With the advent of the public Beta of Windows 7 Build 7000, Microsoft also made available for download a Beta release of the Windows Automated Installation Kit. The Windows AIK, or WAIK, is a collection of resources set up to streamline the process of configuring and deploying Windows platforms, in this case Windows 7. The WAIK contains ImageX, essentially a command-line tool designed to capture Windows images. GimageX, available in Beta, is a tool designed to enhance the WAIK by providing what is essentially a graphical version of the ImageX. Jonathan Bennett, a senior consultant with Microsoft Services, UK, emphasized that GImageX was not a Microsoft release, but a third-party tool.

“With the release of the Windows 7 beta and also the beta of the Windows Automated Installation Kit I’ve updated GImageX to work with these new beta versions. I’ve also tidied up parts of the documentation around installation and tweaked the “mount” functionality to provide better feedback during the operation,” Bennett explained. “Please note that GImageX is a third-party tool so please remember that you won’t be able to ring up Microsoft PSS to get support with it! However, it uses the official Microsoft published WIMGAPI SDK which is a supported way of working with WIM files.”

GImageX v2.0.15 BETA was initially made available for download on February 3rd, 2009. The Beta build of the tool is set up to integrate with Windows 7 Beta WAIK. It is important to note that GImageX Beta requires the new Beta version of the Windows AIK in order to function. You will be able to find the download links for both tools at the bottom of this article.

“The Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) is a set of tools and documentation that support the configuration and deployment of Microsoft Windows operating systems. By using Windows AIK, you can automate Windows installations, capture Windows images with ImageX, configure and modify images using Deployment Imaging Servicing and Management (DISM), create Windows PE images, and migrate user profiles and data with the User State Migration Tool (USMT),” Bennett added.


Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows 7 Beta) is available for download here.

GImageX v2.0.15 BETA is available for download here.