I found your post because I was searching for answers to many of the same questions, so I was hoping that they'd already all be answered here. Alas not. I'm no expert on nLite (I have yet to test my stripped down and slipstreamed version), but from the research I've done, it appears that it should be able to handle nearly everything you want it to do. I'll take a stab at providing the outline you ask for. 1 & 2. nLite makes integrating service packs, hotfixes, and applications relatively painless. As such, the basic guide lays out the process you'll need to follow for these, with the exception of applications, which I'll talk about below. It can also easily handle drivers in .inf format. nLite also allows you to customize the default loading behavior of services, as well as the presets for a number of the Windows options (Start menu, etc.). It's all done with checkboxes and drop-down menus, so it shouldn't take any longer than doing it manually. It may not be able to customize everything you'd like it to, however. In that case, I suggest looking at MSFN's Unattended Windows guide, which includes instructions for how to manually do much of what nLite does, as well as changing default registry settings and other useful tasks. You might also prefer one of the methods in that guide for installing applications; I'll compare the two in a moment. It only takes an hour or two to read through the guide, which can give you a much better understanding of what nLite does and other tweaks you might wish to include. The nLite method for including application installs is to create an "addon" as detailed here. Creating the addons requires the addition of some files to automate the install process and repackaging the installer into a format nLite will recognize, which can be time consuming. However, there are a number of programs that people have already converted for this purpose, many of which can be found in this section of the forums, or by visiting winAddons.com, which does include IE7, WMP11, Firefox 2.0, and literally hundreds of others. Since most common applications are already available in this format, nLite is probably the easier option for intergrating them. If, however, you have an application which you cannot find already prepared for nLite, the Unattended Windows guide details a number of methods for integrating the installation, either by running it during the Windows install process or by utilizing the RunOnce functionality (ie, installing the first time you log in to Windows). While this is relatively straightforward, it does involve creating batch files and mucking around in various Windows installation files, as well as (possibly) looking up the various command line switches in order to make the programs install silently, so if you're only planning to install to one machine, it's probably easiest to just install the programs manually. If you do go this route, however, keep in mind that you can include the install files in your ISO (assuming you have space - just dump them in your nLite project folder before creating the ISO, it will warn you when to do this), or, and this is the more elegant option, utilize the $OEM$ folder in order to have them copied to your computer automatically during Windows installation. Details for the latter method can be found in the Windows Unattended guide (told you it was useful). 3. While you can manually download and integrate hotfixes, it is a long and frustrating process, due in part to Microsoft's update site. Luckily, there are a number of dedicated/crazy people who package these hotfixes (and sometimes other addons) together for use with nLite. Ryan VM is one of the more popular, though he apparently hasn't released a package for SP3 yet. However, if you visit his message boards, there are a number of alternative packs, such as redxii's, that provide much the same functionality. I decided to go with Xable's, as he includes only the critical security updates and nothing else. He also has a number of other addons for use with nLite, including all of the Sysinternals tools. If you don't feel like any 3rd party packages, the Unattended Windows guide includes instructions for manually downloading and integrating hotfixes. 4. Depending on which methods you use for the various tasks, you could use just nLite, or you may need some other programs/files. These should be linked from the various guides I've mentioned. 5. I haven't tested mine yet, so I can't offer much insight in this area. Since I have two computers, I plan to just cross my fingers and then go through the nLite process again on the other machine if something doesn't work. The preferred method seems to be using a virtual machine. The Unattended Windows guide includes instructions for using three different virtual machine programs, all of which have free trials. This may not help for testing to make sure drivers installed correctly, however. I would imagine you should be able to use a separate/virtual drive, but that is outside the realm of my knowledge. Some final thoughts. I've realized I didn't specifically address the order of integrating components in my answer to 1&2. As far as the service packs, hotfixes, and drivers go, nLite has distinct pages for these things, so it should be fairly straightforward. I'm not sure how nLite handles the ordering of application installs, so if one application relies on another, it might get a bit tricky. In this situation, it might be easier to use the methods outlined in the Unattended Windows guide. If you're looking into nLite to make a new install image for only one computer, then my impression is you may not want to get too complicated with application installs, etc., as the image will lose its usefulness as updated versions of these applications are released. On the other hand, having a completely unattended install that sets up your computer exactly the way you like it would be pretty darn cool.. I hope this rambling was of some use. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask, although I can't promise I'll be able to help. I've only just started researching nLite recently.
