Possible? Want to make a multi boot from nLite'd OS's

[LeveL]

I can make a multi boot DVD of 2000/XP/Server 2003

and it all works if these are all full installs.

If I strip the OS's with nLite, it won't work.

The boot files (in ENT1 and PRO1) are as they should be,

except I have replaced the txtsetup.sif file with the one from

I386 - it still won't work... XP said EULA.txt cannot be found

and Server 2003 said NTLDR is corrupt... is it possible?

Break these 3 OS's down to 230Mb each and you could in

theory have nLite'd 2000/XP/2003 on a 700Mb CD.

I wish it was possible!

I searched every page for nLite in the Multi Boot section...

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=77922 - Posted in the wrong place

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=67030 - Same again, an aimless and off topic post

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=66937 - Not sure why this one is in the multi

boot section since it has nothing to do with multi booting Windows.

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=50430 - Does not really go into any detail

and the post is from July 2005 anyway

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=23149 - Hmmm, July 2004... says keep

manual install and upgrade but believe me I have been through all that, it doesnt work.

If you strip XP with nLite, the txtsetup.sif goes from about 400Kb to about 170Kb,

it is the list of EXE and DLL files needed - the PRO1 boot folder on the root of the

ISO also has a txtsetup.sif file, so I copy the small (correct) SIF file from I386

to the boot folder but it just doesn't work!

Is there NO possible way to do this? Want to put XP and Server 2003 on a 700Mb CD.

Edited November 12, 2006 by LeveL

[fevoldj2]

I nlited my images. Be sure that you follow the directions closely. For Windows 2k3, the procedure is different, because the setupdlr.bin has checksums. Look in the stickied thread for info about that. For the nlited OSs, be sure to make the boot folders after you nlited them.

[LeveL]

I nlited my images. Be sure that you follow the directions closely. For Windows 2k3, the procedure is different, because the setupdlr.bin has checksums. Look in the stickied thread for info about that.

OK thanks, I vaguely remember this now, theres 7 instances of

I386 in the S2K3 version of setupldr.bin, instead of 4 instances.

For the nlited OSs, be sure to make the boot folders after you nlited them.

You mean leave in "Manual Install and Upgrade" ???

This is what I am trying to find some way around, not having

to leave Manual Install and Upgrade in just to do the copying

of boot files via WINNT32.EXE.

[fevoldj2]

There is a good thread with a batch file that will create the boot folder, setupdlr.bin, and configure the other files for you.

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=58446

[LeveL]

OMFG I got it to work! B)

Sorry for sounding arrogant but it wasn't anything thats been suggested here.

Theres a simple reason I was getting the EULA.TXT not found

message - because I didn't re-edit the txtsetup.sif file, doh!

It works perfectly now, can't believe I have crammed XP and

Server 2003 onto a single CD, the ISO is only 390Mb and each

OS is heavily stripped out - yes, WITHOUT the Manual Install

and Upgrade option.

Heres how its done, its actually incredibly easy...

1 - Follow the flyakite multi boot guide and make your AIODVD as normal.

2 - Now strip anything you want from any OS, example, you want to

strip XP, just point nLite to D:\AIO-DVD\SETUP\XP\Professional\

and strip it as you normally would.

3 - Now the trick! Go into D:\AIO-DVD\SETUP\XP\Professional\I386

and copy the file txtsetup.sif to your boot folder for that particular OS, in this

case with XP, following the guide, it would be the D:\AIO-DVD\PRO1\ folder.

It will already contain a file called txtsetup.sif - just overwrite the old one, its useless

now that XP is stripped with nLite.

4 - Now you have to open that file D:\AIO-DVD\PRO1\txtsetup.sif

and Ctrl+F and find SetupSourcePath. Just like the flyakite guide tells

you, you have to enter in the path to the setup source, in the case of this XP

and PRO1 it will be changed...

FROM:

SetupSourcePath = "\"

TO:

SetupSourcePath = "\SETUP\XP\Professional\"

5 - Thats it!!! For unattended, just move the file winnt.sif from I386 into

the PRO1 boot folder and it will work.

So in summary, all you're doing is stripping with nLite, then copying the

file txtsetup.sif from I386 to the relevent boot folder for that particular OS,

then re-editing it back to how it was again to reflect the right setup path.

So easy when you know how!

Edited November 12, 2006 by LeveL