Customize Windows 10 Installation Image with DISM

03 Oct 2016

Recently I need to install dozens of Windows 10 machines. I don’t want to install Windows, drivers, applications, and change settings for every machine, so I need to figure out how to customize the standard Windows installation image so that I can setup a machine in one single step. Fortunately, Microsoft has prepared a useful tool, Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM.exe), for exactly this purpose. Here is the complete process of how to make your own Windows 10 installation image.

  1. Install Windows 10. At the first OOBE screen, press Ctrl+Shift+F3 to reboot into System Audit Mode.

  2. Install drivers and programs. d:Remember don’t reboot the machine while installing drivers and programs. We need to keep the machine in System Audit Mode.

  3. Reboot with System Preparing Tool. After everything is setup, check Generalize and select Enter System Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE) in the System Preparing Tool, and reboot into the installation media (such as a USB drive) that you used to install Windows in the first step.