[kwikshere]

Greetings to all,
I am so happy to have stumbled upon this forum. In my initial browsing I find some fascinating subject matter with generally patient and understanding replies. That's good to see because I think I may need that patience from you...lol.

++ Edit - I do appreciate that some of the answers to my questions may already exist in these very varied forums but I haven't found a post that 'combines all' as I intend to here. I do apologise if some see this as 'repeated posting'. ++

Firstly, a little background on me and my system.
Me:
I am what I would class an 'advanced user'. I have a Cert II in I.T. and am currently studying for my Cert III (Networking). I also Tutor part-time in I.T. mainly to 'Intro to Computer' type classes.

My system (Hardware):
++ Edit - I have now added this info to my signature ++
So, to the point of my post:

PART 1
As part of my CERT III studies, we are covering the basics of 'slipstreaming'. I have been fortunate enough to discover (and use) nLite in this task and cannot praise it's developers enough. I found it very 'user friendly' with enough 'custom' options to keep most professionals happy (i would think).
I have used nLite to create a 'slipstreamed' ISO version of my Windows Pro (32 Bit) OEM install process which seems to work well (at least in Virtual PC). I have managed to 'integrate' IE 7 within that install (though without 'presetting' options). I do still have 9 updates which I can't seem to either find or integrate for some reason.
They are:
1. KB 890830
2. KB 941569
3. KB 923689
4. KB 928416
5. KB 829019
6. KB 902344
7. .NET Framework 1.1
8. Root Certificates Update
9. KB 946609 (Silverlight)
I have downloaded those i can find (can't find Root Certificates Update or Windows or Microsoft Update for download anywhere) and include them within the files for nLite but to no avail.
I have tried this process a number of times and, each time, it is these same ones that give me trouble.
PART 2
I have downloaded and attempted to use the WMP 11 slipstreamer. I was attempting to 'integrate' the WMP 11 install as part of the Windows install process but had no success. Is that it's purpose or did i have it all wrong? Is it actually designed to perform the 'slipstreaming' into a pre-existing Windows install? It does say that it can be used in combination with the nLite program from a command line and i tried that, but obviously not correctly, as all i got when creating the ISO was a 'syntax error'.
Part 3
I was also hoping to 'integrate' the installation and slipstreaming of my Office 2003 Pro into this same ISO. On reading some of the hints on the MSFN home page, i gather this is not possible unless one has a 'volume licensed' version. Am i correct in thinking this?
It would seem that with, now, two Service Packs (SP2 & SP3) and LOTS of patches to apply for an 'up-to-date' install, that someone clever might have developed a way to do this.

If anyone can offer me some plain language assistance (remember i'm a newbie to this...lol) i'd really appreciate it.
Thank you for taking to time to read this.
Regards
kwikshere

This post has been edited by kwikshere: 16 March 2008 - 10:47 AM

[Idontwantspam]

Depends on the version. Any of the business/professional/enterprise versions you can do an administrative install on. Having a volume license though is recommended or else you'll still have to put in the product key each time since you can't use the same product key over and over again if it isn't a volume license. Another problem you'll run into is that the office installation files take up almost a whole CD worth of space, so you'll have to use DVD's instead. What I would suggest instead maybe is - if this is a domain environment - having a network share with the office installer, then have a batch file that goes something like this for use on the first logon:

@echo off
echo Installing Office 2003...
net use Z: \\server\apps\office2003
cd /d Z:\
start "Office installer" /wait "Z:\setup.exe"
echo Done!
exit

[kwikshere]

'I Don't want Spam' - Thanks very much for that,
Initially, my desire is create a 'slipstreamed' install disc for use on my own PC.
My XP Pro is an 'original gold' and I have SP2 on disc.
My Office 2003 I am less sure of the version as I have updated the installed version to SP3. The original disc did come with BCM though so I guess it was a pretty recent one.
The day may come when I need to apply these skills in the workplace though and it's nice to know there is a way to do so there.

[Idontwantspam]

IF your computer supports booting off of a DVD, and if you're only using it on that one computer with that one license of office, then I think it should work as well. If you can determine the version (It tells you in help > about, and should say on the disk) then we can help you better to solve the issue. It is possible - I've seen it done.

P.S. Welcome to MSFN!

[kwikshere]

Hello again Idon'twantspam,
Thanks once again for your response and for the welcome.
Your statement of 'it should work as well' is a little unclear. Did you mean that the method you had already described 'should work'?
I believe you asked which version of Office I was installing.
++ Edit ++
What I get from my Office 2003 Professional (32 Bit) disc is:
ProductVersion=11.0.5614.0

and the Office 2003 SP2 disc I have is:
11.0.7969.0

I hope this info helps.
My Windows XP Professional (32 Bit) Version is:
5.1.2600.2180
++ Edit ++
Incidentally, I hadn't realised before that I had a SP2 version of Windows...lol. Was worth looking!

This post has been edited by kwikshere: 16 March 2008 - 11:22 PM

[Idontwantspam]

Sorry - I should've been more clear. It should work as well means that an administrative install should work for your personal uses. Lots of info here.

As for versions - that doesn't tell us which type it is - for example, in windows you have xp professional and xp home. Likewise, in office you have 2003 professional, 2003 business, etc. It says the version on the box the software came in, on the hologram'd original cd, and in the application when you click help > about.

[kwikshere]

Can no one help me with these questions?

[Yzöwl]

Here's some guidance for you!

Read the forums, this process has a learning curve, and regardless of how much you think you know it's not enough to learn quickly. One forum post with multiple questions is not going to get your answers for you.

Read, digest, test, fail... re-read, re-digest, re-test, fail again... etc. It really is the only way, but then you're a tutor so you should already know that!

These forums have multiple dedicated sections, the nLite Forums would have been the best place to ask a general question based on you using the nLite application. The WMP Slipstreamer question should have been asked in it's own area too. There are threads running and specific tools available throughout these forums for downloading and/or obtaining the various hotfixes. there are also threads specific to including applications such as MS Office into your installation procedure. Believe me everything you want to know in this topic is already available here, you just need to take your time and focus both your questions and learning more appropriately.

One more piece of guidance, do not bump your posts after less than a day, and try not to ignore previous helpers pertinent comment(s).

[kwikshere]

Greetings Yzöwl,
Thank you for your input and remarks.
I do appreciate the importance of the 'Read, digest, test, fail...' cycle and I guess, in some ways, I was trying to 'Jump Start' that by combining my queries in the one forum. Given the 'specific' nature of this forum, I felt (and still feel) this was the place I was most likely to find someone with the (what I perceived as) required skills combination to assist me.
I believe I did acknowledge the likelihood of the answers to my queries already having been generated in my original post but, as I said there, I thought it unlikely that anyone had requested that specific combination of information and, in my ignorance, thought it possible that perhaps a 'custom' approach was required.
As to my 'bumping' my post, fair comment. I will try to be more patient in future.
Lastly, I am not aware of having 'ignored' any previous helpers' comments. I did acknowledge and thank 'Idontwantspam' for that contribution. My apologies to him (?) if he felt disregarded. That was not my intention.
Again Yzöwl, thank you.

[Yzöwl]

kwikshere, on Mar 18 2008, 07:16 PM, said:

I am not aware of having 'ignored' any previous helpers' comments

You didn't do it directly, due to editing your post after Idontwantspam's last reply, the flow of the conversation was lost thus with your plea for further help it appeared that their reply had been ignored. It wasn't a major problem, just one of the small things which can unknowingly affect your overall experience here.

I have found from experience that trying to group multiple questions in one place is one of the easiest ways to have specific items ignored/lost in the thread tree. It also gives the impression of generalising the subject and thus threads tend to run off topic. We are all learning too and because of the varying levels of knowledge held by our members you'll also find that the best answers are more difficult to separate from the less useful. In a multi-question topic this can not only make it harder for you to capture what you want but also makes the reading of the topic more laborious for potential helpers and therefore turns them off helping too.

Good luck with your learning experience!

[Nuno Brito]

Hi kwikshere,

Quote

I do appreciate that some of the answers to my questions may already exist in these very varied forums but I haven't found a post that 'combines all' as I intend to here. I do apologise if some see this as 'repeated posting'.

I don't have a all-in-one solution but I'm working on platform to combine all possible steps of building and customizing a Windows Install CD/DVD

At the moment it already contains WUD to download all possible MS updates, DriverPacks for hardware support and launches nLite for customization and including addons.

Benxhi has requested support for WPI (Windows Post Install wizard) and I've spent some time doing an app to convert the nlite addons into the WPI format: http://www.msfn.org/board/tool-addons2wpi-...er-t113992.html

I think this might be a good tool for automating the process of creating your DVD with Office, WMP and such.
http://www.msfn.org/...xp-t113249.html

The goal is automating all the separate parts of the build process and save time to see the results.

[pcalvert]

I think you may find that the information on this page is helpful:
http://unattended.ms...nded.xp/sitemap

Phil

[kwikshere]

Greetings all,
Thank you to all those who responded and who provide resources to help me in my task. Although I feel a little 'intimidated' by the complexity of some of these tools, I will attempt to use these.
One thing I like about the nLite interface was that much of it seems 'intuitive'. I hope to find to the same with these other tools.
I am no 'expert'. I guess this could be seen as a test of the 'user friendliness' of these tools...lol.
Thanks again.