manage-operating-system-upgrade-packages.md

title	titleSuffix	description	ms.date	ms.service	ms.subservice	ms.topic	author	ms.author	manager	ms.localizationpriority	ms.reviewer	ms.collection
Manage OS upgrade packages	Configuration Manager	Learn how to manage OS upgrade packages in Configuration Manager.	08/10/2021	configuration-manager	osd	how-to	BalaDelli	baladell	apoorvseth	medium	mstewart,aaroncz	tier3

Manage OS upgrade packages with Configuration Manager

Applies to: Configuration Manager (current branch)

An OS upgrade package in Configuration Manager contains the Windows setup source files to upgrade an existing OS on a computer. This article describes how to add, distribute, and service an OS upgrade package.

Note

OS upgrade packages can also be used for new installations of Windows. However it is dependent on drivers being compatible with this method. When performing new installations of Windows from an OS upgrade package, drivers are installed while still in Windows PE versus simply being injected while in Windows PE. Some drivers are not compatible with being installed while in Windows PE. If drivers are not compatible with being installed while in Windows PE, then use an OS image, such as install.wim, instead.

Add an OS upgrade package

Before you can use an OS upgrade package, first add it to your Configuration Manager site.

1. In the Configuration Manager console, go to the Software Library workspace, expand Operating Systems, and then select the Operating System Upgrade Packages node.

2. On the Home tab of the ribbon, in the Create group, select Add Operating System Upgrade Package. This action starts the Add Operating System Upgrade Wizard.

3. On the Data Source page, specify the following settings:

   • The network Path to the installation source files of the OS upgrade package. For example, \\server\share\path.

     [!NOTE] The installation source files contain setup.exe and other files and folders to install the OS.

     [!IMPORTANT] Limit access to these installation source files to prevent unwanted tampering.

   • Starting in version 2107, review and agree to the license terms for this OS media on behalf of your organization.

   • Extract a specific image index from install.wim file of selected upgrade package and then select an image index from the list. This option automatically imports a single index rather than all image indexes in the file. Using this option results in a smaller image file, and faster offline servicing. It also supports the process to Optimize image servicing, for a smaller image file after applying software updates.

     [!IMPORTANT] Configuration Manager overwrites the existing install.wim in the OS upgrade package. It extracts the image index to a temporary location, and then moves it into the original source directory. Before you import an OS upgrade package and enable this option, make sure to backup the original source files.

   • If you want to pre-cache content on a client, specify the Architecture and Language of the image. For more information, see Configure pre-cache content.

4. On the General page, specify the following information. This information is useful for identification purposes when you have more than one OS upgrade package.

   • Name: A unique name for the OS upgrade package.

   • Version: An optional version identifier. This property doesn't need to be the OS version of the upgrade package. It's often your organization's version for the package.

   • Comment: An optional brief description.

5. Complete the wizard.

Next, distribute the OS upgrade package to distribution points.

Distribute content to a distribution point

Distribute OS upgrade packages to distribution points the same as other content. Before you deploy the task sequence, distribute the OS upgrade package to at least one distribution point. For more information, see Distribute content.

[!INCLUDE Apply software updates to an image]

Next steps

Create a task sequence to upgrade an OS