Email me if you have any queries = itwins@gmail.com


Download RAID Slipstreamer v5.2 Build 080104 (4.1Mb)
Download RAID Slipstreamer v5.3 Build 080626 (4.2Mb) *** NEW ***


v5.2 Build 080104 MD5 Hash = 6165825F2178C9D09001ECADFE06A74F
v5.3 Build 080626 MD5 Hash = B33FF55C1C5A6EF4B9AC2273AAAF4D99

NOTE: Please install Microsoft .NET Framework v1.1 prior to using RAID Slipstreamer. RAID Slipstreamer does not support .NET Framework v2.0 or v3.0 yet. If you have already installed v2.0 and/or v3.0, be sure to install v1.1 as well. BTW, RAID Slipstreamer checks for the presence of this registry key "{CB2F7EDD-9D1F-43C1-90FC-4F52EAE172A1}, which belongs to .NET Framework v1.1.4322. If the key files are not found, it spits out an error message and the program aborts

NOTE - local Administrative privilieges is a MUST!


(screen capture from v5.3 Build 080626)


Supported Drivers (2003, 2000, XP, AMD64)



PS. During slipstream, it will create and copy all the RAID drivers to the "\I386\$OEM$\$1\Drivers\RAID" folder (x86 OSes) and "root\$OEM$\$1\Drivers\RAID" folder (x64 OSes) . You may need to add this string in your UNATTEND.TXT, WINNT.SIF or SYSPREP.INF answer file:



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Supported command-line parameters, primarily for the purpose of automation or use in batch files:

* /Install to install drivers
* /Uninstall to remove drivers
* /Source <root_path_of_OS_folder> or <path_to_SYSPREP.INF> or <path_to_i386>
* /Mode "Sysprep" or "WinPE"
* /OS "XP" or "2003" or "2000" or "AMD64"
* /PNPINI <PNP_File>
* /DRVPATH <DRV_Path>
* /Export
* /NoGUI
* /Quick

Example:
"RAID Slipstreamer v5.3 Build 080626.exe" /Uinstall /Source C:\W2K3R2 /Quick
- This uninstalls PnP codes and drivers from the C:\W2K3R2 source folder

"RAID Slipstreamer v5.3 Build 080626.exe" /Install /Source P:\WINXP /Quick
- Automatically slipstream into P:\WINXP\i386 unattendedly

"RAID Slipstreamer v5.3 Build 080626.exe" /Install /Source P:\WIN2K3 /Mode SYSPREP /OS 2003 /Quick
- For use with Sysprep if you wish to create one image that works for different hardware configurations.
- Automatically updates driver info into P:\WIN2K3\SYSPREP.INF and copies all the Windows 2003 drivers into P:\WIN2K3\DRIVERS\RAID. You will need to manually copy the DRIVERS\RAID folder to C:\DRIVERS\RAID of your sysprep image.

"RAID Slipstreamer v5.3 Build 080626.exe /Install /Source S:\XPe /Mode WINPE /OS XP /NoGUI
- For use with WinPE 2005. Does not work with Vista PE. Actually Microsoft PEIMG does a better job than this.
- This updates driver info to S:\XPe\TEXTMODE.SIF and copies Windows XP drivers to its corresponding directories.
- /NoGUI tells the program to suppress the interface
- When /NoGUI is used, /Quick is also enabled

"RAID Slipstreamer v5.3 Build 080626.exe" /Export
- This exports the RAID.INI file that is integrated into the program. You can then find out what PnP drivers the tool supports.
- This exports the RAID.INI to the path where the RAID Slipstreamer executable resides in

"RAID Slipstreamer v5.3 Build 080626.exe" /Install /Source P:\WXPSP2 /NoGUI /PNPINI X:\text\msd.ini /DRVPATH x:\Drivers\XP
- This tells the program that you supply your own PnP INI file and drivers.
- The PnP INI must be in this format. For example:

----------------------------------------------------------
[2003]
1=HPDRV
2=END

[XP]
1=HPDRV
2=End

[2000]

[AMD64]


[HPDRV]
LABEL="HP ABC RAID 0,1,5,6,10,50 Controller"
DRIVERNAME="HPMSDDRV.SYS"
1="PCI\VEN_9005&DEV_0285&SUBSYS_02989005"
2="PCI\VEN_9005&DEV_0285&SUBSYS_02999005"
3="PCI\VEN_9005&DEV_0285&SUBSYS_029A9005"
4="PCI\VEN_9005&DEV_0285&SUBSYS_02A49005"
5=End
----------------------------------------------------------

- This tells the program that the HPDRV driver supports both Windows 2003 and XP and the PNP codes to integrate are listed in the [HPDRV] header. You can find these PNP codes in the OEMSETUP.INF or TXTSETUP.OEM files that normally comes with the driver.
- The LABEL variable is for visual use only. Windows doesn't care what you name it
- The DRIVERNAME variable is the main DRIVER.SYS file used by the driver
- Always include an "END" at the end of each section and the numbering must be accumulative. If you skip one number, the program might go into an endless loop.
- /DRVPATH is used in conjunction with /PNPINI. You need to specify the path of where your physical storage drivers are located
- When both /PNPINI and /DRVPATH are used, the program's integrated PNP codes and drivers are bypassed. You provide your own...

Cheers,

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


eLearning

You don't wish to use RAID Slipstreamer but you wish to learn how to do it yourself. No problem:

To learn how to slipstream drivers so you don't have to press F6:

1) Create a C:\TEMP
2) Create a blank file and name it DOSNET.INF
3) Create a blank file and name it TXTSETUP.SIF
4) Run "RAID Slipstreamer x86 v5.0 Build 071116.exe" /install /source c:\temp /os 2003 /quick
5) Examine and learn how RAID Slipstreamer does it. It shouldn't be too hard to learn...

To learn how to slipstream drivers for use in SYSPREP:

1) Create a C:\TEMP
2) Create a blank file and name it SYSPREP.INF
3) Run "RAID Slipstreamer x86 v5.0 Build 071116.exe" /install /source c:\temp /mode SYSPREP /os 2000 /quick
4) Copy C:\TEMP\DRIVERS\RAID into your Sysprep image's C:\DRIVERS\RAID.
5) Manually add "OEMPnPDriversPath=Drivers\RAID" into SYSPREP.INF
6) Examine and learn.

To learn how to slipstream drivers for use in WinPE 2005:

1) Create a C:\TEMP
2) Create a blank file and name it TXTSETUP.SIF
3) Create a C:\TEMP\INF
4)) Create a C:\TEMP\SYSTEM32
5) Run "RAID Slipstreamer x86 v5.0 Build 071116.exe" /install /source c:\temp /mode WINPE /os XP /quick
6) Examine and learn.



Question about $OEM$ placements
Some question the $OEM$ directory placement used by RAID Slipstreamer, where it defaults to "\I386\$OEM$". The $OEM$ placement depends on how you install your operating systems. For myself, I installed Windows OSes (32-bit only) using UNATTEND.TXT across the network and the $OEM$ folder must be placed inside \i386. However, if installing Windows using CD/DVD through the use of WINNT.SIF (or without) or installing 64-bit Windows, the $OEM$ must be placed in the same path as the \I386. ie:

\i386
\$OEM$

Hope this clears things up.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Updates


What's new in v5.3 Build 080626:

- Updated mainly because of the introduction of Intel's ICH10x AHCI driver. And as always, while I'm updating it, I updated all others as well. These include:

• Adaptec 20xx/21xx/22xx/24xx/26xx/28xx/ICP90X4R0 SCSI/RAID Controller (AAC.SYS /ARC.SYS -- 2000/2003/XP/AMD64) - Used (and renamed) by numerous vendors including Dell and IBM
• Adaptec SAS/SATA RAID / IBM ServeRAID 8i/8k/8k-l/8s SAS Controller (AACSAS.SYS / ARCSAS.SYS -- 2000/2003/XP/AMD64) - Used (and renamed) by numerous vendors including Dell and IBM
• Intel ICH6x/ICH7x/ICH8x/ICH9x/ICH10x SATA RAID Controller (IASTOR.SYS / IAAHCI.SYS -- 2000/2003/XP/AMD64)
• QLogic QL40xx iSCSI 1Gbps Controller (QL40XX.SYS -- 2000/2003/XP/AMD64)
• LSI Logic SAS 5e/5i/5iR/6iR/1020/1030/1035/1064/1064E/1068/1068E/1078/3000 (SYMMPI.SYS / LSI_SAS.SYS -- 2000/2003/XP/AMD64) - Used (and renamed) by numerous vendors including Dell and IBM
• LSI Logic MegaRAID 8408E / IBM ServeRAID MR10 SAS/SATA Controller (MEGASAS.SYS / MSAS2K3.SYS -- 2000/2003/XP/AMD64) - Used (and renamed) by numerous vendors including Dell and IBM
• AMD 790FX / ATI SB600 AHCI RAID Controller (AHCIX86.SYS -- 2000/2003/XP/AMD64) - Up to the ATi Xpress 3200 chipset
• LSI Logic MegaRAID SAS 8204/8208 XLP/ELP (MEGASR.SYS / MEGASR2K.SYS -- 2000/2003/XP) - Used (and renamed) by numerous vendors including Dell and IBM
• Marvell 6121 SATA Controller (MV61XX.SYS - 2000/2003/XP/AMD64) --> Used by some of those crappy Asus P45 motherboards that hang once in a while, just like its P35 brothers. Asus is CRAP!

All other drivers are unchanged.


What's new in v5.2 Build 080104:

- Finally added AMD64 64-bit drivers. Limited testing was performed; only VMware Workstation v6.x's virtual LSI Logic Ultra320 SCSI controller and the Intel ICH9R AHCI and RAID0/1/5 configurations were tested. Next week I'll head out to the local Dell Solution Center to try out RAID Slipstreamer (and Sysprep Creator) on their latest and greatest workstations and servers. BTW, the x64 drivers are applicable to both Windows XP x64 and Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions.
- Fixed the minor /NoGUI bug in previous version
- Added a number of new controllers drivers and updated some existing ones as well.
- Modifed some of the drivers that have a tendency to break Sysprep
- Speed up the extraction process by sacrificing a little disk space. Even with 64-bit drivers added, the program is still only 4.1Mb...still very acceptable
- Now when performing uninstallation, the $OEM$\$1\Drivers\RAID folder is deleted
- Added new "AMD64" command-line parameters for the /OS switch.


Changes to the logic:
- DO NOT INCLUDE THE "I386" OR "AMD64" in the source paths. Otherwise, it will err.
- AMD64 drivers are not installable on WinPE
- AMD64 drivers are installable on Sysprep but was not tested yet
- The $OEM$ placement will remain inside the I386 folder for x86 OSes but for x64 OSes, the $OEM$ is placed alongside the AMD64 folder. ie:

x86 OSes
-----------
\i386\$OEM$\$1\Drivers\RAID

x64 OSes
-----------
\$OEM$\$1\Drivers\RAID
\AMD64
\I386

- This GUI section is now obsolete and is longer useful. It is really there just to take up space...for now.




This tool is getting more and more complicated. One of these days I will need to write an usage guide. However, this might take some time as work, family, and XBox360/PS2/PS3/Wii/PSP come first (in no particular order )...

Enjoy!


What's new in v5.1 Build 071204:

- My apologies for forgetting to mention v5.0's new directory structure for user-defined driver paths. Rather than explaining the complex path structure of v5.0, I've decided to release v5.1 that uses the simpler, older format instead. The old format is to put all the drivers into a single directory. ie. Download RAID drivers from manufacturer, extract to a directory (eg: C:\DRIVERS) and then specifying that with the /DRVPATH parameter (eg. /DRVPATH C:\DRIVERS).

CAUTION 1: Subfolders within user-defined paths are not supported and there is no reason to.
CAUTION 2: Uninstall does not remove user-defined /PNPINI or /DRVPATH.

- With v5.1, when /DRVPATH is specified, the built-in drivers are not extracted. This allows for faster user [slipstreaming] experience.

- Re-added VMWare's LSI Logic controller driver. VMware really gave me a wild goose chase having ONLY included the BusLogic drivers on their website but failed to also include the LSI Logic 1020/1030 SCSI Controller drivers. I always thought their custom made VMSCSI.SYS included support for both BusLogic and LSI Logic. I was wrong.

- Added the LSI Logic 8408E controller drivers, which are the same used on the new IBM ServeRAID MR10 series of RAID controllers. The Windows 2003 driver uses MSAS2K3.SYS while Windows 2000/XP uses the MEGASAS.SYS driver.

- Corrected the confusion with SYMMPI.SYS drivers (I think), especially those released by Dell. Dell has a habit of editing LSI Logic drivers and removing those PnP codes that they don't use. However, if you download the same driver from LSI Logic, it contains more PnP device codes as it supports other manufacturers as well, not just Dell's. Remind me to always download drivers from LSI Logic and not from Dell.




What's new in v5.0 Build 071116:

- There are three main features in v5.0.
1) Uninstall feature
2) Driver Info list
3) Slipstream only the drivers you selected

First 2 of the features I most wanted and the last one was from popular demand.

Other feature:
4) Removed / edited those drivers that break Sysprep (those JRAID crap was one of them)
5) Removed drivers that are obsolete or hard to set (nVidia 680 SLI. Somehow I found these drivers confusing)
6) Now supports a number of PCMCIA and PCI-Express eSATA controllers
7) I bought and tested on a number of ATi Crossfire motherboards and Core2Quad systems

1) Install / Uninstall

-- With command-line installation, you now need to specify the "/install" switch. Ex: "RSLIP.EXE /Install /Source <i386 path> /Quick"

-- To uninstall, provide the source path, select the Uninstall radio button and click Proceed.
-- Built in is a database of drivers and device codes since RSlip v3.0. It removes only those drivers and codes listed.
-- Uninstall can be command-line'd. Ex: "RSLIP.EXE /Uninstall /Source <i386 path> /Quick" - auto uninstall drivers and device codes
-- Uninstall feature only removes main drivers and info listed in TXTSETUP.SIF and DOSNET.INF; supporting .SYS drivers are not removed. No issues here really. The objective is to eliminate those annoying missing drivers messages during installation when the driver file is removed but the device infos are left behind
-- Uninstall feature does not delete any files listed in \$1\Drivers\RAID directory. It's no big deal really as it only takes up space. If space is an issue, manual delete then.
-- User-provided pnp/driver list is not supported for command-line uninstall

2) Driver Info List

-- Clicking on the "DrvInfo" button on the main menu displays the driver info of the selected OS
-- Well, not much need to be explained here. This allows me to easily see which driver needs to be updated and which doesn't


3) Slipstream only the drivers you selected

-- To install only the drivers you selected, Click on the "DrvInfo" button on the main menu, select at least one of the driver checkboxes, provide the source path and click Apply
-- Single-driver installation is not supported in command-line
-- Info in the driver list is collected in real-time. Therefore, there could be performance inpact for slower systems. I will improve this on future versions...

Last but not least, in case you don't know, RAID Slipstreamer since v2.x allows automatically slipstreaming to multiple operating system folders. For example, my remote server share contains all my different operating system source folders:



...too many to list but you get the picture.

To automatically slipstream drivers into each and every folders listed there, simply specify the root path and click Proceed. For my case, I just type in "V:" and click Proceed. Come back in a hour with v3.0.4 12 minutes with v4.0 Build 070915 - and all source folders are updated to the latest.



Neat, huh? That was really the main reason why I created RAID Slipstreamer...to save me time!

Noticed in your KIX script path to %SystemRoot% is hardcoded to C:\WINNT.

I'm unable to make it works from a running Windows XP installation with Target OS Windows 2003 Server.:
SET

Simply create a c:\winnt\temp

The brain works better after a much deserved vacation.

Sorry, Bilou. I know what you mean now.

Download the v2.0.1a fix here

need to add nvidia and silicon image drivers

great tool though

Thank you! But my Computer's motherboard is gigabyte .I mean its Nforce RAid ,can your program support it?

The SI3112r drivers were integrated into v1.1 but I had to remove it because the da-mn drivers were dependent on which BIOS firmware version the system is using. And on top of that, my company no longer use SI3112r controllers.

Anyways, I will include the SATA RAID driver into the next version. For non-RAID drivers (with the same filename but not inter-usable) model, that will have to wait until I have time to modify them.




As for NForce RAID, show me the link to the driver and I'll see what I can do

I have sent a e-mail to you!
The driver is in it.
And you an find the driver in this page
http://www.gigabyte.com.cn/Support/Motherb...?ProductID=2173

Updated. Try it out and let me know how it goes

Thank you very much itwins,I will test it as soon as possible.

Updated to v2.1.

Now RAID Slipstreamer scans for all valid operating systems in the folder you specified, determines the platform type and then slipstreams the correct drivers into each platform automatically. Simply supply the path then click OK. That's all.

Has anyone tested this tool with HP servers or Professional Workstations? SATA and RAID drivers both. Please send me a pm if you know it will work and have tested it.

Thanks!

Just ran the slip stream and when I install my Win2k3 R2, it came up with the following files not found:
percsas.sys
lsi_sas.sys
ql40xx.sys
arcsas.sys

Any idea on this?

Regards
Sonny Giang

I think I screwed up again. Fixed in v2.2

It detected Windows 2003 in a XP-Unattended folder
there seems to be something wrong

my setup says arcsas.sys could not be found. And setup is terminated.
Also, slip detected that I have Windows 2003, even though I have WIN XP SP2..

If it helps, I tried it on IBM ThinkPad R60e

Sorry, I was unable to replicate your problem despite using original operating systems from Microsoft Select CDs and re-running RAID Slipstreamer onto all of them.

However, I haven't had the chance to test what the effects of running RAID Slipstreamer BEFORE or AFTER nLite or HFSLIP. But then, I use HFSLIP regularly on Windows XP SP2 only and nothing irregular encountered yet.

RAID Slipstreamer's logic is very simple:

1) Check for the presence of NTDLL.DLL situated in the path in which you specified (it scans for each subfolder looking for a valid NTDLL.DLL file)
2) When found, checks for "Product Version"
3) If v5.2.xxx, slipstream Windows 2003 drivers into the I386 source
4) Else if v5.1.xxx, slipstream Windows XP drivers into the I386 source
5) Else if v5.0.xxx, slipstream Windows 2000 drivers into the I386 source
6) Write log
7) Loop and check the next subfolder until no more subdirectories found
8) Exit



Anyways, you can find out yourself.

1) Search for the NTDLL.DLL situated in your I386 source (or in I386\SYSTEM32)
2) Right-click NTDLL.DLL > Properties > Version > Product Version
3) Find out the version number
4) Compare with the above logic on step 3 - 5

Is your NTDLL.DLL out of whack (wrong version used)?

If you're still having problems, then maybe RAID Slipstreamer is not a good tool for you. Try HFSLIP...

Cheers

I attempted to download your Rapid_Slipstreamerv2.2.exe program and I got a message from my content filter that the file contained a Trojan "New Malware.ac"

http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_138003.htm

It doesn't seem to be a very dangerous Trojan, but I thought I's let you know so you can run a few scans on it with some Web AV Scanners.

heh...are you sure it's my RAID Slipstreamer that has the trojan and not yours (or your computer)?

1) The one on Rapidshare is named "Raid_Slipstreamer_v2.2.exe" and not "Rapid_Slipstreamerv2.2.exe"
2) I downloaded the one at Rapidshare, scanned using the 12/27/2006 virus definition of Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition v10.1.5.5000 and nothing unusual found
3) I extracted the contents, scanned using the same virus definition, and nothing found

Anyhow, use at your own risk regardless who is at fault

I have tried this program and seem OK except it recognize my Windows XP installation like a Windows 2003... I checked, my ntdll has 5.1.2600.2180.

Other question: are you sure I have to place the drivers into the \I386\$OEM$\$1\Drivers\RAID folder? You wrote "OEMPnPDriversPath=Drivers\RAID;" to include the answer file. What is the root folder? Not the Systemdrive?

Joc

Well, I really don't have a clue and I still don't see anything wrong with the program logic. Anyways, try the new v2.3 workaround - manually specifying the platform type. If you experience problems with automatic detection, use the manual method instead.

Added support for WinPE. However, more testing is required.

Your feedback especially on BartPE or any other customized WinPE (including Vista's WinPE v2.0) is much appreciated

- Feb 20th, 2007 - A rewrite of the program and most of the bugs in previous versions have been corrected (I think). However, not much have been done to the WinPE codes and testing was very limited. Also added many drivers and updated many of the existing drivers to the latest version. It seems this tool is no longer for work only as I have been receiving a lot of requests from friends and other people to add support for this controller and that controller. Good thing I have ditched WinRAR and switched to using 7-zip to compress the whole program. Despite adding numerous new drivers, the size for v3.0 is over 30% smaller than previous versions. Last but not least, added many new features to v3.0. Try it out and see for yourself. Cheers!

Note 1: The reason why its still a BETA is because not enough testing were done on WinPE to confirm that the codes work smoothly. Apart from WinPE, everything have been tested quite thoroughly.
Note 2: v3.0 requires Microsoft .NET Framework v1.1. It does not support v2.0 or v3.0. If you have already installed v2.0 and/or v3.0, be sure to install v1.1 as well.

Just noticed that you need to install 7-zip and put 7z.exe into the search path for v3.0 BETA 1 to work properly.

I'll try to fix this in later versions.

BETA 2 released. You no longer need to put 7z.exe into the search path but you are still required to install 7-zip before using the BETAs. I like UHARC better but that doesn't work with this tool. Anyways, also with BETA 1, slipstreaming WinPE did not work at all; this BETA 2 version fixed that.

I did some basic tests on slipstreaming WinXP drivers to the original Microsoft WinPE v1.5 (based on Windows XP SP2) and I am happy to say that it appeared to work quite well. I tested it on the new Lenovo Thinkpad X60 Tablet PC that comes with an Intel 82801 GBM ICH7-M AHCI SATA controller (AHCI mode enabled in BIOS) and it worked - booting up to WinPE CD and accessing the HDD. Prior to slipstreaming, that was not possible. That's good. But I think I should be targeting WinPE v2.0 (based on Vista) instead. That however will have to wait...

I just ran the Beta version 2 for my server Windows 2003, Enterprise R2 and when the Unattended server start up, here is the error:


"Setup was unable to build the list of flies to be copied.

The data is invalid"


Do you have any clue on this?

Thanks

Sonny Giang

Ignore the above error, I found the problem, I used the long file path on to point to my software.

The version Beta 2 don't have a warning message for it?

In the older versions, I used an older compiler that didn't support long file names. Now I switched to a different compiler and I was planning to correct this, therefore the warning message was removed. Obviously I forgotten about this. I'll try to fix this in upcoming releases. But the next release won't be out in for at least a while. I would say this BETA 2 is quite stable and not much problems encountered so far...so no rush on the next release. Plus, too much to do at work and too many games to play at home...

Anyways, thanks for letting me know...

I haven't tried your program yet, but does it integrate the intel RAID drivers, specifically the one with iastor.sys?

Also does your program require any hacking methods to integrate the driver? Or it's all standard compliant?

- March 23rd, 2007 - Final Release is out. No driver changes. No code changes either. Just corrected the 7-zip issue by using SFX instead. No more updates for a long while...

Hi,

I've been working on an unattended install for win2k3 r2 for a HS21 blade server and so far I've been able to get it to detect the controller (lsi logic 1064e) and run through the install including the gui part. However, it blue screens when it starts up after completing the install with an inaccessible boot device stop code (0x0000007b). I've also tried using the raid slipstreamer and I get the same stop code after the install completes. If anyone can point me in the right direction for troubleshooting this. I'd appreciate it. I've also included my txtsetup.sif and winnt.sif files. Thanks.

Sorry, I haven't tried on an HS21 before. However, our IBM x3250 are based on the 8k/i SAS Controller that uses the LSI Logic 1064 controller chipset - the same driver as the 1064e/1068/1068e/1078 (lsi_sas.sys). That was confirmed working.

I noticed that IBM has released a 11/26/06 driver for the LSI_SAS.SYS and that RAID Slipstreamer v3.0 used an older 03/20/06 version.

Try using this, which comes with the 11/26/06 driver:

RAID Slipstreamer v3.0 Update 1

Let me know how it goes.

Normally, if it BSoD on the textmode screen (copying phase), it is a result of wrong/corrupt/missing SYS driver or TXTSETUP.SIF is corrupted or incorrectly labeled.

If it BSoD in the GUI installation (plug 'n' play device driver detection phase), then almost always it is missing other supporting drivers (ie. DLL, EXE, and possibly other SYS files as well). This is the reason why you need to add "OemPnPDriversPath=Drivers\RAID;" which I see you already did (but is it correctly placed in \i386\$OEM$\$1\DRIVERS\RAID?). For most home- desktop/notebook controllers, you may only need the SYS files. For heavy duty controllers that costs as much as your paycheque, you need that entry in your WINNT.SIF or UNATTEND.TXT.

I've used RAID slipstreamer to integrate these RAID drivers into a W23k Ent SP1 slip-streamed (critical OS updates) installation.

I end up with "The file arcsas.SYS could not be found." press any key to continue (which of course results in the aborted install).

In particular I need the ibm ServeRAID 8k controller driver, which is why I'm trying your slip-streamer process.

Solution?

As mentioned in email:

"Anyways, it is always recommended that you use a clean OS before using RAID Slipstreamer. RAID Slipstreamer was not tested thoroughly enough whether it can coexist with other tools such as nLite or HFSLIP.

If you still get this error, I would suggest editing the TXTSETUP.SIF file and remove all occurrences of the IASTOR.SYS entries. Just do a text search.

OR

You can manually add the uncompressed IASTOR.SYS file and place it inside $WIN_NT$.~LS (or $WIN_NT$.~BT...forgot which one). "

Okay, I am not quite sure if I've understood it all so please tell me if I did wrong:

1. Downloaded Raid Slipstreamer 3.0 (and also KiXforms since I didn't have it)
2. Copied my Windows XP Professional from the CD to C:\XP Slipstream
3. Executed RAID_Slipstreamer_v3.0.exe, pressed Windows XP and pointed it to C:\XP Slipstream and then Proceed.

Does this copy of XP have the support for SATA integrated now if I burn it and then install it?

Also, I plan to do this tomorrow:

4. Using the SATA-slipstreamed version of XP with nLite and doing my special configurations that I want and integrating hotfixes.

Is this right? I got four SATA2 disks and have always been irritated over the fact that I've never had the drivers for them so that I could use AHCI.

Hey JockeII,

You got the big picture. Here's a more complete procedure (which I failed to provide in the first place):

1) Download RAID Slipstreamer 3.0
2) Install MS Dot Net Framework v1.1 (no need to install 7-zip or Kixform as they are now included)
3) copy XP CD to "C:\XP" (use 8.3 formats please. Apologies. I haven't fully learnt the art of programming that allows me to add support for long filenames)
4) Run RAID Slipstreamer and point to "C:\XP"
5) Burn to CD

For most drivers, you can simply boot from the CD and install XP just as you normally would

For some heavy duty drivers (mostly server-class controllers), you may need to perform an unattended installation, which allows you to make use of the following entry in the WINNT.SIF or UNATTEND.TXT



There are a lot of references in MSFN that teach one how to perform an unattended installation. Most teach the use of WINNT.SIF and WINNT32.EXE. I however, provided a Universal Windows Boot Disk that uses an alternate (still Microsoft approved and supported) way of performing unattended installation by using UNATTEND.TXT and WINNT.EXE. You might want to check it out.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, helps alot. Shouldn't be any need to do the unattended install for me I presume (and hope).

Edit: I noticed that it says Windows 2003 when slipstreaming the drivers, even though I choose Windows XP. Should it be like that?

Edit2: I got the "arcsas.sys could not be found" error. =( I use a Gigabyte GA-965P DQ6 motherboard, so it is Intel drivers I need. I have the iastor.sys, though I do not have a folder named $WIN_NT$.~LS. Actually I can't find anything searching for just win_nt.

Hmmm....supposedly the program will automatically detect the OS and install the corresponding platform drivers for you.



Automatic detect checks for the presence of NTDLL.DLL to determine the platform type and automatically install the correct platform driver

But you can also perform a manual slip like this:



Manual method also checks for the presence of NTDLL.DLL to determine the platform type. If your OS selection is different from the detected OS, it will pop up a message asking for your confirmation to continue or abort.

NOTE. Just noticed a bug (with manual slip) - it doesn't always work. But the automatic detect still works. For now, use autodetect instead.

Update. On second thought, it wasn't a bug (for this case). My tests were flawed and now I know what I did wrong that made me thought it was a bug.

However, there is different but minor bug that involves the DOSNET.INF entries. In most cases you don't need DOSNET.INF entries. Nevertheless, it is a bug and I will have a fix available asap. Of course, unless my testing is flaw again and...

- April 23rd, 2007 - Just coincidence that the past 2 updates also happened on the 23rd. Anyways, v3.0.2 fixed the DOSNET.INF bug. This should correct the issue regarding drivers not found during textmode phase installation. I screwed up the codes while adding support for WinPE...

Hi, here is what I've come up about RAID Slipstreamer.

When I let it automaticaly detect the OS it would always detect Windows 2003 instead of Windows XP which was the right one.

I did as suggested in the forum and checked the version of the NTDLL.DLL in the I386\SYSTEM32 directory (where I had copied the WINXP CD) and I confirm that its file version is 5.1.2600.2180 which corresponds to Windows XP and not Windows 2003.

If anyone with this problem did the automatic detection and continued whatsoever, the problem that I saw happening is that when you are trying to run the Windows XP CD to install the OS, while loading the drivers it'll say "The file arcsas.SYS could not be found.". This happens because the drivers being used are the Windows 2003 ones and not Windows XP as supposed.

The solution for this is simple..

1. After starting RAID Slipstreamer check MANUAL SLIP and your OS;
2. Select the directory where the OS was copied to (ex: C:\OS\ROOT);
3. Select Proceed and when it warns you about the OS not being what it detected, just click YES to continue with your choice.

In the end RAID Slipstreamer is successful and closes itself.

Now everything should be fine, I noticed this situation in the latest 3.0.2 version. There is probably a mistake in the code where it should check the file version of the NTDLL.DLL file.

However, I must add that this application was very useful and I want to thank iTwins for it!

Continue the good work!

Lain:
Very much appreciate for the feedback. I wish everyone would contribute as much. 300 downloads of v3.0 but less than a dozen provided feedback regarding potential bugs.

Anyways, you're not the first one complaining about the wrongful detection. I need to look further into this potential bug.

Thanks again!

Question:
Could you please check the version of the NTDLL.DLL in the "i386" directory? That's where I tell the program to check for instead of the "i386\System32" directory.

The file version of the NTDLL.DLL in the I386 directory is 5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158).

^_^ I was using it on a Windows XP Home Edition original CD.

SWEETNESS!

Say,

Is .Net 1.1 required ? I have v2 & v3 installed but no 1.1

I ask because I am getting an error at RaidSlip startup:

MS .Net Assembly Registration Utility

and then a error box with:

KIXForms.Net no initiated. Script will now close.

Any ideas ?

Thanks !

OS: XP SP2

Yes, you are right, Kixform.NET requires .NET v1.1. It does not support v2 or v3 yet.

And my fault for failing to mention this...

Thanks. That worked great with 1.1 installed.

Now, I burned a CD with the folder used but it doesnt load in the server. I guess it needs to boot. What process do you suggest to accomplish this ?

Hi and thank you for your nice tool.

The folder $OEM$ is on the root of the CD, and its content is copied to different paths of the installation hard disk.

You should use that folder, and not i386\$OEM$.

Best regards,

Silvio6

Greetings…

I’m getting the infamous error when loading drivers during boot, “ARCSAS.SYS could not be found”

The end result I’m hoping to achieve is to use BartPE to boot a Dell PE 1950 without errors. If I just use a plain BartPE cd, it boots without errors. However, the drivers are not included for the SATA drives. I tried manually including the drivers on the BartPE cd using their instructions but I was getting a similar message missing .SYS files. This led me to try RaidSlipstreamer.

I copied the contents of the Win 2k3 Standard x86 cd rom to the hard disk using 8.3 filenames. I ran RaidSlipstreamer v3.02 to include the SATA drivers. I then ran PEBuilder to build an ISO image using the OS files which supposedly included the SATA drivers. Booting using the BartPE cd gave me the error with ARCSAS.SYS not found.

My apologies if I’m missing crucial information.

Please help!!

After some frustration, I was able to accomplish my goal. I ended up using nLite to integrate the SATA drivers. Then created a new ISO using BartPE - PEBuilder. All is working fine now.

I extracted the contents of my winpe disc to the hard drive in the c:\work directory. I then type in c:\work into raid slipstreamer and select manual and winpe. I then select windows xp.. I hit the proceed button and it just disappears off screen without doing anything.

Confirmed. The WinPE feature doesn't work anymore. Hopefully it will be corrected next version.