rosswilson

The Key definitely goes with the CD I have. The installation doesn't even progress to web-based activation; installation stops about halfway through. -Ross

OOps ... it <might> have been an OEM CD ... don't recall, as I purchased it 5?? years ago. Will get the CD this weekend. Does it make a difference, OEM or retail? I have used it to install XP in succession (taking the prior one out of service) on two earlier machines.

No, the (XP Pro) CD was purchased separately as a freestanding OS. The key is on a sticker on the disc envelope. I assembled the original entire computer from individual parts. Now, I'm replacing motherboard and disc drives (in a RAID), so am doing a clean install. The primary reason I need to slipstream is because the new MB does not support floppy drive, and I don't want to waste money on a USB floppy. A floppy is needed by XP to install the Raid driver; I've slipstreamed the Raid driver and the RAID is recognized by the OS, but I can't progress beyond product key entry. If I can't fix problem, I might just download the Win 7 RC and use this until final Win 7 release in 2010. I helped a friend install the RC Win 7 on his computer last night and was quite impressed with the OS (so far). -Ross

... and the Pid in SETUPP.INI Pid=55274000 -Ross

Johnhc, I have a retail disc. The LAST SESSION.INI file is attached for your review. Thanks for consulting on this. -Ross LAST_SESSION.INI

Thanks, Sp0iledBrat, I had seen the posts regarding possible issues associasted with preparing XP slipstream files on Vista; that's why I repeated (to no avail) the slipstream creation on an XP machine. Johnhc, thanks for pointing out that use of CD/DVD media makes no difference; I was grasping at straws when I asked. I prepared the slipstream DVD in one session. Is it possible that the computer 'remembered or carried over' the ID error from the initial installs using slipstream disc prepared on Vista ? It seems that some information from initial install attempts <is> held over, as the initially assigned disc partitions were maintained and I didn't have to re-enter. I did a 'Quick' disc format ... perhaps I should have used the 'Slow' format option when I installed the slipstream files created under XP ? Unfortunately, I won't be at the computer I'm having trouble with till the next weekend; if my next install attempt fails, I'll attach the Session.ini file. Thanks, Ross

I'm using Nlite 1.4.9.1 in an attempt to slipstream XP Professional (32 bit), an Intel Raid Driver, and MS SP 2 or 3. The clean install of XP will be on an Asus P6T6 motherboard. Using a laptop running Vista Pro 32, I prepared a slipstream DVD containing the Raid driver and SP 3; then copied the .iso file produced by Nlite to a DVD using Nero in .iso write mode. The target machine successfully performed the XP install up to the point where product key was requested. The Raid was recognized. However, the product key was rejected as invalid. The original XP CD (not DVD) is a legitimate copy of MS XP pro -- in fact it is the original MS CD. I then tried to slipstream SP 1 and raid driver; and finally, Raid driver only. In all cases, the product code was rejected. Finally (after reading of possible incompatibilities of the MS 'integrate' command between Vista and XP), I borrowed a friend's XP 32 (not Pro) machine and repeated the SP2 + Raid Driver slipstream process. Again, the Key error was reported upon install. Can anyone offer guidance ? Is it necessary to use CD media to receive the slipstreamed files if the original XP disc is a CD ? I don't want to purchase Vista, as I'm awaiting Win 7. Thanks, Ross Wilson