Windows Image Files and Catalog Files Overview

Windows System Image Manager (WindowsВ SIM) uses Windows image (.wim) files and catalog (.clg) files to display the available components and packages that can be added to an answer file (Unattend.xml). Windows images and catalog files contain configurable settings that you can modify after the component or package is added to an answer file.

Install.wim is located in the Sources folder of your Windows Installation Media download. See OEM deployment of Windows 10 for desktop editions for steps to make and deploy Windows images.

You can open Windows SIM by searching your computer for «Windows System Image Manager».

Supported architectures

Windows SIM can create catalog files for Windows images of the following architecture types

x86 version of Windows

x86-based systems, x64-based systems, and ARM-based systems

x64 version of Windows

x64-based systems only

Don’t have an x86 PC handy?

• You can install the 32-bit version of Windows on a 64-bit PC.
• You can install Windows on a 32-bit virtual machine from a 64-bit PC.

Windows Image Files

A Windows image file contains one or more compressed Windows images. Each Windows image in a Windows image file contains a list of all of the components, settings, and packages that are available with that Windows image.

Limitations of Windows Image Files

The following list describes some of the limitations of using Windows image files:

• Only an account that has administrator permissions can open Windows image files.
• Only one user at a time can open Windows image files.
• Because Windows image files can contain one or more Windows images, they are frequently large. Some Windows image files can be several gigabytes in size.
• Because Windows images can be modified through different settings, using a Windows image file to create your answer file might cause you to apply altered default settings and configurations to a recaptured Windows image.

Because of these limitations, WindowsВ SIM uses catalog files to create an answer file.

Catalog Files

A catalog file is a binary file that only includes the settings and packages in a Windows image. Catalog files (.clg) are only used by Windows SIM and is not used by other deployment tools, nor is it required to install Windows. When Windows SIM creates a catalog file, it queries the Windows image for a list of all the settings and state of each setting in that image. Because the contents of a Windows image can change over time, you must re-create the catalog file whenever you update a Windows image.

Because only administrators can open Windows images, you must have administrator permissions on the system to create a catalog file.

When WindowsВ SIM opens a Windows image file or catalog file, all of the configurable components and packages inside that image are displayed in the Windows Image pane. You can then add components and settings to an answer file.

Contents of a Catalog File

A catalog file contains the following information:

• A list of component settings and current values
• Windows features and package states

Benefits of Catalog Files

Catalog files have several advantages over Windows image files:

• The size of a catalog file can be less than 1 megabyte (MB), whereas the size of Windows image files can be several gigabytes. Also, catalog files are easier to copy to removable media or a network share.
• Multiple users can create answer files for a single catalog file at the same time, whereas only one person can open and access a Windows image file at any particular time.
• Non-administrators can create answer files for a catalog file. However, only administrators can open Windows image files.

Troubleshooting

«The catalog file for Windows Image (image name) cannot be opened for the following reason:

Cannot find the catalog file associated with the Windows image (image name)

You must have a valid catalog file to continue. Do you want to create a catalog file?»

Fix: Click Yes to create a catalog file. After you’ve created the catalog file, this message will no longer appear.

What’s going on: This message usually shows up the first time you open a .wim file.

«Access denied»

Fix: Copy the .wim file to a simple writable file location, like C:\Images, then try again.

What’s going on: This message appears when you’re creating a catalog file from a .wim file that’s in a location that the system can’t write to, like a DVD or secured network share.

«Catalog creation failed to complete. This 64-bit version of Windows SIM can only create catalogs for 64-bit Windows images. For a list of supported architecture types, see link below.»

Fix: Use an x86 version installation of Windows to create catalog files for x86 or ARM-based .wim files.

What’s going on: WindowsВ SIM can’t create x86 or ARM catalog files from a 64-bit Windows installation.

Capture, apply, and work with Windows images

The Windows 10 OPK includes an image file, install.wim, which contains the operating system files for your Windows edition.

Starting by deploying this image to a device, add your customizations to it, test, and incorporate those changes into your images, iterating until you’re ready to put the image onto the factory floor.

File formats: WIM, FFU, VHD

To get the Windows image onto a device, you can install Windows using Windows Setup (.wim only) or a deployment script (.wim or .ffu).

Manage multiple variations of your Windows images by combining them into a single .wim file. A single .wim file can take a fraction of the drive space that multiple image files can take.

When you’re ready to manufacture devices, recapture and deploy the image as an .FFU file, because FFUs are faster to apply on a factory floor. FFUs can still be modified like .WIM files, but you can only store one variation of the image at a time.

For more details about the file formats, see WIM vs. VHD vs. FFU: comparing image file formats.

Drives and partitions

• For WIM-based images, you can usually set up partitions during deployment, just before applying the .WIM image file.
• For VHD and FFU-based images, you may need to do some partition setup before you capture the VHD/FFU image file. If the reference and destination drives are different sizes, you may also need to perform setup after you apply the VHD/FFU image file.

Скачать образы дисков с Windows 7 (файлы ISO)

Перед началом работы

• Убедитесь, что у вас есть:
  • Ключ продукта Windows (xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx). Узнайте больше.
  • Подключение к Интернету (может взиматься оплата со стороны поставщика услуг Интернета).
  • Достаточный объем свободной памяти на компьютере, USB или внешнем диске для загруженных данных.
  • Пустой USB-носитель или DVD-диск (и устройство для записи DVD-дисков) с объемом памяти не менее 4 ГБ, если требуется создать носитель. Мы рекомендуем использовать чистый USB-носитель или чистый DVD-диск, поскольку все его содержимое будет удалено.
• Ознакомьтесь с системными требованиями.
• Войдите в центр Volume Licensing Service Center, чтобы скачать корпоративные выпуски.

Что нужно для загрузки Windows 7

1. Для начала вам нужен действительный ключ активации продукта. Введите в поле ниже ключ продукта, который состоит из 25 символов и поставляется при покупке продукта. Ключ продукта находится внутри упаковки с DVD-диском Windows, на DVD-диске или в электронном сообщении, подтверждающем покупку Windows.
2. После подтверждения ключа выберите в меню язык продукта.
3. Выберите 32-разрядную или 64-версию для загрузки. Если доступны обе версии, вы получите две ссылки. Не знаете, какую из них выбрать? Ознакомьтесь со статьей Вопросы и ответы, чтобы узнать, как определить требуемую версию.

Введите ключ продукта:

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Windows 2007

Microsoft Windows 2007 is an operating system released on March 21, 2007. It has a bit more features than of Windows Vista, and like Vista it was intended for home and business. It was used by 33% of users in 2007, being the second most used Windows operating system in 2007. The first most used Windows OS was Windows XP, which had 60% marketshare.

Contents

Features new to Windows 2007

• Improved Aero appearance
• More built-in games: Aero Pinball and Tinker
• 3 new built-in sound schemes: Pearl, Glass and Tinker
• Eventual support for up to Internet Explorer 10
• Windows Mobile 6 Link
• New program: TTS Recorder
• Free 90-days access to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote 2007
• Windows Marketplace (closed in 2010)

Updates

Windows 2007 got a Service Pack 1 on September 15, 2007. It had a new shutdown sound, similar to the startup sound. It also gave users a better virus protection and some UI bugfixes. The Service Pack 2 was released on April 28, 2008 and it has fixed some serious bugs.

Support for SP1 ended on May 31, 2011.

Support for SP2 (Extended support) ends on December 31, 2019.

You actually can extend support for Windows 2007 to 2023 by using the «POSReady 2013 registry hack», like in Windows XP but with POSReady 2009.

Windows Vista

Your version of Windows	Windows images you can create catalog files from

Windows Vista
Year of release	2006
Default wallpaper	img24
Included image types	Wallpapers Sample pictures User account pictures
Notable artists	Darrell Gulin Hamad Darwish Robert Stein Natphotos GK Hart/Vikki Hart
Agencies used	Getty Images Corbis SuperStock
Preceded by	Windows XP (2001)
Succeeded by	Windows 7 (2009)

For pre-release wallpapers and pictures, see Windows Longhorn.

Windows Vista, codenamed Longhorn, is an operating system released by Microsoft in 2006. It is the successor to Windows XP. Although Vista brought on many changes from XP, it was poorly received due to its poor performance on computers of the time. However, its wallpapers were well received. The wallpaper set is the same across all editions, except Starter which has a unique wallpaper set. It would be followed by Windows 7 in 2009.

Contents

Wallpapers [ edit | edit source ]

Whereas Windows XP’s wallpapers predominantly came from Corbis and Microsoft themselves, most of Vista’s wallpapers are pictures from Getty Images which use a rights-managed license, with a few coming from Corbis, Microsoft employees, amateur photographer Hamad Darwish and one from professional freelancer Michael Haber. They are mostly at 1920×1440, while the widescreen ones are at 1920×1200, which would become the resolution of wallpapers in later Windows versions. It is worth noting that the widescreen wallpapers appear to have been cropped from their 1920×1440 counterparts, as opposed to recropping the original image.

Jenny Lam served as the creative director of Vista. During the selection process she analyzed around 50GB worth of low-resolution images. [1] She brought in Flickr photographer Darwish and sent him on a commissioned photo shoot in Oregon, USA. [2] Although he took around 6000 shots, only two of them made it on Vista. [3] She also art-directed a professional photographer on a shoot in Santa Barbara and NYC [1] , which is most likely Haber, however he only has one wallpaper in Vista. On top of that, she gave Microsoft employees an opportunity to submit their own images, while the Light Auras theme was created by Microsoft’s own graphic designers.

Name	Category	Licensed from	Originates from	Photographer/artist	Notes
	img1	Black and White	Getty Images	The Image Bank	Peter de Lory
	img2	Black and White	Getty Images	Getty Images	Nicholas Veasey
	img3	Black and White	Getty Images	Tony Stone Images	Jean-Francois Gate
	img4	Black and White	Getty Images	Getty Images	Alan Kearney
	img5	Textures	N/A	Microsoft	Gustavo Siqueira
	img6	Textures	N/A	Microsoft	Dina Taylor
	img7	Textures	Corbis	Corbis	Darrell Gulin
	img8	Textures	N/A	Microsoft	Mike Swanson
	img9	Textures	Getty Images	The Image Bank	Chuck Kuhn
	img10	Textures	Getty Images	Tony Stone Images	Rosemary Calvert
	img11	Textures	Getty Images	Getty Images	Dana Menussi
	img12	Paintings	Corbis	Bettman	unknown (credited on Corbis to Bettman)
	img13	Paintings	Corbis	Corbis	Mary Iverson
	img14	Paintings	Corbis	J. Paul Getty Trust	unknown (credited on Corbis to J. Paul Getty Trust)
	img15	Paintings	Corbis	Corbis	Christie’s Images	Original image by Utagawa Hiroshige (born Ando Hiroshige), calligraphy text right above fish removed
	img16	Vistas	Getty Images	Getty Images	Walter Bibikow
	img17	Vistas	Getty Images	The Image Bank	Dr. Robert Muntefering
	img18	Vistas	N/A	commissioned by Microsoft	Hamad Darwish
	img19	Vistas	Getty Images	Tony Stone Images	Mark Lewis
	img20	Vistas	N/A	commissioned by Microsoft	Michael Haber
	img21	Vistas	N/A	commissioned by Microsoft	Hamad Darwish
	img22	Vistas	N/A	Microsoft	Steve Fu
	img23	Vistas	Getty Images	The Image Bank	George D. Lepp
	img24	Vistas	N/A	Microsoft	unknown	Default wallpaper.
	img25	Light Auras	N/A	Microsoft	unknown
	img26	Light Auras	N/A	Microsoft	unknown
	img27	Light Auras	N/A	Microsoft	Robert Stein
	img28	Light Auras	N/A	Microsoft	unknown
	img29	Light Auras	N/A	Microsoft	unknown
	img30	Widescreen	Getty Images	Tony Stone Images	Rosemary Calvert	Widescreen version of img10.
	img31	Widescreen	Getty Images	The Image Bank	George D. Lepp	Widescreen version of img23.
	img32	Widescreen	N/A	Microsoft	Gustavo Siqueira	Widescreen version of img5
	img33	Widescreen	N/A	commissioned by Microsoft	Hamad Darwish	Widescreen version of img21
	img34	Widescreen	Getty Images	Tony Stone Images	Mark Lewis	Widescreen version of img19
	img35	Widescreen	N/A	Microsoft	Steve Fu	Widescreen version of img22
	img36	Widescreen	N/A	Microsoft	unknown	Widescreen version of img24

Ultimate Extras [ edit | edit source ]

Windows Vista Ultimate once allowed you download a pack named Ultimate Extras, which features additional games, language packs, sound schemes, wallpapers and other extra features not shipped with Vista. It installs five new wallpapers, including an extra Hamad Darwish wallpaper, as well as four branding wallpapers. It also installs DreamScene, a utility that allows users to use GIFs and videos as wallpapers, along with 14 video wallpapers to use with it.

In July 2020, Microsoft discontinued SHA-1 based endpoints for updates, meaning that updates for Vista can no longer be downloaded, including Ultimate Extras. However, it can still be manually installed, although it seems that the CAB the static wallpapers came in has not been archived.

Name	Category	Licensed from	Originates from	Photographer/artist	Notes
	img37	Widescreen	N/A	commissioned by Microsoft	Hamad Darwish
	img38	Widescreen	N/A	Microsoft	unknown	Widescreen version of img39
	img39	Vistas	N/A	Microsoft	unknown
	img40	Vistas	N/A	Microsoft	unknown
	img41	Widescreen	N/A	Microsoft	unknown	Widescreen version of img40

DreamScene [ edit | edit source ]

The DreamScene wallpapers were released in four different packs.

Name	Pack	Licensed from	Originates from	Videographer/artist	Notes
	vid1337	Built-in	N/A	Microsoft	unknown	Animated version of img24
	vid1999	Favorites	N/A	Microsoft	unknown	Animated version of img41
	vid7997	Content Pack 3	unknown	unknown	unknown
	vid7999	Content Pack 3	Corbis	Corbis	Franz Recktenwald
	vid8895	Content Pack 3	Getty Images	Getty Images	Art Wolfe
	vid8896	Favorites	Corbis	Corbis	Robert Glusic
	vid8897	Content Pack 1	Corbis	Corbis	Franz Recktenwald
	vid8898	Content Pack 1	unknown	unknown	unknown
	vid8899	Content Pack 1	Corbis	Corbis	Franz Recktenwald
	vid8987	Content Pack 4	unknown	unknown	unknown
	vid8988	Content Pack 4	unknown	unknown	unknown
	vid8989	Content Pack 4	unknown	unknown	unknown
	vid9898	Favorites	unknown	unknown	unknown
	vid9899	Content Pack 1	unknown	unknown	unknown

Starter [ edit | edit source ]

Like with XP Starter Edition, Vista Starter has an entirely different set of wallpapers. However, whereas XP Starter Edition features a selection of regional wallpapers for each region, all regions of Vista Starter feature the same wallpaper set. Most of these were licensed from Getty Images, with a few coming from Corbis and one from SuperStock. With the exception of the widescreen wallpapers which are at 1600×1024, they are at 1024×768, as Starter was intended for low resolution netbooks in developing countries.

Name	Original filename	Category	Licensed from	Originates from	Photographer/artist	Notes
	img720	Alpine lake	Vistas	Getty Images	Eyewire	unknown (credited on Getty to Ascent/PKS Media Inc.)
	img721	Beach cove	Vistas	Getty Images	Brand X Pictures	Philip Coblentz (credited on Getty and Vista Starter to Brand X Pictures)
	img722	Bluebells	Nature	Getty Images	Getty Images	Guy Edwardes
	img723	Canyons	Vistas	Getty Images	Lonely Planet	Carol Polich
	img724	Dandelion	Nature	Getty Images	Getty Images	Jonathan Nourok (credited in Vista Starter to 13129.000000)
	img725	Dew on tulips	Nature	Getty Images	Getty Images	Andre Gallant
	img727	Fresh snow	Vistas	Getty Images	Tony Stone Images	James Balog
	img728	Frost on lupine	Nature	Getty Images	Getty Images	Alan Kearney
	img729	Gentle rapids	Nature	SuperStock	Purestock	Elizabeth Carmel
	img730	Giraffes	Vistas	Getty Images	Tony Stone Images	Art Wolfe
	img731	Humpback Whale	Nature	Getty Images	The Image Bank	Paul Souders
	img732	Iceberg	Widescreen	Getty Images	National Geographic	Eastcott Momatiuk
	img733	Island sunset	Widescreen	Getty Images	Getty Images	Kevin Forest
	img734	Kilamanjaro	Vistas	Getty Images	Tony Stone Images	Renee Lynn
	img735	Leaning palms	Widescreen	Getty Images	Getty Images	unknown (credited on Getty to Shoot PTY)
	img736	Mount Fuji	Vistas	Getty Images	Dex Image	Kiyomasa Miyashita	Later Microsoft distributed a sharper 1920×1200 version
	img737	Mount Shuksan	Vistas	Getty Images	Tony Stone Images	Robert Everts
	img738	Owl	Vistas	Getty Images	Tony Stone Images	Art Wolfe
	img739	Palms	Vistas	Getty Images	Getty Images	James Warwick
	img740	Peaks	Vistas	Getty Images	PhotoDisc	Jeremy Woodhouse
	img741	Petals	Nature	Corbis	Corbis	William Manning
	img742	Prairie sunrise	Vistas	Getty Images	Getty Images	Michael Melford
	img743	Sawtooth Mountains	Widescreen	Getty Images	altrendo	unknown (credited on Getty to altrendo nature)
	img744	Shells	Nature	Getty Images	FoodPix	Paul Poplis (credited in Vista Starter and originally on Getty to FoodPix)
	img745	Sunflower	Nature	Getty Images	Getty Images	Gary Moss
	img746	Two giraffes	Nature	Getty Images	Digital Vision	Karl Ammann	Slightly less saturated in Beta 2 builds.
	img747	Waterfall	Nature	Corbis	Corbis	Arthur Morris
	img748	Yellow Mountain	Vistas	Getty Images	PhotoDisc	John Wang

Sample pictures [ edit | edit source ]

Vista has fifteen sample pictures, compared to how XP only has four. Most of them were licensed from Getty Images and use a mixture of royalty free and rights-managed licenses. Like with Starter’s wallpapers, they are at 1024×768. The metadata also provides descriptions of each photo and ratings. Dates are also included although most of them are likely inaccurate.

Name	Tags	Rating	Description	Licensed from	Originates from	Photographer/artist	Notes
	Autumn Leaves	Sample; Landscape	3 Stars	Maple leaves in Autumn.	Getty Images	Iconica	Peter Miller
	Creek	Sample; Landscape	3 Stars	A creek running through the woods.	Getty Images	altrendo	unknown (credited on Getty to altrendo nature)
	Desert Landscape	Sample; Landscape	5 Stars	The famous mesas of Monument Valley, Utah.	SuperStock	Purestock	Elizabeth Carmel
	Dock	Sample; Ocean	4 Stars	A dock at sunset on White Sands Island in the Maldives.	Getty Images	Getty Images	Angelo Cavalli
	Forest Flowers	Sample; Flowers	3 Stars	Flowers in the forest.	Getty Images	Lonely Planet	Gareth Mccormack
	Forest	Sample; Landscape	3 Stars	A forest path in Redwoods State Park, California.	Getty Images	Getty Images	Darrell Gulin
	Frangipani Flowers	Sample; Flowers	3 Stars	A close-up of frangipani flowers.	Getty Images	Getty Images	Kevin Forest
	Garden	Sample; Flowers	4 Stars	Orange flowers.	Getty Images	Digital Vision	Natphotos	Also used as the sample picture in Windows Fax and Scan albeit at a higher resolution and CMYK.
	Green Sea Turtle	Sample; Wildlife; Ocean	5 Stars	A green sea turtle swims past a school of Raccoon Butterflyfish near Hawaii.	Getty Images	Getty Images	Jeff Hunter
	Humpback Whale	Sample; Wildlife; Ocean	5 Stars	A humpback whale slapping the surface with its tail.	Getty Images	Digital Vision	Tom Brakefield
	Oryx Antelope	Sample; Landscape; Wildlife	4 Stars	A lone oryx antelope.	Getty Images	Digital Vision	Natphotos
	Toco Toucan	Sample; Wildlife	4 Stars	A toucan perched on a branch in Brazil.	Getty Images	Getty Images	Kevin Schafer
	Tree	Sample; Landscape	3 Stars	Sheep under a tree near Dorset, England.	Getty Images	Getty Images	Jeremy Walker
	Waterfall	Sample; Landscape	3 Stars	A cascading waterfall, flanked by flowers.	Getty Images	Iconica	Frans Lemmens
	Winter Leaves	Sample; Flowers	3 Stars	Dog rose leaves covered with frost in Sweden.	Getty Images	Getty Images	Peter Lilja

User account pictures [ edit | edit source ]

With the exceptions of guest and user, most of Vista’s user account pictures come from Getty Images and use a mixture of royalty free and rights-managed licenses. They are at 128×128, compared to XP’s 48×48.

Name	Licensed from	Originates from	Photographer/artist	Notes
	guest	N/A	Microsoft/Iconfactory	unknown
	user	N/A	Microsoft/Iconfactory	unknown
	usertile2	Getty Images	CSA Images	unknown (credited on Getty to CSA Images)	Background was originally pale yellow; recolored to blue in Vista.
	usertile3	Getty Images	The Image Bank	GK Hart/Vikki Hart
	usertile4	Getty Images	DAJ	unknown (credited on Getty to DAJ)
	usertile5	Getty Images	Getty Images	Ian McKinnell	Background was originally white; recolored to green in Vista.
	usertile6	Getty Images	Iconica	GK Hart/Vikki Hart	Background was originally pale yellow; recolored to green in Vista.
	usertile7	Getty Images	Iconica	Gregor Schuster
	usertile8	Getty Images	Tony Stone Images	Peter Cade
	usertile9	Getty Images	Tony Stone Images	Michael Banks
	usertile10	Getty Images	Digital Vision	Darren Hopes
	usertile11	Getty Images	National Geographic	Wolcott Henry
	usertile12	Getty Images	National Geographic	Joel Sartore

Logon backgrounds [ edit | edit source ]

The logon background in all editions, with the exception of Starter, is a green-blue aurora with a line near the bottom of it. It was most likely created by Robert Stein and his team, who were responsible for the Light Aura wallpapers and other design elements of Vista. It is included at many different resolutions, including vertical ones.

The logon background in Windows Vista Starter simply consists of #1D5F7A color, which is also the case for Server 2008.

The logon background in all editions except Starter.