wwwoholic

I have confirmed couple things. First, the installer from downloads folder works just like the other one, i.e. it installs wmp11 just fine. Second, NLite recognizes it as wmp even if I rename file, and asks for WMP11 Slipstreamer if it is not installed yet. So, the question rtemains open... if NLite is modified to not treat it specially (with Slipstreamer) would it be able to install it just like it does KBs? I know very little about inner workings of NLite, and even less about the difference of two installers. Just thought it would be nice to have pure NLite solution, without any additional software.

John, those guid-like folders ARE your updates. Unpacked before installation. Inside each folder you will find _file_to_execute_.txt file pointing to installer executable, usually it's update.exe in update\ subfolder. Also WinUpdate creates special files there at each step of setup, like _downloadprogress_.state, _unpacked_.state etc. You can copy any of those folders to different PC and run update.exe manually to have KB installed. What's interesting, WinUpdate deletes original update immediately after unpacking. Only WMP11 is left there. Of course. I guess you mean "from SoftwareDistribution" folder, because the download standard location already tested and tried With WMP11 Slipstreamer installed. But before that I'd like to know what NLite would do if there is no WMP11 Slipstreamer, and I add white-iconed wmp11-windowsxp-x86-enu.exe to the hotfixes. Will NLite install it like any other KB? Will it complain about Slipstreamer?

John, I might be stupid, but I am not THAT stupid They both were obtained from MS on a same day. Here's how: - I installed fresh version of XP - I run WinUpdate and installed WMP11 During the installation WinUpdate downloads everything into C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download\ folder. Thats where I found the file after the update - I went to boooggy site and used the link there to download WMP11 I compared properties of two files and they both exactly the same - "Windows Media Component Setup Application", version 11.0.5721.5145. The only two apparent differences are size and icon. Which probably means the way they were packaged. So, what I am saying is that if the version downloaded by winupdate is meant to be silently installed, then maybe it can be used by NLite just like KBs are. You can check your own files for size (unless, of course you are running OS with slipstreamed wmp, then you wont have anything in softwaredistribution).

I have a simple suggestion. The [Hotfixes] section of the profile contains file names with full path. This makes it impossible to transfer your work to another computer. How about using path relative to working directory? Lets say on one PC we have C:\NLite\Build\ as working directory. Then for C:\NLite\KBs\WindowsXP-KB892130-ENU-x86.exe file it will be: [Hotfixes] ..\KBs\WindowsXP-KB892130-ENU-x86.exe And we'll be able to move entire thing to different PC with output directories like: D:\Slipstream\XP32\ISOFull\ D:\Slipstream\XP32\ISOLight\ as soon as we place KBs like this: D:\Slipstream\XP32\KBs\WindowsXP-KB892130-ENU-x86.exe

After "normal" installation of WMP11 using WinUpdate I found wmp11-windowsxp-x86-enu.exe file in C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download folder. Unlike the that everybody seem to be using (25,743,360 bytes) this one has slightly different size (25,755,648 bytes) and white icon, similar to all the KBs. I wonder if this can be directly slipstreamed by NLite without the help of WMP11 Slipstreamer?

OK, I am giving up... I just realized one thing - slipstreaming IE7 and WMP11 makes perfect sense, since they replace already packed in IE6 and WMP9. Slipstreaming (or rather integrating) .NET and DirectX does not. I will simply add installations to the CD. This way I would have an option to NOT install them. Thanks everybody.

Maybe we are looking in different places. I am clicking at add-ons sub-forum right on the first page of this one. All add-ons there are non-windows, except two called "net fix 2.0" and "net fix 3.0" I thought I wanted to slipstream everything... after all, even WMP and .NET are KBs, or at least Microsoft names those files like that. With a big stretch, maybe. In a context of NLite unattended means the process of OS installation, and I don't mind going trough all those standard questions.Anyway, I stil don't get it. Could you, please, point me to any URL with add-on explanation? Because I hate downloading some obscure "super duper XP add-on" without understanding first. NLite was actually the first program on my PC downloaded from web, everything else was bought and arrived neatly packed on CDs

I did put IE and WMP "as is" as well, and everything worked just fine. Just to make sure everything works I did this in several steps. First I added only SP3, then SP3 and IE7, then SP3, IE7 and WMP. I made CD every time and installed it on clean system. Everything worked just fine. As last step I did SP3, IE7, WMP11, .NET3.5 and DirectX. I expected it work just as well. Frankly, I don't understand all this add-on stuff. I read the forums and is seems to me they are for non-windows programs or for some specific tweaks of windows components, like for unattended installations. I don't need unattended installation, and don't use non-windows apps. Why do I need add-ons? Also, it is my understanding that add-ons are integrated into setup and run in some kind of post-install mode, basically doing what WinUpdate does. But I don't want that, I want everything slipstreamed and installed as a part of OS installation. I have a feeling I don't get something here. Would appreciate a link to some explanation what add-ons for and why do I need them for standard windows components.

Net 3.5 installs 2.0 and 3.0, yes. And that's fine with me. However there is no "long stall" as you describe it, which I wouldn't mind. Instead, the pop-up window opens and asks questions, as if I am installing .NET on my local OS, not slipstreaming into some working directory. That's what bothers me.

I am trying to make full up to date installation of XP Pro 32 bit. I was led to believe that pretty much everything is supported and this is the matter of simply downloading updates from MS and adding them to NLite. Maybe I am doing something wrong, but it does not work this way for me. WMP11 Slipstreamer is installed. So, I am beginning with XP Pro SP2 CD. - adding SP3 - adding IE7, WMP11, .NET 3.5 and DirectX with all the relevant security patches - removing several components to make this fit on CD Now, when NLite gets to dotnetfx35.exe there is popup window from .NET installer asking me "Repair or Uninstall" and then "downloading" something from web (I used full install package, what to download?) and then "repairing .NET on this computer" progress bar. Somehow I did not expect this behaviour from slipstreaming... Next, when its time for directx_nov2008_redist.exe NLite simply tells me "not an expected type of hotfix" and quits. I would appreciate any help with this. Last_Session.ini

LOL, John, you are right. I should have just went ahead and tried it first. Unfortunately I don't have VM installed, so each attempt for me means burning CD. Anyway, I'll give it a try tonight.Also, I wanted to mention this regarding OP - just go ahead and google "SXS.DLL Syntax error". You will get thousands of hits and not a single plausible solution. Apparently this thing plagues XP installations, including x64 versions and pristine hologram CDs from MS. It's amazing how diverse the solutions are for different people. Some just try second time, some clean CDs with alcohol, some move memory sticks around... My opinion - XP is haunted and some holy water on HD will help In any case, my point is: this error probably has nothing to do with NLite.

John, thanks for taking time to answer my questions. Maybe I am too slow today, but it just gets more confusing to me. First, if bad things happen if Nlite is used to modify working directory, and no two SP should be installed in one run, it means no one with SP1 source will be able to upgrade to sp3, right? Second, NLite FAQ says: "Download the WMP11 installer from Microsoft, install the WMP11 Slipstreamer then simply run nLite and insert the WMP11 installer into the Hotfixes page." This is complete gibberish to me. If I simply insert WMP installer into hotfixes page then what did I install Slipstreamer for? It doesn't say "run it". However if I do run the Slipstreamer, then why should I insert installer into hotfixes? Wouldn't wmp be already slipstreamed into working directory? Weird... I checked version history and the only thing I see is "fix: Wmp11 x64 hotfixes direct integration" in v1.4.8. This says "hotfixes integration", not wmp itself, doesn't it? Of course I would be ecstatic I NLight could slipstream everything by itself, but I just dont see any reference to it anywhere. Everybody uses WMP11 Slipstreamer or WMP11 Integrator applications for that.

I just got this "SXS.DLL. Syntax error in manifest or policy file" trying to install XP SP3 from out corporate server (complete with VL serial and such). Usually all the corporate installs come from MSDN distributions delivered to us as MS partners. Strange... Anyway, I used NLite to slipstream SP3 into SP2 CD (official MSDN release) and the install worked perfectly!!! Now, I see this "Make sure to always start with a fresh copy of your CD files/folders, do all your work in one nLite session and integrate only one SP." and think I am in trouble. Your FAQ says "Download the WMP11 installer from Microsoft, install the WMP11 Slipstreamer then simply run nLite and insert the WMP11 installer into the Hotfixes page". So I was going to add WMP to the current SP3 installation, then run NLite again and add the rest (IE7, .NET, DirectX). Does this mean I would not be able to do this? Then I don't understand what FAQ says. I have to start one nLite session to copy CD to HD. If I exit NLite to use WMP11 Slipstreamer then next time it will be second session, which you say I can't do? Would you please clarify how to use WMP11 Slipstreamer and what do you mean in this FAQ: "I made an ISO, can i add more drivers in second run? Yes, since nLite 1.0 RC4." Maybe the SXS.DLL problem can be fixed the same way if we use some magic procedure for applying succeeding updates?