NexTech

Now that Microsoft has released Windows 8 through MSDN and Technet channels, we can download a Windows 8 edition and try it on our computer. Since there are many editions and flavors of Windows 8, it would be very nice if we have a disc that can be used to install all the editions. Fortunately, it's possible to make such a disc for ourselves using the techniques easily found online. Let's create an all-in-one Windows 8 setup disc that will contain the following editions in US English.

• Windows 8 x86
• Windows 8 x64
• Windows 8 Pro x86
• Windows 8 Pro x64
• Windows 8 Enterprise x86
• Windows 8 Enterprise x64

We need the following ISO files or corresponding DVD discs.

• en_windows_8_x86_dvd_915417.iso
• en_windows_8_x64_dvd_915440.iso
• en_windows_8_enterprise_x86_dvd_917587.iso
• en_windows_8_enterprise_x64_dvd_917522.iso

In addition, we need imagex and oscdimg, available in the following locations.


We'll use en_windows_8_x86_dvd_915417.iso as the base, so use 7-zip to extract its contents to C:\win8aio folder. This folder now contains US English editions of Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro.

Now let's add Windows 8 Enterprise (32-bit, x86) to the AIO edition. Use 7-zip to extract sources/install.wim from en_windows_8_enterprise_x86_dvd_917587.iso, and then type the following command. The path to the extracted install.wim file must be explicitly given along with the filename.

imagex /export install.wim 1 "C:\win8aio\sources\install.wim" "Windows 8 Enterprise"

To add 64-bit flavors of Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro to the all-in-one edition, use 7-zip to extract sources/install.wim from en_windows_8_x64_dvd_915440.iso, and then run the following command.

imagex /export install.wim 1 "C:\win8aio\sources\install.wim" "Windows 8 Pro x64"
imagex /export install.wim 2 "C:\win8aio\sources\install.wim" "Windows 8 x64"

Then, extract install.wim from en_windows_8_enterprise_x64_dvd_917522.iso with 7-zip, and use imagex again to add 64-bit Windows 8 Enterprise .

imagex /export install.wim 1 "C:\win8aio\sources\install.wim" "Windows 8 Enterprise x64"

Now, create a text file "ei.cfg" with Notepad, put the following contents in it, and save it in the sources folder.

[Channel]
retail

[VL]
1

Finally, use oscdimg to produce a UDF-formatted DVD image file, based on C:\WIN8AIO folder.

oscdimg -lWIN8AIO_EN -t07/25/2012,00:14:50 -m -u2 -bC:\Win8aio\boot\etfsboot.com C:\Win8aio WIN8AIO.ISO

You can burn the newly created Windows 8 all-in-one disc now, and try it by rebooting the computer with it. Note that Windows 8 can only be installed on recent computers with modern CPU's. Otherwise, you'll see an error message upon startup.