Foundry v26.10.18.1

Release Overview

• New: Active Directory domain join is now available, in Interactive and Zero-touch modes. Documentation
• New: The WinPE keyboard layout can now be chosen independently of the WinPE boot language. Documentation
• New: A Keyboard menu is now available in Foundry Connect and Foundry Deploy. Documentation
• New: Tools > Open log file is now available in Foundry Connect.
• New: A boot image used without its media, such as over PXE, can now deploy when no imported content is needed. Documentation
• Reworked: The media creation and ADK progress dialog now shows accurate progress and a clear outcome. Documentation
• Reworked: The interactive Autopilot upload now runs during Windows setup instead of OOBE. Documentation
• Reworked: Foundry Deploy now applies and services Windows images through the native DISM and WIMGAPI APIs.
• Improved: The USB erase confirmation now lists the volumes on the disk. Documentation
• Improved: USB drives sold as 16 GB are now accepted. Documentation
• Fixed: Devices booted from GPT USB media no longer restart into the USB media after deployment. Documentation
• Fixed: Updating an MBR USB drive no longer fails. Documentation
• Fixed: Zero-touch hardware hashes now include the TPM version, so self-deploying profiles can be assigned. Documentation
• Fixed: Wi-Fi networks are now listed in Foundry Connect on ARM64 devices.
• Fixed: Images without winre.wim no longer fail the deployment. Documentation
• Fixed: A driver pack built for another model is no longer preselected. Documentation
• Fixed: A WinPE servicing block left by an unconfirmed image cleanup is now cleared once Windows confirms the image is no longer mounted. Documentation
• Maintenance: New app logo, consistent dialogs, improved translations, removed Run at startup option and updated NuGet packages.

Highlights

Active Directory domain join

• Domain joining is now available from Domain Join > Zero-Touch and Domain Join > Interactive. The join runs in the installed Windows, before OOBE, so one media serves any computer without preparing a package per device. Documentation
• One media can now list several domains, each with its own OUs, a default domain and a default OU. When several are listed, the technician chooses during deployment with the default preselected. Documentation
• OUs can be added by hand or imported directly from the domain. A single listed OU is always used without asking the technician.
• Interactive mode asks the technician for the join account and password during deployment. No join password is stored on the media in this mode. Documentation
• Zero-Touch mode joins without technician input. A shared join account and optional per-domain accounts are stored on the media, protected by the deployment password. Documentation
• Windows Autopilot and Domain Join can no longer be enabled at the same time. A confirmation now names the current and the requested mode before switching.
• A Domain join step is now available in Foundry Deploy, with a matching summary card. It appears whenever the media configures the join and the Windows edition supports it.
• Do not join a domain is now available in that step. The same media can now deploy computers that stay out of the domain; this choice is never preselected. Documentation
• Existing computer accounts can be reused. The account is moved to the chosen OU and keeps its identity.
• A failed join does not stop Windows setup. It is reported as a warning, and an interrupted join is never replayed. Documentation
• A missing target OU does not prevent the join. The computer is joined in the domain's default location, and placement is reported as failed.
• With the generated answer file, OOBE now hides the Microsoft account sign-in and skips local account creation after a verified join. Setup ends on the Windows sign-in screen; a failed or unverified join keeps the account creation page.
• Join credentials are protected throughout the deployment. They are staged for SYSTEM and Administrators only, excluded from support bundles, masked in logs, and deleted at the next restart if setup cannot remove them.
• Domain Join usage is now reported in telemetry. Only usage details, such as the mode and the number of domains and OUs, are sent, never a domain, account, OU or computer name.

WinPE keyboard layout

• A WinPE keyboard layout card is now available on the General page. The keyboard no longer has to follow the WinPE boot language, so an English Windows PE can now use a Belgian keyboard, for example. Documentation
• Default keeps the previous behavior. The keyboard of the WinPE boot language is used, as before.
• A Keyboard menu is now available in Foundry Connect and Foundry Deploy. Technicians can now switch layouts in Windows PE, for example before typing a Wi-Fi password, when one media serves several keyboard types. Documentation
• The layout chosen in Foundry Connect now carries over to Foundry Deploy. Programs already open keep their layout until they are reopened, because Windows PE has no input switcher.
• Media creation now stops with a clear message when the selected layout is unavailable. This happens when the layout is not installed on the authoring computer or not available in the boot image. Documentation
• Tools > Open log file is now available in Foundry Connect. The Foundry Connect log can now be read in Notepad, as in Foundry Deploy. Documentation
• The OOBE and installed Windows keyboards are unchanged.

PXE and boot-image-only deployments

• Boot-image-only deployments are now fixed. A boot image started without its media, such as boot.wim on a PXE server, no longer fails at preflight when no enabled action uses imported content. Documentation
• The default retail deployment now works from the boot image alone. It previously failed because OEM activation is a built-in post-installation task.
• The Custom Windows images and Post-installation pages now warn about PXE limits. Content imported on those pages is stored outside boot.wim and still requires the full ISO or USB media.

Media creation and ADK progress

• The progress percentage is now accurate. It no longer moves backward during USB creation, and a failed operation no longer shows 100 %. Documentation
• The dialog title now reflects the target and the outcome. It previously stayed on "Operation in progress", then read "Operation complete" even after a failure or a cancellation.
• A "Step x of N" line, download sizes and the elapsed time are now shown. Driver downloads are now named by vendor, such as "Downloading Dell driver package 2 of 3", instead of long file names.
• The final state now gives the next action. Open folder is available after ISO creation, and Open log folder after a failure, together with the localized reason and the failed step.
• Cancelling now requires a second confirmation, Stop operation. Escape can no longer stop a long disk step by accident.
• Windows ADK installation and upgrade now use the same dialog.

USB drives

• The Format USB drive confirmation now lists what is on the disk. Each volume is shown with its letter, label, file system and used space, so a wrong disk is easier to notice before it is erased. Documentation
• The confirmation also warns when Windows cannot read some or all partitions. A disk with an APFS or locked BitLocker partition is not mistaken for an empty one.
• Cancel is the default button of the confirmation. Pressing Enter does not erase the disk.
• The disk is now read again just before the confirmation opens. If it was removed or replaced, the dialog does not open and the identity message is shown.
• External USB disks remain valid targets. A removable-drive filter that never took effect has been removed.
• USB drives sold as 16 GB are now accepted. They were refused because the minimum was 16 GiB; it is now 14 billion bytes. Documentation
• The USB list and the erase confirmation now open faster. The USB disks are now read without loading the Windows Storage module.
• Updating an MBR USB drive is now fixed. It no longer fails with "Selected USB media is not a Foundry USB media." on media created by Foundry. Documentation

Windows Boot Manager boot order

• Restarting into the USB media after deployment is now fixed for GPT USB boots. The boot order fix from the previous release did not take effect there, because the device then has two EFI system partitions. Documentation
• Foundry Deploy now selects the target system store before updating the firmware boot order. Devices now restart into the installed Windows, so Post-installation can run.

Windows Autopilot

• The interactive upload assistant now runs from the Post-installation console. Windows skips OOBE.cmd on non-Enterprise editions licensed by a firmware OEM key, such as Pro, so the assistant previously never appeared on those devices. Documentation
• The assistant no longer restarts the device. It closes after the upload and Windows setup continues to OOBE.
• A closed window, a failed upload or a timeout does not stop Windows setup. The action is reported as failed and setup continues.
• A custom answer file or image that conflicts with the post-installation hook is now refused at preflight. Interactive mode now depends on that hook.
• Zero-touch hardware hash capture is now fixed for self-deploying profiles. The TPM crypto provider is now registered before the capture, so the hash includes the TPM version and Autopilot no longer reports "Self-Deploying mode requires TPM 2.0 hardware". Documentation
• A capture with a TPM but no readable TPM version is now refused instead of uploaded. Devices without a TPM are not affected.
• The JSON profile page now has a command bar and a Default column. Removing every profile no longer crashes Foundry OSD. Documentation
• Certificates are now created and removed from a command bar on the Zero-Touch page. Certificate validity is now chosen from a menu of 1, 3, 6 or 12 months. Documentation
• The deployment summary now reports deferred driver installation as DeferredPostInstall. The previous name, DeferredSetupComplete, no longer matched where the installation runs.

Native DISM servicing

• Foundry Deploy now uses the native DISM and WIMGAPI APIs. Fewer operations depend on parsing dism.exe console output.
• WIM images are now applied through WIMGAPI, with archive integrity checked. ESD images still use dism.exe.
• Driver injection, feature inventory and WinRE servicing now use the DISM API. Required native components are checked before the target disk is prepared.
• A rejected driver INF does not stop driver injection, as with dism.exe. Each rejection is now logged, and the step fails only when no driver could be added.
• Native DISM logs are now kept under Logs\Native in the staging folder.

Deployment reliability

• Deploying an image without winre.wim is now fixed. Captured custom images often lack this file; the recovery steps are now skipped instead of failing after the disk was erased. Documentation
• A driver pack built for another model is no longer preselected. When no catalog entry matches the device, Foundry Deploy now stays on Microsoft Update Catalog. Documentation
• Disk and hardware inspection errors are now easier to diagnose. They now include the PowerShell error message, not only the exit code.

WinPE image cleanup recovery

• Media creation is no longer blocked for good after an unconfirmed image cleanup. This happened when Foundry OSD was closed or a DISM discard failed during a previous media build. Documentation
• Foundry OSD now clears the block once Windows confirms the image is no longer mounted. A still-mounted image now gets one DISM discard attempt, with its progress shown.
• When cleanup still cannot be confirmed, servicing stays blocked and the error details now include a manual procedure with the real mount path.

Dialogs, messages and page layouts

• Dialogs now follow one default-button rule. Destructive confirmations now default to Cancel, so Enter no longer confirms a removal.
• Dialogs no longer show raw English exception text. Autopilot, proxy and update errors now show a localized summary and a next step.
• Text is no longer clipped on Foundry OSD pages. Settings cards, long values and table cells now wrap or show a tooltip.
• Tables now span their card and can be sorted from their headers. The post-installation table keeps its execution order.
• The custom image import preview now lists indexes in a table.
• Four misleading messages are now corrected in Foundry OSD, Foundry Deploy and Foundry Connect. They named the wrong cause, suggested a fix that was not possible, or could never be shown.
• Wi-Fi, certificate and unattend texts no longer say that passwords and files are not saved. They now explain that these are saved with the configuration on this PC when Remember passwords is on. Documentation

Settings

• The Run at startup option is no longer available. Foundry OSD requires elevation, and Windows does not start elevated applications at sign-in in a standard UAC session, so the option had no effect. Documentation
• A leftover startup entry pointing to the current installation is now removed automatically.

Localization

• en-US now uses one wording for USB drives, and en-GB is resynchronized with en-US.
• Stale and mistranslated texts are now corrected in all 38 supported languages. For example, "Disabled", drivers and disk images no longer use the wrong sense of the word.
• Proxy settings, the Foundry Deploy summary and several isolated texts are no longer left in English.

New logo

• Foundry OSD, Foundry Connect and Foundry Deploy now share a new logo.
• The Home header now shows the logo and the slogan From media creation to Windows installation.
• Icons8 is now credited in About > Licenses.

Remote error diagnostics

• copype.cmd failures are now grouped by failed step in Error Tracking. Different causes are no longer merged into one generic issue.
• Boot media and deployment events now report Domain Join usage and the WinPE keyboard layout.

Deployment media compatibility

• Configuration schemas: Foundry OSD authoring 17 → 18, Foundry Deploy 15 → 16. Foundry Connect remains at 5.
• Recreate existing ISO and USB media with this release to use Domain Join and the WinPE keyboard layout. Update a USB drive

Maintenance

• Updated Microsoft.Extensions packages, System.DirectoryServices.Protocols and System.Management from 10.0.12 to 10.0.13.
• Updated PostHog from 2.15.7 to 2.15.8, WinUI.TableView from 1.5.0 to 1.5.1 and HtmlAgilityPack from 1.13.0 to 1.13.1.
• Updated xunit.v3 from 4.0.1 to 4.0.2.
• Removed USB script tests that intermittently timed out in CI.

What's Changed

• fix(pxe): allow boot-image-only deployments and show PXE limits in authoring by @mchave3 in #419
• fix(usb): recognize MBR Foundry media when updating the boot partition by @mchave3 in #420
• fix(deploy): report the PowerShell error when disk or hardware inspection fails by @mchave3 in #421
• refactor(deploy): migrate DISM servicing and WIM application to native APIs by @mchave3 in #391
• feat(telemetry): report the failed copype step to Error Tracking by @mchave3 in #422
• fix(deploy): select the target system store before updating the firmware boot order by @mchave3 in #423
• fix(connect): pass WLAN interface GUIDs by reference for ARM64 by @mchave3 in #425
• feat(domain-join): add interactive and zero-touch domain joining by @mchave3 in #399
• fix(localization): correct three texts that say secrets and files are not stored by @mchave3 in #432
• fix: correct four misleading messages in OSD, Deploy and Connect by @mchave3 in #429
• fix(deploy): do not pre-select a driver pack built for another model by @mchave3 in #426
• fix(settings): remove the non-functional Run at startup option by @mchave3 in #427
• fix(deploy): skip recovery steps when the applied image has no winre.wim by @mchave3 in #428
• fix(media): drop the dead removable filter and show the disk's volumes before erasing a USB target by @mchave3 in #431
• fix(winpe): recover from an unresolved mounted-image cleanup once Windows confirms it by @mchave3 in #430
• feat(domain-join): let the technician deploy without joining a domain by @mchave3 in #433
• test(winpe): remove the USB identity tests that run real PowerShell by @mchave3 in #436
• feat(brand): refresh the app logo and the repository presentation by @mchave3 in #435
• fix(media): accept USB drives sold as 16 GB by @mchave3 in #438
• fix(autopilot): register the TPM crypto provider before WinPE hash capture by @mchave3 in #440
• fix(autopilot): run the interactive assistant from post-installation by @mchave3 in #441
• feat(winpe): add WinPE keyboard selection and Open log file in Connect by @mchave3 in #449
• feat(media): accurate progress and a clearer ISO/USB creation dialog by @mchave3 in #445
• fix(ui): consistent dialogs and localized error messages by @mchave3 in #444
• fix(ui): readable page layouts and command bars on the Autopilot pages by @mchave3 in #443
• fix(localization): clean up en-US and retranslate all cultures by @mchave3 in #442
• perf(usb): query storage CIM classes directly for USB candidates by @mchave3 in #450
• build(deps): bump NuGet packages to latest stable versions by @mchave3 in #451
• fix(domain-join): remove leftover copies of the join password by @mchave3 in #452
• fix(media): warn when a USB disk holds partitions the erase confirmation cannot list by @mchave3 in #453
• fix(localization): correct mistranslated word senses across cultures by @mchave3 in #454

Full Changelog: v26.10.7.1...v26.10.18.1