HOWTO create a fully up to date XP x64 DVD (EoL Feb 2016)

[adamski]

Maybe you could add information on changing the location of "program Files (x86)" to your guide as I have spent a long time looking it up. I assume (not tested) that these entries can be manually added to "AMD64\WINNT.SIF" before making the CD image in nLite (i.e. optional step 9.5):

[GuiUnattended]

ProfilesDir=D:\Profiles

[unattended]

ProgramFilesDir="D:\Programs64Bit"

programfilesdir(x86)="D:\Programs32Bit"

CommonProgramFilesDir="D:\Programs64Bit\Common"

commonprogramfilesdir(x86)="D:\Programs32Bit\Common"

Will that work? I have used the values when using a floppy for unattended setup but not the method above as I only just found where nLite puts the answer file.

A related question:

If I have a CD created with nLite with unattended setup (no custom x86 paths defined), and I just add the missing variables to a floppy WINNT.SIF, will the setup use the details from both files, the one on the CD or the one on the floppy? If I can just add variables via floppy, or override with full answers on a floppy I won't have to burn a new CD (and I can use the same CD to setup many computers with different details). Obviously if the CD file overrides the floppy I can't do this.

Anyway, I think people would like to know how to move these directories since nLite dosen't give you the option.

Update:

It would seem that if a floppy with WINNT.SIF is detected, it is used and the one on the CD is ignored. If no floppy is detected it looks for it on the CD. It doesn't use them both.

Edit:

Changed I386 to AMD64. I386 is for 32bit XP!

Edited August 16, 2008 by adamski

[TranceEnergy]

First off: why are you installing to D:\ ? Dual booting? And floppy for installing windows? That's last century kind of install.

Changing those paths to winnt.sif would work, but changing them with nlite would not, in my setups anyway.Well it would work, tho there will be need to replace some entries in registry manually afterwards, so it isnt really a universal fix to it.

I have successfully used \PF and pf(x86) and pf\cf and pf(x86\cf (program files\common files)

Windows will determine if program to install is 32bit or 64bit, so no need to have extra long names as you illustrate, tho for someone it might be more satisfying with more informative names.

Otherwise i suggest you post in windows x64 category instead, as these questions dont matter to this thread.

I'm curious to how you will use the floppy in the install to what end though. I dont see any good reason for it. Except if to tell unattended setup to use settings on floppy disk, if floppy disk is inserted.

[Kurt_Aust]

TranceEnergy:

As I read it, .Net 3.5 sp1 does NOT install language packs by default, rather using the /Lang switch allows you to install one additional language pack. I timed the .Net 3.5 sp1 install in a VM on my new machine (7 minutes) and on my rebuilt old machine (6 minutes, now a hand-me-"up" to my parents). It's hard to see that you'd save any significant install time as installing a language pack is basically just copying dictionary files.

On the hotfix list:

The following are not publicly available (MS download centre) and have only received limited testing. I can say potential for regression bug ...

KB948570

KB948963

KB945272

KB952679

KB944043 I'll look at this one but no guarantees

KB942288 vs KB927891 (msi.dll) Marked as optional, nLite will only add the most up to date (as defined by version number) file to the installation source, once Microsoft is satisfied that there are no compatibility issues with v4.5, v3.1 will be dropped.

KB941833 (msxml4) I tried installing this one manually once, but it threw a version mismatch error. Reading the KB article indicates that it is only to resolve a Vista specific issue with KB936181.

KB946648 (Messenger) Granted, it may be old, but it's the version that's on the CD. I can't remember if it's part of a default install, but as it's in "Set Program Access and Defaults >> Add/Remove Windows Components", one could say it's already marked as optional.

KB924131 (VirtualPC) This one I'm just going by the documentation, I don't have any AMD-V capable processors to test against.

KB914783 (XMLlite) That version will not install on an sp2 patched box, tested when I was trying to find out why KB943729 kept showing up on windows update.

Johnhc:

I'll take another look at Flash Player once it reaches final release status, no beta products in the "Core" updates, OK for the supported optional application installs. Google (perpetual beta {tm}), I'm looking at you!

Adamski:

Not really within the scope of this topic. This guide is just meant to be quick, easy and failsafe using the original Microsoft installers. Too much information will just be confusing to the vast majority of users who are perfectly happy with the default paths (and poorly written installers might have problems with non-default paths).

Such questions are best dealt with in their own topic, for one thing you get to use a descriptive topic heading that will help others searching for similar information.

[TranceEnergy]

I was just thinking out loud on the .net 3.5sp1, and i like to do things that way. Only way to communicate. I noticed some problems with playing some flash movies yesterday with flash player 10 so it's not a keeper for me atm.

I noticed that on xmllite too, tho it's funny that MS has packaged the same version with IE8. For no good reason then. Weird.

msi.dll : I am fully aware nlite, more correctly windows hotfixes installations will not overwrite newer version, tho its marked as optional, im happy.

On KB944043 i think it contains so much new things (newer versions of services etc.)it would be shame if you decide its not worthy to integrate.

All this considered, i am running with every hotfix here mentioned, and then some, tho i havent installed that xmllite thing (was just noting it down).

I am going to do a really nice reinstall today with everything, ie7 and wmp11 and all these hotfixes (after i have checked all wmp hotfixes)

I will then check logs for eventual errors and so and report back if i find anything worthy of mention.

update: i am currently going through all hotfixes i could download from hotfixshare, well over 100, now deleting duplicates and finding new versions. I will post a list with eventual findings.

update2: few hours later of going through 150+ additional hotfixes or so, i've ended up on (142), correction 141 as of 21aug2008 , in total, hotfixes/security updates, not counting IE, remote desktop, xml and other things.

That's a lot..

update: Amd has released amd dual core optimizer 1.14, new version after 2 years or so.

Direct download link

The MS XML 6 version inside .net 3.5sp1 seems to be newer then the one on microsofts KB article for it. At least the Security certificate for the one in .dot net was newer. I found it strange that the one downloaded manually was 2006 while .dn3.5 was 2007.

Could be i was at wrong kb article tho.

in old news: Visual c++ 2008 sp1 for both x86 and x64 was updated on 9th of august. I was sure i had updated already, but somehow i hadnt. Files are almost double in size 2mbish vs 4mbish.

Edited August 23, 2008 by TranceEnergy

[TranceEnergy]

Kurt: Why not use just :

Copy /Y %Source%WinUp.lnk "%allusersprofile%\Start Menu\Windows Update.lnk"

instead of that "IF" statement. Seems kinda pointless to me.

[Kurt_Aust]

The IF ... statement is there for 5eraph's update pack.

5eraph's update pack creates a working "Microsoft Update.lnk", so I check for it's existence. If it exists a "Windows Update.lnk" is redundant, if not then Run1_XP-64.bat fixes the broken link.

[TranceEnergy]

Aha, i see. Thanks.

Any thought on WGA integration? A whole lot of information on that on DarkShadows thread.

Just 2 things im thinking of: 1 make the WU update not needed when you access WU first time and 2 the Validate you windows, wga crap.

Please note, DarkShadows doesnt have x64 nor can he get it, for some reason i dont know, doesnt matter either.

It seems that these are the steps left to fully update, per your update scheme, to make it all done and done.

BTW i can find the stand alone installer for WGA notification KB article for 32bit, but where's the x64 version? Would love to have that so i can do it myself anyway.

Edited August 24, 2008 by TranceEnergy

[Kurt_Aust]

Added to \Hotfix:

% ▼ 385-WindowsServer2003.WindowsXP-KB944043-v5-x64-ENU.exe [9,298,480] Optional, Server 2008 compatibility pack (untested)

Probably should say untestable as I don't have access to a Server 2008 box.

Updated Run1_XP-64.bat for latest program versions.

Also cleaned up the download section (made direct download links more obvious). I will be removing most of the optionals from the .7z archive on the next update, they will remain in the torent as most clients allow individual selection of files to be downloaded.

[TranceEnergy]

Kurt, i noticed that .net 3.5sp1 also contains XPS printer drivers, which is of newer version then those i previously had in Euro font expansion pack v2 update, and maybe some other KB too.

Just saying that if one chooses to install 3.5sp1 one also get those latest drivers, which *seems* to be of Vista version, kinda neat.

[Alien42]

I dont mean to be an jack a** but i see there is Adobe reader on the list, when Foxit PDF reader is so much more lightweight and faster, doesnt add it self to startup or anything.

There are several versions for download, i used the .msi version as it clearly allows to be installed with f.ex "/passive /norestart" parameters. Install takes 1 second on my puter.

From website:

What's New in Foxit Reader 2.3 (downloads here)

Foxit Reader 2.3 is just released. The new version 2.3 includes a multimedia player feature allowing Foxit users to not only read PDFs, but to watch and listen to the audio/video elements coming with PDFs as well

I'm not sure about a built-in player, but aside from that another nice alternative to Adobe is PDF-XChange Viewer. There's even a 64bit version.

BO = Buffer Overflow. Learned this term on the Comodo forum.

Doesn't the NX thingy built into Windows take care of that?

Probably is a good thing you are some distant away. My Radio Shack outdoor thermometer reported 109F yesterday and has already hit 100F today.

109F!? That's 42C! Where do you live, Death Valley, or the Sahara?

I'm trying to add windows firewall back in my preset, but it's been so long since i've used it i have forgotten all its dependencies. I have ALG with it, but Punkbuster silent install still doesnt go silently, so i am missing some

components, I am working on it now tho

I've yet to actually discover a need for ALG. It goes on my list of things to disable/remove.

Also:

Why bot .Net 2.0+sp1 pack and also .net 3.5?

Why not just 3.5? (edit: i see in the reference assemblies folder, there are only 3.0 and 3.5 folders, no 2.0-hm...)

i reckon you keep both entries there, but at least you should REM one of them.

That's something I was wondering about, do you need 2.0 if you have 3.5 installed? Having said that, I just checked in Add/Remove programs, & I have 64 bit versions of 1, 2, & 3.5, so...

If you're not gaming at all, i would choose a passively cooled graphics card, or better, a decent mobo with good internal graphics. F.ex upcoming amd am2 780/790-GX.

Anyone looking at those lower-end boards should check what CPUs they support, as there's been a bunch of probs with people thinking their board could handle the 125 & 140w CPUs, when in fact they couldn't. Also, some board manufacturer's sites aren't very clear on this issue, so it would be a good idea to look for reviews of whichever board is of interest that lists test results with 1 of the higher/highest power rated CPUs. If it can handle that then you have no worries. The problems start when people think "hey, I know what would be a good idea, I'll get an mATX or low end ATX mobo to build a SFFPC/HTPC, & then stick a 6000, 6400, 9850, or 9950 in it", only to end up with a fried motherboard.

Savegames and what not:

I'm just so in love with winrar and its SFX option now. You know how games store your savegames under documents and settings and either under application data directly or under username\local settings\application data. Well i figured out that i could archive my savegames and with %userprofile% i think it was, extract them to the correct paths.

Very nice if you (reader) like me like to not need to RE-install every game or program just because you want to reinstall xp (x64 in this case).

I have more partitions than you could shake a stick at, & I keep my My Documents folder on a seperate 1 to my Windows install [you can reassign "special" folder locations with TweakUI]. I'm not much of a gamer, but I have noticed that some progs & games recognise that you have My Documents in a non-standard place & will put their files in there, rather than in the Documents & Settings... etc folder.

For example I include Adobe reader as it's the default, not that I use it (it has its own custom print driver that crashes my laser printer). Instead I use the lightweight (and open source) SumatraPDF.

As mentioned above, I use PDF-XChange Viewer for reading PDFs, & for actually making them [not something I do very often] I use the function built into OpenOffice.

TranceEnergy,

Have you removed all IEs or just not installed IE7? Without IE at all you may not have access to Windows Update and OE is part of IE. When I used to use Firefox, I watched the forum and some posted about trying to remove IE and got into all kinds of trouble. The general recommendation was "DON'T REMOVE IE!"

I don't bother removing IE, as I sometimes use Maxthon for some things, but I seem to remember mention of a way to use WU through Firefox [& no, I'm not referring to Windizupdate].

Any thought on WGA integration?

AFAIK, I haven't got Windows Genuine Annoyance installed, & it's never caused me any problems. I think there's been 1 or 2 occasions when I've followed a link to something, only to discover MS won't let me have it without "validating" first, so I've either decided that I didn't want/need whatever it was, or gone looking for freeware alternatives made by somebody else.

BTW i can find the stand alone installer for WGA notification KB article for 32bit, but where's the x64 version? Would love to have that so i can do it myself anyway.

I don't think I've ever needed 1 [for XP64] for WU [some oversight on MS's part perhaps?], but if you're that desperate for it, try looking for stuff on the download centre site & you're bound to come across a page sooner or later that will want you to install it & will offer you a link. Edited August 31, 2008 by Alien42

[TranceEnergy]

You only do annual posts Alien42? (join date 2005) lol. Way to respond to outdated issues. .net2 f.ex is installed with 3.5 etc, the wga issue was an error on my part (install broken)

However much thanks for the pdf viewer, i downloaded the portable one, will see how it compares to foxit pdf reader when i get time(also portable).

One can safely remove IE and use other browsers for Win updates, like Green Browser.

edit: Right off the bat i opened a 15mb pdf, and Pdf xchange viewer used 40mb+ and firefox it used less then 20mb -memory.

Perhaps better if i find x64 version with portable version of it.

Edited August 31, 2008 by TranceEnergy

[Alien42]

.net2 f.ex is installed with 3.5 etc

Cool, thanks. B)

edit: Right off the bat i opened a 15mb pdf, and Pdf xchange viewer used 40mb+ and firefox it used less then 20mb -memory.

Perhaps better if i find x64 version with portable version of it.

I said it was nice, I didn't say it was light on memory.

[TranceEnergy]

Kurt do you know of any install options for .net 3.5sp1 so that it doesnt install asp.net f.example?

[Kurt_Aust]

Kurt do you know of any install options for .net 3.5sp1 so that it doesnt install asp.net f.example?

Um, no.

For those who are interested, a new version (2.0) of Sun VirtualBox was released yesterday that according to the changelog supports 64-bit guests (but only on 64-bit hosts).

However, while XP x64 seemed to install OK, I for one couldn't get the virtual machine additions to work (error opening file).

[TranceEnergy]

Ok thanks kurt, i couldnt see it in Add/remove control applet either. I'm going to make a batch file removal for it.

About virtualbox, it would be nice with some links to such software, vmware server etc that people can download. I'm going to add that in my 150+hotfixes thread for x64, a thread which doesn't work btw, lol.

Well Virtualbox is out of the question for me, as i use custom path to D&S.

quote:

The new Sun VirtualBox insists on keeping its own settings files behind the \Documents and Settings folder in Windows XP. But because there's special permissions applied to that folder -- at least, since a handful of security updates -- the 2.0.0 build, for some reason, is not identifying itself to Windows as a properly authenticated process. So it cannot back up the previous settings files to the same folder where the Innotek version had no trouble with them before, nor can it create new settings files in that folder.

btw: i found 92 non-english files under "%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v3.5\Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1"

Edited September 6, 2008 by TranceEnergy