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* No longer needed, since we are not invoking IE behind the scenes any more. * Also update "fake" Firefox version range.
77 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
77 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
Fido: Full ISO Download Script (for Windows retail ISOs)
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========================================================
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[](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html)
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[](https://github.com/pbatard/Fido/releases)
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Description
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-----------
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Fido is a PowerShell script that is primarily designed to be used in [Rufus](https://github.com/pbatard/rufus), but that
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can also be used in standalone fashion, and whose purpose is to automate access to the official Microsoft Windows retail
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ISO download links.
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This script exists because, while Microsoft does make retail ISO download links freely and publicly available (at least
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for Windows 8 and Windows 10), it only does so after actively forcing users to jump through a lot of unwarranted hoops,
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that create an exceedingly counterproductive, if not downright unfriendly, consumer experience and that greatly detract
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from what people really want (direct access to ISO downloads).
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As to the reason one might want to download Windows __retail__ ISOs, as opposed to the ISOs that are generated by
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Microsoft's own Media Creation Tool (MCT), this is because using official retail ISOs is currently the only way to
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assert with absolute certainty that the OS content has not been altered. Indeed, because there only exists a single
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master for each of them, Microsoft retail ISOs are the only ones you can obtain an official SHA-1 for (from MSDN, if you
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have access to it, or from sites [such as this one](https://msdn.rg-adguard.net/public.php)) allowing you to be 100%
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sure that the image you are using has not been corrupted and is safe to use.
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This, in turn, offers assurance that the content __YOU__ are using to install your OS, which it is indeed critical to
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validate beforehand if you have the slightest concern about security, does match, bit for bit, the one that Microsoft
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released.
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On the other hand, regardless of the manner in which Microsoft's Media Creation Tool produces its content, because no
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two MCT ISOs are ever the same (due to MCT always regenerating the ISO content on the fly) it is currently impossible to
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validate with absolute certainty whether any ISO that was generated by the MCT is safe to use. Especially, unlike what
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is the case for retail ISOs, it is impossible to tell whether an MCT ISO may have been corrupted after generation.
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Hence the need to provide users with a much easier and less restrictive way to access official retail ISOs...
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License
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-------
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[GNU General Public License version 3.0](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0) or later.
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How it works
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------------
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The script basically performs the same operation as one might perform when visiting either of the following URLs (that
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is, provided that you have also changed your `User-Agent` browser string, since, when they detect that you are using a
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version of Windows that is the same as the one you are trying to download, the Microsoft web servers at these addresses
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redirect you __away__ from the pages that allow you to download retail ISOs):
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* https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/Windows8ISO
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* https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/Windows10ISO
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After visiting those with a full browser (Internet Explorer, running through the `Invoke-WebRequest` PowerShell Cmdlet),
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to confirm that they are accessible, the script then queries the web API from the Microsoft servers to first request the
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language selection available for the version of Windows selected by the user, and then request the actual download links
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for all the architectures available for that specific combination of version + language.
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Requirements
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------------
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PowerShell 3.0 or later is required. However the script should detect if you are using an older version and point you to
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the relevant PowerShell 3.0 download page if needed (which should only ever occur if you are running a vanilla version
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of Windows 7).
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Note that the current version of the script does not need Internet Explorer to be installed and should also work with
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PowerShell 7.
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Additional Notes
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----------------
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Because of its intended usage with Rufus, this script is not designed to cover every possible retail ISO downloads.
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Instead we mostly chose the ones that the general public is likely to request. For instance, we currently have no plan
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to add support for LTSB/LTSC Windows 10 ISOs downloads.
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If you are interested in such downloads, then you are kindly invited to visit the relevant download pages from Microsoft
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such as [this one](https://www.microsoft.com/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-10-enterprise) for LTSC versions.
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