How do i open my factory.wim image so i can restore my system

Hi Bev, thanks for asking, I wish it had been the cause :)

The disk had never been removed from its original shrink-wrapped package (that included a brochure), and the CD/DVD drive isn't used often (ie, I don't use it to music CDs or watch DVDs) and despite sofware having shifted to being downloaded almost exclusively, I have used it to install some software without problems (eg, Outlook, Quicken, etc.).

Ideally, Dell would make boot disk contents available online, and, based on the content's size, burn my own.

Hi Bev, thanks for asking, I wish it had been the cause :) The disk had never been removed from its original shrink-wrapped package (that included a brochure), and the CD/DVD drive isn't used often (ie, I don't use it to music CDs or watch DVDs) and despite sofware having shifted to being downloaded almost exclusively, I have used it to install some software without problems (eg, Outlook, Quicken, etc.). Ideally, Dell would make boot disk contents available online, and, based on the content's size, burn my own.

Ah, that's interesting.  More complicated than is appears.  Thanks for that insight too!

Your response is NOT correct. I have a Vostro laptop that came with Windows 7 SP 1 and has wim files in the Recovery parition. The partition is not encrypted; it is hidden. I have backed that partition up using imaging software (Ghost and ActiveX), restored it, and successfully mounted it to use in a system restore.

To view the Recovery partiiton, a user needs to access Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Computer Management. In Disk Management, select the Recovery partition (which is usually the second, or Partition1), right-click, assign a drive letter. Close Administrative Tools. The partition will now be visible and the wim files (there are several) are also visible.

So long as the *.wim files are there (usually Factory.wim, Factory.wim1, etc.), you can recover your system. Even without Dells DataSafe Local Backup, the user can restore a PC to factory state by using Microsoft's Imagex application. The directions for using Imagex can be found on Microsoft by doing a simple search. I would suggest someone not familiar with command language and partition structure avoid using Imagex, but rather seek the advice and direction of someone with experience.

I have been wanting to get into factory.wim for a different reason, I'd eventually like to figure out how to remove all the bloatware so the recovery installs Windows only. You might be interested in what I've figured out so far.

First let me say that those of you who say Windows 7 doesn't use .wim files crack me up. I have an Inspiron 570 with Win 7 Home Premium which I quickly wiped and did a clean install of 7 Ultimate to. However I did leave my recovery partition intact. I also shrunk my C: partition so I could add another partition or two to play with. In disk management I mapped the recovery drive to an empty NTFS folder at C:\hidden and set it to show hidden files as well as showing protected op sys files. Looky here:

Pretty obvious there's not just one but two identical images! For my experimenting i used factory.wim.

I searched the internet for an app that would open wim files and found a free one called 7zip does it. The contents look just like a typical C: drive without a pagefile or system volume information. I started the extraction of factory.wim to the next partition on my HDD. While that went on I found a nice tutorial on using bcdedit.exe over at sevenforums.com and modified my boot file to look like this:

By the time I did that, the image was done extracting so I closed everything and rebooted, choosing the new entry. Starting Windows! Preparing your computer for first use! Then a few error messages popped up, and I hoped they were because the bloatware installers couldn't be found and closed them nearly as fast as they appeared. i just wanted to get to a working desktop at this point, and finally I did! However, it didn't take long for me to figure out that while this installation is running on D:, everything that the pre-written registry tells it to look on C: for is using files from my Ultimate installation on C:! Also, some parts of the bloatware files and their installed programs entries are there, but none of it works, trying to open any of them gives some kind of windows installer errors. That's really all I have done so far, I have an awful lot to figure out yet. I wonder if the bloatware installers would run if this had been on the C: drive instead of D:?

So I'm guessing that a person in scalegame's situation could use Hiren's Boot CD to boot the mini windows xp on it, check his system partition for errors first, move its contents into a new empty folder for later access to personal files, get that recovery partition mounted or mapped and showing all the files, use 7zip (it's on the boot cd) to extract factory.wim to the system drive, and reboot. It may or may not install the bloatware when it boots, I don't know.  If anyone else tries this before I get to it, let me know here please!

Until I learn more, I hope this can help someone.

Sorry for reviving an old thread but I'm having the same problem. I just want to make sure that I understood the info in this thread. I installed my own retail copy of Windows 7 onto the system partition of my Dell laptop (XPS 17, L701X) after formatting the partition and not making backup discs. The recovery partition is still intact. Is there any way to do a recovery or is this completely impossible now?

Yes it is possible, so long as the recovery partition is there. Read above. The directions are easy to follow.

hello, i am trying to do a factory restore as well.  i make it up to step 5 and that is as far as i can get.  after hitting ok on step 5 i go to a screen that has like 5 options with things like  start up repair, restore to an earlier time, image recovery, boot prompt and something else.  i dont get the dell factory image restore option.  on the screen with all the options it says it is looking on the C: drive but the image is located on the D: drive.   how do i change drives so it shows up.

thanks

There are several ways to do a wim restore. Probably the easiest is to download the Dell Backup and Recovery software (see page 1 of post), install it. When you install it, the software should restore the option you are missing on the boot screen (since it will locate the wim(s)). Or, you can create a Windows PE CD (with ImageX on it) or a Dell Windows Factory Install DVD and  use that to access the existing wim(s) on your hard drive.

Once you boot using a Windows PE or Dell Windows DVD follow these directions:

I will be assuming that C: is your Operating system partition and D: is your recovery partition.

1. Boot the computer using your windows dvd.

2. Select Repair. Then select command line.

3. Goto your recovery drive and then to the tools folder by typing following on the command prompt : d: cd tools

4. Then type this on the command prompt : imagex /apply d:\dell\image\factory.wim 1 c:\

5. This will start the recovery process which will complete itself in 10-15 minutes. (Note: On some Dell models, there will be two wim files (labeled wim0, wim1, wim2). Start the process using the lowest numbered wim. You may be prompted for the other wim when the first wim is finished.)

6. Type exit on the command prompt.

7. Reboot your computer from your hard disk.

Or

change path d:\windows;

d:\windows\system32

d: cdtools pcrestore

I know using the PE or Dell Windows DVD works. I used it when I could not access the option through the startup menu.

I have an N5010 Dell Inspiron.  What you say may have been true for some Dell products, but it is explicitly, unequivocally false in this case. The O/S was absolutely Windows 7 and a .wim file was provided with the system and did work because I used this image more than once to refresh my O/S when things got especially messed up over time.  Since then I have wiped everything out and installed Windows Vista for work purposes. You're advice is unhelpful to the original poster and should be removed from this thread. I am going to figure out a way to use the .wim file because I now want to go back to the original Win 7.

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