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A few questions about slipstreaming, or PE type setup

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Carol Haynes:
It is possible to include some applications and get Windows to run the installer automatically, but I'm not sure it is possible to have preconfigured applications installed.

There is also a limit to how much you can fit on the installation CD.

This is the sort of thing thatis ideally approached via disk imaging.

One method you could try is to use a utility like TotalUninstall to take a snapshot of your system immediately after you complete windows fresh install, and then again after you have installed the required applications. You could then copy all the files and registry modifications to a backup disc and simply copy them, and reapply the registry changes after using your slipstream disc. Shouldn't be too hard to acheive.

Personally I don't really want to take the approach that Windows installs all sorts of extras. Once you have created your "slipstream extra" disc, and get it all working perfectly, by the next time you want to use it you will have changed your needs, and half of the software/drivers on the disc will need updating anyway.

My preferred approach is to make a slipstream of the most recent service pack for clean installs, and then on a fresh install do regular incremental image backups, that way you can roll back if you have issues. If you install your core applications first you can restore the image at any time, and at any key point int he set up process. Burn those backups to DVD and you have a multiple possiblilty install system that will get you up and running in minutes without user intervention.

The only disadvantage of image restoration is that you are fixed in the drive label you can use for windows from that image. eg. If you backup up a Windows installation on Drive C then it can only be restored to Drive C. If you want a multiboot system then you can image and restore the drives separately.

dtrud0h:
Thanks Carol,
  I've been looking at some Imaging software,   it seems like a good category to have added to the list of requested reviews here at DC.  If I could figure out mousers "preconfigured level 1 template", I might compile som stuff for it.  I found a site I think it's Drive-backup.com ( but don't quote me on it) that has quite a comparison available.  The site recomends Acronis,  but the ability to back up to dvd is a feature I really need along with a self executing image install.  I think I'm going to try out Paragon and take it from there.  One other question I have is that if I use the Imaging method will the image contain the necessary information to use system restore points that I have configured at the present?    Thank you for your input here it seems like we must be alot alike in the respect that we both change our software quite a bit, the biggest problem this presents for me is in the fragmentation department.  I never seem to defragment enough.   It's on the will do list before Imaging I can assure you.
  Thanks again.

Carol Haynes:
See https://www.donationcoder.com/Reviews/Archive/BackUpGuide/index.html (but I'd guess you might have already).

WRT imaging to DVD, Acronis will break backups into chunks ready for burning, and Acronis Support have promised direct burning in the current version. I have used Norton Ghost before and PowerQuest Drive Image (these have been combined now and are called Ghost AIUI) which both burn direct and to be honest I don't think it is worth the hassle.

If you have enough disc space to set up a partition (don't let Acronis configure it's secure storage!!!) to store your backups temporarily then producing DVD size chunks is ideal. You can create the full backup (overnight - if your system is like mine the first backup takes a while) and then sit at the computer to burn your DVDs. The disadvantage of direct burn is that you have to keep coming back to the computer to feed it DVDs - and if you verify the image Ghost/DriveImage doesn't do this in a terribly logical way which means lots of disc swapping.

I really recommend having enough hard disc storage to store your backups - especially if you have large amounts of material to backup. By all means burn to DVD but if you want to recover a single file (or even a partition) nothing beats having it on hard disc!! USB/FireWire hard discs are a possibility, but make sure your system can find them in DOS mode!

To answer your question - Imaging copies the whol partition, that includes System Restore data. Personally I always do a disc clean up and defrag before a full backup, including getting rid of lots of system restore points.

With hard disc backups and incremental backup capability you could actually disable System Restore as a quick incremental backup is much more effective than SR.

By the way you can still defrag your system, but it will make the next incremental backup a bit bigger. Using Perfect Disc as your defrag program has the advantage thatit minimizes the repositioning of un modified files so incremental backup sizes will be smaller (and quicker) than with some defrag programs.

kfitting:
This may be slightly different than what you are trying to do, but if you are trying to build a completely new install, nlite and AutoPatcher are two programs that are invaluble.  nlite lets you customize your installation disc: get rid of unnecssary drivers, add tweaks, add security patches, slipstream, etc.  Autopatcher gives all the current security patches, addons, and tweaks for easy setup after install.

nlite:
http://www.nliteos.com/

AutoPatcher:
http://www.autopatcher.com/

kevin

Carol Haynes:
AutoPatcher looks really useful - and might just hit the spot.

Good find ...

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