Since Windows 10 version 1709, you can use DISM to capture and deploy FFU (Full Flash Update) images. FFU captures a disk sector by sector to a file container that holds an exact image of the disk. This means that whereas a WIM file can be applied to any size HDD or SSD, an FFU image may only be applied (deployed) to disk which is the same size or larger than the captured disk. How much storage capacity is used or free on that disk is irrelevant, only affecting the size of the captured FFU image file.

This is the only con I can think of; if your reference machine you used to build an image has a 512 GB disk, that captured FFU image can only be applied to destination machines with 512 GB or larger disks. The smaller the disk on your reference machine therefore, the better; images will be smaller and can be deployed to more destination machines.

DISM with FFU is also practical if you have to replace an HDD or SSD; just capture an FFU image, replace the disk, and apply image to new disk. FFU images are 100% exact copies of the disk, sector by sector. Capturing and deploying FFU images is fast, in fact much faster than using any third party software.

In this tutorial I will show how to capture and deploy an FFU image using DISM.

Notice please: FFU image can only be created from a GPT formatted disk. Equally, it can only be deployed to a GPT disk. FFU imaging does not work with MBR formatted disks.

Contents

 Click links to jump to any part

Part One:	Create WinPE ISO or USB
Part Two:	Capture FFU Image to a network share
Part Three:	Capture FFU Image to local disk
Part Four:	Apply FFU Image
Part Five:	Sample scenarios

Please notice that you can click / tap all screenshots in this tutorial to enlarge them.

Part One

 Create WinPE ISO or USB

1.1) Although FFU imaging has been possible since version 1709, the native Windows 10 DISM cannot capture nor apply FFU images:


1.2) To capture and apply FFU images, you will need to boot computer or virtual machine from Windows PE media. See this tutorial for creating WinPE: Create a WinPE USB or ISO

Part Two

 Capture FFU Image to network share

2.1) Boot computer or virtual machine you want to capture from WinPE.

2.2) Quite often when cloning a disk, it is the only disk present and therefore cannot be used to store the cloned image. In that case, your only option is to use a network share.

2.3) When WinPE Command Prompt starts, it will run command wpeinit to initialize and enable networking (#1 in screenshot).

Map a shared network drive or folder with following command (#2):

net use W: \\PC_Name\ShareName

Drive letter W: in above command is just a suggestion, you can use any free letter. When prompted, enter username and password to access that share.

2.4) Enter following command to capture Disk 0 (PhysicalDrive0) to mapped network share as FFU image file (extension .ffu):

dism /capture-ffu /imagefile=W:\DesktopDisk.ffu /capturedrive=\\.\PhysicalDrive0 /name:DesktopDisk


Name of the captured FFU image can be whatever you'd prefer, but the extension must be .ffu.

Part Three

 Capture FFU Image to local disk

3.1) Booting to WinPE might show the drive letters differently than what you are used to see when booting normally to Windows. To be sure we know correct drive letter for partition used to save the FFU image, we need DISKPART.

3.2) When WinPE Command Prompt is shown, enter following command to start Windows Disk Partitioning Utility (#1 in screenshot):

diskpart

3.3) Enter following command to check disk numbers for all connected internal and external hard disks (#2):

list disk

Note the disk numbers for both the disk you want to capture to FFU image, and disk used to store the image file. In this example I will capture disk 0 and save image on disk 1 (#3)

3.4) Select the disk where image will be saved with following command, replacing # with actual disk number (#4):

sel disk #

3.5) Check available partitions on selected disk with following command (#5):

list part

3.6) In this example case, I will save to Partition 4 (#6). I will select it with following command (#7):

sel part 4

3.7) To get its drive letter, I'll check partition details with following command (#8):

det part

I note the drive letter under Ltr column. In my case now, I will store the captured FFU image to drive F: (#9)

3.8) Quit DISKPART with following command (#10):

exit


3.9) Capture disk to FFU image with following command:

dism /capture-ffu /imagefile=F:\DesktopDisk.ffu /capturedrive=\\.\PhysicalDrive0 /name:DesktopDisk


In this example, above command captures disk 0 (PhysicalDrive0) to drive F: as DesktopDisk.ffu image file.

Part Four

 Apply FFU image

4.1) Boot from WinPE

4.2) Check the disk number for disk you want to apply image to. If image will be applied from local disk, also check the partition letter for partition where image is saved. See steps 3.2 though 3.9 for how to use DISKPART for this (#1& #2 in next screenshot).

4.3) In this example case, I will apply an image from network share, which contains the image file. I map that share as shown in step 2.3 (#3).

4.4) I will apply the FFU image DesktopDisk.ffu from mapped share W: to disk 0 with following command (#4):

dism /apply-ffu /ImageFile=W:\DesktopDisk.ffu /ApplyDrive:\\.\PhysicalDrive0


That's it! A sector by sector identical clone image has been applied to your disk. Booting PC from that disk, Windows will be exactly the same than it was when image was captured, apart from Windows needing to be re-activated if image was applied to different machine than from which it was captured, and that new machine does not have an existing digital license.

Part Five

 Sample scenarios

FFU imaging is a very practical way to deploy Windows 10. Build your deployment image in Audit Mode on a virtual machine, sysprep and generalize it making it hardware independent, boot VM from WinPE and capture it to an FFU image.

Image can now be deployed to any computer, to a disk same size or bigger than the VHD on the reference VM.

Another scenario is to use FFU imaging as backup tool. Capture an FFU image from your current Windows disk, apply it to "restore backup". The speed of both capturing an FFU image and applying it will amaze you!

And, of course, it's practical to have a recent FFU image in case your HDD / SSD dies, or you for any reason want to replace it.

Once again something that can be done in Windows 10 with no third party tools. Clone disks with WinPE and DISM.

Happy imaging, geeks!

Kari