Extracting a WIM file can also be achieved by using p7zip (for example, you can extract a WIM file using Archive Manager, by renaming the file extension to .7z, or you can do it via command line, using "7z") however, the latest stable p7zip 9.20.1 seems to fail with Windows 8 WIM images. Wimlib on the other hand should handle Windows 8 WIM files properly.
Wimlib features (via Wimlib Sourceforge page):
- Support for both Linux and Windows;
- Apply/extract an image from a WIM file to a directory;
- Apply/extract an image from a WIM file directly to a NTFS volume;
- Capture a directory tree as a WIM image in a new or existing WIM;
- Capture a NTFS volume as a WIM image in a new or existing WIM;
- Mount an image from a WIM file read-only or read-write (Linux only);
- Add or delete files from a WIM image without mounting it;
- Extract individual files or directories without mounting it;
- Delete an image from a WIM file;
- Display information about a WIM file;
- Change WIM image name, description, or bootable status;
- Export image(s) from one WIM to an existing or new WIM;
- Support for both compression formats used in WIMs (LZX and XPRESS);
- Split a WIM file into parts, or join a split WIM into a standalone WIM;
- Directly apply, export, or mount an image from a split WIM.
Install Wimlib in Ubuntu via PPA
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install wimtools
Once installed, run "man wimlib-imagex" (for the command, you can simply use "imagex" instead of "wimblib-imagex") in a terminal to see the available options. To create a customized bootable image of Windows PE, check out "man mkwinpeimg".Arch Linux users can install Wimlib via AUR.