ImageWriter

🔥 Disk image writing utility for Windows

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README

💾 ImageWriter

A modern disk image writing utility for USB drives and SD cards

📸 Screenshot

ImageWriter Pro main window

📖 About

ImageWriter is a modernized and enhanced version of the dd for Windows utility, originally developed by John Newbigin. This project provides a graphical interface and additional features for writing disk images to removable media.

👤 Credits

Original Project: dd for Windows by John Newbigin (jn@chrysocome.net)
Current Developer: Anton Zelenov (tixset@gmail.com)
GitHub: https://github.com/tixset/ImageWriter
License: GNU General Public License v3.0

📁 Project Structure

pascal

ImageWriter/
????????? install.bat                   # Complete elevated Pro installation
????????? ImageWriter.dpr/.dproj       # Standard elevated application
????????? ImageWriterPro.dpr/.dproj    # Pro GUI using the Windows service
????????? ImageWriterSvc.dpr/.dproj    # LocalSystem service
????????? src/                         # Pascal units and VCL forms
???   ????????? MainForm.pas/.dfm        # Shared main form
???   ????????? IPCPipe.pas              # Bounded and authenticated named-pipe transport
???   ????????? ServiceIPC.pas           # Pro GUI service client
???   ????????? WorkerCommands.pas       # Privileged command implementation
???   ????????? SecurityUtils.pas        # Protected installation/data directories
???   ????????? managers/                # 16 business-logic units
???   ????????? studio/                  # Hashing, RNG, and legacy helper units
????????? resources/                   # Manifests, icons, RC/RES files, and compression DLLs
???   ????????? README.md                # Resource regeneration and DLL deployment notes
????????? lib/
???   ????????? HtmlViewer/              # Git submodule required by the GUI projects
???   ????????? README.md                # HtmlViewer source and setup instructions
????????? tests/                       # DUnit sources and PowerShell test scripts
????????? docs/                        # English/Russian guides and technical notes
????????? reports/                     # Dated audit reports (historical snapshots)
????????? assets/screenshots/          # Documentation images
????????? .github/workflows/           # Repository checks; no Delphi build runner
????????? BUILD_CONFIGURATION.md       # Canonical build instructions
????????? CONTRIBUTING.md              # Contribution guidelines
????????? SECURITY.md                  # Security policy
????????? CHANGELOG.md                 # Release history
????????? LICENSE                      # GNU GPL v3.0

✨ Features

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

Windows 7 or later (Vista supported with limitations)
Administrator privileges for writing to disk devices
The bundled 32-bit compression DLLs are installed or extracted automatically

Building from Source

Initialize the HtmlViewer submodule after cloning:

cmd

git submodule update --init --recursive

Open the project in Delphi 12 IDE (Embarcadero Studio 23.0) and use Project → Build All. Build order: ImageWriter.dproj → ImageWriterPro.dproj → ImageWriterSvc.dproj.

Note: Delphi 12 Community Edition does not support command-line (dcc32 / msbuild) compilation. Use the IDE.

Usage

GUI Mode

Run ImageWriter.exe or ImageWriterPro.exe
Select source image file or device
Select target device
Configure options (block size, count, etc.)
Click "Write" or "Read"

Versions:

ImageWriter.exe - Standard version for local drives
ImageWriterPro.exe - Extended version with network share support and Windows Service
ImageWriterSvc.exe - Windows Service for privileged disk operations (used by Pro version)

Windows Service Setup (ImageWriter Pro, requires Administrator):

cmd

install.bat

This performs the protected installation, verifies the service, and creates all-users Desktop and Start Menu shortcuts. Keep install.bat, ImageWriterPro.exe, and ImageWriterSvc.exe together when running it.

Installation also stops and disables the Windows ShellHWDetection service to suppress AutoPlay format prompts for Linux partitions. This is a system-wide, persistent change that disables Windows AutoPlay/AutoRun detection. See the user guide for the effect and restoration commands.

For manual service-only setup:

cmd

ImageWriterPro.exe --install

This installs and starts the service, enabling disk writes without UAC prompts. To remove: ImageWriterPro.exe --uninstall

CLI Mode (Console)

Current status: device listing, help and version output are suitable for use. Destructive CLI workflows are experimental: post-write verification, read hashing and archive creation have known correctness defects documented in CHANGELOG.md. Prefer the GUI for disk operations.

List available devices:

cmd

ImageWriter.exe --cli --list

Show help:

cmd

ImageWriter.exe --cli --help

Do not rely on --hash or post-write --verify until the open P1 issues in the changelog are fixed.

📖 Documentation

Full documentation is available in the docs/ directory:

🧪 Testing

The DUnit and PowerShell test sources are under tests/. The current DUnit runner has a known compilation defect in IPCIntegrationTests.pas, and the public GitHub workflows do not compile or execute the product. See tests/README.md for safe, currently available checks.

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please read CONTRIBUTING.md before submitting pull requests.

📜 License

GNU General Public License v3.0 - see LICENSE for details.

🔒 Security

If you discover a security vulnerability, please see SECURITY.md for responsible disclosure guidelines.

🛠️ Technology Stack

Delphi 12 (Embarcadero Studio 23.0)
Win32 API for low-level disk access
Named Pipes for IPC in Pro version
WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) for device info
ZLib / BZip2 / XZ / LZMA for compressed image support (dynamic loading)
7-Zip (external) for 7z/XZ/BZIP2 compression

🙏 Acknowledgments

John Newbigin - Original author of dd for Windows
The ZLib team for the compression library
The 7-Zip team for the archiver
All contributors to this project

📞 Contact

Author: Anton Zelenov
Email: tixset@gmail.com
GitHub: https://github.com/tixset/ImageWriter
Original dd for Windows: John Newbigin (jn@chrysocome.net)

🔗 Links

Made with ❤️ for the open-source community

Note: This is a derivative work based on dd for Windows.
Original project © Chrysocome and John Newbigin, available under the GPL license.

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IImageWriter