Addons & Switchless Installers - Explanation for Dummy's

[HappyJack]

I have been trawling all over MSFN forums looking for a simple explanation of the difference between Hotfixes and Switchless Installers and when and where they are used?

In the past I am pretty sure I was able to add switchless installers to the Hotfixes part of nLite (wasn't I)??

The guides seem to be out of date and don't cover the basic concepts.

Specifically I would like to know:

1) At what point in the slipstreaming/installation process are the various hotfixes, addons, switchless installers etc integrated (are they integrated)?

2) What types of packages eg .exe, .cab, .rar, 7z are able to go where in nLite.

3) If I have programs that I wish to install after first boot, do I add these to the Value Add folder and add to the ISO image?

4) And what about RunOnce? Where does that fit into the scheme of things

I have looked at the "Unattended Guide" but I want to be able to know how to use nLite.

Sorry for the dumb questions - hence the need for a "For Dummy's Guide"

Please help a dumb newbie

Jack

[Arie]

First of all let me state that I don't use nLite myself as I use HFSLIP, default Microsoft tooling and such.

1a. Hotfixes get integrated into your installation source files. This means that your installation source files are updated. The installation process will therefore copy the new files straight away, as the old files are replaced. This is default functionality of most if not all Microsoft hotfixes. You could therefore do this manually as well if you would want; tools such as nLite and HFSLIP only makes this easier. See the Unattended Guide for an introduction on how to integrate hotfixes manually.

1b. Switchless, silent installation packages are not integrated into your source files as they didn't exist in your original source files in the first place. These packages are copied into your installation source files and are executed at T13 via SVCPACK.INF. Once again you could do this manually as well if you would want; tools such as nLite and HFSLIP only makes this easier. See the Unattended Guide for a complete timeline.

2. This question is most likely answered in the nLite FAQ. As I don't use nLite myself I cannot answer this question I'm afraid.

3. The location of these setups does not matter, but I would advise you to create a folder in the root of your installation disc named "Software" for example so that the used pathname will never be too long and cause any problems. You can choose to use an $OEM$-folder to copy the setup files to your hard disk first, afterwhich you can start the setup, or you can choose to start the setup from your installation disc directly. I prefer the latter. See the Unattended Guide for an overview of $OEM$-folders. How to have these applications install, I will answer below:

4. RunOnce and RunOnceEx are Registry keys which can be used to start a script, installation, et cetera. As the name suggests this will only happen once. In short, RunOnce simply starts a script, installation, et cetera, whereas RunOnceEx does so with a nice little progress kind of screen. Because of this I always use RunOnceEx to install applications directly from DVD on first boot. I use RunOnceEx to run various scripts, to run various switchless, silent installation packages which are not SVCPACK.INF compatible (see 1b), et cetera, all directly from DVD. See the Unattended Guide for an overview of RunOnceEx as well as how to start an installation from DVD using RunOnceEx.

Hope this helps.

[HappyJack]

Thankyou Arie for your lengthy and detailed reply.

Perhaps you could help me further?

1) What is the fundamental advantage of say switchless installers running at T13 and installing a program using RunOnce after first boot? Is it a question of compactness (is that a word) or it is a question of preference or simplicity? Is this whole thing a hobby or an art form (or both)?

2) I guess that Update Packs, because they are integrated before install, are nicely compacted and the Windows "footprint" is smaller. Is that correct?

Jack

[Kelsenellenelvian]

Definatly BOTH a hobby and an art form

[Arie]

1) What is the fundamental advantage of say switchless installers running at T13 and installing a program using RunOnce after first boot? Is it a question of compactness (is that a word) or it is a question of preference or simplicity? Is this whole thing a hobby or an art form (or both)?

1a. Installations run via RunOnce or RunOnceEx run under user context, whereas at T13 they do not as there is no user logged in yet. Installations run via RunOnce or RunOnceEx happen after the Windows setup process is finished. I prefer to have these installations run during the Windows setup process, so that once the Windows setup process is done, the whole installation is done. But not all application installations are SVCPACK.INF compatible. Non-compatible applications will need to be installed via RunOnce or RunOnceEx still. No matter which option you choose, I advise you to install RogueSpear's Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 SP1 and 2.0 SP1 silent installation packages via SVCPACK.INF. This will enable you to install depending applications via SVCPACK.INF.

1b. It's a hobby, it used to be part of my work and it's an art to create everything myself, to get it fully working.