Windows 10: DISM Can't Find Sources

I've been trying to fix a laptop that got corrupted after an antivirus was running during a windows update. It booted but couldn't get past the login screen. Tried several things to at least get logged on but started focusing more on repairing the corruption off of a repair disk. Ran sfc and it came back with the usual corruption error saying that it could detect corruption but couldn't fix it.


This brings me to DISM. Found the Windows build the laptop currently has (17763.1), and after ages of searching I finally found a Windows ISO of the same build. Used rufus to create a bootable USB stick and followed some guides that said to set the DISM source to drive:\sources\install.wim, which I do. Comes back as sources not found. Then tried a Microsoft official guide that said to just point it to the folder with the sources. I try this, directing it to drive:\sources, but still come back with the same result. I have verified that the build ISO I downloaded is the same version as currently on the laptop, but it still doesn't seem to want to use it as a source.


The official guide said to use a "Windows side-by-side folder" as the source, but I couldn't find much information about this online, and if you look it says that a Windows 10 CD would work so I assumed it meant install media. I can post the DISM log if requested.

:)

 

Source to use for DISM on Windows 10

This is not completely true. The suggestion is to download the Techbench version and use DISM to apply to install.wim directly. However, you can also use the version download from MCT except it will involve an extra step as follows:

1. Use the latest version of 7-Zip to extract the content of install.esd. For example: to a folder xxx on the desktop
2. From Admin command prompt:
   Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\xxx\windows /LimitAccess

See screen shot, the contents of install.wim and install.esd are exactly the same.

 

Source to use for DISM on Windows 10

hmm...

I assumed they were the same all along so I tried simply COPYING the .esd AND the .wim out, and tried to use them but that didn't work either. Now that you mention EXTRACTING it out, that maybe makes more sense.

I thought the .esd version was encrypted. Does 7-zip take care of that?

 

Can't get SFC and DISM to work anymore on Win10

have you tried specifying the source for DISM? We have had a few computers at work give the unable to find source error on Online DISM