Add Drivers and Updates to a Windows Install Image Offline with DISM

A custom ISO should not merely remove things. While the image is mounted, DISM can add the drivers your hardware needs and the latest cumulative update — so a fresh install starts patched, connected and able to see its own disk.

✍️ Technical Anshu🪟 Windows 10 / 11⏱️ 9 minute read

🎥 Watch the complete video — building a custom Windows ISO, removing unwanted components and setting the bypass options step by step

Offline servicing is the professional half of ISO customisation that most “debloat” guides skip. Using the same DISM tool built into Windows, you can mount install.wim, inject a folder of drivers, apply update packages in the correct order, verify both, and commit — no third-party tool required. This page is the copy-paste clean command sequence, with the ordering rules that decide whether it works.

Administrator Command Prompt — adding drivers to the mounted image

Dism /Image:C:\Mount /Add-Driver /Driver:C:\Drivers /Recurse

Found 14 driver package(s). Adding oem-chipset.inf, iaStorVD.inf, net-driver.inf ...

The operation completed successfully.

Status: drivers staged into the image — Setup will offer them at install time

DISM confirms each driver package as it stages it. Unsigned drivers are refused unless you deliberately force them — do not.

Step 1 — Mount the Right Index

Extract the ISO and find the edition index you deploy: Dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:D:\sources\install.wim
Create an empty mount folder, then mount: Dism /Mount-Image /ImageFile:D:\sources\install.wim /Index:1 /MountDir:C:\Mount
Drivers and updates are per-index — if your ISO carries Home and Pro, servicing one index does not service the other

Step 2 — Add Drivers from a Folder

Collect drivers as extracted .inf packages — download the driver packs from the PC or motherboard maker and extract them; a folder full of .exe installers cannot be injected
Add the whole tree at once: Dism /Image:C:\Mount /Add-Driver /Driver:C:\Drivers /Recurse
Prioritise storage and network drivers — without storage, Setup may not see the disk; without network, first boot cannot reach updates or activation servers
Skip the /ForceUnsigned switch in production images. If a driver is unsigned, get the signed package from the vendor instead
Setup itself needs storage drivers too: if the target uses Intel VMD/RST or an unusual RAID controller, add that driver to boot.wim index 2 as well, or Setup will show an empty disk list even though install.wim is fully loaded

Step 3 — Add Updates in Servicing Order

Download the latest cumulative update (and any servicing stack update it requires) as .msu or .cab files from the Microsoft Update Catalog
Apply packages one at a time: Dism /Image:C:\Mount /Add-Package /PackagePath:C:\Updates\update.msu
Order matters: a servicing stack update goes before the cumulative update that depends on it — when in doubt, DISM will refuse an out-of-order package rather than corrupt the image, and its message tells you what it wants first
Add the matching .NET cumulative update in the same session so the installed system does not immediately queue it again

Step 4 — Verify, Clean Up and Commit ⭐

Prove the work landed: Dism /Image:C:\Mount /Get-Packages and Dism /Image:C:\Mount /Get-Drivers — read the lists, do not assume
Reclaim superseded space in the store: Dism /Image:C:\Mount /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
Commit and unmount: Dism /Unmount-Image /MountDir:C:\Mount /Commit
Made a mistake? /Discard throws the session away — your source image is untouched, which is why all of this happens on a working copy

One warning that saves images: never interrupt a commit, and never delete the mount folder by hand while an image is mounted — a stuck mount is repaired with Dism /Cleanup-Mountpoints, not with the delete key.

🎥 Watch the Complete Video Guide

Every checkbox, removal and bypass option from this page is shown live in the full video — watch it end to end before you build your own ISO.

▶️ Watch Full Video

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add drivers that come only as an EXE installer?

Not directly — DISM needs the extracted .inf package. Most vendor installers can be extracted with 7-Zip or by running them on a test machine and collecting the driver from the DriverStore. If neither works, that driver belongs in a post-install script instead of the image.

Why does Setup still show no disk after I added the storage driver?

Because Setup runs from boot.wim, not install.wim. The storage driver must exist in both places — add it to boot.wim index 2 (the setup environment) as well as to the install image, then rebuild the ISO.

How often should I refresh the updates inside my master ISO?

Monthly, after Patch Tuesday: mount the master, apply the new cumulative update, verify, commit and retest. That rhythm keeps installs fast and keeps the image's servicing store in a state Windows Update understands.

This guide is based on the Technical Anshu video on building your own Windows ISO and removing unwanted components • Stuck on a step? Ask in the video comments — you will get help 🙏