What you need
Windows 8.1 DVD or ISO (e.g. en_windows_8_1_enterprise_x86_dvd_2972289.iso)
An AutoUnattend.xml file - use mine: View attachment AutoUnattend.zip
Dell Venue 8 Pro Win 8.1 Driver Cab - 5830-win8.1-A00-9Y5Y5.CAB
Intel Platform Driver Installer -5830_Drivers-for-OS-Deployment_Driver_3VR67_WN_603.9600.2067.26305_A03.EXE
A 4+ GB USB drive
A micro-USB OTG cable to connect your USB drive to the DV8P
Create the following folder structure
C:\DV8PWin
C:\DV8PWin\Drivers
C:\DV8PWin\Image
C:\DV8PWin\Temp
C:\DV8PWin\USB
Copy the Windows Files
Copy the contents of your windows DVD/ISO to the C:\DV8PWin\USB directory.
You should have a boot, efi, sources, and support directory as well as bootmgr, setup, and some other assorted files.
Prepare the Drivers
Extract 5830-win8.1-A00-9Y5Y5.CAB with Winzip/WinRar/CabArc/etc. to C:\DV8PWin\Temp
Navigate to C:\DV8PWin\Temp\5830-win8.1-A00-9Y5Y5\5830\win8.1\x86
Cut and Paste the 'chipset' and 'network' folders into C:\DV8PWin\Drivers
Open C:\DV8PWin\Drivers\network\379GH_A00-00\production\Windows8.1-x86\Bluetooth-Driver\qcbtuart.infin your favorite text editor:
Find the section entitled[SourceDisksFiles] and remove all entries except:
qcbtuart.sys = 1,,
qcbtctrl.dll = 1,,
Find the section entiled[BTUART.Files] and remove all entries except:
qcbtuart.sys
*This step is required since the .INF file lists driver files that are not needed/present and therefore must be removed.
Run 5830_Drivers-for-OS-Deployment_Driver_3VR67_WN_603.9600.2067.26305_A03.exe and choose "Extract without installing" to C:\DV8PWin\Temp
Navigate to C:\DV8PWin\Temp\Drivers and copy the "Audio" and "WCE" directories to C:\DV8PWin\Drivers
Mount the Image
Open an Administrative Command Prompt (i.e. Run As Administrator)
Mount the Windows 8.1 .wim Image with Dism:
dism.exe /Mount-WIM /WimFile:"C:\DV8PWin\USB\sources\install.wim" /index:1 /MountDir:"C:\DV8PWin\Image"
Import the Drivers
Import the drivers into the image:
dism.exe/image:"C:\DV8PWin\Image" /Add-Driver /driver:"C:\DV8PWin\Drivers" /recurse /forceunsigned
*There should be 57 drivers that import. If 57 did not import you should review the "Prepare the image and drivers" section above.
Enable additional packages (optional)
You can enable additional packages within the Windows installation so that they are automatically installed.
I would highly recommend enabling .NET Framework 3.5 as it is needed by many applications (and 4.5 is not backwards compatible):
dism /image:c:\dv8pwin\image /enable-feature /featurename:netfx3 /all /source:c:\DV8PWin\USB\sources\sxs
I also prefer to have the telnet client enabled by default:
dism /image:c:\dv8pwin\image /enable-feature /featurename:telnetclient /all
Dismount the Image
Dismount the image saving the changes:
dism.exe /Unmount-wim /mountdir:"C:\DV8PWin\Image" /commit
Modify the AutoUnattend.XML
The AutoUnattend.XML is crafted with only a few options, including:
Create partitions
Assign License Key
Set Registered User/Organization
Set Computer Name
Extract the AutoUnattend.zip file attached above
Open AutoUnattend.xml in your favorite text editor (e.g. notepad)
I would highly recommend you only modify the following section:
HTML:
<settings pass="specialize">
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-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">
<ProductKey>MHF9N-XY6XB-WVXMC-BTDCT-MKKG7</ProductKey>
<RegisteredOrganization>Registered Organization</RegisteredOrganization>
<RegisteredOwner>Registered User</RegisteredOwner>
<ComputerName>MYDV8P</ComputerName>
</component>
</settings>
You can replace your product key with the one listed (default Volume License Key). The key I have provided is enough to install Windows, but it will not activate until you provide a valid key.
You should replace RegisteredOrganization, RegisteredOwner, and ComputerName with your own values. If you would rather not set them here, simply delete the appropriate lines.
Save the file and place in the root of c:\DV8PWin\USB\
Prepare the USB Drive
Insert your USB drive into the staging computer
Run diskpart (from your Administrative Command Prompt)
Run "list disk" to identify which disk is your USB (determine based on size)
Run "select disk x" where x is the number of your USB disk (e.g. "select disk 1")
Run the following commands:
clean
create part pri
format fs=fat32 label="DV8PWin" quick
active
assign
exit
Copy the contents of C:\DV8PWin\USB to your prepared USB drive:
xcopy C:\DV8PWin\USB F: /e /c /i /f /h /k /j
(where F: is the drive letter of your USB drive)
Installing Windows
Power off your DV8P
Enter BIOS by powering on your DV8P and holding the Volume button down for 3-5 seconds
In BIOS tap "Boot"
Tap "Boot Option #1" and select the USB key
Tap on the keyboard icon in the top right
Tap F10
Tap Yes to Save configuration and restart
Your DV8P should now boot from the USB key and perform an unattended installation of Windows 8.1 Enterprise.
