X-Git-Url: https://wimlib.net/git/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=README.WINDOWS;h=14fc0d284e05e0de52ae92a3534de72c2e060892;hb=42d8e025e6456f31471b98fc309b729ab67289f5;hp=952cbd85cf1ae239fbe2de95b1ec18074ae81d98;hpb=811a38dfe05ef337e2d627f654f8a3e559900790;p=wimlib diff --git a/README.WINDOWS b/README.WINDOWS index 952cbd85..14fc0d28 100644 --- a/README.WINDOWS +++ b/README.WINDOWS @@ -1,39 +1,136 @@ -wimlib 1.3.0 has added experimental support for Windows builds. These builds -include both the "wimlib" library (built as a DLL) and the "imagex" executable. -The Windows builds use native Win32 calls when appropriate to handle alternate -data streams, security descriptors, and reparse points. + INTRODUCTION -Windows support currently has the following limitations: +wimlib is free and open source software that is available on both UNIX-like +systems and Windows. This file provides additional information specifically +about the Windows version of wimlib and the command line tool "wimlib-imagex" +that is distributed with it. It does not obsolete the generic README.txt, which +you should read too. -- It relies on the Cygwin UNIX-compatibility layer. You do not, however, need - to have the Cygwin distribution installed to run it, as I have posted a ZIP - file on SourceForge that contains the build of wimlib and "imagex" along with - the DLLs needed for it to run. Please note that these DLLs are free and open - source software; see http://www.cygwin.com/ for more details. + WINDOWS DISTRIBUTION -- Mounting WIM files is not supported. +The Windows distribution of wimlib is a ZIP file containing the following items: -- wimlib's API is not compatible with Microsoft's WIMGAPI, although they offer - some of the same functionality. + * wimlib-imagex.exe, a command-line tool to deal with WIM (.wim), split WIM + (.swm), and ESD (.esd) files that is inspired by Microsoft's ImageX and + DISM. This is a ready-to-run executable and not an installer. -So, in terms of the "imagex" program: + * Very short batch scripts (e.g. wimapply.cmd) which are shortcuts to the + corresponding wimlib-imagex commands (e.g. `wimlib-imagex apply'). -"imagex capture", "imagex append", and "imagex apply" will work on Windows and -have the added advantage of saving and restoring alternate data streams, -security descriptors, and reparse points. + * The library itself in DLL format (libwim-15.dll). wimlib-imagex.exe + requires this to run. -"imagex delete", "imagex dir", "imagex export", "imagex info", "imagex join", -"imagex optimize", and "imagex split" are all portable and should work the same -way on Windows as on UNIX. + * The documentation, including this file, the generic README.txt, and + PDF documentation for wimlib-imagex in the 'doc' folder. -"imagex mount", "imagex mountrw", and "imagex unmount" will NOT work on Windows. + * License files for all software included. These are all free software + licenses. COPYING.txt is the main license, and it refers to + COPYING.GPLv3.txt and COPYING.LGPLv3.txt. The other licenses are for + third-party software included in the library. -So on Windows, why would you want to use wimlib's ImageX instead of Microsoft's? -Well, here are a few reasons: + * Development files in the 'devel' folder. These are only needed if you + are developing C or C++ applications that use wimlib. -- wimlib can be freely distributed; there is no need to download a 1.8 gigabyte - "Windows Automated Installation Kit". -- wimlib offers fast multithreaded compression, so making WIM images can be much - faster. -- wimlib is free software, so you can modify and/or audit the source code. +Note that there are separate ZIP files for 32-bit (i686) and 64-bit (x86_64) +binaries. They are both fully supported, but you should prefer the 64-bit +binaries when possible as they can be noticeably faster. + + WIMLIB-IMAGEX + +wimlib-imagex supports most features of Microsoft's ImageX as well as some +features that are supported by DISM but not by ImageX. wimlib-imagex also +supports some features that neither ImageX nor DISM support. Some of the +advantages of wimlib-imagex compared to ImageX and DISM are: + + * wimlib-imagex provides "extract" and "update" commands which allow + you to quickly work with WIM images without mounting them. + + * wimlib-imagex provides an easy-to-use "optimize" command which removes + wasted space from a WIM file and optionally recompresses it with stronger + compression. + + * wimlib includes advanced implementations of all compression algorithms used + in WIM files. They usually outperform and outcompress their Microsoft + equivalents. + + * wimlib-imagex supports solid WIM files and LZMS compression, for example as + used in ESD (.esd) files. (These are partially supported by recent DISM + versions but not by ImageX.) + + * wimlib-imagex supports imaging a live Windows system. Just use the + --snapshot option. + + * In many cases, wimlib-imagex has simpler command-line syntax than either + ImageX or DISM. + + * Whenever possible, wimlib-imagex includes improved documentation and + informational output compared to Microsoft's software. + + * wimlib and wimlib-imagex are free software, so you can modify and/or audit + the source code. + +However, some limitations of wimlib-imagex compared to ImageX and DISM are: + + * On Windows, wimlib-imagex does not support mounting WIM images. + + * wimlib-imagex has no awareness of Windows "packages". + + ADDITIONAL NOTES + +It's recommended to use wimlib-imagex in scripts to avoid having to +interactively enter commands. However, note that wimlib-imagex is largely just +a command-line front-end for wimlib, and it's possible to use wimlib's API in +other front-ends or applications. Currently there is no official graphical user +interface available for wimlib or wimlib-imagex. However, an unofficial +Windows-only graphical user interface that provides a thin wrapper around +wimlib-imagex can be downloaded at +http://reboot.pro/files/file/485-wimlib-imagex-command-line-compiler/. + + BUILDING FROM SOURCE + +As with other open source software, advanced users may choose to build wimlib +from source, potentially with customizations. Currently, wimlib depends on +MinGW-w64 for its Windows support; Visual Studio is not supported. The Windows +binaries can be cross-compiled on Linux, or built on Windows using MSYS2 or +Cygwin. The following instructions show the MSYS2 method. + +First, install MSYS2 by running the installer from https://www.msys2.org/. + +Then, open any MSYS2 shell and run the following command: + + pacman -Syu --noconfirm + +After that, open any MSYS2 shell again and run the following commands: + + pacman -Syu --noconfirm git + git clone git://wimlib.net/wimlib + +Note: By default the git repository will be on the "master" branch, which is the +latest development snapshot. Optionally, you can check out a specific version, +e.g. 'cd wimlib && git checkout v1.14.0'. For old versions, please refer to the +documentation for that version, as things may have changed. Also, it is +possible to use a release tarball (e.g. wimlib-1.14.0.tar.gz) instead of the git +repository; however, the make-windows-release script will not be available in +that case and you will need to handle more things yourself. + +Finally, to actually do a build, close the MSYS2 shell you have open, then open +one of the following from the Start menu: + + * "MSYS2 MINGW64" - for x86_64 binaries, built with gcc + * "MSYS2 CLANG64" - for x86_64 binaries, built with clang + * "MSYS2 MINGW32" - for i686 binaries, built with gcc + * "MSYS2 CLANG32" - for i686 binaries, built with clang + * "MSYS2 CLANGARM64" - for ARM64 binaries (EXPERIMENTAL, needs Windows ARM64) + +(If unsure, use "MSYS2 MINGW64".) Then run the following commands: + + cd wimlib + tools/make-windows-release --install-msys2-packages + +The script will automatically download and install the MSYS2 packages needed to +build wimlib in the chosen MSYS2 environment, then build wimlib. The output +will be in a folder named similarly to "wimlib-1.14.0-windows-x86_64-bin". Note +that your "home" folder within MSYS2 is C:\msys64\home\%USERNAME% by default. +Therefore, the full path to the output folder will be similar to +C:\msys64\home\%USERNAME%\wimlib\wimlib-1.14.0-windows-x86_64-bin.