How To Save an Hour (Or More) On XP Installs

[kandcorp 0]

Symantec Ghost 9 for the image software. Never had any problems with the software. It all fits on a CD-R too.

 

And yes, no vid or sound drivers just installed them after image was through.

[fas 0]

Well,

 

All day today I tried to install a ghost image of win with sp2 and some programs onto another pc with different specs, and it worked, but...

 

It would not let me log on without activating. I could log on in safe mode, though. I think disk imaging is great for pc's with the same specs, like backing up your own pc, but for working on totally different machines, it's probably better to just install a slipstream copy of windows. I will be spending my time now on creating a good unattended slipstream copy that I can use on all pcs. How long does the unattened slipstream copy take to install? Hopefully less than 6 hours!!!

[fas 0]

I was in the process of creating a slipstream, and I realized I cannot continue as my original copy of win xp has sp1a on it already. Is there a way I can remove this so I can slipstream?

[Thomas 0]

It's not a problem if SP1 is already on the CD.

[fas 0]

My disk includes sp1a, and when I tried to slipstream, it gave an error message saying that the slipstream cannot continue because windows had other update on it. Do I need to get an original copy of xp in order to do this, or is there a way to remove sp1a from my original disk? Thanks.

[Jasper 0]

If I had a fast connection I would zip up a copy off my hard disk and send it.

 

But my upload speed is terrible. And unzipped it is taking up 1GB of space on my hard disk.

 

Do you have a copy of SP2?

 

I used a copy of Windows XP without any service packs when I did my slipstream when SP2 first came out. SP2 must be cummulative because I don't think there was a SP1 on my discs, but I could be wrong. That was a long time ago.

[Thomas 0]

SP2 is cummulative. Which method of slipstreaming are you using and what is the source of the XP CD? (OEM Branded, OEM Unbranded, XP retail, An ISO who's source you don't want to discuss)

[rory 0]

vell just took me 6 hours to clean up a windows PC from 147 Spyware and Trojan Infections and Entries .. would have been quicker to format and reload

[fas 0]

I am using my Dell OEM copy of winx sp with sp1a on it. I may have found out how to do it, I am working on it now. I'll let you know.

[Jasper 0]

vell just took me 6 hours to clean up a windows PC from 147 Spyware and Trojan Infections and Entries .. would have been quicker to format and reload

 

Yeah, but your were trying to save their data right?

 

Otherwise you will do it that way next time.

 

Nothing like a clean install to get the gunk out of your system. Mine is way overdo. I just hate all the time it takes to reinstall all my apps and get everything all tweaked to the way I like it. Especially with all the software I have on my system.

 

Problem is that all the other crap I ever installed and there has been plenty still has traces of itself all over my system. My registry is a 135MB.

[fas 0]

Here is what I have done so far, and I was able to slipstream a dell oem copy of windows with sp1a already on the cd:

 

1. Delete the directory "SVCPACK"

 

 

2. Delete the file "SVCPACK.INF"

 

 

3. Delete all files named "Q??????.EXE"

 

 

4. Delete the following lines in "DOSNET.INF":

 

[OptionalSrcDirs]

svcpack

 

Once I did this, the slipstream worked. Now I am trying to set up an unattended install that will ONLY prompt for the product key, and nothing else. Does anyone know how to do this?

[Jasper 0]

Didn't that link Thomas posted a ways back cover how to do that?

 

I thought it did, but I didn't read the whole thing.

[fas 0]

It says to leave it blank, but I don't know what blank looks like.

 

It could be "" or * or nothing at all.

 

for example:

 

x="" or x=* or x=

[Thomas 0]

Just put in the right number of XXXXs in. The install will throw up an error and require you to enter the key. Or if you feel really slick once you have the basics down, you make a slipstream CD for each machine with thier codes in and drivers preloaded.

[fas 0]

Thanks, Thomas. I'll give it a try.

[fas 0]

Thomas,

 

Is there a way to have the unattended install format the entire drive first and create 2 partitions: one about 4gigs, and the other the remaining size of the drive. I would like to use the 4 gig partition to store my ghost image.

[rory 0]

i just spent 12 hours or more on and off cleaning up a darn PC for someone, last time though, I promised them this before xmas so couldnt turn them down ... just too much data scattered all over the drive to back up for them ... anyway, she clean now and fully protected (and tweaked)

[Thomas 0]

I'm not sure. I never tried to create a second partitions. The slipstream can format the drive before hand. But you could use fdisk before hand to do the partitioning. It won't add alot of time.

[joe4 0]

Is there a way to have the unattended install format the entire drive first and create 2 partitions: one about 4gigs, and the other the remaining size of the drive. I would like to use the 4 gig partition to store my ghost image.

 

A tool called gdisk can do auto partition and formats.

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/ghost.nsf/docid/1998081911285525/

[fas 0]

I tried the unattended install and got a few glitches. The first I think I figured out. The install was defaulting to my d: drive instead of my c drive. I think it has something to do with autopartition=1. This makes it setup on the drive that does not contain windows, which is my my d drive. I think I have to change this to something else, and set it to auto format the whole drive. The 2 partition thing is not a big deal. I just wanted to know if I could do it. Here is my main concern I haven't figured out:

 

Since I have a dell oem win cd with sp1a already on it, I had to get rid of some files (described above) in order for the slipstream to work. Now, when I try the unattended install, I get the error that "setup cannot copy svcpack.inf". I can continue on after this, but that defeats the purpose of a completely unattended install. If anyone know how to get rid of this prompt, I would appreciate it.

Edited January 21, 2006 by Guest

[Jasper 0]

It installing on Drive D: autopartition=1. I wonder if that value needs to be changed to 0, because that is how the first drive is labeled under Windows.

 

I don't know about the other part, but I think your being persistent and doing great. You will figure it out if someone can't tell you.

 

I would try Googling different search word combinations and see what someone else did in your same situation.

[fas 0]

Joe,

 

Can I use gdisk to create a partition after my drive is formatted? Let's say I run the unattended windows setup on my c drive that is 80 gigs. Can I then use gdisk to create another small partition to store a ghost image of my c drive incase I ever need to restore it?

[Jasper 0]

You can do that with partition Magic. It has scripting abilities as well. You can even hide a partition that has your backup on it.

 

It's a great program.

[fas 0]

I have a copy of a dell oem windows cd with sp2 on it. This is the one that will not boot. If I follow the steps somewhere else in this post to create a bootable cd using isobuster, will it work? Also, can I remove the oem folder and add all hotfixes with this version?

[fas 0]

I was finally able to slipstream my Dell OEM copy of windows. It was not a complicated job, I just had to delete a few files. It worked. I have a few questions on slipstreams in general:

 

My install stopped for an error stating the wrong product key. I knew this would happen as I used xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx as my key in my winnt.sif file. I was wondering if there is a generic key I can use that will allow windows to install, and then once installed I could change the key. I remember reading something about a generic key on Microsoft’s website somewhere.

 

Once windows was installed, I got the screen “Let’s spend a few minutes setting up your pcâ€