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Does the Windows 10 ISO have a EI.CFG file for changing the edition?

John Castro |

The ISO image of both Windows 7 and Windows 8 had a file ei.cfg that could be modified to allow a user to install any edition of Windows.

Since I am going to install the Windows 10 operating system on several different machines with different configurations, I would like to minimize the number of downloads I have to do in order to save bandwidth and time.

I would therefore like to know if the Windows 10 ISO also have this file for changing the windows edition (ei.cfg) or I have to download each one separately.

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3 Answers

I found that the Windows 10 does not have a ei.cfg file like in Windows 7 and Windows 8. Microsoft however provides two "All Editions" versions in 32-bit and 64-bit flavors. Also, due to the layout of the disc, it is possible to combine both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of both of the "All Editions" discs in order to create a "Universal Install Disc"

I explain below how to obtain 32-bit or 64-bit All Editions disc and then a Universal Install Disc

How to download a Windows 10 All Editions Disc

  1. With a web browser running on any operating system apart from Wiindows 7 or Windows 8 (e.g. OSX, Linux, Android, Windows XP), visit .
    You can also modify your User Agent to falsely report your operating system if your browser supports it before clicking on the link.
  2. Select the edition you want to download (i.e. Windows 10, Windows 10 KN, Windows 10 N, Windows 10 Single Language) and then click Confirm.
  3. Select the language you want to download and then clck Confirm.

You will now be presented with two buttons for downloading the 32-bit and/or 64-bit versions of Windows 10. The links are valid for 24 hours after which they expire.

How to create a Windows 10 Universal Install Disc

  1. Download both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 10 as shown above.
  2. Download the disc layout from here.
  3. Extract the Win10MultiIsoBase.zip file to a destination of your choice.
  4. Merge the contents of the Windows 10 ISO images with the extracted files by extracting the contents of the 32-bit ISO into the x86 folder and the 64-bit ISO into the x64 folder.
  5. Using ImgBurn, create an ISO image with the merged data.
    Remember to make the image bootable by following these steps:
    • Select the Advanced tab and then the Bootable Disc tab.
    • Check the Make Image Bootable check box.
    • Download and use this file as the Boot Image.
    • Choose 80x86 as the Platform ID.
    • Enter Microsoft IMAPIv2 as the Developer ID.
    • Enter 07C0 as the Load Segment.
    • Enter 8 as the Sectors to Load.
  6. Optionally, burn the ISO to disc. You will have to use a DVD DL since the image file generated will be larger than 4.7 GB. After completing my download and examining the ISO, I have found that there is no ei.cfg file.

Credit to DOOManiac for finding how to download the ISO images and Danial B for the Windows 10 Multi-ISO base layout.

Original Post:

After completing my download and examining the ISO, I have found that there is no ei.cfg file.

I am still searching for a way to achieve 'universal' install capability and I'll update this answer when I find one.

1

As Windows 10 build 10586 (also called version 1511 – for November 2015 – or Threshold 2) has come out since this question was asked, I'm going to write an up-to-date answer.

The short answer is no, there is no ei.cfg in the .iso by default.

If having an all-in-one .iso containing Windows 10 Home and Pro 32-bit and 64-bit is what you want, this is fairly easy to do with the updated Media Creation tool that was released along with the November 2015 update.

1) Preparation

You have two options. If you want to start with a 'template', go to 1.1) Downloading the template. If you prefer to start from scratch, follow 1.2) From scratch.

1.1) Downloading the template

  1. Go to this OneDrive folder.
  2. Right-click on "Windows10AIO" and click on "Download" (VirusTotal rating).
  3. Extract the downloaded archive to your C: drive. You should now have a Windows10AIO folder in your C: drive, which contains an empty iso folder, a programs folder, ei.cfg and oscdimg.exe.
  4. Install 7-Zip if you don't have it (or a similar program) installed already from the C:\Windows10AIO\programs\7-Zip folder (use 7z[version].exe if you're following this guide on a 32-bit system, and 7z[version]-x64.exe for a 64-bit system).

1.2) From scratch

  1. Create a folder called Windows10AIO in your C: drive (so C:\Windows10AIO).
  2. In that folder, create a folder called iso (so C:\Windows10AIO\iso).
  3. Download 7-zip from its website and install it (if you don't have a program that can extract .iso files installed already).
  4. Download the Windows 10 Media Creation tool from here and save it to C:\Windows10AIO\programs\Windows 10 Media Creation tool (create the programs and Windows 10 Media Creation tool folders first).
  5. Download the Windows 10 Assessment and Deployment Kit (WADK) and install it (you need only the Deployment Tools, so untick everything else during installation).
  6. Copy oscdimg.exe from C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Deployment Tools\amd64\Oscdimg to C:\Windows10AIO.
  7. Download the portable version of Rufus (rufus-2.6p.exe at the time of writing) from here, and save it to C:\Windows10AIO\programs\Rufus.

  8. Open Notepad and input the following text:

    [Channel]
Retail

  9. Save this file as ei.cfg to C:\Windows10AIO. Make sure "Save as type:" is set to "All files (*.*)" when saving.

2) Downloading the .iso

  1. Run the MediaCreationTool.exe and accept the license.
  2. Select "Create installation media for another PC" and click on "Next".
  3. Untick "Use recommended options for this PC" if it's ticked.
    1. Select the language you want.
    2. Make sure "Windows 10" is selected next to "Edition" (unless you don't want/need Windows Media Player, in which case you select "Windows 10 N").
      You may notice that you can't choose between Windows 10 and Windows 10 Pro. This is because they're both included in the .iso by default.
    3. Select "Both" for the architecture.
  5. Click on "Next".
  6. Choose "ISO file" and click on "Next".
  7. Save the .iso to C:\Windows10AIO\iso as Windows10.iso.
  8. Do something else while the Media Creation tool downloads and verifies the Windows 10 installation files, and makes an .iso out of them (unless you really like watching progress screens and percentages).
  9. Click on "Finish".

3) Adding ei.cfg to the .iso

  1. Navigate to C:\Windows10AIO\iso with File Explorer, right-click on Windows10.iso and select "7-Zip" > "Extract Here". If you have another decompression program installed, use that to extract Windows10.iso to C:\Windows10AIO\iso.
  2. Once everything is extracted, delete Windows10.iso.
  3. There should now be four folders in C:\Windows10AIO\iso (boot, efi, x64 and x86), and four files (autorun.inf, bootmgr, bootmgr.efi and setup.exe).
  4. Copy ei.cfg from C:\Windows10AIO to C:\Windows10AIO\iso\x64\sources and C:\Windows10AIO\iso\x86\sources.
  5. Navigate to C:\Windows10AIO in File Explorer, hold down the Shift key and right click in an empty space. Click on "Open command window here".

  6. In the Command Prompt that appears, type (or copy and paste) this and press Enter: 

    oscdimg -lWindows10AIO -m -o -u2 -udfver102 -bootdata:2#p0,e,bC:\Windows10AIO\iso\boot\etfsboot.com#pEF,e,bC:\Windows10AIO\iso\efi\microsoft\boot\efisys.bin C:\Windows10AIO\iso C:\Windows10AIO\Windows10AIO.iso

  7. There should now be a Windows10AIO.iso file in C:\Windows10AIO.

4) Making a bootable USB/DVD

If you want to create a bootable Windows 10 installation USB-stick, follow 4.1) USB.
If you want to create a bootable DVD, follow 4.2) DVD.
If you don't want to do either, this is the end of this guide.

4.1) USB

  1. Plug in your USB-stick (must be at least 8 GB).
  2. Start rufus-2.6p.exe from C:\Windows10AIO\programs\Rufus.
  3. Change the settings so they are like this:
    • Device: the USB-stick you just plugged in.
    • Format options
      • Create a bootable disk using: ISO Image.
      • Click on the button next to the dropdown box and select C:\Windows10AIO\Windows10AIO.iso.
    • Partition scheme and target system type
      • "GPT partition scheme for UEFI" if the computers you're going to install Windows 10 on all have an UEFI BIOS, or "MBR partition scheme for BIOS or UEFI-CSM" if the computers you're going to install Windows 10 on all have a legacy BIOS (pre-UEFI), or if some have UEFI and some have BIOS.
    • Leave the other settings as they are.
  4. Double-check that the right USB-stick is selected, and make sure that there's nothing important on it.
    If there is, this is your last chance to back everything up, as the USB-stick will be formatted while making it Windows 10 installation media.
  5. Click on "Start" and wait until Rufus has finished.
  6. Et voilà! You've created an all-in-one bootable Windows 10 USB-stick.

4.2) DVD

  1. Insert a double layer DVD in the disc tray.
  2. Navigate to C:\Windows10AIO and right-click on Windows10AIO.iso.
  3. Select "Burn disc image".
  4. Make sure the correct disc burner is selected, optionally tick "Verify disc after burning", and click on "Burn".
  5. Et voilà! You've created an all-in-one bootable Windows 10 DVD.
  • For more information about oscdimg.exe, check this page.
    • The example on this page was used as basis for the oscdimg command line options in my answer.
  • For more information about ei.cfg, check this page.

Disclaimer

  • The Windows Media Creation tool and oscdimg.exe both copyright Microsoft.
    I have no affiliation with Microsoft, nor do I claim to have any affiliation with the company or its employees.
  • Rufus – copyright Pete Batard/Akeo.
    I have no affiliation with him or his website.
  • 7-Zip – copyright Igor Pavlov.
    I have no affiliation with him or his website.
2

In order to make an AIO iso you'll have to capture and append each version install.wim files. BUT you will not be able tu do OS upgrades with that AIO.

Upgrades can only be done with the corresponding version of Windows.

For example if you are using Windows 8.1 Pro the upgrade can be done with a Windows 10 Pro install disk/iso, not with an AIO even if it has the Windows 10 Pro installation files.

But an AIO works well, there is no ei.cfg needed.

I installed each version (W10 home & W10 Pro both 32 and 64 bits) on virtual machines, made my few customisations (like an OEM would do) in oobe mode, then captured each one in a install.wim file with dism, then appended them all into one install.wim file.

Then, I put it in the source folder of the 64 bit iso version of Windows 10 home (pro is working too) and that's it, working like a charm.

Of course if you don't know how to use virtual machines/oobe/dism you'll have to learn or wait for another guy to release en AIO on the internet.

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