Q: If a Windows Imaging Format (WIM) file contains multiple
images and I need to apply a patch or driver, do I apply it to
only one of the images?
A: Although a WIM file can contain multiple OS images (e.g.,
Windows Vista Business, Vista Ultimate), the reason for collecting
images into one WIM file is to take advantage of Single
Instance Storage (SIS). However, each image is separate;
if you install an update into the Vista Business image, the
update affects only that image and none of the other images.
Thus, if there are seven images in a WIM file, you have to
patch all seven individually.