-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 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 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. On Windows there is no equivalent of
- FUSE, which I used to get mounting working on Linux and BSD, so I would have
- to program a "Filesystem Filter" driver with Microsoft's eccentric API.
+For the convenience of Windows users, 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) files that is
+ similar to Microsoft's ImageX. This is a ready-to-run executable and not an
+ installer.
-So to be clear:
+ * The documentation, including this file, the generic README.txt, and
+ PDF documentation for wimlib-imagex in the 'doc' directory.
-"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.
+ * Various DLL (.dll) files, including the wimlib library itself, which are of
+ little concern to you if you are not a developer.
-"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.
+ * License files for all software included. These are all free software
+ licenses.
-"imagex mount", "imagex mountrw", and "imagex unmount" will NOT work on Windows.
+ WIMLIB-IMAGEX
-So on Windows, why would you want to use wimlib's ImageX instead of Microsoft's?
-Well, here are a few reasons:
+wimlib-imagex is intended to provide a usable Windows-native equivalent to
+Microsoft's ImageX. The main limitations of wimlib-imagex compared to
+Microsoft's ImageX are the following:
-- 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.
+ * Mounting WIM files is not supported on Windows.
+
+ * The LZX ("maximum") compression ratio is several percent worse that
+ Microsoft's implementation.
+
+However, wimlib-imagex provides a number of advantages compared to Microsoft's
+ImageX:
+
+ * wimlib-imagex provides "extract" and "update" commands that can be used to
+ work around the lack of mount support. These commands are very fast
+ compared to mounting and unmounting images with Microsoft's ImageX, so you
+ may prefer them anyway.
+
+ * wimlib-imagex offers fast multithreaded compression, so making WIM images
+ can be much faster.
+
+ * wimlib-imagex provides a better XPRESS ("fast", or default compression)
+ compression ratio than Microsoft's ImageX.
+
+ * wimlib-imagex provides an easy-to-use "optimize" command to remove wasted
+ space from WIM files.
+
+ * Whenever possible I have included improved documentation and informational
+ output compared to Microsoft's software.
+
+ * wimlib can correctly save and restore some combinations of data that
+ Microsoft's ImageX runs into bugs on --- for example, uncompressed files in
+ compressed directories, or files with alternate data streams and multiple
+ hard links.
+
+ * wimlib is free software, so you can modify and/or audit the source code.
+
+ ADDITIONAL NOTES
+
+Currently there is no graphical user interface available for wimlib or
+wimlib-imagex and I do not plan to make one. It's recommended to use
+wimlib-imagex in scripts to avoid having to interactively enter commands.
git://wimlib.net / wimlib / blobdiff