Windows ADK Release Notes

If you are familiar with the OEM Preinstallation Kit (OPK) and Windows Automation Kit (AIK), be aware of the following changes that are included with the Windows ADK and Windows® 8.

• Windows ADK Documentation availability
  
  The majority of the documentation for the Windows ADK is now available on MSDN and TechNet. This change helps Microsoft ensure that the Windows ADK documentation is kept up-to-date.
  
  The following list includes the links to the Windows ADK online documentation:
  
  
  • Assessment and Performance Analysis (MSDN)
    
    
    • Windows Assessment Services Technical Reference
      
      
    • Windows Assessment Toolkit Technical Reference
      
      
    • Windows Performance Toolkit Technical Reference
      
      
  • Deployment and Imaging (TechNet)
    
    
    • Deployment and Imaging Tools Technical Reference
      
      
    • Windows PE Technical Reference
      
      
  The documentation files that are installed with the ADK, including unattend.chm, are installed to %PROGRAMFILES%\Windows Kits\8.0\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Docs by default. The ADK_GetStarted.chm file includes links to all of the Windows ADK documentation on MSDN and TechNet.
  
  
• Changes in Out-Of-Box (OOBE) Experience
  
  Oobe.cmd and Setupcomplete.cmd are disabled if an OEM product key is used. This is to ensure that end-users reach Start as quickly as possible. If you have any tools or services that use this infrastructure, these must be changed to tasks that occur after the OOBE.
  
  
• Catalog files are no longer included with Windows 8
  
  Catalog files (.clg) are no longer included in the Windows 8 /sources folder. You must create catalog files by using Windows System Image Manager (SIM).
  
  
• Windows 8 and SkipRearm
  
  You no longer have to use the SkipRearm setting to reset the Windows Product Activation clock when you run Sysprep. In Windows 8, the SkipRearm setting is used to specify the Windows licensing state. If you specify a product key, Windows is automatically activated, and you can run the Sysprep command an unlimited number of times.
  
  

• [August 2012] Some antivirus and anti-malware software and Windows UAC may identify Windows ADK binaries as unverified or untrusted
  
  Some antivirus or anti-malware software may identify the Windows ADK kit binaries as unverified or untrusted, which might hinder automated execution of ADK binaries, for example in automated labs.
  
  If you encounter this issue, use the signtool from the Windows Software Development Kit to import the catalogs into the catalog store. You can automate this by using a script. Run the command signtool catdb * from the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\8.0\Catalogs.
  
  Depending on your antivirus software, you might need additional workarounds:
  
  
  • You can add the Windows ADK binaries to the antivirus software safe list. For example, you can add this as a configuration step when deploying an image for testing.
    
    
  • The antivirus vendor can add the kit binaries to their software’s safe list.
    
    
  • An end-user can manually add the flagged binary to the antivirus safe list at runtime.
    
    
  In some cases, the catalog signed kit binaries shows as "unverified publisher" by Windows UAC. To work around this, run the ADK binaries from an elevated command prompt. Or, in manual scenarios, click Yes on the UAC prompt to allow the binary to run. The automated assessment execution tool (Windows Assessment Services) in the ADK already runs in an elevated environment.
  
  
• [August 2012] Installing the Windows ADK to a computer that already has the Windows OPK or Windows AIK is not supported
  
  If you already have a computer with a previous version of the Windows OEM Preinstallation Kit or Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK), installing the Windows ADK is not supported. If you need to access tools available with the Windows OPK or Windows AIK, copy those tools to the Windows ADK computer. If you do install the Windows ADK Deployment Tools to a computer with the Windows OPK or Windows AIK, only use the Deployment Tools Command Prompt from the Windows ADK.
  
  
• [August 2012] Repairing shared features after a major upgrade
  
  If you install more than one Windows kit with a shared feature, and then remove one of the kits from your computer, that shared feature might not work when using the kit that is still installed. This can happen during a significant update, such as a Service Pack for one or more of the kits. For example, if you install the Hardware Certification Kit with a major update with the Windows Performance Toolkit and the Assessment and Deployment Kit with the Windows Performance Toolkit, and then remove the Hardware Certification Kit, the Windows Performance Toolkit might not work when used with the tools in the Assessment and Deployment Kit.
  
  To work around this issue, repair the installation of the installed kits.
  
  
• [August 2012] Upgrades of the Windows ADK from previous releases are not supported
  
  Do not upgrade the Windows ADK. You must uninstall the earlier version before you install the latest release.
  
  

• [August 2012] Secure boot error message: "BitLocker Drive Encryption cannot be used because critical BitLocker system files are missing or corrupted."
  
  When attempting to call Set-SecureBootUEFI in PowerShell within Windows PE, you may receive the following error message: "Set-SecureBootUEFI : BitLocker Drive Encryption cannot be used because critical BitLocker system files are missing or corrupted. Use Windows Startup Repair to restore these files to your computer."
  
  Ignore this error. This error message is a known problem, and does not affect your ability to modify the UEFI Secure Boot configuration.
  
  
• [August 2012] The Unattend setting DoNotCleanTaskbar is deprecated
  
  The Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup\DoNotCleanTaskbar setting is deprecated in Windows 8 and Windows Server® 2012. We do not recommend adding deskbands to the desktop taskbar, because they may not work correctly.
  
  
• [August 2012] The values for setting the Desktop background color have changed
  
  The Unattend setting: Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup\Themes\WindowColor affects the color of window borders and taskbar on the desktop. The new predefined color values are: Automatic, and Color 1 through Color 15. The default value is Automatic.
  
  
• [August 2012] Default locale setting in Serbian Windows installations
  
  When you create an image that includes the Serbian (Serbia) sr-Latn-CS language pack, you must configure the region as 271 (Serbia) and the locale as Serbian (Serbia) [sr-Latn-RS] in the OOBE.xml file. The language tag of the Serbian language pack is incorrectly set to Serbia and Montenegro (Former) [sr-Latn-CS].
  
  
• [August 2012] Specifying a ComputerName
  
  The ComputerName setting cannot contain any of the following characters: { | } ~ [ \ ] ^ ' : ; < = > ? & @ ! " # $ % ^ ` ( ) + / , or contain any spaces. Computer names that cannot be validated through the DnsValidateName function cannot be used. For more information, see the DnsValidateName function.
  
  
• [August 2012] Error unmounting images from multiple VHDs on a Windows 7 host
  
  Multiple Windows images mounted from Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) files may have the same signature. When you unmount and commit changes to multiple VHDs with the same signature simultaneously, the operation will fail on a host computer that is not running Windows 8. Use a Windows 8 host operating system to service the images or unmount the images one at a time to avoid a conflict.
  
  
• [August 2012] Installing EN-US and EN-GB language packs
  
  Adding both EN-US and EN-GB language packs to a single Windows image is not recommended. Both language packs are presented to the end user as "English" and might cause customer confusion. Also, this might prevent Windows from removing one of the language packs if a user does not select it as a default.
  
  
• [August 2012] Creating a task during audit mode
  
  Tasks are not allowed to run on triggers when in audit mode. To run a task, you must use the IRegisteredTask::RunEx method with TASK_RUN_IGNORE_CONSTRAINTS. For more information, see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa380768(v=vs.85).aspx.
  
  
• [August 2012] To create a bootable ISO file that does not prompt users to "Press any key"
  
  By default, bootable ISO files prompt users to press any key to boot from CD. Makewinpemedia.cmd does not support creating media that does not display the "Press any key to boot from CD" message. You can disable the "Press any key" message by using OSCDIMG to create the ISO file.
  
  On UEFI systems, use OSCDIMG with the -b option to create an ISO file that uses the Efisys_noprompt.bin boot sector file. This file is included with the Deployment Tools feature in the ADK. For example: -bC:\Efisys_noprompt.bin.
  
  
• [August 2012] The BCDBoot command-line option /s should not be used in typical deployment scenarios
  
  Use the /s option of bcdboot to specify a system partition when you are configuring a drive that will be booted on another computer, such as a USB flash drive or a secondary hard drive.
  
  UEFI:
  
  
  • BCDBoot copies the boot files to either the EFI system partition, or the partition specified by the /s option.
    
    
  • BCDBoot creates the BCD store in the same partition.
    
    
  • By default, BCDboot creates a Windows Boot Manager entry in the NVRAM on the firmware to identify the boot files on the system partition. If the /s option is used, then this entry is not created. Instead, BCDboot relies on the default firmware settings to identify the boot files on the system partition. According to the UEFI 2.3.1 spec, the default firmware settings should open the file: \efi\boot\bootx64.efi in the EFI System Partition (ESP).
    
    
  BIOS
  
  
  • BCDBoot copies the boot files to either the active partition on the primary hard drive, or the partition specified by the /s option.
    
    
  • BCDBoot creates the BCD store in the same partition.
    
    
  The following example copies BCD files from the C:\Windows folder to a system partition on a secondary hard drive that will be booted on another computer. The system partition on the secondary drive is assigned the volume letter S:
  
  
  Copy

  bcdboot C:\Windows /s S:
  

  The following example creates boot entries on a USB flash drive with the volume letter F, including boot files to support a UEFI-based or a BIOS-based computer:
  
  
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  bcdboot C:\Windows /s F: /f ALL
  

• [August 2012] OEM Activation Tool Available in the Windows ADK
  
  The OEM Activation tool, OA3Tool.exe, is now included in the Windows ADK. This tool is intended for OEMs who are implementing OEM Activation. For additional information, see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=209568.
  
  
• [August 2012] Windows unable to parse or process answer file
  
  Installing from an answer file returns an error: "Windows could not parse or process unattend answer file [D:\Windows\Panther\unattend.xml] for pass [specialize].  The answer file is invalid."
  
  This issue might occur if the ComputerName setting is longer than 15 characters. Reduce the number of characters used in the ComputerName setting.
  
  
• [August 2012] System Image Manager Answer File Validation
  
  When Windows SIM validates an answer file it verifies that the settings exist in the Windows image. Windows SIM also validates that the setting values matches the Type of the setting in the Windows image. For example, string values are not allowed in a setting of an integer type. The actual value of the setting is not validated. For example, a product key is not validated that it is a correct product key. Windows SIM only validates that the product key value is a string type.
  
  
• [August 2012] Provision app package (.appx) with a custom data file
  
  When you use the /Add-ProvisionedAppxPackage DISM command with the /CustomDataPath option, the custom file will be renamed to Custom.data when it is added to the image. The documentation uses an incorrect file extension. The correct file extension is .data.
  
  
• [August 2012] Sideloading apps on Windows 8
  
  Sideloading is supported on the following editions when you activate a sideloading product key:
  
  
  • Windows 8 Pro
    
    
  • Windows 8 Enterprise*
    
    
  * The sideloading product key is not required with Windows 8 Enterprise when the computer is joined to an active directory domain.
  
  

  Note
  Sideloading is also supported on Windows RT. The group policy service is not enabled by default on Windows RT. You must enable the service before policies can be applied to the computer.

  To sideload line-of-business apps on Windows Server 2012, the computer must be joined to an active directory domain.
  
  For more information, see How to Add and Remove Apps.
  
  
• [August 2012] DISM /PreventPending argument reporting error
  
  Do not use /PreventPending on an offline image that already has pending actions or the package state may be reported incorrectly for the image until you boot the image. This issue applies to DISM.exe, DISM API, and DISM for Windows PowerShell.
  
  
• [August 2012] LimitAccess argument does not work in DISM API or Windows PowerShell
  
  Using –LimitAccess from DISM API or from DISM cmdlets in Windows PowerShell will not prevent DISM from trying to contact Windows Update (WU) to download the required files to enable or repair a feature.
  
  
• [September 2012] Edition-Servicing Error Messages on Images with Language Packs
  
  When you use edition-servicing commands on a target image that has a partially localized language pack installed, the wrong status messages are displayed on the command line. Some status messages will appear as error messages. The correct messages are displayed in the log files, but not on the command line.
  
  Use the /English option to display the right status messages on the command line. For example,
  
  
  Copy

  Dism /online /get-currentedition /english
  
  

  See Windows Edition-Servicing Command-Line Options for more information on edition-servicing commands.
  
  See Available Language Packs for more information on which language packs are partially localized.
  
  
• [September 2012] Changing the default program files location is not supported for the Windows® Store or Windows Store apps.
  
  The Unattend setting: Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup\FolderLocations\ProgramData is only for use in test environments. Changing this setting is not supported for Windows® Store or Windows Store apps.
  
  

• [August 2012] Running Windows PE on computers with large amounts of memory
  
  Windows PE is not supported on computers with more than 128 gigabytes (GB) of RAM. On computers with larger amounts of memory, WinPE might experience unexpected behavior.
  
  

• [September 2012] The First Logon Commands section within the First Boot Performance assessment may not show the complete list of First Logon Commands or may include Run commands.
  
  To measure the complete set of First Logon Commands, during OOBE type SHIFT+F10 and enter the following command.
  
  
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  wevtutil sl Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Core/Diagnostic /ms:62914560 /e:true /q:true /rt:false
  
  
  

  After you reach the Start screen, open the command prompt and run the command:
  
  
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  wevtutil sl Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Core/Diagnostic /ms:62914560 /e:false /q:true /rt:false
  
  
  

  Open Event Viewer and under View, select Show Analytic and Debug Logs…. Then, navigate to the Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Core/Diagnostic log located under the Applications and Services Logs. Filter the log for only 9705-9706 events. Note the time periods (9705 is the start interval and 9706 is the stop interval) for the events where the KeyName is Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce. This sum of the interval(s) is the duration of the First Logon Command period. Next, filter the log for only 9707-9708 events. Look at the events that occur between the time interval(s) previously noted. The 9707 events mark the time when a First Logon Command was launched and the 9708 events mark the time when it stopped. The specific command that was run can be found within the details pane under Command.
  
  
• [August 2012] Fast Startup assessment crashes the AXE platform
  
  In some cases when the system reboots after running the Fast Startup assessment, you are promoted with a toast. Clicking on the toast might cause the AXE platform to crash. If the AXE platform crashes, reboot the system and re-run the assessment. If you are prompted with a toast after the system reboots, do not click it.
  
  
• [August 2012] Configuring Symbols on Windows Assessment Services
  
  Setting up a symbol server for Windows Assessment Services requires these additional tasks:
  
  
  1. Before deploying or performing an inventory of your clients, you must configure the symbol path in the file: \\<server>\relax\scripts\testmachine\setenvironment.cmd.
     
     
  2. After you deploy and inventory your clients, you must set the correct symbol path in c:\relax\setenvironment.cmd.
     
     
• [August 2012] Windows Assessment Services Job Settings
  
  The Job settings that are available in the Windows Assessment Services - Client for Failure Behavior, are Continue, Hold, and Stop. In some instances, the documentation refers to these settings as Continue, Hold, and Abort.
  
  
• [August 2012] File Organization Assessment
  
  When running the File Organization assessment with the Scripting Option in Windows 8, some non-English systems may fail or not be able to run the assessment completely. There is no known workaround.
  
  
• [August 2012] Memory Footprint assessment system requirements
  
  The Memory Footprint assessment topic in the Windows ADK documentation lists both Windows 7 and Windows 8 as supported operating systems. However, this assessment is not supported on Windows 7. It only runs on Windows 8.
  
  
• [August 2012] Using the ResultsUtil /ImportResults command
  
  Using the ResultsUtil /ImportResults command to import results files into a database takes time. Due to the heavy use of the database tables during import, we recommend importing during non-peak business hours.
  
  
• [August 2012] Data is not captured by default for the "Time after Start for app animations" metric in the First Boot Performance assessment
  
  To enable data to be captured for this metric, during OOBE type SHIFT+F10 and enter the command.
  
  
  Copy

  wevtutil sl Microsoft-Windows-TwinUI/Diagnostic /ms:10485760 /e:true /q:true /rt:false
  

  After you reach the Start screen, wait five minutes without using the PC while you are waiting for the tiles to animate. Then open the command prompt and run the command:
  
  
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  wevtutil sl Microsoft-Windows-TwinUI/Diagnostic /ms:10485760 /e:false /q:true /rt:false
  

• [August 2012] The First Boot Performance assessment cannot be run on PCs that have completed OOBE more than once without running specialize
  
  If you boot Windows, complete OOBE, and then run sysprep /oobe again without running the /generalize command, the First Boot Performance might experience unexpected behavior. This is not a supported scenario.
  
  To re-measure the first startup experience, the image must be generalized to complete the specialize configuration pass before booting to OOBE.
  
  
• [August 2012] Inflated numbers may be seen within the First Boot Performance assessment after multiple runs through Setup
  
  To avoid this issue, delete or rename C:\Windows\Panther\setup.etl before running sysprep /generalize.
  
  
• [August 2012] Misleading error message in Windows Assessment Services: Computer stopped responding
  
  You might receive this error message if an application crashes while the assessment was running:
  
  "The computer stopped responding while the job was running. For more information, see the %systemdrive%\relax\guid\dumps folder."
  
  The dumps folder contains the application crash information and by default is stored on the test computer.
  
  
• [August 2012] Windows Assessment Services Status doesn't refresh
  
  When monitoring a job, you might notice that the status hasn't changed even though the required actions have been completed, or the warning icon is still visible after the status message is cleared.
  
  To work around this, refresh the computer inventory, or restart the Windows Assessment Services - Client.
  
  
• [August 2012] Streaming Media assessment sometimes fails because Internet Explorer is unable to autoplay
  
  There is a known issue with Internet Explorer which can occasionally cause Internet Explorer not to autoplay. This results in the Streaming Media assessment failing to run. In most cases, running the assessment again resolves the issue. While the assessment is running, do not interact with your computer and ensure that the computer is not locked during the assessment.
  
  
• [August 2012] Internet Explorer Browsing Performance Assessment only works with the desktop browser
  
  The Internet Explorer Browsing Performance Assessment currently only works with Internet Explorer for the desktop.
  
  

• [August 2012] Shortcut links cannot contain apostrophes
  
  Shortcut links are authored links in Help and Support content that point to resources installed on the computer. These links enable customers to open documents and support applications so that they can easily troubleshoot their computer-related problems. Shortcut links cannot point to paths that contain an apostrophe ('). For example, C:\OEM\Fabrikam's Docs\Docs\ is an invalid path, while C:\OEM\Fabrikam Documents\Docs\ is valid.
  
  
• [August 2012] Help content must be fully valid XHTML
  
  For customized pages to be properly loaded in Help and Support, the help content must be valid XHTML:
  
  
  • HTML tags must be self-closed or have a closing tag.
    
    
  • The opening tag must have the same name (case-sensitive) as the end tag. For example, <body></body> is valid, while <BODY></body> and <body></Body> is not.
    
    
  If the content is not valid XHTML, executable shortcut links in the topics will fail to load.
  
  

Be aware of the following issues before using this release of ACT.

• [August 2012] ACT runtime analysis logs with attachments will not process if moved from original log share location
  
  Runtime analysis logs that have corresponding attachments (such as a screenshot or step-by-step recording) must be processed in the original log share location. If the logs and attachments are moved to another folder, the log processing service fails.
  
  To work around this issue, configure the ACT log processing service to process the logs directly from the log share. If the logs must be moved for processing, edit the XML file to replace the original log share path with the path to the new log location.
  
  
• [August 2012] General feedback collected in runtime analysis on Windows 7 SP1 is not displayed in the Application Compatibility Manager
  
  If using the Compatibility Monitor tool on Windows 7 SP1, any general feedback submitted is not available in the General Feedback report of the Windows 7 node in the Application Compatibility Manager.
  
  To work around this issue, change the value of the osID column in the table dbo.GeneralFeedback_Report of the ACT database to be 6.1.0 instead of 6.1.1 for any general feedback that was collected from runtime analysis done on Windows 7 SP1.
  
  
• [August 2012] Windows XP requires Windows Installer 4.0
  
  On Windows XP, Windows Installer 4.0 must be installed before you can install ACT.
  
  
• [August 2012] Installing Inventory Collection Packages on computers without Unicode fonts
  
  On computers running Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 where Unicode fonts are not installed, the installer screen for an inventory collector package shows rectangles instead of text. The text that would normally appear is:
  
  [August 2012] Please wait while Windows configures Inventory Collection Package
  
  The lack of text does not interfere with the installer. You can install the inventory collector package successfully without Unicode support.
  
  
• [August 2012] Inventory collector packages do not run on Windows 2000
  
  There is no known workaround.
  
  

• [August 2012] Incorrect manifest used in Windows 7 to Windows 7 offline migrations
  
  During an offline Windows 7 to Windows 7 migration using the /TargetWindows7 switch, USMT uses the Windows 8 manifests rather than the Windows 7 manifests. This might result in migrating incorrect operating system settings.
  
  Use one of the following options to mitigate this issue:
  
  
  • Use the previous version of USMT for the migration. You can download the previous version, USMT 4.0, as part of the Windows Automated Installation Kit available here.
    
    
  • Use the Windows 7 version of Windows PE in conjunction with USMT 5.0 rather than the Windows 8 version of Windows PE.
    
    
  • Move the DLManifests and ReplacementManifests folders outside of the User State Migration Tool\<arch> directory and rename the DLManifests7 and ReplacementManifests7 folders to DLManifests and ReplacementManifests, respectively.
    
    

• [August 2012] Initialize a database with Windows PowerShell.
  
  After you run the Initialize-VamtData cmdlet on a database, you must connect to that database using the VAMT UI before the database is fully initialized and ready to use.
  
  

• [August 2012] Errors viewing topics in some .chm files
  
  If you receive the error message Navigation to the webpage was canceled displayed in the .chm pane, use the following workaround.
  
  
  1. Verify that the .chm files are extracted from the .zip file to a local directory.
     
     
  2. Right-click the .chm file, and then click Properties.
     
     
  3. Click Unblock.
     
     
  4. Double-click the .chm file to open the Help file.
     
     
  For more information, see the following Microsoft Knowledge-Base article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/902225/