Before you start
Objectives: learn how to use DISM to service existing Windows 7 image.
Prerequisites: you have to have WAIK installed. You also have to know what is DISM.
Key terms: image, mount, dism, command, feature, driver, parameter, folder
Image
For the purpose of this demo, we will be working on image which we will get from the Windows 7 installation DVD. In our case we have copied install.wim image from the Windows 7 installation DVD ([DVD drive]:\sources\install.wim) to the C:\images\ folder. In that folder we have also created the ‘mount‘ folder which we will use to mount our image.
Image 204.1 – Folders
Next we need to open Deployment Tools Command Prompt with elevated privileges. To do that go toStart > All Programs > Microsoft Windows AIK > Deployment Tools Command Prompt (Deployment Tools Command Prompt comes with WAIK for Windows 7).
Mounting
Next we will mount our image. To do that we will enter the following command: dism /mount-wim /wimfile:c:\images\install.wim /index:5 /mountdir:c:\images\mount. ‘DISM’ means that we are using DISM to mount our image. /mount-wim parameter means that we want to mount existing image. With/wimfile parameter we specify the location of our image. With /index parameter we specify which edition we want to mount (Ultimate in our case). With /mountdir parameter we specify where do we want to mount our image.
Image 204.2 – Mounting in Progress
Working with Features
Once our image is mounted we will check features that are available on our mounted image. To do that we will use the following command: dism /image:c:\images\mount /get-features. The /imageparameter is used to specify the location of our mounted image. The /get-features parameter is used to check for available features.
Image 204.3 – Available Features List
Different editions of Windows will have different features available. Among other things we have a feature that is called Minesweeper. This is a game that is available for free in Windows and it is currently enabled. Let’s gather more information about that feature. We will use the following command: dism /image:c:\images\mount /get-featureinfo /featurename:Minesweeper. Remember that feature names are case-sensitive.
Image 204.4 – Minesweeper Feature
Now we will disable that feature. To do that we will enter the following command: dism /image:c:\images\mount /disable-feature /featurename:Minesweeper.
Image 205.5 – Feature Disabled
If we want to enable some feature we can use the /enable-feature option. In our case Minesweeper is disabled on our mounted image so it will not be available by default once we install our Windows 7 Ultimate edition. We can run the dism /image:c:\images\mount /get-features command to check for available features again. Notice that the status of the Minesweeper feature is now ‘Disable Pending’.
Image 204.6 – Feature Status
Changing the Time Zone
We will change our time zone to the Central European Standard Time. To set the time zone we will use the following command: dism /image:c:\images\mount /set-timezone:”Central European Standard Time”. For a complete list of time-zone strings see the Unattend Setup Reference or use the tzutilcommand with the ‘/l’ parameter on a running Windows 7 machine.
Image 204.7 – TZUTIL
Image 204.8 – Time Zone Changed
Adding Drivers
We have added a new folder called ‘addons’ to the C:\images\ folder. Here we have copied the driver that we want to add to the image driver store. In our case we want to add drivers for Samsung ML1640 printer.
Image 204.9 – Samsung Drivers
To add our driver we will run the following command: dism /image:c:\images\mount /add-driver:”C:\images\addons\SamsungML1640\ssp2m.inf”. Notice when specifying the path to our drivers, we also specified the Setup Information file (.inf extension). In our case that file is ssp2m.inf.
Image 204.10 – Driver Installed
Driver content has been copied to the driver store successfully. If we enter the command dism /image:c:\images\mount /get-drivers, we can see all third party drivers installed in our image.
Image 204.11 – List of Drivers
Notice that our new driver now has a published name: oem1.inf. Below that we can see the original file name (sspm.inf), class name (Printer), provider name (Samsung), date and version.
Unmounting Image
We have made all changes that we wanted so we are ready to unmount our image. To do that we will enter the following command: dism /unmount-wim /mountdir:c:\images\mount /commit. Be sure to exit folder that is used for mounting in Explorer.
Image 204.12 – Unmounting Successfull
Notice the /commit parameter. It is used to save all changes that we made to our image. If we don’t want to save changes can use the /discard parameter.
Remember
Using DISM we can service existing images. Before we can do anything we have to mount our image. After that we can work with features, drivers, etc. DIMS commands are not case sensitive, but feature names are.
Commands that are mentioned in this article
- dism /mount-wim /wimfile:c:\images\install.wim /index:5 /mountdir:c:\images\mount – mount ‘install.wim’ image which is located in ‘c:\images\’ folder, edition with index number 5 (which is Ultimate), to the ‘c:\images\mount’ folder
- dism /image:c:\images\mount /get-features – check features on mounted image located in ‘c:\images\mount’ folder
- dism /image:c:\images\mount /get-featureinfo /featurename:Minesweeper – get detailed information about ‘Minesweeper’ feature on mounted image located in ‘c:\images\mount’ folder
- dism /image:c:\images\mount /disable-feature /featurename:Minesweeper – disable ‘Minesweeper’ feature on mounted image which is located in ‘c:\images\mount’ folder
- dism /image:c:\images\mount /set-timezone:”Central European Standard Time” – change the time zone of the mounted image located in ‘c:\images\mount\’ folder to the ‘Central European Standard Time’
- tzutil /l – see a complete list of time-zone strings (enter in Command Prompt)
- dism /image:c:\images\mount /add-driver:”C:\images\addons\SamsungML1640\ssp2m.inf” – add ‘ssp2m.inf’ driver to the mounted image located in ‘c:\images\mount’ folder
- dism /image:c:\images\mount /get-drivers – see all third party drivers available on mounted image
- dism /unmount-wim /mountdir:c:\images\mount /commit – unmount image and commit all changes
Paths that are mentioned in this article
- [DVD drive]:\sources\install.wim – image location on the Windows 7 installation DVD
- C:\images\ – folder in which we have copied install.wim image
- C:\images\mount\ – folder which we used to mount our image