Creating a Windows 7 system image for installation. How to create an ISO disk image. Creating a protected disk image

Almost every advanced computer user knows what an ISO image is, but does not know how to create one correctly.

Let's look at the topic of how to create ISO images from files and folders and how to create ISO images from disk. We will use several programs that are still used on the Internet today. Creating an iso image is not as complicated a process as it seems. Just a couple of clicks and the image is ready.

List of programs:

• Ultra ISO
• Poweriso
• BurnAware Free
• imgBurn

These programs are divided into paid and free categories. Paid programs have the opportunity to trial use, but with a limit of 300mv. But free ones are also not inferior to paid ones and even lead. Let's look at these programs.

How to create ISO images from files using the ultra ISO program.

First, go to the developer’s website and download this program. The installation process is the usual: install and run.

The program has a paid license and you can try it for free. In trial use, the ultra ISO program is limited to 300 mV. The program has a function to convert an image for similar utilities, for example:

• CloneCD
• Nero (.NRG)
• It also fits the .CUE and compressed ISO (.ISZ) formats

Creating an image from files and folders

If you decide to create an iso image, then you will need the files that you want to write to the image. In particular, these files are reinstallation disk or files for recording on a boot disk or startup disk

Open the utility. The program is divided into two windows. In the first top one it finds files prepared for recording, and in the bottom one there are files located on our computer.

To create an iso image, at the bottom of the program, open the files that we want to burn, select them all and click “add”.

Or you can also open the section on the computer where the files are located, select and drag them to the top window of the program.

In my case, I am creating an image for Windows 7.

Using this program and simple steps, we created an image for further recording on a disk or flash drive.

Creating an ISO image from files and folders from an optical disc

This method is mainly used to copy several copies of a disk you like, for example: an excellent build of an operating system. Let's consider this method. First, we need a disk from which we want to create an iso image.

On the top menu, go to “tools” and click “create CD image” or simply press the F8 key

1. This window opens, if you have several drives on your computer, select the desired DVD drive.

2. And the last section is the format output.

We look at the list and make a choice over the formats, the format in our case is “iso”, if you plan to use this image in the future in the programs listed in the section, select the appropriate option.

Create ISO image with PowerIso program

This program is just as paid as Ultra ISO and has the same recording limit above 300mV. The program also has the ability to convert the image into formats

• BIN/CUE

Create iso images from files and folders using Poweriso

Similar to the previous program, download the program, install it and launch it. To create an iso image, you need to load into the program all the files from which we will create the image. To do this, there is an “add” button on the top toolbar; click it.

Or drag and drop from the computer where these files are located onto the program window.

Select all the necessary files and add them.

Create iso image from optical disc with Poweriso program

To create an iso from a disk, go to “tools” on the top panel and click “create CD/DVD-ROM image file”

Create an iso image with BurnAware Free

We download this software, it is completely free and is a leader among competitors, and you yourself know why. Install and launch. A window with great opportunities will open.

Create an iso image from files with the BurnAware Free program

In this section, to record an ISO image, click “create iso”. Then this window will open

Select the file system “iso 9660” and click “ok”.

On the top panel, click on the “add files” icon, select all the necessary files, click “add” and after adding, click “close”

Now go to “file”, hover the mouse over “compilation” and click “create”. Next, as always, write the name, indicate the saving location and click “save”.

Create an ISO image from an optical disk with BurnAware Free

In this program, the window is divided into 4 masonry

Multimedia

In the window that opens, select the DVD drive as usual and specify the iso or bin format, then click copy, then wait for the process to complete.

Create iso using imgBurn utility

The first thing you need to do is download, install and run the imgBurn utility. The program is distributed free of charge. imgBurn has an English interface, but it can also be Russified. To do this, go to the website of the program developer. Let's go to the download section.

Which is located in the folder where you installed the imgBurn program

Create an iso image from files using the imgBurn utility

Open the program and to create an iso, select the section “Create an image from files/folders”

Select all the necessary files and click open. After completing these steps to create, you need to click on this icon

We write the name, indicate the location and save the image.

Create an iso image from a disk using the utility imgBurn

In order to create an iso image from a disk, open the imgBurn program and in the window that opens, go to the “create an image from disk” section

And now the final stage is to click on this button

Software to create ISO image from disc only

Creating an iso image from a disk with ISODisk program

ISODisk software is used to create an image from a disk. With support from the ISODisk utility, it is possible to create an ISO image from any disk in two clicks.

First, download the program from the official website, install and launch. The program has a simple appearance and will be understandable even to a teapot. The interface of this program is in English. ISODisk includes two partitions:

Mounting an ISO Image as a Virtual Disk

Create an image from an optical disk

Select the section “create an image from an optical disk”

In the window that opens, select the DVD drive and click on this icon

Creating an iso image from a disk using Ashampoo Burning Studio 14

Download and open the program. This utility, in my opinion, has a very beautiful interface that is simply pleasing to the eye. The program has many functions for different works and disks.

In our case, we need the “image creation” section. Hover your mouse over this section and select “create image”

Select your DVD drive and wait for the program to load the disc.

In the next window, indicate the location to save the image, write a name, select the iso format and click “next”

Creating an iso image from a disk using DAEMON Tools Lite

This program is easy to use and has a simple interface that everyone can understand. Open the program.

On the toolbar located in the center of the window, click on the “create disk image” icon

As in all of the above programs, select the drive, indicate the storage path, and press start

Creating an iso image from a disk with the Alcohol 120% utility

Download, install and launch the Alcohol 120% program. Like some, this utility is paid.

But despite this, you can use the program by waiting for about 8 seconds to start. In the window that opens, on the left toolbar, select “image creation”

Here we indicate the name, path, format of the created iso image and click “start”

Creating an iso image from a disk using Nero 2015

To create an iso image from an optical disk using this program, insert the disk from which you want to create the image into the drive and launch the Nero 2015 program.

Now select the path, specify the drive and write a name for this iso. Next, click on the “copy” button

Creating an iso image from a disk using CDBurnerXP

The installation process is the same as in all cases. Open the CDBurnerXP program, then select the “copy disk” section, click “ok”.

A window will open there, just like in all cases, select the drive, indicate the path, write the name. Next, check the “hard drive” box and click “copy disk”.

Conclusion

In this article, I talked about the most well-known methods of creating an iso image from files and folders and from an optical disc.

In my opinion, recording with an iso image is much more convenient and efficient than simply copying a disk, since when recording with an iso image we get a 100% copy of the original.

As everyone already knows, optical discs do not last very long if they are used more often.

Therefore, in order not to take risks, it is better to make a copy of your disk using the recommendations in this article and sleep peacefully.

This is where I end the article. I hope this information was useful. If you have any questions, write in the comments. Bye!

You might be interested

If you previously created an image of the main hard drive partition, then at any time if critical failures occur in Windows 7, you can deploy it. Any data written to this partition after deploying the copy will not be saved, but you will not have to waste time searching and installing drivers and some necessary programs installed on the system immediately after installation.

Restoring Windows 7 from a working system

You can archive the required disk partitions on any available media - DVDs, an additional hard drive or an external hard drive with a USB interface. A separate partition on the same HDD is also suitable, but in this case data security is not guaranteed. If the device is damaged, some or all of the data on it may be lost, which fully applies to the created backup copy.

If the OS, albeit with errors, is slow, but loads and works, and no recovery methods improve the situation, then you can deploy the archive image directly from under the loaded system. For this:

All old information will be lost from the disk to which the save will be deployed. If it is valuable, then in the next wizard window you can archive user files by clicking on the corresponding button below.

To go straight to Windows archiving, click “Skip”, after which a new window will open prompting you to continue the action after restarting the computer.

Working with the recovery tool

After the reboot, a pair of dialog boxes will appear in sequence, prompting you to select a language and enter user credentials. Next you will have to work with the main parameters window:

Restoring the image if the system cannot be booted

If, after turning on the computer, the boot does not occur and it is not possible to boot into Windows in normal mode, try pressing F8 and opening the additional boot options window. From here you can get to the recovery options module if you select the very first troubleshooting item.

Further actions have already been described in the section describing working with this tool. But in case of critical failures, often pressing F8 and trying to go to boot options does not bring results. In this case, you cannot do without a Windows 7 installation or boot disk and the recovery environment located on it.

How to extract individual files from an image

Sometimes a system archive can be useful not only for deploying Windows 7 if it cannot be cured, but also for retrieving accidentally deleted important files that were saved in the archive. To do this, it must be connected as a virtual hard disk:

All that remains is to open the computer icon on the desktop again and make sure that a new virtual disk has appeared here. You can work with it in the same way as with any partition, restoring any necessary information from there.

Features of creating and storing a backup copy

Before creating a copy of the system, you should decide on which drive(s) you will store it on. Users often use DVDs for these purposes, but you need to understand that then it will be possible to restore Windows 7 only by booting from a flash drive or other drive if the OS is no longer able to start on its own. You will have to do this because this disk is not bootable.

Often another problem arises unexpectedly. If, after creating a complete HDD image using standard Windows tools, you modified its partitions, then when you try to restore the copy, an error window may appear. It will inform the user of the need to format the disk from which the recovery environment was loaded. Even returning the HDD partitions to the state before their sizes were changed will not correct the situation.

Today, users no longer need to store a huge collection of disks. For example, you have an installation disk with Windows 7, which, if desired, can be saved to your computer as an image. Read the article for more details on how to perform this procedure.

In order to create an ISO image of the Windows 7 operating system distribution, we will resort to the help of a popular program for working with disks and images - CDBurnerXP. This tool is interesting because it provides quite extensive capabilities for working with images and burning discs, but at the same time it is distributed absolutely free.

Download CDBurnerXP

How to create an ISO image of Windows 7?

If you plan to create a disk image for use on a flash drive, you will need a Windows 7 disk, as well as CDBurnerXP installed on your computer.

1. Launch CDBurnerXP. In the window that appears, select “Data Disk”.

2. A working program window will open, in the left area of ​​which you need to select the drive with the Windows 7 disk (or the folder with the OS distribution files, if they are stored on your computer).

3. In the central area of ​​the window, select all the files that will be included in the operating system distribution image. To select all files, type the key combination Ctrl+A, and then drag them with the mouse to the lower empty area of ​​the program.

4. After waiting for the program files to finish processing, click on the “File” button in the upper left corner and select “Save project as ISO image”.

5. The usual Windows Explorer will open, in which you only need to specify the folder to save the ISO image, as well as its name.

Read also: Programs for creating a disk image

Now that you have an image of the Windows 7 operating system, you can use it to create an image of Windows 7 on a flash drive, thereby making it bootable. Read a more detailed process of creating a bootable Windows 7 flash drive on our website.

We are glad that we were able to help you solve the problem.

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lumpics.ru

ISO image How to create from your files???

Hello, friends! In this article we will figure out how to create an ISO image from files and folders and how to make a bootable image. For example, an operating system.

You can read how to make an ISO image from a disk here. Usually, I use Ashampoo Burning Studio FREE to create images, and UltraISO to write to a flash drive. In this article we will create bootable ISO images from files and folders from which you can install windows using CDBurnerXP.

This article could have been called “How to edit ISO images.” Image editing programs cost money. In this article I will show you how you can keep this money for yourself.

Article structure

1. Download CDBurnerXP
2. How to create an ISO image from files
3. How to create a bootable ISO image

Conclusion

1. Download CDBurnerXP

Go to the site

https://cdburnerxp.se/ru/download

Click on the link “More download options”

In order not to install an additional program, download the portable version of CDBurnerXP for your Windows bit size.

Unpack the downloaded archive

CDBurnerXP downloaded.

2. How to create an ISO image from files

Go to the unpacked folder and run cdbxpp.exe

Click Run in the security warning window.

Select Data Disk and click OK

At the top left, open the folder from the contents of which you want to create an ISO image. At the top right, select everything and drag it down with the mouse.

You can also add files to the project by selecting them and clicking

Set the name of the ISO image, location and click Save

We are waiting for the image to be created

The ISO image has been created.

3. How to create a bootable ISO image

This is the part for which this article was written. For example, we need to edit the ISO image of Windows 7 or Windows 8. In the last article, we downloaded the original image of Windows 7 Ultimate. Therefore, you can install Windows 7 Ultimate from it. To be able to select other versions of Windows 7 during installation (for example, Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate), you need to delete the ei.cfg file in the image. You can do this as follows

Unpacking the image

Go to the unpacked archive in the sources folder and delete the ei.cfg file

Now from the unpacked folder we will create a bootable ISO image of Windows 7

We add files to the project in the same way as described in the second paragraph.

Open the Disk menu and select Boot options...

Check the box Make the disk bootable and click to set the path to the boot image

In the folder with the unpacked image, go to the boot directory. From the drop-down menu at the bottom right, select All files. Select etfsboot.com and click Open

In the Emulation Type section, select No emulation

In the Sectors section we set 8 (The value depends on the size of etfsboot.com. If the size is 4 KB, we set 8, since the size of one sector is 512 Bytes or 0.5 KB (4/0.5 = 8). If the file size is etfsboot. com 2 KB - set 4) (Thanks for this valuable information oszone.net). In Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 images, the etfsboot.com file has a size of 4 KB - set it to 8.

In the Platform section I chose x86-32 since I have a 32-bit Windows 7 image

Set the location and name of the downloaded ISO image. Click Save

The bootable ISO image is ready to be written to a disk or flash drive.

Conclusion

In this article, we figured out how to create an ISO image from files, folders and make it bootable if necessary. In general, we now know how to edit Windows ISO images. You can remove everything you don’t like (for example, the ei.cfg file) and add what you need (software distributions, portable programs, drivers, etc.). In the video below I will show whether this works with Windows 8.1 images.

Source http://youpk.ru/kak-sozdat-obraz-iso/

pkzona.ru

How to create an iso disk image in Windows 7 using various programs?

Good day, blog visitors.

Many users encounter a situation where they need to use the same plastic disk constantly. Or there is a need to save files on a CD/DVD in exactly the same form as they are. Previously, this tool was often used in relation to games, because the constant use of plastic quickly rendered it inoperable. Today I will tell you how to create an iso disk image in Windows 7. There are several basic methods, which will be discussed in the article.

• Ultra ISO
• Daemon Tools
• Alcohol 120
• ImgBurn
• Burning an image

UltraISO(to contents)

It is immediately necessary to clarify that in Windows 7 there are no standard utilities that can convert CD/DVD to *.iso format.

The UltraISO application is considered one of the most popular among computer users. Creating a disk image or even making one from a set of files is not difficult. We perform a number of actions:

If you want to make a set of documents without a disk, do the following:

Select individual files. Call the context menu and click “Add”.

After that, go to the menu, “File”, and then “Save”. Select the desired format.

Daemon Tools(to contents)

Another equally popular program can be called DAEMON Tools. The application is considered one of the very first in this area. To interact, you need to perform a number of actions:

This program is great for gaming. Especially the paid professional version, because it allows you to cope with different types of protection installed by developers.

Alcohol 120(to contents)

On par with the first two, we can safely call Alcohol 120%. This application allows you to create and subsequently use virtual images of the most popular formats, including the above, as well as *.ccd, *.bin and many others.

The main drawback of the application is the license. Another version can be found by visiting torrent trackers.

So, let's do the following:

Download the installation files. We launch them, and using the prompts, we place the software on our device.

Open it, and then in the main menu select “Create...”.

Click “Start” and wait for the end.

It's worth noting that processing times for different tasks can vary greatly depending on the media. It could be five minutes, or sometimes half an hour. If you don't remember where the image you need is located, go to Explorer, and then enter "*.iso" in the top search bar. The built-in tools will find all files with this extension.

ImgBurn(to contents)

Another convenient solution is ImgBurn. You can download the installer from the official page. The application will delight you with its wide functionality and at the same time easy to use. Even any beginner can figure it out.

In addition, it is worth noting that even official Microsoft support recommends this application for creating a boot disk for its products. It is just as convenient to use as the other tools described above.

If something suddenly becomes unclear, you always have the opportunity to watch a video on this topic:

Recording an image (to contents)

It is interesting that all of the above applications only allow you to create virtual media, as well as interact with them in every possible way. The main thing that these programs lack is recording to another portable device.

There are many other solutions for this. Thus, Nero is considered one of the first and most popular previously. The application has a lot of functions. True, it will only help when using CD/DVD.

But to place the image on a flash drive, you need to turn to other solutions. This is useful when creating a bootable portable device.

Personally, I like several programs more than others. In general, they have the same set of functions, but I use each to process certain types of files. So, personally I would recommend Rufus and windows USB/DVD Tools.

Both applications are easy to use. You need to install a portable device and run the solution. After that, we simply select the desired memory and the image that needs to be recorded. Click “Start” and wait for the end. The processing time directly depends on the volume of information. This could be 15 minutes, or sometimes a whole hour.

Well, I hope you will find a convenient tool that will help you deal with the questions that have arisen.

windwix.ru

How to create an ISO image on Windows 7

What is an ISO image? An ISO image is a digital copy of an optical disc. You can create ISO images from compact discs (CDs), video discs (DVDs) and Blu-Ray discs (BDs). ISO images can be saved to your hard drive and you don't have to carry the discs with you. When booted using the ISO program, your computer can view the contents of these images as if the CD/DVD disc was loaded into the drive. I wrote about this in the previous article “How to use a virtual optical DVD drive.” You can also burn the ISO image to a DVD in the future, and it will be an exact copy of the original disc.

How to burn an ISO image to a DVD/CD disc

There are many software available to create ISO images on your Windows 7 computer. We will use ISO Recorder.

ISO Recorder is a free tool that creates an ISO image and burns it to disk, all without using a GUI. Yes, all work is done through the Windows Explorer context menu. It adds a command to the context menu once it is installed, and appears in the context menu depending on where you are. For example, if you right-click a folder or drive in Windows Explorer, the “Create CD/DVD Image” tab will appear in the context menu

Let's download the required software:

1. Let's go to (http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/W7.htm) ISO Recorder download page for windows 7.
2. Select 32 bit or 64 bit depending on your version of windows 7, and save the file on your computer.

Installation. Now let's install ISO Recorder on the computer:

1. Run the installation of applications, which should be ISORecorder31x86.msi or ISORecorder31x64.msi
2. Accept all default installation options.
3. Once the installation is complete, you will be ready to create an ISO image on Windows 7!

Create an ISO image on Windows 7. Insert the disc into your computer's drive:

1. Right-click on your drive. There should be a new option "Create CD/DVD image".

2.Left-click and select a location to save the ISO file. 3. After clicking the “Save” button, ISORecorder will begin copying the contents of your disk into the ISO image. After the creation of the ISO image is completed, you will see the ISO file in the destination folder.

maks-1.com

How to create ISO windows 7?

How to create iso windows 7?

We have already written about the method of creating an image of Windows 7, directly in the operating system itself. However, if for some reason you find this method inconvenient, then we can offer you another option, using third-party software. It will be the Russian-language program ImgBurn, which you can easily find on its developer’s website; it is completely free and legal. You can also use the UltraISO program

How to create an ISO image of a Windows 7 system?

As soon as you have downloaded and installed the program itself (and there should be no difficulties with this), feel free to launch it and select the operating mode, the functions of which are “Creating an image from files and folders”.

Folder to add ISO image

Next, select the folder with the image and indicate its path to the program. After that, go to the next tab, which is called “Advanced”, and then to “Boot Disk”. Then we indicate with a checkbox the path to the “etfsboot” file (it is located in the folder with the image), and fill in all additional fields.

Selecting the location of the etfsboot file

After this point, the program itself will offer you to automatically make certain system corrections, we boldly agree, confirm the information and wait until your Windows 7 ISO is created.

fixing system image errors

As soon as it has been created, you just have to exit the program, and on your desk there will be a file with an image for burning to disk. This ISO with the operating system can also be written to any disc using this program, and then checked for any errors. Although this shouldn't be the case. But do not forget that Windows 7 also has its own functions for writing to disk; you can use them too.

Creating a Windows 7 ISO? Video instruction

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 modern Windows operating systems, creating such an image is much easier than in Windows XP, and you can use the automatic installation package.

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.

On this page

You will need

• Deployment Tools from the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK)

Of course, you will need a computer to install and configure the OS, as well as a place to save the system image. The installation computer can be a virtual machine (for example, Hyper-V from Windows or VirtualBox). 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 custom 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. To maintain the latest versions of applications, you will have to rebuild the image. 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:

1. Installing applications and setting up the system
2. Preparing the system using the utility sysprep
3. Booting into Windows PE and saving the image using the utility ImageX

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

A note about customizing settings

In addition to installing applications, audit mode allows you to configure user settings. There are two ways to apply settings to an image.

You can:

• 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.

Importing registry settings

The principle itself is discussed in detail in the article Using registry tweaks. I trust that you have read it and have a complete understanding of importing user and system settings.

Copy a profile using a response file

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.

You need to use this opportunity when installing a customized image by including this parameter in the response file. In this case, the profile will be copied on the pass 4 Specialize.

Example of a universal answer file for 32-bit and 64-bit OS

true true

Why does this article recommend copying the profile during installation rather than pointing sysprep to the answer file when generalizing the image?

In any case, the profile is copied during installation at the Specialize stage. If you use the /unattend option in sysprep, the answer file is cached and then used during installation. At the time of writing the first version of the article, this did not work, despite the documentation.

If you are using MDT or SCCM, the method described in this article is required for the reasons outlined in KB973289:

Now let's talk about everything in order.

Starting the operating system installation from the installation disk and entering audit mode

The first step in preparing a customized image is to launch the OS from the installation disk. 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 Setup to create the partitions.

Advice. When installing the system on a virtual machine, you can connect a second virtual disk and subsequently use it to save the image. This will make it easier to copy the image into your production environment since the VHD(X) can always be mounted on a physical machine.

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

With an answer file, you can automate all steps of Windows installation, 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 updates, applications and system configuration

Once you enter audit mode, you can begin installing updates, applications, and configuring operating system settings. Do not close the utility window sysprep- you will need it at the end of the setup phase.

If installing an application or update 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 GUI. You can also import registry settings from pre-prepared REG files.

On Windows 8 and later, do not update apps from the Windows Store as this will cause problems when generalizing the image. There is also a science to uninstalling modern applications. See TechNet Library warning and KB2769827.

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, for creating a customized image), you need to set the utility parameters, as shown in the figure below.

With the specified parameters the following is produced (in parentheses are the equivalent sysprep command line parameters):

1. System preparation (/generalize) - remove unique system parameters, clear event logs, reset security identifier (SID), etc. This option is absolutely necessary to create a customized image.
2. Putting the system into OOBE mode (/oobe) - this mode will be activated the next time the system starts.
3. Shut down the system (/shutdown).

An example of a universal answer file for saving 32- and 64-bit OS drivers

true true

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

The first three command line parameters are specified in the same order as the utility GUI parameters described above. Parameter /quiet— ensures quiet operation and is necessary for automation.

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 installation files are hosted 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:

Formatting a volume using the utility Diskpart

Apply a customized image to a volume using the utility ImageX

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- application of 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

The article focuses on installing applications and configuring the system in audit mode and saving the image at this stage of installation. The advantage of this approach is that the saved image is neutral - it does not contain any accounts (except built-in ones), personal files and confidential data.

You may be wondering whether it is possible to save the system image after completing a full installation, that is, after the OOBE stage, the first login and subsequent configuration. This question is relevant if you want to install a system, work in it for a while - install applications, configure various parameters, etc., and then create an image.

Mention that imagex does not know how to use hard links (I checked - it does).

So, after applying the image:

• Extended file attributes are lost. These are NTFS attributes that are needed only for backward compatibility with OS/2 applications.
• Sparse files are captured, but after being applied they are no longer sparse files.
• Symbolic links and connections are automatically updated. In some scenarios (eg SIS) this causes links to go to the wrong place.

In my opinion, in typical scenarios for using a client OS at home, these restrictions can be neglected. But restoring such an image on another PC (even with the same hardware configuration) can lead to serious hardware conflicts.

That being said, there are several points that I would like to draw your attention to.

• Installed programs and personal files can take up a lot of disk space, which will affect the size of the backup WIM image. To store the image, you may need a dual-layer DVD or a high-capacity USB drive.
• You can reduce the size of a WIM image by excluding files and folders from it when the utility captures the volume ImageX. The file used for this is Wimscript.ini, which is discussed briefly in the article on creating a bootable Windows PE disk. Its detailed description is in the help file “Windows PE User Guide”, included in the ADK.

Recovery

Restoring from a backup WIM image is performed as described in the article section. However, the sequence of utility commands given there Diskpart needs to be adjusted.

For example, if there are several partitions on a disk and the system is installed on the first one, the sequence of commands to prepare this partition for recovery will be as follows:

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

You can include a customized WIM image as part of a boot disk with Windows PE, thereby creating a universal system recovery solution - a recovery environment and a backup image.

Conclusion

Creating and deploying a fully customized Windows system image using the tools included in the ADK 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 retains the ability for the end user to set personal options during the OOBE phase of the first system startup. You can also use WIM image technology to create a backup copy of your operating system.

A disk image is a file that contains the most complete information about the file structure and data of any media (hard drives, optical disks, USB drives, etc.). It can be used for completely different purposes (installation or system recovery, data backup). The following will show you how to create an ISO image. Let's take Windows 7 as the platform used. But consideration of this issue is inextricably linked with what kind of result should be obtained.

How to create an ISO disk image in Windows 7: options

Despite the fact that today you can find quite a lot of image formats, we will focus on considering all the procedures based on the most popular ISO format, which is supported by all programs and systems.

So how do you create an ISO image? Windows 7 is a platform that is perfect for such purposes. Based on further use, images can be divided into several categories:

• installation distribution image;
• to boot and restore the system;
• a backup image of Windows, programs and user information.

Most popular programs

Today, you can find quite a lot of applications on the software market that can work with images. The most popular are the following:

• UltraISO.
• Daemon Tools.
• Nero.
• Alcohol 120%.
• ISO Workshop.
• Acronis True Image, etc.

With a wide variety of all kinds of software, you should also take into account that Windows systems themselves have good tools for working with images. This particularly applies to backup and recovery. Like most of the above-mentioned programs, such tools allow you to create images in a matter of minutes. True, if the contents of a hard drive or virtual partition are copied, it may even take several hours. It all depends on the amount of information.

Creating a disk image using Microsoft resources

Few people know that recently developers from Microsoft Corporation have provided users of licensed Windows 7 operating systems with the opportunity to create a system image for recovery in case of unexpected failures directly on the official web resource. How to create an ISO image of Windows 7 in such a situation? As it turns out, it’s as simple as shelling pears. To do this, you need to go to the Microsoft website in the Software section, scroll down the page and see if the product license key is actually listed there (nothing will work without it).

If there is a key, then through the “Control Panel” you need to go to the system and security section, where the “System” subsection is selected and activate the security key check (this can also be done through the RMB menu on the computer icon, where the properties line is selected). If the key is valid, the browser will begin creating an image directly on the site, with which you can subsequently perform a recovery.

How to Create a Bootable Windows 7 ISO Image

If you don't have a key, you can use another tool. The question of how to create an ISO image of Windows 7 using system tools is resolved through the archiving and recovery section. Here, in the menu on the left, you need to use the image creation item, and after scanning, the system will prompt you to select the option for saving data (hard drive, optical media, network location). If we are only talking about creating a disk from which you can then boot and fix some malfunctions or glitches, you can choose DVD-ROM. However, if you are backing up an entire disk partition, it is better to save the copy on a hard drive (you may need too many optical disks).

Additionally, you can use the creation of a recovery disk from which the boot will be made if a backup copy is saved on the hard drive. In principle, you can use third-party utilities, but when creating an image you should pay attention to one point. The image you create must have boot entries. For example, UltraISO offers to create an ISO image of Windows 7 through the boot menu (Make Disk Image). In this case, we mean a copy of the hard drive with a working system. From it in the future it will be possible to restore not only the OS itself, but also all installed programs in a few minutes.

Creating an installation image

Finally, one more aspect. Let's say you want to create an ISO image of Windows 7 as an installation distribution that you can save to your hard drive or burn to optical media. To do this, you will need a real DVD with the distribution and one of the above programs. For convenience, again, let's take UltraISO.

We insert the original DVD into the drive, and in the running program we use the tools menu, where the image creation line is selected (to quickly call the procedure, you can press the F8 key). Next, select the drive with the distribution, indicate the storage location and the name of the image file being saved, and set the output format (in our case, ISO). After that, click the “Make” button and wait for the process to complete. The file will be saved in the selected directory. Then it can be written to an optical disc.

Instead of an afterword

Finally, it remains to add that when creating images, you should initially pay attention to what kind of data such a file should contain. Depending on the purpose and sequence of actions will be different. In terms of the programs used, the user himself decides what to give preference to. In general, all means are good. However, it is believed that backups can be created both using system tools and using third-party programs, but making copies of optical media using Windows tools is a troublesome task. You will only have to copy files to the hard drive, displaying hidden objects, then write them to disk, etc. Moreover, such a copy will not be an image. To simplify all these procedures, we can speak with 100% confidence about the advantage of third-party utilities.