cheat sheet

dism

Service Windows images and the running OS — enable/disable optional features, repair the component store, mount and edit WIM/ESD images, add drivers, and manage editions from an elevated command prompt.

updated 05-26-2026

dism — Deployment Image Servicing and Management

What it is

dism (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) is the built-in Windows command-line tool for inspecting and modifying Windows images — both the running operating system (/Online) and offline .wim / .esd / mounted VHDs (/Image:<path>). It is the engine behind feature installs, component-store repair (sfc calls dism under the hood when its own cache is corrupt), driver injection during deployment, edition upgrades, and OEM image servicing. dism ships in C:\Windows\System32\dism.exe on Windows 7 and later and requires an elevated console; the PowerShell equivalents (Get-WindowsOptionalFeature, Add-WindowsPackage, Repair-WindowsImage) wrap the same APIs and are friendlier for scripting.

Availability

dism ships with Windows 7 / Server 2008 R2 and later. Almost every subcommand requires Administrator rights — open the prompt with right-click → "Run as administrator" or via runas /user:Administrator cmd.exe.

cmd

dism /?

Output:

swift

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.26100.1

DISM enumerates, installs, uninstalls, configures, and updates
features and packages in Windows images.

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /Restorehealth
DISM /Image:C:\test\offline /Get-Features
DISM /Mount-Image /ImageFile:install.wim /Index:1 /MountDir:C:\mount
...

Syntax

dism commands fall into three target categories: /Online (the running OS), /Image:<path> (an offline mounted image), and image-management commands that operate on .wim/.esd files directly. Most subcommands take additional namespaced options like /Cleanup-Image, /Add-Package, /Get-Features.

cmd

dism {/Online | /Image:<path> | /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:<file>} [/CommandArgs...] [/LogPath:<file>] [/LogLevel:N]

Output: (varies — most successful commands end with The operation completed successfully.)

Essential options

Switch	Meaning
`/Online`	Target the running OS
`/Image:<path>`	Target an offline image mounted at `<path>`
`/Get-Features`	List optional features and their state
`/Get-FeatureInfo /FeatureName:<name>`	Detail for a single feature
`/Enable-Feature /FeatureName:<name>`	Enable an optional feature
`/Disable-Feature /FeatureName:<name>`	Disable an optional feature
`/All`	Recursively enable parent features required by the requested one
`/LimitAccess`	Skip Windows Update; install from local source only
`/Source:<path>`	Path to a `sources\sxs` folder for feature payloads
`/Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth`	Quick component-store integrity report
`/Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth`	Deeper scan (slow)
`/Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth`	Repair from Windows Update or `/Source`
`/Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore`	Report `WinSxS` size and whether cleanup is recommended
`/Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup`	Remove superseded components from `WinSxS`
`/Get-Packages`	List installed packages (KBs, language packs)
`/Add-Package /PackagePath:<file>`	Install a `.msu` or `.cab`
`/Remove-Package /PackageName:<name>`	Remove an installed package
`/Get-Drivers`	List third-party drivers
`/Add-Driver /Driver:<inf>`	Inject a driver (offline image)
`/Get-WimInfo /WimFile:<file>`	Enumerate indices inside a WIM/ESD
`/Mount-Image /ImageFile:<file> /Index:N /MountDir:<dir>`	Mount an image for editing
`/Commit-Image /MountDir:<dir>`	Save changes to a mounted image
`/Unmount-Image /MountDir: /{Commit	Discard}`
`/Get-CurrentEdition`	Show the running edition
`/Get-TargetEditions`	Editions you can step up to
`/Set-Edition:<edition> /ProductKey:<key>`	Step up to a higher edition
`/LogPath:<file>`	Override default log location (`%WINDIR%\Logs\DISM\dism.log`)
`/LogLevel:N`	1=errors, 2=+warnings, 3=+info, 4=+debug
`/English`	Force English output for predictable parsing

Component-store health

The component store (C:\Windows\WinSxS) is the master copy of every Windows component. When system files are corrupt — flaky sfc /scannow results, failed updates, "DLL not found" errors — dism /Cleanup-Image is the canonical repair path. There are three escalating checks: /CheckHealth is a quick flag read, /ScanHealth walks the store, and /RestoreHealth re-downloads any damaged payloads.

cmd

rem 1. Quick check — reads cached health flag (seconds)
dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

Output:

yaml

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.26100.1

Image Version: 10.0.26100.1

No component store corruption detected.

The operation completed successfully.

cmd

rem 2. Deeper scan — actually verifies each component (5-20 minutes)
dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

Output:

css

[==========================100.0%==========================]
No component store corruption detected.

The operation completed successfully.

cmd

rem 3. Repair — pulls fresh payloads from Windows Update
dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Output:

css

[==========================100.0%==========================]
The restore operation completed successfully.

The operation completed successfully.

cmd

rem Offline repair from a known-good install.wim source
dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:WIM:D:\sources\install.wim:1 /LimitAccess

Output:

css

[==========================100.0%==========================]
The restore operation completed successfully.

Reclaiming disk in WinSxS

After every monthly update, superseded versions of components linger in WinSxS so the update can be rolled back. /AnalyzeComponentStore reports how much space is reclaimable; /StartComponentCleanup lets the system drop those backups; add /ResetBase to make the cleanup permanent (no rollback possible, but the smallest disk footprint).

cmd

rem 0. Report — how big is WinSxS and is cleanup recommended?
dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore

Output:

yaml

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

Component Store (WinSxS) information:

Windows Explorer Reported Size of Component Store : 10.62 GB

Actual Size of Component Store : 8.31 GB

    Shared with Windows : 5.95 GB
    Backups and Disabled Features : 1.92 GB
    Cache and Temporary Data : 0.44 GB

Date of Last Cleanup : 2026-04-08 03:14:22

Number of Reclaimable Packages : 14
Component Store Cleanup Recommended : Yes

The operation completed successfully.

cmd

dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup

Output:

css

[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.

cmd

rem Aggressive: no rollback possible afterwards
dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase

Output:

css

[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.

Listing and enabling optional features

Optional features are the modular slices of Windows (WSL, Hyper-V, IIS, Telnet client, etc.) that can be turned on and off without reinstalling the OS. /Get-Features lists them all; /Enable-Feature activates one. The exact feature names come from dism /Online /Get-Features and are case-sensitive when scripted.

cmd

rem List every optional feature on this machine
dism /Online /Get-Features

Output:

yaml

Features listing:

Feature Name : Containers
State : Disabled

Feature Name : Microsoft-Hyper-V-All
State : Disabled

Feature Name : Microsoft-Hyper-V-Hypervisor
State : Disabled

Feature Name : Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux
State : Disabled

Feature Name : VirtualMachinePlatform
State : Disabled

Feature Name : TelnetClient
State : Disabled
...
The operation completed successfully.

cmd

rem Detail for a single feature — shows the parent dependency tree
dism /Online /Get-FeatureInfo /FeatureName:Microsoft-Hyper-V-All

Output:

yaml

Feature Information:

Feature Name : Microsoft-Hyper-V-All
Display Name : Hyper-V
Description : Provides services and management tools for creating
              and running virtual machines and their resources.

Restart Required : Possible
State : Disabled

Custom Properties:
ServerComponent\Description : Provides services...
ServerComponent\DisplayName : Hyper-V
ServerComponent\Id : 20
ServerComponent\Parent : Microsoft-Hyper-V

The operation completed successfully.

cmd

rem Enable WSL non-interactively — /NoRestart suppresses the reboot prompt
dism /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /All /NoRestart

Output:

css

[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.
Restart Windows to complete this operation.

cmd

rem Disable a feature
dism /Online /Disable-Feature /FeatureName:TelnetClient /NoRestart

Output:

css

[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.

Filtering features with findstr

/Get-Features is verbose. Pipe it through findstr to grep by name or state for fast inventories.

cmd

rem Only enabled features
dism /Online /Get-Features /Format:Table | findstr /C:"Enabled"

Output:

python

WCF-Services45                                            | Enabled
WCF-TCP-PortSharing45                                     | Enabled
SmbDirect                                                 | Enabled
Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64                          | Enabled

cmd

rem Only Hyper-V related features
dism /Online /Get-Features | findstr /I /C:"Hyper"

Output:

yaml

Feature Name : Microsoft-Hyper-V-All
Feature Name : Microsoft-Hyper-V
Feature Name : Microsoft-Hyper-V-Tools-All
Feature Name : Microsoft-Hyper-V-Management-PowerShell
Feature Name : Microsoft-Hyper-V-Hypervisor

Packages — KBs and language packs

Packages are pre-built installers (.msu, .cab) that ship updates, language packs, and OEM customizations. /Get-Packages lists them; /Add-Package and /Remove-Package install or remove them on the running OS or an offline image.

cmd

rem List installed packages with install state
dism /Online /Get-Packages /Format:Table

Output:

sql

Package Identity                                          | State      | Release Type     | Install Time
----------------------------------------------------------|------------|------------------|---------------------
Microsoft-Windows-Foundation-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~... | Installed  | Foundation       | 01/01/2026 09:15
Package_for_KB5034441~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~26100.2... | Installed  | Security Update  | 28/04/2026 22:01
Package_for_KB5036893~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~26100.3... | Installed  | Security Update  | 15/05/2026 10:22

The operation completed successfully.

cmd

rem Install a downloaded .msu update
dism /Online /Add-Package /PackagePath:C:\Updates\windows10.0-kb5034441-x64.msu /NoRestart

Output:

css

[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.
Restart Windows to complete this operation.

cmd

rem Remove a package by its full identity
dism /Online /Remove-Package /PackageName:Package_for_KB5034441~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~26100.2.1.0

Output:

css

[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.

Editions — view and step up

Windows ships in editions (Home, Pro, Enterprise, Education). /Get-CurrentEdition shows the running edition; /Get-TargetEditions lists which ones the running install can be upgraded to without a reinstall; /Set-Edition performs the step-up given a valid product key.

cmd

dism /Online /Get-CurrentEdition

Output:

sql

Current edition is:

Current Edition : Professional

The operation completed successfully.

cmd

dism /Online /Get-TargetEditions

Output:

yaml

Editions that can be upgraded to:

Target Edition : ProfessionalWorkstation
Target Edition : Enterprise
Target Edition : Education

The operation completed successfully.

cmd

rem Step up to Enterprise (requires a valid key; reboot required)
dism /Online /Set-Edition:Enterprise /ProductKey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX /AcceptEula

Output:

vbnet

[==========================100.0%==========================]
Starting to install product key...
Finished installing product key.
Starting to upgrade edition...
The operation completed successfully.
Restart Windows to complete this operation.

Offline image servicing — mount, edit, commit

Image servicing is dism's original purpose: take a Windows install media (install.wim), mount one of its indices to a folder, modify it (add drivers, change features, inject updates), and unmount with /Commit to save the changes back into the WIM. Custom corporate images are built this way.

cmd

rem 1. Inspect the WIM — see how many editions are bundled
dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:D:\sources\install.wim

Output:

yaml

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.26100.1

Details for image : D:\sources\install.wim

Index : 1
Name : Windows 11 Home
Description : Windows 11 Home
Size : 18,432,000,000 bytes

Index : 2
Name : Windows 11 Pro
Description : Windows 11 Pro
Size : 18,650,000,000 bytes

Index : 3
Name : Windows 11 Enterprise
Description : Windows 11 Enterprise
Size : 18,890,000,000 bytes

The operation completed successfully.

cmd

rem 2. Mount the Pro image (index 2) to an empty folder
md C:\mount
dism /Mount-Image /ImageFile:D:\sources\install.wim /Index:2 /MountDir:C:\mount

Output:

css

[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.

cmd

rem 3. Inject a driver into the mounted image
dism /Image:C:\mount /Add-Driver /Driver:C:\Drivers\custom\custom.inf

Output:

vbnet

Adding driver: C:\Drivers\custom\custom.inf
The driver package was successfully installed.
The operation completed successfully.

cmd

rem 4. Enable a feature inside the offline image
dism /Image:C:\mount /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /All

Output:

css

[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.

cmd

rem 5. Unmount and commit changes back to the WIM
dism /Unmount-Image /MountDir:C:\mount /Commit

Output:

css

[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.

cmd

rem Or — throw away changes (e.g. you broke something)
dism /Unmount-Image /MountDir:C:\mount /Discard

Output:

css

[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.

Driver inventory

/Get-Drivers lists third-party drivers installed in the driver store (C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository). Combined with /Remove-Driver you can purge obsolete drivers from a slimmed-down OEM image.

cmd

rem Online: all third-party drivers
dism /Online /Get-Drivers

Output:

yaml

Driver packages listing:

Published Name : oem0.inf
Original File Name : custom.inf
Inbox : No
Class Name : Net
Provider Name : Acme Corp
Date : 01/01/2025
Version : 1.2.3.4

Published Name : oem1.inf
Original File Name : printer.inf
Inbox : No
Class Name : Printer
Provider Name : Acme Corp
Date : 12/01/2024
Version : 2.0.0.0

The operation completed successfully.

cmd

rem Remove a driver by its Published Name
dism /Online /Remove-Driver /Driver:oem1.inf

Output:

Removing driver package oem1.inf...
The driver package was successfully removed.
The operation completed successfully.

Logs and exit codes

Every dism invocation appends to %WINDIR%\Logs\DISM\dism.log. The verbosity is controlled by /LogLevel (1–4). Exit code 0 is success; 3010 means success but a reboot is required; non-zero non-3010 is a real failure.

cmd

rem Run with maximum verbosity to a custom log
dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /LogPath:C:\Audit\dism.log /LogLevel:4

Output:

css

[==========================100.0%==========================]
The restore operation completed successfully.

cmd

rem Tail the last 20 lines of the standard log
powershell -Command "Get-Content $env:WINDIR\Logs\DISM\dism.log -Tail 20"

Output:

ini

2026-05-24 10:14:22, Info                  DISM   DISM Provider Store: PID=4520 Connecting to the provider...
2026-05-24 10:14:22, Info                  DISM   API: PID=4520 Successfully launched.
2026-05-24 10:14:23, Info                  DISM   PID=4520 Image session start.
...

cmd

rem Check exit code in a script (cmd.exe)
dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /NoRestart
if %ERRORLEVEL% EQU 0  echo Success
if %ERRORLEVEL% EQU 3010 echo Success — reboot required
if %ERRORLEVEL% GTR 0   if %ERRORLEVEL% NEQ 3010 echo FAILED: %ERRORLEVEL%

Output:

code

Success

PowerShell equivalents

For scripted work, prefer the PowerShell wrappers — they return objects, integrate with pipelines, and survive locale changes that break findstr against localized dism output.

powershell

# Component-store repair
Repair-WindowsImage -Online -RestoreHealth

# Feature inventory + enable
Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online | Where-Object FeatureName -like "*Hyper-V*"
Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName "Microsoft-Hyper-V-All" -All -NoRestart

# Package management
Get-WindowsPackage -Online
Add-WindowsPackage -Online -PackagePath C:\Updates\kb5034441.msu

# Driver management
Get-WindowsDriver -Online -All
Add-WindowsDriver -Online -Driver C:\Drivers\custom

# Edition info
Get-WindowsEdition -Online

Output:

yaml

FeatureName      : Microsoft-Hyper-V-All
DisplayName      : Hyper-V
Description      : Provides services and management tools...
RestartRequired  : Possible
State            : Disabled

Common pitfalls

Must run elevated — every meaningful dism command requires Administrator. From a regular prompt it fails with Error: 740 / Elevated permissions are required before doing anything.
/Online vs /Image: confusion — /Online modifies the running OS; /Image:<path> modifies an offline mounted image. Mixing them up either does nothing or breaks an image. Always read the first line of the command.
Mount directory must be empty and on NTFS — the folder you pass to /MountDir must exist, be empty, and be on a local NTFS volume; ReFS, network paths, and FAT will fail with cryptic errors.
Localized output breaks findstr — on a German install, "Enabled" becomes "Aktiviert". Add /English to force English strings for any parsing script.
/RestoreHealth needs internet — by default it pulls from Windows Update. On an air-gapped box you must supply /Source:WIM:<file>:<index> or /Source:<folder> and add /LimitAccess to skip the WU attempt.
/StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase is one-way — once you reset the base, no installed update can be uninstalled. Run it only after a successful months-old build.
dism is single-instance — only one dism operation can run at a time per machine. A second invocation fails with Error: 50 / Another DISM operation is in progress.
Reboot semantics — many feature/package operations return success but require a reboot to apply. Always check for exit code 3010 or the trailing "Restart Windows to complete this operation" line in scripts.
Antivirus on WinSxS — third-party AV scanning the component store can slow /RestoreHealth from minutes to hours. Exclude C:\Windows\WinSxS for the duration of large repairs.
sfc /scannow and dism ordering — when both are needed, run dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth first (it repairs the source sfc reads from), then sfc /scannow.

Real-world recipes

Enable WSL non-interactively in a provisioning script

A common chunk of a new-machine bootstrap: enable WSL + Virtual Machine Platform, suppress reboots, then reboot once at the end.

cmd

@echo off
echo Enabling WSL...
dism /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /All /NoRestart
echo Enabling Virtual Machine Platform...
dism /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:VirtualMachinePlatform /All /NoRestart
echo Done. Rebooting in 15 seconds...
shutdown /r /t 15

Output:

css

Enabling WSL...
[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.
Restart Windows to complete this operation.
Enabling Virtual Machine Platform...
[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.
Restart Windows to complete this operation.
Done. Rebooting in 15 seconds...

"Disk full" rescue: clean up WinSxS

After a year of monthly updates, WinSxS can grow to 12+ GB. This recipe reclaims several gigabytes.

cmd

dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase

Output:

css

[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.
[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.

Full Windows repair from a known-good source

Classic "system-files corrupt, Windows Update is broken too" rescue. Mount an install.wim from a matching ISO and use it as the repair source.

cmd

rem Assumes D:\ is a mounted Windows ISO of the matching build
dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:WIM:D:\sources\install.wim:3 /LimitAccess
sfc /scannow

Output:

sql

[==========================100.0%==========================]
The restore operation completed successfully.

Beginning system scan.  This process will take some time.
Beginning verification phase of system scan.
Verification 100% complete.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.

Build a customized install image — drivers + WSL pre-enabled

A reusable image for a fleet: mount, inject drivers, enable WSL, commit.

cmd

md C:\mount
dism /Mount-Image /ImageFile:D:\sources\install.wim /Index:2 /MountDir:C:\mount
dism /Image:C:\mount /Add-Driver /Driver:C:\Drivers\fleet /Recurse
dism /Image:C:\mount /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /All
dism /Image:C:\mount /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:VirtualMachinePlatform /All
dism /Unmount-Image /MountDir:C:\mount /Commit
echo Custom image ready at D:\sources\install.wim (index 2)

Output:

less

[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.
Adding driver: C:\Drivers\fleet\nic.inf
The driver package was successfully installed.
Adding driver: C:\Drivers\fleet\gpu.inf
The driver package was successfully installed.
[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.
[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.
[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.
Custom image ready at D:\sources\install.wim (index 2)

Audit: list every non-inbox driver across a fleet

Stash one CSV per host in a share for diff against a baseline.

cmd

@echo off
for /f "delims=" %%h in (hostlist.txt) do (
    echo Querying %%h...
    dism /Image:\\%%h\C$\Windows /Get-Drivers /Format:Table > \\fileserver\audit\drivers_%%h.txt
)

Output:

code

Querying MYHOST...
Querying SRV01...
Querying SRV02...

Find the package name of a specific KB

dism package names are long and hash-tagged. findstr extracts the matching identity for /Remove-Package.

cmd

dism /Online /Get-Packages | findstr /I "KB5034441"

Output:

sql

Package Identity : Package_for_KB5034441~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~26100.2.1.0

cmd

rem Now remove it cleanly
dism /Online /Remove-Package /PackageName:Package_for_KB5034441~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~26100.2.1.0

Output:

css

[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.
Restart Windows to complete this operation.

Capture a custom WIM for redeployment

dism /Capture-Image (run from WinPE) snapshots a sysprepped install into a deployable WIM.

cmd

rem Run from WinPE booted on the reference machine
dism /Capture-Image /ImageFile:D:\images\golden.wim /CaptureDir:C:\ /Name:"GoldenImage 2026-05" /Compress:max

Output:

css

[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.

dism — Deployment Image Servicing and Management

What it is

Availability

Syntax

Essential options

Component-store health

Reclaiming disk in WinSxS

Listing and enabling optional features

Filtering features with findstr

Packages — KBs and language packs

Editions — view and step up

Offline image servicing — mount, edit, commit

Driver inventory

Logs and exit codes

PowerShell equivalents

Common pitfalls

Real-world recipes

Enable WSL non-interactively in a provisioning script

"Disk full" rescue: clean up WinSxS

Full Windows repair from a known-good source

Build a customized install image — drivers + WSL pre-enabled

Audit: list every non-inbox driver across a fleet

Find the package name of a specific KB

Capture a custom WIM for redeployment

Sources