Create ISO from Windows Boot Drive

From The Maceys in California
Revision as of 21:21, 6 September 2026 by Lynn Macey (talk | contribs)

This is a summary of the steps detailed in this video:

Turn Your Windows into a Bootable ISO from the Vital Tech Helper YouTube channel.

Tools needed:

Rufus (Portable version is fine)
AnyBurn (Free version)
Windows 11 Distribution ISO from the Windows 11 official download site
  1. Download the above components
  2. Install AnyBurn
  3. Restart machine holding down the shift key to boot into the recovery console
  4. Go to Troubleshoot -> Advanced Options -> Command Prompt
  5. Run Notepad and open This PC. Any drive can be the source. The Target needs to have sufficient space to hold the ISO. Note both drive letters anf close Notepad
  6. Enter the following command, modifying the source, target and names as desired:
    dism /Capture-Image /CaptureDir:C:\ /ImageFile:D:\Win11Backup.wim /Name:"Windows11Backup" /Compress:max
  7. When completed, close the command prompt and click Continue from the Recovery Console
  8. Windows will boot normally
  9. Open AnyBurn and select Edit Image File
  10. Browse to the Windows 11 ISO file downloaded originally
  11. Locate and remove the file named install.wim
  12. Rename the file created in step 6 to install.wim
  13. Click Add, browse to the install.wim file and click the Add button
  14. Click Next and select where save the new ISO renaming along the way
  15. Exit AnyBurn and remove any extra files created in the process

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