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All 3 Windows XPs on 1 CD


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With Windows XP finally reaching what is essentially a finalized state, I'd like to put together a "Final" CD for usage on old computers.

 

So the challenge is, how can I shove XP Pro, Home, and Media Center onto a single CD (650 MB, 700 if you wanna push it), along with the latest updates(ideally OnePiece packs, perhaps minus Windows Search). I'd also prefer it if I could at least get Mass Storage and LAN drivers onto the CD, with WLAN drivers being an added bonus. Finally, I'd like to add in MrSmartyPant's OEM Activation to the XPs, for legal activation purposes only.

 

Since WinNTSetup recently added support for XP from a WIM, I'm thinking it may be a good solution for compression. However, I'm not sure if it'll make up for the cost of throwing a PE onto the disc.

 

Anyway, does anyone have any ideas how we can get all that onto a single disc?

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I believe that Pro Home and Media Center are essentially the same thing (actually I am pretty sure about Pro and Home, I have no experience with Media Center), so, provided that one of them (with all the updates, plugins, etc.) does fit into a .wim around 500-550 Mb or so in size, it should be possible by using extensively hard links.

This would leave some 100 Mb or so for the PE, but if the PE is to be used only for installation it should be more than enough.

The smallest PE for running a setup could be something in the range of 20-40 Mb (possibly less).

 

The "older" machines need to be defined, however.

I mean if the machine is so old that it doesn't boot from USB, then it is likely to also be IDE (and there would be no problems, if it is SATA there might be the usual issue with drivers), on the other hand a USB stick or hard disk is much more convenient (besides faster)  on *anything* (maybe exception made for really old USB 1.1 only machines).

And possibly it would make no sense to have Media Center on such a machine. :unsure.

 

jaclaz

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MCE2002=XP Pro w/SP1 + the extra CD#2 (to make MCE)

MCE2004=XP Pro w/SP2 + the extra CD#2 (to make MCE)

MCE2005=Different Beast (usually a "merged" DVD)

 

Good luck making an MCE200x w/SP3 - it breaks all kinds of stuff, e.g. MediaPlayer (back-versions it). If I were you, I'd handle the MCE independently. Recktendo has an "add-on" over at WinCert to allow merging MCE components onto an XP Pro w/SP3, but I don't know if it actually works. BTW, MCE was only available to OEM/MSDN. SP3 was "botched" to not be able to slipstream it into an MCE version.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_XP_Media_Center_Edition

http://web.archive.org/web/20120121210208/http://www.salloway.org.uk/mediacenter/2004/version.htm

 

XP Home is only "somewhat" different from XP Pro. These can be put on a single CD. MCE will be -extremely- tricky and I wouldn't even want to discuss trying it. :no: Trust me on this, it's really not worth it anyhow, since the added components are just for specialized hardware besides the point that the TV part won't work anyway. All the "extra" bells and whistles can be added on with other software ($ or Freeware), e.g. DVD Player and you can listen to Radio directly from the Internet (to name a couple).

 

HTH

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If it's a lot of work I'd probably just take off MCE, although I'll certainly give 2005 a shot to see if I can get it working.

 

So yeah, that's the main plan, is excessive use of hardlinking, however, while back in 2011 when I was first slipstreaming updates I could shove them all into a single disc, with all the newest updates, it appears that it's gotten a bit fatter.

 

So I suppose my question at this point is if anyone knows of a way to compress better than WIM, a way that takes advantage of compression techniques AND hardlinks, and ideally can be mounted live?

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So I suppose my question at this point is if anyone knows of a way to compress better than WIM, a way that takes advantage of compression techniques AND hardlinks, and ideally can be mounted live?

Sure :yes:, and that can make coffee on demand, mine black, strong and with two spoons of sugar, please.

 

Come on :).

 

Choose if you want to make a "classical" AIO (but additionally using CDFS hard links) or a .WIM based one, using a captured NTFS file system, those are more or less what is available right now that may do to create that "composed" CD, AFAIK.

 

Another idea could be to exit "completely" the idea of "installing" and instead  "port back" to XP an "apply image" strategy, in theory it is possible, though it has to be seen if it offers some advantages:

http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showforum=43

 

jaclaz

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