I asked about this a few months ago, but didn't get a positive answer either way. I'm looking for an efficient way to integrate new hotfixes as well as updated hotfixes into an existing vLite image. Here's what I currently do:

1. fire up vLite (duh )
2. copy files from my Vista Ultimate retail DVD
3. integrate SP1
4. add hotfixes, remove components
5. rebuild image
6. burn DVD

The whole process takes just under two hours. 90% of the time is spent in steps 3 and 5. I can save some time now by keeping a pristine copy of the Vista RTM files on my hard drive, but that only results in a few minutes of savings.

What I would like to do is add any new hotfixes and driver updates since the last vLite image build, without having to go through steps 3 and 5. Is it possible to "tack on" new hotfixes, or do I need to rebuild from scratch each time?

Perhaps I can create the SP1 slipstream image, keep a copy of that, and then only have to do steps 4 and 5 each time a new hotfix or driver comes out? Is that safe to do, or is it not recommended to "re-vLite" an image? If it helps, I don't need SP1 for every Vista edition... I actually only install Vista Business (no need for Ultimate here).

Just integrate in SP1 in Vista RTM and keep that saved somewhere. That's what I do. Keeps you from having to integrate it in every time.

You could always add the hotfixes in and then same that someplace as well without removing and components. That way you only have to integrate a few every now and then instead of all of them at once.

Right, that's what I'm thinking should be possible, but I wasn't sure if there was some hidden dependency or assumption on vLite's part that requires you start from a "clean" distribution of Vista. I noticed that vLite's order of operations is: slipstream, hotfixes and drivers, component removal, rebuild. I'm wary that the hotfix integration depends on having some/all components still there. For example, what happens if I include a hotfix for a component that had been previously removed? Will vLite (or the Vista installer) handle that gracefully?

Can I mark components for removal, but not actually remove them? When I click on "Apply", I have always been choosing the "Rebuild one" option (I only need Vista Business). Should I choose "Save changes only" instead?

Same here, but now i got a MS SP1 Pre-integrated Vista disk.

I did a bit of testing, and it does appear that I can start with a vLited image with SP1, drivers and hotfixes already integrated. vLite allows me to incrementally add new hotfixes, then I simply do a "Save changes only". This way, I should be able to keep my vLite image up-to-date any time Microsoft releases new patches and hotfixes, without having to rebuild the vLite image from scratch (or even a pre-slipstreamed SP1 copy) every time.

Now what would be nice is an option in vLite to save those changes out to a new build directory, instead of overwriting the existing one. That way I can have weekly snapshots of vLite images, rather than just the latest build.