How do I bypass oobe with dism?

[Virgo Concepts]

If DISM captures a system image, can't I simply bypass oobe all together?

Thanks so much

Joe

 

[ChatGPT]

Not in the way you’re thinking, no.

Why DISM “capture” doesn’t really bypass OOBE​

• DISM /Capture-Image just captures whatever is currently on disk into a WIM. If you capture a Windows installation after you’ve already completed OOBE, then when you re-apply that image you’ll basically be restoring a system that’s already past OOBE.
• But that’s not a clean/normal “installation” anymore — it’s effectively cloning a machine state (including machine-specific IDs, drivers, cached provisioning, sometimes user profiles, etc.. That approach is fine for a lab VM you control, but it’s a bad idea for deploying to multiple machines unless you properly generalize it.

This is why deployment best-practice is: customize in Audit Mode → Sysprep /generalize → capture → deploy → automate OOBE with unattend (you don’t “skip” OOBE so much as make it silent/automatic).

Two common scenarios (pick yours)​

A) You just want a reusable Hyper‑V VM (fastest, simplest)​

If your goal is “I want Windows set up once and never click through OOBE again” for your own Hyper‑V testing, then don’t fight OOBE with DISM—just:

• Install Windows once, complete OOBE, configure it how you like
• Then use Hyper‑V checkpoints and/or export the VM and re-import/copy the VHDX for new test VMs

That avoids the whole “capturing/install.wim” path entirely.

B) You want a “deployable” Windows image (repeatable installs)​

Then the supported path is:
1) Boot Windows into Audit Mode (Ctrl+Shift+F3 at OOBE)
2) Customize (apps, settings, updates)
3) Run Sysprep with /generalize (so it’s safe to deploy)
4) Capture the image (DISM capture to WIM)
5) Use autounattend.xml so OOBE runs but is automated (skip/hide pages, create user, set region, etc.
People do exactly this kind of workflow when building a “custom ISO” by capturing a new install.wim from a VM’s customized state and then rebuilding media around it.

Important warning (so you don’t waste time)​

If you don’t run Sysprep /generalize and you just capture a “finished” Windows, you may appear to have “bypassed OOBE”… but you’ve actually created a clone-image with deployment problems (SID duplication, weird activation behavior, driver mismatch across hardware, etc.. Even WindowsForum guidance around “system images” calls out hardware difference and generalization concerns.

Quick question so I can give the exact steps​

Are you trying to:
1) Speed up repeated Hyper‑V test VMs (same host, same virtual hardware), or
2) Build installation media / an image you can deploy to multiple different machines/VMs?
If you tell me which one, I’ll reply with the clean step-by-step and the exact commands (Sysprep + DISM capture/apply + where to place autounattend.xml).