Many moons ago I got REALLY tired of installing XP, and then downloading updates/applying service packs. Turns out you can slipstream the service packs onto a new Windows XP installation disk. Essentially this allows you to create a Windows XP installation with the Service Pack already part of the install.
So, what IS slipstreaming? Back when Microsoft was developing Windows 2000, the company decided to create up a more elegant way of integrating service packs and other fixes back into the core OS, so that enterprise customers could always maintain an install set of the latest version of Windows, ready to be installed at any time on new machines. It’s also useful for end users who reinstall often. Paul Thurott’s SuperSite detailed this for the release of SP2.
Thurott’s method requires that you hit the command line for the slipstream creation. It’s not difficult process, however there’s an easier method using a free tool called nLite.
nLite is a tool for pre-installation Windows configuration and component removal at your choice. Optional bootable image ready for burning on media or testing in virtual machines. With nLite you will be able to have Windows installation which on install does not include, or even contain on media, the unwanted components. |
