Custom Image

Build customized Windows installation media using UUP Dump and DISM, including bloatware removal, driver injection, feature configuration, and unattended installation.

Table of Contents#

Overview
Building a Custom Windows ISO
Customizing the Image with DISM
Creating a Bootable USB
Unattended Installation
LTSC Editions
Troubleshooting
See Also
Sources

1. Overview#

Creating a custom Windows image allows you to pre-configure installations with specific drivers, features, updates, and application removals. This is useful for:

Enterprise deployment - standardized images across an organization
Bloatware removal - strip pre-installed apps before deployment
Driver injection - include hardware-specific drivers in the installation media
Offline updates - slipstream security patches into the image
Unattended installation - automate the entire setup process

The primary tools involved are:

UUP Dump - download Windows installation files directly from Microsoft servers
DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) - mount, modify, and save WIM/ESD images
Windows SIM (System Image Manager) - create answer files for unattended installations

2. Building a Custom Windows ISO#

Using UUP Dump#

UUP Dump allows you to download the latest Windows Unified Update Platform files and create a custom ISO.

Visit uupdump.net
Select the desired Windows version and architecture
Choose the edition(s) to include (e.g., Pro, Enterprise, LTSC)
Download the build script package
Run the script to build the ISO:

# On Windows - run the downloaded script
.\uup_download_windows.cmd

# On Linux - install dependencies and run
sudo apt install aria2 cabextract wimtools chntpw genisoimage
chmod +x uup_download_linux.sh
./uup_download_linux.sh

Note: The ISO will be created in the same directory as the script. Build time depends on your internet connection speed and the number of editions included.

Alternative: Media Creation Tool#

For standard ISOs without customization, use the official Media Creation Tool.

3. Customizing the Image with DISM#

Mount the Install Image#

# Create mount directory
mkdir C:\mount

# List available editions in the WIM
DISM /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:D:\sources\install.wim

# Mount the desired edition (e.g., index 6 = Pro)
DISM /Mount-Wim /WimFile:D:\sources\install.wim /Index:6 /MountDir:C:\mount

Note: If the source file is install.esd instead of install.wim, export to WIM first: DISM /Export-Image /SourceImageFile:D:\sources\install.esd /SourceIndex:6 /DestinationImageFile:C:\install.wim /Compress:max

Remove Bloatware / Provisioned Apps#

# List provisioned appx packages
DISM /Image:C:\mount /Get-ProvisionedAppxPackages | Select-String "PackageName"

# Remove specific apps (e.g., Xbox, Bing)
DISM /Image:C:\mount /Remove-ProvisionedAppxPackage /PackageName:Microsoft.XboxApp_1.0.0.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
DISM /Image:C:\mount /Remove-ProvisionedAppxPackage /PackageName:Microsoft.BingWeather_1.0.0.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe

Common apps to remove:

Package Pattern	Description
`Microsoft.Xbox*`	Xbox apps and Game Bar
`Microsoft.Bing*`	Bing News, Weather, Finance
`Microsoft.GetHelp`	Get Help app
`Microsoft.MicrosoftSolitaireCollection`	Solitaire games
`Microsoft.People`	People app
`Microsoft.WindowsFeedbackHub`	Feedback Hub
`Microsoft.ZuneMusic`	Groove Music / Media Player legacy
`Clipchamp.Clipchamp`	Clipchamp video editor

Add Drivers#

# Add a single driver
DISM /Image:C:\mount /Add-Driver /Driver:C:\drivers\network.inf

# Add all drivers from a folder recursively
DISM /Image:C:\mount /Add-Driver /Driver:C:\drivers /Recurse

# Verify added drivers
DISM /Image:C:\mount /Get-Drivers

Enable or Disable Features#

# List available features
DISM /Image:C:\mount /Get-Features

# Enable a feature (e.g., Hyper-V)
DISM /Image:C:\mount /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:Microsoft-Hyper-V-All

# Disable a feature
DISM /Image:C:\mount /Disable-Feature /FeatureName:MediaPlayback

# Enable .NET Framework 3.5 (requires source files)
DISM /Image:C:\mount /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:NetFx3 /Source:D:\sources\sxs

Inject Updates#

# Add an update package (.msu or .cab)
DISM /Image:C:\mount /Add-Package /PackagePath:C:\updates\update.msu

# Add all updates from a folder
DISM /Image:C:\mount /Add-Package /PackagePath:C:\updates

# Verify installed packages
DISM /Image:C:\mount /Get-Packages

Apply Registry Modifications#

# Load the offline registry hive
reg load HKLM\OfflineSoftware C:\mount\Windows\System32\config\SOFTWARE

# Make changes
reg add "HKLM\OfflineSoftware\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU" /v NoAutoUpdate /t REG_DWORD /d 1

# Unload the hive
reg unload HKLM\OfflineSoftware

Unmount and Save#

# Save changes and unmount
DISM /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:C:\mount /Commit

# Or discard changes
DISM /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:C:\mount /Discard

Optimize and Export#

# Clean up the image to reduce size
DISM /Image:C:\mount /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase

# Export to a new WIM with maximum compression
DISM /Export-Image /SourceImageFile:C:\install.wim /SourceIndex:1 /DestinationImageFile:C:\install-optimized.wim /Compress:max

4. Creating a Bootable USB#

# Using built-in diskpart (run as Administrator)
diskpart
list disk
select disk <number>
clean
create partition primary
format fs=ntfs quick
assign
active
exit

# Copy ISO contents to the USB drive

Note: For UEFI boot, format the USB as FAT32 instead of NTFS. For images larger than 4 GB, split the install.wim file:

DISM /Split-Image /ImageFile:install.wim /SWMFile:install.swm /FileSize:3800

Using Rufus (Recommended for Simplicity)#

Rufus is a free tool that handles partition scheme (MBR/GPT), filesystem, and file splitting automatically. Select your ISO and target USB drive, then click Start.

5. Unattended Installation#

Place an autounattend.xml file in the root of the ISO or USB to automate the installation.

Minimal Example#

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
  <settings pass="windowsPE">
    <component name="Microsoft-Windows-International-Core-WinPE"
               processorArchitecture="amd64"
               publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35"
               language="neutral"
               versionScope="nonSxS">
      <SetupUILanguage>
        <UILanguage>en-US</UILanguage>
      </SetupUILanguage>
      <InputLocale>en-US</InputLocale>
      <UILanguage>en-US</UILanguage>
    </component>
  </settings>
  <settings pass="oobeSystem">
    <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup"
               processorArchitecture="amd64"
               publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35"
               language="neutral"
               versionScope="nonSxS">
      <OOBE>
        <SkipMachineOOBE>true</SkipMachineOOBE>
        <SkipUserOOBE>true</SkipUserOOBE>
      </OOBE>
      <UserAccounts>
        <LocalAccounts>
          <LocalAccount wcm:action="add">
            <Name>Admin</Name>
            <Group>Administrators</Group>
            <Password>
              <Value><!-- base64 encoded password --></Value>
              <PlainText>false</PlainText>
            </Password>
          </LocalAccount>
        </LocalAccounts>
      </UserAccounts>
    </component>
  </settings>
</unattend>

Key Answer File Sections#

Pass	Purpose
`windowsPE`	Language, disk partitioning, image selection
`offlineServicing`	Apply packages and drivers to the offline image
`generalize`	Prepare image for deployment to multiple machines
`specialize`	Computer name, domain join, network configuration
`oobeSystem`	User accounts, OOBE skip, privacy settings

Use Windows System Image Manager (SIM) from the Windows ADK to create and validate answer files.

6. LTSC Editions#

Windows Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) editions are designed for systems that require long-term stability and minimal feature changes.

Key characteristics:

No feature updates - receives only security and quality updates
Support lifecycle - 5 years mainstream + 5 years extended (IoT LTSC: 10 years)
No bundled apps - no Microsoft Store, Edge, Cortana, or other consumer apps
Available editions - Enterprise LTSC, IoT Enterprise LTSC
Not available via retail or OEM channels; requires Volume Licensing

LTSC is ideal for:

Kiosks and point-of-sale systems
Medical devices and industrial controllers
Environments where feature updates are disruptive

Note: LTSC is not recommended for general-purpose workstations. Microsoft Office support may be limited on LTSC editions.

Troubleshooting#

Issue	Cause	Solution
DISM error 0x800f081e during mount	WIM file is read-only or in use	Copy WIM to a writable location; ensure no other DISM operations are running
Mount fails with "directory is not empty"	Previous mount was not cleaned up	Run `DISM /Cleanup-Wim` then retry
DISM error 0x800f0825 (corruption)	WIM file corrupted during download or copy	Re-download the WIM; verify hash if available
Add-Package fails with "not applicable"	Update does not match the image version/arch	Verify the update matches the image's build number and architecture
Unmount hangs or fails	Explorer or antivirus has files locked in mount dir	Close all Explorer windows and File Manager handles; disable real-time AV scanning on mount dir
install.wim too large for FAT32 USB	File exceeds 4 GB FAT32 limit	Split with `DISM /Split-Image` or format USB as NTFS (BIOS boot)
autounattend.xml not detected	File not in root of USB or incorrect encoding	Ensure file is in the root directory; save as UTF-8 with BOM
ESD to WIM export fails	Insufficient disk space	Ensure at least 2x the ESD file size is available as free space
Features fail to enable	Missing source files (e.g., .NET 3.5)	Use `/Source` flag pointing to `\sources\sxs` on the installation media