Mcsetup.ini Apr 2026

| Parameter | Values | Description | |-----------|--------|-------------| | UnattendMode | Yes , No , ReadOnly , GuiAttended | Yes = fully unattended; GuiAttended = only text-mode unattended. | | OemPreinstall | Yes , No | If Yes , setup copies OEM files from $OEM$ folders. | | TargetPath | \WINNT , \WINDOWS | Directory where Windows will be installed. | | FileSystem | LeaveAlone , ConvertNTFS , ForceNTFS | Controls FAT→NTFS conversion during setup. | | ExtendOemPartition | 0 , 1 | Extends active partition to fill disk (Win9x only). | | ConfirmHardware | Yes , No | Suppresses hardware detection confirmation dialogs. | | NtUpgrade | 0 , 1 | Set to 1 when upgrading from NT 3.51 to NT 4.0. | Controls the GUI-mode phase (after the first reboot).

[Networking] InstallDefaultComponents=Yes

1. Overview mcsetup.ini is a configuration file used by legacy Microsoft operating systems (Windows 95, 98, Me, NT 4.0, 2000, and XP) during the setup and installation process . The "mc" prefix likely stands for "Machine Configuration" or "Microsoft Configuration."

[UserData] FullName="IT Deployment" OrgName="Example Inc." ComputerName=XP-DESK01 ProductKey="XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX" mcsetup.ini

| Parameter | Example | Description | |-----------|---------|-------------| | BitsPerPel | 16 | Color depth (8, 16, 24, 32). | | XResolution | 1024 | Horizontal resolution. | | YResolution | 768 | Vertical resolution. | | VRefresh | 75 | Refresh rate in Hz. | | AutoConfirm | 1 | Automatically accept new display settings. | Configures network components and protocols.

[Display] BitsPerPel=32 XResolution=1024 YResolution=768 VRefresh=60 AutoConfirm=1

[Unattended] UnattendMode=FullUnattended OemPreinstall=Yes TargetPath=\WINDOWS FileSystem=ConvertNTFS WaitForReboot=No DriverSigningPolicy=Ignore NonDriverSigningPolicy=Ignore [GuiUnattended] AdminPassword=MyP@ssw0rd EncryptedAdminPassword=No AutoLogon=Yes AutoLogonCount=1 TimeZone=035 ; Eastern US/Canada OEMSkipRegional=1 OemSkipWelcome=1 | | FileSystem | LeaveAlone , ConvertNTFS ,

| Parameter | Values | Description | |-----------|--------|-------------| | AdminPassword | * or plain text | Administrator password. * = blank. | | EncryptedAdminPassword | Yes , No | Whether the password above is encrypted (rarely used). | | AutoLogon | Yes , No | Automatically log on as Administrator after setup. | | AutoLogonCount | Integer | Number of times to auto-logon (usually 1 ). | | TimeZone | Index number (e.g., 004 for EST) | Sets the time zone. | | OemSkipWelcome | 0 , 1 | Skips the "Welcome to Windows" screen (Win9x). | | OemSkipRegional | 0 , 1 | Skips regional settings wizard. | Defines user and organization information.

| Parameter | Values | Description | |-----------|--------|-------------| | InstallDefaultComponents | Yes , No | Installs standard TCP/IP, Client for MS Networks. | | ProcessPageSections | Yes , No | Enables custom network sections (e.g., [TCPIP] ). | | Adapter1 | PCI\VEN_... | Specifies network adapter hardware ID. | Used for workgroup or domain membership (NT/2000/XP).

| Parameter | Example | Description | |-----------|---------|-------------| | FullName | John Doe | Registered owner name. | | OrgName | ACME Corp | Registered organization. | | ComputerName | WORKSTATION1 | NetBIOS computer name (max 15 chars). | | ProductKey | 12345-67890-ABCDE-FGHIJ-KLMNO | Windows product key (no hyphens sometimes). | Pre-configures display settings. | | NtUpgrade | 0 , 1 | Set to 1 when upgrading from NT 3

| Parameter | Example | Description | |-----------|---------|-------------| | JoinWorkgroup | WORKGROUP | Workgroup name. | | JoinDomain | DOMAIN01 | Domain to join (requires domain account in [GuiUnattended] ). | | DomainAdmin | AdminUser | Domain admin account name. | | DomainAdminPassword | pass | Password for domain admin. | Below is a complete mcsetup.ini for an unattended installation of Windows XP Professional SP3.

[Unattended] OemPreinstall = Yes NoWaitAfterGuiMode = 1 FileSystem = ConvertNTFS [GuiUnattended] AdminPassword = * AutoLogon = Yes AutoLogonCount = 1 TimeZone = 004 Below are the most important sections found in mcsetup.ini . Note that not all parameters are available on every Windows version. 4.1 [Unattended] Controls the overall unattended setup behavior.