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I'm building a computer for one of my friends, and have purchased a Windows System Builder License.

After running Windows Update and installing missing drivers and a few other necessary applications, I now have a lean, clean, Windows-running machine.

The computer is now ready to be given to my friend, but before I hand it off I want to reset the computer in such a way that when it is next powered on, the user is presented with the first boot "Welcome to Windows, please create an account" screen, just like they had bought a new computer and turned it on for the first time.

It's fairly easy to do this in Ubuntu by choosing the "OEM Installation" option, but I couldn't find such an option during the Windows installation process.

How do I do it?

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1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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That's Windows Audit Mode.

After install, on the Welcome screen, press SHIFT-CTRL-F3

This bypasses all kinds of stuff...

After you've installed your stuff, run

%systemroot%\System32\Sysprep\sysprep.exe

OOBE will already be selected. I select Shutdown and check Generalize.

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd799305(v=ws.10).aspx

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  • This does not work exactly the way as the OOBE(out of box experience) from a new computer/manufacturer. The old user account used for setting up windows will not be removed and can be confusing.
    – lex
    Commented Jul 2, 2015 at 23:39
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    That's exactly what this does. SHIFT-CTRL-F3 by passes user creation. That is, a user is not made.
    – David Betz
    Commented Jul 3, 2015 at 4:32
  • The problem here is that Egghead99 should have entered Audit Mode before configuring the system, then when the computer was Generalized it would be “OEM fresh”. The solution would be to enter audit mode by running Sysprep and setting the System Cleanup Action to Audit Mode without Generalizing. Once logged into Audit Mode, delete the user account created during original setup, then Sysprep with OOBE and Generalize.
    – WinOutreach2
    Commented Jul 7, 2015 at 18:50

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