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Adding Files to your Windows 7 Install Media

Having been on an install binge with the release of the first public beta of Windows 7 I ran into an issue with my Asus Eee PC 901 and the video driver. While the install went fine in a VirtualPC VM as well as a Dell D830 and Dell E4300 the Eee PC and it’s odd video configuration posed a challenge. The solution, inject the driver into the install media. While this was as simple as adding an $OEM$ folder with the drivers included, it isn’t the same with the WIM image format that Windows Vista, 7 and Server 2008 use. In order to add drivers into a WIM image is to mount it with ImageX, add the files, then commit the change and unmount.

ImageX is a command line tool that is part of the Windows Automated Install Kit which you can download here. You also need to copy the contents of the install DVD to the hard drive. Now run the following commands to mount the WIM file.

mkdir c:\mounted_image

cd “c:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\x86\Tools”

(Note: If you are doing this for an x64 build you will need to replace x86 with x64 in this command)

imagex /mountrw x:\path_to\install.wim 2 c:\mounted_image

Once that is complete browse to C:\mounted_image with Windows Explorer and add/modify the contents as required. Once you are ready to go run the following command to commit the changes and unmount the WIM.

imagex /unmount /commit c:\mounted_image

Now make a bootable ISO of the directory you copied the original install media to and you are set!