How to open boot wim. Opening WIM files. WIM Image File Structure

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Creating a fully customized image of an operating system with installed applications is often necessary in a corporate environment, and home users will not refuse an installation disk containing their favorite set of programs and tweaks. In Windows Vista, creating such an image is much easier than in Windows XP, and you can use the Automated Installation Kit (WAIK). This article explains how to prepare and deploy a fully customized system image, and also covers how to back up your operating system to a WIM image.

Important! Read the corrected and updated version of this article, incl. in the context of Windows 7, 8 and 10.

On this page

You will need

Of course, you will need a computer to install and configure the OS, as well as a place to save the system image. A virtual machine can act as a computer for installation. You can save the customized image on a non-system partition of this computer. For example, during system installation, you can create two partitions - install the OS on one, and subsequently save the image on the second. Also, you can always connect another virtual disk in a virtual machine. Finally, the customized image can be saved to a network share or USB drive. As you can see, there are many options - there is plenty to choose from.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using a Customized Image

In my opinion, the advantages of a fully customized image outweigh the disadvantages.

Advantages

• Quick installation of a system with a set of applications, since no time is spent on installing them. However, compared to a standard image, the customized image takes a little longer to unpack.
• You can further customize the operating system by using a response file used in conjunction with a customized image.
• It becomes possible to deploy an image using the utility ImageX. The standard image can only be used in combination with the installer because not all settings are configured (for example, language).

Flaws

• The image size increases. The final size depends on the number and volume of installed applications. If you plan to continue installing from a DVD, you must be aware of the 32-bit versions' WIM file size limitation of 4 GB (2^32 bytes).
• Versions of applications included in the image may become outdated. In this case, updating the application may be difficult (for example, it will need to be removed from the installed system). Regularly updated applications most likely do not make sense to include in the image. They can be installed separately, automating this process.

Steps to create a custom image

Creating your own WIM image can be divided into the following steps:

• Preparing the system using the utility sysprep
• Booting into Windows PE and saving the image using the utility ImageX

The resulting image can then be included in a DVD, installed from a network share, or deployed using ImageX.

A note about customizing settings

In addition to installing applications, in audit mode you can configure user settings both using the graphical interface and by importing pre-prepared REG files. Importing registry settings is discussed in detail in the article Using Windows Vista registry tweaks. I trust that you have read it and have a complete understanding of importing user and system settings. In relation to setting up the system in audit mode, you can go one of two ways:

• Configure only system parameters, and import custom ones using REG files into the configured WIM image (or into the source image before starting the installation described here).
• Configure both user and system settings, and then use a response file to ensure that the built-in account profile is copied Administrator to the standard user profile.

The first method is discussed in the above-mentioned article, and I will dwell on the second in more detail.

To copy a customized account profile to a standard user profile, you can use a response file that contains the parameter Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup | CopyProfile. If this parameter is set to true, the profile is copied on the pass 4 Specialize. You can use this feature in two ways:

• After completing the system setup in audit mode, tell the utility sysprep to a pre-prepared answer file. In this case, the response file is cached.
• When installing a custom image, include this option in the response file.

Example response file containing a parameter CopyProfile, you will find on the page. Applying a response file using the utility sysprep discussed later in the article. It can be placed on a USB drive, a network resource, or included in the installation disk in advance. If you are using a virtual machine, by entering audit mode and installing Virtual Machine Additions, you can copy the answer file from the physical system.

Now let's talk about everything in order.

Running the operating system installation from the DVD and entering audit mode

The first step in preparing a customized image is to launch the OS from a DVD. You can perform the installation manually, or you can automate the process using a response file.

Manual installation

Manual installation is not fraught with any tricks. If you plan to save the customized image on a non-system disk partition, use Windows Vista Setup to create the partitions.

Advice. When installing the system on VMWare Workstation or Virtual Server 2005, you can connect a second virtual disk and subsequently use it to save the image. This will make it easier to copy the image to your production environment since these virtual machines have the ability to attach a virtual disk to the physical system.

Continue the installation until the OOBE stage. It is easy to recognize by the prompt to choose an account name and a picture for it.

At this stage, Not while selecting your account name, press CTRL+SHIFT+F3. This key combination will put the system into audit mode with the rights of the built-in account Administrator.

Automatic installation

Using an answer file, you can automate all steps of installing Windows Vista, including managing hard drive partitions, entering audit mode, and even installing applications on it, as discussed in this article. You can follow the instructions given in it up to the section “Transferring the system to oobe mode” (the article discusses complete automation of the installation).

Installing applications and setting up the system

Once you enter audit mode, you can begin installing applications and configuring operating system settings.

Attention! When installing manually, do not close the utility window sysprep- it will be needed at the end of the setup phase.

If installing an application requires a system reboot, you can do so. After rebooting, the system will return to audit mode. As mentioned above, the application installation process can be automated using an answer file. You can configure any system and user settings in the Windows Vista GUI. You can also import registry settings from pre-prepared REG files.

Once you've finished installing applications and configuring your system, you should prepare it for further use.

Preparing the system using the sysprep utility

After installing applications and configuring the system, preparation is performed using the utility sysprep. Depending on which installation method you chose, the steps will be slightly different.

Manual installation

When installing the system manually, the utility sysprep runs when entering audit mode. To prepare the system for further use (in this case, to create a customized image), you need to set the utility parameters, as shown in the figure below.

With the specified parameters the following is produced:

1. System preparation - removing unique system parameters, clearing event logs, resetting the security identifier (SID), etc. This option is absolutely necessary to create a customized image.
2. Switching the system to OOBE mode - this mode will be activated the next time the system starts.
3. System shutdown.

If you need to copy a built-in account profile Administrator to the standard user profile, close the utility window sysprep and use the command below instead of the GUI.

Automatic installation

If you automate entering audit mode and installing applications using a response file, as described in Installing applications in audit mode, you need to add the following highest-numbered synchronous command. This command can also be used during manual installation, after first closing the utility window sysperp.

%SystemRoot%\system32\sysprep\sysprep.exe /generalize /oobe /shutdown /quiet /unattend:D:\CopyProfile.xml

After sysprep will complete its work, the system will be turned off. Now it is fully configured, and you can create its image using the utility ImageX.

Booting into Windows PE and saving the image using the ImageX utility

Note. Image size install.wim, included in the installation disk of a 32-bit operating system, should not exceed 4 GB (2^32 bytes). Otherwise, the installation will fail. This limitation does not apply to image deployment using the utility Imagex.

If the Windows Vista installation files are located on a network share, you can copy the customized image and response file there, and then boot into Windows PE and connect to the network share and run the installation from the command line.

Net use y: \\network_share\distrib y:\setup.exe /unattend:unattend.xml

Deploying a customized image using the ImageX utility

Using Windows PE and utility ImageX, you can deploy the customized image to your computer.

The sequence of actions is as follows:

Note. Deploying an image using ImageX only possible on a volume that has the same drive letter as the volume saved in the image. In addition, using ImageX You cannot deploy a standard (source) image Install.wim.

Let's look at an example of deploying a customized image. It is assumed that the computer's hard drive is not formatted. After booting into Windows PE, you need to use the utility Diskpart Create a partition on your hard drive and format it. I will demonstrate creating one partition on a disk.

Diskpart select disk 0 create partition primary select partition 1 active format fs=NTFS label="System" quick assign letter=c exit

Additional information about the utility commands Diskpart you can get it by running it with the key /? , or from the article Description of the Diskpart program with a command line interface. If desired, the process of creating a partition can be automated.

All that remains is to apply the image.

Imagex /apply E:\custom.wim 1 c:

In this team:

• /apply- applying the image
• E:\custom.wim- the path to the image. When placing it on a network drive, you must first connect it with the command net use E:\\network_share\images.
• 1 - index of the image saved in the WIM file.
• c:- the letter of the volume to which the image is applied.

After applying the image, you can verify (with the command dir) that is on the section C files unpacked from the image appeared. Now this partition contains the operating system in the state in which it was at the time the image was created. If the image was saved after performing settings in audit mode, the next time the computer is turned on, the system will enter OOBE mode, giving the user the opportunity to perform initial settings.

If you copied the configured account profile when you prepared the image, all new accounts will have exactly the same settings.

Deploying a Customized Image Using WDS

As with a standard image, you can use Windows Deployment Services (WDS) to deploy a custom image. A detailed description of this method is beyond the scope of the article, so I will limit myself to linking to the WDS manual posted on Microsoft Technet.

Backing up the operating system to a WIM image

Actual information .

Conclusion

Creating and deploying a fully customized Windows Vista system image using the tools included in WAIK is a fairly straightforward task. You can make this image neutral (that is, without personal files or personal data) by installing applications and configuring settings in audit mode. This approach allows further customization of the image during installation using a response file, and also preserves the ability for the end user to set personal options during the OOBE phase when the system is first launched. You can also use WIM image technology to create a backup copy of your operating system.

16.06.2010 20:41

Files installed in Windows 7 may become damaged or deleted by mistake or as a result of your computer being infected by viruses, Trojans, and other dangerous programs. Instead of having to reinstall Windows 7 because of one or two corrupted files, you can extract the files you need from the Windows 7 installation DVD.

All Windows 7 files are compressed and packed into an image file install.wim, located in the folder sources Windows 7 installation disk. There are two ways to open the WIM file and extract the necessary data from it:

Mounting an image using DISM

1. Insert the Windows 7 installation disc into your DVD drive, open it and copy the file install.wim from folder sources to drive D.

2. Create a folder on drive D and name it, for example, wseven. The install.wim image will be included in this folder. Please note that you CANNOT use the root of drive C as the folder for mounting the install.wim image.

3. Open Start > All Programs > Accessories .

4. Run the command:

dism /Mount-Wim /WimFile:D:\install.wim /name:"Windows 7 Ultimate" /MountDir:D:\wseven

Explanations:

• dism is a command line utility built into Windows 7 that allows you to mount and manage WIM images.
• The /Mount-Wim parameter mounts the WIM file.
• The /WimFile parameter allows you to specify the location and name of the WIM file to be mounted.
• The /name parameter allows you to specify the name of the Windows 7 edition that will be mounted.
• /MountDir: Specifies the directory where the WIM image will be mounted.

6. Wait for the image to connect. This may take a few minutes.

7. Open the D:\wseven folder, find the file you need in it and copy it to any location on your hard drive (for example, replace a damaged Windows 7 file).

Disabling an image in DISM

After copying the necessary files, the image can be disabled.

1. Close all folders and files.

2. Open Start > All Programs > Accessories, right-click the command prompt icon and select Run as administrator.

3. Run the command:

dism /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:D:\wseven /discard

Explanations:

• The /Unmount-Wim option unmounts the image.
• /MountDir: Specifies the folder in which the image you want to mount is mounted.
• The /discard option discards all changes made to the image.

4. Wait for the image to shut down.

5. Delete the folder wseven and file install.wim from drive D.

Opening a WIM file using 7-zip archiver

1. Download and install the free 7-zip archiver.

2. Insert the Windows 7 installation disc into the DVD drive, open the folder Sources and find the file in it install.wim.

3. Right click on the file install.wim and in the context menu that appears, select To open with.

4. In the window that opens, select 7-zip File Manager and press OK.

5. The archiver window can display from one to five folders, depending on the edition of Windows 7. The installation images of 32-bit Windows 7 contain all editions except Enterprise, so there will be five folders:

• folder “1” contains all folders and files of Windows 7 Starter;
• in folder “2” - all folders and files of Windows 7 Home Basic;
• in folder “3” – Windows 7 Home Premium (Home Premium);
• in folder “4” – Windows 7 Professional (Professional);
• in folder “5” – Windows 7 Ultimate.

The installation images of 64-bit Windows 7 do not have the Starter edition, so there will be only four folders:

• Folder “1” contains all Windows 7 Home Basic folders and files;
• in folder “2” – Home Premium (Home Extended);
• in folder “3” – Professional;
• in folder “4” – Ultimate.

In the installation images of Windows 7 Enterprise (Corporate) there is only one folder - with the “Corporate” itself; other editions are not included in the distribution kit.

Open the folder with the most recent number to go to the directory listing for the most complete version of Windows 7.

6. Open the desired folder, find the desired file in it, right-click on it and click Copy to…

7. In the window that opens, specify the location on your hard drive where the file will be copied and click OK.

After completing these operations, the archiver can be closed.

Installing Windows 7

WIM File Summary

WIM files are associated with one file type(s) and can be viewed using 7-Zip, developed Igor Pavlov. In general, this format is associated with five existing application(s) software(s). They usually have the format Windows Imaging Format File. The WIM file extension is listed primarily in the category.

Disk Image Files

Files with the WIM extension have been identified on desktop computers (and some mobile devices). They are fully or partially supported by Windows, Android and Linux.

These files have a "Low" popularity rating, which means they are not very common.

If you're having trouble opening WIM files, or if you just want to know more about related programs and developers, see the full information provided below.

Popularity of file types

File Rank Activity».

This file type is still relevant and is actively used by developers and application software. Although the original software of this file type may be overshadowed by a newer version (eg Excel 97 vs Office 365), this file type is still actively supported by the current version of the software. This process of interacting with an old operating system or outdated version of software is also known as "

backward compatibility

File status

Page Last updated

WIM file types

WIM Master File Association

The WIM file extension is an image file format that was developed by Microsoft and introduced by Windows Vista. This allows a single disk image to be shared across multiple platforms and can be used to manage files without booting the operating system. A WIM file allows users to serve a standalone image and multiple image stores in one specific file.

The WIM file extension is an image file format that was developed by Microsoft and introduced by Windows Vista. This allows a single disk image to be shared across multiple platforms and can be used to manage files without booting the operating system. A WIM file allows users to serve a standalone image and multiple image stores in one specific file.

The WIM file extension is an image file format that was developed by Microsoft and introduced by Windows Vista. This allows a single disk image to be shared across multiple platforms and can be used to manage files without booting the operating system. A WIM file allows users to serve a standalone image and multiple image stores in one specific file.

The WIM file extension is an image file format that was developed by Microsoft and introduced by Windows Vista. This allows a single disk image to be shared across multiple platforms and can be used to manage files without booting the operating system. A WIM file allows users to serve a standalone image and multiple image stores in one specific file.

The WIM file extension is an image file format that was developed by Microsoft and introduced by Windows Vista. This allows a single disk image to be shared across multiple platforms and can be used to manage files without booting the operating system. A WIM file allows users to serve a standalone image and multiple image stores in one specific file.

Android

Linux

Try a universal file viewer

In addition to the products listed above, we suggest you try a universal file viewer like FileViewPro. The tool can open over 200 different file types, providing editing functionality for most of them.

Common problems opening WIM files

7-Zip is not installed

By double clicking on the WIM file you can see a system dialog box telling you "This file type cannot be opened". In this case it is usually due to the fact that 7-Zip for %%os%% is not installed on your computer. Since your operating system doesn't know what to do with this file, you won't be able to open it by double-clicking on it.

Advice: If you know of another program that can open the WIM file, you can try opening the file by selecting that application from the list of possible programs.

The wrong version of 7-Zip is installed

In some cases, you may have a newer (or older) version of the Windows Imaging Format File, not supported by the installed version of the application. If you do not have the correct version of the 7-Zip software (or any of the other programs listed above), you may need to download a different version of the software or one of the other software applications listed above. This problem most often occurs when working in an older version of the application software With file created in a newer version, which the old version cannot recognize.

Advice: Sometimes you can get a general idea of ​​the version of a WIM file by right-clicking the file and then choosing Properties (Windows) or Get Info (Mac OSX).

Summary: Either way, most problems that occur when opening WIM files are due to not having the correct software application installed on your computer.

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License | Privacy Policy | Terms |

Other causes of problems opening WIM files Even if you already have 7-Zip or other WIM-related software installed on your computer, you may still encounter problems while opening Windows Imaging Format Files. If you are still having problems opening WIM files, it may be due to other problems preventing these files from being opened

• . Such problems include (presented in order from most to least common): Incorrect links to WIM files
• in the Windows registry (“phone book” of the Windows operating system) Accidental deletion of description
• WIM file in the Windows registry Incomplete or incorrect installation
• application software associated with the WIM format File corruption
• WIM (problems with the Windows Imaging Format File itself) malware
• Damaged or outdated device drivers hardware associated with the WIM file
• Lack of sufficient system resources on the computer to open Windows Imaging Format File

Quiz: Which operating system was the first to use a hierarchical file system (for example, folders with files)?

Right!

Multics was the first OS to support directory hierarchy (e.g. "Home" -> "Documents" ->

Close, but not quite...

Multics was the first OS to support directory hierarchy (e.g. "Home" -> "Documents" -> "Work"). Almost every modern operating system has been heavily influenced by Multics.

Best PC Operating Systems

Event of the day

In 2002, the popular multimedia format, MKV, was released. The format is quickly gaining traction within global media because of its ability to store multiple functions in a single file. MKV allows you to include language options in video files, such as interchangeable audio tracks and various subtitle files in one container.

How to fix problems opening WIM files

If you have installed on your computer antivirus program Can scan all files on your computer, as well as each file individually. You can scan any file by right-clicking on the file and selecting the appropriate option to scan the file for viruses.

For example, in this figure it is highlighted file my-file.wim, then you need to right-click on this file and select the option in the file menu "scan with AVG". When you select this option, AVG Antivirus will open and scan the file for viruses.

Sometimes an error may occur as a result incorrect software installation, which may be due to a problem encountered during the installation process. This may interfere with your operating system associate your WIM file with the correct application tool, influencing the so-called "file extension associations".

Sometimes simple reinstalling 7-Zip may solve your problem by linking WIM to 7-Zip correctly. In other cases, problems with file associations may result from bad software programming developer and you may need to contact the developer for further assistance.

Advice: Try updating 7-Zip to the latest version to ensure you have the latest patches and updates.

This may seem too obvious, but often The WIM file itself may be causing the problem. If you received a file via an email attachment or downloaded it from a website and the download process was interrupted (such as a power outage or other reason), the file may become damaged. If possible, try getting a new copy of the WIM file and try opening it again.

Carefully: A damaged file can cause collateral damage to previous or existing malware on your PC, so it is important to keep your computer running an updated antivirus at all times.

If your WIM file related to the hardware on your computer to open the file you may need update device drivers associated with this equipment.

This problem usually associated with media file types, which depend on successfully opening the hardware inside the computer, e.g. sound card or video card. For example, if you are trying to open an audio file but cannot open it, you may need to update sound card drivers.

Advice: If when you try to open a WIM file you receive .SYS file error message, the problem could probably be associated with corrupted or outdated device drivers that need to be updated. This process can be made easier by using driver update software such as DriverDoc.

If the steps do not solve the problem and you are still having problems opening WIM files, this could be due to lack of available system resources. Some versions of WIM files may require a significant amount of resources (e.g. memory/RAM, processing power) to properly open on your computer. This problem is quite common if you are using fairly old computer hardware and at the same time a much newer operating system.

This problem can occur when the computer is having trouble keeping up with a task because the operating system (and other services running in the background) may consume too many resources to open a WIM file. Try closing all applications on your PC before opening Windows Imaging Format File. Freeing up all available resources on your computer will provide you with the best conditions for attempting to open your WIM file.

If you completed all the steps described above and your WIM file still won't open, you may need to run equipment update. In most cases, even when using older versions of hardware, the processing power can still be more than sufficient for most user applications (unless you're doing a lot of CPU-intensive work, such as 3D rendering, financial/scientific modeling, or intensive multimedia work) . Thus, it is likely that your computer does not have enough memory(commonly called "RAM" or random access memory) to perform the task of opening a file.

Try refreshing your memory to see if this helps you open the WIM file. Today, memory upgrades are quite affordable and very easy to install, even for the average computer user. As a bonus, you you'll probably see a nice performance boost while your computer performs other tasks.

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The method of deploying operating systems from an image created and configured in advance has found its recognition mostly among IT specialists, but it also cannot be ruled out that ordinary users can use it with such success for their needs.

As you already know, the creation of such an image is carried out using the Imagex console utility, which is characterized by great flexibility, the ability to selectively delete and add data to the image. In this article we will continue to get acquainted with its capabilities and at the same time consider the procedure for deploying the Windows operating system from an already prepared Wim image.

The procedure for deploying a system from a Wim image consists of three main stages - booting from a WinPe disk containing Imagex, preparing the hard drive using the Diskpart console utility, and finally, applying the image to the created and formatted partition. So, we have a WinPe boot disk and a flash drive with a Wim image.

Connect the drive with the Wim image to your computer, insert the WinPe disk into the drive and boot from it. At this point, the first stage can be considered complete. Now we need to create all the necessary partitions on the new hard drive. To do this, we will use the built-in Diskpart utility.

To run it, run the command diskpart. You can determine the connected disks using the list disk command. As you can see from this screenshot, the utility detected two disks. Disk 0 is the base disk of the computer, Disk 1 is the connected media. To select a disk, use the s*lect command to view the list partitions available on it. We will work with disk 0.

s*lect Disk 0

If you have already installed Windows, you should probably know that during the installation process the system (starting with Window 7) creates two partitions - the main and the additional. In Windows 8 and 8.1, the additional partition must be 350 MB in size. Let's create it.

create partition primary size=350

The primary key in this example indicates that the partition being created will be primary. If you now run the list partition command, you will see that a new partition has appeared on the disk. Let's assign a letter to the section. Let it be the letter A.

Now the partition can be formatted. Of course, we will format it in the file system. It is not necessary to do a complete one, we will limit ourselves to a quick one.

format fs=ntfs quick

Since this section will be the boot area, it must be made active. To do this, we will use the active command.

We create the main system partition in approximately the same way. Please note that if you are going to create a logical partition on the disk, allocate a sufficient amount of disk space for the system, otherwise unpacking the image may fail.

If the size is not specified when creating the main partition, the partition will automatically take up all the remaining disk space. And this is the most correct solution - you will always have time to create a logical partition.

The active command should not be applied to the main one, otherwise the system will not be able to boot.

create partition primary size=100000
assign letter=j
format fs=ntfs quick


In our example, we will also create a logical partition. The operation is performed in two stages. Initially, you need to create an additional “extended” partition and only then create a logical partition in it.

Otherwise, everything is done in the same way as when creating the main system partition. The command set looks like this:

create part extended
create partition logical
assign letter=g
format fs=ntfs quick


At this point, the disk preparation stage is downloaded. After all partitions have been created and formatted, work with Diskpart can be completed. To do this, type exit in the console and press enter. Let's see what we got (the dir command shows the contents of the disks). For now they are empty.


dir a:
dir j:
dir g:

Well, it's time to start the final stage. Before doing this, it would be a good idea to decide on which disk you have the Wim image. Most likely, this will be drive C. Our task is to apply the image to the primary drive J. So, go to the folder with the Imagex utility:


cd x:/Program Files

...and start the deployment process. The number 1 here is the serial number of the Win image. We have only one.

imagex.exe /apply c:/Win81Pro.wim 1 J:/

The unpacking process may take some time. After the image is applied, you can make sure that operating system folders appear on drive J. But that is not all. In order for the system to start, a boot area must be created on disk A. This is done as follows:


bcdbootJ:/Windows/sA:


But now that’s really all. You can exit WinPe, the next boot will be done from the hard drive. As a result, you will receive a fully functional Windows with applications already installed; all you have to do is configure some system parameters and create a user account.


(note to buyer: replace the asterisk in the s*elect command with the letter e)

This is where I will probably end my story, bye everyone and until new educational meetings with you, dear friends!!!