X-Git-Url: https://wimlib.net/git/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=README.WINDOWS;h=c54a773bedab3cbaed3fca4a2003fd86da885582;hb=refs%2Fheads%2Fmaster;hp=2c7fd9cda852a06faa5baa6f893a839971e087ca;hpb=8cbe36c44fbb35481ed88b1bfe326c77490c4ac7;p=wimlib diff --git a/README.WINDOWS b/README.WINDOWS deleted file mode 100644 index 2c7fd9cd..00000000 --- a/README.WINDOWS +++ /dev/null @@ -1,125 +0,0 @@ - - INTRODUCTION - -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. - - WINDOWS DISTRIBUTION - -The Windows distribution of wimlib is a ZIP file containing the following items: - - * 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. - - * Very short batch scripts (e.g. wimapply.cmd) which are shortcuts to the - corresponding wimlib-imagex commands (e.g. `wimlib-imagex apply'). - - * The library itself in DLL format (libwim-15.dll). wimlib-imagex.exe - requires this to run. - - * The documentation, including this file, the generic README.txt, and - PDF documentation for wimlib-imagex in the 'doc' folder. - - * 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. - - * Development files in the 'devel' folder. These are only needed if you - are developing C or C++ applications that use wimlib. - -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 an MSYS2 shell and run the following command: - - pacman -Syu --noconfirm - -After that, open an 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. - -To build 64-bit (x86_64) binaries, close the MSYS2 shell you have open, then -open "MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit" from the Start menu and run the following commands: - - cd wimlib - tools/make-windows-release --install-msys2-packages --no-docs --no-zip - -The output will be in a folder named like "wimlib-1.14.0-windows-x86_64-bin". - -For 32-bit (i686) binaries, do the same but use "MSYS2 MinGW 32-bit" instead.