BenjaminK

Thank you ! I've read your posts, but I don't think my .iso will reach the size of your 'monster' ... Indeed... It takes a bit of time to download them one by one using this method, but it works. Without much hopes, I've searched a bit for french equivalents to UDC, WMU or any other kind of package, and came surprisingly quickly across a rather good reference, which may help the next french follow who'll ask for that here ( http://www.skyminds.net/pack-de-correctifs-windows-xp-post-sp3/ ). I say 'rather', because like 90% (?) of the similar packages or download tools, it's still partial work, with several individual hot-fixes forgotten (willingly or not, since they're not 'high priority' usually) and some of their families completely ignored (IE, JScript/VBScript, WMP / Media Format Runtime, .NET Framework, Flashplayer, etc.). But it's still a good basis and I've tested an .iso with just SP 3 and those, without touching to anything else (tweaking, etc.) : it works well ! Nothing to complain about... Thanks you too... I had a doubt after reading Condor's comment. Facts are that in some cases, mixing languages doesn't seem to cause problems... I remember, years ago, seing chaotic installations of DirectX on some PCs, with files in french, english (and others), attested in the .cpl panel, which didn't nevertheless seem to bother the OS. That's why I really wanted to know wether or not I could try mixing updates from those two langages, At least for the main additionnal components of XP, like IE8, WMP11 or the .NET framework up to 4.0 : that would allow me to benefit from the great work of integration which has already been done in english... That's a continuation of question 3) and 4) ... Thinking about that, I realized that (mostly due to the 'horrible threat' looming over XP...) I had been hasty in my project, not paying attention to what I really expected to obtain in the end. Of all the components listed about, which ones should (probably) be integrated on an .iso in priority ? I mean, apart from obvious optimisation purposes, in order to 'save them' from 'extinction'... I guess IE, WMP, .NET, etc. (and their hot-fixes) won't disappear from internet on the 04/08, would they ? But that's a bit off-topic... Still, knowing a bit what I can safely let aside, out of my .iso, and install afterwards without any problems, or what I should add in order to avoid wasting time and facing (future) troubles... This would allow me to limit a bit the size of the final result - without all these, a DVD isn't required indeed -, while (more importantly) saving me from several additionnal hours of crawling on internet, searching for french equivalents to the english existing packages. Seing such projects as OnePiece's package really makes me wonder wether or not I should buy a english version of XP Pro and apply his work, in order to simplify everything ! Anyway, both the french guy maintaining the above-mentionned project and X from UDC stated, if I understood correctly, that they would release something after Microsoft's last 'gift' before extinction of the support. So I guess I'll have to wait a bit : burning something now seems counterproductive...Question 1) and 4) is solved though. Thank you for answering them clearly... Okay, I understand... So much for the dream of a 'super-driver-updated' installation of XP, I guess ? Well, I could of limit myself and add only the drivers of my current RAID installation - always a nasty joke when you have to start again all your RAID because it's not recognized by XP. And of course, on lots of configurations by now, you can't just add floppy drives in a matter of seconds, which brings automatically the question of driver integration. Therefore, adding a few different models to mine, just in case I'll need change something in the near future, seemed a smart move at first... For example, I'm typing this answer from a PC equiped with a PCI Promise RAID controler... but of course, if it fails me in a year or two, I'm not sure I'll be able to find a second identical model... Would Mass storage DriversPack work, without causing too much hassle ? Thanks for helping !

Thank you all for such quick and complete answers... I'm with the family this week-end and don't have time to test anything or give additionnal details, but I'll come back as soon as I've put your advices into practice... Once again, thank you for being that helpful !

Greetings ! I'm a (half-)french old user currently trying to set-up a good slipstream version of XP Pro SP3 x86 before the countdown to extinction ends, based on my SP2 original CD, preferably with RAID integration since I use that on all my rigs. Now, the problem is I haven't been toying with files, commands, and complex software (at least more complex than Notepad !) since the days of slipstreaming CDs for W98SE and therefore, though I've already spend hours reading posts and tutorials, gathering upgrades, installing NLite, WDU, VMware, etc., I just can't remember at all a few (very) basic facts about that whole operation. So a few gentle indications would really help me get the job done... 1) I've copied my CD and integrated SP3 in it, using NLite, and saved it as such in order to obtain a good working base. Last time I did this kind of thing (for W98SE), I was using CDs, but I've read about people using DVDs for their ISOs... So a first (very) basic question : is this absolutly normal now to use a bootable DVD and does it require any specific preparation or integration ? My objective is absolutly not to achieve an uber-optimised and specialized version, but rather a lengthy multipurpose one I could be sure of, whatever the machine on which I'll use it. I've read about several files and folders which could be safely deleted, but I would rather avoid taken any risks - even very unlikely ones - and actually, I need the "LANG" folder (for example) quite often, since I travel a lot and change language options often. Therefore, a quick mental calculation, adding everything I've already gathered (the hotfixes, IE8, WM11, .NET vX up to 4.0, the language packs, etc.) gives me a sum that may exceed the size of a CD... Is this perfectly safe ? 2) Now, regarding the integration itself, I've really appreciated the impressive tools and tutorials I've found, but it brings me nonetheless to a second basic question : since 90% of all this material concerns the US/english version, can I use and mix those, especially the hot-fixes - for WDU in french hasn't been updated since 2010... -, without causing compatibility problems ? I guess I can't use anything from the hotfixes stocked in the (up to date) "Windows" folder of my C: hard drive, downloaded from the Microsoft website, since they're packed in *.msi (& Co) format. Am I correct ? That's a shame, since I've always kept all those well ordered, hoping it would be useful one day... Anyway, I've founded what seems to be really marvelous scripts and packs to compensate, like the UDC or OnePiece's Post SP3 pack, in addition to remembering (a bit) about the /integrate command, which I should be able to use (after a few tries) if needed, I just can't remember wether or not different langages do cause conflicts both during installations and afterwards... 3) As an extension of the preceding question, I've read several times warnings about files which should be integrated before using NLite, like WM11 (without previous versions, I guess ?), and this makes me think about problems I've had in the past, trying to install IE8 over SP3 : I finally had to return to an SP2 version of XP, because IE8 required a small update in order to get the IME services working, and that update was supposed to be installed before SP3. In the wrong order, you were screwed - to say it in a polite way ! -, meaning you had to follow the order SP2 -> (this specific) update -> IE8 -> SP3 -> (other) updates. That was years ago and it may have been corrected since then, but I'ld rather avoid ending up in the same situation... So, is there something else, except WM11, which needs to integrated before something else or before using NLite, especially considering everything will be based on a french CD ? 4) Lastly and without tackling the RAID subject - I'll see with user Fernando, which seems to be quite an 'expert' about that, should I have any problems integrating a whole lot of RAID drivers, so that XP will hopefully be able to recognise my mirrored hard drives -, I've read about creating USB boot devices from an ISO file, which seems interesting. Does it require any specific integration or preparation, apart from those required for a standard CD or DVD ? That's just instant curiosity rather than a real need and I admit I haven't searched a lot (yet) on this particular subject... Anyway, those are just (very) basic details I really don't remember... Any help or remark would be welcomed ! Thanks in advance, both for the help and for maintaining such an impressive website !