Forum Discussion

DavidYorkshire's avatar
DavidYorkshire
Iron Contributor
Apr 11, 2025

ISO version reporting

Is there a standard way in which the Windows installer ISOs can be interrogated for which version of Windows is on them?

This is a bit convoluted so I'll explain the use case.

When installing W10 on one of the last generation of x64 Apple Macs, the Boot Camp installer will take the ISO and prepare it by injecting drivers - particularly that for the T2 security chip which handles the first part of the boot process and is the storage controller, among other things. With W10 going out of support (and W11 not really an option due to the hardware requirements) I have been looking at trying to install one ofthe W10-based server versions instead. These are obviously very similar in structure and would probably install and work from a technical standpoint - but if I try it the Boot Camp installer reports that the ISOs aren't Windows 10, and won't proceed.

I'm basically looking to clarify whether there is any minor editing of the ISO (or files on it) which can be done to convince Boot Camp that actually this is W10. Anyone know?

Thanks

Windows Server

1 Reply

  • kyazaferr's avatar
    kyazaferr
    MCT
    Oct 08, 2025

    Mount or open the ISO

    In Windows 10 / 11, right-click → Mount.

    You’ll see a virtual drive, e.g. D:\.

    Check Sources\install.wim (or .esd) with DISM

    dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:D:\sources\install.wim


    or

    dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:D:\sources\install.esd


    This will list all the images inside (editions, indexes, versions, build numbers).
    → That tells you what editions (Standard, Datacenter, etc.) and builds are included.
    (Dell KB also describes this method) 
    Dell

    Check setup.exe file metadata

    In the mounted ISO, find setup.exe.

    Right-click → Properties → Details tab.

    It often shows the file version and product version which hint the Windows version/build.
    (This trick is often suggested in “How to find Windows version from ISO” guides) 
    AddictiveTips

    Check sources\idwbinfo.txt (or similar metadata files)

    Some Windows ISOs include metadata .txt files that contain edition flags, splits, etc.

    For example, older guides mention idwbinfo.txt in ISO metadata. 
    Super User
    +1

    Look at folder structure and file names

    Sometimes the ISO filename includes the version / build (e.g. Windows_Server_2025_Datacenter_x64.iso).

    Also check if there’s install.swm (split WIM) or .esd (compressed) etc.

     Regarding “convincing Boot Camp that the ISO is Windows 10”

    Boot Camp typically checks an ISO for being a supported Windows edition (like Windows 10) before proceeding. If you use a Windows Server ISO, Boot Camp might reject it because it’s not recognized as “Windows 10 / 64-bit client OS”.

    Possible approaches (risky / hacky) include:

    Modify Boot Camp’s internal checks
    Some users have modified info.plist inside Boot Camp Assistant to accept different models or ISO identifiers. But newer macOS versions may block such modifications (via System Integrity Protection).
    See user reports about editing Boot Camp’s supported models list. 
    Super User
    +1

    Use a “Windows 10–like” ISO wrapper
    Trick Boot Camp by using a Windows 8 or 10 ISO initially so the check passes, then swap in your custom install media. There are anecdotal methods doing exactly that. 
    Super User
    +1

    Split large files
    Boot Camp’s USB/ISO process can fail if the install.wim is too large (especially with FAT32 constraints). A common workaround is to split the WIM (install.swm) so all files are <4GB. This ensures the file system and copying logic doesn’t break. 
    Twocanoes Software

    Rebuild a custom ISO
    After identifying the version from the install.wim, you could rebuild a custom ISO, renaming or adjusting metadata so that Boot Camp sees it as a Windows 10 ISO. But that’s fragile and unsupported.

Resources