AUTOMATE WINDOWS FORMATTING BY "SETUP.EXE"

Victor Alves - CADDI 20 Reputation points
2024-04-22T13:12:56.9133333+00:00 
Good morning!

I have some questions regarding Windows formatting.

We are a company and provide services to several clients remotely. And one of our demands is the formatting of Windows on several machines, and we have to carry out this procedure by visiting a certain company to carry out these formattings.

As this is a massive process, we thought we would try to somehow format these machines via remote access with the following steps:

Connect to the client machine;

Play the ISO file on the machine (Or partition the disk and place the ISO files inside the partition)

Run "setup.exe"

It runs normally, but when the machine is rebooted to continue the process, an error message appears (ANNEXED), but without the code reported in the image.

My question is, would it be possible to do this formatting via remote access? In other words, connect to the client's machine and perform this formatting using "setup.exe?"

I thank the attention

Abs, Victor A.
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  1. Wesley Li 5,040 Reputation points
    2024-04-22T16:04:00.0066667+00:00

    Hello

    Performing a full Windows installation or formatting remotely can be quite challenging due to the nature of the process. The main issue is that during the installation or formatting process, the machine needs to reboot, and during this reboot, the remote connection would be lost. This is likely why you’re encountering an error message when the machine reboots.

     

    However, there are some potential workarounds:

     

    Unattended Installation: You could create an unattended installation using an answer file with the Windows System Image Manager (WSIM). This file can automate the installation process, including disk formatting and partitioning.

     

    Windows Deployment Services (WDS): If you have a network environment and the machines support network booting (PXE), you could use WDS to deploy Windows installations remotely.

     

    Third-Party Tools: There are third-party tools that can help with remote installations, but these often still require some level of local interaction.

     

    Also, it’s important to note that these methods can be complex and should be performed by IT professionals to avoid any potential issues.

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  1. Victor Alves - CADDI 20 Reputation points
    2024-04-24T13:19:21.3166667+00:00 
    Good morning! I'm grateful for the feedback.

From WSIM it seems to be a very good alternative to solve my problem, but could you tell me about some third-party tools to help me with this formatting?
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