Requirements

Before we begin, make sure you have:

• A Windows 11 (or 10) ISO file

• Virtualization software (VMware Player or VirtualBox)

• At least 50GB of free disk space

• A stable internet connection

Step 1: Download the Windows ISO

1. Open your web browser and search for “download Windows 11“.

2. Click on the official Microsoft Windows 11 download page.

3. Scroll down to find the “Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO)” section.

4. Select “Windows 11 (multi-edition ISO)” and click “Download“.

5. Choose your language and click “Confirm“.

6. Click “64-bit Download” to start the download.

If you want to download the Windows 10 ISO File instead, check out these guides:

• How to Download Windows 10 ISO File from Microsoft (use mobile view to see the download button i desktop view you cant see the download button

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Step 2: Prepare for Virtualization

1. Create a new folder on your desktop named “VMShare“.

2. Move the downloaded Windows 11 ISO into this folder.

3. Install VMware Player or VirtualBox if you haven’t already.

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Step 3: Create a New Virtual Machine

1. Open VMware Player and click “Create a New Virtual Machine“.

2. Choose “I will install the operating system later” and click “Next“.

3. Select “Windows” as the guest operating system and “Windows 11” as the version.

4. Name your virtual machine and choose a location to store it.

5. Create a Password to encrypt the VM files (Windows 11 only).

6. Specify disk capacity (at least 64GB recommended) and select “Store virtual disk as a single file“.

7. Click “Customize Hardware” and make the following adjustments:

   • Increase memory to at least 8GB (8192MB)

   • Increase processors to at least 2 cores

   • Under “New CD/DVD”, choose “Use ISO image file” and browse to select your Windows 11 ISO.

   • At the bottom of the Settings window, click on Add to add new hardware.

   • Choose Hard Disk and click Next.

   • Select the recommended Virtual Disk Type based on your system’s capabilities. For example, if your system supports NVMe, select that option.

   • Create a new virtual disk, leaving the default settings, and click Next, then Finish.

     • Note*:* You now have two hard disks within your virtual machine—one for the Windows installation and the other for saving the custom Windows image file.

8. Click “Close” and then “Finish” to create the virtual machine.

Note: These instructions are tailored to the hardware in my computer. If your system has lower specifications, be sure to adjust the virtual machine settings accordingly.

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Step 4: Install Windows 11 in the Virtual Machine

1. Start the virtual machine and press any key to boot from the ISO when prompted.

2. Select your language preferences and click “Next“.

3. Click “Install now“.

4. If asked for a product key, select “I don’t have a product key“.

5. Choose “Windows 11 Home” (or your preferred edition) and click “Next“.

6. Accept the license terms and click “Next“.

7. Choose “Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)“.

8. Select the unallocated space and click “Next” to start the installation.

9. Wait for the installation to complete and the virtual machine to restart.

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Step 5: Complete Initial Windows Setup

1. Select your region and keyboard layout.

2. Create a local account named “User” with no password.

3. Answer the privacy questions according to your preference.

4. Wait for the setup to complete and reach the desktop.

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Step 6: Install Desired Programs

Note: This part is based on personal choices. You can add any software you want to your custom Windows ISO. The software I mention here is just what I prefer and recommend, but it’s chosen based on what I need.

1. Make sure you have an active internet connection then open Microsoft Edge and navigate to Ninite.com.

2. Select the programs you want to pre-install. For this guide, I’ll choose:

   • Google Chrome

   • Malwarebytes

   • 7-Zip

   • iTunes

   • K-Lite Codec Pack

   • Open Shell (for a classic Start menu experience)

3. Click “Get Your Ninite” at the bottom of the page to download the installer.

4. Run the Ninite installer and wait for it to complete.

5. Next, download and install these additional programs:

   • Adobe Reader (uncheck the McAfee option during installation)

   • AnyDesk

   • Nilesoft Shell (for an enhanced right-click menu)

   • OnlyOffice (for document, spreadsheet, and presentation editing)

6. For each program, download the installer, run it, and follow the on-screen instructions.

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Step 7: Prepare System for Imaging

Note: If you’re only going to use this custom Windows ISO on your own computer and not on anyone else’s, you can skip Step 7 and Step 9. These steps are for setting up a new computer name and starting the Out of Box Experience, where you create a new user account during installation. If you want to go straight to your user account after installing Windows from the custom ISO, just skip these steps.

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator.

2. Type the following command and press Enter:
   %windir%\system32\sysprep\sysprep.exe /audit /reboot

3. It will restart the computer and boot into the default local admin account.

4. After restarting, do a search for “Control Panel” and open it.

5. Navigate to User Accounts > User Accounts > Manage another account.

6. Select the “User” account you created earlier.

7. Click “Delete the account” and then “Delete Files“.

8. Confirm by clicking “Delete Account“.

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Step 8: Create a Data Partition

1. Press Windows key + X and select “Disk Management“.

2. When prompted to initialize the new disk, ensure GPT is selected and click “OK“.

3. Right-click on the unallocated space of Disk 1 and select “New Simple Volume“.

4. Follow the wizard, accepting default settings, but set the volume label as “DATA“.

5. Click “Finish” to create and format the new partition.

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Step 9: Run Sysprep

Reminder: You can skip this step, read the Note in Step 7 for more info.

1. Open the Run dialog (Windows key + R).

2. Type “sysprep” and press Enter.

3. In the System Preparation Tool:

   • Set “System Cleanup Action” to “Enter System Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE)“

   • Check “Generalize”

   • Set “Shutdown Options” to “Shutdown“

4. Click “OK” and wait for the process to complete and shut down the VM.

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Step 10: Capture the Custom Windows Image

1. Start the VM and boot from the Windows 11 ISO (you may need to press a key to boot from DVD).

2. In the Windows Setup screen, click “Next” and then “Repair your computer“.

3. Choose Troubleshoot > Command Prompt.

4. In the Command Prompt, determine your drive letters:

   • Type C: and press Enter, then type dir to check contents

   • Repeat for D:, E:, etc., until you find your Windows installation and Data drives

5. Assuming C: is your Windows drive and D: is your Data drive, run this command:

dism /Capture-Image /ImageFile:D:\install.wim /CaptureDir:C:\ /Name:windows11

Wait for the image capture to complete, type exit to close Command Prompt, then click “Continue” to exit to Windows 11.

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Step 11: Install VMware Tools

1. In VMware Player, click on “Player” in the top menu.

2. Select “Manage” > “Install VMware Tools“.

3. If an AutoPlay window appears, click “Run setup64.exe“.

4. Follow the installation wizard, accepting default settings.

5. When prompted to restart, click “No“.

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Step 12: Set Up Shared Folders

1. In VMware Player, go to “Player” > “Manage” > “Virtual Machine Settings“.

2. Click on “Options” tab, then “Shared Folders“.

3. Select “Always enabled” and click “Add“.

4. Click “Next“, then “Browse“.

5. Navigate to and select the “VMShare” folder on your desktop.

6. Click “OK“, then “Next“.

7. Ensure “Enable this share” is checked and click “Finish“.

8. Click “OK” to close the settings window.

9. Restart the virtual machine.

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Step 13: Access Shared Folders

1. After restarting, open File Explorer in the VM.

2. Click on “Network” in the left pane.

3. If prompted, turn on network discovery.

4. Double-click on “VMware-host” > “Shared Folders” > “VM share“.

5. Verify that you can see the original Windows 11 ISO file.

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Step 14: Download and Install AnyBurn

1. Open a web browser in the VM and go to Anyburn.com.

2. Download the free version of AnyBurn.

3. Install AnyBurn, following the default installation options.

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Step 15: Create the Custom Bootable ISO

1. Open AnyBurn and select “Edit image file“.

2. Click the folder icon to browse, navigate to the shared VM folder, and select the original Windows 11 ISO.

3. Click “Next” to load the ISO contents.

4. In the file structure, navigate to the “sources” folder.

5. Find and select “install.wim” or “install.esd“.

6. Click “Remove” and confirm the deletion.

7. Click “Add” and navigate to your Data drive.

8. Select your custom “install.wim” file and click “Add“.

9. Verify that the new “install.wim” is in the “sources” folder.

10. Click “Next“.

11. Name your custom ISO (e.g., “Windows11-Custom”).

12. Click “Create Now” to generate your custom bootable ISO.

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Step 16: Verify the Custom ISO

1. Minimize the VMware Player window.

2. Open the “VMShare” folder on your desktop.

3. Confirm that your new custom Windows 11 ISO is present.

Your custom Windows ISO is now bootable and ready to be used. If you don’t want to test it in a VM first as explained in Step 17 below, you can go ahead and create a bootable USB drive with this ISO and use it to install Windows your computer.

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Step 17: Test the Custom ISO (Optional)

1. Create a new virtual machine in VMware Player.

2. Use the same settings as before, but select your custom ISO as the installation media.

3. Start the VM and go through the Windows installation process.

4. Verify that all your pre-installed programs are present on the new installation.

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Additional Tips

1. For older or unsupported hardware, you can use Rufus to create a bootable USB drive from your custom ISO, which can bypass Windows 11 system requirements.

2. Keep your original custom “install.wim” file. You can use it to quickly update your custom ISO in the future without going through the entire process again.

3. Always ensure you have appropriate licenses for Windows and any software included in your custom ISO.

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