Windows 2000 "Hotstream" Project

[Electrician]

@Gurgelmeyer

For my two cents - could you could put something in the option pack to PREVENT

messenger from installing?

So what is supposed to be so evil about BITS 2? I have "dutifully" upgraded all the machines at work (over 70) and have not seen anything that made me think

it was fouling the works.

BTW When all is said and done, perhaps a more detailed explanation of the process (blog?) you went through to do this astounding piece of work, would

be helpful to those who may wish to pursue a similar endeavor. At least it would make for interesting reading!! Your skill-set must be killer!!

or, in the common vernacular, YOU RULE!

@slippykillsticks

BITS 2.0 is already available seperately - from good ol' MSoft.

[Gurgelmeyer]

Thanks for your input

About Messenger - I'll not add it to the Option Pack, but it will a bit unfair to those who want it to prevent it from ever installing. One reg setting that I might include would be the one that "detaches" Messenger from OE. I don't know about others - but personally I find it very annoying that OE starts Messenger automatically. I can probably do a nice "repack" of Messenger as a standalone Type1 package though.

Hmmm....BITS2.... I've never experienced any problems with it myself, but one of the many sysadmins I know experienced some odd behaviour after deploying it (connectivity issues I think). But I'll have another chat with him, because it's so long ago that I no longer remember. If I can't reproduce any of the problems myself (or if they are too obscure), I'll include it.

About the /integrate option, I'm almost done. No real problems so far, just lots of work (to keep the process fully automated so human error may be avoided entirely) and lots and lots of testing and .INF reading and writing. Actually it would be easier for me to make a "real" cumulative SP5 with /integrate and updated support and deployment tools - but the download would become rather huge then (~150 MB). And WU doesn't know what SP5 is - it's hard to keep WU happy

I guess I could write an entire book about this once I'm done - but then again, I'm no Merilyn French. Also Gape's 98SE SP2 needs an /integrate, and I might offer my assistance later this year - not to mention the many exciting new projects all you cool MSFN guys have suggested.

Hope to be able to try out my FIRST "real SP5" later today

Gurgelmeyer B)

[slippykillsticks]

@slippykillsticks

BITS 2.0 is already available seperately - from good ol' MSoft.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sorry I had forgotten about that.

[Gurgelmeyer]

Update: /integrate now works, all editions of w2k are covered, integrated files remain compressed. Need to add a few files which are not part of the original w2k setup, such as msxml3/msxml3r.dll and some .cat's.

Best regards,

Gurgelmeyer B)

[slippykillsticks]

What's next? Have you updated the download page yet? I don't want to waste any of your bandwidth downloading it if it's the same file as before.

BTW good job on getting /integrate to work. Must've been one hell of a bit of work getting it set just right.

[Russ]

*does the Mr. Burns fingers thing*

Excellent. Keep up the good work, man.

[Gurgelmeyer]

Hi

Thanks for all your support, guys - I really appreciate it.

I'll make a new test build as soon as I've tied up a few lose ends - I'll keep you posted

I cannot make it public before I've reduced it from a cumulative SP5 to a non-cumulative URP, because it's huge - but if anyone wants to test the whole cumulative SP5 drop me a PM. It will be ready in a day or two.

Best regards

Grugelmeyer

[At0mic]

Excellent work Gurgelmeyer that’s great news! Will it be compatible with nlite? What happens if your pack is installed on a machine that already has some hotfixes installed? Will your pack removed the Add/Remove entries of any existing hotfixes?

Keep up the good work

[Gurgelmeyer]

Thanx

Well, it ought to work perfectly with nLite - but I haven't tested how nLite reacts to the new integrated image (yet), so I can't say for sure.

My SP5 will hide many installed hotfixes, but they'll show up in ARP again if the SP5 is removed. (Just like the MS URP).

I still have some reg settings to update - nothing fancy, but it does take a little time to get it perfect.

Best regards

Gurgelmeyer

[war59312]

I don't want to waste any of your bandwidth downloading it if it's the same file as before.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I appreciate that!

[slippykillsticks]

The rollup is out here.

[Gurgelmeyer]

Thought they'd never release it

I finally have a chance to finish my Unofficial Rollup - so that's exactly what I'm gonna do.

[Aegis]

If there's an official one, why do you need this unofficial one? Maybe it's been brought up before, but I haven't the time to read twenty pages .

EDIT: Nevermind, I figured it out . BTW are you sure claiming Microsoft is the publisher of the pack is legal?

Edited June 29, 2005 by Aegis

[slippykillsticks]

If there's an official one, why do you need this unofficial one? Maybe it's been brought up before, but I haven't the time to read twenty pages .

EDIT: Nevermind, I figured it out . BTW are you sure claiming Microsoft is the publisher of the pack is legal?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

We need an unofficial one because even with this new official rollup, Windows Update detects 11 Critical Updates and 4 Recommended Updates for Windows 2000. There are even more because after installing those and rebooting, it detects updates for those updates

We also want to be able to slipstream things like Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1, DirectX 9.0, and a bunch of other stuff too. One way to do that is to "package" these components as "hotfixes" and then integrate them into an installation source tree.

BTW I don't think Gurgelmeyer is claiming that Microsoft is the publisher of this Unofficial Rollup. He may be using a similar file-naming scheme, but it is definitely labelled URP (Unofficial Rollup Package)

[hoak]

Considering the volume of work and care Gurgelmeyer has put into this project -- and that:

· it will be done better then the Microsoft SPs or Rollup

· it fixes things Microsoft has not

· incorporate lost and undocumented fixes

· will improve Windows 2000 compatability

· will offer some 2000/XP parity

· allows for slipstreaming just like a Service Pack

· includes SP5 hotfixes and patches

I think Gurgelmeyer should name his project "The Unofficial Windows Service Pack 5" to garner it the recognition and appreciation a project of this magnitude deserves -- and equally importantly help people correctly understand what is being offered.

I also hope Gurgelmeyer might offer some rudimentary documentation of what he's done and how he did it for the future sustainablity of the project in his absence, or in the absence of his enthusiasm.

Gurgelmeyer is offering Fans of Windows 2000 that like the simplicity and cleaner design of this iteration of Window, and those stuck with Windows 2000 for logistic or financial reasons a new lease on longevity and sustainability. Considering the closed nature of the OS, and Microsoft's spotty support and awkward patch design we couldn't be luckier then to have someone of Gurgelmeyer's caliber working on such a project!

Edited June 29, 2005 by hoak