0

The first time a new Windows 8 install is run, a setup process is initiated in which the user is prompted to create a system name and initial user account, among other things. Obviously this process is not repeated once it is completed.

What file or registry entry contains the information about whether this initial setup has been completed? Or, to make this a how-to question, what alterations would I have to make to 'trick' a Windows 8 PC into repeating initial setup the next time it is rebooted?

Ian Maxwell
  • 121
  • 3
  • Is the problem that "there are too many possible answers" or that "good answers would be too long"? For comparison, on Mac OS X the single correct answer would have been, "After setup an empty file is created called '/var/db/.AppleSetupDone'. Removing this file will cause the setup to repeat." I expected that the answer would be about equally unambiguous on another platform. – Ian Maxwell Nov 19 '14 at 10:07

1 Answers1

2

The list of things you would have to change would be long, and I'm not sure it's fully documented anywhere outside of MS.

"what alterations would I have to make to 'trick' a Windows 8 PC into repeating initial setup the next time it is rebooted?"

You'd use Sysprep and "generalize" the system with the Out-Of-Box-Experience (OOBE) switch.

OOBE enables end users to customize their Windows operating system, create user accounts, name the computer, and perform other tasks. Sysprep processes any settings in the oobeSystem configuration pass in an answer file before OOBE starts.

Community
  • 1
Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007
  • 111,883
  • 19
  • 201
  • 268