[VISTA] Article: Ximage and WIM Image Format
- From: "Jim Kenzig http://kenzig.com" <jimkenz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: vista@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2006 06:54:31 -0800 (PST)
Ximage and WIM Image Format File-based disk imaging is a core capability of
Windows Vista Originally posted at:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsvista/expert/ximage.mspx
By Jerry Honeycutt
I'm a BDD (business desktop deployment) kind of guy, so Microsoft doesn't
often give me cool new presents to unwrap. The company has certainly provided
me with the tools necessary to do my job, but I haven't had that
rip-open-a-wrapped-box feeling in a while. Windows Vista promises to give me
that buzz, though. Windows Vista deployment is based on disk imaging, and the
operating system will come with a built-in disk-imaging tool: XImage.
On This Page File-based Image Format XImage Features
Windows Vista Installation Conclusion File-based Image Format Before I
tell you about XImage, I should describe the image format it uses: the
Microsoft Windows Imaging Format (WIM) image format. Instead of the
sector-based image formats, which are rather common these days, the WIM image
format is file-based. Using a file-based image format, WIM provides several
benefits over other formats:
? This WIM image format is hardware-agnostic, meaning that you need
only one image to address many different hardware configurations.
? The WIM image format also lets you store multiple images within one
actual file. For example, Microsoft can ship multiple SKUs in one WIM image
file. You store images with and without core applications in a single image
file. Also, you can mark one of the images as bootable, allowing you to start a
computer from a disk image contained in a WIM file.
? The WIM image format enables compression and single instancing, thus
reducing the size of image files significantly. Single instancing is a
technique that allows you to store two or more copies of a file for the space
cost of one copy. For example, if images 1, 2, and 3 all contain file A,
single-instancing stores a single copy of the file A and points images 1, 2,
and 3 to that copy.
? The WIM image format allows you to service an image offline. You can
add or delete certain operating system components, patches, and drivers without
creating a new image. Rather than spending a few hours updating an image, which
you do now with Microsoft Windows XP, for example, you can update an image in
minutes. For example, to add a patch to a Windows XP image, you must boot the
master image, add the patch, and then prepare the image again. With Windows
Vista, you can simply service the image offline.
? The WIM image format lets you install a disk image on partitions of
any size, unlike sector-based image formats that require you to deploy a disk
image to a partition that's the same size or larger than the source disk.
? Windows Vista provides an API for the WIM image format called WIMGAPI
that developers can use to work with WIM image files.
? The WIM image format allows for non-destructive deployment. This means
that you can leave data on the volume to which you apply the image because the
application of the image does not erase the disk's existing contents.
Top of page
XImage Features XImage itself is a rather straightforward program, which is
one of the reasons I like it so much. It's a simple, command-line drive utility
that you run from the command prompt or from Microsoft Windows Preinstallation
Environment (Windows PE). In other words, you interact with XImage the same way
you interact with Xcopy. I hope the fact that it's a command-line utility
doesn't discourage you. I prefer that my disk-imaging tools have command-line
interfaces because they make it incredibly simple to script a tool's use. And
the batch-scripting features in Windows Vista are so capable that there isn't
much I can't script XImage to do.
XImage's core features let you capture a volume to a WIM file and apply a WIM
file to a volume. For example, the command to capture an image is nothing more
than ximage /capture C: image.wim "Name". The command to apply an image to a
volume is simply ximage /apply image.wim 1, where 1 tells XImage to apply the
image from the file image.wim that has the index number 1.
Of course, XImage includes numerous commands for maintaining images and using
them in creative ways. Table 1 provides an overview of these commands.
Table 1. Overview of XImage Command-Line Options /append
Appends a volume image into an existing WIM file
/apply
Applies a volume image to the specified drive
/capture
Captures a volume image into a new WIM file
/commit
Commits the changes made to a mounted WIM
/compress
Sets compression type to none, fast, or maximum
/config
Uses the specified file to set advanced options
/delete
Deletes an image from a WIM file with multiple images
/dir
Displays a list of files and folders within a volume image
/export
Transfers an image from one WIM file to another WIM file
/info
Returns the store's XML descriptions for the specified WIM
/ref
Sets WIM references for an apply operation
/scroll
Scrolls output for redirection
/split
Splits an existing WIM file into multiple read-only WIM parts
/verify
Verifies duplicate and extracted files
/mount
Mounts an image, with read-only access, to the specified directory
/mountrw
Mounts an image, with read-write access, to the specified directory
/unmount
Unmounts the image mounted to the specified directory
/?
Returns valid command-line parameters for XImage
One capability deserves a bit more discussion, just because I think it's very
cool-the capability to mount an image to a directory. You can mount an image,
modify the image just like you would any file or folder on the file system, and
then unmount the image. For example, you can mount an operating-system image,
add device drivers, and then unmount it. This certainly beats rebuilding the
disk image from scratch.
Top of page
Windows Vista Installation Now that you know a bit about XImage and the WIM
image format, I bet you're wondering what the disk-image deployment process
looks like. Installing Windows Vista, whether doing an in-place upgrade or a
complete wipe-and-load, is a new, completely image-based process. In fact,
Windows Vista ships exclusively in the WIM image format.
In fact, the in-place upgrade process works better than it did in Windows XP.
The reason is that upgrading to Windows Vista is really a clean installation
with the migration of user settings, documents, and applications from an older
version of Windows. The in-place upgrade process is better named
wipe-and-reload.
The following steps describe how you use these tools to deploy a Windows
Vista disk image:
1.
You can enhance a Windows Vista image by using the desktop-engineering
tools that Microsoft provides for selection of device drivers and optional
components such as languages.
2.
You install the image on a test computer, add applications (e.g., Microsoft
Office or a Line of Business Application), and then save the image to the
network.
3.
You deploy the image to the user by using tools that Microsoft provides.
You can completely automate the installation by using the new scripting and
answer file capabilities that Windows Vista provides. If you are upgrading a
computer from an earlier version of Windows to Windows Vista, then the setup
program will migrate users' documents, settings, and applications without
prompting the user for input.
Top of page
Conclusion XImage and the new WIM image format is a significant enhancement
for Windows Vista. These technologies offer you a faster and more
cost-effective way to deploy the new operating system.
You have far fewer disk images to maintain, and maintaining those images are
much easier and require less time. And due to the new image-based setup
process, desktop deployment takes less than an hour to not only install the
computer but also migrate users' state data.
Note Features discussed on this site are subject to change. Some may not be
included in the final product due to marketing, technical, or other reasons.
---------------------------------
For More Information Contact ME
Jerry Honeycutt is a writer, speaker, and technologist. He has written more
than 25 books, including Microsoft Windows Desktop Deployment Resource Kit
(Microsoft Press, 2004). Jerry's consulting practice is in the Dallas area, but
he travels frequently. For more information about Jerry, see his complete bio
at http://www.honeycutt.com, or contact him at jerry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Jim Kenzig
CEO The Kenzig Group
http://www.kenzig.com
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