Custom Install CDs
Quick Start:- If all you want to do is to integrate/slipstream a Service Pack into your Win2K/XP/2K3 files then AutoStreamer (800k/Free) should accomplish this for you by creating a bootable iso file, which can then be used to burn a new updated and bootable Windows Installation CD.
Service Packs, Windows Updates, Drivers and miscellaneous files and folders can be added to a DIY installation CD by a process commonly called slipstreaming. RAID/SCSI support can be added directly to the NT-based installation CDs to prevent having to use a floppy drive to add the relevant drivers after using F6 during the start of the text mode part of the installation. Unattended installations can be organised and non-bootable (mainly upgrade versions) of installation CDs can be made bootable. Run-once type operations can also be organised to start a variety of applications when Windows is run for the first time. In such ways the Windows installation process itself can be made much to be much more straightforward and hassle-free.
Slipstreaming
- Slipstreaming a service pack (SP) into the Windows installation files
is generally pretty straightforward. Just to explain the basics of what
goes on we will outline what happens with WinXP's SP2; other versions may
differ in the specifics. The SP's self-extracting exe file comes with
different names but we will just call it SP.exe in the examples
here. Two folders are required on the Hard Drive with PathA and
PathB defining them. The contents of the WinXP CD are first
copied to PathA. Then the SP.exe file is self-extracted
to PathB using the /x switch as per the following at a command
prompt:-
SP.exe /x:PathB
then after the extraction has completed one can update the installation files with the command:-
PathB\i386\update\update.exe /s:PathA - These two steps can also be performed as a single procedure with a
different command to the self-extractor and which creates and deletes a
temporary folder as part of the process. It is done by running:-
SP.exe /integrate:PathA
- The updated files at PathA can then be used directly using winnt.exe from DOS (or winnt32.exe from within Windows) or can be made into an iso which is then burned to a CD. The iso can be made bootable by placing the appropriate "no emulation" image file beside the i386 folder. The bootable image file can be extracted from the Windows CD using IsoBuster (2.4MB/Free). We don't think there is any need to duplicate the numerous website examples that address slipstreaming but, of them, we do recommend the one at maximumpc and MSFN's Unattended Windows. The latter is particularly good if you want to do more elaborate things than simply slipstream a Service Pack.
Added components
- Probably the most useful components to add to the installation CD are hardware drivers. This is addressed in some detail on the MSFN site referred to previously. Drivers can be added in two main ways: (a) for use during the text mode part and (b) for use during the GUI mode part of the installation. Installing drivers for the former allows for RAID/SCSI drivers to be included so that using the <F6> hotkey and a floppy drive can be avoided during the installation itself. Enabling other driver support during the GUI part can mean that no further driver installation or intervention is required after Windows starts up and all the attached hardware is 'ready to rock'.
- It is mandatory that, for both methods, that a minimalist unattended answer file is correctly edited and made available. This is usually the winnt.sif file in the i386 folder. We would just re-emphasise here that under the [Data] section you should have UnattendedInstall="Yes" and under the [Unattended] section you should have OemPreinstall=Yes (one Yes has and the other hasn't got inverted commas round it). Read the MSFN site pages for other specific details but don't forget what we have just emphasised here.
- Adding RAID/SCSI drivers at some point is absolutely necessary if the text mode part needs to find the relevant drivers in order to actually "see" the drive or array that it is intended to install Windows onto. These drivers (specifically .sys or compressed .sy_ files) must be put directly into the i386 directory itself and are then referenced from a properly configured txtsetup.sif file also found in the i386 folder. It is this .sif file that controls the text mode part of the setup. Read the details on the MSFN site very carefully; this editing must be done exactly correctly.
- Adding other drivers to the CD for the GUI setup part is best done into subfolders of a $OEM$/$1/drivers folder that you must create beside the i386 folder; (the $OEM$ and the i386 folder will be beside each other in the root of the eventual CD and the drivers folder will be found in the 'Windows Drive' of the eventual hard drive. Each group of driver files must be in their own uniquely named sub-folder under the drivers folder under the $1 folder under the $OEM$ folder and must have an .inf file amongst them.
- Each 'driver group' must then be entered correctly into the winnt.sif file by references (separated on one single line by semi-colons) to their uniquely named folders. In the [Unattended] section there should be a line along the lines of: OemPnPDriversPath="Drivers\003_RAID;Drivers\004_Audio" and so on. The whole string should be enclosed in inverted commas as shown here and the Drivers folder referred-to for each entry will be found in the same partition of the eventual installation that holds the Windows folder. Using numbers for the start of each folder name just ensures the drivers are loaded in the same sequential order.
- If installing RAID/SCSI drivers it is wisest to install them using both techniques; for both the text and the GUI parts of setup and then all options are covered.
Unattended installations
Enabling customised driver installations, as in the previous section, is just one component of an unattended installation. Just about every other detail (and more) of the things one is prompted to complete during setup can be included in the winnt.sif answer file so that one can just start setup, walk away and come back later to find Windows has been completely installed and just prompting you for a user name prior to opening onto the desktop. We reiterate that you should get all the answers at the aforementioned MSFN site and there is additional reading material in the Support/Tools/deploy.cab archive of the original Windows installation CD.
If you want to use our own "ISO maker" then do the following:
(a) download and unzip our "Quick Start" zmakeiso.zip (128k/free) file. We will assume you
place the unzipped zmakeiso folder in the C: drive.
(b) copy the i386 folder and any other files in the root of
the installation CD to the zfiles folder at the C:\zmakeiso\zfiles\
location.
(c) place the SP's self-extracting .exe file inside the zmakeiso folder
(d) rename the SP's .exe file to xxxx.exe, or edit the following line
appropriately, and then go to a command prompt (entering cmd in the run box
is one way of opening a command prompt) and enter:
C:\zmakeiso\xxxx.exe
/integrate:C:\zmakeiso\zfiles
(d) be prepared to wait; there will be a pause, then files will be copied to
a partition on your system, then the updating will take place and when that
completes, you will next need to extract the boot image file from the
installation CD with a program like isobuster and add this image file to the
same zfiles folder.
(e) run go.bat by double-clicking it and sit back while it creates a
mybootcd.iso file, which you can then burn to a CDR/RW.
