I'm so close to having this all working. I have one little glitch: If I place both x86 and x64 editions of Windows in my image, then the ISO image will not work with a UEFI based VM, and a thumb drive created from the image will not work on a UEFI based physical machine. BIOS based VM / machine is fine.

If I place only x64 editions of Windows 10 in my image, then all is well.

First, here is the scenario:

I thought that I would start fairly simple. I'm creating an ISO image with 2 editions of Windows in the install.wim. There is Windows 10 Pro x86 and Windows 10 Pro x64. Both come from original MSDN ISO images not modified in any way.

I create my base image with the x86 edition as directed, then add the x64 edition.

When done, I verify the WIM and find that it now holds the following 2 editions:

Code:

C:\Windows\system32>dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:D:\ISO_Files\Sources\install.wim

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.18362.1

Details for image : D:\ISO_Files\Sources\install.wim

Index : 1
Name : W10 PRO version 1903 x86 (original)
Description : Windows 10 Pro
Size : 9,417,333,203 bytes

Index : 2
Name : W10 PRO version 1903 x64 (original)
Description : Windows 10 Pro
Size : 14,275,465,030 bytes

The operation completed successfully.

If I try to create a VM in VMware Workstation and boot it from this ISO image I find that I can only boot from the ISO image if I am using a BIOS based VM. A UEFI based VM will not boot from the ISO image. It doesn't seem to see a bootable image at all.

NOTE: BIOS-based is equivalent to a Gen 1 Hyper-V VM, while a UEFI-based VM is equivalent to a Gen 2 Hyper-V VM.

In addition, if I create a thumb drive using the method in the article linked to in the tutorial, I likewise can boot the thumb drive on a BIOS based computer, but not on a UEFI based computer.

However, if I place multiple x64 editions on my ISO image or thumb drive, then both BIOS and UEFI VMs and physical machines boot up fine from the image or thumb drive.

Ultimately, I would like to see if a way to make this work is possible without having to use a single FAT32 partition and splitting the WIM file, but it that's what it takes, so be it. I'm considering using the EFI folder from RUFUS, but again, I'd love to make this work without 3rd party utilities.

Some new information:

If I make the base image x64 rather than x86, then I can successfully boot on both UEFI and BIOS based systems and VMs.

My suspicion is that a true x86 system might not work but I don't have a 32-bit machine to test that on.

EDIT: Scratch the idea of making x64 the base image. During the installation it fails complaining of a corrupt file.

I think I have a solution. I performed one test with a single x86 edition and a single x64 edition and that worked. Now I just need to update it to add a second edition of each and verify that it presents to me the option to install any of the 4 editions.

I'll post back shortly .

Progress Update:

Works fine on a thumb drive. You simply need to be aware that there are 2 sources folders (one in the x64 folder and another in the x86 folder). Files such as the ei.cfg will need to be copied to both locations. On the FAT32 partition, some files need to be put in folders as well. Eventually, I'll write up a full summary once I have all the remaining questions that I have worked out.

Remaining Issues

Okay, so this whole procedure seems to work wonderfully for standard installations of Windows, both x86 and x64. However, I have not figured out a way to handle unattended installations.

For example, I currently have a thumb drive created with a 3rd party utility that has all the following Windows installs on it:

1) Standard Win 10 Pro x86
2) Standard Win 10 Pro x64
3) Win 10 Pro x86 with Latest Windows Updates
4) Win 10 Pro x64 with Latest Windows Updates
5) Win 10 Pro x86 Unattended Install for BIOS Based Systems
6) Win 10 Pro x64 Unattended Install for BIOS Based Systems
7) Win 10 Pro x64 Unattended Install for UEFI Based Systems
8) Win 10 Pro x86 Sysprep Install for BIOS Based Systems
9) Win 10 Pro x64 Sysprep Install for BIOS Based Systems
10) Win 10 Pro x64 Sysprep Install for UEFI Based Systems

So here is the problem - how can I separate all the answer files? I'm starting to think that this may not be possible with native Windows tools. When I look at the 3rd party tool I was using, it looks like it basically packages each installation in a separate ISO image, each of which can have its own answer file. With this procedure I see no way to separate the answer files for multiple Windows installations.

Kari,

I have a couple of questions.

I wanted to see if I could be clever and get unattended installations of Windows added to the list of available installs. So I had what I thought was a bright idea:

I would follow all the steps in the tutorial, but I would add an answer file to the image and just call it something like standby_autounattend.xml. If I'm booting from a thumb drive and I want to select a normal install, I simply proceed by selecting the edition of Windows I want to install from the menu and install as usual. If I want to perform an unattended install, then at the first static Window, I press SHIFT-F10 to open a command prompt, rename the file to autounattend.xml, select the edition of Windows I want and the installation then proceeds unattended. This works perfectly. NOTE: This obviously won't work for an ISO image because you can't rename the file. But it's fantastic on a thumb drive.

The one item that I am having problems with is the addition of sysprep images. When I add a WIM that has been syspreped, then when I boot I get I get a blank line where the menu selection item for that image should be like this:



If I attempt to select that image I get this:



I should note also that the sysprep image is definitely good. If I boot from the original image that I retrieved it from, it will install Windows 100% successfully.

I notice in the tutorial that you are adding a customized image. Is that a syspreped image or was it customized in a different manner?

Final question: Any thought as to why this may be happening or is what I'm attempting to do simply not possible?

I'm just so close - I have a solution that works for 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows, even a workable solution for unattended installs (at least on rewritable media), just no luck with sysprep images.

I've been playing with this ever since Kari posted this tutorial and I have a couple of questions that I'll just condense down here:

1) Let's keep it simple and say I'm only working with x64 images and no mix of x86 and x64. I can export multiple images such as Win 10 Pro, and Home, and even add images where I have injected updates, all without difficulty. However, I cannot seem to get any of my sysprep WIM images to work. The DISM command acts like it is exporting the image and there are no errors to be found. The resulting image is even bootable, but the sysprep installation is not available as noted in my previous post just above.

Is there something special I need to do with sysprep images?

2) What is the difference between doing a DISM /Export-Image and a DISM /Append? Procedurally, it's very different. With the append you have have to mount the WIM first, then append it, then unmount the image. It also takes a very long time compared to an export, but from what I've seen it looks like the end result is the same. Just have not found anything to indicate whether one has advantages over the other.

Any help with this would be apprecaited. As noted, I've been at this for days. I even wrote a program that automatically generates a batch file for me so that I can ensure that I am using the same exact syntax and commands everytime for consistency in testing. Below is a sample of the output generated by the program. Note this may be neededlessly complex. This was while I was experimenting with DISM /Append which involes the extra steps I noted above.

Code:

@echo off
REM    ********************************************
REM    * Windows Multi-edition Boot Image Creator *
REM    * (c) 2019 by Hannes Sehestedt             *
REM    ********************************************


REM    This batch file was automatically generated by Windows Multi-edition Boot Image Creator
REM    on 06-09-2019 at 06:24:37

REM    Since this batch file references drive letters, folders, and files that are not likely to be in the same
REM    place on a different system, this batch file should be run only on the system on which it was generated.

REM    You should create a new batch file with the program if any of these details change. If you prefer, you can
REM    carefully modify this batch file manually.

setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
setlocal enableextensions
cd /d %~dp0

REM    The following lines will check to make sure that the batch file is run as administrator. If not, the program
REM    will terminate.



REM *****************************************************************
REM * Check to see if this batch file is being run as Administrator *
REM *****************************************************************

openfiles > NUL 2>&1 
if NOT %ERRORLEVEL% EQU 0 goto NotAdmin 
goto IsAdmin

   :NotAdmin

   cls
   echo You have not run this file as Administrator. Please
   echo re-run it as an Administrator.
   echo.
   pause

   goto END

   :IsAdmin

REM **********************************************
REM * End Routine to check if being run as Admin *
REM **********************************************


REM ***********************************************
REM * Perform a cleanup of the destination folder *
REM ***********************************************

attrib -h -s -r "D:\MultiBoot_Project\ISO_Files"
rmdir /s /q "D:\MultiBoot_Project\ISO_Files"
rmdir /s /q "D:\MultiBoot_Project\WIM_x86"
rmdir /s /q "D:\MultiBoot_Project\WIM_x64"
rmdir /s /q "D:\MultiBoot_Project\Mount"
rmdir /s /q "D:\MultiBoot_Project\Temp"

REM ****************************
REM * Creating project folders *
REM ****************************

md "D:\MultiBoot_Project\ISO_Files"
md "D:\MultiBoot_Project\WIM_x86"
md "D:\MultiBoot_Project\WIM_x64"
md "D:\MultiBoot_Project\Mount"
md "D:\MultiBoot_Project\Temp"

REM *****************************************************
REM * This project is an x64 only architecture project. *
REM *****************************************************

REM ******************************************************************************
REM * Mounting an x64 Windows image and copying all files EXCEPT the install.wim *
REM * files to the project folder \ISO_Files to be used as a base image.         *
REM ******************************************************************************

call :MountAnISOImage "Z:\Data\Windows\Windows 10 Version 1903 ISO Images\x64\Win 10 1903 x64 Consumer Editions with May 2019 Updates.ISO"

robocopy %MountedImageDriveLetter%\ "D:\MultiBoot_Project\ISO_Files" /mir /njh /njs /a-:r /xf install.wim

REM *****************************
REM * Now dismounting the image *
REM *****************************

powershell.exe -command "Dismount-DiskImage "'Z:\Data\Windows\Windows 10 Version 1903 ISO Images\x64\Win 10 1903 x64 Consumer Editions with May 2019 Updates.ISO'""

REM ********************************************
REM * Cleaning up the \Mount and \Temp folders *
REM ********************************************

rmdir /s /q "D:\MultiBoot_Project\Mount\"
md "D:\MultiBoot_Project\Mount\"
rmdir /s /q "D:\MultiBoot_Project\Temp\"
md "D:\MultiBoot_Project\Temp\"

REM ***************************
REM * Processing image 1 of 3 *
REM ***************************

REM ******************
REM * Mounting Image *
REM ******************

call :MountAnISOImage "Z:\Data\Windows\Windows 10 Version 1903 ISO Images\x64\Win 10 1903 x64 Consumer Editions with May 2019 Updates.ISO"

REM *****************************************************
REM * For image number 1 we are using the EXPORT method *
REM *****************************************************

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Deployment Tools\amd64\DISM\dism.exe" /export-image /sourceimagefile:"%MountedImageDriveLetter%\sources\install.wim" /sourceindex:6 /destinationimagefile:"D:\MultiBoot_Project\WIM_x64\install.wim" /destinationname:"W10 Pro 1903 x64 with May 2019 Updates"

REM *********************
REM * Dismounting image *
REM *********************

powershell.exe -command "Dismount-DiskImage "'Z:\Data\Windows\Windows 10 Version 1903 ISO Images\x64\Win 10 1903 x64 Consumer Editions with May 2019 Updates.ISO'""

REM ********************************************
REM * Cleaning up the \Mount and \Temp folders *
REM ********************************************

rmdir /s /q "D:\MultiBoot_Project\Mount\"
md "D:\MultiBoot_Project\Mount\"
rmdir /s /q "D:\MultiBoot_Project\Temp\"
md "D:\MultiBoot_Project\Temp\"

REM ***************************
REM * Processing image 2 of 3 *
REM ***************************

REM ******************
REM * Mounting Image *
REM ******************

call :MountAnISOImage "Z:\Data\Windows\Windows 10 Version 1903 ISO Images\x64\Win 10 1903 x64 Consumer Editions with May 2019 Updates.ISO"

REM *****************************************************
REM * For image number 2 we are using the EXPORT method *
REM *****************************************************

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Deployment Tools\amd64\DISM\dism.exe" /export-image /sourceimagefile:"%MountedImageDriveLetter%\sources\install.wim" /sourceindex:1 /destinationimagefile:"D:\MultiBoot_Project\WIM_x64\install.wim" /destinationname:"W10 Home 1903 x64 with May 2019 Updates"

REM *********************
REM * Dismounting image *
REM *********************

powershell.exe -command "Dismount-DiskImage "'Z:\Data\Windows\Windows 10 Version 1903 ISO Images\x64\Win 10 1903 x64 Consumer Editions with May 2019 Updates.ISO'""

REM ********************************************
REM * Cleaning up the \Mount and \Temp folders *
REM ********************************************

rmdir /s /q "D:\MultiBoot_Project\Mount\"
md "D:\MultiBoot_Project\Mount\"
rmdir /s /q "D:\MultiBoot_Project\Temp\"
md "D:\MultiBoot_Project\Temp\"

REM ***************************
REM * Processing image 3 of 3 *
REM ***************************

REM ******************
REM * Mounting Image *
REM ******************

call :MountAnISOImage "Z:\Data\Windows\Windows 10 Version 1903 ISO Images\x64\Win 10 1903 x64 UEFI Sysprep with May 2019 Updates.ISO"

REM For image number 3 we are using the APPEND method.

REM ***********************************************
REM * Copying install.wim to project folder \Temp *
REM ***********************************************

robocopy "%MountedImageDriveLetter%\sources" "D:\MultiBoot_Project\Temp" install.wim /A-:R /njh /njs

REM ******************
REM * Mounting image *
REM ******************

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Deployment Tools\amd64\DISM\dism.exe" /Mount-Wim /WimFile:"D:\MultiBoot_Project\Temp\install.wim" /index:1 /MountDir:"D:\MultiBoot_Project\Mount"

REM *****************************************************
REM * For image number 3 we are using the APPEND method *
REM *****************************************************

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Deployment Tools\amd64\DISM\DISM.exe" /Append-Image /ImageFile:"D:\MultiBoot_Project\WIM_x64\install.wim" /CaptureDir:"D:\MultiBoot_Project\Mount" /Name:"W10 Pro 1903 x64 UEFI Sysprep with May 2019 Updates"

REM ************************
REM * Unmounting the image *
REM ************************

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Deployment Tools\amd64\DISM\dism.exe" /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:"D:\MultiBoot_Project\Mount" /Discard

REM *************************************************************
REM * Performing Cleanup-Mountpoints and Cleanup-Wim operations *
REM *************************************************************

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Deployment Tools\amd64\DISM\dism.exe" /Cleanup-Mountpoints

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Deployment Tools\amd64\DISM\dism.exe" /Cleanup-Wim

REM *************************
REM * Dismounting the image *
REM *************************

powershell.exe -command "Dismount-DiskImage "'Z:\Data\Windows\Windows 10 Version 1903 ISO Images\x64\Win 10 1903 x64 UEFI Sysprep with May 2019 Updates.ISO'""

REM *********************************************************************
REM * Copying the updated install.wim image file(s) to the base project *
REM *********************************************************************

robocopy "D:\MultiBoot_Project\WIM_x64" "D:\MultiBoot_Project\ISO_Files\sources" install.wim /a-:r /njh /njs

REM ********************************
REM * Creating the final ISO image *
REM ********************************

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Deployment Tools\amd64\Oscdimg\oscdimg.exe" -m -o -u2 -udfver102 -bootdata:2#p0,e,b"D:\MultiBoot_Project\ISO_Files\boot\etfsboot.com"#pEF,e,b"D:\MultiBoot_Project\ISO_Files\efi\microsoft\boot\efisys.bin" "D:\MultiBoot_Project\ISO_Files" "D:\MultiBoot_Project\Win10MultiBoot.ISO"

GOTO :END


REM ***************************************************************************************************************
REM * Below is the subroutine for mounting an ISO image. Call it, passing the path to the ISO image with the call *
REM * and it will mount the image and pass the drive letter (with colon), in MountedImageDriveLetter              *
REM ***************************************************************************************************************

:MountAnISOImage

REM Grab the path to the image to be mounted, assign it to SubImagePath, and strip quotes from the path.

set SubImagePath=%1
set SubImagePath=%SubImagePath:"=%

REM Mount the image.

powershell.exe -command "Mount-DiskImage "'%SubImagePath%'""
powershell.exe -command "Get-DiskImage -ImagePath '%SubImagePath%' | Get-Volume" > MountInfo.txt

REM Get drive letter (includes the colon).
REM We need to skip 3 lines in order to read the 4th line of text in the MountInfo.txt file.

for /F "skip=3 delims=" %%a in (MountInfo.txt) do (
   set LineContents=%%a
   goto EvaluateForDriveLetter
)

:EvaluateForDriveLetter

REM We are done with MountInfo.txt. Delete it.

del MountInfo.txt
set LineContents=%LineContents:~0,1%
set MountedImageDriveLetter=%LineContents%:

goto :eof


:END