New method to integrate updates

[harkaz]

Discovered a not-so-popular method to slipstream updates in Windows 7 installation disks.

This method uses syspreping a virtual machine + resetting WPA original settings.

I have preped a 6-page tutorial. If anybody is interested in this, I can post it here.

[Sp0iLedBrAt]

I don't see why not.

Or even better, upload it to some external site (like mediafire or any other), and post the link here.

Cheers

[harkaz]

Follow this link:

http://www.2shared.com/document/_68-DNZ2/GUIDE.html

UPDATED LINK: Contains step-by-step instructions

Edited January 20, 2013 by harkaz

[jaclaz]

harkaz,

sorry , I don't want to be a nuisance , but could you possibly upload the actual .pdf to some hosting site?

For whatever reasons scribd is either slow or buggy (or both) for me, and I have not a facebook account nor I won't make an account on scribd.

jaclaz

[cdob]

resetting WPA original settings.

Read MSFN form rules 1a http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?app=forums&module=extras&section=boardrules

[bphlpt]

resetting WPA original settings.

Read MSFN form rules 1a http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?app=forums&module=extras&section=boardrules

From my quick read through of his method, I don't believe that he is breaking the forum rule. He provides no files directly, only shows where the user can get them from MS sources, and only describes how to use MS tools to accomplish his goals. Did I miss something?

Cheers and Regards

[cdob]

From my quick read through of his method, I don't believe that he is breaking the forum rule.

What about ?

Discussion of circumventing WGA/activation/timebombs/license restrictions

[harkaz]

From my quick read through of his method, I don't believe that he is breaking the forum rule.

What about ?

Discussion of circumventing WGA/activation/timebombs/license restrictions

I understand that bypassing Windows Licensing Limitations can be used to run Windows unlicensed. But I believe this case is slightly different. The guide shows how to remaster your (legally obtained and licensed) Windows installations without losing your license benefits. A forum administrator could enlighten us.

harkaz,

sorry , I don't want to be a nuisance , but could you possibly upload the actual .pdf to some hosting site?

For whatever reasons scribd is either slow or buggy (or both) for me, and I have not a facebook account nor I won't make an account on scribd.

jaclaz

No nuisance at all In fact I intended to update the scribd pdf with the reference to /verify and /check flags.

Download pdf here: http://www.2shared.com/document/gvORilGX/Windows_7_Update.html

Cheers and Regards

Edited January 2, 2013 by harkaz

[cluberti]

I read the PDF, and I don't see this as circumventing activation in a malicious way or with any malicious intent. While it's a bit of a gray area, I don't feel like this violates the rules (and if you did use it to do so, validation would fail within a window of time anyway if a lot of installations decided they all had the same activations, making those installations broken). For what it's worth, preferring online updates (which are larger, need to be staged, and take longer to install) would not necessarily the best, easiest, or even wisest way to do this, but yes, it should work. It would be wiser to use a tool designed to handle this (there are many, including official Microsoft tools and others such as ones that exist here), install the updates offline during the initial setup pass, and the resulting installation would have a smaller disk footprint and setup and capture faster, but this would work if you were in a real pinch.

[harkaz]

I read the PDF, and I don't see this as circumventing activation in a malicious way or with any malicious intent. While it's a bit of a gray area, I don't feel like this violates the rules (and if you did use it to do so, validation would fail within a window of time anyway if a lot of installations decided they all had the same activations, making those installations broken). For what it's worth, preferring online updates (which are larger, need to be staged, and take longer to install) would not necessarily the best, easiest, or even wisest way to do this, but yes, it should work. It would be wiser to use a tool designed to handle this (there are many, including official Microsoft tools and others such as ones that exist here), install the updates offline during the initial setup pass, and the resulting installation would have a smaller disk footprint and setup and capture faster, but this would work if you were in a real pinch.

Interesting comment. Of course offline integration of updates can be fully automated. But read please this Technet thread:

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itproinstall/thread/d9e3068a-73ed-4670-bc1e-02283cbd5f8f/

A Microsoft technician suggests that using sysprep and then capturing is the best method to integrate updates (in the specific thread the discussion is about SP1) and implies that it is very close to the method used internally at Microsoft.

So offline integration of updates is enough on a monthly basis, in order to keep up with the latest updates. But a true rollup of updates (a kind of service pack) should be created using sysprep method every 6 or 12 months because only such distributions can be fully customized (some users report that they cannot permanently remove several Windows components from distributions with MSU updates integrated offline). Given that Microsoft has no plans for further service packs, I believe this is the best strategy.

What is the best strategy to integrate updates? Please share your opinions.

Regards

harkaz

[cluberti]

Joscon is specifically speaking about Service Pack integration, which indeed must be done online and resealed (aka reverse integration). Given you can legally download a Windows 7 ISO with the latest Service Pack integrated, there's no viable reason I can think of to still be doing such a thing. After that, all other hotfixes should indeed be integrated offline using tools like MDT or SCCM (which is how Microsoft does it). Again, there are other tools, but those are the ones from Microsoft.

[jaclaz]

No nuisance at all In fact I intended to update the scribd pdf with the reference to /verify and /check flags.

Download pdf here: http://www.2shared.com/document/gvORilGX/Windows_7_Update.html

Cheers and Regards

Thanks

jaclaz

[harkaz]

Joscon is specifically speaking about Service Pack integration, which indeed must be done online and resealed (aka reverse integration). Given you can legally download a Windows 7 ISO with the latest Service Pack integrated, there's no viable reason I can think of to still be doing such a thing. After that, all other hotfixes should indeed be integrated offline using tools like MDT or SCCM (which is how Microsoft does it). Again, there are other tools, but those are the ones from Microsoft.

Thanks for the info. I will try using MDT as an integration program and will report if I met any problems.

[cluberti]

Good luck - if you run into anything, post back in a new thread and we'll do our best to help. Thankfully MDT is pretty straight-forward for creating installation task sequences - add an OS, add apps, add packages (hotfixes, language packs, etc), create a Task sequence to install a client or server, and that's about it.