How to specify regional and language settings for an unattended installation of Windows MultiLanguage Version in Windows Server 2003

This article describes the regional and language settings that you can specify for an unattended installation of Windows MultiLanguage Version.

Added support for default locale, input locale, and user interface (UI) language-related settings is included in the Unattend.txt answer file.

Unattend.txt Settings

The following settings are relevant for an Unattend.txt file when you configure Windows MultiLanguage version-related settings during an unattended installation: Two settings are ignored in Unattend.txt and Sysprep.inf, and are specific to computers that have the MultiLingual User Interface Packs installed. You can use these settings only by invoking the Regional and Language Options control panel applet in an unattended fashion:

Syntax

• Language - This setting specifies the language that is installed. If this setting is specified, the SystemLocale, InputLocale, and UserLocale settings are ignored.
• LanguageGroup - This setting specifies the language support that is installed on the computer. If this setting is specified, it provides the default settings for the InputLocale, SystemLocale, and UserLocale settings.
• SystemLocale - This setting enables programs that do not use Unicode to run and display menus and dialog boxes in the localized language. If a localized program does not display correctly on the computer, setting the system locale to match the language of the localized program may resolve the problem. However, this setting is network-wide, so it is not possible to support simultaneously the localized programs that do not use Unicode for multiple languages.
• UserLocale - This setting controls the settings for sorting numbers, time, currency, and dates.
• InputLocale - This setting specifies the input locale and keyboard layout combinations. If multiple locales are specified, the first keyboard layout that is specified becomes the computer default. The specified combinations must be supported by one of the languages that is defined by using either the LanguageGroup setting or the default language for the language version of Windows Server 2003 that is being installed. If an available language does not support the specified combination, the default combination is used. This setting is ignored if the Language setting is specified.
• UserLocale_DefaultUser- This setting sets the user locale for the default user. The user locale controls the settings for numbers, time, currency, and dates. The specified user locale must be supported by one of the languages that is specified by using the LanguageGroup setting, or the default language for the version of Windows Server 2003 that is being installed.
• MUILanguage- This setting sets the UI language for the current user on a Windows MultiLanguage Version-based computer. This setting is intended for post-Setup configuration, when the Windows MultiLanguage Version language that you want is already installed.
• InputLocale_DefaultUser - This setting sets the input locale and keyboard layout combinations for the default user.
• MUILanguage- This setting sets the UI language for the current user on a Windows MultiLanguage Version-based computer. This setting is intended for post-Setup configuration, when the Windows MultiLanguage Version language that you want is already installed.
• MUILanguage_DefaultUser - This setting sets the UI language for the default user profile, which includes the logon language and the default UI language that is applied to all new user accounts.

To use an answer file to modify [RegionalSettings] items after Setup or Sysprep is complete:

1. Create an answer file that contains the [RegionalSettings] section items you want to modify, and then save it (for example, as c:\regopts.txt).
2. Create a batch file by using the following command line to apply the answer file settings:
   rundll32.exe shell32,Control_RunDLL intl.cpl,,/f:"c:\regopts.txt"

NOTE: You can apply any of the settings that are valid in the [RegionalSettings] section this way, but you must use this method to apply the MuiLanguage and MuiLanguage_DefaultUser settings because they are not valid in Unattend.txt and Sysprep.inf answer files. You can apply them, however, by including your batch file in the GuiRunOnce section of your Unattend.txt or Sysprep.inf file. For more information about GuiRunOnce, see the Microsoft Windows Preinstallation Reference file, Ref.chm in the Support\Tools\Deploy.cab folder on your Windows Server 2003 installation media.