How to Use DISM to Clone, Deploy, or Restore an FFU Image Are you looking for a simple, reliable method to clone, deploy, or restore a workstation’s drive? Using DISM to clone, deploy, or restore an FFU image is an ideal solution for disaster recovery and mass deployments. Before we begin, be sure to subscribe to NinjaOne's IT Video Hub and our YouTube channel for more tech content like this. What are DISM and FFU Images? The Deployment Imaging Service and Management Tool, or DISM, is a powerful command-line utility built into Windows. It allows you to manage Windows images and prepare them for deployment. A Full Flash Update or FFU image is a new type of image format that captures and applies an entire drive, including all partitions and boot information. It's essentially a bit for bit copy, making it a reliable method for disk duplication and recovery. How to Create a WinPE Bootable Drive To capture an FFU image, you'll first need to create a Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE) boot drive. WinPE is a minimal Windows environment that lets you capture a clean system image without any background processes. To start, install the Windows 10 Assessment and Deployment Kit and select the Deployment Tools and Windows Preinstallation Environment features. Then, open the Deployment and Imaging Tools Environment as an administrator. From there, you'll use the copype command to create the boot files and the MakeWinPEMedia command to format and create the bootable USB drive. Keep in mind that this process completely overwrites the target disk, so be sure to backup any important data beforehand. Capturing and Deploying an FFU Image Once you have your WinPE USB, you can use it to boot the workstation you want to clone. After booting from the USB, you’ll open the Command Prompt and use the dism /capture-ffu command to create the image You can save this large FFU file to a shared network drive or an external USB. To deploy the FFU image, simply boot the target PC from the WinPE USB. Then, use the dism /apply-ffu command to apply the image to the new disk. Remember, this will completely overwrite the target disk, so make sure to backup any important data on that machine. Requirements and Use Cases For this process to work, your systems must be running Windows 10 version 1709 or later and use a GPT disk format. You'll also need sufficient storage space on your USB or network share for the large FFU file. This method is ideal for mass deployment, allowing you to quickly set up multiple workstations with a consistent image. It's also perfect for hardware replacement, and most importantly, for disaster recovery, ensuring you can restore a system to its exact state with minimal downtime. Using DISM to manage FFU images is a tried and true method for protecting and restoring important business data. This straightforward yet powerful method helps your IT department ensure operational resilience and eliminate the chances of data loss. For more information, check out our official blog post on How to Use DISM to Clone, Deploy, or Restore an FFU Image linked in the description below.