Windows has two main startup modes: greetings And audit. As a rule, by default, immediately after installation, Windows starts in Welcome mode, but the user can configure the computer so that the system starts in Audit mode. Managers of computer hardware stores sometimes resort to the latter, installing and configuring a turnkey system taking into account the wishes of the buyer.
In Welcome mode, on the contrary, the user configures the account, changes time zone settings, etc. If you purchased a computer with Windows pre-installed, it is possible that the system was installed in audit mode. You may not even be aware of this until you want to, for example, upgrade to Windows 10 or a higher version altogether. After all, as soon as you try this, you will receive the following message:
Windows cannot be installed while running in audit mode
To continue the installation, you need to exit the audit and you can do this in two ways: using the command line And by editing the registry. Open your console CMD as administrator and run the following command:
sysprep /oobe /generalize
Important! Executing this command will reset the current key Windows activation. Do not use it unless you have the ability to reactivate the system. After running the command and reactivating, you can continue with the update.
Option to edit the registry seems more convenient. Team regedit open the registry editor and expand the following branch on the right side of the window.
When you start Windows for the first time on a new machine, the system may boot into Welcome mode or Audit mode. Welcome mode (otherwise known as out of box experience) is the user's first interaction with the operating system. In Welcome mode, the user is prompted to finish Windows installation by reading and accepting license agreement, creation account etc. By default, immediately after installation, Windows starts in Welcome mode.
In turn, audit mode is used to add settings to Windows images. When using audit mode, the system should not apply the greeting mode settings. Computer manufacturers (OEMs) use audit mode to perform manual settings before shipping the computer to the end user.
In some cases, Windows continues to run in audit mode, and the user may not be aware of this until, for example, he decides to upgrade to Windows 10, because when he tries to install an update, the installer will display this message:
Can't install Windows 10
Windows cannot be installed while running in audit mode.
Obviously, in order to continue installing 10, you must first exit audit mode. To do this, you can use any of the methods below.
1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
2. Type the following command and press Enter:
ATTENTION: Running the sysprep command resets the Windows licensing state. That is, if your copy of Windows activated and you run this command, you will then need to activate the operating system again.
sysprep /oobe /generalize
In theory, the system will no longer have to operate in audit mode. Activate your operating system and try upgrading to Windows 10.
1. Press +R, type regedit and press OK or Enter.
2. In the registry window follow here:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\State
3. In the State section, find the string parameter ImageState and delete it. After that, close the registry and restart your computer.
Now audit mode will not interfere with the update process.
Have a great day!
During the first Windows startup On a new PC, the system mostly boots in Welcome or Audit mode. The first or “out of box experience” is the mode of interaction between the user and the operating system. Here the user can complete the installation of the OS by accepting the license agreement, creating a personal account, etc. Upon completion of such Windows actions starts in welcome mode.
The second mode, or audit mode, is used to add or change settings in the system image. When using it, the system should not apply the greeting mode settings. However, PC manufacturers use it to make adjustments to settings before shipping the computer to the user.
In some cases, Windows continues to work in audit mode and the user may not realize this until he decides to upgrade to Windows 10. In this case, the following message will appear on the monitor screen: “Windows cannot be installed while running in audit mode.”
Method one - using the command line
Click “Start”, click “Run” and enter “cmd” (for Windows 7). Or in search bar set the request " Command line"(for Windows 8/8.1). Start the service as administrator and enter the command “sysprep /oobe /generalize”.
IMPORTANT! Running "sysprep /oobe /generalize" resets Windows licenses. Therefore, after solving the problem, the system will need to be reactivated.
After completing the process, you need to restart the PC, activate the system and start updating to Windows 10. The audit mode will be deactivated.
Method two - using the registry editor
Press “Win+R” and enter the command “rededit”.
We go along the branch: “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE”, “SOFTWARE”, “Microsoft”, “Windows”, “CurrentVersion”, “Setup”, “State”. Find the “ImageState” parameter and delete it.
Restart your PC and update to Windows 10.
To replicate a standard configuration on several computers, it is rational to use an image of a once installed operating system.
Detailed instructions are available on the Microsoft website: Creating and using Windows images
Since with a large set of additional software, the partition image file can easily exceed 4GB, then write such a distribution to DVD disc it won't work. However, this is not required to install the OS. It will be enough for us to obtain an image of the partition on which the OS is installed. Then it can be included in the distribution on a bootable Flash disk or simply transferred to new computer, booting from any live-CD/DVD/USB. In this article we will look at both options.
Having prepared the partition once, we will be able to deploy a working OS with all installed software, connected peripheral devices and necessary shortcuts on new computers in less than half an hour.
According to Microsoft: "When creating an image, be aware that the partition layout on the source and destination computers must be identical. For example, if Windows image is saved on drive D, this image must also be deployed to drive D of the destination computer, and the following partition parameters () must also match:
However, if we add a prepared partition to the distribution, then these restrictions do not matter.
If the OS images are located on network resource, then we connect it first with the command:
Net use E: \\server\share /user: domain_name\username password
If you created a separate system partition, then you need to transfer bootloaders to it system files(assuming the OS is located on the C: drive):
Bcdboot C:\Windows
Exit Windows PE:
or close the Windows 7 installer window. The computer will reboot. We take out the CD/DVD disk and boot from the newly installed OS.
You can create several images of partitions with different sets of software, using the same template OS, then place them in one place, for example on a flash drive, and install each time exactly the image that will be suitable in each special case. The process of adding software can be carried out sequentially, making a new partition image after installing each required set. The algorithm is as follows (see details above):
Having an image Windows partition(wim file), you can create your own distribution, that is, an installation DVD/Flash disk. To do this, it is enough to replace the \sources\install.wim file in the original distribution with your own image, renaming it accordingly to install.wim.
To automate the installation, you can prepare an autounattend.xml answer file by creating it using WIAK
