Will XPCreate work this way?

[mmarable]

Okay, please bear with me here. I'm loving XPCreate it's made things so much easier and less time consuming than before for me.

This is probably a really silly and simple question, but I'm going to ask anyway.

I'm one of those guys who keeps revising my unattended install disk. I add a new app here, update another there, drop this add that, new hotfixes,... you get the picture. I use XPCreate to slipstream in all the hotfixes and such. Can I drop in my $OEM$ folders and such and (making sure I don't have it delete the CDROOT folder) keep running the batch file to update my disk when a new patch comes out?

This is wordy, I know, but essentially, can I keep "reusing" my XPCreate files? Seeing that it recreates everything each time I'd image that all the Windows files are overwritten each time.

My goal is to run XPCreate and build my disk, and then leave it all sitting on my hard drive. When MS04-018 comes out, I can just drop it in the right folder and run the batch file again to get an up to date ISO.

Thanks

Mike

[Alanoll]

No. It's been repeated several times. Start from a fresh source each time your build with XPCreate. DOn't use one that XPCreate has already done.

You'll end up with a messy DOSNET.INF and TXTSETUP.SIF file that could cause problems. It's safer to start from scratch, and only takes maybe another 20-30 minutes (which it would anyway) and then just copy in your $OEM$ folder.

What you should do, is copy the source of your original disk on to the harddrive, have XPCREATE use that as SOURCE, and then jsut rerun XPCREATE off that, instead of an already modified one.

[GreenMachine]

I just can't seem to get this accross to anyone. Might have to work on my PR ... XPCREATE works just that way: drop in a new hotfix, push the button, and be done. All the files that YOU need to add to the CD should be done through FILESCD. It works. YOU have no reason to be mucking about with neither CDROOT or CDSOURCE. It is all seperate and modular. That is the way it was designed, for just hose reasons ...

[Alanoll]

hmm, perhaps I misunderstood?

I thought he meant that he wanted to use the CD he created with XPCREATE as the new source for when a new HOTFIX comes out. I remember yous aying that's not a good idea.

If that was not the intent of the original poster, my apologies. Just disregard me previous post.

[GreenMachine]

I think that is what he meant, just not what should be done. Then again, now I'm not sure. In any event, this is the 21st century: that is all disposible: no need to re-use it. And you are right, the SVCPACK.INF and TXTSETUP.INF will get way outta wack.

[mmarable]

No, it's my fault for being wordy and unclear. From what you two say it will do exactly what I was hoping for.

I start with my original XP CD

I add in any hotfixes

I update the stuff in my $OEM$ (sitting in CDROOT)

Run the batch file....

Bada-bing, I have an up to date unattended XP disk.

I then just let it all sit until I come up with some changes (new app, new hotfix, drop this, etc.) I make the changes to my files in ..\CDROOT\$OEM$, drop in my original XP CD, run the batch file...

My concern was that if I kept doing this a couple of times without having XPCreate erase the CDROOT folder each time that I would end up with some horked up system file(s). I didn't know if it would be better to let XPCreate wipe the CDROOT folder clean each time and I just drag my $OEM$ folder into the freshly created CDROOT and then manually run CDImage.

It will do what I was hoping it would. Excellent work GreenMachine. Real nice work.

[mmarable]

Okay, let this be a lesson to everyone, read the documentation!

I started small with XPCreate and never went back to read more of the documentation. I completely overlooked the FILESCD folder until tonight when I went back and read everything on XPCreate.

I'm sorry GreenMachine, now it all makes perfect sense.

[swampy]

well done, GM will be happy, he likes it when you RTFM

[GreenMachine]

'Deed I do