Windows 10 USB install “Windows cannot read the from the unattend start file”

installationwindows 10windows-10-v1511

I've got my Windows 10 iso from MSDN. I created a bootable USB with it. I go to actually install, and I get an error:

enter image description here

I've used the same iso before when burned to a disc. I'm not trying to install on VM or anything, so my googling has resulted in no answer that has helped. Is there something I can edit or change in the iso to get around this?

BTW, I'm installing on a laptop that doesn't have a DVD drive, thus the USB install.

Best Answer

I've been experiencing this issue and I haven't been able to find anything useful on google at all. I've been able to bypass this error message by creating an unattend.xml with just the product keys in it. Here's what it looks like:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
<settings pass="windowsPE">
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup" processorArchitecture="x86" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<UserData>
<ProductKey>
<Key>W269N-WFGWX-YVC9B-4J6C9-T83GX</Key>
</ProductKey>
</UserData>
</component>
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<UserData>
<ProductKey>
<Key>W269N-WFGWX-YVC9B-4J6C9-T83GX</Key>
</ProductKey>
</UserData>
</component>
</settings>
</unattend>

Copy the above xml into a new file called autounattend.xml and place the file into the root directory of your USB/DVD.

The product key it uses is a default upgrade key. I've been able to install windows and change my product key once installed using this method.

Related Question