into a weird issue.

I made an image based on Windows 10 21H2. Everything works as expected, except that when I go to install this image on a new machine, sometimes the Post-Setup stuff does not run. For example, I have SQL Native Client and some other apps that are pre-installed. If I load my image in a VM it works as intended. If I load my image on real hardware, none of the pre-packaged software is installed. It seems to depend on the type of hardware. I can install my image on a Lenovo machine just fine, but Dell and HP will skip the Post-Setup installations.

Looking around on the forums the fix seems to be to enable OEM SetupComplete but when I do this installation fails with the message "Windows could not update the computer's boot configuration. Installation cannot proceed."

I am using Rufus with BIOS compatibility to write my ISO. Attached is a copy of my XML for the session. Any help is greatly appreciated!
 
Sorry i cant understand actualy what your query is ?
Your NTlite Preset seems to only have unattend entries plus only one setting privacy tweak ie "DataCollection\AllowTelemetry">0 nothing else.
++ You are using old build of NTLIte app itself "2.3.4.8658" why not try latest one "2.3.4.8675"
+++ as i can see why <Licensed>No</Licensed>
 
Last edited by a moderator:
When Setup finds an OEM product key in BIOS, it skips SetupComplete. This preset is generic and doesn't offer any clues.
A common problem is selecting UEFI or MBR disk layout, and the target system isn't the same.

We need the working preset (minus private info) for a better answer.
 
I'm not sure how to attach everything you need? Here is the working preset plus a screenshot of the Post-Setup. I don't have much defined at the moment because I wanted to make sure Post-Setup works.

Whether I try UEFI or BIOS the result is the same. With OEMSetupComplete enabled it fails to install on both UEFI and BIOS. Without it, Windows installs but again the Post-Setup msi files do not install depending on the hardware.
 

Attachments

  • Test.xml
    5.1 KB
  • PostSetup.png
    PostSetup.png
    17.1 KB
I am looking inside the Presets folder in C:\Program Files\NTLite and I only see the two I've attached here. Both of them do not show Post-Setup actions. Inside my directory for the actual ISO I've been using as a base, the xml there is the same, no Post-Setup stuff inside. Am I looking in the wrong place?

Sorry for being a noob.
 
I suggest starting over while carefully looking into unattend part and post setup part.... because clearly your preset and autoattend.xml is empty.
 
NTLite has written an answer file with no disk layout (that's fine) and runs SetupComplete.cmd in deployment pass.
Since we have no layout, Setup may be assuming the wrong UEFI/MBR mode.

When Setup's disk layout screen appears, open a CMD window with shift-F10.
Code:
diskpart
select disk 0
clean
convert gpt <-- skip this step if MBR/Legacy, run if UEFI

Reboot the ISO. Assign all available space, and allow Setup to partition for you.
 
NTLite has written an answer file with no disk layout (that's fine) and runs SetupComplete.cmd in deployment pass.
Since we have no layout, Setup may be assuming the wrong UEFI/MBR mode.

When Setup's disk layout screen appears, open a CMD window with shift-F10.
Code:
diskpart
select disk 0
clean
convert gpt <-- skip this step if MBR/Legacy, run if UEFI

Reboot the ISO. Assign all available space, and allow Setup to partition for you.
No dice. I think I may have to do what crypticus said and start over.
 
OOBE.cmd is an alternate post-setup script, specifically for OEM editions pre-installed on your PC.
Since you're probably using a normal image and not sysprepping, it doesn't apply.

The priority is figuring out why Windows can't finish copying files. Usually it's a mismatch over the UEFI/MBR boot modes.
Do you know if all your target systems are all UEFI, or a mix of UEFI & MBR? If the PC's aren't outdated, you can force them to UEFI only.
 
I'm running mostly UEFI, I guess I don't exactly need BIOS compatibility I was just trying to have it just in case. I'm going to start with a fresh base and try again, ignoring BIOS compatibilty.
 
If you could just post your real preset, we could solve it but you are having problem at very core. cant post your preset of ntlite correctly. Thats why i recommended removing all presets and starting fresh for you.
 
If you could just post your real preset, we could solve it but you are having problem at very core. cant post your preset of ntlite correctly. Thats why i recommended removing all presets and starting fresh for you.
I understand. I'm not sure why the presets and autounattend aren't showing all of the information. I'm fairly new to Windows imaging. I've been making my own with NTLitle for about 2 years but the core concepts still kind of escape me. I'm self-taught with pretty much everything. Is there a general resource you can recommend for understanding all of this more?
 
I understand. I'm not sure why the presets and autounattend aren't showing all of the information. I'm fairly new to Windows imaging. I've been making my own with NTLitle for about 2 years but the core concepts still kind of escape me. I'm self-taught with pretty much everything. Is there a general resource you can recommend for understanding all of this more?
IF you have been using NTlite for 'about 2 years' then you would know where your preset is. you would also know the difference between a preset and a autounattend.

BOTH are xml files. theres a hint, another one is 'autounattend.xml' for autounattend. thats the freebee
 
Unless you've been deleting them, NTLite should be creating Auto-saved presets. Or Preset/Save As if you want to keep a particular one.
 
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