How to make your own second edition in an ISO?

[makuadar]

I want to conditionally one edition with Windows Defender, and the second without it, but for this as I know, you need two separate install.wim... But this will significantly increase its weight, almost up to 10 gigabytes. how to do it efficiently, so that install.wim still weighs at least 6 gigabytes, and preferably compress it into esd to make it all work?

Windows 11 22H2 and also Windows 10 22H2

 

[garlin]

When a WIM file with two or more images is created, normal compression will "de-duplicate" identical files to reduce the image size. If you convert the final image to ESD format, it may get even smaller.

De-duplication works best if all of the multiple images are from the same Windows version. Most of the files for Home, Pro or Enterprise are identical across the different editions.

1. Download a clean ISO. Load the install.wim.
2. Export one of the editions, for example W11 22H2 Pro. Right menu -> Export -> WIM -> NEW.wim

3. Export the same edition (again), and save to the same WIM file.

NTLite will ask if you want Yes to Overwrite, or No to Append. Choose Append.​

4. Load the new WIM file. You now have two copies of the same edition.



5. Select one of the two copies. Right menu -> Edit -> Name -> "Windows 11 Pro without Defender"



6. Load this renamed image, and remove Defender from Components. After applying your changes, replace the original sources\install.wim file in the ISO folder with this updated WIM file. From the Image screen, click the Refresh button on the toolbar.

7. Load any of the two install images. If you're using Unattended mode, check the Toolbar box for "Prompt edition selection". Otherwise you won't be allowed to select which image to install whenever using Unattended mode.

8. From the Apply screen, change the image format to ESD compression. Apply changes.

02/07/2025  09:32 PM     3,643,622,486 install.esd
               1 File(s)  3,643,622,486 bytes

 

[makuadar]

doesnt work. "Windows cannot access the files required for installation." I get this error exactly on the second and third index, there are three in total, and only the first one works.
0x80070490

 

[garlin]

I don't have this problem with a clean ISO. You can export images from different source WIM's into the same target WIM. The separate Windows images don't have to be from the same release or version. Some users do that to build All in One ISO's.

This error indicates there's a problem with your source ISO or image.

 

[makuadar]

I use the ISO from uup-dump, NTLITE blocks the create iso checkbox. what i have to do then? I just checked, dism /apply image installs the system smoothly. how do I get a special iso?

 

[makuadar]

I don't have this problem with a clean ISO. You can export images from different source WIM's into the same target WIM. The separate Windows images don't have to be from the same release or version. Some users do that to build All in One ISO's.

This error indicates there's a problem with your source ISO or image.

 

[garlin]

NTLite doesn't have a problem reading a UUP dump ISO. Many users do it all the time, including myself.

If you load a single WIM file, instead of loading an ISO folder then NTLite cannot create an ISO. An ISO folder has all the other files needed to boot and install. You can overwrite the sources\install.wim from an ISO with another WIM file.

 

[makuadar]

NTLite doesn't have a problem reading a UUP dump ISO. Many users do it all the time, including myself.

If you load a single WIM file, instead of loading an ISO folder then NTLite cannot create an ISO. An ISO folder has all the other files needed to boot and install. You can overwrite the sources\install.wim from an ISO with another WIM file.

The problem with this error was because I used the ISO from UUP Dump, it does not want to work with multiple editions for some reason, so I used the official 23H2 ISO from Microsoft for my 22H2 bootleg. But the fact that NTLite wouldn't let me make an ISO image itself is very strange. Thanks for help!