Are there any serious risks to slipstreaming, such as a Windows installation that is corrupted from the start, or being unable to validate your copy of Windows?

Is it just me, or has Microsoft's Update site (http://update.microsoft.com) been dog-slow the past couple of weeks? And it's not like you can go around it and download the patches yourself...very frustrating...

Slipstreaming is still a lame workaround to the problems of Windows XP slowly degrading (either due to itself or due to careless home users). Often, the problem with users is their fearful attitudes to reinstalling Windows. Something us IT geeks take for granted is still amazingly scary to your average home user on a system that came with Windows XP pre-installed for them.

For many home users, just learning to overcome their fears and work the Windows XP reinstall and then update after the install is going to be less effort than also trying to figure out the process for slipstreaming.

Personally, I wish Microsoft had kept up with releasing patches and updates on CD like they did for a few months in spring 2004. Installing Windows XP and then while still offline popping in a cd with updates was amazingly simple and easy. The CD itself was even shipped free after filling out an online order form.

I have an OEM XP Home CD including SP2. Your article indicates that subsequent patches can be slipstreamed into a new CD but I can't see anything about patches in the referenced articles.

I have a 2 1/2" 3-ring binder full of every article MSoft publishes about "rescuing" a broken XP install. Not one of their procedures works smoothly; most do not work at all, and using even a slipstreamed install still involves several hours reloading, resetting preferences...

That's why Ghost (2003, DOS Ghost, not WinGhost) or a similar partition imaging tool is a godsend for tinkerers or anyone who counts on data security and the ability to restore a full system in about 30 minutes.

Forget MS: use Ghost, Hiram's, heck even use Knoppix!

Slipstreaming is a dependable and time-saving practice, I use it myself, and am responsible for the consistency and stability of the systems for a workforce of a thousand people. It actually can prevent problems that can be caused by a potentially serious installation such as a full service pack. It's faster, and guarenteed cleaner to install straight into SP2 form, than to install XP Pro, and then apply the SP2 patch. Slipstreaming is the process in which you essentially update on the CD-ROM to include service pack files. There is NO process to slipstream individual patches at this time, they must be installed seperately. However, MS is finally making the D/L process fairly straightforward, if a few hoops are involved. First and foremost is the MS Genuine Advantage validation, they check if your license key is valid, a standard practice, Red Hat does it, as do others. MS's has been a little cantakerous though, with a few false-positives and such. I have never seen or heard of one personally, but they are out there. On most systems, after installing from a slipstreamed XP Service Pack 2 disk, there are still 50-70 patches and updates that can apply to the system, depending on the features chosen during installation. It averages about 60 including the Media Player 10 upgrade, and the .Net frameworks. The patches to the .Net frameworks are usually the cause of reboots, not to mention drivers that may be necessary to use all of the devices on your system. Especially with newer computer, MS can't include all the drivers for every system out there, especially if the device came out after XP did. One of the fundamental flaws in the install process however, is the requirement to load unknown storage drivers (Hard drive controllers, RAID controllers and such) from a FLOPPY, and ONLY a floppy! Vista will allow it from a USB key, but XP is still hampered by that outdated requirement. A floppy drive isn't expensive, but it is nearly the only use left for them.

I wholeheartedly agree with the statement about Ghost. If you need to recreate systems quickly, easily, and troublefree, Ghost is a fantastic solution. Depending on the experience and knowledge of the builder of the image, you may be able to create one or two image sources that can properly load and run on 10 or 20 different types of computers! It can be time-consuming to set up at first. but once it's set up, you can have a system fully functioning, all software loaded, properly configured in 30 minutes.

It is ridiculous that Microsoft does not offer ISO image downloads of the operating system with all current patches. They should create a new installer each month when they release updates and make that available. At the very least, they could create a single patch that has a rollup of all patches since the last service pack available to download.

I also agree with cleverlyc that the requirement for a floppy to load drivers for HD controllers and the like is also ridiculous.

In the business world, Ghost or something like it make a lot of sense. Microsoft's RIS system is pretty decent also if you are in an AD environment. It is too bad they can't eliminate the AD requirement though.

I will use this opportunity to reiterate that all sofware vendors should provide "FINAL" versions of their software. I don't mind paying a nominal fee to get the final version. Slipstreaming is something we should NOT have to do.

Also, as another person posted; what about OEM disks. When I attempted to install a retail version of WindowsXP on a SONY Viao, the install totally failed. So slipstreaming make not work with OEM versions of WindowsXP that have been "tweaked" by the manufacturer. OEM versions should be banned.

"...issuing SP3 so close to the Vista launch will discourage people from paying to upgrade to the shiny new operating system."

Given the disk space requirements of Vista; the memory requirements; the incompatible XP drivers for third party hardware/software, it might be a bit hopefull of Microsoft if they think many people will upgrade from XP to Vista.

Unless you want to have a fancy graphical display why bother? If Microsoft produced a Vista that would install on a XP system with 256MB of memory and say a spare 4GB of disk space then that to me would seem more hopeful.

I agree OEM versions of software should be banned or outlawed.
I have a Dell computer with a Windows XP OEM installed on it. I have a Dell computer with Windows 98 SE on it, that has been a lot more stable than my Windows XP computer. I bought the Windows 98SE software and installed it myself.
I hate it when I have trouble with XP and have to go to Dell for help, because they can never fix the problem.
I have a device driver issue causing me problems now for 2 years, because I can't get the right Analog CRT Monitor cable for my Dell monitor that came with my Dell Computer. I am using a older Dell monitor that causes system errors because the monitor can't process the data as fast as my video card sends it. I have had to slow down the video accerator on my NVIDA graphics card to 1/2. Some day I am planning on getting a flatpanel monitor.
My big problem with Dell is the spare parts department.
Most of the time you get connected with somebody that has very limited knowledge of english, and English speaking ability.
If you do get somebody that knows and speaks English, then they try and change the part number that the Dell Technician just gave you and send you the wrong part.
I have been fighting with this problem for over 2 years now.

I agree OEM versions of software should be banned or outlawed.
I have a Dell computer with a Windows XP OEM installed on it. I have a Dell computer with Windows 98 SE on it, that has been a lot more stable than my Windows XP computer. I bought the Windows 98SE software and installed it myself.
I hate it when I have trouble with XP and have to go to Dell for help, because they can never fix the problem.
I have a device driver issue causing me problems now for 2 years, because I can't get the right Analog CRT Monitor cable for my Dell monitor that came with my Dell Computer. I am using a older Dell monitor that causes system errors because the monitor can't process the data as fast as my video card sends it. I have had to slow down the video accerator on my NVIDA graphics card to 1/2. Some day I am planning on getting a flatpanel monitor.
My big problem with Dell is the spare parts department.
Most of the time you get connected with somebody that has very limited knowledge of english, and English speaking ability.
If you do get somebody that knows and speaks English, then they try and change the part number that the Dell Technician just gave you and send you the wrong part.
I have been fighting with this problem for over 2 years now.

If consumers and businesses have learned anything about MS over the years, it is to avoid version 1.0 of anything. Don't even think about buying Vista until after the first service pack for it.

The delays for XP SP3, whether based on greedy conspiracy-linked marketing or lack of engineering resources, will encourage PC makers to sell Vista. Faced with manually loading 100 updates issued since XP SP2's August 2004 rollout or loading Vista, system builders will be more likely to take the easy way out. Let the customer deal with Vista's bugs.

Of course, they could always just ship a PC with XP SP2 and nothing more, eating the costs associated with phone calls from hacked customers. It also does nothing for internet security.

A system builder with an eye toward customer service, would create and test their own "XP SP2 Update Rollup" for their PC shipments. Grumbling about MS business practices alone won't help security. Are any vendors that smart?

"Depending on the experience and knowledge of the builder of the image, you may be able to create one or two image sources that can properly load and run on 10 or 20 different types of computers!"

Acronis works wonders for me and has saved my grass on a few instances. We have deployed maybe 20 Dell 9300/9400 Inspirion laptops over the course of the past years. All were imaged with a snapshot I made long ago, it took me maybe a day to build but afterwards it takes 30 mins to deploy and I rewrite over all the Dell crap thats pre-installed, no need to de-crappify it. :)

Acronis also makes a program that allows you load a image onto a another type of computer then from the one you imaged from; essentially you can image a server and stick it on a laptop if you had to, less of course the data partition.

All the images are stored on a 8TB NASlite fileserver.

Cheers.

D.

There are actually two methods for dealing with the updates since SP2.

One is called AutoPatcher.

http://autopatcher.com/

This includes every update since SP2, hotfixes, as well as .NET, Media Player 10, Google Toolbar, Microsoft Power Tools, Flash/Shockwave installs, Sun Java, and other things.
Its a stand-alone app that you install and run. So you could include it on your XP CD in a new directory.

The second option is nLite.

http://www.nliteos.com/

nLite lets you customize your XP CD. It will let you slipstream SP2 (If you haven't already), it will let you slipstream hotfixes directly into your CD (If you've saved your install files for them), and it will let you customize your windows (things like classic explorer view, status bar in explorer, icons on the desktop, etc) so that it will be set up for you already before you even install the OS.

It does not allow for slipstreaming of, say, Windows Media Player 10, though. Tried that and it said no. So, it might still be nice to have AutoPatcher around too.

I personally have an nLite CD sitting by with fairly new patches, but still get Autopatcher each month and patch up my system that way. I couldn't live without Autopatcher. :D

get a Mac

I want this service pack 3

How do you download 100 patches to a laptop that you're putting on line for the first time without putting yourself at risk of getting wormed or worse while waiting for the s l o w Windows update site to respond?

Am I right in this analogy:

It's like selling a car with bad locks and instead of sending a simple kit (patched CD) to fix the problem, they make you drive through a very bad neighborhood (the internet) with no door locks. Worse, still, they make you linger there for hours and hours at their repair shop if you happen to own a slow (dial up) car.

Yuk!

Service Pack 3 DELAYED Til 08?

Then why does it appear on my Windows Update? I declined the install... if it is delayed then why is it listed as an update?

i wann license key of service pack 3