Sometimes you may need to delete a windows image (install.wim ) file and be prompted with the following error message as shown below. In this article, we shall discuss how to fix “Action cannot be complete because the computer is open in Wimserv”. Please see Error code 15601: How to resolve DISM unspecified error when removing preinstalled packages, Error 0xc1420127: The specified image in the specified wim is already mounted for read and write access, and Error 740: Elevated permissions ar
Here are some related errors: How to fix error 0xc1510114: The wim file needs to be remounted, and Error 0x80070002: When trying to mount an image file, e required to run DISM.
Why was “computer is open in Wimserv“ prompted?
The install.wim file (image) caused this error by being in use and mounted. Furthermore, Due to errors I ran into, I needed to delete the install.wim and re-extract it from the source (ISO).
When attempting to delete the mounted install.wim file, it triggered the above error.
Here are some computer is open in Wimserv you can encounter while working with the DISM tool. Error 0xc1570103: The license file was not found in the specified path. Also, see how to fix error 0xc1510114: The .wim file needs to be remounted
How do we resolve this issue?
1: We will have to unmount the install.wim file and discard the changes made. Close the install.wim file to regain the ability to delete it. See the following guide on how to unmount and discard windows images.
- dism /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:C:\path-to-the-mount\Mount-A /discard
2: Alternatively, you may kill the process, as you will not need the installation.wim anyways. After killing the process, just proceed and delete the install.wim file and the mounted image. To do this, follow the steps below.
However, To kill a process in Windows, launch the Task Manager by right-clicking on the taskbar and selecting “Task Manager,” as shown below.
This will open the Task Manager Window. Click on More Details as shown below to get access to the Task Manager menu.
Click on the details page and select “wimserv.exe”. Right-click on the wimserv.exe and click on End Task
You will be asked to confirm if you wish to end the wimserv.exe. Click on End process to end the wim service.exe. After this step is complete, you can delete the install.wim file.
I hope you found this blog post on how to fix Action cannot be complete because the computer is open in Wimserv helpful. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comment session.
