alegator,

 

Download nLite and follow the instructions, it's really easy. I used a program that backed up my drivers and I also added them to the disk I made.

 

 

Rick

Slipstream info:

 http://www.theeldergeek.com/slipstreamed_xpsp3_cd.htm

Thanks Dave and Rick, the steps are clear, however, I understand that when it comes to slipstreaming from an OEM CD rather than from a retail CD there are certain additional steps/caution to consider. Is it so?

Also, can SP3 be slipstreamed into an SP0 original disk or does it need to be at least SP1 or SP2? Thanks.

Alegator,

Microsoft Service Packs include updates from prior service packs.  That is; SP2 includes SP1, SP3 includes SP2.  I use Autostreamer to slipstream my Service Packs.  The procedure for Autostreamer is described here:  http://www.simplyguides.net/guides/using_autostreamer/using_autostreamer.shtml

We assume you've downloaded SP3 from Microsoft:  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=5B33B5A8-5E76-401F-BE08-1E1555D4F3D4&displaylang=en

As with Nlite, the Autostreamer slipstreaming process is fairly straight-forward.

Tony

Alegator,

You should download the 316Mb SP3 executable I referenced for Autostreamer.  The 544Mb is a 9660-CD ISO (image).  It will take me about 20 minutes to download and burn one.  I'll let you know what differences I find.

Tony

Thanks Tony, I'll try Autostreamer and post my results here. By the way, what is the difference between the SP3 file you mention (316.4MB) and this one which is 544.9MB:

http://www.microsoft.com/DownLoads/details.aspx?familyid=2FCDE6CE-B5FB-4488-8C50-FE22559D164E&displaylang=en

Which of the two should I use for slipstreaming?

Tony, thanks for that. Probably the 316MB exe is in compressed format so when uncompressed both the 316MB and 544MB files hold the same amount of info.

I remember I once read somewhere that SP3 can only be patched to SP2 systems, and not to SP0 or SP1 XP's. I hope that this restriction does not apply to slipstreaming too.

Thanks for providing feedback.

Hi Tony, I installed latest version of Auostreamer (1.0.33). I placed my original Dell OEM WinXP Pro SP0 CD in the CD drive. I downloaded the SP3 316MB fileto my desktop. Problem is that when I run Autostreamer it does not recognize the CD, it says:

Operating System: Unknown

Build: Unknown

and under Service Pack file it says: "Specify CD drive first!" (eventhough the Windows CD drive is set to G: which is the letter assigned to the Windows CD.

Any help appreciated.

Alegator,

I assume that you're using the purple (or blue) CD labeled "Reinstallation CD  Microsoft Windows XP Professional".  When you place it in the CD drive does it autorun; i.e., popup the Windows XP Professional setup screen?   Personally, I usually copy the entire XP CD to a folder on my hard drive, such as C:\XPHMSP1.  I then use the second option, ''I want to specify my own local Windows share".  It makes things go a little faster.

Tony

Rick and Tony (yes the original Dell disc is the blue/purple one), I finally used nLite and apparently it created the slipstreamed disc successfully, eventhough at one point a screen came up saying that the disc already had a SP integrated and that it couldn't integrate a new one. I ignored that screen and aaparently as I said the slipstream completed successfully. I used this created disc to repair a Windows XP Pro SP3 installation. Autostreamer did not recognize my original CD so that's why I tried nLite.

Which program did you use to backup your drivers? And how did you integrate them into the disk? Any special file format needed for the driver files to be accepted by nLite? Thanks.