Version History

Win32 Disk Imager is a Windows-only, GPLv2 utility for writing a raw disk image to a removable drive and for reading a whole drive back into an image file. This page gives a dated, sourced history of its releases. It does not invent changelog items: where a version’s detailed notes have not been verified for this summary, that is stated plainly, and only verified dates, file sizes, and release notes are quoted.

If you only need the current download, go to the Download page. The current release is version 1.0.0, dated 2017-03-08. There has been no newer release since then, although the maintainer returned in November 2024. That return has not yet produced a new version, so version 1.0.0 remains the release to use today.

The v0.9 era

Win32 Disk Imager predates version 1.0.0 by several years, and earlier releases in the v0.9 series were the versions many long-time users first encountered. Detailed changelog notes for the early v0.9 releases are not verified in this summary, so this page does not present a reconstructed list of fixes or features for that era. What can be said safely is that the tool’s core job was already established then: a small Windows utility that wrote an image file to a card or drive, sector by sector, without trying to interpret the filesystem inside the image.

Version 0.9.5 — 2014-03-19

Version 0.9.5, dated 2014-03-19, is the release to use on Windows XP or Vista, as indicated by the SourceForge files. Its installer is 12.3 MB and its binary zip is 18.3 MB. Those dates and sizes are the verified facts used on this page for this release; its detailed changelog notes are not verified in this summary, so no list of individual fixes is claimed for v0.9.5 here.

For users on Windows 7, 8.1, or 10, version 0.9.5 is not the recommended release. Use version 1.0.0 instead, as covered in Win32 Disk Imager on Windows 7, 8.1, XP and Vista and Win32 Disk Imager on Windows 10. Match the version to the operating system to avoid the most common legacy mistake.

Version 1.0.0 — 2017-03-08

Version 1.0.0, dated 2017-03-08, is the current and latest release. Its installer is 12.6 MB, its portable zip is about 17.0 MB, and its source zip is about 103 KB. The SourceForge release note for this version is short and specific: lots of bug fixes, a few improvements, and one major feature, Verify Image. This page quotes that note rather than expanding it into an invented list, because the original note does not enumerate individual fixes.

Verify Image lets users check a written image, which matters because a write reporting success does not by itself prove the target device will boot. Test the written card in its target device before relying on it. See How to Use Win32 Disk Imager and Win32 Disk Imager Verify Only.

Version 1.0.0 comes from the Windows 10 era. The SourceForge notes list Windows 7, 8.1, and 10, with Windows Server noted as untested. Because the release predates Windows 11, it was not officially tested for Windows 11, even though many users report that it works there. See Win32 Disk Imager on Windows 11 for that distinction in full. The tool remains Windows-only in this release, and it still does not parse ISO filesystems, still produces a full-device image on Read with no compression, and still overwrites the entire destination drive on Write.

After 1.0.0: no new release, maintainer return in November 2024

Since 2017-03-08, no new release of Win32 Disk Imager has been published. That long gap has led some sites to describe the project as dead or permanently discontinued. That wording is not used here, because it goes beyond the verified facts. What is verified is narrower: there has been no new release, and the maintainer returned in November 2024, reporting work on rebuilding a Windows 11 environment. A return is not a release, and this page does not claim that a new version is imminent or that one will arrive on any particular date.

For practical purposes, users should plan on version 1.0.0 as the current tool, with the cautions that follow from its age: no new features, no official Windows 11 certification, and no support for capabilities added by newer writers, such as automatic validation in every workflow or built-in compression. Whether the project is still actively maintained in the long term is a separate question, discussed without speculation in Is Win32 Disk Imager Dead in 2026?. That post and this page use the same standard: dated facts first, and no invented roadmap.

Which version should you use today?

On Windows 10, and on Windows 11 where user reports indicate it works, use version 1.0.0 from the Download page. On Windows 7 or 8.1, also use version 1.0.0. On Windows XP or Vista, use version 0.9.5. On macOS or Linux, do not look for a version of this tool at all, because there is no native version for either system; see Win32 Disk Imager for Mac and Win32 Disk Imager for Linux for the alternatives that do the same job on those systems.

Whatever version you use, back up the destination card before writing, confirm the drive letter twice, and test the result in its target device.