Managing Windows Features and Images with DISM and PowerShell

Overview

This article treats DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) and PowerShell (the DISM API wrapper) side by side. It organizes frequent admin tasks with concise explanations, key options, and ready-to-run examples.

Variable Conventions

Variable	Example	Notes
`<<IMAGE_PATH>>`	`C:\mount` or `E:\Windows`	Path for `/Image:` (mounted offline Windows or another disk’s Windows directory)
`<<FEATURE_NAME>>`	`NetFx3`	Windows feature name
`<<CAPABILITY_NAME>>`	`OpenSSH.Client~~~~0.0.1.0`	Feature on Demand name (FoD)
`<<WIM_PATH>>`	`D:\sources\install.wim`	WIM/ESD image file
`<<INDEX>>`	`1`	Image index
`<<MOUNT_DIR>>`	`C:\mount`	Mount point
`<<DRIVER_DIR>>`	`D:\drivers`	Folder containing driver INF files
`<<PACKAGE_PATH>>`	`C:\Updates\kb5005565.cab`	Update package file
`<<LANG_PACK>>`	`C:\LP\ja-jp\lp.cab`	Language pack CAB
`<<SOURCE_PATH>>`	`D:\sources\sxs`	Source files (e.g., NetFx3)
`<<APPLY_DIR>>`	`C:\`	Apply/extract destination
`<<SCRATCH_DIR>>`	`C:\Temp\Scratch`	Working directory
`<<LOG_PATH>>`	`C:\Temp\dism.log`	Log path

Most commands also accept /ScratchDir:<<SCRATCH_DIR>> and /LogPath:<<LOG_PATH>>.

Step 1: Target Selection (/Online vs /Image)

Most DISM commands require an explicit target.

Option	Meaning	Example
`/Online`	Current running Windows	`dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth`
`/Image:<<IMAGE_PATH>>`	Offline Windows or mounted image	`dism /Image:C:\mount /Add-Driver /Driver:D:\drivers /Recurse`

Step 2: List Features (/Get-Features, /Get-FeatureInfo)

Summary

Enumerate available features and their state: Enabled / Disabled / DisabledWithPayloadRemoved.

Key Options

Option	Meaning	Example
`/Online`	Target running OS	`dism /Online /Get-Features`
`/Image:<<IMAGE_PATH>>`	Target offline image	`dism /Image:C:\mount /Get-Features`
`/Get-Features`	List features	`dism /Online /Get-Features /Format:Table`
`/Get-FeatureInfo`	Detail for one feature	`dism /Online /Get-FeatureInfo /FeatureName:NetFx3`
`/FeatureName:<<FEATURE_NAME>>`	Feature name	`NetFx3`
`/Format:Table`	Tabular output	`dism /Online /Get-Features /Format:Table`

Examples

# List all features and states
dism /Online /Get-Features /Format:Table

# Inspect a specific feature
dism /Online /Get-FeatureInfo /FeatureName:NetFx3

If state is DisabledWithPayloadRemoved, binaries are removed; specify /Source.

Step 3: Enable/Disable Features (/Enable-Feature, /Disable-Feature)

Summary

Enable/disable features such as .NET Framework 3.5 or SMB 1.0.

Key Options

Option	Meaning	Example
`/Online`	Target running OS	`dism /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:NetFx3`
`/FeatureName:<<FEATURE_NAME>>`	Feature to manage	`NetFx3`
`/All`	Include dependencies
`/Source:<<SOURCE_PATH>>`	Payload source when removed	`dism /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:NetFx3 /Source:D:\sources\sxs`
`/LimitAccess`	Don’t use WU/WSUS
`/Enable-Feature`	Enable	`dism /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:SMB1Protocol`
`/Disable-Feature`	Disable	`dism /Online /Disable-Feature /FeatureName:SMB1Protocol`
`/LogPath:<<LOG_PATH>>`	Log output

Examples

# Enable .NET Framework 3.5 from local media without Internet
dism /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:NetFx3 /All /LimitAccess /Source:<<SOURCE_PATH>> /LogPath:<<LOG_PATH>>

# Disable SMB1 for hardening
dism /Online /Disable-Feature /FeatureName:SMB1Protocol /LogPath:<<LOG_PATH>>

Step 4: Inspect Capabilities (/Get-Capabilities, /Get-CapabilityInfo)

Summary

List and inspect FoD (Features on Demand) such as RSAT, OpenSSH.Client, Language.Basic.

Key Options

Option	Meaning	Example
`/Online`	Running OS	`dism /Online /Get-Capabilities`
`/Image:<<IMAGE_PATH>>`	Offline image	`dism /Image:C:\mount /Get-Capabilities`
`/Get-Capabilities`	List FoD	`dism /Online /Get-Capabilities /Format:Table`
`/Get-CapabilityInfo`	Detail	`dism /Online /Get-CapabilityInfo /CapabilityName:OpenSSH.Client~~~~0.0.1.0`
`/Format:Table`	Tabular output	`dism /Online /Get-Capabilities /Format:Table`

Examples

# Enumerate FoD
dism /Online /Get-Capabilities /Format:Table

# Inspect one capability
dism /Online /Get-CapabilityInfo /CapabilityName:<<CAPABILITY_NAME>>

Capabilities can be sourced from Windows Update, WSUS, or FoD ISO/shares.

Step 5: Add/Remove Capabilities (/Add-Capability, /Remove-Capability)

Summary

Add/remove on-demand components like OpenSSH or RSAT tools.

Key Options

Option	Meaning	Example
`/Online`	Running OS	`dism /Online /Add-Capability`
`/CapabilityName:<<CAPABILITY_NAME>>`	Capability to manage	`OpenSSH.Client~~~~0.0.1.0`
`/Source:<<SOURCE_PATH>>`	FoD ISO or share	`dism /Online /Add-Capability /CapabilityName:OpenSSH.Client~~~~0.0.1.0 /Source:D:\ /LimitAccess`
`/LimitAccess`	Use only given source
`/LogPath:<<LOG_PATH>>`	Log output

Examples

# Add OpenSSH.Client (online, from network or ISO)
dism /Online /Add-Capability /CapabilityName:<<CAPABILITY_NAME>> /LogPath:<<LOG_PATH>>

# Remove an unneeded RSAT tool
dism /Online /Remove-Capability /CapabilityName:<<CAPABILITY_NAME>> /LogPath:<<LOG_PATH>>

Step 6: Image Repair & Component Store (/Cleanup-Image)

Summary

Detect/repair WinSxS corruption and optimize disk usage.

Key Options

Option	Meaning	Example
`/Online`	Running OS	`dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth`
`/CheckHealth`	Quick check
`/ScanHealth`	Deep scan
`/RestoreHealth`	Repair	`dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth`
`/Source:<<SOURCE_PATH>>`	Repair source
`/LimitAccess`	Avoid WU
`/StartComponentCleanup`	Remove superseded updates
`/ResetBase`	Consolidate (no rollback)
`/AnalyzeComponentStore`	Size analysis

Examples

# Quick corruption check
dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

# Deep scan
dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

# Repair with local source
dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:<<SOURCE_PATH>> /LimitAccess /LogPath:<<LOG_PATH>>

# Cleanup and consolidate updates
dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase /LogPath:<<LOG_PATH>>

Step 7: Image Info (/Get-ImageInfo)

Key Options

Option	Meaning	Example
`/Get-ImageInfo`	Show images inside WIM/ESD	`dism /Get-ImageInfo /ImageFile:install.wim`
`/ImageFile:<<WIM_PATH>>`	WIM to inspect
`/Index:<<INDEX>>`	Target index
`/LogPath:<<LOG_PATH>>`	Log output

Example

# Show editions and indexes in install.wim
dism /Get-ImageInfo /ImageFile:<<WIM_PATH>> /LogPath:<<LOG_PATH>>

Step 8: Mount & Unmount Offline Images

Key Options

Option	Meaning	Example
`/Mount-Wim`	Mount WIM
`/WimFile:<<WIM_PATH>>`	Source WIM
`/Index:<<INDEX>>`	Index to mount
`/MountDir:<<MOUNT_DIR>>`	Mount directory
`/ReadOnly`	Read-only mount
`/Get-MountedWimInfo`	Show mount status
`/Unmount-Wim`	Unmount
`/Commit`	Save changes
`/Discard`	Discard changes

Examples

# Mount for editing
dism /Mount-Wim /WimFile:<<WIM_PATH>> /Index:<<INDEX>> /MountDir:<<MOUNT_DIR>>

# Check current mounts
dism /Get-MountedWimInfo

# Save and unmount
dism /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:<<MOUNT_DIR>> /Commit

Step 9: Integrate Drivers, Packages, and Language Packs

Key Options

Option	Meaning	Example
`/Online`	Running OS
`/Image:<<MOUNT_DIR>>`	Offline image target
`/Add-Driver`	Add drivers
`/Driver:<<DRIVER_DIR>>`	Folder containing INF
`/Recurse`	Include subfolders
`/Add-Package`	Add updates or language packs
`/PackagePath:<<PACKAGE_PATH>>`	Package path
`/Set-AllIntl:ja-JP`	Set locale to Japanese

Notes:

/Add-Driver is offline only.

/Add-Package and /Set-AllIntl work online or offline.

Examples

# Integrate drivers
dism /Image:<<MOUNT_DIR>> /Add-Driver /Driver:<<DRIVER_DIR>> /Recurse

# Integrate an update
dism /Image:<<MOUNT_DIR>> /Add-Package /PackagePath:<<PACKAGE_PATH>>

# Add a language pack and set locale
dism /Image:<<MOUNT_DIR>> /Add-Package /PackagePath:<<LANG_PACK>>
dism /Image:<<MOUNT_DIR>> /Set-AllIntl:ja-JP

Step 10: Capture, Export, and Apply Images

Key Options

Option	Meaning	Example
`/Capture-Image`	Capture a folder to WIM
`/ImageFile:<<WIM_PATH>>`	Output WIM
`/CaptureDir:<<APPLY_DIR>>`	Source directory
`/Name:"<name>"`	Image name
`/Export-Image`	Export/compress existing WIM
`/Apply-Image`	Apply WIM
`/Compress:max`	Max compression
`/ApplyDir:<<APPLY_DIR>>`	Destination directory

Examples

# Capture current layout to WIM
dism /Capture-Image /ImageFile:D:\Custom.wim /CaptureDir:<<APPLY_DIR>> /Name:"Custom Image"

# Export with maximum compression
dism /Export-Image /SourceImageFile:<<WIM_PATH>> /SourceIndex:<<INDEX>> /DestinationImageFile:D:\install_compressed.wim /Compress:max

# Apply an image
dism /Apply-Image /ImageFile:<<WIM_PATH>> /Index:<<INDEX>> /ApplyDir:<<APPLY_DIR>>

Step 11: PowerShell Equivalents

Mapping Table

Area	DISM Command	PowerShell Cmdlet	Purpose
Features (list/detail)	`/Get-Features`, `/Get-FeatureInfo`	`Get-WindowsOptionalFeature`	Inventory & details
Enable/Disable features	`/Enable-Feature`, `/Disable-Feature`	`Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature`, `Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature`	Toggle features
Capabilities (list/detail)	`/Get-Capabilities`, `/Get-CapabilityInfo`	`Get-WindowsCapability`	Inventory & details
Add/Remove capabilities	`/Add-Capability`, `/Remove-Capability`	`Add-WindowsCapability`, `Remove-WindowsCapability`	FoD management
Packages (info/add)	`/Get-Packages`, `/Add-Package`	`Get-WindowsPackage`, `Add-WindowsPackage`	Updates & LPs
Drivers (info/add/remove)	`/Get-Drivers`, `/Add-Driver`, `/Remove-Driver`	`Get-WindowsDriver`, `Add-WindowsDriver`, `Remove-WindowsDriver`	Primarily offline
Image info/mount	`/Get-ImageInfo`, `/Mount-Wim`, `/Unmount-Wim`	`Get-WindowsImage`, `Mount-WindowsImage`, `Dismount-WindowsImage`	WIM management

11.1 Features

Get-WindowsOptionalFeature

Option	Meaning	Example
`-Online`	Running OS	`Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName <<FEATURE_NAME>>`
`-Path <<IMAGE_PATH>>`	Offline image	`Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Path <<IMAGE_PATH>>`
`-FeatureName <<FEATURE_NAME>>`	Specific feature	`-FeatureName NetFx3`

# List all (online)
Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online

# Detail (offline)
Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Path <<IMAGE_PATH>> -FeatureName <<FEATURE_NAME>>

Enable-/Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature

Option	Meaning	Example
`-Online` / `-Path <<IMAGE_PATH>>`	Target	`Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online`
`-FeatureName <<FEATURE_NAME>>`	Feature name	`-FeatureName NetFx3`
`-All`	Include dependencies	`-All`
`-Source <<SOURCE_PATH>>`	Payload source	`-Source <<SOURCE_PATH>>`

# Enable NetFx3 with local source
Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName NetFx3 -All -Source <<SOURCE_PATH>>

# Disable SMB1
Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName SMB1Protocol

11.2 Capabilities

Get-WindowsCapability

Option	Meaning	Example
`-Online`	Running OS	`Get-WindowsCapability -Online`
`-Name <<CAPABILITY_NAME>>`	Supports wildcard	`Get-WindowsCapability -Online -Name OpenSSH.*`
`-Path <<IMAGE_PATH>>`	Offline target	`Get-WindowsCapability -Path <<IMAGE_PATH>>`

# List (online)
Get-WindowsCapability -Online

# Filter single capability
Get-WindowsCapability -Online -Name <<CAPABILITY_NAME>>

Add-/Remove-WindowsCapability

Option	Meaning	Example
`-Online` / `-Path <<IMAGE_PATH>>`	Target	`Add-WindowsCapability -Online`
`-Name <<CAPABILITY_NAME>>`	Capability name	`-Name OpenSSH.Client~~~~0.0.1.0`
`-Source <<SOURCE_PATH>>`	FoD source	`-Source <<SOURCE_PATH>>`

# Add (online, with source if required)
Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name <<CAPABILITY_NAME>>

# Remove
Remove-WindowsCapability -Online -Name <<CAPABILITY_NAME>>

11.3 Packages (updates & language packs)

Get-WindowsPackage

Option	Meaning	Example
`-Online` / `-Path <<IMAGE_PATH>>`	Target	`Get-WindowsPackage -Online`
`-PackagePath <<PACKAGE_PATH>>`	Info for a package	`Get-WindowsPackage -Online -PackagePath <<PACKAGE_PATH>>`

# List installed packages
Get-WindowsPackage -Online

Add-WindowsPackage

Option	Meaning	Example
`-Online` / `-Path <<IMAGE_PATH>>`	Target	`Add-WindowsPackage -Online -PackagePath <<PACKAGE_PATH>>`
`-PackagePath <<PACKAGE_PATH>>`	`.cab` (preferred) / `.msu`

# Add an update (online)
Add-WindowsPackage -Online -PackagePath <<PACKAGE_PATH>>

# Add a language pack (offline)
Add-WindowsPackage -Path <<IMAGE_PATH>> -PackagePath <<LANG_PACK>>

11.4 Drivers

Get-WindowsDriver

Option	Meaning	Example
`-Online` / `-Path <<IMAGE_PATH>>`	Target	`Get-WindowsDriver -Path <<IMAGE_PATH>>`
`-All`	Show all drivers	`-All`

# List drivers in an offline image
Get-WindowsDriver -Path <<IMAGE_PATH>> -All

Add-/Remove-WindowsDriver

Option	Meaning	Example
`-Path <<IMAGE_PATH>>`	Target image	`Add-WindowsDriver -Path <<IMAGE_PATH>> -Driver <<DRIVER_DIR>> -Recurse`
`-Driver <<DRIVER_DIR>>`	INF folder
`-Recurse`	Include subfolders
`-Driver <<oem*.inf>>` (Remove)	INF to remove	`Remove-WindowsDriver -Path <<IMAGE_PATH>> -Driver oem1.inf`

# Add drivers (offline)
Add-WindowsDriver -Path <<IMAGE_PATH>> -Driver <<DRIVER_DIR>> -Recurse

# Remove a driver (offline)
Remove-WindowsDriver -Path <<IMAGE_PATH>> -Driver oem1.inf

Important: Add-/Remove-WindowsDriver do not support -Online; use them against offline images.

11.5 Image Info & Mount

Get-WindowsImage

Option	Meaning	Example
`-ImagePath <<WIM_PATH>>`	WIM/ESD path	`Get-WindowsImage -ImagePath <<WIM_PATH>>`
`-Index <<INDEX>>`	Specific index only	`-Index <<INDEX>>`

# Show all indexes of install.wim
Get-WindowsImage -ImagePath <<WIM_PATH>>

Mount-/Dismount-WindowsImage

Option	Meaning
`-ImagePath <<WIM_PATH>>`	Source WIM
`-Index <<INDEX>>`	Index to mount
`-Path <<MOUNT_DIR>>`	Mount directory
`-ReadOnly`	Read-only mount
`-ScratchDirectory <<SCRATCH_DIR>>`	Working dir
`-Save` (Dismount)	Save changes
`-Discard` (Dismount)	Discard changes

# Mount
Mount-WindowsImage -ImagePath <<WIM_PATH>> -Index <<INDEX>> -Path <<MOUNT_DIR>>

# Save and dismount
Dismount-WindowsImage -Path <<MOUNT_DIR>> -Save

Summary

DISM: low-level management of OS components, WIM, updates, and drivers.
PowerShell (DISM API): same scope with scriptability for inventory, selection, and automation.
Capabilities (FoD): on-demand features (OpenSSH, RSAT, language packs).