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How to Add a WIM-Based Preinstallation Environment (WinPE)

A practical guide to selecting, mounting, customizing, and committing a WinPE WIM, with notes on package compatibility and boot media.
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To add or customize a WIM-based Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE), mount the correct WIM with DISM, add only the drivers, files, or optional components your deployment needs, then commit the image. If you need bootable media, create it from the prepared WinPE working files. The image path and packages depend on whether you are working with the Windows ADK or an existing deployment product boot image.

Choose the WinPE image that matches your deployment

Microsoft’s starting point is to have a WinPE image to work with. You can use an image from the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) WinPE add-on, or customize an existing boot image used by Configuration Manager, Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT), or Windows Deployment Services (WDS). These sources do not necessarily use the same file path or have the same intended role, so identify the image before mounting it. See Microsoft’s WinPE: Mount and Customize and WinPE introduction.

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Install the Windows ADK deployment tools and, for newer ADK releases, the separate WinPE add-on. Older ADK releases included WinPE as an installer option; Microsoft’s current guidance directs users to the separate add-on. Use DISM and packages appropriate to the image’s ADK build and architecture.

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ADK working image or existing boot image?

  • ADK WinPE: Create working files using Microsoft’s WinPE media procedure. The ADK add-on contains a source image, while the prepared working files commonly place the boot image at mediasourcesboot.wim.
  • Deployment-product boot image: Use the boot image associated with Configuration Manager, MDT, or WDS, following that product’s guidance. Do not substitute an ADK image without confirming it suits the deployment workflow.

Microsoft documents source locations for these different contexts in WinPE: Mount and Customize. Before servicing, copy the selected WIM to a working location and keep an untouched backup.

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Mount the WIM with DISM

Create an empty folder for the mount point, then mount the intended WIM and index. The example below assumes the prepared 64-bit ADK working files are in C:WinPE_amd64 and that the image uses index 1; replace the path, architecture, and index as appropriate for your image.

Dism /Mount-Image /ImageFile:"C:WinPE_amd64mediasourcesboot.wim" /Index:1 /MountDir:"C:WinPE_amd64mount"

Run the command in an elevated deployment-tools environment. The mount directory must be empty. Microsoft also documents the PowerShell Mount-WindowsImage cmdlet as an alternative. Consult Microsoft’s mounting instructions for the corresponding syntax and image-specific details.

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Add only the customizations WinPE needs

While the image is mounted, you can add drivers, copy files into the mounted image, or install optional-component CAB packages. Use DISM’s driver servicing options for drivers and /Add-Package for packages. The right additions depend on how the target machines will be deployed; extra components can reduce performance and increase boot time, so keep the image lean.

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Drivers and files

Add only drivers required for the hardware and deployment tasks the environment must support. Copy required scripts or other files into the mounted image at the locations expected by your workflow. Confirm that the driver or file is intended for the WinPE environment and target architecture.

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Optional components

Use CABs from the WinPE add-on that match the image’s architecture and ADK build. Follow each component’s stated prerequisite order. If a component is split into language-neutral and language-specific CABs, install the neutral package first and then at least one language package that matches the image.

For the Configuration Manager boot-image scenario described by Microsoft, the listed components include WinPE-WMI, WinPE-Scripting, and WinPE-WDS-Tools. They are not universal requirements for every WinPE image. Check the component guidance and your deployment product’s requirements before adding them; Microsoft’s WinPE optional components reference lists package information.

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Commit the changes and produce media if needed

When you have finished servicing the mounted image, commit the changes as you unmount it:

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Dism /Unmount-Image /MountDir:"C:WinPE_amd64mount" /Commit

To make bootable media, use Microsoft’s WinPE media-creation procedure with the prepared working files. A USB flash drive is one possible output; it is not required to mount or customize the WIM.

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Before deploying newly created boot media, check Microsoft’s current Windows boot manager signing and revocation guidance against the target devices. UEFI signing and revocation state can affect whether particular boot media is suitable for those machines.

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