Slipstreaming SP2 into Windows Server 2003...

[PVU]

...prior to using HFSLIP.

I have manually slipstreamed Service Packs before - mostly SP4 into Win2K. It's been a while since I slipped SP1 into Win2K3, and, to be honest, I can't remember exactly how I did it.

Anyway, whenever I've slipped SP4 into Win2K, the integration process (via UPDATE.EXE) always produced the additional Service Pack files - SPNOTES.HTM and CDROMSP4.TST. These were always produced by expanding the Service Pack into a directory (C:\SP4), and then using the UPDATE.EXE command (C:\SP4\i386\UPDATE\UPDATE.EXE -s:C:\).

When manually slipstreaming SP2 into the Windows 2003 i386 folder (located at C:\), the integration worked. Windows said so. But I noticed that there were no additional files created (that would be needed to burn a disk). Specifically, there were no SPNOTES/RELNOTES.htm (not a big deal), and no win51is.SP2.

So of course I tried it again, and got the same results. So I googled, and ran into this one.

It gave me the "bright idea" to dump the whole 2003 disk into a folder, and use the INTEGRATE command. Well, that did the trick. I got my additional files - most notably, win51is.SP2.

Then for fun, I compared the i386 files created by the UPDATE command and the INTEGRATE command (and this was the folder that I dumped all original disk contents into) with WinMerge. They were different - some binaries were different, and there were additional files in the INTEGRATED i386 folder.

Again, I can't remember how I did SP1 with Win2K3 before (I probably nLited it), but did something change concerning manually Service Pack slipstreaming in (XP and) Windows 2003? The bottom line is that the UPDATE command didn't get it done the way the INTEGRATE command did. But then again, I didn't dump all of the original 2003 disk files into a folder when running the UPDATE command.

[i put this here in preparation for HFSLIPing a few other items, but I've "always" manually slipped service packs.]

[Tomcat76]

Try this:

C:\SP2\i386\UPDATE\UPDATE.EXE -u -n -o -q -s:C:\

That's what HFSLIP does and it's working for me. I get all the "root files".

[PVU]

Try this:

C:\SP2\i386\UPDATE\UPDATE.EXE -u -n -o -q -s:C:\

That's what HFSLIP does and it's working for me. I get all the "root files".

TC, it's the weirdest thing. I expected to write back saying, "yep, that got it". I even waited to try it.

Still no go. The result was the same as running the simple, C:\SP2\i386\UPDATE\UPDATE.EXE -s:C:\

Strange for sure. Even stranger now that you say it should work.

Edited March 27, 2007 by PVU

[LeveL]

Why not just use nLite?

It worked for me.

[PVU]

LeveL, I'm sure it would. So would HFSLIP.

I generally like to do some $OEM$ pre-install work in the SOURCE folder prior to running HFSLIP. Actually, I think the way I do it, I have to. IOW, I "can't" modify winnt.sif after HFSLIPing. Last time I did, I blew it to a degree, and Fernando 1 reaffirmed this.

Anyway, the INTEGRATE command worked without issue. I just posted to see if I had missed something with post 2K versions - to see if others were getting the same issue. I think it's my own little weird situation.