If the BCD is misconfigured, wimboot will load, the screen will flicker, and the machine will reboot or hang.
: It allows for the loading of a Windows environment over a network without needing to extract the entire contents of a WIM file to a local drive first.
# Ensure we are in UEFI mode iseq $platform efi && goto boot_uefi || goto boot_bios wimboot
| Limitation | Explanation | |------------|-------------| | | Any file change (e.g., update, driver install) is stored separately, potentially increasing fragmentation. | | Performance overhead | File accesses go through filter driver; random small I/O may be slower than native. | | No support for pagefile.sys in WIM | Pagefile must be on writable media. | | Not supported on Server OS | WIMBoot was client-only (Windows 8.1/10). | | Update complexity | Windows Updates modify files; new versions require rebuilding the WIM or applying updates to overlay. | | Deprecated | Replaced by Compact OS (more flexible, single partition). |
wimboot attempts to "demand-read." It does not strictly require the entire WIM to be downloaded before starting bootmgr . It uses the underlying iPXE stack to fetch data as Windows requests it. However, for reliability, iPXE often attempts to download the whole file first unless specific settings are tweaked or compressed WIM formats are used. If the BCD is misconfigured, wimboot will load,
Developed by Michael Brown (the creator of ), wimboot solves a critical problem: How do you boot a modern Windows installer or recovery environment over a network without relying on legacy protocols like TFTP or complex setups like Windows Deployment Services (WDS)?
: This method can save several gigabytes of space, allowing a full Windows installation to fit in a much smaller footprint than traditional installations. | | Performance overhead | File accesses go
DISM /Get-WIMBootInfo /Path:C:\