OSDeploy Core: Removing WinRE Images

Review and remove imported Windows Recovery Environment images from the OSDeploy Core cache.

Update-OSDeployCoreRE creates a Windows Recovery Environment source for each imported Windows OS source. Remove obsolete WinRE imports to recover space or remove old source choices from Build-OSDeployBoot:

C:\ProgramData\OSDeployCore\cache\windows-re

Build-OSDeployBoot discovers WinRE sources from this directory. Keep at least one tested source for every architecture that requires WinRE-based media. When no compatible WinRE source is available, the build can fall back to the Windows ADK WinPE image.

Understand the WinRE Source Directory

Each source normally contains:

<source-name>\
|-- .core\
|-- .temp\
|-- .wim\
|   `-- winre.wim
`-- properties.json

The source name matches the paired directory under cache\windows-os. OSDeploy reads properties.json and .wim\winre.wim to populate WinRE source selection.

Deleting a WinRE source does not delete its paired Windows OS source, cached Enterprise ESD, or completed boot media.

Review Imported WinRE Images

Close active import and build operations, then open an elevated PowerShell 7 session.

List valid WinRE sources and approximate size:

$WindowsRERoot = Join-Path $env:ProgramData 'OSDeployCore\cache\windows-re'

$WindowsREImages = Get-ChildItem -LiteralPath $WindowsRERoot -Directory -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
    ForEach-Object {
        $PropertiesPath = Join-Path $_.FullName 'properties.json'
        $Properties = if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $PropertiesPath) {
            Get-Content -LiteralPath $PropertiesPath -Raw | ConvertFrom-Json
        }
        $ImagePath = Join-Path $_.FullName '.wim\winre.wim'
        $Size = Get-ChildItem -LiteralPath $_.FullName -File -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
            Measure-Object Length -Sum

        [pscustomobject]@{
            Name = $_.Name
            Version = $Properties.Version
            Architecture = $Properties.Architecture
            HasWinRE = Test-Path -LiteralPath $ImagePath -PathType Leaf
            ModifiedTime = $_.LastWriteTime
            SizeGB = [math]::Round($Size.Sum / 1GB, 2)
            Path = $_.FullName
        }
    } |
    Sort-Object Version -Descending

$WindowsREImages |
    Format-Table Name, Version, Architecture, HasWinRE, ModifiedTime, SizeGB -AutoSize

Entries with HasWinRE set to False are incomplete and are not usable build sources.

Select WinRE Images to Remove

$OldWindowsREImages = $WindowsREImages |
    Out-GridView -Title 'Select imported WinRE images to remove' -PassThru

$OldWindowsREImages |
    Format-Table Name, Version, Architecture, HasWinRE, SizeGB, Path -AutoSize

Keep the newest known-working source for each required architecture.

Preview and Remove

Preview the deletion:

$OldWindowsREImages.Path | Remove-Item -Recurse -Force -WhatIf

Confirm that every selected path is a direct child of C:\ProgramData\OSDeployCore\cache\windows-re.

Remove the selected sources:

$OldWindowsREImages.Path | Remove-Item -Recurse -Force -Confirm

Do not remove the windows-re root.

Verify Build Source Selection

Run an interactive preview of the build source choices:

Build-OSDeployBoot -WhatIf

Select a retained WinRE source and review the displayed build configuration. -WhatIf prevents the build-directory operation, but initialization and selection can still update local state.

Restore a WinRE Source

Recreate a removed source from the verified Enterprise ESD:

Update-OSDeployCoreRE

Restore one architecture when required:

Update-OSDeployCoreRE -Architecture 'arm64'

If the ESD is absent, run Update-OSDeployCoreESD first. The import ensures that matching Windows OS and WinRE source directories exist.

See OSDeployCore Cache for the paired source layout and Convert ESD to Windows RE for the extraction workflow.