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💿 Custom Windows ISO

How Do You Create Your Own Custom Windows ISO and Remove the Bloat Before Installing

Fresh Windows comes loaded with apps you never asked for — and downloading a "pre-debloated" ISO from a stranger is a security gamble. Build your own custom ISO from the genuine Microsoft file instead. Full process below.

✍️ Technical Anshu🪟 Windows 10 / 11⏱️ 10 minute read
🎥 The complete process on video — every NTLite step shown live, start to finish

Every clean Windows installation starts the same way: twenty minutes of uninstalling junk, disabling things, and setting up the same options again. A custom ISO fixes that permanently — you remove the bloat and pre-configure everything inside the installer itself, so every PC you install from it comes out exactly the way you want. Honest warning upfront: ready-made "lite Windows" ISOs from unknown sources can contain anything — malware, miners, backdoors. That is exactly why this guide builds the ISO from Microsoft's own file, using three things only: the genuine ISO, NTLite, and 7-Zip.

Start Menu — All apps, on a stock Windows 11 install
Clipchamppreinstalled
Spotifypreinstalled
TikTokpreinstalled
Candy Crush Sagapreinstalled
Microsoft Solitaire Collectionpreinstalled
Instagrampreinstalled
News, Weather, Maps, People...and more
What arrives on day one of a normal install — the clutter a custom ISO removes before it ever lands on your disk.
1

Download the Genuine ISO from Microsoft

Your custom build is only as trustworthy as its source file. Never start from an ISO someone else already modified.

  1. Go to Microsoft's official Windows download page and download the Windows 10 or Windows 11 ISO for your edition
  2. Download and install NTLite (the free edition covers the debloating in this guide) and 7-Zip
  3. Keep at least 25–30 GB free on your working drive — image editing needs real space
2

Extract the ISO with 7-Zip

NTLite can work on extracted files, and extracting first makes the DISM conversion in the next step possible.

  1. Right-click the downloaded ISO → 7-Zip → Extract to a new folder (for example C:\ISO)
  2. Open the extracted folder and look inside the sources folder
  3. Note the big file there: Microsoft's download usually ships install.esd; some ISOs ship install.wim instead
3

Convert install.esd to install.wim with DISM

NTLite needs the editable .wim format. If your ISO already has install.wim, skip to Step 4. First, check which editions the image contains and note the index number of the one you want (for example, Pro). Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run:

  1. dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:"C:\ISO\sources\install.esd"
  2. Now export that edition into a new WIM file (replace 3 with your edition's index):
  3. dism /Export-Image /SourceImageFile:"C:\ISO\sources\install.esd" /SourceIndex:3 /DestinationImageFile:"C:\ISO\sources\install.wim" /Compress:max
  4. Delete the old install.esd afterwards — Setup only needs one of the two, and keeping both just makes a heavier ISO
Administrator: Command Prompt — DISM

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool

[==========================100.0%==========================]

The operation completed successfully.

What DISM shows when the install.esd to install.wim conversion finishes — this is the exact conversion used in the video.
4

Load the Image in NTLite and Remove Apps & Components

This is the heart of the process — and the step where patience pays. Removing the wrong component can break Windows Update or the recovery environment later.

  1. Open NTLite → Add → Image directory → select your extracted C:\ISO folder
  2. Double-click your edition to mount it (this takes a few minutes)
  3. Go to Components and untick the junk: preinstalled store apps like Clipchamp, Spotify and TikTok stubs, Solitaire, News, Weather, Cortana, and the Xbox apps if you never game
  4. Be conservative with system components — when NTLite warns that something is needed by Windows Update, Setup or the Store, leave it in
5

Configure Features, Settings and Tweaks

While the image is mounted, set Windows up the way you like it — these settings apply to every future install from this ISO.

  1. In Features, enable or disable Windows features in advance (for example, turn on .NET Framework 3.5 or turn off Media Player)
  2. In Settings and Tweaks, apply your usual preferences: privacy/telemetry options, Explorer behaviour, Game Mode, and similar items NTLite lists
  3. Optionally configure the Unattended page to skip setup questions during installation
6

Integrate Your Drivers into the Image

A custom ISO that already contains your storage, chipset and network drivers saves the most painful part of a fresh install — hunting drivers with no internet because the Wi-Fi driver is missing.

  1. Collect the driver packages (the extracted folders containing .inf files — not the .exe installers) in one folder
  2. In NTLite, open the Drivers page → Add → point it at that folder
  3. Only integrate drivers that match your edition's architecture (64-bit drivers for a 64-bit image)
7

Apply the Changes and Create the ISO ⭐

Everything is staged — now bake it into a new installer.

  1. Go to the Apply page in NTLite, confirm "Save the image" and tick Create ISO, give it a name and location → Process
  2. Write the ISO to a USB stick with Rufus or Ventoy
  3. Test the ISO in a virtual machine first before wiping any real PC — a five-minute test finds broken builds before they cost you a working machine
  4. The video above shows this complete flow on screen — which checkboxes, in which order, and what the finished ISO looks like installing
⚠️ Honest limits: A custom ISO is still ordinary Windows — it does not activate itself and still needs a genuine Windows licence. And the harder you strip an image, the higher the chance a future cumulative update refuses to install. Remove junk apps freely; remove deep system components only when you know exactly what depends on them.

🎥 Watch the Complete ISO Build on Video

The full process — genuine ISO, DISM conversion, NTLite debloat, driver integration and creating the final ISO — shown live, step by step.

▶️ Watch Full Video
❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Is it legal to create my own custom Windows ISO?

Yes. Modifying an installer you downloaded from Microsoft for your own use is fine. What does not change: Windows still needs a genuine licence or product key to activate — a custom ISO is a customised installer, not a free copy of Windows.

Is NTLite free, or do I need to pay?

NTLite has a free edition that covers the main work in this guide — removing preinstalled apps and many components, integrating drivers and updates, and creating the ISO. Some advanced component removals and automation features are reserved for the paid licence.

Will Windows Update still work on my custom Windows?

Usually yes, if you debloat sensibly — removing apps and obvious junk does not affect updates. Problems start when servicing, update or language components are removed. When NTLite flags a component as needed for compatibility, keep it.

This guide is based on the Technical Anshu video on creating your own custom Windows ISO • Stuck on a step? Ask in the video comments — you will get help 🙏