The Slipstreaming process
Prerequisites
Before we begin anything, you'll
need to have a few things:
- Installation CD of Windows
2000/XP.
- Service Pack 4
for Windows 2000 or Service Pack 2 for Windows XP
Download Windows 2000 SP4
(129mb)
Download Windows XP SP2
(266mb)
This procedure will also work for Windows
Server 2003 SP1 when it will be available.
Lamer Note:
This guide is based on the English versions of Windows 2000/XP,
and of their corresponding Service Packs. If you're using a
different localized build of Windows, you will need to find the
right version of SP for your build.
- At least 800MB (for
Windows 2000 SP4) or 1100MB (for Windows XP SP2) of free space
on your hard drives (you can later delete these files).
- A CDR/CDRW drive, CD burning
software and (This is actually only optional, but if you want to
burn the resulting slipstreamed Windows 2000/XP you'll need it).
To create an integrated installation
of Windows 2000/XP and the service pack:
-
Connect to the network or computer
on which you want to create the distribution folder.
-
In the shared folder on the
network, create a distribution folder for the Windows 2000/XP
installation files. For example, to create a distribution folder
named Win2000\i386, type the following:
Lamer Note: This is
only an example. You can obviously use any drive letter or any
folder name you want, just make sure your partition has enough
free space.
Or, for
Windows XP:
-
Ensure only the system
administrator has full access to this folder. Other users should
have only read and execute permissions.
-
Insert your original Windows
2000/XP CD into the CD-ROM drive, and then copy the contents of
the CD to the distribution folder that you created in step 2.
For example, to copy the installation files and folders from the
Windows 2000 CD in the CD-ROM drive (E:) to the distribution
folder named Win2000\i386, type the following:
Lamer Note: This is
only an example. Substitute E: with the drive letter of YOUR CD
drive, and D:\Win2000\i386
with YOUR folder settings.
or, for Windows XP:
Another Lamer note: You can also drag and drop the folder's
content.
-
Extract the service pack source
files from the downloaded SP file and put them in a folder you
choose on your hard disk. For example, if you've downloaded SP4
for Windows 2000 to a folder called D:\W2KSP4 then type
the following:
Note: You can use "-x"
instead of "/x" if you want.
Or, for Windows XP SP2 use the
correct file name:
-
In the Choose Directory For
Extracted Files box, type
D:\W2KSP4
Or, for
Windows XP:
D:\XPSP2
Lamer Note: This is
only an example. Substitute the path with the
settings.
Another note: It will be
easier for you if you chose a folder name that has no spaces in
it. If you do use spaces, make sure you enclose it in quotation
marks, i.e. "folder name" from now on through the entire
guide.
-
After you've extracted the files
you can apply the service pack to the Windows 2000/XP
installation files located in the folder named
D:\Win2000\i386 or D:\XP\i386 respectively by typing
the following:
Or, for
Windows XP:
(Screenshot of XP SP2
Slipstreaming, W2K SP4 looks the same)
Lamer Note: Notice
there IS a space between the "-s" and the "Update.exe".
Also, notice there is NO space between the "-s:" and the
path of the installation files folder.
Note: You do NOT need to
specify the i386 folder in the path. The slipstreaming process
will automatically look for it in the folder root.
-
Take a
look at the folder's properties, it should be approximately
634mb in size (that's for Windows XP + SP2, Windows 2000 + SP4
has a different size).
You can now deploy Windows 2000/XP to
your users' computers from the shared distribution folder in either
attended or unattended Setup mode. Alternatively, you can burn a CD
containing the files from the distribution folder. During the
standard installation process, Windows 2000/XP Setup (Winnt.exe or
Winnt32.exe) installs the updated operating system with the service
pack already applied.
Important: When you run the
Update.exe program as described earlier for an integrated
installation, a Svcpack.log file is created automatically in
systemroot on the computer that is running the Update.exe program.
If you plan to update more than one version of Windows 2000/XP on
this computer, rename the Svcpack.log file after you update each
version. This ensures that you do not overwrite the current log file
when you update additional versions of Windows 2000.
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