Slipstream VS generic image?

[wamatt]

The ideologies are quite different:

Slipstream

Description: create a perfect XP installation, scripting everything.

Pros: 100% compatiblity

Cons: Time consuming, difficult, gets out of date quickly, maintenance is hard

Generic image:

Description: get your system how you want it, then image it without the HW specific stuff.

Cons: No clear way to do this, lack of info, possible hardware issues

Pros: Much easier, no scripting needed, tweak exactly how you want it, easy to maintain

I am halfway through a nice slipstream CD and has taken days of of research etc, when I though, surely there must be an easy way to make a generic image? Surely imaging is the superior approach? I did some research and came up with these usefull links.

http://www.rtpnet.org/tech/tips/ghost.txt

http://www.windowsreinstall.com/install/ot...board/win2k.htm

I mean I cant believe you just can do the following:

1. Copy all drivers onto c:

2. Create generic hardware profile

3. Create image

Anyone tried something like this?

[Wraith]

People do what you say all the time - put the latest hotfixes, and drivers on the CD only. No other programs, and all customisation is done manually.

I tend to whack on my XP cd's all the drivers for all the hardware I have in the house, and rebuild with the latest hotfixes only when I need to. Which isn't all that often.

Slipstreaming everything including the kitchen sink is usually done when someone only needs to do one or two computers, with a certain setup that they want all the time. How many people only have one computer nowadays?

The easiest approach, I'd say, is to use XPCREATE.

You can just drop your drivers in the $OEM$ path, set up your OEMPnp... paths, and it'll go fix everything else up when you build the ISO.

[AMDTWraith]

Setting up windows the way i like it, and getting tools installed to a point where i find it usable can take a while for me. I have to find half a dozen CD's, install a bunch of things, change path variables, dabble in the registry and so on. Also i tend to have problems building my system meaning i have to wipe and start again. A generic image would mean i can't shuffle drive letters about, its easier to have a slipstream install i can just pop in and point at a partition letting windows setup do the work of locating everything. I also don't need a clean machine to build a new slipstream install disk.

[wamatt]

Seems to be some confusion:

Generic image:

Ok the reason for the generic image is not to run on everyone's machine. Its a generic image for you, with all your preferences, programs installed the way you like it etc.

Then when you upgrade your machine every 6 months you dont have to spend days tweaking everything back to normal.

With a normal image you upgrade from intel to athlon and you have to start from scratch.

[bilemke]

Slipstreaming really is only adding updates (service packs, and hotfixes), integrating things to the level discussed in this forum and others (drivers and programs etc) is much more then slipstreaming.

I have had this debate too. Several of my friends use the same cd i create and use their pro key. So I only make improvements to the cd, not so much customizations. General things agreed apon to be good. Like disbaling services by default (ie... Messenger). I add drivers for core components like raid controllers need to atleast get windows installed, but not sound, video or network. Those things change way to often and are much larger. Raid drivers change, but not nearly as much.

[wamatt]

**** shouldnever have used the word "slipstream" since it seems to be eading people away from the discussion of:

install cd vs drive image

Which is better?

[bilemke]

True. Slipstream got me thinking slitpstreamed vs stock iso image.. I see, you were refering to a disk image as in preinstalled like ghost.. If you have a volume license vs of windows or still using 2k, I would say a disk image should work fine. Windows will handle most of the differences in hardware that could come up by redetecting hardware.

I personally like a very clean install, as in windows only sees (or has seen) my hardware in that particulair machine. It is the same reason I hate upgrading windows from one version to another. Much cleaner install in the end, not left overs of the old mixed with the new.

[Alanoll]

If you have only one computer, the image may very well be better. Both options are viable, but of course depends on the situations. In corporation where there are say 20 computers exactly the same, it would be better to have a Ghost image as it takes maybe 10-15 minutes to ghost the thing, and it's up in running, where as a full install would take time, would costs money.

If you just want an easy way to reformat your computer when you screw something up, the image may be better for you.

If you want to learn and perhaps fix a bugs in Windows, create a Unattended XP CD.

I personally get irritated when people say Slipstream in the same reference as say Office or something. Slipstream is only Service Packs and perhaps upcoming Hotfixes. The current hotfixes wouldn't be considered slipstreamed as they are only added to the install, not installed with the install. If that made sense good, if not.....well....darn.

[peachy]

If you have only one computer, the image may very well be better. Both options are viable, but of course depends on the situations. In corporation where there are say 20 computers exactly the same, it would be better to have a Ghost image as it takes maybe 10-15 minutes to ghost the thing, and it's up in running, where as a full install would take time, would costs money.

heh, heh, if only things were that simple. Where I work I manage a number of labs with a multiple boot image. Currently, the image is about 20GB when compressed and would take about 40 minutes to Ghost if the Ghost Server was going at 100Mbps. However, our ITS department has decreed that all multicast ghosting sessions shall occur at 10Mbps. Which, currently for me takes about 5 1/2 hours!

[[BM]Crusher]

instead of 'slipstream' he should have called it 'unattended' as that is what it is: it installs your hotfixes, drivers, apps and tweaks without you touching anything...

a 'slipstream' is technically the process of including a major service pack into an existing windows share, like updating your old XP Pro cd to SP1a.... technically not even hotfixes are 'slipstreamed' as most people just include them on the CD and run them (via svcpack.inf or another method) they aren't 'slipstreamed' into the windows share (they are installed unattended)

the best way to ensure your 'generic' disk can be used on multiple computers is:

1) never install hardware by actually running the install program, set everything to install from the OEMPnPDrivers

2) use something that gives you the choice of what programs you want installed every time you use the disk (I use whimsy's post install wizard)

3) create generic user account names that can easily be renamed once windows is installed