[bsouza]

Good evening,

That´s my first post in this community and I hope I´ll be writing many more in the coming years, trying to help and being helped as well.

In my quest for a slim Windows XP i´ve used some tools like Nlite, but recently heard about HFSLIP and RyanVM, and i´m thrilled about what this tools can do. I have an original Windows XP PRO SP2 X86 install disk downloaded from microsoft(they have an agreement with my university here in Brazil), but in my naivety i´ve been keeping it updated by slipstreaming SP3 and all hotfixes using the /integrate switch. So now, doing some research about these tools that do a "real integration", i´ve learned that
it´s not recommended to use them in a install disk with hotfixes integrated the way I did. Therefore i am here asking for your help in this issue - How can I UNDO the integration of hotfixes? I´m assuming that the SP3 integration would not be a problem, only the hotfixes. If I delete all the cab files in the svcpack folder and the svcpack.inf file, the problem would be solved?

I appreciate any help you can give me on this matter. Thank you.

[fdv]

bsouza, on 11 March 2010 - 09:16 PM, said:

it´s not recommended to use them in a install disk with hotfixes integrated the way I did.

It's okay, it's just that this crowd (I'm one) believes that he best, most optimal space saving way to do it is direct slipstreaming for NEW installs. Welcome aboard, by the way.

bsouza, on 11 March 2010 - 09:16 PM, said:

How can I UNDO the integration of hotfixes?

There is no real problem and you do not need to do anything to your existing install. It's just that using /integrate on a NEW install is a sloppy, inefficient way to do it. Whatever you do, don't go deleting CAT files, config data, or hotfix info on your existing install.

[bsouza]

But I´m interested exactly in leaving no clutter on the install disk, so if I´m doing a real integration of the hotfixes I don´t want to keep the "unused" patches in a folder, and even more, I don´t want the setup process to install the hotfixes since I´ve already done that previously!

Sorry to insist, but why the manual deletion of these files is forbidden? I´m sure I can handle that, if someone guide me about the process. Or if there´s another way to do it, I´m willing to know.

Thanks for your help.

[bphlpt]

It sounds as if you're talking about two different things - the install disk (the CD/DVD you use to install XP on your computer), and your installation (the resulting XP environment that you use on that computer). For both cases it will be better to start over from the beginning rather than try to modify or clean up what you have.

So for your new install disk, start with a fresh copy of the original Windows XP PRO SP2 X86 install disk that you have access to, use HFSLIP to slipstream/integrate SP3 and all the appropriate hotfixes and switchless installers verified to install correctly with HFSLIP and using HFCLEANUP if you like, then use RyanVM's integrator, nLite and/or WPI to add any other AddOns or installer packages you like and perform any removals if necessary, and lastly adding any of the DriverPacks you care to add. Then you would have a clutter-free install disk. Each time you want to create a new install disk, do not try to modify the last one you built, just follow the same procedure and create a new one from scratch again. That's why it's a good idea to keep all those hotfixes and installer packages in a folder you will always have access to so you don't have to download them again every time you want to create a new install disk. You can always delete the ones that become obsolete or that you choose to no longer use.

As far as your XP installation, remember that the install disk you prepare with HFSLIP is meant to be used to install a clean install of XP on your freshly formatted home computer, not to update an existing installation. I guess the procedure most of us use is to always try to keep a reasonably up to date install disk prepared along with backing up our data and installation tools and files, but apply OS and program updates to our installation as they come out, and only use our install disk to do a clean install 2-3 times a year unless something goes wrong or we move to a new computer. At least that's what I try to do.

I hope I correctly understood your basic question and that this helps point you in the general direction you need to go. And welcome to the family!

Cheers and Regards

[bsouza]

Thanks for your reply.

Sorry if i was misleading in my post - I was talking only about the install disk, not the OS installation.

As I said, I have a XP SP2 install disk that I´ve downloaded from the internet legally (I don´t have a CD), but I did the SP3 + hotfixes integration on it WITHOUT keeping a backup of the original disk (I never thought i would need it, since having it updated is better, isn´t it? ), so unfortunately now my only start point to work is this disk with SP3 and hotfixes integrated, all with the /integrate switch.

I got from the first reply that I can use HFSLIP in this install disk normally, but the problem is that the SETUP routine (whenever i use it to install windows again) will try to install the hotfixes in the svcpack folder unnecessarily (cause i´ve already done it through HFSLIP), so i need to know if there is some way to remove these integrated patches, keeping only SP3 on the install disk (I guess the SP3 integration is done the "right" way, replacing the files insides the CAB files and whatever, is it?)

[fdv]

The SVCPACK directory has CATalog files for digital signature checking. There are dependencies here. If you really wanted to get rid of them, you would need to shut off digsig checking (using my SETUPAPI.DLL in my fileset, or using SYSSETUP.DLL in nLite) and edit the HF*.INF files to ensure no CAT dependencies. This is quite a bit of work for 49 CAT files that add up to less than 600 kilobyes. If you really want to save space use my fileset (and don't forget to delete INTL.INF in my fileset before you run HFSLIP so you get languages). Or use HFCLEANUP or nLite.

[bsouza]

fdv, on 12 March 2010 - 01:37 PM, said:

The SVCPACK directory has CATalog files for digital signature checking. There are dependencies here. If you really wanted to get rid of them, you would need to shut off digsig checking (using my SETUPAPI.DLL in my fileset, or using SYSSETUP.DLL in nLite) and edit the HF*.INF files to ensure no CAT dependencies.

So you are saying that if I get a new, clean Windows XP install disk and integrate even only one hotfix (like in KBxxxx.exe /integrate d:\winxp)
this will mess with some DLLs and INF files already on the install disk? If that´s true, I guess my days with HFSLIP are over even before the beginning...

[fdv]

If that´s true, I guess my days with HFSLIP are over even before the beginning...

Either I played to a troll, or I am just not cutting it as a source of help here. I give up.

Edit: made infinitely more polite

This post has been edited by fdv: 12 March 2010 - 09:38 PM

[tommyp]

BS - Here's some terminology to help you out.
* Generally "To Integrate" is have a svcpack (or some other folder) full of hotfixes that gets parsed after a normal (original) install disk is installed.
* "To Slipstream" means to replace the original binaries AND add the updated registry edits with updated binaries and appropriate reg entries from the start. So during installation, the new binaries and reg entries are in place.
* Microsoft put their own spin on it. In the past few years, they have an integrate command which replaces some DLLs, SYSs, etc and then it tinkers with setup files so that the hotfix gets parsed during svcpack (t-13). When the hotfixes are run, the reg entries are made.
* HFSLIP and NLITE and RyanVM's update pack slipstreams. They do not use the integrate switch. They all update binaries and create the registry entries for the final install disk.

I'm not too sure what you are after. You say you want to update the binaries in the first post and then you post 2 up from this one said you don't want to replace the binaries. The put this thread in an analogy I see it this way - I want to get dressed this morning but I don't want to put on any clothes.

[bphlpt]

bsouza - Let me get this straight. You took your original install disk, added that month's MS updates using KBxxxx.exe /integrate d:\winxp for each one, then the result was your new install disk and you effectively threw the old one away. Each month you did the same thing, adding that month's updates on top of what you created the previous month. And you've been doing this for how long? Since quite often an update replaces a previous update, but you already integrated that old update into your source, it's no wonder you have clutter on your install disk.

I believe your disappointment with HFSLIP, ("If that´s true, I guess my days with HFSLIP are over even before the beginning..."), is misplaced. My understanding with HFSLIP, NLITE and RyanVM's Integrator is that they all work best when used on a fresh copy of the XP install disk, or one with just a SP slipstreamed. While they might work adding new updates on top of an install disk prepared like you've done previously, to my knowledge none of those tools will "remove" the previous updates you added. And as fdv explained, removing them by hand is going to be a LOT of work IF it can be done, depending on how long you have gone through your previous update process. You really will be best served by obtaining a new copy of the XP install disk and starting from scratch.

Good Luck, and keep us informed of your progress.

Cheers and Regards

[bsouza]

Guys, I really want to thank all your support on this matter. Before I begin, i must quote Guns ´n Roses Civil War: "What we´ve got here is failure to communicate..."
I can only blame that on my rough knowledge of English. So sorry for that too.

I must make myself clear on some topics:

1) I´ve NEVER used HFSLIP or RyanVM. As I said in the first post, only have used nLite and I´m doing some research on these two tools before using it for the first time.

2) The sentence that got fdv to become so upset, "If that´s true, I guess my days with HFSLIP are over even before the beginning...", never was meant as a disappointment with the tool, because I´ve never used it, like I said above. Let´s explain what happened:

bhlpt is right in his understanding of what I´m doing with my install disk. I´ve been applying SP3 and all hotfixes after that using the /integrate switch - so, using tommyp terminology, i guess SP3 was slipstreamed and all hotfixes were just integrated (so they are all residing in the svcfolder inside I386). I´ve wrote the dreaded sentence because fdv said that to undo that (so i could get back to a install disk only with SP3, i would have to do more than deleting the svcpack folder and replacing svcpack.inf (He talked about some dlls being changed and other stuff). Then i realised i don´t have time/patience/expertise to do that and told him i would not use the tool, but somehow he got that as a harsh critic. Believe me, it was not. tommyp also got it wrong, so I guess that´s my bad - Sorry again for that, tommyp and fdv. If fvd really is serious, he will not come back here to read this, so if somebody could explain that to him, I will be very grateful.

Now I´ve found an easy solution: I have an original key, so i´ve donwloaded a fresh new XP SP3 from a torrent site (don´t worry, i´ve done a sha1 check). I´m working on this iso from now on. I just have one more question: what method do you recommend for me to download and keep only the needed hotfixes (because as bphlpt said, some hotfixes become superseded by new ones). If you could indicate some tool that download them and can do that kind of work, it will be very nice.

As always, I want to thank all support and leave my sincere apologies to the admins. Thank you all!

[tommyp]

I certainly hope you aren't using a warez xp disk. To get your hotfixes, please see the stickied thread on the hfslip forum. Mimo has written a nice utility that tells you what hotfixes you need. As far as what else is needed, you'll need to visit hfslip.org for details.