Generate a WinXP installation disk equivelant from a Restoration Disk?

[Whulph]

Hi. I'm getting ready to make my first unattended Windows XP Home installation. I think I understand pretty well how it works and what I need to do, but I've just run into a pretty big problem, and I can't seem to find any help on the subject anywhere...

I just recently realized that I didn't get the original Windows XP Home disk that was used on my computer. All I got were two "restoration disks" that automatically reformat the hard drive and restore the computer to the way it was from the manufacturer.

I've extracted the contents of the two ".gho" files on the restoration disks with a trial version of Norton Ghost, only to find a complete copy of the Windows XP OS, but it's riddled with components that came from the manufacturer.

I've done some reading, and it seems that the entire XP OS is generated/installed from an "I386" folder. I found that folder in the Windows directory of the extracted "GHO" files. From what I've read, it seems possible that I could create my own copy of a windows Installation CD from that I386 folder for slipstreaming and...ah, "unattended-ness?"...

But after I copy that folder, slipstream it with SP2 and add my hot-fixes, I'm not sure how I would get it to a bootable CD, or even if doing such a thing would work. I don't want to go through all that work only to find out it's not possible by the time I finish.

So anyway, these are just some of my questions:

Is it possible to create a bootable Windows XP Home installation disk from a Manufacturer's "Restoration Disk" for slipstreaming and unattended installations?

If so, are there any extra files, folders or directories I would need to copy besides the I386 folder?

Are there any text-based files that I would need to manually type up with notepad? (Besides the ones I'll need to create while making an unattended installation.)

Does anyone have any tips or maybe links to a walkthrough that I could use?

Many thanks in advance.

Edited December 14, 2005 by Whulph

[Bezalel]

I wrote a HOWTO article a while back at http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?s=&sho...ndpost&p=427446 that describes how to make a vendor specific pre-activated Windows XP CD.