14 DAY TRIAL // Because operating systems have to cater to a large pool of users, they always integrate more than what the average Joe requires. Installed with all the default components, Windows can end up taking up valuable disk space.
Tools for customizing the installation of Microsoft's OS have been around for a long time, generally aimed at more experienced users and offering the possibility to create an OS installer that fits their needs, with much less dead weight.
Win Toolkit has been designed to allow creating such a special Windows installer by nipping off the components that are of no use to you, or adding necessary drivers and tweaks; equally important, it features the option to run the installation procedure automatically, with little user intervention.
As its name suggests, it incorporates various tools that help attain its goal.
The application is free of charge and does not require installation. You don’t even need to have the Windows image you want to modify, because the program offers access to downloading the ISOs for free and legally. Basically, as long as the license keys are at hand, you’re good to go.
We used an evaluation version of Windows 8 Enterprise during our tests. It does not matter if Windows installation files are available on a DVD, in a folder, packed in an ISO or WIM container, Win Toolkit can handle them all; images are unpacked and mounted automatically.
Although it includes options that may seem quite daunting at the beginning, Win Toolkit’s interface is nothing short of intuitive and simple. Customization options are provided according to their level of difficulty: basic, intermediate, and advanced.
Nevertheless, the program should not be taken too lightly because it is a utility for more experienced users, after all.
Under Basic, there is the All-In-One-Integrator, which is the simplest way to customize a copy of Windows by integrating updates, drivers, theme packs, tweaks, wallpapers, and even install programs if they support the silent switch. Alternatively, this section can be used to remove some of the components burdening the copy of Windows.
One of the best features of this component is that it offers the possibility to create presets and save them for later use; they come in handy when you need to quickly apply some configuration settings.
Moreover, the Integrator features some presets for removing services that are not generally useful to average users. However, tread with care in this area, as the risk of coming up with a faulty copy of the operating system is still lurking.
Under the Intermediate tab there are tools for creating the file for running an unattended installation routine; this means a local account and user input is minimized by a large extent.
It can be set to automatically accept the license agreement, insert the serial number, name the computer, define the username, password, and time zone, and enable automatic log in as well as adding more users with admin or regular permissions over the system.
At the end of the process, the file has to be saved at the root of the DVD folder in order to work properly; in our case it did a great job, as multiple steps in Windows installation procedure were avoided.
Despite the broadly covered settings present in the All-In-One-Integrator (AIO), Win Toolkit provides a much more powerful tool for removing Windows components under the Advanced section.
AIO merely shows the most common components present in the operating system, but the Component Removal tool actually scans the Windows image and provides a more accurate account on what is available in it.
Accessing it does take longer because the application needs to mount the WIM image and then analyze is contents. The progress of the operation is shown at the top part of the screen in percentage and there is also an estimation of the time needed for completion.
When the image is mounted, an impressive list of components is displayed, all entries being organized into categories and accompanied by the package size. There are plenty of utilities users might not need and this is the place to cut them off.
Besides groups such as Accessories, Drivers, Multimedia, Networking, or System, there is also Metro, which shelters the default modern UI apps pre-packaged into Windows 8 (Bing Maps, News, Sports, Weather, Finance, Camera, Music, Video, etc.).
Even less experienced users can choose what to ditch even if the component is not familiar because the application provides a brief description for each entry, in many cases revealing of its purpose.
Win Toolkit is a complete collection of tools that can help trim down the size of Windows installation as well as automate it. Furthermore, it includes the means for creating an ISO file of the custom Windows along with a tool for preparing a USB drive from which to deploy the installation of Microsoft’s OS.
The list of tools it makes available is extensive and comprises imaging software (Capture Image, SWM Merger, and WIM Splitter), driver and update installers as well as an add-on maker and an update retriever that scans WindowsUpdate.log for new updates coming through Windows Update mechanism.
The Good
The program is very versatile and offers the possibility to include drivers, language packs, modified files, themes, updates, or silent installers as well as to automate the OS installation. Custom images can be saved and loaded at a later time without losing any of the modifications.
