Mount WindowsImage - PowerShell

Overview

Mount-WindowsImage mounts a Windows image file as a virtual disk and assigns a drive letter, making the contents of the image accessible as if they were a physical drive. It is useful for troubleshooting, data recovery, and creating bootable USB drives.

Syntax

Mount-WindowsImage -ImagePath <PathToImage> [-MountPath <PathToMountPoint>] [-ReadOnly] [-Force] [-Verbose] [-Debug] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm]

Options/Flags

  • -ImagePath : Specifies the path to the Windows image file (.wim or .vhd). Required.
  • -MountPath : Specifies the path to the folder where the image should be mounted. Default is a temporary folder.
  • -ReadOnly: Mounts the image in read-only mode, preventing any modifications to the image contents.
  • -Force: Overwrites an existing mount point if it conflicts with the specified path.
  • -Verbose: Displays detailed progress information.
  • -Debug: Outputs detailed debugging information.
  • -WhatIf: Shows what the command would do without actually performing the action.
  • -Confirm: Prompts for confirmation before mounting the image.

Examples

Mount an image to a specific folder:

Mount-WindowsImage -ImagePath C:\Path\To\Image.wim -MountPath C:\MountPoint

Mount an image in read-only mode:

Mount-WindowsImage -ImagePath C:\Path\To\Image.wim -ReadOnly

Forcefully mount an image over an existing mount point:

Mount-WindowsImage -ImagePath C:\Path\To\Image.wim -MountPath C:\ExistingMountPoint -Force

Common Issues

  • Cannot mount image: Ensure the image file is valid and accessible. Check permissions and file integrity.
  • Drive letter conflicts: If a conflict occurs, use the -Force flag or specify a different mount path.
  • Write access denied: If the image is mounted in read-only mode, write operations will fail. Unmount the image and remount it without the -ReadOnly flag.

Integration

Create a bootable USB drive:

Mount-WindowsImage -ImagePath C:\Path\To\Image.wim -MountPath C:\USB\MountPoint
Copy-Item -Path C:\USB\MountPoint\* -Destination C:\USB -Recurse
Unmount-WindowsImage -MountPath C:\USB\MountPoint
  • New-VHD: Creates a new virtual hard disk file.
  • Convert-VHD: Converts between different VHD formats.
  • Get-WindowsImage: Retrieves information about a Windows image file.