| Slipstreamed Windows XP CD Using SP3
Whenever a new version of a service pack for XP is
released I always run it through the slipstreaming procedure
to see if everything works as expected. Service Pack 3 (SP3) is the latest release so it was time for
another round of testing. For those of you that have a copy
of SP3 and want to give it a try the procedure
I used is presented below. I experienced absolutely no
problems with the procedure based on an original Gold
Edition XP Professional CD. The slipstreamed CD booted and
installed perfectly to a freshly formatted hard drive.
In every other slipstreaming tutorial
I've done I've always had the 'I experienced
absolutely no problems' sentence in the previous
paragraph. It still holds true with SP3 but with a
caveat. One of the changes in SP3 involves Windows
Product Activation and being able to perform a full,
integrated installation of Windows XP SP3 without
providing the product key during the installation.
This is true, but only if you use Windows XP SP1 or
Windows XP SP2 as the basis for the slipstreamed CD.
It does not hold true when you use a Gold Edition CD
as has always been my practice in previous
slipstreaming tutorials.
That is not to say you can't use a
Gold Edition CD as the basis for a slipstreamed CD.
That is certainly possible, and it does install
without problems as far as I can tell, but you will
have to enter the product key during the
installation procedure rather than have the option
to defer entering it until after installation is
complete.
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Important
Note: This tutorial was created using
Release Candidate 1 for Service Pack 3
for XP
This is not the final release version
expected to be released in early 2008.
I don't expect there will be any
substantial changes in the final release
version to impact this tutorial, but I
strongly suggest you not use this
slipstreamed CD in any production or
mission critical environment or anywhere
you cannot recover from unexpected data
loss. Tutorial will be updated after the
final SP3 version is released.
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Building Directories
The first step is to build a
directory structure to hold the files that will be used in the CD
creation process. It's a simple structure, requiring nothing more
than a few folders. It doesn't matter what names you use for your
folders or where you locate them on your hard drive, but most users
find drive C the easiest. I created the folders shown below, located
on Drive C, and used the XP- prefix for each one so they would all
be located together for easy access. Create whatever folders you are
comfortable with or use the ones below if you want to copy
and paste commands later in the tutorial.
Copying and Extracting Files
- The first step is to insert the
Windows XP CD and copy the entire contents into the XP folder or the equivalent folder in your structure.
| Remember: Read the first
section on the page and decide whether you want
to use a Gold Edition, SP1, or SP2 version of XP
as the basis for the files you copy from the CD
to the XP folder. Unless you have multiple
versions available you can't do anything about
this, but you still need to be aware of how it
impacts Windows Product Activation. |
Before copying the XP CD make sure
that the system is set to display all hidden and system files to
ensure a complete copy of all files on the CD. The settings to
control what files are visible are located in Windows Explorer >
Tools > Folder Options > View tab. Make sure [Show hidden files and
folders] radio button is selected and [Hide protected operating
system files] is unchecked.
- The second step is to navigate to
where you downloaded the Service Pack 3 file. If you downloaded
SP3 from Microsoft it will most likely be named
en_windows_xp_service_pack_3_release_candidate_1_x86_60967.exe. Copy the file
to the XP-SP3 folder if it wasn't downloaded there
initially.
- Use the Run dialogue shown
below to extract the contents of SP3.
The Run dialogue box
is accessed from [Start] [Run]
The command to begin the extraction is:
C:\XP-SP3\en_windows_xp_service_pack_3_release_candidate_1_x86_60967.exe
-x
Updating The Windows Share
The Run dialogue box
is accessed from [Start] [Run]
The command to apply the Service Pack is: C:\XP-SP3\i386\Update\Update.exe -S:C:\XP
As shown below,
Service Pack 3 is being integrated into the Windows installation
folder.
Successful completion
of the integration process.
Extract the
Imaging File
In order to
make a slipstreamed CD bootable it's necessary to add an
image file during the burning process. You need to extract the file Microsoft Corporation.img
and save it to a folder. For my testing I just created a
XP-BootImage folder on the C:\ drive. There
are a number of ways to perform the extraction but the easiest is to use ISO
Buster.
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With the Windows XP CD in your CD drive, open ISO Buster.
Click on Bootable CD in the left pane then right click Microsoft Corporation.img in the right pane, finally clicking Extract
Microsoft Corporation.img file.
Extract the file to
the C:\XP-BootImage folder previously created or your equivalent.
With the preparation out of the way
it's time to actually burn the CD. There are a number of different
burning or CD creation programs that can be used to accomplish this
task. I've included instructions here for Roxio Easy Media Creator 9 by Roxio
and another set of instructions for Nero Burning ROM 8.
While the terminology and screens may vary
depending on your CD burning program choice and version, the principles remain the same
and can be easily adapted no matter what burning software is being
used. Click on the burning instructions of choice below.
Last Edited:
04/21/2008
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