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Booting Windows from a compressed image
Dream Start
Recent Windows systems use Windows Image file format (WIM) as a disk image format. Unlike sector-based equivalents such as ISO, which require special handling by the system, WIM is a file-based format. System files and other important information are stored in compressed form within the WIM image.
Windows 8.1 rolls out a new feature called Windows image file boot (WIMBoot). According to Microsoft, WIMBoot "… lets you set up a PC so that it runs directly from a compressed Windows image file. WIMBoot can significantly reduce the amount of space used by Windows files" [1].
WIMBoot is designed to reduce the required space for a new generation of Windows tablets, but it will also work on other Windows 8.1 systems if you're looking for a way to free up disk space.
Instead of placing the system files directly on the Windows partition, WIMBoot uses pointers that reference files on the WIMBoot image. For this reason, WIMBoot only makes sense for solid state drives. According to Microsoft, "WIMBoot isn't supported on traditional drives that contain rotational components or on hybrid drives that contain both solid-state and rotational drive components. WIMBoot works by taking advantage of the capability of solid-state drives to access different areas of the hard drive quickly" [1].
WIMBoot only requires 4GB of disk space in Windows 8.1. WIMBoot does not impose restrictions on users. Programs and tools are installed as usual. Rolling out updates and patches for Windows 8.1 with the WIM file is generally the same as booting from a Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) file, only faster. You can even create your own WIM image on the basis of a preinstalled Windows 8.1 computer.
In this article, I will describe how to perform the necessary preparations for using WIMBoot on a Windows 8.1 system, how to install the technology,
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