On builds 26100.3321 and 26100.3323, Installation Fails at 10% When Copying Files to HDD

hsehestedt · 2025-02-26T09:48:19-0500

@garlin, I'm looking for some info you posted previously but cannot find it. Here are the details:

NOTE: Anyone else who has answers is welcome to respond!

Whenever a new build of 24H2 is released, I create an updated ISO image buy taking a previous build ISO image directly from Microsoft and injecting the new update(s) into it. This always works fine except with 26100.3321 and 26100.3323 when using the new Setup. The creation of my new media seems to work just fine, but when I try to perform a clean install, Windows setup gets past the first few screens and gets to the point where it starts to copy files to the HDD. It gets to 10% and then bombs with the message "Windows 11 installation has failed".

I have checked to see if any log file is present in $Windows.~BT\Sources\Panther but the Panther folder does not even exist yet.

On the RAMDrive (X:), in \Windows I have a log file called setupact.log that contains the following but I'm not sure if this is relavant:

This happens both when trying to install to a physical machine or a Hyper-V VM.

If I tell setup to use the previous version of setup, it works just fine.

So, here are my questions:

1) Any idea what causes this and how I might resolve it, other than having to use previous setup? I can live with using the previous setup, this part is mostly just curiosity over what is causing the issue.

2) If I am performing an unattended installation using an autounattend.xml, how can I get it to use the previous version of setup? I know that you have posted how to do this previously, I just cannot seem to find where you posted this.

I'm most interested in question 2 since I can always use the previous setup when doing a manual install, but I need to figure out how to do this unattended.

hsehestedt · 2025-02-26T11:04:15-0500

Update: I found your post and made the change to my autounattend.xml, but it does not appear to cause the previous version of setup to run and it still fails at 10% copying files for me.

Here was your post on the topic:

W11 24h2 and old installation setup

Let's keep things simple. Create a standard Windows 11 23H2 USB flash drive, then replace install.wim (or install.esd) with that from 24H2 ISO. Now boot with this hybrid Windows 11 23H2/24H2 USB to install Windows 11 24H2.

www.elevenforum.com

Here is my autounattend with that entry as the first Synchronous Command:

XML:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!--
Last updated Feb 26, 2025

Notes about this answer file:

This answer file is for UEFI based systems only.

It includes a Windows 10 / 11 Pro key.

It creates an Admin level user named "HannesS", full name "Hannes Sehestedt" with an initial password of "Password1".

Locale settings are set to United States English.

Time zone is set to US Central Time. Change this if needed.

It includes settings to bypass Windows 11 system requirements.

The size of the Recovery Tools partition created by this answer will be larger than normal at 2 GB. Change this if you are very
short on space or prefer a smaller Recovery Tools partition.

It will install automatically to disk 0 and creates the recovery partition last, as Microsoft recommends. To accomplish this,
we do not use the standard method of specifying the disk configuration information, but we create a diskpart script to
configure the disk.

This answer file can be used with both Windows 10 and 11. The settings to bypass
Windows 11 system requirement checks will have no effect on Windows 10.

END OF NOTES
-->
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
    <settings pass="windowsPE">
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-International-Core-WinPE" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <SetupUILanguage>
                <UILanguage>en-US</UILanguage>
            </SetupUILanguage>
            <InputLocale>en-US</InputLocale>
            <SystemLocale>en-US</SystemLocale>
            <UILanguage>en-US</UILanguage>
            <UILanguageFallback>en-US</UILanguageFallback>
            <UserLocale>en-US</UserLocale>
        </component>
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <ImageInstall>
                <OSImage>
                    <InstallTo>
                        <DiskID>0</DiskID>
                        <PartitionID>3</PartitionID>
                    </InstallTo>
                    <Compact>false</Compact>
                </OSImage>
            </ImageInstall>
            <UserData>
                <ProductKey>
                    <Key>VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T</Key>
                </ProductKey>
                <AcceptEula>true</AcceptEula>
            </UserData>
            <!--
The Synchronous Commands 2-4 below bypass the Windows 11 system requirement checks. The checks that are bypassed are:

TPM Check
Secure Boot Check
RAM Check

The remaining Synchronous Commands will partition the hard disk with the following settings:

NOTE: Synchronous Command #5 selects disk 0. If disk 0 is not the disk you need to use, change this to the correct disk number.

Partion Type   |     Size (in MB)       | Format
================================================
    EFI        |            260         | FAT32
    MSR        |            128         | NONE
  Windows      | Remaining Space - 2 GB | NTFS
  Recovery     |           2,048        | NTFS
================================================
-->
            <RunSynchronous>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Description>Switch to legacy Setup</Description>
                    <Order>1</Order>
                    <Path>reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup" /v CmdLine /t REG_SZ /d "X:\sources\setup.exe" /f</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>2</Order>
                    <Path>reg add HKLM\System\Setup\LabConfig /v BypassTPMCheck /t reg_dword /d 0x00000001 /f</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>3</Order>
                    <Path>reg add HKLM\System\Setup\LabConfig /v BypassSecureBootCheck /t reg_dword /d 0x00000001 /f</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>4</Order>
                    <Path>reg add HKLM\System\Setup\LabConfig /v BypassRAMCheck /t reg_dword /d 0x00000001 /f</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>5</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo select disk 0 &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>6</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo clean &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>7</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo convert gpt &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>8</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo create partition efi size=260 &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>9</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo format fs=fat32 quick label=&quot;System&quot; &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>10</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo create partition msr size=128 &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>11</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo create partition primary &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>12</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo shrink desired=2048 minimum=2048  &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>13</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo format fs=ntfs quick label=&quot;Windows&quot; &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>14</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo assign letter=W &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>15</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo create partition primary &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>16</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo format fs=ntfs quick label=&quot;Recovery&quot; &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>17</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo set id=&quot;de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac&quot; &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>18</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001 &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>19</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c echo exit &gt;&gt; X:\diskpartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>20</Order>
                    <Path>cmd.exe /c diskpart.exe /s X:\DiskPartUEFI.txt</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>
            </RunSynchronous>
        </component>
    </settings>
    <settings pass="oobeSystem">
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-International-Core" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <InputLocale>en-US</InputLocale>
            <SystemLocale>en-US</SystemLocale>
            <UILanguage>en-US</UILanguage>
            <UILanguageFallback>en-US</UILanguageFallback>
            <UserLocale>en-US</UserLocale>
        </component>
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <OOBE>
                <HideEULAPage>true</HideEULAPage>
                <HideOEMRegistrationScreen>true</HideOEMRegistrationScreen>
                <HideOnlineAccountScreens>true</HideOnlineAccountScreens>
                <HideWirelessSetupInOOBE>true</HideWirelessSetupInOOBE>
                <ProtectYourPC>1</ProtectYourPC>
                <UnattendEnableRetailDemo>false</UnattendEnableRetailDemo>
            </OOBE>
            <UserAccounts>
                <LocalAccounts>
                    <LocalAccount wcm:action="add">
                        <Password>
                            <Value>UABhAHMAcwB3AG8AcgBkADEAUABhAHMAcwB3AG8AcgBkAA==</Value>
                            <PlainText>false</PlainText>
                        </Password>
                        <DisplayName>Hannes Sehestedt</DisplayName>
                        <Group>Administrators</Group>
                        <Name>HannesS</Name>
                    </LocalAccount>
                </LocalAccounts>
            </UserAccounts>
            <TimeZone>Central Standard Time</TimeZone>
            <FirstLogonCommands>
                <SynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <CommandLine>reg add &quot;HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon&quot; /v AutoLogonCount /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f</CommandLine>
                    <Order>1</Order>
                </SynchronousCommand>
            </FirstLogonCommands>
            <AutoLogon>
                <Password>
                    <Value>UABhAHMAcwB3AG8AcgBkADEAUABhAHMAcwB3AG8AcgBkAA==</Value>
                    <PlainText>false</PlainText>
                </Password>
                <Username>HannesS</Username>
                <Enabled>true</Enabled>
                <LogonCount>1</LogonCount>
            </AutoLogon>
        </component>
    </settings>
    <settings pass="specialize">
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <OEMInformation>
                <Manufacturer></Manufacturer>
                <SupportHours></SupportHours>
                <SupportPhone></SupportPhone>
                <SupportURL></SupportURL>
            </OEMInformation>
            <OEMName></OEMName>
            <TimeZone>Central Standard Time</TimeZone>
        </component>
    </settings>
    <cpi:offlineImage cpi:source="catalog://prime/my softwaremy data/01 - software/05 - windows images and deployment tools/03 - installation and deployment tools/catalog files for windows sim/windows 11 pro 24h2 catalog file/install_windows 11 pro.clg" xmlns:cpi="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:cpi" />
</unattend>

garlin · 2025-02-26T11:36:58-0500

When Setup is "Copying files...", it's basically doing DISM /Apply-Image to the target disk.

My experience is these types of problems are related to the storage driver. At some point WinPE finds a "better" driver to load, swaps out, and loses either the disk volume or the mounted ISO/USB. Open a CMD, and check if you've lost one of those devices.

hsehestedt · 2025-02-26T12:25:30-0500

Unfortunately, I had checked that already. Both the HDD to which Windows is being installed and the Windows installation media are available at the time of failure.

Remember also that the old setup works. I would be surprised if the old and new setup are actually loading different drivers.

So, all I really need now is a way to run the old setup during an unattended install. The setting that you had suggested, as shown below, is unfortunately not working.

Code:

        <settings pass="windowsPE">
                <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
                        <RunSynchronous>
                                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                                        <Description>Switch to legacy Setup</Description>
                                        <Order>1</Order>
                                        <Path>reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup" /v CmdLine /t REG_SZ /d "X:\sources\setup.exe" /f</Path>
                                </RunSynchronousCommand>
                        </RunSynchronous>
                </component>
        </settings>

SIW2 · 2025-02-26T12:34:49-0500

Both versions of setup.exe could not find the installation media for earlier win11 builds when I tried it. Could only find it when the matching iso was mounted

booted just the boot.wim (with the below menu included ) from usb stick.

Mount a win11 iso file and see if either setup.exe can find the mounted installation media

It also can't find mounted win10 iso

YUK is x:\setup.exe

the other one is x:\sources\setup.exe

they both pretend there are missing drivers when an earlier win11 iso is mounted.

they both work when the matching win11 iso is mounted

garlin · 2025-02-26T12:42:13-0500

I found that only works if you got nothing else in the unattend.xml file. After you start adding more details, it stops working for some reason.

Which is why I switched to updating boot.wim's reg hive. I've seen another idea of editing winpeshl.ini, but purposely rejected that option because when winpeshl.exe detects a valid Setup.exe in the search path, it will run Setup directly instead of running the .ini.

I think there's another setupact.log inside X:\ (can't remember offhand since I haven't had Setup fail in a while). That one is the longer one.

SIW2 · 2025-02-26T12:57:57-0500

I prefer to put a menu in. Another way to launch the sensible setup.exe is to pop this winpeshl.ini into image 2 windows\system32. Easily done in a few seconds with 7-zip gui

winpeshl.ini

[LaunchApp]
AppPath="%SystemDrive%\sources\setup.exe"

unzip 2.zip (attached below)

rt click the unzipped folder called 2

select add to archive

select wim in the dropdown

browse to the boot.wim ( normally just called boot.wim I renamed mine so I know which is which when I am playing around )

click ok

it puts this into the wim file. Quicker and easier then fooling around mounting and committing.

I do it often. For something straightforwward like the above 7-zip is handy. For more complicated things I put bits and pieces into the wim with wimlib commands.

SIW2 · 2025-02-26T13:40:50-0500

winpeshl.exe looks for winpeshl.ini

if winpeshl.ini not present it looks for %systemdrive%\setup.exe

if %systemdrive%\setup.exe not present it launches cmd.exe

I think garlin previously linked to something that describes the sequence but it got that bit wrong.

On builds 26100.3321 and 26100.3323, Installation Fails at 10% When Copying Files to HDD

hsehestedt

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