Install Windows 11 over the network with netboot.xyz, automated install with unattend.xml
Install Windows 11 (or a lot of different OSs or tools available) via the network, instead of having to store them in a flash drive. We use an unattend.xml or autounattend.xml file
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• 2024 macOS workflow
0:00 - Important info
1:34 - FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
3:24 - Linux server deployment
3:50 - Configure sudo access
5:27 - Install docker
6:32 - Get VM IP address
6:58 - Deploy containers with docker compose
7:04 - Clone GitHub repo where containers are
7:27 - Deploy netboot.xyz container
8:30 - Deploy samba container
13:03 - Configure your router (mikrotik in my case)
15:07 - Download additional menus
16:38 - Configure netboot.xyz to use local assets
17:45 - Download an asset locally and test
19:28 - Boot a machine to test a local asset
22:10 - Create Windows 11 installation media
22:34 - Download and extract the Windows ISO to samba drive
26:43 - Download and install WinPE
29:16 - Create Bootable WinPE media (WinPE ISO)
32:14 - Copy the WinPE ISO files to the samba server
34:45 - Configure netboot to point to the WinPE files
35:50 - Configure custom options in windows.ipxe
36:57 - Configure samba server and password in winpe files
39:24 - Configure autoattend.xml file
41:51 - Disable secure boot
42:24 - Install windows via netboot.xyz
By the end of this tutorial, you will have learned how to:
Install docker on Linux
Deploy the `netboot.xyz` and `samba` containers
Create winpe images
Install Windows 11 over the network
And much more
Disclaimer:
This tutorial is designed purely for educational objectives.
Microsoft activation keys are not included at any stage of this tutorial.
Also, refrain from sharing any Windows activation keys in the comment section.
You can use generic Microsoft keys to install a specific windows version
but these keys will *not activate* Windows, you will need to provide your
own purchased license key to activate Windows later on.
So this guide is meant for use with a Windows activation key that you have
legally acquired.
Help out devs:
If you like the netboot.xyz project, please donate to their devs, if possible
at least one time
https://github.com/sponsors/netbootxyz
I don't know the developers, nor had I had any contact with them
Alternatives:
If you don't want to boot over network, there's Ventoy, that allows you to
store multile ISOs in a flash drive and boot from those
https://github.com/ventoy/Ventoy
That's not the purpose of this guide, this is specifically to avoid USB
drives, and boot from the network instead
Credits:
This guide was built on Techno Tim's YouTube video, I didn't know about
netboot.xyz before this
• Meet netboot.xyz - Network Boot Any O...
I was having issues with the Windows installation part, but with a comment
from user @jaromirrivera on Techno Tim's blogpost I was able to figure it out
and go from there
https://technotim.live/posts/netbootx...
BIOS or UEFI?
BIOS and UEFI are firmware types, and they serve as an interface between the
computer's operating system and its hardware, performing initial hardware
checks and booting the operating system
`Personally, I'll handle everything with UEFI`
If your machine is kind of old, and the only option it has available is BIOS
then set your boot file type, on your router, to a BIOS one, see below how
to do this
I tested running Windows 11 in both UEFI and BIOS and it worked fine in both
Boot file type differences?
Whatever firmware you decide to go with (BIOS or UEFI) will determine the type
of boot file you will configure on your router, you'll understand this later
but for now, all you need to know is that there are different boot file types:
netboot.xyz.efi is used for devices that boot using *UEFI* firmware.
The .efi extension is a file format for UEFI applications, including bootloaders.
netboot.xyz-snp.efi *UEFI* w/ Simple Network Protocol, attempts to boot all
net devices
*This is the only one that worked for my case, you will see why below*
netboot.xyz.kpxe is used for devices that boot using legacy *BIOS firmware*
The .kpxe extension indicates that it's a PXE (Preboot Execution Environment)
kernel, which allows computers to load and boot an operating system from a
network server instead of local storage.
Configure Router:
In my local network my Mikrotik router is my DHCP server so I'll configure it to forward requests to netboot.xyz