| 11/05/03 - I was recently
asked if slipstreaming is as viable today as it
was back when SP1 for XP was first released. The
question took me by surprise as I'd not really
given it any thought. My initial inclination was
to say yes, but after mulling it over while updating this section I'm inclined to change my 'yes' answer
to a less enthusiastic 'maybe' response. As users adopted and
migrated to the release of XP a multitude of errors and flaws
were exposed. The
critical updates flowed hot and heavy for the first year
of XP's release. At the end of the first year of
XP's release when SP1 appeared there was
still a substantial user base that had XP CD's
that didn't include the SP1 update and they were
excellent candidates for slipstreaming.
Of course once SP1 was
released, Microsoft incorporated SP1, and later
SP1a, into the released versions of the product.
The later adopters didn't have to be concerned
with slipstreaming as the service pack was
incorporated into their CD's . In
theory, a year after XP's release it would seem
reasonable that the volume of critical updates
and security patches would decline as problems
were identified and addressed but this didn't
seem to happen. To address the continuing flow
of updates it was expected that SP2 would be
released. Rather then release SP2 Microsoft
decided to go with the Rollup Update that's
discussed at
Update Rollup 1 for Windows XP Is Available.
So while it's possible to
create a slipstreamed XP CD from either an
original Gold (non-service pack included) or an
XP1/XP1a CD that includes the service packs and
rollups, is it worth the effort? Maybe, if you
truly need a fresh installation with no
applications installed, but most users don't
fall into that category. For the majority, once
the operating system has been installed and
updated, it's about the applications and using
them for business or leisure activities.
Even if the system does crash
and burn, you'll likely be more interested in
restoring the entire system, including
applications and whatever data is recoverable,
rather than just re-installing the operating
system and having to redo all the application
installations. To accomplish the latter, more
comprehensive goal, an imaging or backup program
provides a far quicker and less stressful
solution than using a slipstreamed CD.
The choice is up to you, but
with the proliferation of cable access to reduce
download times of updates, the time and
complexity involved with application
installations, and the continued flow of updates
that render a slipstreamed CD out of date within
days of its creation, unless you're in a special
circumstance that can truly benefit from
slipstreaming I'd suggest investigating imaging
and backup alternatives. Whatever you decide,
this section has been updated and now includes
the Update Rollup if you are so inclined. |
