Remove a Language Pack from a Windows Image

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Before you add new language packs to a Windows image, you must remove any language packs from the Windows image that you do not intend to use. Use the following procedure to remove language packs from a Windows image.

To Remove a Language Pack from a Windows Image

  1. Use Windows System Image Manager (Windows SIM) to create an answer file that contains only the language packs that you intend to remove. Open the Windows image by using Windows SIM and create a new answer file. For more information about using Windows SIM, see Create an Answer File.

  2. In the Package node, under Language Packs, right-click the language pack that you intend to remove and select Add to Answer File.

  3. In the Properties pane, under Settings, choose the Remove value for the Action setting.

  4. Save the answer file and close Windows SIM. The answer file must be similar to the following example.

    <package action="remove">
   <assemblyIdentity name="Microsoft-Windows-LanguagePack-Package" version="6.0.5714.0" processorArchitecture="x86" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="en-US" />
</package>

  5. Use ImageX to mount the Windows image. For example,

    imageX /mountrw C:\windows_distribution\sources\install.wim 1 C:\wim

    The first Windows image in the Install.wim file is mounted to C:\wim. For more information, see ImageX Command-Line Options.

  6. Use Package Manager to apply the unattended answer file to the mounted Windows image. For example,

    start /w pkgmgr /o:"C:\wim\;C:\wim\Windows" /n:"C:\unattend.xml"

    For more information about using Package Manager, see Package Manager Command-Line Options.
    The language pack is uninstalled from the Windows image. However, the language resources and files are still present in the .wim file.

  7. Unmount the Windows image and commit the changes. For example,

    ImageX /unmount /commit C:\wim

    If you have multiple Windows images in a .wim file from which you intend to remove language packs, you must repeat the removal process for each Windows image in a .wim file. Repeat these steps to remove all of the desired language packs from your Windows images.

  8. After all Windows images in the .wim file are updated, you must export the images to a new .wim file. Although the language pack is removed from the specific Windows image, the related language pack files are still present in the .wim file. Exporting the Windows image to a new .wim file ensures that any unnecessary files are not carried in the new .wim file. Use the ImageX command to export the Windows images in a .wim file to a new .wim file. For example,

    imageX /export /check C:\windows_distribution\sources\install.wim * C:\newinstall.wim

The Windows image is ready to be deployed.