You can use unattended answer file settings to automatically configure the settings for the user interface (UI) pages in Windows® Welcome. When each setting from a Windows Welcome page is configured, then that page is skipped.

Start Page

If all of the other Windows Welcome page settings are configured in an answer file, then this page will be skipped.

Language and Country or Region Selection Page

The Language and Region selection page enables an end user to select a country or region, a locale, and a keyboard layout based on the languages installed on the computer.

This page always appears if there are Language Interface Packs (LIPs) installed.

Licensing requirements state that all Windows® 7 editions can include only a single language, except for Windows 7 Ultimate and Windows 7 Enterprise. For these editions, Windows automatically removes all non-default languages from the computer 25-60 minutes after the end user restarts the operating system. The language packs will be removed during idle time.

For Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 7 Enterprise, and all editions of Windows Server® 2008 R2, you can install multiple language packs.

For more information, see the Windows® OEM Preinstallation Kit (Windows OPK) User's Guide or the Windows® Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) User's Guide.

Setting	Configuration pass	Description	Applies to
Microsoft-Windows-International-Core \| InputLocale	oobeSystem	Specifies the default input locale of the Windows installation.	Windows® 7 Windows Server® 2008 R2 Windows Vista Windows Server 2008
Microsoft-Windows-International-Core \| SystemLocale	oobeSystem	Specifies the default system locale of the Windows installation.	Windows 7 Windows Server 2008 R2 Windows Vista Windows Server 2008
Microsoft-Windows-International-Core \| UILanguage	oobeSystem	Specifies the default UI language of the Windows installation.	Windows 7 Windows Server 2008 R2 Windows Vista Windows Server 2008
Microsoft-Windows-International-Core \| UserLocale	oobeSystem	Specifies the default user locale of the Windows installation.	Windows 7 Windows Server 2008 R2 Windows Vista Windows Server 2008

Microsoft Software License Terms Selection Page

The Microsoft Software License Terms selection page enables an end user to read and to accept the Microsoft® Software License Terms.

Setting	Configuration pass	Description	Applies to
Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup \| OOBE \| HideEULAPage	oobeSystem	Specifies to hide the Microsoft Software License Terms page	Windows 7 Windows Server 2008 R2 Windows Vista Windows Server 2008

Product Key Selection Page

The Product Key selection page enables an end user to type a product key to activate Windows. You can specify the product key in more than one component. For more information about when to specify which component, see Work with Product Keys and Activation in the Windows® OEM Preinstallation Kit (Windows OPK) User's Guide or the Windows® Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) User's Guide.

Setting	Configuration pass	Description	Applies to
Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup \| ProductKey	specialize	Specifies the product key to use for activation.	Windows 7 Windows Server 2008 R2 Windows Vista Windows Server 2008

-or-

Setting	Configuration pass	Description	Applies to
Microsoft-Windows-Setup \| User Data \| ProductKey	windowsPE	Specifies the product key to use for edition selection.	Windows 7 Windows Server 2008 R2 Windows Vista Windows Server 2008

	Note:
	To prevent the Product Key UI page from displaying when the image boots, use an answer file with Sysprep. In the answer file, specify the Product Key value during the specialize configuration pass. For more information, see "How Sysprep Works" in the Windows® OEM Preinstallation Kit (Windows OPK) User's Guide or the Windows® Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) User's Guide.

User Name Selection Page

The User Name selection page enables an end user to add a user account and a password, and to select a tile for that account. You can automatically create a user account in an answer file. Setting a user tile is not required, but can be configured through OOBE.xml. For information, see Oobe.xml Settings.

Setting	Configuration pass	Description	Applies to
Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup \| UserAccounts	oobeSystem	Specifies the user accounts to create on the Windows installation.	Windows 7 Windows Vista

Computer Name and Desktop Background Selection Page

The Computer Name and Desktop Background page enables an end user to specify a computer name and a default background to apply to the Windows installation.

Setting

Configuration pass

Description

Applies to

Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup | ComputerName

specialize

Specifies the computer's name to apply to the Windows installation.

Computer names can be customized by OEMs and by corporate customers. They can append a string that is up to five bytes long to the customer-chosen computer name.

If they do not customize this string, "-PC" is appended to the customer-chosen computer name. In some languages, “-PC” is localized and the resulting string might be more than five bytes. When this occurs, the computer-name string is truncated and this truncation may result in a nonsense string appended to the computer name.

To avoid this situation, OEMs and corporate customers should provide an appending string in an Oobe.xml file.

Windows 7
Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows Vista
Windows Server 2008

(Optional)

Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup | Themes | CustomDefaultThemeFile

auditSystem

auditUser

oobeSystem

specialize

Specifies the path to a customized theme file. These files may include a .bmp file for customized wallpaper.

	Note:
	This setting is not required to automate Windows Welcome.

Windows 7
Windows Vista

Windows Protection Selection Page

The Windows Protection selection page enables an end user to specify the level of protection to configure on the computer.

Setting	Configuration pass	Description	Applies to
Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup \| OOBE \| ProtectYourPC	oobeSystem	Specifies the protection level of the Windows installation.	Windows 7 Windows Vista

Time and Date Selection Page

The Time and Date selection page enables an end user to specify the computer's time zone.

Setting	Configuration pass	Description	Applies to
Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup \| TimeZone	oobeSystem	Specifies the computer's time zone.	Windows 7 Windows Vista

Computer's Current Location Selection Page

The Computer's Current Location selection page enables an end user to specify the type of network that the computer uses: home, work, or public.

Setting	Configuration pass	Description	Applies to
Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup \| OOBE \| NetworkLocation	oobeSystem	Specifies the computer's location.	Windows 7 Windows Vista

Home Group Selection Page

The Home Group selection page enables an end user to specify a network group for Home.

	Note:
	This page does not appear when the computer is joined to a domain. This page appears only when the computer’s current location is set to Home. The settings on this page are not configurable through unattended answer file settings.

Wireless Network Selection Page

The Wireless Network selection page enables an end user to connect to a wireless network.

Setting	Configuration pass	Description	Applies to
Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup \| OOBE \| HideWirelessSetupInOOBE	oobeSystem	Hides the Wireless Network selection page.	Windows 7 Windows Vista

	Note:
	This page does not appear when the computer is joined to a domain.

Change Administrator Password Page

The Change Administrator Password selection page requires you to change the Administrator password when you first start the computer.

Setting	Configuration pass	Description	Applies to
Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup \| UserAccounts \| AdministratorPassword \| Value	oobeSystem	Configures the Administrator account password.	Windows Server 2008 R2 Windows Server 2008

	Note:
	The Password Hint on the Change Administrator Password page is not configurable through unattended answer file settings. If you add an Administrator Password, the Change Administrator Password page is bypassed. Otherwise, Windows Setup requires both a password and a password hint before first logon.

Automate Windows Welcome