Quick tip for those with headless systems that want to test Windows Server Codename VAIL (and that don’t have IPMI 2.0). To create a USB drive capable of a headless installation follow these two steps:
- Make a USB installer with the win7 download tool and your WHS ISO.
- Then make a cfg.ini file in the root of the new USB drive with the following code:
[WinPE] InstallSKU=SERVERHOMEPREMIUM ConfigDisk=1 CheckReqs=0 SystemPartitionSize=60 [InitialConfiguration] Language=en-US Locale=0409 Country=US KeyboardLayout=00000409 AcceptEula=true ServerName=VailPremServer PlainTextPassword=Head13$$ PasswordHint=See ServeTheHome.com Settings=All
Just make sure you read Microsoft’s EULA and accept the terms before using this. Also, it WILL ERASE ALL DATA ON THE MACHINE VAIL IS INSTALLED ON. Do not use this on a machine with existing data!!!!!
To make it a bit easier feel free to download the cfg.ini file here.
I used this and it worked. thanks!