Why Slipstream Drivers and Hotfixes?

[xmf]

Home user here. Is there any advantage to doing this before (via nLite) rather than after installing the nLite OS?

One advantage to doing Windows Updates after is it would be quicker than individually downloading all Hotfixes.

Thank you

[Guest]

Automated vs manual? Automated wins.

Windows Updates? Download my Updates Downloader and Checker from here and double click the batch file. Wait a few minutes and you're done.

[Ponch]

There is an advantage if for any reason, you're planning to reinstall 4-5 times in a months.

I guess this option came handy when 1st nLite versions were full of bugs and as its first purpose was to reduce the OS's footprint, people had to go through a lot of trial and error process and thus reinstall few times in a row. In which case, having all drivers and most updates/hotfixes included was very interresting.

[g-force]

Having your Hotfixes integrated will prevent you of spending lots of time AFTER XP-Install.

And you don`t need to be online and do the same thinga again, again, ...again... , ag.......

One-time-in-5-years-XP-Installers: Don`t mind about us, who install 5 times a day....

Edited March 23, 2010 by g-force

[keirkei]

Is there any advantage to doing this before (via nLite) rather than after installing the nLite OS?

For me,

1. I like to have an updated copy of my restore discs for my computers (from 2003 or so to now is a long time).

(For example, I take care of computers whose discs range from XP SP0 (parent's desktop), XP SP1 & XPSP2 (college laptops). The original discs are old, may have scratches & may soon not be readable, so I do this to help preserve the data.

2. Slipstreaming helped me greatly prevent spyware/malware/virus infections & re-infections because I wouldn't have to take my vulnerable PC & access the net with it for something I may need.

(Let's say I get an error message & I use the net to troubleshoot it... It happened to me enough times or I may not have remembered a registry tweak I was doing exactly, went to look it up & returned with problems.

Those anti-badware scans took up a lot of time, in the end & I usually didn't find any thing wrong UNTIL AFTER I had finished the ENTIRE restore! Then, I would reformat the computer again from the time I saw anything in the least bit suspicious.)

3. It did wonders for my older hardware (Pentium 4 & Pentium M computers). Everything just seems faster (& I have no idea why); I usually don't remove much from the source either--the dotnet folder if it's there & maybe the extra keyboards/languages I most likely won't use. Even my parents noticed the desktop was loads faster when I slipped SP3 + most post XP_SP3 updates vs. applying them afterwards....

I can delay getting a new computer, since they are all still very functional!

4. It was REALLY a pain having to download everything again + again, especially when I was on dial-up & especially when I kept getting reinfected with badware & having to do multiple reformats.... It resulted in a lot of computer downtime. I stopped the insanity & ended my frustration....

5. It helps me conserve my bandwidth & power consumption--which is a must in these times. Where I live there is what you could call a surcharge/tax (Leac sp?) for power consumption, the less the family pays of it, the better it is for me. (I don't even watch TV much....)

6. By conserving bandwidth, the ISP doesn't limit my speeds or kick me off the network/temporarily close the account when I actually download a huge file (linux isos & i haven't even done that in a while) or grab an occasional torrent. (Yes, they are like that.... They even claimed I had a virus--as justification for temporarily closing the account because they didn't like the fact that I was downloading some stuff--when my PC came up clean after using several different scanners.)

7. I backup the updates so I don't have to re-download them. There are also times when MS Updates will keep saying the same updates need to be installed & sometimes I have to manually install things for it to stop being redundant.

8. What I love about slipstreaming is that I can automate the ENTIRE process (like another user said) & even apply tweaks I use without having to be in front of the computer to do it! I love walking away to do something & coming back to find it all done! It's a true out of box experience & I don't have to deal with a recovery partition! (OH YEAH!)

9. On the note of slipstreaming, I have even slipstreamed MS Office 2003 with SP3 (separate program), so as to save myself. It does seem to be faster & work better than when I would patch it after installing it.

10. Since I have older hardware, the drivers basically remain the same, so I can slip them into the CD without having to worry about having to update them later.

There you have it....

Edited March 23, 2010 by keirkei

[schooluser]

Is there a way to set which order drivers and hotfixes install? Like specific drivers first, then other drivers, then hotfixes? I want to install 2 drivers, then dotnet 2.0, then other drivers, any hope for me?

[Sp0iLedBrAt]

Well, yes, but not if you install them through nLite. Drivers and hotfixes are integrated in different places in nLite and installed at different times during XP setup. You could tell us the exact drivers and more on why you would want to install them at different times. Maybe RunOnce(Ex) in combination with nLite could do it for you, but without more information...

Welcome to MSFN

[g-force]

I want to install 2 drivers, then dotnet 2.0, then other drivers, any hope for me?

Is there any reason to do so?

With nLite you integrate your drivers, they are available during XP-Setup.

If you want to install them, you need to treat them like an "Unattended-Software-Installation".

Edit: Double-Post here:

Edited March 31, 2010 by g-force