Working with nLite, testing XP custom disc?
 

I've been trying to find some ways to reduce my OS installation time. I revisited the nLite program in which you can slipstream stuff like the service packs and drivers into the installation disc. I've been looking for a way to do an unattended install where I don't have to sit and babysit the install process.

I've recently found my original XP Pro disc, which is the corporate version that I attained around 13 years ago from a friend that used to work in a corporate environment. This is the original XP version with no service packs. Still having SP2 as a separate file on one of my older CD's (which still reads well) I decided to go ahead and do a new install disc by integrating SP2 with the disc.

Working with this program more in depth I am really liking all the options for customizing this disc that I have overlooked before. I've been able to integrate SP2, and do all the custom stuff like disabling everything IE, turning off Automatic Updates and even fixing up some of the desktop configurations to my liking. Slipped streamed it all together and ran the test ISO in VirtualBox. Boy, I wish the install time was super fast as it was doing within the VM!

Anyway, the install went great and soon before long the desktop booted up to the exact specifications that I set up. Not one time did I had to interact during setup, so now I can burn an official copy on disc and whenever I need to do a new install on any of my XP machines, I can do so and do something else and come back to it all installed and ready to go.

I didn't include the drivers though with the disc because that would mean having to do a custom disc for each system since they all use a different set of drivers. I'd figure a vanilla based installation disc would help shorten the time, plus having disabled and removing features that I will never use.

Just some interesting tidbits today working with this program.

Assuming you don't have conflicting driver versions for your different hardware, you should be able to integrate them all and the system will just install whichever is needed for a given setup. After all, Windows already includes hundreds/thousands of drivers for devices you don't have and that are never installed.

I tried to use nLite back in 2009 or so, and utterly failed. I wanted to slipstream in some XP updates/SP2, and some custom drivers. All I did was waste hours and hours, and nothing ever worked.

So you definitely don't want my help on this one. :laugh:

Heh, yeah nLite can be finicky at times.....when I first used it I didn't quite understand how it all went together but now having revisited it I found it to be more useful, seeing as I had to constantly redo fresh installs when I was testing the ATI hardware last week, not to mention having to disable/turn off the same unneeded features.

I tested my ISO's in VirtualBox first and then tested on one of my machines, worked great. It can be a time saver but (for me at least) take time investment too to look over every setting.

nLite has always caused me grief for some reason. The most annoying problem is when you are installing a nLited XP disc and the setup program can't randomly find install files. My main XP disc is setup as follows:

1. SP3 is integrated using Microsoft's official method (use the /integrate switch with the service pack executable)
2. Integrate modern mass storage and LAN drivers using DriverPacks: http://driverpacks.net/

I usually only stick to those two classes of drivers, its enough to get a machine up and running to download any other drivers you need. I let Windows Update patch the machine if I plan on doing anything network related and later apply the POSReady 2009 registry key to get post 2014 updates.

I built 3 XP PC's with nLite setup and retail XP installation discs. No problems. I'm running a DVD authoring app right now with one of those PCs. Of course it took forever to get all the updates that followed SP3.

Mind that many newer video apps and antivirus software require SP3 and .NET 4x, among other support drivers.