This issue only affects Windows 7 editions with the exception of the N editions of Windows 7.

In some scenarios, using the Sysprep tool will prevent playback and transfer of any Windows Media® Digital Rights Management (DRM) content on a Windows 7 computer. If you boot to Windows Welcome, configure the network as either "Work" or "Home", and then run Sysprep, your computer might be affected.

This issue does not occur if you customize Windows in audit mode, or if you boot to Windows Welcome and select the "public" network.

This issue prevents the following scenarios:

• Playback of Windows Media Digital Rights Management (WMDRM)-protected content and Zune®-protected content
  
  
• Transfer of that content to devices
  
  
• Burning the content to CDs
  
  

No data loss occurs due to this issue and users upgrading their computers from previous versions of Windows are not impacted by this issue.

To determine if your Windows image is affected, open the following WMA file: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=166118

If you can play the file, your image is not affected. If you receive an error about media usage rights, use one of the following workarounds:

• Recreate the Windows 7 image by using audit mode to customize Windows.
  
  
• Recreate the Windows 7 image by booting to Windows Welcome and selecting "Public" as your network configuration.
  
  
• Use the following workaround to modify the offline image:
  
  

1. Mount the .wim file. The following example mounts the first image in a .wim file to a folder at the location C:\Win7mount.
   
   

   Imagex.exe /mountrw C:\images\install.wim 1 C:\Win7mount

   Note

   The mount folder must already exist and you must have read and write access to it.

2. Delete the files in the \ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\DRM folder. Delete the contents of the folder, but not the folder itself.
   
   For example, open C:\Win7mount\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\DRM.
   
   

   Note

   If you do not see files in the folder, or the ProgramData folder itself, then make sure that hidden, system, and protected files are visible. To show the files, use the attrib command in a command prompt or the Show hidden files, folders, and drives option in the Folder Options control panel.

3. Delete the key values from the DRM key of the mounted image’s registry.
   
   
   1. Open regedit.
      
      
   2. Select the [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE] hive.
      
      
   3. From the main menu, select File, and then Load Hive. The Open File dialog box opens.
      
      
   4. Navigate to the mounted Windows image. For example:
      
      
      1. Browse to C:\Win7mount\Windows\System32\Config and select the file called SOFTWARE.
         
         
      2. Provide a unique name for the hive. For example: Win7mountSOFTWARE. The new hive is displayed in the list under the [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE] hive.
         
         
   5. In this new hive, browse to the WMDRM key. Assuming that you named the loaded hive Win7MountSOFTWARE, and depending on the architecture of the operating system, the keys are in the following locations:
      
      
      • Windows 7 x86:
        
        [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Win7MountSOFTWARE\Microsoft\DRM]
        
        
      • Windows 7 x64:
        
        [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Win7MountSOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\DRM]
        
        
   6. Delete any values or subkeys under this key. For example, delete the DataPath REG_BINARY value.
      
      
   7. Select the loaded hive in the left-hand pane.
      
      
   8. From the main menu, select File, and then Unload Hive.
      
      
4. Commit the changes to the .wim file and then unmount the image. For example:
   
   

   Imagex.exe /unmount /commit c:\Win7mount

5. Verify the workaround resolved the issue by installing the updated Install.wim file. Verify the following changes in the updated image:
   
   
   • An empty \ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\DRM folder exists
     
     
   • The DRM regkey has no values or subkeys in it.
     
     
   Verify the workaround is applied successfully by playing the .wma file without error.
   
   

The Windows AIK installation program (StartCD.exe) lists Windows Server® 2003 with Service Pack 1 (SP1) as a supported platform. This is incorrect. Only Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2 is supported.

Installing multiple versions of Windows AIK is not supported. You cannot install both the Windows 7 version and the Windows Vista version of Windows AIK to the same technician computer. First, you must uninstall the previous version, and then you can install the new version.

You can use the 2.0 version of Windows AIK to configure and deploy the RTM version of Windows Vista with SP1, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008 R2.

There is not a link from the Start menu to the User State Migration Tool User's Guide (Usmt.chm). The documentation for USMT is included with this release of Windows AIK and is available in %PROGRAMFILES%\Windows AIK\Docs\CHMs.

Windows AIK enables a subsequent installation in a different language, even if there is a pre-existing Windows AIK with another language installed. Installation of Windows AIK in multiple languages on the same computer is not supported.

Installing a localized Windows AIK in a language that is not the active operating-system language might cause the tools and the documentation to be displayed in different languages.

Workaround: Install Windows AIK in the same language as the active operating system language.

Windows AIK is supported on the following versions of Windows:

• Windows 7
  
  
• Windows Server 2008 R2
  
  
• Windows Server 2008
  
  
• Windows Vista
  
  
• Windows Server 2003
  
  

Installing Windows AIK on pre-release versions of Windows 7 and Windows Vista causes the offline servicing and Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) customization components to behave unexpectedly.

To install a localized version of the Microsoft .NET Framework, go to the Microsoft Download Center.

For example, \Program Files\Windows AIK (Windows7) is not a supported directory path.

In Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Vista with Service Pack 1, the default password policy requires the creation of a complex password for all user accounts. During installation, Setup prompts you to configure a complex password. Attempting to configure a non-complex password, either manually or by using a script, such as with the Net command, will fail.

When the Sysprep tool runs, it sets a blank password for the built-in administrator account. However, Sysprep clears the built-in administrator account’s password only for server editions, not for client editions. The next time the computer is started, Setup displays a prompt for a password. You can automate configuration of the password by creating an answer file to use with Sysprep that specifies a value for the Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup | UserAccounts | AdministratorPassword unattended setup setting.

OEMs and system builders are required to retain the default password policy of their computers. However, corporate customers are permitted to change the default password policy.

A corporate customer can configure a non-complex password for the built-in administrator account during an unattended installation by specifying the desired value for Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup | UserAccounts | AdministratorPassword.

[Updated July 13, 2009]

After you run the Sysprep tool against a Windows Tablet PC image, you must delete the %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\InputPersonalization directory from the image.

[Added May 22, 2009]

The following error might be encountered when running Sysprep on a computer that has Windows Media® Player media sharing enabled:

Info       [0x0f0080] SYSPRP LaunchDll:Found 'drmv2clt.dll,Sysprep'; executing it
Error      [0x0f0082] SYSPRP LaunchDll:Failure occurred while executing 'drmv2clt.dll,Sysprep', returned error code -2147024864[gle=0x00000020]
Error      [0x0f0070] SYSPRP RunExternalDlls:An error occurred while running registry sysprep DLLs, halting sysprep execution. dwRet = -2147024864[gle=0x00000020]
Info       [0x0f004c] SYSPRP WaitThread:Exiting spawned waiting thread

This error occurs because of issues with Windows Media Digital Rights Management (WMDRM). You must disable Windows Media Player media sharing before running the Sysprep tool. The Windows Media Player media-sharing feature requires individual user consent and must be enabled only by an end user. This same error might also occur if Windows Media Center is launched and configured, Intel Viiv is installed, or when certain third-party tuner-card drivers are installed. You must stop these services before running the Sysprep tool.

Because of the changes in the servicing stack in Windows Vista with SP1, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows SIM cannot create catalog files for some Windows images of different architecture types. The following list describes the Windows SIM architecture types and catalogs that can be created for each one.

• x86 Image Manager
  Can create catalogs for x86-based, x64-based, and Itanium-based Windows images.
  
  
• x64 Image Manager
  Can create catalogs only for x64-based Windows images.
  
  
• Itanium-based Image Manager
  Can create catalogs only for Itanium-based Windows images.
  
  

Attempts to save an answer file with an ampersand character (&) in the Windows image file path generates an XML validation error.

Workaround: Store all Windows image (.wim) files and Windows image catalog (.clg) files in directories without an ampersand (&) in the path name.

[Added May 22, 2009]

You cannot use DISM to service a Windows PE 2.1 image. To service a Windows PE 2.1 image, you must install the Windows OPK or Windows AIK for Windows Vista with SP1 on a separate computer, and then use these tools to service the Windows PE 2.1 image.

[Added May 22, 2009]

Before servicing a Windows 7 image, or running Windows 7 Setup from Windows PE 2.1, you must have the MSXML optional component installed. See the corresponding Windows OPK or Windows AIK documentation for instructions on installing the MSXML optional component.

[Added May 22, 2009]

Before servicing a Windows 7 image, or running Windows 7 Setup from Windows Server 2003, you must first install the correct MSXML 6 binary files (Msxml6.dll and Msxml6r.dll) on your system. These binary files must be installed from the Windows 7 OPK or Windows 7 AIK media.

[Added May 22, 2009]

Before servicing a Windows 7 image, or running Windows 7 Setup from Windows PE 1.6 (2005), you must first install the correct MSXML 6 binary files (Msxml6.dll and Msxml6R.dll) on your full Windows Server 2003 operating system of the same architecture. MSXML is available with this release of the Windows AIK. After you install the correct MSXML 6 binaries, you can then install them to Windows PE 1.6 by copying them from your Windows Server 2003 installation. You do this by copying all Msxml6*.dll binary files from %Windir%\System32 into the Windows PE 2005 %Windir%\System32 directory of the same architecture.

Before using the DISM command with the /Add-Package, /Enable-Feature, or /Disable-Feature options from a 64-bit Windows Vista with SP1 host, Windows Server 2008 RTM, or Windows Server 2003 R2 host, you must install a hotfix.

To service a Windows 7 image from the host environment, you must install hotfix KB960037 on the host computer. The hotfix is available on the Windows OPK and Windows AIK media, in the hotfix <%Mediaroot%>\HotFix directory in one of the following locations:

• For a 64-bit Windows Vista with SP1 or Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM host operating system, install the hotfix from: \HotFix\KB960037\WS08
  
  
• For a 64-bit Windows server 2003 R2 host operating system, install the hotfix from: \HotFix\KB960037\W2K3
  
  

Double-click the appropriate .exe file to install the hotfix.

Servicing a Windows Vista® with Service Pack 1 (SP1) or more recent Windows image on a computer running Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2 will fail when logging is enabled.To disable logging, do not use the /l option in the Package Manager command-line syntax.

Previous versions of Windows Boot Manager (Bootmgr and Bootmgfw.efi) are not compatible with later versions of Windows. However, all versions of the Windows Boot Manager are backward-compatible. To avoid complications during the boot process, such as with dual-boot systems, use the version of Windows Boot Manager that matches the latest version of Windows you are installing. For more information on BCDboot.exe command-line options, and for information on how to deploy the Windows 7 Boot Manager, see the Windows AIK User's Guide.

If you mount an image during a Windows PE session and the computer reboots, the mounted directory becomes corrupt. The ImageX/Cleanup command is not supported. Use the ImageX/Unmount command to unmount the corrupted directory, and then remount the image.

When booting from a flat Windows PE image on optical media, no disk partitions are reported. This is because the NTFS service is not launched.

Workaround: Run net start ntfs to see the partitions.

If a page file exists, the /CreatePageFile option must be set equal to or greater than the current size of the page file or the command will fail.

[Added May 2010]

Windows PE does not support a standalone installation from a USB flash drive. To boot Windows PE from a USB flash drive, create a bootable Windows PE RAM disk. For more information, see the topic "Walkthrough: Create a Bootable Windows PE RAM Disk on a USB Flash Disk" in the Windows AIK documentation.

[Added May 2010]

In the topic "Building a Windows PE Image", the package WinPE-SRT is listed as an optional package. This package is not available in the Windows Automated Installation Kit.

[Added July 13, 2009]

To view the command line help for Winrecfg.exe, you must use both the /? argument and /target offline_image argument where offline_image is the path to the Windows image. For example: winrecfg.exe /? /target c:\Windows.

[Added July 13, 2009]

You might experience problems automatically shutting down the computer by using FirstLogonCommands. Windows continues to process features and settings while a user is logged on to the computer and the processing time varies depending on the hardware configuration. If the computer shuts down while Windows features are still being processed, you might experience unexpected behavior. In some cases, user profile folders or libraries might not be properly created. Windows Backup and other applications might rely on these user profile settings being configured.

Workaround: Test the Windows features you intend to use. If you experience problems with the user account, use the /t option to add a delay to the shutdown command. For example, to add 60 seconds before the shutdown command executes, use the following command: shutdown -r -t 60.

The user accounts-creation page in Windows Welcome is suppressed if a user or a group is added to a local security group. Add a user or a group to a local security group by doing one of the following:

• Create a local user.
  
  
• Add a domain user to a local security group with the Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup | UserAccounts unattended installation setting.
  
  

To suppress the user accounts-creation page in Windows Welcome, without creating a local user, use one of the following workarounds:

Workaround 1

If the computer is already joined to a domain, use the following XML example to add the Domain Users security group to the Local Users security group.

<DomainAccounts>
 <DomainAccountList wcm:action="add">
  <DomainAccount wcm:action="add">
  <Group>Users</Group> 
  <Name>Domain Users</Name> 
  </DomainAccount>
  <Domain>FabrikamDomain</Domain> 
  </DomainAccountList>
</DomainAccounts>

Because joining a domain automatically adds the Domain Users security group to the Local Users security group, the DomainAccounts command does not affect the membership of the Local Users group. However, using this XML example to join a domain will also suppress the user accounts-creation page in Windows Welcome.

Workaround 2

Use the Sysprep/Quit command to set the following registry value to 1:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\OOBE\UnattendCreatedUser

If there is an error in your answer file, such as a typo, you might receive the following error message:

"Windows could not parse or process unattend answer C:\Windows\Panther\Unattend.xml for <configuration pass>. The settings specified in the answer file cannot be applied. The error was detected when processing settings for <component name>."

This error message does not appear until you have installed Windows to a destination computer and booted the computer.

To correct this, you must overwrite the answer file in the reference image with a corrected answer file. Then, you can deploy the reference image again.

To update the answer file in your reference image

1. Review the Windows Setup log files to identify the exact location of the error in the answer file and in the configuration pass in which the error exists. Review the following files:
   
   
   • %Windir%\Panther\Setupact.log
     
     
   • %Windir%\Panther\UnattendGC\Setupact.log
     
     
2. After you have identified the errors in the answer file, use Windows SIM to create a corrected answer file.
   
   To update the answer file in the reference image, from the technician computer, run the following ImageX command to mount your master image with read/write access:
   
   ImageX /MountRW <referenceImage> <imageIndex> <mountPoint>.
   
   Where <referenceImage> is the .wim file, <imageIndex> is the index number of the Windows image inside the .wim file, and <mountPoint> is a local directory that you can mount the image to. In the following step (step 3), the mount point is referenced as T:\Mount.
   
   
3. Navigate to the log files in the mounted Windows image (T:\Mount\Windows\Panther), and then run the following command:
   
   mkdir T:\mount\windows\panther\unattend
   
   If this directory already exists, you can skip this step.
   
   
4. Copy the corrected answer file to the following location with the filename Unattend.xml: T:\Mount\Windows\Panther\Unattend\Unattend.xml.
   
   If T:\Mount\Windows\Panther\Unattend\Unattend.xml already exists, overwrite it with the new file. Also, the new answer file must be named Unattend.xml.
   
   
5. Type the following at the command prompt: ImageX /Unmount /Commit <mountPoint>
   
   The master image is now fixed. On your destination computer, format the hard disk, and then install the image again. Test that the reference image is correct. If there are still problems, repeat the steps until all errors in the answer file are corrected.
   
   

[Added October 22, 2009]

On computers with disk capacity greater than 16 gigabytes, corporations may want to increase the size allotted to the Hiberfil.sys file. For more information, see this Microsoft Web site.

[Added May, 2010]

Not all Language Interface Packs (LIPs) are currently available for Windows 7. For information about the latest available LIPs, see the Local Language Program. OEMs and System Builders with Microsoft Software License Terms can get the LIPs from the Microsoft OEM site and OEM Partner Center.

[Added May, 2010]

For a full list of available command-line options for the OSCDIMG tool, use the oscdimg -help <category> command, where <category> is one of the following categories:

[Added July 13, 2009]

After you customize your escalation page in Help and Support, to make sure that this link goes to the customized page, you can modify the Troubleshooting link to point to: mshelp://help/?id=escalation. You may use the link to point to an external Web site instead. For more information, see the topic Microsoft-Windows-DiagCpl in the Windows® Unattended Setup Reference.