I was doing some homework on Win11PE while reading quite a bit of Server 2022 as well, basically a forum thread should have appeared back in October 2021
paste EI.cfg and PID.txt in sources folder from iso ( use poweriso or ultraiso to modify iso ! )
the system is automatically activated without networks required
Stuff like that could be found by anyone easily, while the instructions were already posted on one of those official forums hosted by Microsoft since 2020
On standard Windows 10 install media, look for the file \sources\product.ini. It contains many generic Product Keys used by the various Windows 10 Editions that are available. Most installs will show one of these same generic Product Keys if you use a utility, such as Nirsoft's ProduKey, to reveal the current Product Key for your Windows 10.
Key Management Services (KMS) client activation and product keys
1. Extract the packages Microsoft-Windows-Server-DesktopUX-Package and Microsoft-Windows-Server-DesktopUX-WOW64-Package from SKUs like ServerDatacenter or ServerStandard that includes GUI.
When Windows Update issue occured, it means that there is update for C:\Windows\Branding. Revert Branding to Server's and it'll be OK to update. After update, revert to Client's Branding.
PS:
Server's Branding has to be re-backuped for each update. (Branding is hardly ever updated, just in case.)
Certs are located in "C:\Windows\System32\spp\tokens\skus"
Find a W10 client/pro ISO, open .wim with 7zip, or take files from a live installation.
Go to "C:\Windows\System32\spp\tokens\skus" and copy/paste "Professional" folder to same location on Server.
Then slmgr /rilc
Simply put, the whole point here should be getting that Azure Stack HCI installed and activated first. Once that's already taken care of, we'll proceed to extract two desktop packages from the "Server with Desktop Experience" flavor of Windows Server 2022 while adding both of them to Azure Stack HCI accordingly. Finally we're taking whatever certificates we need from any client versions such as Windows 10 or 11, and then copy to a specific folder as mentioned in the detailed instructions linked above.
It's kinda fun to notice that even one of those Intel network adapter drivers could be installed without having to mess around
You are absolutely right acer-5100. I was using Win11 ProWS instead of Win11 Pro. Made all the difference in the world. Got Nero, Kasperssky Internet security installed and running. Also installed the actual Intel i211 network adapter driver.
Personally I'm not interested in any client / server (i.e. conventional) versions of Windows anymore since the size would be HUGE when compared to what we're able to accomplish with Win11PE these days, please don't ask me for any guidance and feel free to post your questions on those forums instead.
If we're interested in slimming the whole thing down a little bit, these tools might be designed for those client versions of Windows in the first place but it wouldn't hurt to give them a try on Azure Stack HCI
CBSEnum is a tool to view and manage Windows Component-Based Servicing packages.
Component-Based Servicing is a technology since Windows Vista which most resembles Linux-style package managers. It builds upon WinSxS (Side by side assemblies) to allow installation, deinstallation and updating of numerous Windows components independently.
It presents a moderately componentized view into Windows and allows uninstalling parts of system which outside of Windows Embedded were previously seen as monolithic.
In Windows, this technology is hidden from general public. There's a command-line tool dism.exe to manage CBS packages, but most packages are marked as hidden even from DISM.
MODWIN: A Tool for Inspecting, Modifying, and Building "Lite" ISOs
