AUTOUNATTEND.XML GENERATOR

A system ready
from the first minute.

Tick the settings you need and AutoWin builds the answer file that Windows reads during installation. Telemetry, interface, services and the account are configured before you ever see the desktop.

CONFIGURATION

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Account and installation

Skip the first-run setup screensWindows will not ask about the licence, the region or the privacy settings.

Create a local accountGets around the requirement to sign in with a Microsoft account.

User name This is the name you will sign in with. Up to 20 characters, no spaces. Leave it empty and it will be Admin.

Password The password will be asked for on the lock screen and after a restart. The system performs the first sign-in after installation by itself. Leave the field empty and there will be no password at all.

Windows cannot accept an encrypted password: the answer file stores it in plain text. The file stays both on the drive and in the installed system — if the password matters, wipe the drive and delete C:\Windows\Panther\unattend.xml.

Do not require a PINThe setting is applied before the PIN screen is shown, so it never appears.

Hardware requirements

Bypass the TPM and Secure Boot checkLets you install Windows 11 on computers without TPM 2.0. Microsoft does not support such a configuration.

Install without an internet connectionSkips the mandatory network connection during setup.

Language and computer name

Computer name This is how the computer appears on the local network. It is not the user name. Up to 15 characters: Latin letters, digits and a hyphen.

Russian system language and layoutInterface language, date formats, RU and EN layouts. Only for the Russian Windows image.

Privacy

Minimal telemetryCuts the amount of diagnostic data down to the necessary minimum.

Turn off the advertising IDApps will not be able to tie your activity to an advertising profile.

Turn off tailored experiencesThe data collected will not be used to pick ads and tips for you.

Turn off error reportingThe system will not send dumps after a program crashes.

Ads and recommendations

Remove recommendations from the Start menuStart will stop suggesting apps from the store.

Turn off Spotlight on the lock screenRemoves the pictures that carry advertising tips.

Remove the “Let us finish setting up” screenIt will not appear after system updates.

Block the automatic install of sponsored appsWindows will not pull in partner games by itself. This does not remove apps already built into the image.

File Explorer

Show file extensionsYou can see that it is an .exe and not a .txt. Lowers the chance of running malware.

Classic context menuBrings back the full right-click menu in Windows 11.

Open “This PC”Explorer will start on the list of drives.

Show hidden filesFolders such as AppData and ProgramData become visible.

Do not show recent filesQuick access will not list your latest documents.

Taskbar and appearance

Icons on the leftThe Start button returns to the left corner, as in Windows 10.

Hide the search boxSearch stays available on Win+S.

Hide the widgetsRemoves the panel with weather and news.

Dark themeSwitched on at once for the system and for apps.

Turn off sticky keysPressing Shift five times will not bring up the dialog.

Performance

Turn off core isolation (VBS)Gives back a few per cent in games but weakens protection against driver attacks.

Turn off hibernationFrees space equal to the amount of RAM. Fast startup is switched off too.

Turn off the SysMain serviceMakes sense on an SSD. On a hard drive it can slow down program startup.

Turn off mouse accelerationThe cursor stops depending on how fast you move. Matters for shooters.

Turn off Game ModeOn some setups it causes micro-stutter instead of a gain.

Components and services

Enable .NET Framework 3.5Many older programs need it. It is downloaded from the internet, so the first start of the system takes a couple of minutes longer.

Turn off the SMBv1 protocolAn outdated and vulnerable protocol. WannaCry spread through it. Turning it off takes about a minute on first start.

Stop Edge running in the backgroundThe browser will not sit in memory after you close it. Edge cannot be removed entirely through the answer file.

Remove web search from the Start menuSearch will look only through your files, with no queries to Bing.

Remove OneDriveEnds the process, removes OneDrive and blocks it from installing again. Files already synchronised stay on the disk.

Turn off the print spoolerPrinters will stop working altogether.

Network

Allow remote desktopOpens access to the computer over the network. Switch it on only with a strong password.

Enable network discoveryThe computer becomes visible to other devices on the home network.

Security — for the experienced

These settings strip out protection built into Windows. Switch them on only if you understand the consequences and know what you will protect yourself with instead.

Turn off User Account ControlBreaks the Start menu, Settings and Store apps in Windows 10 and 11 — they stop launching. Switch it off only if you understand that.

Turn off SmartScreenWindows will stop warning you about suspicious downloads.

Try to turn off DefenderOn current builds this usually fails: tamper protection blocks this method.

Turn off automatic updatesThe system will stop receiving security fixes.

Do not install drivers through Windows UpdateOtherwise there may be no network after the installation.

Ready to build

The file is built right in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server — your settings never leave the computer.

WINDOWS IMAGES (x64)

Windows 10

Original Microsoft image

Download

SHA-256
2a7c440c984eb018f513901e8ed96405213d237938c410c5089c0fac7ba01898

Windows 11

Original Microsoft image

Download

SHA-256
e1efe78f43a1e059912fc600bbcecac349a33f8bb7b1562b0a2966c31e9674bc

The images are published unchanged. To make sure, compute the checksum with certutil -hashfile file.iso SHA256 and compare it with the one given. If it does not match, the file was damaged during the download; get it again.

How to use it

Step 01

Take the original image

Only a clean ISO from Microsoft will do. Third-party builds carry answer files of their own that will conflict with ours. After downloading, check the checksum.

Step 02

Write the flash drive

Use Rufus to write the image to a drive of 8 GB or more. Partition scheme GPT, file system NTFS.

When Rufus offers to apply its own settings, clear every box. Otherwise it puts its own answer file on the drive and ours stops being read.

The Rufus site

Step 03

Put the file in the root of the drive

The downloaded autounattend.xml has to sit at the top level of the drive, next to setup.exe. Not in the sources folder and not in boot — the installer looks for it only in the root.

Step 04

Test on a virtual machine first

Before putting the system on a working computer, run the installation through VirtualBox or VMware. That way you see the result of your settings while risking nothing.

Step 05

Installation

Boot from the drive through the Boot Menu — usually F8, F11 or F12 at power-on. The installer will still ask about the disk layout: we deliberately do not automate that step, to rule out deleting data by accident. The rest goes by itself.