Components
The topics in this section describe all of the unattended settings that can be set in Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016. To determine whether a component applies to the image you’re building, load your image into Windows SIM and search for the component or setting name. For information on how to view components and settings, see Configure Components and Settings in an Answer File.
In This Section
Specifies settings for audio and volume controls.
Specifies settings for audio and volume controls.
Specifies settings to describe an online backup service in the Windows Server Backup menus.
Maintains a list of all available domains and servers on a network.
New in Windows 10, version 1803. Specifies settings for Windows 10 in S mode.
Specifies settings for the camera sound.
Specifies settings that are related to auditing a computer.
Specifies settings for enabling device policy.
Specifies settings for initializing and enforcing Virtual Secure Mode (VSM) for Virtualization Based Security (VBS).
Manages the Troubleshooting icon that is located in the Action Center.
Controls the WindowsВ Disk Diagnostic feature.
Contains settings for configuring the Domain Name System (DNS), a system for naming computers and network services that organizes them into a hierarchy of domains.
Specifies settings you can use to suppress OS elements that appear when WindowsВ 10 Enterprise starts or resumes, or you can suppress the crash screen when the OS encounters an error that it cannot recover from.
Specifies settings that you can use to suppress UI elements that relate to the Welcome screen and shutdown screen.
Specifies settings you can use to replace the default OS shell with a custom shell.
Use unified write filter (UWF) settings in your device to help protect your physical storage media.
Specifies settings for encrypted drives (eDrives), also known as Encrypted Hard Disk Drives (eHDDs).
Specifies settings for error reporting.
Specifies settings for faxes, including how they are sent, received, viewed, and printed.
Specifies settings for GPIO buttons and indicators.
Specifies OEM information for a customized Help and Support page.
Contains network policy settings.
Specifies details about Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration (ESC).
Contains settings for Internet Explorer.
Includes the language and input locale settings for the system and the user.
Specifies the default language, locale, and other international settings to use during WindowsВ Setup or WindowsВ Deployment Services installations.
Includes settings related to the WindowsВ User Account Controls (UAC).
Includes settings for controlling the maps that get displayed for certain countries/regions.
Contains a setting that specifies an override for the default Online Store provider for WindowsВ Media Player.
Specifies settings for sensor devices or mechanisms. Examples of sensors include accelerometers, light sensors, temperature sensors, and location sensors.
Contains networking settings for NetBT.
Connects network segments and can create connections between different types of network media.
Includes settings for configuring and binding Network Load Balancing (NLB) to the adapters on an NLB cluster node.
Specifies details about the Windows Out-Of-Box Experience (OOBE) for end users.
Specifies settings to configure the Storage Area Network (SAN) policy.
Adds one or more out-of-box drivers to a Windows installation. (Drivers are added during the auditSystem configuration pass.)
Adds one or more out-of-box drivers to a Windows installation. (Drivers are added during the windowsPE configuration pass.)
Specifies whether all Plug and Play information persists during the generalize configuration pass.
Specifies the preferred power plan for the computer.
Configures actions that the print spooler service performs when the computer starts.
Provides Remote Access Service (RAS) for the user to remotely connect to a network.
Enables a user who has a computer problem to receive assistance from another person who is remotely located.
Optimizes BitLocker for PCs with hardware architectures such as System on a Chip (SoC).
Removes licensing values set during system installation and testing.
Handles the user experience for security licensing.
Specifies whether the Server Manager application opens when the end user logs on for the first time.
Contains settings to select the Windows image that you install, to configure the disk that you install Windows to, and to configure the WindowsВ PE operating system.
Enables Internet connection sharing.
Contains elements and settings that control how the shell of the Windows operating system is installed on a destination computer.
Contains settings that enable you to set the default online printing company and define the icon and the text that appear in the Online Print Wizard.
Provides Server Message Block (SMB) integration and authentication for Windows client computers to access network printers and file systems that run on UNIX servers.
Enables the computer to process Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) requests.
Implements the WindowsВ Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP).
Customizes the power management applications that are provided to end users.
Configures flash storage devices such as USB keys and Secure Digital (SD) cards as supplemental memory caches. This can improve system responsiveness, especially on systems with less RAM or slower disks.
Contains settings to enable or disable ways to create restore points.
Contains settings to adjust the TabletВ PC user interface.
Implements the Telephony API (TAPI).
Specifies the TCP/IP networking settings.
Specifies the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) port for RemoteApp and Desktop Connection Management.
Specifies the database path and the server role for the Terminal Services license server.
Contains settings for enabling remote desktop connections.
Configures the Terminal Services Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Provider.
Contains settings to implement the Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).
Configures how Terminal Services manages Client Access Licenses (CALs).
Enables a computer to join a domain during the specialize configuration pass.
Specifies advanced pen settings.
Contains settings for the Kernel-Mode Driver Framework (KMDF), used for device drivers.
Manages settings related to WindowsВ Recovery Environment (WindowsВ RE).
Specifies the location of the radio feature when a wireless local area network (LAN) connection is used.
Creates and maintains client network connections to remote servers by using the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol.
Contains settings that are used to manage how the system searches for devices that use Media Transfer Protocol over Bluetooth (MTP/BT).
Implements settings related to Network list.
Contains settings for WindowsВ Firewall, which can help protect computers by helping prevent unauthorized users from gaining access through the Internet or a network.
Contains settings for Microsoft Defender, which scans the computer for malicious third-party programs and other unwanted software.
Deprecated and removed components
The following components are deprecated in WindowsВ 10 and Windows ServerВ 2016.
Removed. Use Microsoft-Windows-Security-SPP instead.
Removed. Do not use.
Removed. Use Microsoft-Windows-Security-SPP-UX instead.
Deprecated. Do not use.
Removed. Do not use.
The component and setting have been removed.
The component and setting have been removed.
Windows Media Center is no longer supported as of WindowsВ 10. The component and settings have been removed.
Download and install the Windows ADK
The Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK) has the tools you need to customize Windows images for large-scale deployment, and to test the quality and performance of your system, its added components, and the applications running on it. The Windows ADK includes:
The Windows Assessment Toolkit and the Windows Performance Toolkit to assess the quality and performance of systems or components.
Deployment tools such as WinPE, Sysprep, and other tools that you can use to customize and deploy Windows 10 images.
Starting with Windows 10, version 1809, Windows Preinstallation Environment (PE) is released separately from the Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK). To add Windows PE to your ADK installation, download the Windows PE Addon and run the included installer after installing the ADK. This change enables post-RTM updates to tools in the ADK. After you run the installer, the WinPE files will be in the same location as they were in previous ADK installs.
A Windows ADK for Windows 10, version 20H2 will not be released. You can use the Windows ADK for Windows 10, version 2004 To deploy Windows 10, version 20H2.
Other ADK downloads
| ADK version and download link | Description |
|---|---|
| ADK for Windows 10 Insider Preview | Windows Insiders can download preview versions of the ADK. See what’s new for Windows Insiders for Business. |
| ADK for Windows 10, version 1903 | What’s new in ADK for Windows 10, version 1903. You can use this version to deploy Windows 10, version 1909 as well. |
| Windows PE add-on for ADK, version 1903 | Windows Preinstallation Environment (PE) for Windows 10, version 1903 |
| ADK for Windows 10, version 1809 | What’s new in ADK for Windows 10, version 1809 |
| Windows PE add-on for ADK, version 1809 | New as of Windows 10, version 1809, Windows Preinstallation Environment (PE) is avalable separately form the Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) |
| ADK for Windows 10, version 1803 | What’s new in ADK for Windows 10, version 1803 |
| ADK for Windows 10, version 1709 | What’s new in ADK for Windows 10, version 1709. For IoT Core for Windows 10, version 1709, also download the IoT Core Add-Ins v4.4. |
| ADK for Windows 10, version 1703 | What’s new in ADK for Windows 10, version 1703. For IoT Core for Windows 10, version 1703, also download the IoT Core Add-Ins v3.2. |
| ADK for Windows 10, version 1607 | What’s new in ADK for Windows 10, version 1607. For IoT Core for Windows 10, version 1607, also download the IoT Core Add-Ins v2.0 (14393_v1). |
| ADK for Windows 8.1 | Use the ADK for Windows 10, version 2004
|
| Windows OEM HAL Extension Test Cert 2017 | To use the Windows ADK to work with HAL Extensions, download and install the updated Windows OEM HAL Extension Test Cert 2017 (TEST ONLY) certificate. Learn more. |
Install the ADK
Install the ADK based on what works best for your environment.
- For computers that are connected to the internet, you can use any of the download links above.
- For secure manufacturing environments, you can install the Windows ADK offline.
- For automated installs, you can silently install the Windows ADK.
Windows ADK tools for IT pros
Windows ADK contains core assessment and deployment tools that IT Pros can use to deploy Windows 10 company-wide, including the User State Migration Tool (USMT) and Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT).
Windows Internals Book
Windows Internals 7th edition (Part 1) covers the architecture and core internals of Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016. This book helps you:
- Understand the Windows system architecture and its general components
- Explore internal data structures using tools like the kernel debugger
- Understand how Windows uses processes for management and isolation
- Understand and view thread scheduling and how CPU resources are managed
- Dig into the Windows security model including recent advances in security mitigations
- Understand how Windows manages virtual and physical memory
- Understand how the I/O system manages physical devices and device drivers
The 7th edition was written by Pavel Yosifovich, Alex Ionescu, Mark Russinovich and David Solomon. New material has been added since the 6th edition (which covered Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2). Since the 7th edition’s part 2 is not yet available, the Windows Internals 6th edition (written by Mark Russinovich, David Solomon and Alex Ionescu) is an invaluable resource on missing topics from the first part of the 7th edition. These include system mechanisms, management mechanisms, networking, file systems, cache management and troubleshooting system crashes.
Table of contents of the 7th edition, part 1:
- Chapter 1: Concepts and Tools
- Chapter 2: System Architecture
- Chapter 3: Processes and Jobs
- Chapter 4: Threads
- Chapter 5: Memory Management
- Chapter 6: I/O System
- Chapter 7: Security
The book is available for purchase on the Microsoft Press site (7th edition Part 1; 6th Edition Part 1; 6th Edition Part 2).
History of the Book
This is the seventh edition of a book that was originally called Inside Windows NT (Microsoft Press, 1992), written by Helen Custer (prior to the initial release of Microsoft Windows NT 3.1). Inside Windows NT was the first book ever published about Windows NT and provided key insights into the architecture and design of the system. Inside Windows NT, Second Edition (Microsoft Press, 1998) was written by David Solomon. It updated the original book to cover Windows NT 4.0 and had a greatly increased level of technical depth. Inside Windows 2000, Third Edition (Microsoft Press, 2000) was authored by David Solomon and Mark Russinovich. It added many new topics, such as startup and shutdown, service internals, registry internals, file-system drivers, and networking. It also covered kernel changes in Windows 2000, such as the Windows Driver Model (WDM), Plug and Play, power management, Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), encryption, the job object, and Terminal Services. Windows Internals, Fourth Edition was the Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 update and added more content focused on helping IT professionals make use of their knowledge of Windows internals, such as using key tools from Windows Sysinternals and analyzing crash dumps.
Windows Internals, Fifth Edition was the update for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. It saw Mark Russinovich move on to a full-time job at Microsoft (where he is now the Azure CTO) and the addition of a new co-author, Alex Ionescu. New content included the image loader, user-mode debugging facility, Advanced Local Procedure Call (ALPC), and Hyper-V. The next release, Windows Internals, Sixth Edition, was fully updated to address the many kernel changes in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, with many new hands-on experiments to reflect changes in the tools as well.
Seventh Edition Changes
Since this series’ last update, Windows has gone through several releases, coming up to Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016. Windows 10 itself, being the current going-forward name for Windows, has had several releases since its initial Release-to-Manufacturing, or RTM, each labeled with a 4-digit version number indicating year and month of release, such as Windows 10, version 1703 that was completed in March 2017. The above implies that Windows has gone through at least 6 versions since Windows 7. Starting with Windows 8, Microsoft began a process of OS convergence, which is beneficial from a development perspective as well as for the Windows engineering team itself. Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 had converged kernels, with modern app convergence arriving in Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1. The convergence story was complete with Windows 10, which runs on desktops/laptops, servers, XBOX One, phones (Windows Mobile 10), HoloLens, and various Internet of Things (IoT) devices. With this grand unification completed, the time was right for a new edition of the series, which could now finally catch up with almost half a decade of changes, in what will now be a more stabilized kernel architecture going forward. As such, this latest book covers aspects of Windows from Windows 8 to Windows 10, version 1703. Additionally, this edition welcomes Pavel Yosifovich as its new co-author.
