Before you can run the command, you need the tools.
This is best if you are installing on multiple computers or want a backup of the installation files.
Step 1: Download the Files Open Command Prompt or PowerShell as Administrator. Navigate to your ODT folder.
cd C:\ODT
setup.exe /download configuration-office2021enterprise.xml
Step 2: Install Office
Once the download is complete (and setup.exe is no longer in Task Manager), run the configure command:
setup.exe /configure configuration-office2021enterprise.xml
Place both files in a network share and run:
\\server\ODT\setup.exe /configure \\server\ODT\config.xml
Use Display Level="None" to avoid prompts during logon.
This guide provides a basic overview of how to configure Office 2021 Enterprise installation using a configuration file with setup.exe. Depending on your organization's needs, you may need to adjust the configuration file to include additional settings or modifications. Always refer to the latest Microsoft documentation and tools for the most current guidance on Office deployments.
The Silent Install
The clock on the server room wall read 2:00 AM. For the third night in a row, Maya, the lone IT operations lead for a global law firm, sat in the humming blue glow of a terminal. Her mission was simple in theory, terrifying in execution: upgrade 12,000 machines to Office 2021 Enterprise without breaking a single lawyer's workflow.
She had the tools. But tools are dumb. The real magic was in the script. setup.exe configure. configuration-office2021enterprise.xml
Maya opened her secure terminal and navigated to the deployment share. She typed the command she had rehearsed a hundred times:
setup.exe configure configuration-office2021enterprise.xml
She paused, her finger hovering over the Enter key. The command looked sterile, technical. But she knew what it meant.
The "setup.exe" was the messenger. A lean, gray executable with no logo, no flashy installer wizard, no "Next > Next > Finish" buttons. It was pure, silent authority. It didn't ask for permission. It simply did.
The "configure" was the verb. The action. It wasn't installing from scratch. It was transforming. It told the messenger, "Don't just run. Fix. Align. Enforce."
And then there was the soul of the operation: configuration-office2021enterprise.xml.
Maya had written that file herself. It was a 47-line eulogy for the old ways and a constitution for the new.
She visualized its contents as she pressed Enter:
The terminal blinked. No fanfare. No "Success!" message. Before you can run the command, you need the tools
C:\Deploy>
Silence.
Maya leaned back and opened her monitoring dashboard. The first 500 machines in the London office flickered. One by one, they turned from "Office 2016 - Critical Update Needed" to "Office 2021 Enterprise - Current".
It was like watching a wave of digital evolution.
In cubicle 4B, Jeremy the tax associate was reviewing a spreadsheet at 2:05 AM. He blinked. Excel closed. Then, two seconds later, it reopened. The icon was slightly rounder. The splash screen said "2021" instead of "2016."
He shrugged and kept working. He never saw Maya's command. He never saw the XML. He just saw that suddenly, his pivot tables loaded 40% faster.
And that, Maya smiled, was the point of the silent install. The best configuration was the one no one ever noticed.
She closed her laptop, grabbed her cold coffee, and walked out into the night. The server room hummed on without her, millions of lines of XML orders being carried out by a tireless .exe.
Tomorrow, no one would thank her. But no one would call the help desk, either. Extract the Files:
That was victory.
To install Microsoft Office 2021 Enterprise (LTSC) Office Deployment Tool (ODT) and your specific configuration file, follow these steps: 1. Prepare the Environment Download the ODT : Get the latest Office Deployment Tool from the official Microsoft Download Center. Extract Files : Run the downloaded to extract and sample XML files into a dedicated folder, such as Place Your XML : Save your configuration-office2021enterprise.xml into that same folder. Microsoft Learn 2. Verify XML Content
Ensure your XML file contains the correct Product ID for Office 2021 Enterprise (LTSC). A standard configuration looks like this: Configuration OfficeClientEdition "PerpetualVL2021" "ProPlus2021Volume" AcceptEULA Configuration Use code with caution. Copied to clipboard 3. Run the Commands Command Prompt Administrator
. Navigate to your folder and run these two commands in order: Microsoft Learn Solved: Install Microsoft LTSC Standard 2021
The command you are looking for is used to install or configure Microsoft 365 Apps or Office 2021/2019 using the Office Deployment Tool (ODT). Unlike older versions of Office, you cannot simply double-click setup.exe to install; you must reference a configuration file.
Here is the correct command syntax, followed by instructions on how to create the necessary XML file.
Open Command Prompt (cmd) or PowerShell in the folder containing your setup.exe file and run:
setup.exe /configure configuration-office2021enterprise.xml
Note: Ensure the .xml file is in the same folder as setup.exe, or provide the full path to the XML file.
<Language ID="en-us" />
<Language ID="fr-fr" />
<Language ID="de-de" />
<AddLanguage ID="match-os" Fallback="en-us" />