LTSC 2019 x64 - Offline Imaging & Optimization Guide (Updated: 2019-07-17)

aka. creating your own perfect, debloated LTSC 2019 x64 .iso image distribution boomer

Prerequisites for offline imaging and optimization:

  • A machine with any Windows 10 1607+ edition
  • Appropriate Windows ADK version installed for your Windows 10 build (optional, but highly recommended - needed for W10UI .iso creation)
    (however if you refuse to install the ADK, you can try to play with DISM and Oscdimg files which i've extracted from Windows 10 1809 ADK directly)

1. Creating updated .iso image based on the original LTSC 2019 x64:

Download the originally released LTSC 2019 x64 Volume .iso from MVS (My Visual Studio) (build 17763.1) EVAL + SVF Repo with 38 Languages (Source).

The SVF .exe patch will rebuild the original Volume .iso image using the original EVAL (Demo) .iso, if you have doubts then you can verify it yourself - compare the Volume image's SHA-1 hash against this proxy dump with official repo of MVS/MSDN hashes (or ask someone with MVS access to check for you, MVS access costs $1,199).

  • Place both the EVAL .iso and your language's SVF .exe into the same folder
  • Run the .exe as Administrator to rebuild original Volume MVS 17763.1 .iso in your language
  • Remove the EVAL .iso and use 7-Zip (or WinRAR) to extract the contents of the new rebuilt Volume MVS .iso to a folder with the same name as the .iso
  • Download the W10UI tool by @abbodi1406 (Open-Source), run it as Administrator and point the "Target" to the extracted .iso folder
  • Download the newest updates; here are the current (17763.615) 1809 updates to integrate with W10UI, alternatively use mydigitallife tool called WHDownloader (Source) in order to always get fresh updates for offline integration (see this gif as a how-to), or use this script (Open-Source).
  • Create a new folder called "updates" and put all those update files there, point the "Updates" to this folder in W10UI tool
    It's also recommended to select .NET 3.5 to pre-integrate and enable Cleanup System Image in the tool
  • Start the process and wait for a new .iso to be created - it can take quite a long time on older machines, so better go for a vodka while it's running

Follow my W10UI settings as an example:

screenshot_w10ui
(Open image in a new browser tab to enlarge)

2. Optimizing, tweaking and debloating the updated .iso image (new method):

The old method is still available here if you prefer it, but i don't support it anymore.

New method:

Download the Optimize-LTSC script (Open-Source) - it's essentially an Optimize-Offline script forked by me - as the name suggests, my fork is designed for LTSC.

Changes:

  • Useless integrations have been removed: Edge, Dedup, DaRT, Win32Calc
  • Script has been fully debugged - i have found some registry mistakes that the original author didn't notice and corrected them myself
  • The script has a two new optional switches enabled by default (edit the Start.cmd file and remove the switches if don't want them):
    -DisableUAC - this switch disables UAC and LUA in the offline image's registry hives - it will grant the user Full Administrator Permissions
    -Win7GUI - this switch changes some of the default Windows 10 GUI elements into those of Windows 7 (more details in the .ps1 file)
    if you use it, then it's also highly recommended to install StartIsBack++ and OldNewExplorer from the end of this paste
  • SetupComplete.cmd files and scripts integration function has been updated, so you no longer have to edit it manually
  • A generic, custom unattend.xml file is included and will be integrated to the offline image (remove from \Resources\Additional\Unattend\ if you don't want it):
    -Local Account by Default (skipped Online Account creation)
    -Privacy settings are skipped in the OOBE
    -Sending installation report to the Microsoft is disabled
  • KMS_VL_ALL by @abbodi1406 is now applied to the SetupComplete.cmd script by default, so your LTSC 2019 x64 installation will automatically activate (remove the files from the \Resources\Additional\Setup\ folder if you prefer to activate manually instead)
  • Added more registry tweaks to disable even more telemetry options + annoyances and to block Windows Telemetry IPs in the Firewall.

Best Practices:

  • Make sure to place your Optimize-LTSC folder in a short path like C:\Optimize-LTSC\ (long paths are not supported and will cause serious errors)
  • Test every single optimized image on a VM firstly before installing it on a real machine.

The script removes Provisioned Application Packages in a safe and proper way, so the installed OS will remain sfc perfect, it also applies registry tweaks to the offline registry hives in order to disable all the possible telemetry & to enhance aesthetics + usability of the system.

If you want to integrate your own scripts and files to apply/install with the Windows Setup together using the Optimize-LTSC's SetupComplete.cmd file - check out my supplementary minor guide.

It's highly recommended (but not necessary anymore with my fork) to edit the .ps1 file yourself - at least basic PowerShell knowledge is required to edit more advanced parts of the script, however even if you're a noob you still should be able to at least review the registry section easily; add your own registry tweaks, remove existing ones you don't like, etc.

Edit the Optimize-LTSC's Start.cmd file and point it to your new W10UI updated .iso image, afterwards run Start.cmd as Administrator:

screenshot_optimize-ltsc_cmd
(Open image in a new browser tab to enlarge) NOTE: If for whatever reason you want to integrate the Store app to LTSC 2019 x64, then you have to add the -WindowsStore parameter right after the -Features parameter, it's also not recommended to remove any Xbox-related system apps if you're integrating the Store!

In the Optimize-LTSC GUI windows, you have to press & hold the left Ctrl button on your keyboard while clicking on the values with left mouse button

Here's the list of the Windows Apps that are completely safe (and recommended) to remove with Optimize-LTSC:

  • BioEnrollment (remove only if you're not going to use any biometric sensors like fingerprint readers or camera's face recognition)
  • ECApp (another app related to biometrics)
  • LockApp (it's the Lock Screen which you have to move with the mouse cursor, it's a crap for tablets and other touch screen devices, completely useless and safe to remove, the true Login Screen will remain intact)
  • MicrosoftEdgeDevToolsClient (app related to Microsoft Edge browser, useless and safe to remove since there's no Edge on LTSC 2019)
  • Win32WebViewHost (same as above, useless)
  • ContentDeliveryManager (this app is used by Microsoft to push the sponsored content to the end users; it is responsible for automatic Start Menu pinning of the 3rd party apps shortcuts, such as "Candy Crush Soda Saga" and other bloatware)
  • ParentalControls (just as the name suggests, bloat, safe to remove)
  • PeopleExperienceHost (it's the "People" icon on the taskbar, useless and safe to remove)
  • SecHealthUI (Windows Defender - highly recommended to remove if you're going to install a third party AV suite, like ESET or Kaspersky)
  • XboxGameCallableUI and XGpuEjectDialog (remove them only if you hate Full Screen Optimization and Xbox Game Bar, Game DVR, do not remove if you integrate the Store app)

Here's the list of Windows Capability Packages that are safe (and recommended) to remove:

  • App.Support.QuickAssist
  • Hello.Face.17658
  • Hello.Face.Migration.17658
  • MathRecognizer
  • OneCoreUAP.OneSync

Don't remove Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player - a lot of Games and Programs use the IE engine infrastructure and WMP codecs.

Here's the list of Windows Features recommended to disable:

  • Printing-XPSServices-Features
  • WorkFolders-Client
  • FaxServicesClientPackage

Here's the list of Windows Features recommended to enable:

  • LegacyComponents
  • DirectPlay
  • Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux (Optionally, if you need it)

3. Creating bootable media for clean installation:

It's recommended to select Solid compression at the end stage of Optimize-LTSC script, and after it creates a new .iso what you want to do is to use Rufus in order to create a bootable USB; in the Rufus you should choose:

  • GPT for UEFI {FAT32}
    or
  • MBR for legacy BIOS {NTFS}

It's also recommended to disable Fast Boot in the UEFI/BIOS for the time of installation.

Also, for your information: a properly offline-optimized LTSC 2019 x64 can be updated normally through Windows Update and the removed components will not return with the updates.

4. What to do after clean installation:

Good luck anons!

This guide will be consistently updated - write in the official, current /fwt/ thread on /g/ if you have any suggestions or questions.

Remember to not be a fool and always verify checksums/hashes of everything, also avoid downloading homebrew .iso images from shady sources - i've created this guide to teach you how to do it yourself.

Here's the original /fwt/ paste, and here's the current /fwt/ thread on /g/

Edit
Pub: 13 Jul 2019 09:05 UTC
Edit: 24 Aug 2019 16:51 UTC
Views: 14661