What is DISM?
Deployment Image Servicing and Management Environment (DISM)
DISM can be used for:
- Source File for Adding Windows Roles and Features
- Prepare a Windows Pre Installation Environment
- Service earlier versions of Windows
- Avoiding roles and features installation packages from downloading files from the Internet
You can use it in deployments or as a file source when installing Windows roles and features. Having an image file saves a lot of time and bandwidth when installing roles and features because the installation files are retrieved locally rather than from the Internet.
DISM packages can be created locally (c:) or to a network share (x:). Either way, it’s a lot faster than waiting for installation files to download from the Internet and it’s more efficient than DVD or CDR media.
To create a Windows DISM, follow these directions:
Create a folder to mound the image file. To do this, open PowerShell and execute the following command:
mkdir c:\mountdir
Next, make sure that your Windows 2012 install CD in the CD ROM and execute the following command:
Dism /get-wiminfo /wimfile:<drive>:sources\install.wim
Determine the index number for the installation. Execute the following command:
Dism /mount-wim /WimFile:<drive>:\sources\install.wim /Index:1 /MountDir:c:\mountdir /readonly
Once the image installation has completed, you can use the –source c:\mountdir\windows\winsxs as the target for file retrieval.