Slipstreaming XP-SP2

[ghporter]

It's important to keep any XP installation up to date; XP is just as susceptible to viruses and spyware on a Mac as it is on a PC. To have the best chance of maintaining your installation, you MUST install Service Pack 2 (SP2). Many people have called SP2 essentially "Windows XP version 2," because of all the enhancements and deep-level changes made in the OS. Whatever else you call it, call SP2 MANDATORY.

Unless you bought your XP disc fairly recently, it won't have SP2 incorporated into it. You can make an installation disc from a non-SP2 XP install disc and the SP2 upgrade (downloaded or on CD from Microsoft) through a process called "slipstreaming." All this does (he said, horribly oversimplifying the issue) is merge the SP2 files with the original XP files, replacing superceded files as necessary. This is not something that's done manually!

So far, the best product I've found for slipstreaming (not only SP2 but a lot of other enhancements) is nlite. (http://www.nliteos.com/) The program is easy to download and install on a Windows machine, but it's not recommended for beginners! Read ALL the instructions thoroughly before you start, or you'll waste a lot of time, effort and recordable CDs. This is experience talking! :\

EDIT: I should have posted this a long time ago, but here (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=049C9DBE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en) is where you can download the SP2 update. . Or you can go here (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/sp2/cdorder/en_us/default.mspx) and order the update on CD for FREE, but it says to give 'em 4-6 weeks to deliver it. I'd go the download route, myself.

[shiff]

I saw the sticky post above so figured I would throw out another url that explains slipstreaming as well as gives some simple instructions.

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sp2_slipstream.asp


Also if you really like nlite instead of the process above; here is another walk-through.

http://www.short-media.com/review.php?r=284

[bryoung]

I slipstreamed my XP Pro disk with the instructions from this website. (http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sp2_slipstream.asp)

I tried to do it with a free burning program that I downloaded, but I couldn't get it to work until I used nero. When ever I used the disk from the free program my iMac would say "boot file not found" (or something like that) when I inserted the disk.

I have XP Pro SP2 running on my iMac and it works great. All my software is running better then it was running on my emachine pc. I also bought the PC game Rainbow Six Lockdown just to try and it is running fine.

B.

[ghporter]

Making a bootable CD in Windows is sometimes a bit of a chore. Some programs, like Easy Media Creator and Nero make it straightforward, but others (particularly the smaller and less expensive ones) tend to be slim on the "here's how you do it" front.

Since bootable CDs are sort of key components to slipstreamed installations, feel free to post your "this one made it easy to make the CD bootable" experiences here too!

[cold aspiration]

is there any other way to test if the final CD produced indeed will work with boot camp other than to install on PC ?

[ghporter]

Not really. But as long as your computer and burner are working properly there shouldn't be any issues with the final product. Of course I burn these things to CD-RWs because it seems like there's always something I meant to do that I overlook. A checklist would help, but that's something I have to take time to do as well, and frankly, I don't make new slipstreamed CDs that often.

To test, all you really need to do is boot a PC from the disc. If it boots and runs through the startup, (before you actually tell it to start installing) you can be sure it works.

[Ruckbox]

lets say, im an idiot and do it horribly wrong, and i run bootcamp on my new 17" MacBook Pro.
whats the worst that can happen to it?

[cold aspiration]

your mac os x system files are wiped out. If you don't choose the correct partition to install boot camp on..

but then the mbp couuld catch fire and eventually explode, that'll be worse.

[ghporter]

New thought: get a friend with a working XP machine to make the slipstreamed disc for you-using your own XP install disc, of course.

And anything catching fire is way worse than having ot relaod the Mac OS partition. Got a good backup? ;)

[Bolero421]

You should only really be afraid of losing your data on your Mac partition if you screw something up during the installation of Windows. Specifically, choosing the correct partition to format / install on.

Make Absolutely Sure that, when asked to choose which partition to format / install on, that you choose the C: drive (bootcamp will have handled the labeling).

Almost every case of someone loosing data can be traced back to them not choosing the correct partition. Do not make that mistake (or make really good backups) ^_^

[ghporter]

Great point Bolero. The slipstream process and Boot Camp's preparation of the drive are pretty fool-proof, but the human intervention in installing Windows is the variable in the equation.

[chewbacca]

Okay, so I followed a similar proceedure to what was outlined here on this thread to make a Windows XP Pro with SP2, using a PC (not easy!)--the disk booted in the PC.
Boot Camp, however, does not recognize this disk. It gives me the "please insert a valid Windows XP install disk" message and that's it. :mad:
I haven't tried using XP Home instead of Pro, but that's my next task.
I want to make sure that Boot Camp works and all my proprietary Windows programs WORK on my machine before I spend the freaking $200 on it.
Any tips or ideas no how I can test my MBP with Windows before I waste a ton of money?

[WOPR]

I like a laugh so at the weekend I'm going to try slipstreaming SP2 on to my XP Corporate disk using Virtual PC. I aim to make a disk image with Nero that I can then burn using Toast. Wish me luck!

[ghporter]

chewbacca, what tools did you use to slipstream and burn your disc? It can make a difference. Further, if your XP Pro disc already had SP2 on it, slipstreaming could goober up the slipstreaming result pretty badly.

[joeyaudio]

Am I to understand thst XP Pro with SP2 cannot be slipstreamed then, because the process is supposed to add the SP2 feature? Then the disk error I get using Bootcamp means I have a funky CD!!!!!!!!!

[ghporter]

No. "Slipstreaming" means to add stuff to the install image, which could include drivers, service packs, even applications (depending on the method you use to do the slipstreaming).

Slipstreaming using third party software like nLite can incorporate anything into a Windows install disc. On the other hand, the simple/cheap/included in SP2 method ONLY works to incorporate SP2 into a non-SP2 XP install.

[kurtandbrown]

Thanks for your this valuable information , before reading this post i was thinking that sp2 is not of much use

Thanks a lot

[naphtali]

Hi guys

Sorry to revive a rather old thread

Was just wondering if it's safe to use nLite. I mean no offence to the developers, but I'm wary that the program has so much access to the low levels of the installer that it could possibly plant some exploit if it wanted to.

I couldn't find any controversy about it on the internet; nobody seems worried about it at all. Am I just paranoid about this?

Again, this is not a personal attack on the developers, and I'm not ungrateful for the effort put into development. Just worried about 3rd party utilities in general

[wubrew]

Instead of Slipstreaming just install the original XP than use a PC SW called Ultimate iso or similar to mount the SP2 as virtual disc and through CML in window execute the .exe and the upgrade will automatically install.

[ghporter]

Instead of Slipstreaming just install the original XP than use a PC SW called Ultimate iso or similar to mount the SP2 as virtual disc and through CML in window execute the .exe and the upgrade will automatically install.This process is problematic. You may not be able to use the computer in XP without the drivers provided with Boot Camp, and they require SP2 to work. Frankly, the slipstream process is so simple that I can't see why you wouldn't want to do it that way—and wind up with a handy, upgraded, bootable, XP-SP2 CD in the process.

[jrmboco]

I can't seem to find anywhere else on the interwebs where people are asking about slipstreaming on a mac. Is it possible? Seems silly to need a PC to allow you to put Windows on your mac, eh? So, if anyone has any advice or links that can help out, please advise! I've got an XP Pro install disc with sp1, and an upgrade disc for sp2.
Thanks!