ADK 10: Windows Imaging and Configuration Designer

DavidY said:

I haven't got round to trying this in the current ADK, but I think the official route is:

1. Save your ppkg file as above and copy it onto another folder/computer
2. Get hold of the install.wim from the ISO of the edition you're trying to install
3. Use the Windows ICD (within the ADK) and create a new project with that install.wim
4. Import the ppkg from step 1 into your project as the Reference Device Data Asset (I think that's the name)
5. Set the Compact option in the ICD and create an installation set that way

... but I've not tried this yet! And when I used the ICD in earlier versions of the ADK, the installation sets created at step 5 didn't work.

I've just tried this and was rather surprised to find it created an install disk for me which actually installed Windows.

I had to use the 'Production Media' option in the ICD to make the 'Compact OS' option appear, but when I copied the resultant files onto a VHD and pointed it at a VM with a completely blanked disk, it installed automatically up to the normal Setup screen where you choose your language/region.

When I'd installed it, I could see that the apps I'd saved before (Firefox etc.) were there, and also some customisations I put into the ICD - for instance see the System screen below.



The only thing I'm not sure about is how to check whether the Compact function worked.... Hmmm.

Check the size of the install by looking at your c: drive. If its only a few gigs then you have it. If not then you might need to try again.

Mansome said:

Check the size of the install by looking at your c: drive. If its only a few gigs then you have it. If not then you might need to try again.

Yeah I'm going to compare by trying out the non-Compact version and see if it uses more space!

I forgot to say earlier - this posted by kyhi further up the thread is (if the documentation is correct ) another way to get the Compact installation. You'd need to boot from a WinPE disk (onto which you'd already added Scanstate) to run the steps , I think.

It may give a tidier result without leaving behind some of the working folders (windows.old etc.) which I noticed the ICD does.

Kyhi said:

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...(v=vs.85).aspx

My understanding now is you just apply the install.wim using the /compact option to get wimboot..

Code:

dism /Apply-Image /ImageFile:X:\install.wim /ApplyDir:W:\ /Index:1 /Compact

which places a compacted install.wim in C\Images\

then you create a provisioning ppkg of your customizations to be stored in C\recovery\custiomizations
(Note: Capture custom image no longer used in win10)(it is a win8.1 option)

Code:

scanstate /tel:off /apps /drivers /ppkg C:\Recovery\Customizations\Apps_Drivers.ppkg /o /c /v:13 /l:C:\

Now you have the full instance software (which you just captured into a ppkg) and a compressed instance of that same software

then you can singleinstance the ppkg into the compacted install.wim _ so the full software instance is removed and the OS and customizations are running from a compressed state..

Code:

DISM /Apply-CustomDataImage /CustomDataImage:C:\Recovery\Customizations\USMT.ppkg /ImagePath:C:\ /SingleInstance

Important ... You MUST keep the C\images and C\Recovery Directories - Removing them Removes Windows

The answer is Yes - the Compact option does use less disk space, although it isn't a vast saving.

Presumably the saving is made by from the apps and drivers that are in the ppkg, so I guess I could also have looked in Program Files and found that is where the space is saved. (Although do I really want drivers to be run off a ppkg file...? Hmm!)

As I don't have many apps on there, the saving isn't great. But if I had a lot of apps (and I'm really testing this so I can setup a tablet which has a licence for Office 2013) then it may be more worthwhile.

Space Usage after using ICD 'Production Media' option with 'Compact' set to Yes:



Space Usage after using ICD 'Clean Install' option - which doesn't have 'Compact' as a possibility:


I also note that the 'Clean' install version puts a second .ppkg file in C:\Recovery\Customizations, called ICD_Customizations.ppkg.

I assume this second ppkg is the settings I changed within the ICD (Computer Manufacturer etc.) but it's interesting that they aren't created in the Production Media option which only leaves the big ppkg with Firefox/Drivers etc., so I guess Reset might behave differently in the two installations.

So I have gotten the production media to work, however I dont see the difference at all with the compact OS option It still takes up about 16gbs for all my stuff. I know with wimboot on 8.1 I got it down to almost 8gb. Maybe I am missing something here?

windows 8.1 used the recovery partition to store the image - thus your windows partition was smaller.

compare freespace

3GB is a 10% saving of freespace on a 32GB drive

Wimboot was only supported on drive 32GB drive or less - almost would bet Compact is too

Need min 16GB for compact using x86 and 20GB for compact using x64

Mansome said:

So I have gotten the production media to work, however I dont see the difference at all with the compact OS option It still takes up about 16gbs for all my stuff. I know with wimboot on 8.1 I got it down to almost 8gb. Maybe I am missing something here?

Apparently the way to check if compaction is switched on for the OS as a while is this command, used at an elevated command prompt:

Code:

compact /compactos:query

If you go to disk management and look at your drive and you choose the compact option its going to say Wimboot on that drive. Thats how I know its enabled. It doesnt look like much space saving compared to the original wimboot due to the recovery stuff being on the drive too. Either way I think its going to be worth it for me if I am on a solid state. Windows updates as well as office bloats up the machine pretty quickly.

I've not been on the Forum a lot lately, but just a quick note that the ADK has been updated to go with version '1511' of Windows 10. I've not had a chance to play with it yet though.

The download link is the same as before.