Tuesday, January 29, 2013

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known issues with the FolderLocation settings in the Windows Vista Unattend.xml file

Article ID: 929831 - View products that this article applies to.Expand all | Collapse all

INTRODUCTION

You can use the FolderLocations settings in the "Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" area of the Windows Vista Unattend.xml file to move the user profiles folder or the program data folder to a non-default target location. The user profiles folder is typically %systemdrive%\Users. The program data folder is typically %systemdrive%\ProgramData.This article describes known issues with the FolderLocations settings in the Unattend.xml file.

MORE INFORMATION

The target location for the user profiles and program data folders can be on a volume other than the system drive as long as the volume meets the following requirements:It must be an NTFS file system volume.It must not be the path of another operating system user profile folder or program data folder.It must not contain any serviceable components.These unattend settings have the following known issues:If you use the FolderLocations unattend settings to move user data or program data to a location other than the %systemdrive% folder, you block upgrades to other versions of Windows Vista or to later releases of Microsoft Windows.If you use the System Preparation Tool (Sysprep) to apply the FolderLocations unattend settings, some system directory junctions do not point to the new target location. The following system directory junctions continue to point to the old locations:C:\Documents and Settings continues to point to C:\Users.C:\ProgramData\Desktop continues to point to C:\Users\Public\Desktop.C:\ProgramData\Documents continues to point to C:\Users\Public\Documents.C:\ProgramData\Favorites continues to point to C:\Users\Public\Favorites.If you use the Windows Vista Setup program to apply the FolderLocations unattend settings, the system directory junctions do not point to the new target location. The following system directory junctions continue to point to the old locations:C:\Documents and Settings continues to point to C:\Users.C:\Users\Default User continues to point to C:\Users\Default.C:\Users\All Users continues to point to C:\ProgramData.If you use the System Preparation Tool to apply the ProfilesDirectory unattend settings, the user profiles of domain users who have previously logged on to the computer are left in the old location. The public profile is also left in the old location.When you use Pkgmgr.exe to service an offline image where the user profiles have been moved to a different drive by using the Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup | FolderLocations | ProfilesDirectory answer file entry, you may receive a 0x2 return code.The target location for the user profiles and program data folders can be on a volume other than the system drive as long as the volume meets the following requirements:It must be an NTFS file system volume.It must not be the path of another operating system user profile folder or program data folder.It must not contain any serviceable components.These unattend settings have the following known issues:If you use the FolderLocations unattend settings to move user data to a location other than the %systemdrive% volume some servicing components may not install including but not limited to Critical Updates, Security Updates, Hotfixes and Service Packs.If you use the FolderLocations unattend settings to move user data or program data to a location other than the %systemdrive% folder, you block upgrades to other versions of Windows Vista or to later releases of Microsoft Windows.If you use the System Preparation Tool (Sysprep) to apply the FolderLocations unattend settings, some system directory junctions do not point to the new target location.The following system directory junctions continue to point to the old locations:C:\Documents and Settings continues to point to C:\Users.C:\ProgramData\Desktop continues to point to C:\Users\Public\Desktop.C:\ProgramData\Documents continues to point to C:\Users\Public\Documents.C:\ProgramData\Favorites continues to point to C:\Users\Public\Favorites.If you use the Windows Vista Setup program to apply the FolderLocations unattend settings, the system directory junctions do not point to the new target location.The following system directory junctions continue to point to the old locations:C:\Documents and Settings continues to point to C:\Users.C:\Users\Default User continues to point to C:\Users\Default.C:\Users\All Users continues to point to C:\ProgramData.If you use the System Preparation Tool to apply the ProfilesDirectory unattend settings, the user profiles of domain users who have previously logged on to the computer are left in the old location. The public profile is also left in the old location.

Properties


Drive TypesYou can install Windows to a hard drive, such as a hard disk drive or a solid-state drive. For additional security, you can use hard drives that the factory has pre-encrypted. A single computer may contain multiple drives.Solid-State DrivesA solid-state drive (SSD) is a data storage device that uses solid-state memory to store persistent data. An SSD must have a minimum of 16 gigabytes (GB) of space to install Windows® 8. For more information about drive space and RAM considerations, see Solid State Drive Deployment.Advanced format drivesYou can use some Advanced Format Drives to provide additional drive space.Advanced Format 512 emulation (512e) drives are supported on either BIOS-based or UEFI-based computers.Advanced Format 4K Native (4Kn) drives are supported on UEFI-based computers only.WarningFor Advanced Format 4K Native drives (4-KB-per-sector) drives, the minimum partition size is 260 MB, due to a limitation of the FAT32 file format. The minimum partition size of FAT32 drives is calculated as sector size (4KB) x 65527 = 256 MB. For more information, see How to Configure UEFI/GPT-Based Hard Drive Partitions.Factory-Encrypted Hard DrivesTo help protect your deployment environment, you can use a factory pre-encrypted hard drive to prevent unauthorized access before you install Windows or any other software. For more information, see Factory Encrypted Drives.Multiple Hard DrivesIf you install Windows on a computer that has multiple hard drives, you can use the disk location path to make sure that your images are applied to the intended drives.To do this, use the diskpart SELECT DISK=<disk location path> command to select each drive. For example:SELECT DISK=PCIROOT(0)#PCI(0100)#ATA(C00T00L00)NoteThe system drive might not appear as disk 0 in the DiskPart tool. The system might assign different numbers to drives when you reboot. Different computers that have the same drive configuration can have different disk numbers.For more information, see the following resources:How to Configure Multiple Hard DrivesDiskPart Command line syntaxHard Disk Location Path FormatPartitionsYou can divide your hard drive into multiple partitions. You can create separate system, recovery, Windows, or data partitions.To enhance the security of the Windows partition or a data partition, you can use BitLocker to encrypt the partition. For more information, see BitLocker Drive Encryption.The partition types must match the firmware of the computer. You can install Windows® 8 and Windows Server® 2012 on hard drives that are based on any of the following types of firmware:Basic Input/Output System (BIOS). Uses the Master Boot Record (MBR) partition structure.Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) (Class 1): Uses the GUID Partition Table (GPT) partition structure.Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Class 2: Uses the GPT partition structure. Also includes a compatibility support module (CSM) that enables you to use BIOS functions, including the MBR partition structure. This module can be enabled or disabled in the firmware.Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Class 3: Uses the GPT partition structure.To determine your system type, consult your hardware manufacturer. For a full description of UEFI Class definitions, see UEFI.org: Evaluating UEFI using Commercially Available Platforms and Solutions.System PartitionsA system partition is a partition that contains the hardware-specific files that are needed to load Windows.By default, during Windows Setup, Windows stores these hardware-specific files in a separate partition. This enables the computer to use the following:Security tools. Some security tools, such as BitLocker, require a separate system partition.Recovery tools. Some recovery tools, such as Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE), require a separate system partition.Multiple operating systems. If a computer has multiple operating systems, such as Windows® 8 and Windows® 7, the computer displays a list of operating systems. The user can then select which operating system to boot. When the system boot files are on a separate partition, it is easier to remove a Windows partition or replace the partition with a new copy of Windows.For information about how to configure system partitions while you apply images, see How to Capture and Apply Windows, System, and Recovery Partitions.Microsoft Reserved Partition (MSR)The MSR is used on UEFI/GPT systems, to support software components that formerly used hidden sectors.For more information about configuring MSR partitions, see How to Configure UEFI/GPT-Based Hard Drive Partitions.For more information about MSR partitions, see Windows and GPT FAQRecovery PartitionsA recovery partition might include a recovery solution such as Windows RE tools, a recovery image, and/or a third-party recovery tool. A recovery solution can help you reduce your support costs by enabling users to quickly restore a computer's factory settings.We recommend adding Windows RE Tools, system and utility partitions before the Windows partition, because in the event that a full-system recovery is needed, this partition order helps to prevent the recovery tools from overwriting the system and utility partitions. For BIOS/MBR-based systems, we recommend that the Windows RE tools be included in the system partition to reduce the total number of partitions.We recommend adding a partition with a separate recovery image after the Windows partition, because with this partition order, end users who want to reclaim this space for their primary partition may choose to remove this partition and then extend the Windows partition to fill the reclaimed space.Data PartitionsA data partition is a partition that stores user data. A separate data partition can enable easier maintenance for situations where either the primary operating system is likely to be replaced, or when multiple operating systems exist on the same computer, such as, Windows® 8 and Windows® 7. When a computer has multiple hard drives, a data partition may be stored on another drive.WarningFor typical single-drive configurations, we do not recommend that you use a separate data partition. There are two main reasons:The partition may not automatically protect data that is stored outside the user profile folders. For example, a guest user might have access to files in an unprotected data partition.If you change the default location of the user profile folders to any volume other than the system volume, you cannot service your image. The computer may not apply updates, fixes, or service packs to the installation. For a list of known issues related to changing the default folder locations, see Description of known issues with the FolderLocation settings.

See Also

BitLocker Drive Encryption

1 out of 1 rated this helpful - Rate this topicPublished: February 29, 2012Updated: May 31, 2012Applies To: Windows 8, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012This topic highlights the requirements for deploying a Windows® BitLocker® Drive Encryption solution. For more information about BitLocker for Windows® 8, see BitLocker Drive Encryption on the TechNet website.What Is BitLocker Drive Encryption?BitLocker provides offline-data and operating-system protection for your computer. BitLocker helps ensure that data that is stored on a computer that is running Windows® is not revealed if the computer is tampered with when the installed operating system is offline. BitLocker uses a microchip that is called a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) to provide enhanced protection for your data and to preserve early boot-component integrity. The TPM can help protect your data from theft or unauthorized viewing by encrypting the entire Windows volume.BitLocker is designed to offer the most seamless end-user experience with computers that have a compatible TPM microchip and BIOS. A compatible TPM is defined as a version 1.2 TPM that has the BIOS modifications that are required to support the Static Root of Trust Measurement, as defined by the Trusted Computing Group. The TPM interacts with BitLocker to help provide seamless protection when the computer restarts.BitLocker is available in Windows Vista® Enterprise, Windows Vista® Ultimate, Windows® 7 Enterprise, Windows® 7 Ultimate, Windows Server® 2008, Windows® 8, and Windows Server® 2012.The path to the TPM driver file is %WINDIR%\Inf\Tpm.inf. For information about how to add the TPM driver to Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE), see How to Add Device Drivers to an Online Windows PE Image.BitLocker Drive Encryption Partitioning RequirementsBitLocker must use a system partition that is separate from the Windows partition. The system partition:Must be configured as the active partition.Must not be encrypted or used to store user files.Must have at least 100 megabytes (MB) of space.Must have at least 50 MB of free space.May be shared with a recovery partition.For more information about BitLocker partitioning requirements, see Hard Drives and Partitions Overview.

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