Information
Servicing an offline image, mounting an image, committing changes, it all sounds a bit complicated to an average Windows user. However, it's just geek speak meaning modifying default Windows install image, the install.wim file. It is a straight forward procedure. When changes have been committed (written, saved) to image, the modified install.wim can be used to deploy Windows or to replace original install.wim on existing install media.
Servicing an offline image is done with DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management), a native Windows tool. DISM command options allow all kind of changes, changing the way Windows will be installed. Drivers can be added or removed, language packs applied to create a multilingual Windows install media, Windows Updates applied to get a new Windows installation to be up to date straight after installation, and so on.
A default Windows install media created with Windows Media Creation Tool (from here on MCT) contains an encrypted and compressed install.esd file instead of install.wim file. An MCT ISO is fully functional, the official way chosen by Microsoft to deliver Windows 10 install media. Windows has no issues in installing from an ESD file, but to service it offline the ESD file needs to be decrypted and converted to WIM format. If you try to mount an ESD file as offline image, you will get an error:
This tutorial will show how to use DISM to convert an ESD based MCT install media to WIM format. The same method can of course be used to convert any other ESD file to WIM, too
Step One: Preparations Step Two: Convert ESD to WIM Step Three: Create updated ISO
1.1) Create a folder on hard disk, name it as you wish. In this example I use folder D:\ISO_Files. From here on D:\ISO_Files folder refers to whatever folder you set up for this
1.2) If you have MCT install media already on USB flash drive, copy \Sources\install.esd to D:\ISO_Files folder.
1.3) If you have a dual architecture USB install media, copy the install.esd file for correct bitversion to D:\ISO_Files. It is located in \x86\Sources folder for 32 bit Windows, and in \x64\Sources folder for 64 bit Windows
1.4) If you have MCT install media as an ISO image, mount the ISO as virtual DVD (right click ISO > select Mount) and copy its content (all files and folders from ISO) to D:\ISO_Files folder
2.1) Open an elevated PowerShell (tutorial)
2.2) Check which Windows editions the install.esd image contains with one of the following commands:
- If you copied an ESD file from USB to D:\ISO_Files as told in steps 1.2 or 1.3:
dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:D:\ISO_Files\install.esd
- If you copied ISO contents to D:\ISO_Files as told in step 1.4:
dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:D:\ISO_Files\Sources\install.esd
Note
In case that your MCT ISO is dual architecture, the ISO contents you copied to D:\ISO_Files contains both 32 bit and 64 bit Windows images. In that case you need to change the above command accordingly:
To check editions in 32 bit install.esd:
dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:D:\ISO_Files\x86\Sources\install.esd
To check editions in 64 bit install.esd:
dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:D:\ISO_Files\x64\Sources\install.esd
2.3) Note the index number for your preferred edition. In this example I want to use PRO edition, noting its index number 1:
2.3) Enter following command to convert ESD to WIM:
Code:dism /Export-Image /SourceImageFile:D:\ISO_Files\Sources\install.esd /SourceIndex:1 /DestinationImageFile:D:\ISO_Files\Sources\install.wim /Compress:Max /CheckIntegrity
2.4) Be sure to use correct SourceIndex number (green highlight in sample command in step 2.3 above)
2.5) Command sample in step 2.3 is valid only if you copied ISO contents from a single architecture (32 or 64 bit) MCT ISO image to D:\ISO_Files folder as told in step 1.4.
If you instead copied an ESD file alone from USB as told in steps 1.2 and 1.3, or if you copied contents of dual architecture ISO image in step 1.4, change SourceImageFile and DestinationImageFile paths (red highlight in sample command in step 2.3 above) accordingly:
- If you copied an ESD file from USB to D:\ISO_Files as told in steps 1.2 or 1.3, both paths should be D:\ISO_Files\install.esd
- If you copied dual architecture ISO contents to D:\ISO_Files as told in step 1.4, both paths should be
D:\ISO_Files\x86\Sources\install.esd to convert 32 bit install.esd, or D:\ISO_Files\x64\Sources\install.esd to convert 64 bit install.esd.
2.6) Convertion will take a few minutes. When done, you'll find both original install.esd and new install.wim file in D:\ISO_Files\Sources folder:
2.7) If you were working with MCT single bit architecture ISO content copied to D:\ISO_Files, continue from step 3.1
2.8) If you were working with MCT dual bit architecture ISO content copied to D:\ISO_Files, you should now repeat the process for the other not yet converted bit version. For instance if you have now converted the 64 bit install.esd, do the same for 32 bit version
2.9) If you were working with install.esd file copied from USB to D:\ISO_Files, delete the ESD file on USB Sources folder and replace it with new install.wim file
2.10) Before creating new ISO from ISO_Files folder, delete the install.esd file in Sources folder (or x86\Sources / x64\Sources)
3.1) The D:\ISO_Files folder on HDD now contains all files needed to create an updated ISO image. See Part Five in following tutorial for instructions in creating the ISO: Create Windows 10 ISO image from Existing Installation Installation Upgrade Tutorials
That's it! If you have any issues with this, do not hesitate to post in this thread.
Kari
Related Tutorials
- How to add or remove hardware device drives on an Offline Image with DISM
- How to Backup and Restore Device Drivers in Windows 10
- How to use DISM to Edit Registry in Offline Windows 10 WIM (Image) File