I have one large ESD file with many versions of Windows 10 packed inside, namely Core, Pro, Education, and Enterprise, 32 and 64 bit editions of each. I'd like to take out all of the crap I don't need in this ESD, like the different versions of Education and Enterprise. Back in the good ol' days of WIM (and by good ol' days, I mean Vista through 8.x), editing what images you wanted was a cinch. You go grab gimagex or WinAIO Maker Professional, select your wim, and you're making your own install image. Are there any alternatives to these softwares that can support an ESD directly? I've tried converting the ESD to a WIM, but it only extracts the first image within the ESD, which happens to be Windows 10 Core 32 Bit. I can always install images onto a Virtual Machine with a VHD, attach it, compress and convert each version I want, but that's my last resort. Too time consuming, too much effort. Yes, I'm lazy. Thanks for any input. Doing some research of my own didn't help, so I'm curious to see what people come up with.
it is told many many many times that you cant service ESD files. first you have to export them to WIM images.
Tried how? manually with dism? in that case, you need to export all indexes one by one to the same wim
Along with asking how to service ESD files, I was also somewhat asking if there is another way to export them without doing each wim individually. I have also not seen anywhere that you can't service them, so I had no idea.
I'm not familiar with the command line of dism, but I'll start exploring it. I was hoping for a GUI that could help, but I seem to be SOL.
Example: Code: dism /export-image /sourceimagefile:X:\sources\install.esd /sourceindex:1 /destinationimagefile:c:\temp\install.wim /compress:max
That script works amazing! Apparently I could use Media Creation Tool that Microsoft provides to download their ESD files for different versions of Win10. These ESD files also have a boot media in them, unlike some ESD files I found elsewhere. With that script, one can extract that boot media and create an ISO that supports using WIM files in place of ESD. Here's a step-by-step, in case other people find this looking for the same answers: -Use Media Creation Tool download ESD -Note: I downloaded each edition of Windows separately, meaning Home 32 and Home 64 were two separate downloads. This is to make sure that when they are converted to WIM's, there isn't anything weird going on. This works great; try downloading both 32 and 64 in one ESD at your own risk. -Copy installx64.esd or installx86.esd to desktop or other location. -This ESD file in found C:\$Windows.~WS\Sources -Download ESD Decrypter (WIMLIB) versions 4c and 6. -Link to 4c from Chris123NTdotCOM and 6 from link above. -Extract ESD Decrypter to desired location. -I prefer to put them somewhere near where the ESD files are stored. I extracted the files to my desktop, the same location I copied my ESD files. -Run ESD Decrypter v.4c -Run "decrypt.cmd" as administrator. It should automatically detect the ESD. -Make sure only one ESD is in the same directory as ESD Decrypter. Errors will occur otherwise. -Select option 4 to get your ISO Image with install.wim. -The resulting ISO file will be placed in the same directory as "decrypt.cmd" and your selected ESD. This ISO is *supposedly* bootable. -Extract contents of ISO into folder. Each ISO should have its own folder, so label accordingly. -Example: I made a folder called "Pro 32" and put my ESD inside. I then got my ISO, copied it to the same folder, and extracted the files inside the ISO to a folder that I called "Disc Files." Process is repeated for Home 32, Pro 64, Home 64. -Repeat this process for each edition of Windows you want included in your AIO ISO Image. -Open WinAIO Maker Professional 1.3 -Select "Select WIMs" near the top. -IMPORTANT! Make sure you select a 32 bit WIM first. If you select a 64 bit WIM first, you will not see the 32 bit options when you got to boot this image. -I like to select WIMs in order of Tier, e.g. First selected is Home 32 Bit, then Pro 32, Home 64, and Pro 64, respectively. -Edit your WIM information using the text box with "Name" and "Description" boxes on either side. -These buttons are to edit the information that you find with each installation. Play with them and see what you like. This is total preference and won't mess with the way the OS is installed at all. -After editing, select "Save All Changes" -If it asks if you want to remove *.cfg/.clg files, select yes. There are none, so it shouldn't matter. -Select "Save all into ISO" towards the middle/bottom. -It'll ask you some options and where you want to save the ISO. I put mine on my Desktop. -Test with VirtualBox or VMWare -As of right now, VirtualBox does not support Windows 10. VMWare comes with a 7 day trial. That's how I did everything to get my ISO with WIM instead of ESD. Sorry for the drawn out instructions, it's just a longer process!