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Add Drivers to Windows Installation ISO

Thomas Maurer
Updated
1–2 minutes
31 comments on Add Drivers to Windows Installation ISO
Windows Server 2019 USB Drive

If you have a Windows 7 or even a Windows Server 2008 R2 Server ISO file and you need to add drivers to this ISO file, this little how-to shows you how you can do that.

  1. First create the following folders
    C:\temp\WindowsISO (Unpack the windows.iso to this folder)
    C:\temp\drivers (Add all driver folders in this folder the drivers have to be in .inf format)
    C:\temp\wim (Is a temp folder for the WIM file)
    C:\ temp\WindowsISOdrivers (the new .ISO file will be created here)
  2. Download and install the Windows Automated Installation Kit
  3. Start Windows AIK Deployment Tools Command Prompt from Start menu
  4. Mount the install.wim file from C:\temp\WindowsISO to C:\temp\wim 
    imagex /mountrw C:\temp\WindowsISO\SOURCES\install.wim 1 C:\temp\wim
  5. Add Drivers with dism 
     CD C:\temp\drivers\Network\Emulex\M72KR\W2K8R2\x64
dism /image:C:\temp\wim /add-driver /driver:. /recurse
  6. Now unmount the WIM Image 
    imagex /unmount /commit C:\temp\wim
  7. Create the new ISO file 
    oscdimg -n -m -bc:\temp\WindowsISO\boot\etfsboot.com C:\temp\WindowsISO C:\temp\WindowsISOdrivers\windows.iso
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Thomas Maurer
Thomas is the EMEA Global Black Belt (GBB) for Sovereign Cloud at Microsoft, helping organizations across the region harness Microsoft’s sovereign, hybrid, multicloud, and edge solutions. He works directly with C-level leaders and technical teams to remove roadblocks, accelerate digital transformation, and shape long-term cloud strategies that meet business and regulatory needs. With over 15 years of experience in cloud and datacenter, including his previous role as Principal Program Manager and Chief Evangelist for Azure Hybrid, he combines deep technical expertise with a passion for customer success. He specializes in creating scalable architectures, solution accelerators, and thought leadership that drive adoption and innovation on Azure. Thomas is a passionate community advocate and frequently speaks at industry events such as Microsoft Ignite and Microsoft TechDays. He shares his expertise through his Cloud and Datacenter Blog at www.thomasmaurer.ch and on LinkedIn and X.com www.twitter.com/thomasmaurer.

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31 responses

  1. Arjen van der Laan Avatar
    Arjen van der Laan

    When I try to create the ISO file he can’t find the etfsboot.com. Is ther something wrong with this line: oscdimg -n -m -bc:\temp\WindowsISO\boot\etfsboot.com C:\temp\WindowsISO . I have a windows7 machine (x64). Can you tell me why etfsboot is not there?

    Reply
  2. Jonathan Polli Moreno Avatar
    Jonathan Polli Moreno

    Ok, just to know, I’m have trouble with last command, but it work when I change the destination folder to other drive leter, example, “D:\Image\windows.iso” instead “C:\temp\WindowsISOdrivers\windows.iso”.

    Thanks!

    Reply
  3. Fernando Avatar
    Fernando

    I´m having problems mounting the image :

    C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools>imagex /mountrw C:\temp\WindowsISO\SO
    URCES\install.wim 1 C:\temp\wim

    ImageX Tool for Windows
    Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp. All rights reserved.
    Version: 6.1.7600.16385

    Mounting: [C:\temp\WindowsISO\SOURCES\install.wim, 1] -> [C:\temp\wim]…

    Error opening file [C:\temp\WindowsISO\SOURCES\install.wim].

    Invalid Data.

    Reply
    1. Thomas Maurer Avatar
      Thomas Maurer

      Try redownloading the ISO file it looks like something is not right with it.

      Reply
  4. Ty Avatar
    Ty

    Will this instruction work for server 2003 R2 x86 .iso images as well?

    Reply
  5. MD Miller Avatar
    MD Miller

    Can I use this method to roll windows updates into an iso? I am trying to update my server 2008r2sp1 iso so that with every install I don’t have to download and install 100+ updates.

    Reply
  6. Joern Clausen Avatar
    Joern Clausen

    Thanks for this article. My target system is also Cisco UCS. Adding drivers to the Windows installer worked like a charm, drivers for chipset and NIC were installed automatically.

    The only problem was the RAID controller on the blades: This driver is needed already early in the installation process to select the target drive. Adding the driver as shown above does not help. Is it possible to add drivers to the bootloader(?) of the Windows installer?

    Reply
    1. Thomas Maurer Avatar
      Thomas Maurer

      In this scenarios you have to included the driver not only in the install.wim but also in the boot.wim.

      Reply
  7. Joern Clausen Avatar
    Joern Clausen

    It’s a little bit more complicated :)

    Both boot.wim and install.wim contain several images, and the drivers have to be added to all the right images. boot.wim contains a Windows PE and a Windows Setup image:

    $ C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools>dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:C:\temp\Windows2008R2DE-ISO\sources\boot.wim

    […]

    Index: “1”
    Name: “Microsoft Windows PE (x64)”
    Beschreibung: “Microsoft Windows PE (x64)”
    Größe: 994.224.804 Bytes

    Index: “2”
    Name: “Microsoft Windows Setup (x64)”
    Beschreibung: “Microsoft Windows Setup (x64)”
    Größe: 1.111.505.013 Bytes

    To add drivers to the second image, use

    $ imagex /mountrw … 2 …

    Adding the RAID driver to the PE image is not enough (maybe it’s not even necessary, for good measure I added it there anyway), but only after I added it to the Setup image, the local disks were found immediately.

    And because I will use the Enterprise edition of Windows, adding the drivers to the first image of install.wim will not help either. install.wim contains these eight images:

    Index: “1”
    Name: “Windows Server 2008 R2 SERVERSTANDARD”
    Beschreibung: “Windows Server 2008 R2 SERVERSTANDARD”
    Größe: 10.662.958.902 Bytes

    Index: “2”
    Name: “Windows Server 2008 R2 SERVERSTANDARDCORE”
    Beschreibung: “Windows Server 2008 R2 SERVERSTANDARDCORE”
    Größe: 3.613.479.970 Bytes

    Index: “3”
    Name: “Windows Server 2008 R2 SERVERENTERPRISE”
    Beschreibung: “Windows Server 2008 R2 SERVERENTERPRISE”
    Größe: 10.663.340.207 Bytes

    Index: “4”
    Name: “Windows Server 2008 R2 SERVERENTERPRISECORE”
    Beschreibung: “Windows Server 2008 R2 SERVERENTERPRISECORE”
    Größe: 3.613.454.107 Bytes

    Index: “5”
    Name: “Windows Server 2008 R2 SERVERDATACENTER”
    Beschreibung: “Windows Server 2008 R2 SERVERDATACENTER”
    Größe: 10.622.106.952 Bytes

    Index: “6”
    Name: “Windows Server 2008 R2 SERVERDATACENTERCORE”
    Beschreibung: “Windows Server 2008 R2 SERVERDATACENTERCORE”
    Größe: 3.613.492.173 Bytes

    Index: “7”
    Name: “Windows Server 2008 R2 SERVERWEB”
    Beschreibung: “Windows Server 2008 R2 SERVERWEB”
    Größe: 10.631.108.924 Bytes

    Index: “8”
    Name: “Windows Server 2008 R2 SERVERWEBCORE”
    Beschreibung: “Windows Server 2008 R2 SERVERWEBCORE”
    Größe: 3.612.357.637 Bytes

    So I added the drivers to the third image of install.wim.

    Reply
  8. Alfred Avatar
    Alfred

    Hello,

    i have a problem with Windows Server 2008 R1 !

    this version does not read the drive when the install start thats mean this windows need to add the sata driver to it

    and i already did that by mounting boot.wim and add it ( on index 2 )

    but the windows still cant read the drive

    after that i added the driver to install.wim too same problem (index 3)

    what i should to do to solve this problem ?

    Reply
  9. LNK Avatar
    LNK

    I just wanna add that Windows7 USB/Download tool does not work with .iso!

    I used dism to add drivers to DaRT, and I did -u2 instead of -n to create UDF to upload it to by usb stick)

    Reply
  10. sreekanth Avatar
    sreekanth

    after mounting i given this but not working
    i have a confusion this two line are one instruction or two
    in this line any changes i have to make
    Add Drivers with dism
    CD C:\temp\drivers\Network\Emulex\M72KR\W2K8R2\x64
    dism /image:C:\temp\wim /add-driver /driver:. /recurse

    Reply
  11. Steven Haug Avatar
    Steven Haug

    I am trying to add a USB 3 driver to SBS 2011. I have an Intel server board S1200SPL that requires the image to have USB 3 to run the setup. Without it there is no mouse or keyboard access once the setup process is installed. I have downloaded the driver from the Intel site. When I add the driver it fails with error 5. How do I debug this?

    Reply
  12. A Avatar
    A

    This is what Worked for Me!

    I recently bought a Lenovo ThinkPad P50 in which there are 4 USB 3.0 ports but not a single USB 2.0 port or DVD drive (perhaps because Intel Skylake processor does not have support for legacy USB drives). It was getting quite impossible to simply get Windows 7 USB drive to boot!

    1.) Make an ISO from your Windows 7 DVD by any free tool such as MagicDisc, DAEMON Tools, InfraRecorder, etc..

    2.) Download the “Win7UsbPatcher(v2.0.14)” from ASROCK website (http://www.asrock.com/microsite/Win7Install/). Unpack and run the tool .

    3.) The tool will inject the necessary USB 3.0 drivers into the Windows 7 ISO, and when complete, it will create a new patched Windows 7 ISO.

    4.) You can burn this new Windows 7 ISO to a DVD drive, or you can download Rufus tool to create a bootable USB drive from the Windows 7 ISO.

    5.) Now you can use this new USB/DVD to boot Windows 7 in your laptop!

    Reply
  13. hosea vao Avatar
    hosea vao

    Will this instruction work for server 2008 R2 x64 .iso images as well?

    Reply
    1. Thomas Maurer Avatar
      Thomas Maurer

      yes should work as well

      Reply
  14. Sebastian Szafran Avatar
    Sebastian Szafran

    In case you want to add unsigned drivers add ‘/forceunsigned’in step 5 line 2:
    dism /image:C:\temp\wim /add-driver /driver:. /recurse /forceunsigned

    Reply
  15. Mars Avatar
    Mars

    Hi,
    how can I inject strorage driver into a existing capture image? When I try to boot via WDS server, the local drive does not show up. I have a Dell Optiplex 7050. Storage controller: IRST Sata contolller and Standard NVM Express Contoller.

    Reply
  16. Victor James Avatar
    Victor James

    Hello, I bought a new hp proliant ml10 gen9 server for my company to install Windows server 2008 standard and sap netwear but during installation process the mouse and keyboard hangs even though it works well in bios. I tried installing windows server 2012 and it worked fine. I did my little research why my keyboard and mouse hangs when installing 2008 and got to understand that my server came with USB 3.0 chip which was missing in 2008 and the only solution was for me to inject the driver into my iso (install. Wim and boot. Wim) I have tried different methods on driver injection online but was only able to mount the image, get an error:50 when trying to add drivers. Funny enough I was able to Inject usb 3.0 drivers into windows server 2008 R2 but need Windows server 2008 standard edition. So is any solution out there on how to inject usb 3.0 drivers into windows server 2008 standard?

    Reply
  17. Jack Avatar
    Jack

    Thanks for the guidelines. Installation of drivers seems easy now.

    Thanks & Regards,
    Jack

    Reply
  18. jenny Avatar
    jenny

    This is amazing

    Reply
  19. Josh Avatar
    Josh

    Hi Thomas,

    Thanks for the guide, I am having trouble after creating the new .iso file.

    The Windows installer fails, the installer.wim file cannot be found, even though i can see it in the sourec folder.

    Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks,

    Reply
    1. Thomas Maurer Avatar
      Thomas Maurer

      Hi Josh

      Looks might there be something wrong with the file paths, can you check that the install.wim is on the right place?

      Reply
  20. Liquidmin Avatar
    Liquidmin

    Excelent helpfull topic! I have no mistakes atoll and everuthing went fine from first try. Thank you very much!

    Reply
  21. J Avatar
    J

    my Windows has no install.wim but install.esd instead. Can’t manage to convert from esd to wim with DISM.

    Reply
  22. Bobin Chacko Avatar
    Bobin Chacko

    It worked for me thank you ….

    Reply
    1. Thomas Maurer Avatar
      Thomas Maurer

      Great! Thank you :)

      Reply
  23. Stanislav Avatar
    Stanislav

    Hallo dear Thomas,
    im trying your help how to add tge HD driver inside win iso it works all up to the point 5..dsim ..when im trying i got in the promt menu the message like
    “Installing 1 of 4 -C:\tempdrivers\istorac.inf: Error – The driver pacakge contains x64 boot-critical drivers, but the drivrs are not properly signed.
    Use the /forceunsigned option to install the drivers.

    Can you please help to me fix this issue
    With best regards
    Stanislav

    Reply
  24. james gronquist Avatar
    james gronquist

    I am trying to install W10x86 onto a Lenovo M910s. The computer can run x86. When I boot up with my W7 media, however, mouse & keyboard control is lost. I can adjust the bios to use a “virtual keyboard” BUT I can’t seem to find an x86 keyboard mouse driver that the M910s likes. Are there any generic keyboard/mouse drivers that you have had especially good luck with?

    Reply
  25. Novis Avatar
    Novis

    After I entered the command for it to unmount and commit, I saw there are numerous info signs such as “[ INFO ] Ignoring Extended Attributes in [c:\temp\wim\Windows\System32\cAVS\Communication DLLs\IntelAudioDll_x64.dll]”, eventually, it completed the process. Does this means the drivers are not commit in the ISO image? What does the sentence means?

    Reply
  26. nagamohanaredy Avatar
    nagamohanaredy

    after we un-installed drivers from working server, server is not booting with no visible boot device, can we inject drivers back again through WinRe ?

    Reply

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