Q: I would like to know about slipstreaming Windows, I have read the articles but I am a bit confused as to how to go about it. I have my recovery disc containing Windows XP Home, the disc for the upgrade to Windows XP Pro and the DVD that I have copied all the service packs, critical, hotfix and updates for Windows XP. Is there any way that I can make the DVD automatically insert all the service pack, updates, critical updates and hotfixes by just pressing the Enter key on its own, without me sitting and choosing every updates separately. Please let me know if there is a way.
A: You can create a slipstream disc containing service packs, hotfixes, drivers and anything else that needs to be loaded as part of a Windows install. You’ll need a disc burning program, a copy of ISOBuster to extract the boot image and an original Windows XP CD. A full tutorial is at www.5starsupport.com/tutorial/xp-recovery-cd.htm. If you have a manufacturer’s recovery disc created from a pre-installed system you may not be able to make a slipstreamed version. If, when you boot from the recovery disc, you see a message to the effect that using this disc will delete all data on your drive, then it’s a disc image file and you won’t be able to slipstream it. If you don’t get a message like this and when browsing the disc in Explorer you can see a folder called i386 then it’s a Windows repair installation and you should be able to slipstream additional files into it.
You'll need a program like ISOBuster to extract the boot image details from the Windows XP CD
Originally featured in PCU115
