We have already covered many guides that help you simplify Windows 7 installation. We all like to finish the Windows installation quickly and easily. The best way to install Windows 7 quickly is to install Windows 7 from USB pen drive.
Users who are not familiar with Windows command prompt can refer our how to create bootable Windows 7 USB flash drive with a single click guide.
Having an unattended Windows 7 installation DVD saves your precious time and energy. You will not be asked to enter product key, keyboard type, time and currency format, and also you will not be asked to click the next button.
So with unattended Windows 7 DVD or USB you can easily install Windows in a few minutes without touching your mouse and keyboard!
Requirements:
1. Windows 7 ISO file with key
2. Blank DVD
3. vLite software (It’s free)
4. 15 minutes free time
5. Image extractor such as 7-Zip (free), WinRar, or WinZIP.
Create unattended Windows 7 USB or DVD
Procedure to create an unattended Windows 7 bootable USB or DVD:
Step 1. Go to the folder where your Windows 7 ISO file is located and extract the ISO to a new folder. If you already have a Windows 7 DVD, just copy the contents to a new folder.
Step 2. Download, install and run vLite to see the mail window. Note that vLite will ask you to install WAIK (Windows Automated Installation Kit), you need to install it. And if you are not in a situation to download the 1300 MB WAIK file, you can follow our how to use vLite directly without installing WAIK.
Step 3. In the first vLite window, click on the browse button to select your Windows 7 extracted folder. Click Next button to continue.
Next, you need to select your edition.
Step 4. In the following screen, Task Selection, you need to select unattended setup and Bootable ISO options. Click Next, again.
Step 5. Here you need to enter your Windows 7 product key, and other things. Note that you have many options here. We suggest you to enable following options:
# Select this version on install
# Accept EULA (End User License Agreement)
You can also preselect your UI language, time and currency format, keyboard or input method in the Regional tab.
Step 6. Once you enable all required options and enter the product key, click Apply button.
Step 7. Choose the apply method as Rebuild one. Click ok button to proceed to the next step.
Step 8. Rebuilding image process will start, and the process may take 10 to 15 minutes.
Step 9. You are almost close to the conclusion. Clicking on the Next button will allow you to create or burn image, label your copy and split image. Select burn image to burn your unattended Windows 7 to DVD.
TanookiMario says
Hi,
I want to install win7 (trial) on a laptop that has a cracked screen (I can’t get to bios, but fortunately it boots from disc first), I don’t want to put in the CD key just for a Windows 7 config I’m going to use for 2 minutes. Does checkmarking “Skip product key” prevent the automatic installation? I wanna make sure before I burn the image.
Thanks in advance!
vahid says
thank you for help
Jim says
@Z and Rickster
What Rickster obviously lacks in experience is the integrated management of Windows.
Linux lacks ANY standardized management facilities. No (native) Group Policy, no (native) SMS/SCCM for app distribution to Groups, no (native) Domain/Tree/Forest management, etc.
Yes, you can develop these tools, or add 3rd party products, or even integrate into a Windows Environment…but even then it doesn’t come close to the standardization of Windows, which, as Z pointed out, is a cost-saving approach.
Any Linux solution would be custom to the environment, because it would depend on the choices made (how to do Enterprise-Level management, which tool to use, etc). For Windows, this is native, so any 3rd party tools use the native system, so native concepts apply (see Tivoli vs SCCM).
Custom solutions cost more to run, period. And you can’t automatically get someone new off the street who can walk in and immediately start working at high-functional levels-they have to understand the customization and tool matrix.
Windows is so standardized that the tools matter far less.
pravin says
the content was helpful
G says
To Vendorsup and Chris
When making the unattended file there are 2 locations you can put the product key in. Most likely the problem is that this program is putting it in the wrong location for your product key. If your product key is a volume license key it must be placed in the component Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup under the child of ProductKey(http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff715801(WS.10).aspx) If your product key is single user it is placed in the component Microsoft-windows-setup under the child UserData subchild ProductKey (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff716077(WS.10).aspx) To fix this you can either edit the xml file it is making or just make your own using Windows SIM included in the Windows AIK and just replace it. I have never used Vlite so there may be an option you can just change when you run it to switch between the two.
Christopher says
Windows 7 x64 oem swedish i try to slipstream SP1 to the dvd i have try 7 lite and that dont work for the swedis
i use a oem dvd and i want to Slipstream Windows 7 SP1 Into Installation DVD
Pontus Wagner says
Hello,
I´m doing an unattended network intallation of windows 7 from Server2008R2 to a client machine. To my unattended.xml i´d like to add some .msi files to be installed along with windows 7 i´ve added the cmd commands in the “run asynchrounus command” and added the network path but they are not installed on the client machine.
Question: Is it the right way to attach .msi files to put the networkpath in “run asynchrounus command” in the answer file?
Psqad says
nowadays there is also an WAIK for win7 -> The Windows® Automated Installation Kit (AIK) for Windows® 7
https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/confirmation.aspx?FamilyID=696DD665-9F76-4177-A811-39C26D3B3B34
more info:
http://technet.microsoft.com/nl-nl/library/dd349350%28en-us,WS.10%29.aspx
Paul says
I have windows 7 OEM pre-installed and don’t have an iso file to try this tutorial, is there any way I can use the files that are pre-installed on the hdd to create a windows 7 professional oem installation disk?
vendorsup says
I have the same issue as Chris where it says that my product key is not valid. I have checked and verified that I’m using the correct product key. Any other idea?
That Tech Dude says
Nlite and Vlite are both great.
Z says
Thanks for making is sound so easy.
Would you be insane enough to put yourself in the center of a transition to Linux when your users have AutoCAD, Bentley AutoPlant, Autodesk Inventor, Automation simulators, accounting databases that have no chance on running on anything other than Windows, and document management system with 1 million+ docs that also does not run on Linux? You would lose a lot more on productivity losses than you would ever save on pushing out Linux and your management would be very much in their right minds to send you packing right away.
So, don’t forget about all the APPS that need to run flawlessly, if at all, on Linux.
Rickster says
Windows WAIK, MDT, PE’s, ….
Linux has a very simple tool called “remastersys”
One click, and I has a full system “distributable/bootable/unattended/live” backup including personal data to a dvd that I can now use anywhere.
Linux, as an OS, has now far surpassed Windows in any user-freindly bracket that Bill could think of ?!.
I mean comon, WAIK, PE’s, …, all this and more, and it still doesn’t work as we can all see via the above posts.
The only tool that I could possibly praise is nLite/VLite. Atleast these guys are “trying” to make an unattended Windows install a little less grinding ?
It’s completely unbelievable how many ppl/companies would still spend $’s of wasted money, just to avoid Linux<-and be at peace with yourselves and the world.
Andrew King says
Hi,
My main goal is to be able to have a Windows 7 image on the Network that will install a custom company image to around 30-40 desktops and have them join the network, install applications etc without any or very little interaction from me….
I have a Windows Deployment Server (OS 2008), the computers all come with OEM Windows 7 Professional 64 bit OS.
I could relly do with some help as to where to start and what to do?
Many thanks
Andy
SAadet says
you haveto copy and paste two files from C:\Program Files\Windows AIK to C:\Program Files\vLite.
These two files are wimfltr.sys and wingapi.dll (to find these files search C:\Program Files\Windows AIK directory.
you need to choose x86 one if you using 32 bit operating system.
admin says
Should work fine with all editions of Windows 7.
Andrew says
Hello guys,
Does anyone know if it works with all editions of win7, or only professional etc?
Thanks in advance
admin says
You should be able to select that. Are you getting any error while doing so?
Jason says
I keep selecting the unpackaged win7 directory and it says it can not find the expected files. I have tried every directory. Any ideas?
Chris says
For whatever reason, this isn’t working for me. I use vLite to create the Win7 installer (using a Win7 Enterprice CD). Installation starts, but then I get an error that the CD-Key provided is invalid, and the install aborts. I’ve triple checked that the key is correct – it just doesn’t work. Not sure what to try.