Edit

uwfmgr.exe

  • Article

The UWFMgr tool can be used at the command-line or in PowerShell to configure and retrieve settings for Unified Write Filter (UWF).

Important

Users with standard accounts can use commands that retrieve information, but only users who have administrator accounts can use commands that change the configuration settings.

Syntax

uwfmgr.exe
    Help | ?
    Get-Config
    Filter
        Help | ?
        Enable
        Disable
        Reset-Settings
        Shutdown
        Restart
    Volume
        Help | ?
        Get-Config {<volume> | all}
        Protect {<volume> | all}
        Unprotect <volume>
    File
        Help | ?
        Get-Exclusions {<volume> | all}
        Add-Exclusion <file>
        Remove-Exclusion <file>
        Commit <file>
        Commit-Delete <file>
    Registry
        Help | ?
        Get-Exclusions
        Add-Exclusion <key>
        Remove-Exclusion <key>
        Commit <key> [<value>]
        Commit-Delete <key> [<value>]
    Overlay
        Help | ?
        Get-Config
        Get-AvailableSpace
        Get-Consumption
        Set-Size <size>
        Set-Type {RAM | DISK}
        Set-WarningThreshold <size>
        Set-CriticalThreshold <size>
        Set-Passthrough <on/off>
        Set-Persistent <on/off>
        Reset-PersistentState <on/off>
    Servicing
        Enable
        Disable
        Update-Windows
        Get-Config
        Help

Location

Uwfmgr can be found under the %WINDIR%\System32\ folder.

Command-line options and parameters

The following list describes the options and sub-options that are available to use in uwfmgr.exe, and it lists the corresponding WMI class or method for each command-line option and sub-option (if available).

  • Help | ?

    • Displays command-line help for basic parameters for uwfmgr.exe.

  • Get-Config

    • Displays UWF configuration settings for the current and next session.

  • Filter

    • Configures basic UWF settings.
    • UWF_Filter
    • Enable
      • Enables UWF protection for the next session after a system restart.
      • UWF_Filter.Enable
    • Disable
    • Reset-Settings
      • Restores UWF settings to the original state.
        If you added UWF to your image by using Turn Windows features on or off or by using DISM, the original state is the state of UWF settings when UWF was first enabled.
        If you added UWF to your image by using SMI settings in an unattend file, the original state is the state of UWF settings when Windows was installed on the device. Starting in Windows 10, this command is no longer supported.
      • UWF_Filter.ResetSettings
    • Shutdown
      • Shuts down the device immediately, even if the overlay is full or near full. Administrator-level permissions are required to use this command.
      • UWF_Filter.ShutdownSystem
    • Restart
      • Shuts down the device immediately and restarts, even if the overlay is full or near full. Administrator-level permissions are required to use this command.
      • UWF_Filter.RestartSystem

  • Volume

    • Configures settings for volumes protected by UWF. If the <volume> argument is needed, you can specify a drive letter (for example, uwfmgr.exe volume protect C:), or else you can specify all volumes (for example, uwfmgr.exe volume get-config all).
    • UWF_Volume
    • Help | ?
      • Displays command-line help for the uwfmgr.exe volume command.
    • Get-Config {<volume> | all}
      • Displays configuration settings and file exclusions for the specified volume, or all volumes if all is specified. Displays information for both the current and the next session.
      • UWF_Volume
    • Protect {<volume> | all}
      • Adds the specified volume to the list of volumes that are protected by UWF. UWF starts protecting the volume after the next system restart if UWF filtering is enabled.
      • UWF_Volume.Protect
    • Unprotect <volume>
      • Removes the specified volume from the list of volumes that are protected by UWF. UWF stops protecting the volume after the next system restart.
      • UWF_Volume.Unprotect

  • File

    • Configures file exclusion settings for UWF. If you use the <file> argument, it must be fully qualified, including the volume and path. uwfmgr.exe uses the volume specified in the <file> argument to determine which volume contains the file exclusion list for the file.
    • UWF_Volume
    • Help | ?
      • Displays command-line help for the uwfmgr.exe file command.
    • Get-Exclusions {<volume> | all}
      • Displays all files and directories in the exclusion list for the specified volume (for example, uwfmgr.exe file Get-Exclusions C:), or all volumes if all is specified. Displays information for both the current and the next session.
      • UWF_Volume.GetExclusions
    • Add-Exclusion <file>
      • Adds the specified file to the file exclusion list of the volume protected by UWF. UWF starts excluding the file from filtering after the next system restart.
      • UWF_Volume.AddExclusion
    • Remove-Exclusion <file>
      • Removes the specified file from the file exclusion list of the volume protected by UWF. UWF stops excluding the file from filtering after the next system restart.
      • UWF_Volume.RemoveExclusion
    • Commit <file>
      • Commits changes to a specified file to overlay for a UWF-protected volume. Administrator-level permissions are required to use this command.
      • UWF_Volume.CommitFile
    • Commit-Delete <file>
      • Deletes the specified file from both the overlay and the physical volume. Administrator-level permissions are required to use this command.
      • UWF_Volume.CommitFileDeletion

  • Registry

    • Configures registry key exclusion settings for UWF.
    • UWF_RegistryFilter
    • Help | ?
      • Displays command-line help for the uwfmgr.exe registry command.
    • Get-Exclusions
    • Add-Exclusion<key>
      • Adds the specified registry key to the registry exclusion list for UWF. UWF starts excluding the registry key from filtering after the next system restart.
      • UWF_RegistryFilter.AddExclusion
    • Remove-Exclusion <key>
      • Removes the specified registry key from the registry exclusion list for UWF. UWF stops excluding the registry key from filtering after the next system restart.
      • UWF_RegistryFilter.RemoveExclusion
    • Commit <key> <value>
    • Commit-Delete <key> [<value>]
      • Deletes the specified registry key and value and commits the deletion. Deletes all values and subkeys if the value is empty, and commits the deletion. Administrator-level permissions are required to use this command.
      • UWF_RegistryFilter.CommitRegistryDeletion

  • Overlay

    • Configures settings for the UWF overlay.
    • UWF_Overlay and UWF_OverlayConfig
    • Help | ?
      • Displays command-line help for the uwfmgr.exe overlay command.
    • Get-Config
      • Displays configuration settings for the UWF overlay. Displays information for both the current and the next session.
      • UWF_Overlay and UWF_OverlayConfig
    • Get-AvailableSpace
      • Displays the amount of space remaining that is available for the UWF overlay.
      • UWF_Overlay
    • Get-Consumption
      • Displays the amount of space currently used by the UWF overlay.
      • UWF_Overlay
    • Set-Size <size>
    • Set-Type {RAM | DISK}
      • Sets the type of the overlay storage to RAM-based or disk-based. UWF must be disabled in the current session to set the overlay type to disk-based.
      • UWF_OverlayConfig.SetType
    • Set-WarningThreshold <size>
    • Set-CriticalThreshold <size>
    • Set-Passthrough <on/off>
      • Turns the free space passthrough on or off, allowing UWF to use free space outside of the reserved space when available.
    • Set-Persistent <on/off>
      • Sets the overlay as a persistent overlay, allowing users to keep using their data after a reboot.
    • Reset-PersistentState <on/off>
      • Clears a persistent overlay on the next boot (on/off).

  • Servicing

    • Configures settings for UWF servicing mode.
    • UWF_Servicing
    • Enable
      • Enables servicing mode in the next session after a restart. Administrator-level permissions are required to use this command.
      • UWF_Servicing.Enable
    • Disable
      • Disables UWF servicing mode in the next session after a restart. Administrator-level permissions are required to use this command.
      • UWF_Servicing.Disable
    • Update-Windows
      • Stand-alone command to apply Windows updates to a device. Called by the master servicing script that is called by the uwfmgr.exe servicing enable command. We recommend that you use the uwfmgr.exe servicing enable command to service your UWF–protected device whenever possible. Administrator-level permissions are required to use this command.
      • UWF_Servicing.UpdateWindows
    • Get-Config
      • Displays UWF servicing mode information for the current session and the next session.
      • UWF_Servicing
    • Help
      • Displays command-line help for the uwfmgr.exe servicing command.

Unsupported WMI methods

The following list contains the UWF WMI provider methods that are not currently supported by the uwfmgr.exe tool: