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install.wim too big Windows 11

Paul Chou 1,416 Reputation points
2021-08-20T16:00:03+00:00

hi,

I downloaded the Windows 11 iso but when copying the files to the USB drive, the install.wim file is too big 4 GB. Cannot copy it to the drive. My drive is 32 GB. What now?

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-08-20T17:31:14+00:00

    I would just reformat the drive as NTFS. Problem solved.

    20+ people found this answer helpful.
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  1. Anonymous
    2021-10-23T14:21:51+00:00

    if you need a fat32 partition to EFI boot the usbstick, you may use DISM tool to split your image:

    i.e.

    unpack your windows iso to c:\iso

    run command in CMD(admin)

    Dism /Split-Image /ImageFile:C:\iso\sources\install.wim /SWMFile:C:\iso\sources\install.swm /FileSize:4000

    delete C:\iso\sources\install.wim

    (we now have install.swm and install2.swm to use instead)

    Copy the remaining data to your stick and mark active or recreate an iso file from those if you wish

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  2. Ron-6928 4,991 Reputation points
    2021-10-08T16:04:50+00:00

    Unless I'm mistaken, UEFI system can't boot from NTFS USB stick. I formatted my USB to NTFS but my laptop can't detect the USB. Laptop can see the USB boot media when it is formatted as FAT32.

    3 people found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2021-08-20T17:27:27+00:00

    Hi,

    What is the command you type to produce this result?

    Hi

    You should run the command below in a command prompt window opened with admin privileges.

    First you should mount the iso and then find the drive letter and exact path to install.wim. ( ex. D:\sources\install.wim )

    Second find the index of the edition you want. ( ex. index:4 pro edition in BEta ISO. )

    Third find a location where you want to save extracted install.wim file ( ex. E:\install.wim )

    Fourth run the command.

    Hope this helps.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2021-08-20T16:45:48+00:00

    Hi.

    If the drive is formatted in FAT32 file system, you're right. install.wim is too big to fit in that drive.

    You should try to extract only the edition you want to use. Then the size will drop to a manageable level such that you will be able to copy it on to FAT32 file system.

    The indexes of editions in the downloaded iso of Beta build 22000.132 are:

    Hope this helps.

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