NextLevel

Wow! I can't ever remember seeing this question phrased like this before? Wow! I cannot remember the last time someone took so much time and effort to help someone. I *really* appreciate your effort here. Sounds like you have done your research but, you forgot to mention the most important site of all!? http://unattended.msfn.org/ lolz... yeah, I figured I would be pointed back to this. I consider unattended.msfn.org the best way too, it's just that I thought it was still all a bit outdated. I remember combing through that about a year or two ago, and it was all great info. The one thing that p!$$ed me off was the fact that Microsoft made you use a winnt.sif from a floppy. How double-stupid is that? While there are many ways to do this? They are all error prone or limited for one reason or another. The final solution depends mostly on your knowlege of Windowz install routeen, and update process. Program setup routeens and their installers. Familerarity of windows command line and/or scripting languages like perl/rexx. I know enough to know what I don't know. But the bottom line is, whatever is required, I can learn in a very short amount of time. Nothing really scares me, whether it's perl, vb or (gulp) Windows powershell. But, to be honest (don't laugh), my favorite scripting environment is good old Windows CMD shell. ...and the most popular method on this forum is to use the combined work RyanVM, NliteOS, BTS_DriverPack, WPI in that order with exceptions. Sigh, I figured. It's just that, well, there seems to be no SINGLE high level guide to do this. Maybe I haven't searched and looked enough. I will. I like all of this information, it's just that sometimes, you really have to read, read and re-read everything to make sense of it. Maybe I'll be the person that will put it all together in one, comprehensive guide, etc.. who knows? For silent installs I use a custom batch file that takes advantage of NirSoft zipinstaller and NirCMD, 7zip, iexpress and USSF. This works for the majority of installs and for everything else I dissaseble the install or use Autoit. Then the software installs can be managed with WPI (Windowz Post Install Utillity) This is the easiest way to have default and custom choices in what software is installed and still have it automated. I use the FREEWARE (hard to find now) version of WinInstall LE 2003 -- not the crippled one that shipped with Windows 2003, but the ORIGINAL full Freeware one that shipped with Windows 2000. It's actually fully functional, and still works to this very day on most stuff I package. I can do that, Nullsoft Scriptable Installer System (NSIS) or any of the plethora of others (heard of InnoSetup v 5)? They're all good, and I can package my butt off - no problems here. Sorry, that was a stupid question on my part. It's just the registry stuff (which you mentioned later) which worried me. #3 Updating Registry: This is a trivial matter. Lol! Trivial to those who have done it 15 times. I need practice. I'm very familiar with the registry (reg.exe) tool included in XP and 2003, so that's no issue. There are a couple of ways of doing it with the biggest decision being when to apply so you affect the right users. Nlite uses the hive*.inf but, you may also use a batch file and then you can make that batch file a silent install. Regestry commands can be in either format: (REG IMPORT "settings.reg") and\or (REG ADD "HKLM\Software" /ve "" /t "REG_SZ" /d "Data of Value" /f) and then used at T-39 for all users or T-11 for current user (Administrator) Ok, I'm lost there. I need to review the unattended.msfn.org for more detail on the T-39 and T-11 phases, I suppose. #4 Windowz Updates: There are two basic popular methods: 1.) The simplist and most efficiant is RyanVM Update Pack and Addons. I hate to say it, but 'simple' is a term I cannot relate to. Until I find a high level comprehensive guide to WHAT RyanVM, Update 'Packs' and 'Addons' are, it's like the days of compiling custom linux kernels for IPCop. It's just darned confusing until you've done it 15 times, as I mentioned earlier. I guess it's just alot of hard work is required before I can really understand it. Shame. 2.) Download the Windowz "Bulk Update" .iso package compilations from MS. ... 913086... This is security updates only, right? My point is that I wanted ALL Windows updates (security, critical, patch, component update, etc) POST SP2 possible, up to date. Again, I've heard things like "Oh, use MBSACLI.CMD and it will XML out a listing of what you need." But again, I fear this is SECURITY only. And again, SECURITY is only part of the patch universe, right? Point being, if there were a utility which could list every patch on a given day post-SP2, I wouldn't mind downloading the delta-changes of those patches and putting them into a directory and rebuilding with (choose one: nLite, etc). But, sigh, sadly, I don't think we're going to find that out anytime soon. I asked the guys in the Autopatcher forum, btw, and that (above) was the response I received (use MBSACLI). This is not an issue again, like the registry is the choice of install time is the most important. Silent installs are will documented on this forum. Thanks, homework ahead. Time? Is money. Lol, couldn't resist. But seriously? I had an admin on my team once that found a way to use the Compaq Smart Start scripting toolkit, but he was able to ghost the process at the first blue-screen text-mode portion reboot, saving about 15 minutes per install. If that kind of time isn't worth it (and I suppose there could be issues), then I'm just going to skip this part of my question and say, thanks, you're right. Start by downloading the appropriate software and have fun. - RyanVM Update pack and addon pack - NliteOS - BTS_DP - MS Virtual Machine For Software Installs - WPI - 7zip or WinRAR - Universal Extractor - NirCMD and ZipInstaller nirsoft.com Yeah. I've got my weekends cut out for me for the next several months, huh?

I'm just really confused. I've got 19 years of IT under my belt, but it seems like there are always 2 or 6 or even 10 ways to do something. But in the area of building customized Windows CD/DVD routines, it seems there are QUITE a lot more ways to do this old game. Let's review: If I wanted to build an Unattended CD/DVD to install Windows on a PC, I have these options to squeeze, modify and re-configure the standard stuff that goes into a CD/DVD: -> Microsoft [http://support.microsoft.com/kb/216258] -> NLite -> PowerPacker -> Windows Unattended CD Creator [http://www.vitaligraf.de/en/] -> SysAngel Software Windows CD/DVD Creator [http://ping.windowsdream.com/index.html] -> Other Options (I swear to god there are like 4 others, I promise I'll find them and post them here) Now, if I wanted to bring the system up-to-date with respect to patches, updates, etc. we have: -> RyanVM -> AutoPatcher -> Nlite -> Powerpacker -> Windows Updates Downloaders -> Driverpacks [http://driverpacks.net/DriverPacks/] -> (Again, there's got to be 15 other ways to do this) Sweet Mary on a Bike!! Can anyone, authoritatively, describe a system where you can review the BEST options available and figure out what components to patch together to get a system working? Here are my own personal goals: (1) Install Windows XP (I have a specific edition, XP PRO SP2) (2) Install with preset options (unattended including formatting, partition sizing, windows components) (3) Customize the install before first-user (new users created, registry settings imported) (4) Have the Windows installation updated with patches (from Microsoft) (5) Have customized software installed automatically (base software) and then options to choose additional 3rd party packages I think, with some study, sweat and blood, I can probably get #1 and #2 figured out with NLite, Powerpacker, or (other) similar. But #3, #4 and especially #5 worry me. First, with #3: Many registry 'options' only apply to certain users, so the logical necessity is to apply those to all. I'd have to figure out which ones they are and figure out how to apply them to other registry trees, or just use 'default user' and so when they log in it's applied (first time). Then, with #4: This seems like a never ending battle. You almost need a daily, or weekly build to incorporate Microsoft's Tuesday patch days into this process, and rebuild/reburn your custom CD/DVD. That doesn't bother me. The bothersome part is understanding which method is superior for 'slipstreaming' them. In reality, if it's just a big arsed pain, I'm going to put Autopatcher and it's updated components into the CD and trigger it after first boot, etc. That seems most logical. Why re-invent the wheel? Finally with #5, it's probably the least worrisome -- but then again, I'm going to have to figure out how the per-user installation options are applied, etc. Finally, I'll have to have a wget-incorporated build system which goes out to the various sites, downloads the newest releases, and rebuilds them into the custom discs on a semi-periodic basis. Hoping, of course, that functionality and switchology hasn't changed for the package or the installer. FINALLY and MOST IMPORTANTLY, there lies the issue that, with all of the above, it would seem that a 'typical' unattended install will jump to an hour or more. Here's my question -- that's A LONG time for some things I just don't want to mess with, especially on many computers. Here's my final question and big point: Has ANYONE figured out the DEFINITIVE, MASTER method for sysprepping an existing Windows XP PRO installation so that it can go onto just about any hardware? If not, and that's what I think, then we're stuck with the actual installation process (and necessary F6 pressing) for that hardware which is just too new and cutting edge to be supported by any kind of Ghost/Sysprep method described. With that being said, wouldn't it be possible do to a completely customized unattended install, and GHOST the machine AT THE POINT where it reboots from the first blue screen setup (after partitioning, formatting and copying files). Granted, we'd have to PRESTAGE some stuff (like the various install things), or put that back onto the ghost DVD so that after installation, #5 can pull back from the DVD. But -- thinking aloud -- wouldn't this allow for the unambiguous installation of XP onto many different hardware sources and shave some time of the already long install (possibly 10-15 minutes)?? Thanks all for reading this far...