How Windows System Image Manager Works

Applies To: Windows 7

Note

This content applies to Windows 7. For Windows 8 content, see Windows Deployment with the Windows ADK.

Windows® System Image Manager (Windows SIM) is the tool that is used to create unattended Windows Setup answer files. The creation of an answer file is achieved by using information from a Windows image (.wim) file and a catalog (.clg) file. Component settings are added to a configuration pass in the answer file. You can also add packages to be installed during Windows Setup.

Distribution shares and configuration sets store files and folders that enable additional customizations of Windows installations.

In This Section

Windows SIM Terminology	Describes the terms used in Windows SIM.
Windows SIM Architecture	Describes how Windows SIM is used to open Windows images and create catalogs.
Windows System Image Manager User Interface	Describes the Windows SIM user interface.
Understanding Windows Image Files and Catalog Files	Describes Windows image files and catalog files.
Understanding Settings and Properties	Describes the different types of configurations you can create in an answer file.

See Also

Concepts

Understanding Distribution Shares and Configuration Sets
Understanding Answer Files
Windows System Image Manager Technical Reference