Hello everyone,

I just joined the forum and wanted to introduce myself.

I’m from Canada and I’ve been experimenting with Windows customization and post-install automation for a while now. I’ve always been interested in tools like WPI and the whole workflow around building and deploying customized Windows systems.

I’m not a professional developer, just someone who enjoys learning and building small tools to improve my own workflow.

I’m currently exploring modular post-install approaches for Windows 10 and 11, and I’m here mainly to learn from more experienced members and understand best practices.

Looking forward to reading and contributing when I can.

Thanks for having me.

Hi lokiju, welcome here 🙂

18 hours ago, mooms said:

Hi lokiju, welcome here 🙂

Hi mooms,

Thank you for the warm welcome, I really appreciate it.

Before posting anything in the WPI section, I wanted to ask for your approval.

I’ve been working on a small modular post-install project inspired by WPI, adapted for modern Windows 10/11 workflows. My intention is not to replace WPI or promote aggressively, but simply to share it respectfully and possibly maintain a small development log for members who might be interested in a modern approach.

For reference, the project is currently hosted on SourceForge: https://sourceforge.net/projects/postinstallwizzard-piw/

Would it be acceptable to create a topic in the WPI section for that purpose?

If not, I completely understand and will follow the forum guidelines.

Thanks again for the welcome.

Welcome, nice avatar

7 hours ago, lokiju665 said:

Hi mooms,

Thank you for the warm welcome, I really appreciate it.

Before posting anything in the WPI section, I wanted to ask for your approval.

I’ve been working on a small modular post-install project inspired by WPI, adapted for modern Windows 10/11 workflows. My intention is not to replace WPI or promote aggressively, but simply to share it respectfully and possibly maintain a small development log for members who might be interested in a modern approach.

For reference, the project is currently hosted on SourceForge: https://sourceforge.net/projects/postinstallwizzard-piw/

Would it be acceptable to create a topic in the WPI section for that purpose?

If not, I completely understand and will follow the forum guidelines.

Thanks again for the welcome.

Yes, to me it's OK.

6 hours ago, NIM said:

Welcome, nice avatar

Thanks NIM, I really appreciate the welcome 🙂

Welcome to the community! If you're looking to dive into modern Windows 10/11 customization, image debloating, and unattended deployments, here is the current recommended workflow used across the forums:

1. Core Tooling

• Native DISM & PowerShell: Always learn native DISM commands first (dism /Mount-Wim, dism /Add-Package, dism /Add-Driver, dism /Unmount-Wim /Commit). It gives you the best understanding of how Windows servicing packages work without relying on third-party abstractions.

• MSMG Toolkit: Excellent for offline component removal, integrating updates, and trimming telemetry services from stock ISOs.

• NTLite: Great visual interface for integrating drivers, Visual C++ silent runtimes, and generating autounattend.xml response files.

2. Unattended Setup (autounattend.xml)

If you want to skip the OOBE setup screen, bypass Windows 11 hardware/Microsoft Account requirements, and automate local user creation:

• Place your configured autounattend.xml in the root of your bootable USB installer.

• Use <SynchronousCommand> entries under the specialize or oobeSystem pass to execute your silent application installers (like the silent runtimes shared here on WinCert) before the desktop first loads.

3. Best Practice: Test in Hyper-V / VirtualBox First

Always test your modified install.wim in a clean virtual machine checkpoint before burning to bare-metal hardware. If a component removal breaks Windows Update or dependencies (like .NET 3.5), it is much easier to roll back the WIM.

Looking forward to seeing your custom builds!