If you downloaded the iso via UUPdump without adding updates, the build will be 22621.1 which is supported by the toolkit. Then you can integrate any updates. After integration of updates ToolkitHelper will support component removal without breaking Windows Update. About removing Windows Defender and applying tweaks. Tweak on something that has been removed from my experience the entries don't even stay in the registry. After installation you can see if any of the Windows Defender related tweaks are present. On Windows FireWall the MSMG keeps the removal through the Menus disabled. The more advanced ones remove the FireWall, after the Toolkit mounts the Indices, through the ToolkitHelper.exe command line. But by ToolkitHelper list it is also possible to remove. Something that many don't understand is this: if you use component removal, in many of the old versions, the removal will work, but maybe there will be remnants. The big problem is not in the removal process in Toolkit's unsupported ServicePack Builds, but rather, after installation, for those who want to use Windows Update to obtain and install security updates. As I said, this is not a concern for me. Every month or a month and a half I take the time to create an ISO and install from above (In-Place Update is to extract the ISO into a folder or a pendrive (without autounattend.xml), run setup.exe and follow the steps for updating without loss of software and data).
Windows FireWall Option is showing in the Menu but MSMG disabled it for some reason. He would check something... It is disabled at the time of creation of the final remove variable. Right along this line: Code: if "%%i" neq "C_ManualSetup" if "%%i" neq "C_WindowsFirewall" if "!%%i!" equ "-" ( Let's wait what he says about it.
thank you very much for the explanations, now this Toolkihelper I have no idea what it is. but anyway, the iso i downloaded was straight from microsoft final version 0525 i think. then I integrated the cumulative 1194. I'm not using windows update either. At first everything is ok. what do you think? with this iso it disables windows defense der same and firewall or would it have to be version 1 that you indicated?
ToolkitHelper.exe is the software developed by MSMG, it is inside the bin folder. Follow the instructions. It's the best thing to do. I asked MSMG to add support for versions released directly from MS. That's a nice improvement. But it increases his work more. Let's see what he will say.
If you get the wrong iso like I did, would there be any performance issues? Another thing, would you recommend removing components before or after integrating cumulative updates?
Follow the sequence of the menus. I once wanted to change the order of the menus inside the Integrate Menu. So I presented the changed order and the MSMG said that the order of the menus was already in a sequence that would avoid the vast majority of possible problems. So, I returned the order as it was and that was it. So integrate features, then updates, then custom features, then removal, and finally general customization with the resources in the Customize menu.
does this generate a list of everything that can be removed? In this case would it be just editing the list removing what you don't want to remove?
Perhaps on older W10 like 10240 / 14393 is better to install the CU after removing/integrating features Say if you add deduplication, it will be updated to the last version via the LCU. Something that sadly does not work on on more recent flavours.
CU/LCU after removing components will bring back most of the Windows Apps Menu and there dependencies if removed from the other Remove Component Menus.
I don't know how it is in Windows 11, but this happens since Windows 18363 1909 until 19045 22H2. I will only migrate from W10 to W12. W11 I don't even want to see it anymore. hehehehe I don't want to but I have to see...
I read like this: "Perhaps on older W10 like 10240 / 14393." "is better to install the CU after removing/integrating features." There, separating the sentences, the meaning changes. There are times when we do not understand what is being said and interpret it differently. Now considering the sentence as a whole, in older builds there wasn't this problem of returning removed components so it really should be possible to install updates after removal. However, there is always something in the update that you may have already removed and it will cause some problem or leave remnants.
For years I stayed on 1809, exactly because of the fact that versions after 17763 resulted in restored apps. I had 20 PCs at 2 different sites applying updates via WSUS and not once was anything restored. Also a couple of PCs that had CUs manually applied. Never was anything restored. The only thing I discovered was that from time to time Microsoft would reset a few registry settings to how they wanted them, not how I had set them, but other than that the OSs were static. I've since moved to 21H2 and had to turn off updates completely to prevent apps being restored. The PCs will be refreshed annually with a fresh install. Never in-place updates.
To be more precise in older builds (W8.x/W10 10240/10586/14393) Added packages will be updated "no question asked", so is not just possible to install the LCU AFTER everything else (except net 3.5), it's SUGGESTED. Not sure/not remember what happens in the rarely used 15063, likely same as above. 16299/17134/17763 The added unsupported packages (say deduplication) aren't updated by the LCU, but removed packages does not come back. So basically you can install the LCU before or after w/o any major variation, likely is better to add the LCU before, just to be sure. On anything after 17763/1809 The packages added before the LCU aren't updated, AND the packages removed before the LCU are usually restored by the LCU. My memory may fail, the scenario may vary over time given the updates to DISM/SSU/WU, but basically that's what my experience tells about MSMG (and/or manually added removed packages.)
Just prepare a new update ISO and do an inplace upgrade, makes little sense to start over when an old install has problems (in places upgrades fixes 95% of the problems since the days of DOS 1.0), makes no sense to start over when an old install is perfectly working.
Do cumulative updates already include net framework updates? both released on the same date, but the netframework numbering is lower.