Which ISO download?

Hazel123

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So on ISO download page there are two options for creating ISO. Not sure which one to use. First one says "Create Windows 11 Installation Media" - which sounds fine. But the last one says "Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO)". Both of them say it's for a bootable dvd or usb. Second one says "multi edition iso which uses your product key to unlock the correct edition". Which is fairly self explanatory, but in that case what is the point of the first one "Create installation media"?

So is the difference that the first one gives you the option to install say home or pro. Whereas the second one just installs automatically whatever version you currently have on the Motherboard?

W11 iso download options.jpg
 

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    HP Spectre X360
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    Core i7
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    8gb
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    250gb ssd
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    Dismal
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    Also use HP Pavilion DM4 (12 years old) on Windows 10 as my main system usually.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
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    Laptop
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    Asus Eee PC 1015PX
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    Intel Atom N570
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    2gb
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    Samsung Evo 860 250gb ssd
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FreeBooter

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Media creation tool allows creating installation media and downloading any edition of Windows 11.
 

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    HP Pavilion
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    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
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    Erica6
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    Micron Technology DDR4-3200 16GB
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    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
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    Realtek ALC671
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster U28E590
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
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Hazel123

Hazel123

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Thanks - so why the other option then?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre X360
    CPU
    Core i7
    Memory
    8gb
    Hard Drives
    250gb ssd
    Internet Speed
    Dismal
    Browser
    Firefox
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    Also use HP Pavilion DM4 (12 years old) on Windows 10 as my main system usually.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Eee PC 1015PX
    CPU
    Intel Atom N570
    Memory
    2gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung Evo 860 250gb ssd
    Internet Speed
    Dismal
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    Firefox
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    Defender
BunnyJ

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Hazel123 said:
Thanks - so why the other option then?
Click to expand...
The other is a direct download of the ISO .. they all add up to the same thing in the end.,
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home 22538.1010
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Banna Junior 7000 - X Series
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 2700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Crosshair VII Hero, X470
    Memory
    Gskill 32GB, 16GBX2 PC3000
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    GeForce GTX TITAN X 12GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek (R) Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viotek 32" Curved, ViewSonic 27"
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    1080P
    Hard Drives
    Primary Samsung 256 SSD
    PSU
    EVGA BQ 700w 80+ Bronze
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    NZXT 510
    Cooling
    Stock AMD cooler
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    Corsair
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    Amazon Generic with Cord
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    Download: 350.50 mbps Upload: 12.02 mbps Ping: 15ms
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    MS - Defender
Bree

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Hazel123 said:
So on ISO download page there are two options for creating ISO. Not sure which one to use. First one says "Create Windows 11 Installation Media" - which sounds fine. But the last one says "Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO)". Both of them say it's for a bootable dvd or usb.
Click to expand...
The ISO that the MCT will make will contain the more compact install.esd in its sources folder, while the direct download ISO will have an install.wim. The ESD ISO is 4.16GB vs 5.12GB for the directly downloaded ISO.

Hazel123 said:
...so why the other option then?
Click to expand...

There are a few advanced things for which only an install.wim will do, cutomising the install image and injecting your own drivers, for example.

For normal install or upgrading purposes the two are functionally identical. But the ISO made by the MCT being smaller will fit on a single-layer DVD, and as the install.esd is less than 4GB it can be held on a Fat32 formated USB.

Windows 11 ISOs -ESD vs WIM.png
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB HDD
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October.


    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, Windows 11 Pro.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    i5 M 520
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    4GB
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.


    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, Windows 11 Pro.
Hazel123

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Thanks Bree. As I've only used media creation tool before, I guess the other iso download is because it's Windows 11 and so people can alter it to install on various hardware then. If so, that is very thoughtful of them!
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre X360
    CPU
    Core i7
    Memory
    8gb
    Hard Drives
    250gb ssd
    Internet Speed
    Dismal
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Also use HP Pavilion DM4 (12 years old) on Windows 10 as my main system usually.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Eee PC 1015PX
    CPU
    Intel Atom N570
    Memory
    2gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung Evo 860 250gb ssd
    Internet Speed
    Dismal
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
AddRAM

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This is the way !
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You can create the installer right there, or you can download the ISO file and create the installer yourself.

That is the difference.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Skylake Special X299
    CPU
    Intel Core i9 9900X
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Strix X299-E Gaming II
    Memory
    GSkill Trident Z RGB 32GB 3600 16-16-16-36 (F4-3600C16Q-32GTZR)
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    Zotac RTX 2080 Ti AMP Extreme
    Sound Card
    Supreme FX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Asus PG279Q
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440 165Hz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 Pro 500GB, Seagate Barracuda 4TB x2, Western Digital Black 4TB x1
    PSU
    EVGA 1200 P2, EVGA Black Custom Braided Cables
    Case
    Thermaltake View 31 Tempered Glass Limited Edition
    Cooling
    Corsair H115i, Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut
    Keyboard
    Logitech G910 Orion Spark
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    Logitech G700s, Asus ROG GX860 Buzzard
    Internet Speed
    Verizon Fios Quantum Gateway 75/75
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, Malwarebytes Free 3.8.3
    Other Info
    Thermaltake Riing Duo 14 x3, Thermaltake Riing Plus 14 x2, Corsair HS70 Pro Wireless Headset
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Skylake Special Z170
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 6700K
    Motherboard
    Asus Sabertooth Z170 Mark 1
    Memory
    GSkill Trident Z RGB 16GB 3600 16-16-16-36 (F4-3600C16D-16GTZR)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA GTX 980 Ti SC x2, EVGA Pro HB SLI Bridge
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition
    Monitor(s) Displays
    AOC G2460PG
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 144Hz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 870 Evo 500GB, Seagate Barracuda 4TB x2
    PSU
    EVGA 1000 P2, EVGA White Custom Braided Cables
    Case
    Corsair Vengeance C70 Gunmetal Black
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i v2, Corsair ML120 x2, Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut
    Mouse
    Logitech G500s
    Keyboard
    Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum
    Internet Speed
    Verizon Fios Quantum Gateway 75/75
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, Malwarebytes Free 3.8.3
    Other Info
    Corsair SP120 x4, LG Blu-ray Drive, Durabrand HT-395 100 Watt Dolby Digital Amp
Bree

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Hazel123 said:
I guess the other iso download is because it's Windows 11 and so people can alter it to install on various hardware then. If so, that is very thoughtful of them!
Click to expand...


MS always offered a direct download of an ISO with install.wim for Windows 10, but you had to visit the 'get Windows 10' page with a non-Windows device to see it offered. For those of us running Windows we had to jump through hoops to make our Edge lie to the website that it was an iPad in order to see the direct ISO download link.

For 11 they have done the sensible thing and made the ISO download visible to everyone.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB HDD
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October.


    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, Windows 11 Pro.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    i5 M 520
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    4GB
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.


    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, Windows 11 Pro.
R

RJARRRPCGP

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IIRC, on 10 I didn't like MCT, because it has a bad habit of setting up a legacy-style-boot. (Assumes pre-UEFI, thus MBR)
I saw this happen on my second Ryzen system. After I replaced the piece-of-junk SSD and installed a Samsung 970 Evo Plus 250 GB SSD, 10 got installed in legacy-mode! The piece-of-junk SSD, was at least booting in pure-UEFI mode. This was after I replaced a SATA SSD with an NVMe SSD.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro x64 21H1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    MSI B450 Tomahawk
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000 (1500Mhz with Fclk at 1500 Mhz) (1:1)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Gaming X Radeon RX 5600XT
    Monitor(s) Displays
    AOC G2490VX
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 @144 Hz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 Pro 512 GB NVMe SSD
    PSU
    eVGA Supernova 750 G3
    Case
    Corsair 275R
    Internet Speed
    VTel FTTH 1 Gb down and 1 Gb up
Bree

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RJARRRPCGP said:
IIRC, on 10 I didn't like MCT, because it has a bad habit of setting up a legacy-style-boot.
Click to expand...
The MCT always makes an ISO or USB that can boot in both Legacy and UEFI modes. It installs in whichever mode you have chosen to boot it, so if you got a Legacy install it was because you did not see, or were unable to find the correct UEFI boot option in your bios menu.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB HDD
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October.


    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, Windows 11 Pro.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    i5 M 520
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    4GB
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.


    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, Windows 11 Pro.
R

RJARRRPCGP

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Bree said:
The MCT always makes an ISO or USB that can boot in both Legacy and UEFI modes. It installs in whichever mode you have chosen to boot it, so if you got a Legacy install it was because you did not see, or were unable to find the correct UEFI boot option in your bios menu.
Click to expand...
That's with my second system specs listing that you will see on TF, my AsRock A320M/ac . Suspect an AsRock BIOS issue.

Looks like I need to force options, like I did with my daily driver, which is listed under System One at ElevenForum as well.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro x64 21H1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    MSI B450 Tomahawk
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000 (1500Mhz with Fclk at 1500 Mhz) (1:1)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Gaming X Radeon RX 5600XT
    Monitor(s) Displays
    AOC G2490VX
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 @144 Hz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 Pro 512 GB NVMe SSD
    PSU
    eVGA Supernova 750 G3
    Case
    Corsair 275R
    Internet Speed
    VTel FTTH 1 Gb down and 1 Gb up
E

erpster4

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it appears MS quietly posted updated Win11 ISO downloads sometime last week around mid-November that contain build 22000.318 instead of 22000.194

ex.
old Win11 ISO download > Win11_English_x64.iso
new Win11 ISO download > Win11_English_x64v1.iso

the Win11 MCT will also be creating install media with at least 22000.318 instead of the older .194 build
 

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  • OS
    windows 10 ltsc
Hazel123

Hazel123

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Interesting. I downloaded the iso 2 days ago. I wondered if it was the first/original. It just said x64v1
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre X360
    CPU
    Core i7
    Memory
    8gb
    Hard Drives
    250gb ssd
    Internet Speed
    Dismal
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Also use HP Pavilion DM4 (12 years old) on Windows 10 as my main system usually.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Eee PC 1015PX
    CPU
    Intel Atom N570
    Memory
    2gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung Evo 860 250gb ssd
    Internet Speed
    Dismal
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
Bree

Bree

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My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB HDD
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October.


    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, Windows 11 Pro.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    i5 M 520
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    4GB
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.


    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, Windows 11 Pro.
S

Scott

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Thanks for that Bree. I got Win11_English_x64v1.iso two nights ago and its build 318

ISOinfo.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro 21H2 22000.469
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8700 CPU @ 3.20GHz 3.19 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime Z370-P II LGA1151
    Memory
    CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 8GB DDR4 3000 (x4)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti SC GAMING
    Sound Card
    Creative Labs PCIe Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium (dan_k drivers)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung LT27A300ND/ZA 27"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2 2280 1TB PCIe Gen3. X4, NVMe (x2)
    SAMSUNG 870 EVO Series 2.5" 2TB SATA III (x2)
    PSU
    CORSAIR HX Series HX750
    Case
    Antec Dark Phantom DP502 FLUX
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro Series H60 AIO
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK 320
    Mouse
    Logitech MX 1000 Laser
    Internet Speed
    200Mbs
    Browser
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    Antivirus
    Winows Defender
    Other Info
    UEFI, Secure Boot, TPM 2.0
    MR 8 HE
S

SIW2

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You can compress a .wim to a .esd or decompress a .esd to a .wim if desired.

I usually use wimlib for this kind of thing. Wimlib contains advanced implementataions of compression algorithms . These have been improved over time and now typically outperform and outcompress their Microsoft equivalents. By default, wimlib creates WIM archives using (multithreaded) LZX compression, but options are provided to control the format, chunk size, compression level, number of threads, and whether the compression is done in solid (esd) mode or not.

If you want something with an easy UI, dism++ will do the job.




dism++-wim-to-esd.jpg
 

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